Genesis of a Hero (10 page)

“They’ve taught me to be ten times the fighter I was before I joined them,” John
justified carefully. “I learned a lot here.” He swept his arms around to encompass the magnificent Cathedral. “But the Ministers teach you how to handle real world situations. They make you study every demon to know its weaknesses and how each of them fights.”

“I’ll never understand your
obsession with them,” she said at nearly a growl. “The rest of us hold our own in a fight. You don’t have to be a Justice Minister to help with the War. What we do is important.”

“I
know,” John said and moved close to hug her. She shied away with a sniff. “But I can’t back out. What kind of a person would I be if I did? What kind of angel? I can’t go around making promises to people and breaking them at the first sign of trouble.”

“Maybe not,” Denise cleared her throat and blinking rapidly. “But… you’ve made promises to other people. All the plans we’ve made.”

This time John didn’t let her move away from him. He wrapped her in a tight embrace – making sure not to squash the roses. No tears leaked down her face, but a soft quiver shook each breath. “The last thing I want to do is miss out on all the fun stuff we had planned,” he said tenderly and cupped her chin in his large hand. “But God has called me for a purpose. And ridding the world of demons is what I’m best at. I can keep them from killing innocent people. Unbelievers who would feed Lucifer’s power. If I don’t go help, and the fallen are allowed to surge more than they have already, thousands of people might lose their lives. I can’t live with that.”

She nodded slowly. Her face was buried in his chest and he relished the feeling of her skin against his. “I’ll go with you then,” she said after almost a full minute of silence.

“Wh-what?” John stuttered. “Really? You know how dangerous it’s going to be, right? You don’t like the fighting much…”

“I don’t care,” she said standing up straight.

“I… would really like to have you with me,” he said trying to think of all the ramifications. He’d get to spend countless hours with her. They’d have down time to visit sights all over Spain… but the front lines of the war were a dangerous place. John shuddered at the thought of Denise continuously facing hordes of demons. Watching her walk through the blood and guts of battles. So many chances of losing her forever. The image of her cornered in the warehouse popped into his mind. Inches from the deadly claws of the reidlos. “Pray on it,” he said. “I will as well. It’s not a decision you need to make right away like this. Take some time.”

“I thought you said you were leaving tonight?” she asked with a cold edge of steel building in her voice. John could see her ramping herself up to make a hasty decision.

“I’ll go through the gate a few minutes before 8:00… for now, let’s pray and take a walk.”

They spent the next two hours hiking through the trees.
They talked about the War and their childhoods. In a sun filled meadow, they stretched out in a soft patch of grass and watched the blue sky. Few words were said as they prayed and just enjoyed each other’s closeness. When the sun was starting to dip behind the redwood trees, Denise propped herself up on an elbow.

“John…” she said with a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m going to go.”

John stared trying to control the mixture of feelings assaulting his insides. He hadn’t expected her to stay. He thought she would have followed him into the hellish fight. He’d seen the worrisome images over and over in his mind for the last two hours. Relief filled his chest. Knowing she would be safe cleared the shadows that had danced around his departure since she’d first said she wanted to go.

“It’s not that I want to be away
from-” she continued but stopped when he put his fingers over her mouth.

“I understand,” he said with a smile. “
You are doing what God is guiding you to do.” He stopped and let the perfect curves of her face soak into his consciousness then continued. “I wanted tonight to be special. I bought the flowers to give to you at dinner, but it was more for my own courage…”

“What do you mean,” she laughed and her hand rubbed his chest where it had been resting for the last thirty minutes.

“Denise… I love you.”

A sparkle twinkled in the whites of her eyes as they went as wide as he’
d ever seen them. Then a smile creased her face. It was a grin like no other he’d ever seen. Every drop of the sternness that usually persisted - even when she was in a good mood – vanished. “I love you too,” she cried with true tears spilling down her cheeks. She leaned on top of him and their lips came together. Passion wove through the kiss. The love of two angels and the Blessing of God burned in the meadow.

The sanctuary in Madrid was as fancy as John had ever seen. Gold-plated pews faced the gate to heaven. An altar dressed with white sheets and silver chalices stood at the top of six wide steps. High windows with pointed arches were streaming silk curtains. The vaulted ceiling was forty feet overhead. Nearly twenty angels were worshipping in song. The deep chant settled into John’s chest.

“You haven’t stopped smiling since we left,” Jan said as they passed through the sanctuary doors into a long hallway.
Packed stores lined the walls. A candy shop with all colors and flavors of angel treats drew John’s attention first. Then a café where two regal angels were in a serious discussion. On the other side, a bookstore was stacked high in teetering piles of leather-bound books and thick scrolls. Excited giggles of delight bounced as angel children ran from place to place. A steady buzz of conversation in fast, dizzying Spanish hummed in the air.

“I kind of officially have a girlfriend now,” John boomed more loudly than he expected.

“That’s wonderful,” Jan said appreciatively. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Denise Gibson,” Harold answered for John with a harrumphing chuckle. “And it’s about time they got together. It’s been on the horizon for about five years.”

“I thought she was going to come with me,” John mused with a look at his old friend. “Can’t say the company wouldn’t have been better.”

“Ah, you’d miss me more than her,” Harold joked as he peeked into a restaurant with a Spanish name John wouldn’t begin knowing how to pronounce.

“Ed and I just ate a little bit ago,” Jan said as she joined Harold’s smelling of the spicy food. “But that smells delicious. Hopefully I don’t put on a bunch of weight. I’ve heard the food is really good here. Ed and I aren’t going to be able to take a honeymoon, or anything, until after this mess is over.”

“Come on,” John laughed and dragged them away. “We need to get checked in. Who are we meeting again?”

Jan looked around the Cathedral for a few seconds before waving at an olive skinned man near a weapons shop. “Diego Alva,” she informed and streamed through the crowd.

“
Hola Jan,” Diego greeted a few seconds later. “And John. And…?”

“Harold,” Harold said introducing himself with a strong handshake. “I just joined the Justice Ministers and decided to tag along with John since I didn’t have any official orders yet.”

“I see, I see,” Diego smiled. His English was smooth but had an exotic flavor that matched his fluid steps. “I will show you to the manor. We have set up a base of operations to plan strategies against el Nido del Diablo. There is not a gate there but it is only a short flight.”

“Is this place always this busy?” Harold asked as he sidestepped a
family of five who were chattering adamantly while reading a newspaper.

Diego sho
ok his head sadly. “No,” he offered letting his hands land softly on different shoulders of people as they passed. “Many angel families have moved in to the Cathedral for protection. El Nido del Diablo has been targeting angels the last couple of weeks. Everyone is scared.”

“They should still be doing their duties,” Jan huffed with a sweeping gaze. “God didn’t grant us the powers of the Spirit to hide from our enemies.”

Diego shrugged and his grey eyes landed on a young boy who couldn’t be more than four years old. “Mostly it is families. Parents are worried for their children. It has been a trying time. Most still leave every day to preach of the Lord. Hundreds are fighting as we speak. None have forgotten… para Dios luchamos.”

They walked out of giant doors
into a sidewalk bordering a dark, but still bustling, street. “Whoah,” Harold croaked. “Right in the middle of town… all of our Cathedrals and training grounds are out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Hide in plain sight,” Diego shrugged jovially. He led them around the building to a narrow
alley then used the Spirit to make himself invisible. John and the others followed suit and leapt into the air following his presence.

The flight only lasted a few minutes. John found himself studying the Mediterranean terrain
in the light of a full moon. A hot wind blew from the south bringing smells of a recent rainfall. Stars covered half the sky bordered by rolling, black of night, clouds. Small houses dotted the curvy streets below.

“Down here,” Diego called and came into view in the grassy lawn of a
spacious villa. John made out the red-tiled roof of a mansion inside a perimeter of ten foot high walls.

“Nice place,” Harold whistled as he shook away the Spirit’s invisible effects.

“In some things, we’ve been fortunate,” Diego heaved quietly. “One of our former colleagues was the owner of one of the biggest construction companies in all of Spain. He was killed six months ago, but his wife has maintained our funding. She’s not an angel, but her faith is as strong as any. Their children will start their training at Caverna de los Guardianes in a few years. We pray they are as powerful as their father.” He went quiet after that and strode to thick, wooden doors. Without knocking, he pushed them open and entered a colossal sitting room.

“Diego!” a woman shouted with a grin and a wave. She burst into a rapid paragraph of Spanish, none of which John understood.

“Ah, good,” Diego said. “We already have a meeting in place. Please, follow me.”

They took several turns and passed numerous rooms. The architecture had much more of a natural flair than most angel
buildings John had seen. Shrubs and trees grew in pots near every window. Rustic ropes and paintings of Bible heroes dotted the walls.  Over a fireplace, a ten foot high portrait stared. A man with his angel wings and halo shined brilliantly. His right hand rested regally on a dark haired woman with gentle eyes. On her lap were a boy and a girl who had to be twins even though they weren’t identical.

“In here,” Diego stepped aside and motioned into a spacious office. Eight people were sitting business-like around an oval table.

“Buenas noches,” a man stood and greeted Jan with a hug and two quick pecks on the cheek. He was tall and elegant with high cheeks and a wave of black hair. “Jan, it has been too long. We are in desperate need of help. Come, let me introduce you.”

“It’s nice to see you too
Phillippe,” Jan said blushing a little. “This is John Decker and Harold Stephens.”

For the next ten minutes, there was a great chorus of charismatic Spanish introductions. John met everyone in the room, but remembered none of their names. His head was spinning at all the friendly
hugs and pats on the back. There were several mentionings of his “fly through a wall” strategy from the fight in Boston.

“Down to business,”
Phillippe said genially and took a seat at the head of the table. “We have hives of demons all around the country. Parts of Barcelona are being overrun by nylla demons. The people are blaming it on an outbreak of the measles, but the deaths are starting to mount. In Cartagena, there are huge packs of selvo – along with many other types of demons. The news is reporting a string of unsolved murders, but they only know a fraction of the people losing their lives. El Nido del Diablo is vicious, but smart. They don’t want the population to see what they are actually doing. Despair is building and people’s faith is failing. We have to rid the country of these enemies of God before we can make any headway.”

For the next three hours, the group discussed plans of attack. By the time the sun rose in the east, John felt as drained as he had since fighting the Earth Eaters with Ed
almost a year ago. Death and destruction were plaguing the country and had seeped into most of Europe.

“So we’re going through the gate to an overrun Cathedral,” Harold said after they’d been shown to their bedrooms. “They do know that there had to have been a lot of fallen angels to break the covenant of the holy ground, right? We’re not going to walk in there and get killed before we can even step out of the gate… are we?”

“Welcome to the life of a Justice Minister,” John joked and slapped him hard on the shoulder. “Run into danger without much of a plan. Now you know why I fit in so well.”

Harold didn’t laugh. His dark hands were folded in preparation for an upcoming prayer. He looked from Jan to John with unbelieving eyes. “Okay then,” he finally breathed. “I’m going to make sure to get some sleep before we go. It doesn’t sound like I’ll get much more anytime soon.”

Within a week, John knew Harold had been dead on with his statement. They flew from one fight to the next. Demons of all shapes and sizes bearing all sorts of claws and fangs were dispatched, but hordes remained everywhere. He’d thought the small skirmishes at home had been tremendously, scary fights; but they were nothing compared to the legions of beasts in Europe.