Just a Man and His Faith: Chapter 2 – Brothers of Death and Fire

Chapter 2 – Brothers of Death and Fire

Kane and I arrive back at Timeo Severe’s house, which I’ve been single-handedly taking care of while he’s been globe-trotting with his brother-in-arms, John Elio. I don’t mind it, though I do long for the days when the entire family was here every day. It feels somber and lonely here without them, but I find solace in the quiet. Today, Polina is here with Zahara and Penelope, along with Idelle and Zandro, making the house feel as noisy as it once did, giving me a feeling of comforting nostalgia. Polina is already cooking what I’ve set up to make, so I hurry to help her and remind her that I told her to wait for me and that I’d handle the cooking.

“Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to get it started since we have guests,” Polina says.

“No, you should still be getting your rest. Go sit down and relax. I got this,” I say.

My eyes can’t help but go between looking at Polina and my son, whom we named Uriel. Uriel has stubbed horns on his body and head, and yet, looks like a precious gift from God. His eyes are orange, yellow, and red, and he seems to be growing blonde hair, which is like mine, unlike his mother, who has red hair and eyes.

He looks up to me, and I have no words to say, except saying, “Hello, my son,” and kissing him on the forehead.

I hold him and tell Polina again what I just said, and she finally does it after kissing me and saying, “If you need help, just let me know.”

“Kane and I have it covered. Thanks.”

Zahara and Penelope remind Polina that I’m a keeper because of my ability to cook a variety of meals and keep this huge house clean on my own. While cooking with Kane, he can’t help but look at Uriel, whom he has just seen for the first time.

“He’s a beautiful baby, but those stubbed horns,” Kane says as his words trail off.

“I know. It was extra painful for Polina to give birth to him, but she made it through it,” I say. “We got him baptized by John Elio as soon as we could exit the hospital so that any residual effect of the sixth family could be erased. He’s a well-behaved boy and hardly ever makes a fuss, even during mass.”

“Still, the demon worshippers are targeting your family. What happened to Polina showed that the profane can be used to kidnap and corrupt people.”

“They are fools. Most of them that I know about are trying to obtain the power and favor of demons for their own ends. They don’t really understand the cost that it entails. I already know you’re here for more than just checking up on Polina and seeing our son. I’ve just been going off the advice of my angel to find the cultists. Beyond that, I don’t have a clear direction or any clue to find our enemy.”

“That’s fine. I’ll follow your lead on this. Just don’t expect me to show mercy on our enemies. I have a feeling I’ll be using my pistol more than my revolver.”

“Do you still try to pray for your enemies so that they can be saved?”

“Yes, I do. Even still, the greatest mercy they are given is a swift death so they stop sinning and earning a lower place in Hell.”

“As long as you pray for them, that’s all that matters.”

With lunch ready, Kane and I serve the sandwiches, salads, soups, and pizza that we’ve made. Catching up with Idelle, I hear how she, Kane, and Zandro, along with their Castigators, have been keeping the government in check and punishing criminals nationwide.

“I’m still surprised that we got a subsidiary of the Dominion before you,” Idelle mentions.

“Well, I didn’t think we needed one since we were in charge of the Dominion office here in Meridian, but after bringing Penelope and Zahara under our wing, I thought it was necessary,” Polina explains.

I sit and listen as Polina catches our family friends up on what has happened since we last saw them. Looking around the table, I see that Idelle is truly pregnant and not wearing the crimson bodysuit and golden armor she usually does, instead wearing her favorite pink dress, made by her adoptive parents. Her hair seems to be turning black and blonde. In her arms, I see her son, who has more of his father’s likeness than his mother’s. Zandro is pale-skinned, with two different shades of black hair on his head, as usual. Penelope has her blonde hair in a ponytail today and is wearing one of her purple dresses. Zahara is dressed in pink and black, matching her pink and black hair. Nothing about the present demonic threat is brought up, and we talk to one another as if we were a normal family, discussing our children, joking about past events, and wondering when we can spend more time together.

Once lunch is done, Kane stands up and says, “Welp. Thanks for lunch, but I think it’s time we get back to patrolling the streets, right, Raziel?”

Even though I’d like to spend more time with my family, I agree. Penelope and Zahara mention to call them if I need their help, along with Idelle and Zandro, who are more adamant about helping us.

“Raziel and I have this. It’s not much more than us cleaning up a bunch of rookies off the streets. If we need your help, I’ll let you know, okay?” Kane reassures the two.

Idelle and Zandro reluctantly give their okay, though they know the habit of the Castigators, and they may just do what they think is right anyway. Kane and I leave our house, and my angel gives me a new area to cleanse and investigate. When we arrive at the area, we see that we’re in an abandoned factory and warehouse complex, which appears to have recently suffered a battle between superhumans. My angel tells me about the subhuman filth within it.

“My angel tells me the cultists infest this place like rats. How should we go about this, or is that an obvious question?” I ask through my earpiece.

“It’s obvious, and you know that I hardly ever do things stealthily,” Kane says.

“Let’s bring justice to the wicked, brother.”

Flying down to our target, I hit the ground with a fiery explosion that takes out several of the cultists. The place where I landed becomes a sort of volcano with fire spewing out from it, targeting cultists near and far. Those who get close to it and are taken into its fiery depths by elongated hands and beings made of fire. As the fires of my angel do their work, I do my part by cutting apart the cultists with my scythe, while using my fiery cape to shield me from their gunfire. Kane arrives shortly after and helps me clean up the rest of the cultists who try to flee or beg for their lives; however, none receive mercy, other than a swift end.

“I’ve heard you were getting more efficient at fighting, but it’s another thing to see it in person. It’s more like my way of fighting,” Kane points out.

“Sometimes, not holding back is the best answer, and this isn’t a situation where we’re being careless about breaking the law,” I say.

“I’m not complaining or trying to make you sound like a hypocrite. I’m just saying. Also, I remember cultists using their powers to make us see things and get in our heads rather than using guns.”

“As I said, these are fools, novices, who don’t know the true price of the power they are trying to obtain.”

“Does that make them less or more dangerous to deal with?”

“It’s better that we put a stop to their rituals before we know the answer.”

“Speaking of answers, would you mind asking your guardian angel why he left a streak of flames in the sky where you were flying?”

Looking up to see what Kane was talking about, I notice flames suspended in the sky.

When I ask my angel about this, he says, “The reason will be clear soon. Continue purging the cultists.”

I repeat what my angel said to Kane, and he shrugs and accepts it, saying, “I forgot that your angel can be cryptic and give non-answers.”

Doing as my angel says, Kane and I go to the next location he leads us to. This time, before engaging the enemy, I look behind me and see that the trail of flames I’ve left in my flight is suspended in the air, just like last time; however, this new set of targets is in the center of the city, where a bank is located. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, other than people wanting Kane’s autograph more than mine. Where are our targets?

“Below you. The people of the bank fund the endeavors of the cultists because they lost faith in God and Polina when she was abducted and violated,” my angel explains.

“I see. Kane’s going to like this,” I say before conveying to Kane what I heard. “Be sure not to hit any civilians.”

Kane manifests his revolver along with his pistol, and then says, “I wouldn’t dream of taking the life of an innocent, but of the guilty pretending to be innocent? I’d do it any day.”

Seeing us unhealthily, most of the civilians leave, while a few stay far, but close enough to take pictures and watch us. I let Kane take care of those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing and guide him to the depths of the bank. My angel leads me to a vault door that melts into sludge when he touches it. We’re then led to a door behind a wall of safety deposit boxes. The door leads to a cellar, which stinks of death and sin. We happen to catch people in suits fixing their outfits to conceal tattoos on their bodies. Since it’s obvious they aren’t innocent, I cut them down, as they uselessly offer me the money they have to deter me.

The basement of the bank is the site of a ritualistic orgy of blood and sex. Not wanting to see the perversions in front of me any longer, I raise my scythe and let the flames of justice sprout from it and home into the guilty, burning them and the ritual marks and materials to ash. Here, Kane is only using his pistols, taking no one alive.

“So, you really are doing things my way now, aren’t you?” Kane asks.

“If God wills it,” I say.

“This is why we need to bend the law to suit true justice, to stop perverted trash like this happening under our noses.”

“I can’t argue with you there. My only concern is when it’s a habit.”

“Did you really plan to take these people alive or bring an end to this situation peacefully?”

“Not for these people, no.”

“Exactly. People get a second chance or death when they deserve it. Don’t worry about emphasizing one over the other.”

When the basement is cleared, we leave it burning and head to the next one, but I’m shot out of the sky by a sniper before we reach anywhere.

“We’re at where we’re supposed to be,” my angel says. “Stand your ground.”

I do as my angel says, as a trio of their superhumans with horns on their body leap from the top of the skyscrapers and onto my position. They’re probably not the remnants of the sixth family, and are just more foolish cultists who don’t know what they’re doing. Even as I cut them with my burning scythe, they don’t slow down and knock me around the street. Kane arrives, leaps off his motorcycle, and opens fire on them, his bullets poisoning the bodies of the superhumans. My angel tells me about the sniper aiming for Kane, so I leap to tackle him out of the way, and narrowly get shot in the process. While on the ground, Kane quickly guesses the sniper’s location, shoots his shot, and we see a figure fall to the ground shortly after.

“Got him!” Kane says excitedly.

The trio of superhumans leaps up and almost smashes us into the ground, but my angel thankfully, explodes the wings on my back to push them back, and the flames and poison in them finish them. When we get up, Kane and I find ourselves surrounded by people who are watching us from the rooftops and open windows. Some of them have the same blasphemous tattoos on them, have horns on their bodies, or appear to be normal criminals and villains.

“You’ve been really keeping us on our toes, Raziel. I have to thank you for that because it’s made us rush our plans along. As they say, there’s no rest for the wicked, and the devils like to rush plans, while you take it slow,” a man says from the rooftops.

Before I realize what is happening, the man cuts his throat and falls to the ground. Everyone else on the rooftops and windows does as he does, raining down their blood and bodies on the streets. The sky turns red, and it starts raining blood. Demons scream their ear-piercing shriek as the dead get up and surround Kane and me. God save us from this demonic plague.