Of Angels and Gods

Book 3: The Archangel Wars

by Jonathan Yanez

Genres: Christian Fantasy; Fantasy action & adventure; Urban Fantasy

Synopsis

Alan can barely hold things together himself. Now he’s expected to convince a pissed off retired Archangel to once again join the fight while juggling a love life with heaven’s deadliest warrior.

Just when things don’t look like they can get any worse, two more Horsemen are chosen. But instead of helping they only complicate the matter more. One’s as high as a kite, only interested in her next fix and the other’s being hoodwinked by the enemy.

Release date: January 28, 2025

Publisher: Archimedes Books

Print pages: 257

Sample

Chapter 1 

Dread inched down Alan’s spine as the darkness became total. Nothing could be heard besides the breathing of those around him. One thing was clear: Gabriel had managed to use the curse that manipulated reality. What that meant exactly, had yet to be seen.

Everyone was suspended in the moment, victim to his or her own fears of the future. Then, just as fast as the sky had darkened, the shadow left, and Alan blinked against the light of the morning sun. He rubbed his eyes when the landscape around him came back into view. When the darkness had overtaken the group, they were standing at the entrance to the underground Temple. Now, Alan stood inside a building. 

Large, stone columns reached to the heavens. High above, a stone ceiling provided shelter against the sky. The sun shown sideways through the forest of pillars, offering light to the structure. Alan was speechless, and he took a moment to gather his thoughts. Everyone was still around him: Gideon, Esther, Angelica, Ardat, Danielle, and Artemis, who all shared similar expressions of wonder and fear. 

Something was still off. A thought tickled the back of Alan’s mind as he tried to work out the implications of the event, when it hit him like a slap in the face. The humans. The people traveling on the human plane like phantoms, were gone completely. 

A dozen different possibilities pushed for Alan’s attention as panic filled his heart. “What … what just happened?”

“Gabriel exercised his power over the spell,” Ardat said with anger in her eyes. “This changes everything.”

“The people,” Danielle said, looking from Alan to Ardat and back again, “did he kill them?”

Gideon was the first to speak. If the old angel was shaken by the events of the last few minutes, he didn’t show it. “Unlikely; however, it does seem he’s managed to separate the two planes the natural and the supernatural live in. Seems he’s also managed to remake the Temple.”

“More than likely, he’s brought back all seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” Artemis breathed. All eyes turned to the small girl who was slowly walking among the pillars, her hands briefly touching their cool surfaces as she spoke. “The game has changed. Everything that was old has been made new once again.”

Alan remained quiet as he listened to everyone while tension built in his shoulders. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he had a responsibility. The pressure of this title ordered him to speak. He had to do something. “I need to find out how Gabriel is doing this.” Alan looked at each one of them in turn. “This may change things for all of you—and that’s fine, don’t let me hold you back—but I still need to know how Gabriel is so much stronger than any of us. I’m going to the spot where the Statue of Zeus once stood.”

Alan didn’t wait for a reply. Sitting in the aftermath of Gabriel’s actions was beginning to anger him on a deeper level than he thought possible. As the Horseman of War, he needed answers. That he was always waiting, always reacting to Gabriel, instead of being the one to make the first move, ate at him. With a thought, Alan ordered his wings out behind him. Blue tendrils of energy obeyed his command and waved gently, anticipating flight. 

“Wait,” Esther said, speaking for the first time since the darkness had covered the sky, “we need a plan.”

Anger rose higher in Alan’s chest. “All this planning is not helping us. I’m going. You can talk and discuss all you want, but I need to find answers.” With that, Alan’s wings beat the air behind him and he lifted into the sky, ready to maneuver through the Temple’s pillars and head for the Statue. 

No one moved to stop him, but Artemis’ voice gave him pause. “The future is so unclear at this point, it’s impossible for me to give you sound advice. If your heart tells you to go, then go. The rest of us should stay near the Temple and prepare.”

“What?” Danielle said. “You can’t be serious. We can’t let Alan go by himself, we should—”

“Let him go,” Gideon said with a tug on his short beard. “Everything is playing out as it should. This has all happened for a reason. If Alan feels like he needs to go, then he must walk his own path. Who are we to stop him?”

Alan heard enough. In the wake of Danielle’s protests, he sped through the Temple pillars and out into the unknown world beyond.

 

---

 

Fear wasn’t exactly the right word. An eerie stillness covered the world with an unnatural quiet. Silence was the only thing accompanying Alan on his flight. The world around him was motionless. The terrain remained the same, though all signs of life were gone. The Earth, for all intents and purposes, was abandoned. No roads lined with buildings to either side ran across the ground, and the white noise of cars and voices was completely gone, vanished like a shifting specter.

In short, the everyday hum of activity was gone, and in its place, an empty world of silence reigned. As Alan’s wings beat behind him, he chanced a look over his shoulder. No doubt the Temple had been rebuilt—in the place where nothing but a few broken pillars were before stood a beautiful, monolithic structure that took his breath away. Given any time to spare, Alan would have loved to explore the remade building, which had been destroyed thousands of years before. But time was not on his side. 

Just as he turned his attention back to his flight path, Alan caught movement from between the Temple pillars. A streak—someone flying toward him at a speed so fast he couldn’t gauge. Ardat’s ability to manipulate gravity lent her the ability to fly, regardless of her lack of wings, and she appeared next to Alan within seconds. 

“Haste will not lend you strength during this time,” Ardat said without even looking at Alan. “If you’re to have any chance at all, you’ll need to learn to cool that temper of yours.”

Alan looked the former Fallen member up and down. “I didn’t ask you to come.”

Ardat barked out a laugh as she turned her dark eyes to Alan. “Trust me, I’m not doing this for you.”

“Then spare me,” Alan said, trying to rein in his temper. “I don’t want or need your help.”

“You’re wrong when it comes to the ‘needing’ part. However, I believe you when you say you don’t ‘want’ my help, because you are a fool.”

“Listen, if you came to insult me—” 

“I came to assist you,” Ardat said in a softer tone. “It’s what Michael would want. Artemis cannot leave her Temple. Esther and Gideon need to dole out new orders to the angelic core. And Danielle … that girl’s too confused by her emotions for you to know what she wants. Who else is left?”

Ardat’s last words regarding Danielle shocked Alan. “What are you talking about? Danielle and I are just friends, nothing more.”

Ardat rolled her eyes. “Oh, the naivety of youth. You have a lot to learn, not only about being the Horseman of War, but also about women, Alan Price.”

Alan made to open his mouth, but Ardat cut him off. “Before you ramble on with meaningless reasons why you don’t agree with me or need my help, do you know which way you’re going?”

“Of course I do,” Alan said with a sigh of exasperation. “I’m going to the Statue. Michael said to look there for answers as to how Gabriel has managed to become so strong.”

“And which direction would that be?” she asked.

Alan had never been savvy with directions, even before he was chosen as a Horseman. He pointed forward and waved his finger in the general direction of their flight path. “This way-ish.” 

“You’ll need more than a wandering finger to find the Statue. Knowledge will be even more important if you are to discover the truth behind Gabriel’s power.”

The way Ardat spoke made Alan wonder if she already knew. He hated to admit it, but he needed her help. “You know how Gabriel became so strong, don’t you?”

“I have my suspicions.”

 

---

 

The rest of the flight with Ardat was spent in uncomfortable silence; calling her an ally would be a stretch. As Alan flew beside her, he thought of all of the reasons the demon couldn’t be trusted. She’d already betrayed the Light, choosing to side with the Usurper when the war in Heaven was waged. Now, her supposed love for Michael was the only reason she was helping Alan, so he’d have to keep a wary eye on his traveling companion’s every move.

Despite his lack of trust in Ardat, Alan was forced to allow her to take the lead as they neared their destination. From his studies on the Seven Wonders, Alan knew the Statue of Zeus had been erected in a temple in Olympia, Greece. He also remembered that a fire in the fifth century had destroyed the site. For all he knew, they could be looking for another destroyed piece of land, much like the Temple of Artemis when he first found it.

But for reasons yet to be seen, Gabriel had chosen to remake the Temple, so perhaps the Statue would also have been made whole again. Perhaps Ardat could shed some light on the events surrounding the Temple’s resurrection. “Why do you think Gabriel used the spell to rebuild the Temple?”

Ardat didn’t respond, and Alan waited a few moments to determine whether or not she was just thinking or if she hadn’t heard his question at all. Just as he made to ask her again, she spoke. “Gabriel hates humans. He hates the way the Creator cares for them, and the concept of selfless and complete love is lost on him. He blames humans for destroying much of our heritage, so it would make sense that Gabriel remade what was once lost to us, erecting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World when he separated the human and supernatural planes of existence.”

Alan swallowed hard as he thought of a reality where humans would be destroyed altogether. “You … you don’t think Gabriel could have killed off the human race, do you?”

Ardat shook her head, sending her already wind-tossed black hair into even more of a waving frenzy. “No. No matter how strong he’s become, even that is beyond him. No power, outside of the Creator’s, could destroy the human populace. More than likely, Gabriel has removed human interference in preparation for the war he’s going to wage.”

Ardat spoke as if everything she said was the truth, with no sorrow or worry lacing her words. Just simply how she saw things—as fact. For Alan, the news struck a deeper note; he still thought of himself as human, or at least partially human. “It can be reversed though, right?” Though he was afraid to ask the question, ignorance seemed a poor reason to withhold his words. 

“If it’s a spell as we suspect,” Ardat said, slowing her forward momentum, “it can be undone.”

Alan let out a sigh of relief, a feeling he hadn’t experienced much of lately. “Why are you slowing down?” he asked.

Ardat glanced over at him, then stared off into the distance, and her non-response made Alan follow her gaze. Below him, the Greek landscape spread out as a mix of ancient and modern buildings. One structure in particular caught his eye: an old temple. Much like the Temple of Artemis, the building was made up of large pillars, but unlike the Temple, it was narrower and not as tall. 

Alan followed Ardat as she touched down only feet from the entrance. If she experienced any kind of amazement for the structure, she hid her thoughts well. Alan, on the other hand, couldn’t help letting his jaw hang low as they walked into the temple, and he had to remind himself over and over again to breathe as he entered the building. 

Inside, the sunlight faded, giving way to torches lit among the many sconces on the pillars and along the walls. It was evident the structure served only one purpose: to house the Statue of Zeus. But the temple itself paled in comparison to the statue, a monument that stood over forty feet tall, sculpted to depict the Greek god sitting on his throne. The Statue’s head nearly brushed the temple’s ceiling. 

Alan was so taken with the statue, he failed to see the man who stood before it, and he jolted when Ardat’s words broke the stillness. “I thought you would be here, Raphael. Or should I call you ‘Poseidon’?”

The man didn’t turn. Alan couldn’t see much of him, but from his back, he could tell Raphael was tall with thick, unkempt greyish hair that fell just past his neck. A low, defeated voice responded. “Do not speak to me, demon.”

Ardat stopped yards from the man, giving him a wide berth. “The Statue stands again. Michael needs your help if he’s to defeat Gabriel.”

Alan swallowed in the silence that grew. Raphael stood motionless. He would have been tall had his shoulders not slumped forward as if he carried an invisible cross. The hope that had been growing in Alan’s chest began to diminish. The leader of the Archangels, by all appearances, had turned out to be a vagrant. 

“I’d forgotten how much the Statue looked like Michael,” Raphael said, his tone low as if speaking to himself. 

Alan shifted his gaze from the Archangel to reexamine the Statue. Raphael was right. Beyond the curly hair and beard covering the face of Zeus, Alan could see similarities: the high cheekbones, square face, and piercing eyes all belonged to his friend, Michael.

Alan tensed as Ardat exhaled so loudly, it nearly echoed through the temple. “If the Statue has been remade, odds are Gabriel has also resurrected the other Wonders of the Ancient World. We can lose no time, Raphael. Whatever your past, whatever our issues, you must look past them now if Michael—”

“Enough,” Raphael said in disgust, finally turning to face them. Whatever Alan had been expecting to see, Raphael looked far worse. Along with his wild mane of hair, a thick shock of grey beard grew from his chin and cheeks. Any part of Raphael not covered in hair was smeared with what looked like layers of dirt. His clothes matched his appearance, giving off a slight stench that made Alan wrinkle his nose in revulsion. Raphael’s right hand quaked with a spasm as he continued, “I gave you my answer. Too much has been lost in the name of the Light. I cannot help you.”

The look in Raphael’s eyes was so final, Alan almost turned to leave. Ardat must have seen the resolve, as well. With a snarl and a shake of her head, she stalked out of the temple. 

Alan cleared his throat as he locked eyes with Raphael, his lips and mouth drier than he could ever remember as he searched for words in vain. Nothing he came up with seemed appropriate, so Alan said the first thing that came to mind. “What was lost?”

With his left hand, Raphael grasped his shaking right hand in an effort to soothe his tremor. Alan wasn’t sure he would get a response, and doubt overtook him as he watched slip away his opportunity to do something as a leader. Then Raphael answered, “Life … was lost.” Hands still clasped together, he ran a tired gaze up and down Alan’s frame. “I do not recognize you as either angel or demon.”

Alan shook his head. “That’s because I’m not. My name’s Alan Price. I was chosen as the Horseman of War during this one thousand year cycle.”

Raphael nodded as if he expected this to be the answer.

“Gabriel’s back and more powerful than ever. If we’re going to stand a chance, we’ll need your help, Raphael.”

“You do not know what you ask, Alan Price.”

“No, I know. A war isn’t coming; it’s already started. If we’re to have any hope of winning, we’ll need your help.”

Raphael’s right hand ceased its tremble and he lowered it to his side once again as he stared past Alan, eyes glossed over as memories of the past bombarded his thoughts. “No one ‘wins’ a war, Alan Price.” 

“Then help us be the side with the fewer losses,” Alan said, his voice bordering on a plea as the idea of Raphael and him joining in the fight against Gabriel was quickly vanishing. 

“There were once seven Archangels,” Raphael said, still staring into the past. “Six others, besides myself, whom I loved without pause. They were more than friends or brothers and sisters; they were a part of me. When the war in Heaven began, three chose the side of the Usurper, and my heart broke when I heard the news. It shattered over the coming years as I killed my own kind, all in the name of the Light.”

Tears gathered in Raphael’s eyes and his voice grew so thick with sorrow, Alan strained to understand him. “I killed them. I killed so many of them. Most I took with my trident, others I strangled with my bare hands. I took everything from them as they struggled to breathe while I choked out their pleas to live. I denied them their chance at forgiveness, and condemned them instead to an eternity of Hell.”

Anything Alan thought to say seemed to pale in comparison to Raphael’s words laced with such intense grief. “I cannot imagine what you sacrificed, so I won’t try,” he said. “But you must have found some reason to continue fighting for the Light. You were present when the angels and demons fought on the Earth again under the disguise of Greek deities. That must have been centuries after the war in Heaven had come to an end.”

Raphael blinked a few times, reeling his mind back from the events of long ago. Tears fell from his eyes, making stains down his dirty face until they were lost in the forest of his beard. “I did. That was the last time I took up arms against my own kind and I did what I should have done from the beginning: I relinquished my power as an Archangel. Then I realized history’s doomed to repeat itself, and time is nothing more than a wheel bent on moving forward. Whether the Usurper or Gabriel, there’ll always be someone bent on destruction.”

Alan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The once-greatest angel in Heaven now stood before him, a shadow of his former self. Not only had Raphael been defeated, he’d also been so twisted and bent from his grief, no sign of the Archangel was left in him. Alan licked his lips in preparation to speak, yet before he could form the words, Raphael cleared his throat and shook his head. “Nothing you say will change what I know to be true. Not when the faces of those I killed haunt me day and night.”

With those words, Raphael turned toward the temple entrance and began to walk away. Frustration—not at the angel, but at his own inability to communicate—built inside Alan. What could he say that would bring relief to a soul in the midst of such despair? The thought came to Alan like a lightning bolt. With renewed resolve, he ran to catch up with Raphael. 

It was impossible for the angel not to hear him coming, though he neither quickened nor shortened his pace, nor did he acknowledge Alan when he came skidding to a halt next to him. The words came out of Alan in one breath: “Raphael, I know there’s hope for you. You know this as well, or you wouldn’t have come to the Statue. I’m not giving up on you. Maybe you already have, but you can’t decide that for me.”A pause interrupted Raphael’s step, so slight, Alan wondered if he’d imagined it altogether. But it had happened. For the first time since their meeting, Raphael was struck by something Alan said. 

As Raphael continued past Alan without a reply, Alan’s lips spread into a wide smile.

“A strange time to be smiling, Horseman,” Ardat said, sidling up to Alan.

Alan turned, his smile still intact. “Maybe.” Then realization hit him again, and his smile grew in size.

Ardat took a step backwards as though wounded by a physical blow. She looked him up and down. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Alan said as he began to follow Raphael. “I just realized: not only is there hope for Raphael, but you’re also still here, too.” ...