Faith:1

It turned out that the town had been fairly close the entire time; whether or not Gabriel had know this all along, Azazel was unsure, but at least they had finally arrived.2

Asquith had been a fairly small town before the apocalypse; however since then it had become a thriving community. The undead, by whatever stroke of luck, had troubled this town little; though the people remained ever weary of a possible attack.3

Azazel’s pace quickened ever so slightly as the approached the cities gates, night was coming to an end; he was going to have to check in to a tavern as soon as they got inside. The gates themselves were much grander than the ones that had protected Terrance’s point; though they were still made of wood, they were higher and had ornate carving of what appeared to be an Angel carved into each them.4

On the top of the archway in which the gate built was a phrase that had also been carved into the wood. Lux lucis of Deus servo totus qui obduco per is porta. Gabriel smiled as her read the Latin inscription before translating it for Azazel who had a confused look on his face. “The light of God protects all those who pass through these gates.”5

“I feel safer already.” Azazel lied, rolling his eyes.6

“Do not be so quick to discount the power of such words;” Gabriel lectured “something had kept this town safe for all these years.”7

Asquith’s buildings were laid out with some space between them and from the looks of the population size, it seemed as though everyone actually had their own house. Places like this were the Malibu of the post-apocalyptic world. 8

A lone man that was sitting on an old oil barrel got up to greet them as the pair entered the town itself. “Welcome to our blessed home.” He greeted them with a genuine smile. “Asquith is one of the leading towns for the trade of anything you can imagine, if there’s anything you need please, don’t hesitate to ask.”9

“We require food and lodgings.” Azazel replied quickly, weary that the sun was less than an hour away.10

“The Delacroix tavern is the best place in town.” The man replied, pointing down the remnants of an actual in town road. “Eighth building from the left.”11

“Thank you.” Gabriel said with a bow as the two of them headed off.12

“Have a nice night.” The man called after them.13

Once they were out of earshot Azazel commented “Don’t you think that guy was just a little too nice?”14

“He was just being polite, like your sheriff. Personally I find it a refreshing change to the obnoxious people I usually run into… present company included. If you ask me, more people should act like him.”15

“You’re joking!” Azazel laughed “That guy was a total pushover, if it wasn’t for these high walls and all the guards, he would be dead in an instant.”16

“Do not be so quick to judge based on appearances, he was too old to be born after the apocalypse, so he survived it somehow.”17

Azazel snorted his disagreement but chose not to continue the debate. “I’m gunna grab some sleep.” He said turning in to the tavern that they had finally reached. It was larger than most of the buildings around them and had a picture of a cross on the wooden front door.18

“Very well, I shall look around town for a while and see if I can find anything useful about out next possible destination.”19

Azazel turned from his companion and ignoring the cross, pushed the door open and walked into the tavern.20

The main floor was brightly lit and somehow seemed cheerful even though it somewhere around five-thirty in the morning. There were a few wooden seats that surrounded a couple metal tables. Even though it was about the same size as his bar back in Terrance’s Point, this place was much more spaced out. A few people sat around eating meals that actually looked like they might taste good as Azazel walked slowly to the only counter in the place.21

A tavern keeper sat upon a slightly larger barstool behind the counter; he was a man of some girth, though he still looked strong and somewhat agile. He greeted Azazel with the same kind of honest smile that the man by the gates had; it still bothered the vampire.22

“What can I get you?” he asked as though he genuinely wanted to please his newest customer.23

“Just a room, I’ve been on the road a while.” Azazel told him as politely as he could muster, placing a couple of old, yet still useable AA batteries on the counter.24

“Here you go sir.” The tavern keeper said, accepting the payment and handing Azazel the key to room 3. “If there’s anything else you need, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”25

Azazel eyed the tavern keeper for any hint of sarcasm for a few moments before heading up the stairs to the second level, where the rooms were located. As he went up, he caught sight of the tavern’s menu; just as he feared, no blood. He wasn’t truly surprised with that fact given how the townspeople were all likely bible thumpers. 26

As he opened the door to the sparsely adorned room he could feel the need for sleep beginning to tug at him. He carefully set his blood pack and swords down by the side of the bed opposite the door before lying down to take a well-deserved rest.27

******28

Gabriel wandered through the town for hours, more-less aimlessly. As the town woke up and got on with their day there were prayers held in the streets, of which Gabriel gladly took part in; even a priest came out to greet the many followers of God’s light. Though Gabriel had yet to see a church, it meant that there had to be one around town somewhere.29

No matter where Gabriel went the people seemed to maintain their cheery disposition, of which he was grateful, it would take many more places like this for the world to get back on track, but at least it was a start. He mingled amongst the townsfolk for the entire day trying to get any information he could from them, though it seemed they cared little for what went on beyond their walls.30

It wasn’t until sunset that Gabriel finally caught sight of something he feared the world had lost forever. A large church that looked as though it had actually been built after the apocalypse stood mightily in the evening light. When the world as mankind knew it had come to an end, most people had lost their faith in the divine; Gabriel was glad to see that at least some people still truly believed.31

Slowly, pushing the large doors open, Gabriel surveyed the inside of the church. He marvelled at the vivid depictions of Angels battling Demons that covered the walls and pillars; someone in town was truly a master craftsman. Though each a work of art in themselves, the pictures all seemed to draw the onlooker’s eyes forward, past the rows of pews towards an actual preserved tapestry of the Lord.32

Gabriel marvelled at the sight for some time until the soft sound of footsteps brought him back to the moment at hand. 33

“You are a believer?” A man asked, slowly walking into the room.34

“Very much so.” Gabriel replied with a slight smile.35

The man stood about five foot five, was bald and had on an old priest’s robe; Gabriel remembered seeing him lead the congregation earlier in the day. Though the man himself did not look like anything special, Gabriel could sense the aura of pure faith that surrounded this man; he believed unquestioningly in his God.36

“Your church is magnificent.” The Archangel marvelled as he continued to take in the sights.37

“Thank you.” The man seemed genuinely complemented by Gabriel’s praise. “My flock worked around the clock for nearly four months to get it built.”38

“You built all of this in four months?!” Gabriel almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing; just how many craftsmen did this town have.39

“Of course; you see, we’ve been expecting you Gabriel.”40

******41

Azazel had woken up just as the sun went down, yet he had decided to stay put until Gabriel returned. Despite what the Archangel believed, Azazel couldn’t help but get a bad vibe from everyone in town, it was not something he could put into words; he just knew something was up.42

Aside from the blood pack and swords, Azazel had brought few possessions with him, except those for trade. Months ago he had found an old Tennis ball and had picked it up for trade, but never ended up bartering it away. He sat there for some time slightly relieving his boredom by tossing it against the wall and catching it. Azazel supposed he could have left his room, but the thought of having to interact with the overly cheery townsfolk made him cringe and stay put. 43

His room was fairly small, as were all rooms in this day and age, but at least it was furnished a little better. It had a bed, cabinet, and even a small mirror that had been nailed to the wall; which of course was of no use to him. Azazel stood up and opened the small window that led looked out over the town and consequently part of the taverns roof. Now that the sun was down, he relished the sight of the bright moonlight flowing into his room.44

A rapid knocking at the door caused him to stir from his thoughts, though the last thing Azazel wanted to do was associate with more of these weird people, so he simply ignored it.45

He continued to bounce his Tennis ball of the wall, but the knocking would not cease. Finally he shouted “Alright, one sec!” and got up from his bed.46

Azazel pulled open the door to reveal a young woman who instantly began to run her mouth. “Allen, what the hell’s ta…” when she actually looked at him her voice came to a dead stop, clearly she was expecting someone else.47

The woman stood almost six feet tall and had literal dirty blonde hair that was cut rather short. She wore an old beaten up T-shirt and a tight pair of jeans that had long since had the knees worn out. Her emerald eyes went wide as she recognized who she was looking at.48

Azazel recognized her too; she was the woman he had almost fed upon the night before. Quickly, before she could say another word, he grabbed her, covering her mouth, and pulled her into his room. She struggled for a few seconds but relented when she realized it was futile, Azazel was at full strength this time.49

“Listen!” Azazel hissed in her ear “No one here knows who or what I am, no one must find out. Now, I’m going to let you go as long as you promise to stay quiet.” 50

She nodded compliantly, so he slowly withdrew his hand from her mouth. She didn’t scream although, she did look pissed.51

“What the hell are you doing here!” she demanded. 52

Azazel was a bit taken aback by her tone, aside from Gabriel everyone spoke to him with either respect of at least fear; she had neither. 53

“My…” he paused for a moment to think up the best word to describe Gabriel “companion and I are stopping here to rest and re-supply before we move on.”54

“I meant in this room smart ass.”55

Azazel chuckled; he couldn’t help but admire her gumption. Though it did confuse him that she was concerned about why he was in this room specifically. 56

“Why?” he asked genuinely curious. 57

She looked judgementally at him for a few moments before realizing that he was genuinely unaware of her situation. “One of my traveling companions, Allen, he rented this room when we arrived yesterday; we haven’t seen him since.” 58

“I checked in this morning, the place was empty.” Azazel told her.59

She was silent for a few seconds before finally saying “Thank you for the information… Umm, I never caught your name.”60

“Azazel.”61

“As in the demon… okay; I’m Sonya, Sonya Aveena. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a friend to find.”62

When she turned to leave, Azazel grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I’ll help you find your friend.” He offered.63

“Why?” she asked, weary of the vampire’s motives.64

“Boredom mostly;” he admitted “although, I would dearly love to find that there actually is something wrong with this town so I can shove it in Gabriel’s face.” He said with a slight smile at the thought of the Archangel’s reaction.65

She studied him for several seconds, trying to discern if he had any hidden motives, but with time being an issue, she simply said “Fine” and let him follow her back downstairs.66

As she began to make her way down the stairs, Sonya called out to her friends waiting below. “I didn’t find Allen, but it looks like…” she stopped in mid-sentence causing Azazel to nearly crash into her; the room below them was completely empty.67

“What is it?! He demanded, already annoyed.68

“They were here five minutes ago.” She said slowly, descending into the empty room. 69

“Your friends just left.” The tavern keeper’s wholesome voice came from behind the bar’s counter. “They said there was something important they had to check up on and that they would be back in a little while. Would you care for a drink while you wait?”70

“I was only gone for a few minutes; they wouldn’t have left without me.” Sonya insisted. “And for that matter, what happened to Allen? You rented out his room to this guy!” she shouted, pointing at Azazel.71

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He insisted “Come, have a seat, get a drink, I’m sure that everything will sort itself out soon enough.”72

“Let me handle this.” Azazel sighed, pushing past Sonya and resting his hands on the oak countertop. He looked past the man’s unwavering smile, deep into the eyes of someone who he could not quite understand. A slight growl touched his voice as he ordered the tavern keeper “Tell the girl what she wants to know.”73

The man stared blankly for a second before his smile shifted ever so slightly into something much more sinister. “Nightwalkers aren’t welcome here.”74

Shocked that a mere human was able to withstand his powers of suggestion Azazel tried to take a step back but realized that his hands were stuck to the counter. Somehow, they had sunk into the wood itself and were held tightly in place.75

A large man who seemingly came from nowhere grabbed Sonya from behind, preventing her from aiding the trapped vampire. She kicked and screamed, but the man who held her was solid muscle; there was no getting away.76

Azazel however was more concerned with the stake the tavern keeper had just produced from under the counter.77

A slight tone of hatred touched the man’s voice as he readied his weapon. “Now I will cleanse the world of your taint.”78

******79

Gabriel stared at the old gnarled face of the priest; how could he have known his name? “You were expecting me?” he asked puzzled.80

“Oh yes, it’s not every day that we are visited by one of the blessed Archangels!” the man exclaimed “the Lord told us of your impending arrival; he said we must be ready to receive you as he commands.” 81

Gabriel was truly surprised by the priest’s bold claim. His father had not spoken directly with any mortal in over two thousand years. Perhaps the priest was mistaken, but then how did he now of Gabriel’s name and his impending arrival? 82

“Come.” The priest insisted, lighting an old torch and motioning to a small passageway behind the confession booth. “There is much for you to see.”83

Slowly Gabriel followed the aging priest down a flight of spiralling stairs that led under the church. Unlike the rooms above, these were made of black stone that seemed to cause the eye to slide off of them when looked at directly. Even the light of the priest’s torch seemed unable to stick to the surfaces.84

“These tunnels were built over one hundred years ago by the people who first settled this region.” The priest explained “when we set out to build our new church, we decided to place it atop the remains of the one who had come before.”85

The tunnels seemed to go on forever, every now and then they would pass an adjoining passageway, but the priest always continued straight. 86

“How far do these tunnels go?” Gabriel wondered aloud.87

“Beneath almost the entire town, don’t worry; we’re almost to the main chamber.” 88

Soon after the priest had spoken, a small light began to flicker from up ahead. As they got closer, the light of the torch seemed to die away, allowing the light of the main chamber to fully envelop the priest and the Archangel. 89

The walls were unadorned and only a single stone tablet showed that the room was anything more than a conjunction where various tunnels intersected. A man in his mid-thirties wearing a pair of heavily worn jeans and a ratty old t-shirt sat atop the tablet. 90

“Ah Allen, I’m glad you arrived here first, now we can get underway.”91

“I live only to further the light.” He replied.92

Gabriel had to admire the man’s conviction, though he could swear he detected a hint of zealotry in his voice. 93

“I thank you on behalf of our Lord for your service to us this day my friend.” With those words and a bow, the priest pulled a dagger from his white robes and plunged it deep into the man’s chest. 94

“What are you doing?!” Gabriel shouted in total shock.95

The Archangel didn’t even have time to move after shouting, for a massive force of energy tossed him against one of the smooth walls and pinned him to it. Strange runes across the walls of the room began to flare up as power began to gather around the alter.96

“We have been informed of your fall, former Archangel.” The priest sneered, disgust lacing his voice. “Now the faithful to the light of Heaven will strike you down, here in our place of power!”97

“My fall?!” Gabriel exclaimed unbelievingly “you just killed that man in cold blood and you speak to me of MY fall?!”98

“A necessary sacrifice in order to ensure the safety and well-being of this world; you know that the sacrifice of a creation is required to contact the creator.” The priest spoke as if what he said was the most obvious thing in the world. 99

Turning back to the alter, the misguided priest stretched forth his hands and spoke. “Come forth my Lord; please grant this humble servant of the light a blessed audience.”100

The being that began to appear was one of pure light, so beautiful that even Gabriel had to fight back tears. Without looking at the figure, the priest dropped to one knee in reverence clearly believing this to be God. Though as Gabriel examined the beautiful creature before him, he noticed in the eyes were the one thing that the blinding light could not hide; pure hatred.101

“Lucifer.” He breathed.102

Energies began to swirl again in the room as four demons took form around the light. Their skin was a maroon red, clad in ornate bronze armour and brandishing wicked looking great swords. 103

“My Lord, your Angels are beautiful.” The fallen priest marvelled at the demons; he had been totally enthralled by the presence of The Fallen Angel.104

“Kill him!” Lucifer ordered his minions.105

“I don’t think so.” With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel vanished.106

******107

With a mighty roar of strength, Azazel ripped the entire top of the counter off and used it to knock away the tavern keeper’s stake. Though the man was now disarmed, Azazel still had a huge chunk of countertop binding his hands together.108

The other man tossed Sonya aside and came at Azazel, but the vampire was too quick. He swung up with both his arms, (and consequently the remnants of the countertop holding them together) connecting with the man’s face, shattering his jaw and knocking him out cold.109

Adrenaline pumping, Azazel turned back to find the tavern keeper only to realize that he had vanished. 110

“I’m totally fine, thanks for asking.” Sonya groaned as she pulled herself to her feet.111

Azazel roared with exertion as he slammed the chunk of countertop holding his hands together against the floor as hard as he could, shattering his hand’s prison while simultaneously severely denting the remarkably preserved hardwood floor.112

“We’re getting out of here.” Azazel ordered, brushing the last bits of rubble from his sleeves. 113

“Not without my friends we’re not!” Sonya insisted. 114

The ringing of a large church bell broke their argument as people began to surround the tavern. Within seconds, several burly men were pushing their way through the front door.115

“Upstairs!” Azazel shouted.116

Azazel and Sonya made their way up the stairs as the mob of people began to swarm into the building. “Hurry, to my room!” he shouted.117

After a quick sprint, they’d reached their goal; Sonya slammed the door behind them and locked it while Azazel pulled out his twin swords. “Do you even have a weapon?! Azazel asked.118

With a grin Sonya pulled out a Bersa semi-automatic handgun that she somehow had managed to keep concealed the entire time. He couldn’t help being slightly impressed by the fact that she actually looked rather intimidating holding it.119

The door was kicked down a second later, the mob of people seemingly fighting each other for the chance to kill the vampire and his new ally. They all seemed to be brandishing stakes or some other form of long stabbing weapon.120

“Grab my bag and get out the window!” Azazel ordered as he cut clean through the first two that forced their way in.121

Sonya grabbed it without a second thought; at first she was thrown off by the weight and the slight sloshing, but they remembered what Azazel was.122

As she pushed open the window, Sonya beheld a massive amount of people surrounding the tavern; it seemed as though the entire town had come out to kill them.123

“Uhh, I think we have a problem.”124

******125

Gabriel re-appeared just outside the church; he stumbled immediately and had to grab hold of the side of the building to keep himself from losing balance.126

Ever since Gabriel had taken human form, he had been finding it much more difficult and strenuous to use his angelic powers. He just hoped he had enough juice left to get him out of the current situation in one piece.127

The town seemed to be devoid of life as Gabriel traced his way back to the tavern where Azazel had chosen to stay. He was surprised at the lack of resistance to his escape though; Lucifer was not someone who simply let something go.128

Lucifer… The mere thought that his once brother was again setting his machinations throughout the mortal realm brought a chill to Gabriel’s spine. He pushed the thought away for now and focused on the task at hand; he would deal with his former brother another day.129

As Gabriel drew closer to the tavern, he began to hear the shouts and jeers of the townsfolk, it seemed as though they were all chanting in a frenzy. When a gunshot rang out over the chorus, Gabriel quickened his pace, worried that they had instead decided to first dispose of his only ally in town.130

He rounded another corner in a near sprint, sword drawn and almost ran smack into the back of a massive mob of people. Taking a quick step back before they cold notice his presence, Gabriel surveyed the situation. 131

It looked as though the entire town had converged on the tavern and from the emptiness of the other buildings, Gabriel was sure they had. Above the mob, Azazel fought against the people who were making their way through the many windows and onto the roof where he stood.132

The vampire lord was slashing at everything that came within reach, except for the young woman behind him who had a small gun and fired into the oncoming horde.133

An extra person was going to make their escape all the more difficult. 134

******135

Sonya and Azazel stood at the top of the building now; there were seven windows that the townsfolk were using to climb up onto the roof, so they were forced to defend against all sides. Silently Azazel cursed himself for not staying in the room and facing these crazy people from only one or two sides.136

Azazel darted from side to side all across the roof slashing at anyone that made their way towards the pair, yet even he couldn’t keep that pace up for long.137

Sonya fired carefully into the few people Azazel missed, keeping the steady stream of men and women from overwhelming the lone vampire. They seemed to be holding their own until Sonya stopped firing. 138

“What’s wrong?!” Azazel shouted, not being able to risk a glance back at her for fear of being overwhelmed. 139

She had her gun raised, but never pulled the trigger, for in front of her stood the man who had been the leader of their trading caravan since before she joined the group. He was tall and strong, built from a life of continuous arduous labour. An old cowboy hat hid most of his face; it had always gone well with the leather duster he won in a poker game a few years back.140

“Jason?” her hand trembled. “I thought they’d killed you for sure.”141

“No Sonya, they’ve shown me the light of God! I see now my true purpose, all of our true purposes.” He slowly extended his hand to his long-time friend. “Come with me and I’ll show it to you as well.”142

“Don’t listen to him!” Azazel shouted, but before he could turn back, more of the townsfolk attacked him.143

“Why didn’t you wait for me? I was only gone a few minutes!” she demanded.144

“I did not understand at first, when they tried to show me the light, I resisted.” He confessed “but now I understand; please, trust in me as you always have.”145

She had always trusted Jason, and no matter the circumstance, he had always come through for her. Slowly, cautiously, Sonya lowered her gun.146

Jason produced a pistol seemingly from out of nowhere, and took aim at his old friend; though before he could pull the trigger, the end of a shining sword erupted from his chest.147

“Mind if I cut in?” Gabriel asked dramatically as he pulled the sword from Jason’s back and tossed his limp body from the roof.148

Sonya just stood there in shock as he wrapped his sword arm around her. “Azazel, here!” he shouted.149

Azazel took a long broad slash at his opponents, forcing them back for a brief moment before making a dash for the Archangel. 150

With Sonya in his arm and Azazel only moments away, Gabriel began to draw upon all the power he could muster. By the time the vampire lord cad come within reach, he had pulled together everything he could scrounge. As he touched Azazel’s shoulder, the three of them vanished. 151

They re-appeared in a grassy field an instant later. Gabriel had just enough time to be both surprised and amazed that he had pulled it off before falling unconscious to the welcoming ground below.152

******153

Consciousness returned slowly to the Archangel. At first all he could feel was a very heavy sensation in his mind, but slowly he began to hear voices speaking beyond his closed eyes. The ground beneath him gave the comforting sensation of still being alive and in the mortal world. 154

“I’m just saying that we’re going to have to draw the line somewhere.” Azazel’s voice was the first he could make out.155

“He saved our lives back there; we’ll wait as long as we have to!” Sonya insisted. 156

“Look, I’m not saying now, but eventually I’m going to run out of blood, and you’re going to run out of food and water; and if we try to Mr. Comatose there with us, it will slow us down greatly.” 157

“Then we’ll…” Sonya stopped talking when she heard the slight disturbance in the dirt caused by Gabriel attempting to move his hands. “I think he’s waking up!” she exclaimed, rushing to Gabriel’s side.158

“So much for mighty Archangel;” Azazel scoffed slowly getting up and following her “why’d you pass out like that?”159

Gabriel groaned “I’m not even awake for a minute and you’re already interrogating me?” 160

“Oh I’m sorry.” Azazel lied “Did the big bad Archangel break his wings?”161

“In a manner of speaking.” Gabriel grunted, slowly rising into a sitting position. 162

They sat inside a dank cave with a small fire only a few feet away. Gabriel assumed that he had been unconscious for some time and they were forced to seek shelter when the sun came up.163

“What do you mean by that?” Azazel asked curiously. 164

“There are only two ways an Angel, or even a Demon for that matter, can manifest themselves in the mortal plane.” Gabriel began “First is that they find their vessel, each of us has one, our counterpart in this world that can contain our true essence, our full power; however the vessel must consent to allow us to use it as we see fit.” 165

“So there’s an angel or demon that’s my twin?!” Sonya exclaimed.166

“Possibly, not every human has one.” 167

Sonya sat back and let that thought sink in. She couldn’t help thinking of someone using her body as a crude kind of meat suit to do whatever they pleased.168

“I take it that from your powers, or lack thereof, that you didn’t take that option.” Azazel guessed.169

“The other way to come here if the vessel refuses, or in my case if they have died, is to manifest directly. We create a vessel from the ground up; it never sleeps, never eats, never tires, and never feels pain. However, it requires a rather consequential expenditure of power to simply maintain it.”170

“What’s that mean?” Sonya asked, now curious about Gabriel herself.171

“It means that simply by existing here, I am prevented from using most of my powers. There’s more to it than that, but that’s the general concept.”172

As Gabriel pulled himself to his feet and began to check to insure that everything still worked properly, he decided not to tell his companions about his encounter with Lucifer. He had enough to worry about without scaring them out of their minds.173

“You’re welcome to travel with us to the next town.” Gabriel offered Sonya “You can join up with another caravan there if you’d like.”174

“Thank you.” She replied quietly, but seemed to be more lost in thought at the mention of a caravan. 175

“Is the sun down yet?” Gabriel asked.176

“Just under an hour ago.” Azazel replied.177

“Well then, I suppose we should hit the road.”178

Gabriel wished that they could have found a way to cleanse Asquith of all those who worshiped Lucifer, but there were just too many for the three of them to take on. The thought of leaving the seemingly normal town there to take on more believers horrified Gabriel, but at this point in time, there was nothing he could do about it. Hopefully there were not more towns like it; thought the Archangel seriously doubted that his luck was that good.179