Triumph of the Skies
Another honorable mention for the November flash fiction contest
He still had time. The assembly would not convene for some hours yet, Ethan reassured himself. Master had given him ample time to complete all of his tasks. “He always does,” Ethan remarked, to himself and no one but the passing countryside. The sun was setting, but would rise in the lands he was leaving behind on a different world. He reached the banks of the muddy Nəhar hayYardēn and took his turn to the left, outpacing the water’s current and continuing his course southward.
So focused was he on the joy that awaited him upon his arrival, that he almost did not notice when a dark figure crossed into his path. The distance between them closed in the blink of an eye and he found himself face to face with a creature of terrifying beauty.
“Turn back,” it said. “There need be no battle here tonight, Ethan.”
The sound of his name on the creature’s lips grated like the call of the screech owl. Ethan knew the voice: it was one of the sons of Beliya’al.
“You will not delay me,” he replied.
“It is a fool’s errand. Even now my lord prepares to devour. Your Master’s plan will fail.”
“Let me pass or—”
“Or what? Do not make me laugh. Turn back or suffer the consequences.”
The creature drew a sword, blacker itself than the gathering night. Ethan drew his own flaming weapon and held it high, ready to strike.
For a moment the night was silent, as angel and demon stared at one another. In another instant the two crashed together in otherworldly combat.
Ethan leapt toward his foe, sweeping his sword in a wide arc and bringing it down with tremendous speed. The black blade deflected the blow; the counterthrust that followed missed Ethan’s neck by less than a hand’s breadth. They wheeled around to face each other again.
“You cannot kill me,” Ethan’s opponent growled. He circled back to his left, once more placing himself between Ethan and his destination. A beam of moonlight crept out from behind the clouds and fell on the creature’s face, illuminating snarling lips that betrayed darkness lurking beneath the dazzling exterior.
“Your fate was sealed long ago, evil one.”
Ethan had known that being reminded of his ultimate end would enrage the creature and so it did. The fallen one let loose a roar that echoed off the surrounding hills and lurched forward, waving his blade wildly.
The onslaught came with more speed and fury than Ethan had anticipated, but he parried the blows as he fell back. He bounded to one side as the creature lunged with its weapon and momentum carried him into a patch of reeds on the river’s bank.
“I need not kill you,” Ethan said. “You were there when Michael’s potent blade awed the hosts of heaven and Satan first knew pain.”
The creature’s eyes narrowed and a wicked grin spread across his face. He lifted his blade, pointing it at Ethan’s throat, and stepped forward. As he did so, the clouds hid the moon, but parted behind Ethan, revealing a magnificent star. Its brightness twinkled momentarily in the creature’s upturned eyes, giving Ethan his chance.
He charged forward, catching his adversary off-guard, and feinted toward its head. At the last instant, however, Ethan rotated and dipped his shoulders, swinging his sword low. Fiery blade met celestial flesh, entered and sheared through, cleaving the creature’s lower leg just above the ankle. A horrible shriek of surprise and pain filled Ethan’s ears; the skirmish was over. He hesitated only long enough to see that the enemy would not pursue him; what path the demon used to creep back to his foul comrades was of no importance.
Ethan took once more to the air, hurtling past ancient Yeriẖo, and turning to the west. It was the straightest line he could take to the pastures that surrounded the little town known as the “house of bread.”
He had known what to expect, yet still the sight astonished him as it suddenly appeared over the horizon. Ethan found his place just as the captain of the heavenly host called out:
Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The look of confusion on the shepherds’ faces was nothing compared to the awe that replaced it when Ethan and his compatriots manifested themselves and began singing with all their might: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
The war would continue, Ethan knew; it would not be the last time he would have to contend with the enemy and his fallen ones. Yet now that the King had come to dwell with men, Ethan could serve his Master and fight His battles with renewed vigor.
He looked around and saw that just as the angelic congregation had dispersed, so had the last few gloomy clouds of that night. The first gray light of a new day was just beginning to color the eastern sky, but Ethan could not linger to watch the dawn rise on the Sun of righteousness. Now that Ethan had sung his part, he must strive until the whole world gave back the song.