I get to the church with sure footing. Once I pass a green fortress of prickly bushes, I see Gabriel and the others huddled.
"Where, in the Lord's name, have you been, Alyhonea?" Gabriel kept his voice a believable calm on the surface, but only a skilled ear could tell it was tense.
"Demons. Northeast of here. I--," Marian cut me off.
"Instead of discussing the details of your meeting with those beasts, we should be fortifying the church. Do you really think 23 years of abandonment does the building good?" her cold, golden eyes scan our emotionless faces. "Well, that's settled. Let's begin."
Huh. Marian usually wanted to hear all about confrontations, whether it be to give advice, should another occur, or just to analyze the story for possible weaknesses on the other side. Her interrupting the story was more expected of Gabe, as he was usually trying to get the report passed on as soon as possible. My legs achy, I walk inside of the church, wanting to see what we were up against. Marian had done a sweep of the building when we all departed, so her telling us this place was rotting garbage made no sense. It was in perfect condition, especially considering the abandonment. Pews stood alongside each other in a wooden army, There no longer was a cross, they probably took it to not leave any valuables. Only a thin film of dust had settled. That was it, and it certainly wasn't a weakness. Unless you were allergic to dust.
Gabriel walked in looking up, side to side, down, and then finally at me. He passed me a, "What in the name?" look. He was also baffled by Marian's words. I shrug.
"What can we do that hasn't already been done?" I ask.
"Obviously, nothing," he responds
I look back up to the alter. Maybe we should fill the void. Still, there was much left to do and to add the worshipping of our Savior, our wings would be in a knot.
"We should probably begin the Influencing. It seem like the next proper step," my voice rang out in the hollow building.
The Influencing was a prayer we would have to pray every night to have any effect on the area. Holy ground was perfect for this. Holy ground is the perfect place to pray our prayer of spreading good.
***~~~***
We finish the prayer with an atmosphere of suspicion. What was up with Marian? Whatever it was had to wait. We were going to head to the locations nearby full of people, all sharing the trait of needing goodness in their lives. That's where we came in. We would do good deeds. Obviously.
"Alyhonea, head northeast. There is a small town in desperate need." Gabriel barked out all of our areas.
I head out with a few human dollars. How odd they are to me. Why does everything have a price? I make it far from the church. I can't see it at this point.
"Missed me so much you came back?" Oh no.
"Please, I only come to undo the evil you have knitted into the delicate fabric of the human world, beast," I answer Moden's disembodied voice.
"Hey, how am I the beast? Your the one trying to ruin a day's work. What makes you any better?" Moden huffs, revealing he is up in a tree.
"Nothing. The Lord teaches us that we are all equal, we are all brethren," I reply.
"So does Pocahontas." Smirk.
"What is it you are here for?" I narrow my eyes, waiting for an arrogant response.
"Well, occasionally, I come in hopes a tree is single." What?
"You are humorless. Of course," he jumps down from the tree. "So, you're going to Nowtin? Yeah, we fucked that place up. Someone pissed at the doorstep of the Sheriff's house! It was hilarious!" Moden chuckles at the treachery he caused.
I widen my eyes. I had no idea they were this strong. I have to go before it gets worse. If untreated, a demon's effect could make serial killers out of the most innocent. I march on. This won't happen under my watch.
Moden races up to me, done laughing. "Hey, why'd you leave?" He swings an arm around my shoulders. "We never got to go to dinner. Let me be a gentleman and walk you to the chaos, at least. That way I can get to know you. I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing you a lot."
"I should kill you," I say, knowing we were sent to exterminate demons, and heal the towns.
He blinks, then laughs. "Ah, sure. If you wanted to start the war sooner. So until the war, you and I are free to live nearby each other," he leans in, narrowing his eyes and hushing his voice, "I like you, Angel, but I also have the hatred of you boiling in my blood. Don't make me spill over. One word, and you are a rug in my den." He retreats, a smug look on his tormented face.
"Is that a threat, Demon. If so, do not dish out what you can't receive. We Angels refuse hatred, but if anything stands in the way of goodness and God's humans, blood will be shed. And let me tell you. Holy blood won't spill on this earth. And if you think, even for a second, that your friends stand a chance against God's maniphested will, you are dumber than possible."
"Glad we get each other. Now, what's your name?"
"Alyhonea," I reply hesitantly.
"Interesting. Well, Alyhonea, welcome to Hell on Earth." He stops and I look up. A wood sign welcomes me with, "Welcome to Nowtin," graffitied below, it says, "Hell on Earth!" I glance back to Moden, who shrugs.
"I don't know about you, but I feel so proud right now," Moden states, sniffling in mock tears of joy.
I have a lot to do.
"Let's begin."
