“You should close your sight now, before you pass out.”
I didn’t want to. I was in awe, but I forced myself to do it.
“Eric, is she OK?” The head volunteer lady was by our side when I finally opened my eyes. Eric was gentle, as I had never seen him before. He slowly let me go. The lady handed me some tissues.
“She’s had a very long week.”
“Oh, sweetie, you poor thing. You’re among friends now. Come, join us.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. She took my hand, and I let her lead me toward the food table. Eric was right behind us. Texarkana had a way of surprising me every day. Jesus’s recruitment techniques were not as flashy as Jake’s, but they were just as powerful.
Chapter 33
I made it to Reapers after noon. Unlike Catholic Masses, which lasted only an hour, this was at least two. After the service, I helped the volunteers clean up. I wasn’t sure how, but the underground community knew who I was. Their expressions were mixed at first. Some stayed away, as if I had the plague. With the number of people disappearing around me, I didn’t blame them. The other half was very welcoming.
The energy or magic in that place was so intoxicating. I agreed to go back the following week to help. That was crazy. I didn’t make it to my own Mass every week, but I was picking up a second church. I was losing my mind. It was odd to start thinking of war after that service. For some reason, I wanted to find those witches and pray with them. Maybe talk reason into them. By the time I opened the door to the loft at Reapers, reality hit. The boys had pictures of dead bodies all over the kitchen island and table.
“Wow. Where did you find all these?” They looked almost like dried-up mummies. I couldn’t guess the age of any, but their clothes were fairly modern.
“Evidence file from New York. The victims.” Constantine jumped from the table to the kitchen counter. That quickly, peace-talk ideas were gone. The war was back on.
“Constantine, if we don’t stop them, they’re just going to keep doing this.” My stomach was turning as I looked at those poor people.
“Pretty much. They’ll probably go away for a while. They have enough years accumulated, but they will do it again. Who knows what part of the world next?” Constantine was going over the pictures as well.
“Those poor souls are gone.” My voice came out a whisper.
Even Constantine felt sorry for the dead. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Yeah. They will never go home.” Oh yeah, the war was on. “Where have you been?”
“Are you sure you’re not my dad?” I tried glaring at Constantine. But have you ever won a staring contest with a cat?
“Why do you think they call me the guardian? That’s my job description.”
“Good point. I totally forgot. I still don’t have to like it.” I was not winning that argument. It wasn’t as if I ever won any arguments with Constantine.
“You don’t have to like it. Just conform to it.”
“Constantine, did you ever advise any generals in the military? ’Cause you have an evil side to you.” He had a very dictatorial personality.
“Just Patton, at least directly. I had others I mentored from afar.”
“Oh, wow. Only General Patton.” I took a moment to process that. “I’m not even surprised.”
“Where do you think he got his style from?”
“Lead me, follow me, or just get the hell out of my way. I always wondered why he was so angry. Now it makes sense.”
“That was one of my best quotes. Now, girl, stop stalling and talk.” Typical cat. They were easily distracted, but once they were done, they were right back on their target. Constantine did not forget a thing.
“I met Shorty at the Church under the Bridge.” I had too much energy, so I started pacing the room.
Bartholomew was quiet by the computer area. “Great place. People forget their problems there. Pure magic. I love it.” He looked entranced with his thoughts. Too bad those didn’t last long. “Anything new?”
“The witches need to move the people by six p.m. That doesn’t give us much time to find them.”
“We’re probably too late to find them. We need to figure out where they’re going. Either stop them en route or go after them.”
I looked at Constantine carefully. “Our plan is to break into purgatory, find the people, and bring them back. Simple, straightforward. I like. How are we breaking into purgatory?” I didn’t know any magic to break supernatural barriers.
“Simple. We use the door the witches create. They have to keep it open long enough to get out and dump the bodies. It would take them too much power to blast two doors in one day.” He was watching me carefully.
“Why doesn’t purgatory have guardians on the other side?” I was so confused.
“You don’t need to guard souls whose next destination is heaven. What could they possibly do?” Constantine had a point. “Unfortunately, we took for granted the ambitions of your species and the things you’re willing to do to achieve things. Humans can be truly evil.”
“Thanks, Constantine. Now tell me how you really feel. Are you sure you don’t need a nap?”
Constantine was looking vicious now.
“He’s hungry. We skipped breakfast,” Bartholomew said from the computer room, almost giggling. “Maybe he needs a Snickers Bar.”
“Oh, you’ve got jokes now.” Constantine was working himself all up. He was looking like a small, vicious tiger.
I walked over to the pantry and pulled out a couple of cans of tuna.
