Scorn of Angels Read Online Free Page A

name, in the tongue of the Angels, and the power of it swept through the men of the armies, sending many to their knees.
    “You were sent to take GOD’S city! To hold it as a place of holiness for all who worship him. And instead, when victory was in your grasp, when you stood before the Gates, YOU GAVE UP! ” Arcana drew her sword and light streamed from the blade. She pointed it down and let it sweep over the army as she spoke, making every man feel as if she was pointing it at him. “You gave up on your church! You gave up on GOD! You tasted defeat, and instead of gaining humility and rising up stronger, you turned away from all that was holy and gave your strength and your service to the Queen of Hell!”
    The words rang true and the men below began quaking. Some voided themselves in the realization of what they had done. It had not been a goddess of battle that had led them to victory. It had not been a miracle.
    It had been the Queen of Hell. And they had given themselves to her, body and soul.
    “You have damned yourselves to Hell for all eternity!” shouted Arcana. “You have condemned yourselves to suffering without respite! To anguish far beyond that which mere mortal flesh can withstand! You have doomed yourself to eternal, unending pain and misery!”
    Most of the men collapsed; many began weeping. Some stood where they had been, anchored to the spot in horror. Arcana waited. She read the expression on every man’s face, and knew each was convinced beyond a doubt. She waited a bit longer, until it happened.
    “Please!” begged one of the soldiers. “Please, we did not know! Please, redeem us!”
    Arcana smiled—though it wasn’t seen as a smile—and shouted, “REDEEM YOU?”
    The man bowed his head, and thirty thousand others did as well.
    “I cannot redeem you!” Arcana said, and the force of the words brought shame to them all. She waited to make sure they sunk in and then said, “You must redeem yourselves!”
    Hope dawned in thirty thousand faces. She let them wait, let them pray that she would give them an answer.
    I probably shouldn’t be enjoying this so much , Arcana thought. “You will cleanse this city! You will clean every drop of filth and blood from its streets! You will cleanse every drop of filth and sin from your bodies and your clothes, and you will burn the emblems of the Queen of Hell! You will repair the damage you have done to all the holy places. And you will do this with your own hands!” She saw and enjoyed the horror in their faces as they realized the enormity of their task. “And when that is done, each of you will follow the path that Jesus walked, from the palace where he was condemned to the hill upon which he died!” She pointed the sword to the place where the Sanhedrin had once had their court and a blaze of bright flame shot from it, arching over the buildings and scorching the route into the ground. “You will follow that path upon your knees! You will pray to God to have mercy on your souls and forgive you your weakness, your sinfulness, and the vileness of your actions! KNEEL!”
    Every man who was not already on his knees fell to them. Knights dismounted and knelt beside their horses.
    “You have disgraced yourselves in the eyes of the LORD who is your GOD! You have brought shame upon yourselves, your families, and your nations, and you will not redeem it until you have done all as I have said!
    “NOW GO, AND SIN NO MORE!”
    And with those words, Arcana flew straight up into the clouds, disappearing from the men’s sight, even as her last words burned into their brains. As one, the crusader army rose to their feet and began dispersing through the city to carry out her instructions.
    That will show Nyx, thought Arcana as she rose high above the city. She closed her eyes, trying to sense if there were any other Angels on the planet. There were none.
    Heaven is blocked to me , Arcana thought . Earth is empty of Angels save for me. I alone must carry out