Wesley Snipes - Talon of God

Just saying those words made the angel shudder, and his face was more serious than ever when he looked at Lauryn again. “The veil must not be ripped. That barrier is all that divides your world from all the worlds beyond. Without it, there will be nothing to stop devils from walking as freely in your world as they do in their own.”

“Wait,” she said. “Just devils? Can you guys not come in and help us?”

“We would be able to walk among you,” Akarra said cautiously. “But unlike the serpent’s forces, we are bound by rules. A fight where one side plays fair and one doesn’t is always doomed to be lopsided. But this is not to say we are powerless.” Akarra pulled himself straight. “We are the soldiers of heaven, and we will fight as such when the time comes. But while we can kill demons and slow the forces of hell down, we cannot save humanity from itself. Only a human can do that, and you are the one chosen tonight. I am merely here to be your guide along whatever path you choose.”

“Wait, I’ve got a choice?”

“There is always a choice,” the angel said, giving her a quelling look. “Haven’t you listened to anything you’ve been told?”

Talon had made a pretty big deal about choice. But even so. “If the choice is up to me, what are my options?”

“Whatever you are willing to work for,” Akarra replied solemnly. “Your kindness in this life plus your sacrifice to stop St. Luke have already earned you a place of honor in your Father’s house. If you wish, I can take you there now.”

“You mean heaven?” Lauryn said, her eyes going huge. “Like, heaven heaven?”

The angel nodded. “But it is a choice you can only make once. If you go with me to that farthest shore, you will never be able to return to this one, and your place in these events will come to an end.”

“But I thought my saving Chicago was part of God’s plan?” she said. “If that’s true, how can you offer to take me away?”

“God does not plan your choices,” Akarra said as a smile ghosted over his lips. “He is all knowing, though, which pays to bear in mind. But obedience without choice is not obedience at all.”

That was the same thing Talon had been trying to tell her this afternoon in the car, and Lauryn shook her head with a sigh. “Guess I should have listened,” she said, looking up again at the terrifying fortress in the sky. “So what happens if I choose to stay?”

“If you decide to stay, you will be returned.” His burning eyes flashed. “And you will fight.”

Lauryn shuffled her feet in the snow. Honestly, quitting while she was ahead sounded pretty tempting. Despite Akarra’s assurance that God wouldn’t give her a task she couldn’t handle, she still had no idea what good she was going to do against something like the fortress floating in the sky above her. But at the same time, running away, even to heaven, just felt wrong.

And I still have a sword to return to its rightful owner…

That was the realization that pushed her over the edge, and she turned back to the angel with a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it. I’ll go back. Don’t know what I’ll do when I get there, but I’ll figure it out.”

“You will,” the angel said with absolute surety.

Lauryn nodded, trying to match his confidence, though she didn’t quite think she managed. “So… how do I get back?”

“I can take you,” Akarra said. “But first, you will need a weapon. That one belongs to another.”

“Of course,” Lauryn said, handing over Talon’s sword. The angel took it with as much reverence as St. Luke had grabbed it in greed, making her wonder yet again just what was so special about the plain-looking blade. Given what Akarra had just said about getting her own weapon, Lauryn supposed she was about to find out.

“How do we do this?” she asked nervously. “Do I kneel or…”

Akarra shook his head. “Just take my hand.”

Lauryn gave his extended—and empty—palm a skeptical look. But she was in too deep to back out now, and so, with a deep breath and a final look at the monstrosity above, she did as she was told, grabbing the angel’s hand in her own like she was grabbing on to a lifeline.

The result was immediate. The moment she touched the angel’s skin, golden fire raced up her arm. But though it consumed her in seconds, there was no pain. Only warmth and a feeling of absolute certainty that this was the right choice. It was like the moment when she’d first known she wanted to be a doctor, only infinitely more. Standing there with her burning hand wrapped around the angel’s, Lauryn had never been more sure of anything in her life. For the first time ever, she had no questions, and she didn’t even flinch when the peaceful bubble of death’s threshold burst to leave her standing alone in what was left of St. Luke’s horrible laboratory.

And in her hand, there was a sword.

It was beautiful. A mirror-bright, razor-sharp blade on a hilt as golden as the angel’s fire. She was still staring at it in wonder when Akarra’s voice boomed in her head.

Go , he said. I must return a blade to another.

“Already ahead of you,” Lauryn said firmly, clutching her new sword as she bolted out of the bloody lab and back toward the elevator leading to the surface at a dead run.

“Had enough?”

Talon kept his head down, ignoring Lincoln Black’s mocking voice to focus on the breaths that just might be his last. He had no idea how long this night had gone on, but his body was definitely nearing its limit. There was no piece of his skin that was not bruised or cut, no movement he could make, no breath he could breathe without setting off a shot of crippling agony. Even holding perfectly still was painful. A fact his jailer clearly relished.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Black whispered in his ear. “Welcome to my world, old man. But you should thank me. Pain means you’re alive. Really alive, not that ascetic monk crap. But as much as I’d love to let you sit and wallow, I can’t let you miss this. Open your eyes.” When Talon didn’t obey fast enough, Black struck him on the cheek. “Open them!”

Talon was tempted to keep them closed just to spite his enemy, but the pain was already too great, and he was still only human. Slowly, tiredly, he cracked his eyes open to see the agent of his enemy standing over him like a mountain, a crooked smile on his taunting face. “Here,” he said. “I’ve got something for you to see.”

He grabbed what was left of Talon’s jacket and started to drag him, bumping his body across the rough metal-grated floor. Every jolt kicked off a new pain, leaving Talon on the verge of passing out by the time Black lifted him up, propping his body against the warehouse’s brick wall so he could see out the window.

“Take a look,” he said, delighted. “I heard tell that Chicago was your old stomping ground before you threw it all away for Jesus, but I bet you’ve never seen it like this. ”

Talon had never wished something was a lie so hard in his life, but for once, Black was telling the truth. Through the window of the warehouse’s second story, he could see the city lit up in the night, but not in the usual way. He’d seen that same orange light reaching to the clouds once before, long ago. Then, they’d called it the Great Chicago Fire. Through the pain, he wondered if there’d be anyone left alive to name this one.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Black cackled, pressing Talon’s face into the cold glass. “The whole city’s burning like a campfire, and the firemen can’t even get in to fight it because they’re all busy getting in touch with their true natures thanks to St. Luke’s little drug.” He leaned down to press his ear against the window, and his face lit up. “You can even hear the screams!” He laughed delightedly. “And look down in the streets! There are packs of the infected bastards roaming down there like wild dogs. It’s absolute and utter anarchy. And here I thought I’d lost all faith in humankind!”