CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER SIX

Why do the fishes drown, and the polar bears catch cold? Why does the moon bury her face at the dawning of the sun? The greater light has its time, and even the less light has its day to rule. The only thing that is as certain as the rising of the sun is the constant battle of good and evil. It is a battle that could be measured with the origin of time itself and is also as constant as the word change. Many centuries have come and gone, but one thing remains, which is the constant struggle of good and evil to gain control over the human mind. We are no longer are as perfect as we once were, but that does not take away our drive for perfection and the insatiable hunger for doing things perfectly.

********************************************

A storm was brewing. The streets were deserted save for the litter on the streets and hooded vandals and scavengers, who pillaged corner shops and what was left of chain stores. They drove deep into the suburb, in a remote location and isolated road. As they approached the gate of St Philip's Cathedral, a nun staggered out of the gate. 'Stop the car,' said Calista as she quickly rushed to the nun before she hit the ground. Overwhelmed with fear and agony, she seemed to have lost her tongue to utter any meaning disposition that made sense. 'Calm down,Sister, you'll be alright.What happened, I'll need you to tell me what happened here?' Calista spoke softly. Seth knew her, so he wanted to run to talk with her, but Raphael grabbed him by his wrist. 'Stay.'

Seth could not conceal his rapt anxiety.'You don't understand, I have to help her, she knows me.' Raphael looked at him with assurance. 'She'll be fine.'

Calista ran up to them and said the sister was able to tell her that some demons had possessed some of her sisters and priests and that they were killing everyone.

Andrei pulled out his handgun and pointed it towards the gates of the monastery; a couple of his men did same. 'So what do we do now?' Andrei asked.

'Leave this to us,' boomed Raphael. 'We'll handle this one alone. You probably know by now that this is not a fight you can take on with those weapons,' he said, pointing to Andrei and his men.

Calista brought out a chain with a round pendant and put it around Seth's neck. 'This should keep demons from wanting to take over your body,' she said, patting him gently on the cheek.

'I suggest that you and your men back down at least ten leagues from here. Wait for my signal when we are finished,' Raphael told them. 'And if any of you has been sinning recently, you had better start confessing, because it sure won't be good for business anywhere around here,' he added.

'We will wait outside,' Andrei said. 'Wait a minute. You sound so sure. Are you some sort of vampire-buster-Wesley-Snipes type? And whatever will stop the demons from entering you guys?' Calista scooped up the nun as easily as one would an infant. She walked up to Andrei and handed her to him. 'I have healed her. Please take her and leave.' Without waiting for a reply, she headed for the gate. She reached for her quiver and pulled out a flaming arrow. A bow mysteriously appeared in her left hand. Then she said over her shoulder, 'Because we are angels sent by the almighty God.'

Seth and his two angels went in and shut the gate. Andrei and his men were stunned at what they just saw and heard.'Oh shit!'he whispered.

The men outside were shocked by what they saw and couldn't really add it up. 'Hey boss, do you believe that broad saying they are angels, huh?' said one of the men in a mocking tone.

'Since the beginning of this apocalypse, I've seen a lot of strange things, but not like this. There is something about these ones that has me spooked,' replied Andrei.

The entire place was quiet as the three of them walked through the compound. They went from one corner of the massive cathedral compound to the other. A scream for help could be heard through the air. It came from somewhere in the church building.

As they approached the church, ten nuns and six priests came towards the trio. Their faces looked like old witches. They lifted from the earth. Raphael pulled out two swords that shone on their own.

'Here, hold this and return it when you're done!' Raphael handed Seth one of the swords. Seth had never before held a real sword in his hands. As he grabbed the hilt of the sword, there was a surge of energy that coursed through his entire being, strengthening him. The nuns and priests attacked them outside the church with fire and spat slimy green substances as corrosive as acid on one's skin. Angels formed an invisible shield around the three of them.

Andrei's group started hearing the noises and screaming coming from within the cathedral. Soit got them curious. 'Those don't sound like humans, boss,' a chubby fellow said.

'Alright, that's it. We are going in,' said Andrei.

'But I thought those guys asked us to wait outside,' the chubby fellow reminded him.

'Hey, Tony, who do you take orders from?' Andrei asked him.

'It's you, boss,' he answered.

'Then shut up your fat mouth and follow my lead. Charlie, get the big guns, we are going in.'

Andrei, too stubborn to wait in the car, came through the gate. The demons immediately noticed the presence of new vessels, so they launched out of the one they were in and went straight for Charlie. They possessed his body and his gang. The fight began again; it took a while, but they were all slain. The demons were trying to escape after they had left their vessels, but before they could, Calista began reciting something in a strange language and caught them in midair. They began squealing. A bright light shone out from some sort of vortex, which sucked all of them in.

'Demons can't inhabit a weak or braced vessel. These demons are called Karkes, descendants of the fallen,' said Raphael. The fight had been a bit difficult because the angels were trying hard not to kill the humans themselves, who were inhabited by the Karkes. The nuns and priests possessed by the Karkes got up after taking some serious beating, which made the demon spirit evacuate their vessels.

After helping the others up, they heard a banging coming from the inside of the chapel and voices calling for help. They opened the door and found several priests and nuns hiding inside the building.

Seth asked about Father Adams and was told that he had left months ago and that no one heard from him since then.

'It was all my fault," Seth wailed."I don't know what to do … this whole thing was all my fault.' The two angels gave him a stern look. 'I'm sorry, I lost my composure.' Seth looked away.

'I strongly think we should leave before it gets dark and all hell breaks loose,' came Andrei's shaky voice.

They gathered up the priests and nuns, then drove all day and through the night until they got to a gas station.

Charlie and his team led the convoy to the stop they had used on their way. 'Why are we stopping here?' asked Raphael.

'This is where we fill up our tanks and get some more supplies for the journey,' Seth said to Raphael and Calista.

They came down from their vehicle and then the angels sensed the air. 'This is not a good place,' said Raphael to Calista as Seth hurried to join the others.

'No, it's not,' she replied.

'Stay close to him at all times,' said Raphael.

The whole place was empty; a nun who had been pressed all through the journey went behind the building to use the bathroom. Others headed into the store to get something to eat. As they went around the store picking one thing after the other, Raphael stood guard. Seth wasn't comfortable with the awkward silence that strained the air, asking himself, Why is the whole place empty? Where did everybody go, or what could have happened that made them leave without locking up?He moved slowly through the aisle, with his eyes moving from one point to another. Three of Charlie's men fueled the cars. Everyone was busy getting something. One of the priests, Father Matthew, walked up to the counter and tapped on the desk bell twice. Before he could tap on it the third time, a bald Caucasian male, who stood nearly six feet tall, wearing blue dungarees and a red lumberjack, came from under the counter and blew him away with a shotgun. He started shooting the place up, so everyone took cover. Seth turned to run, but he ran into Calista. 'Get down,' she said. Charlie and his men returned fire. After about a minute of shooting, Calista pointed her arrow at the salesman and pinned his right shoulder to the wall. The man was then apprehended. His name was Clay Hunter, an American who had settled there. He was the owner of the place. He was deadly pale.

There was tension all around, as the nuns cried and prayed for Father Matthew's lifeless body. Raphael unplugged Clay from the wall, as he was in a lot of pain, and shook him vigorously. 'What was that about, man? That is one of the most insane acts seeing you are outnumbered.' The angel picked him off his feet by the collar with his strong right arm.

'I'm-m s-s-sorry,' Clay stammered. 'I thought you were the others.'

'What others?' Andrei asked, half-alarmed at the realization of what the answer could be.

Before he could answer, a strong wind hit the building, blowing up all the window blinds. Everyone was tense. 'They are here,' said Clay, who was more terrified than before. Andrei grabbed him by his collar and yelled in fear, 'What are you talking about? What others? What is going on? Say something!' His voice went from a B flat to a C sharp.

'You should not be worried about him. But for them,' said Calista, who had Seth pinned to her side.

'Bloodsuckers,' said Raphael.

There suddenly came sounds like rain coming from afar, and as it came closer, it was now flapping of leathery wings with the wind like the approach of a thousand bats. Raphael went outside with some others to see what was going on. A man dressed in black leather, wearing a jacket that ran down to his knees, stood in the distance. He started walking towards them. One of Andrei's men stepped forward and asked him to stop. He kept coming. One of Andrei's men pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the stranger.

'I said stop!' the man called once more. Raphael sniffed the air. 'Run,' he told the man.

It was too late. Before he could turn, the vampire sped to his side. Before he could sink his fangs into the man's jugular, Raphael was near and beheaded the vampire with one stroke.

A colony of bats was soon flying around the gas station. Calista ordered everyone back into the mart. When they got in, they locked all the windows and doors.

After a while, the bats transformed into both male and female vampires. 'Kill them all,' Raphael said to Calista.

'With pleasure,' she replied. The nocturnal creatures attacked them from every side with impossible speed and reflexes. But Calista and Raphael were much faster and stronger, having the most amazing fighting skills. While the battle heated up, more vampires came. It was as though a whole nest had been unleashed. That was when the nun who went to the bathroom came out, and she was locked outside. One of the sisters spotted her and motioned to her to quickly get inside, but before she could, the vampires had swarmed all over her. Andrei ran outside with his gun, firing randomly at the vampires, but his bullets were useless.

The bloodsuckers could fight better than trained martial arts fighters. But Calista and Raphael were way too good for the lot of them. Calista was not using arrows too often in this fight. Rather, she focused more on physical combat and combos. A vampire grabbed Andrei and was about to take a quick bite, but Calista's arrow was faster.

'There are two ways to kill a vampire,' Raphael said at the top of his voice. 'Either you cut off its head,' he ducked as a vampire swung past him and took off the creature's head with his bare hand. 'Or run a wooden stake through its heart.'

Meanwhile, some of the vampires were still feeding on the nun.

Calista came by and called the vampires, 'Hey, scums! You are not supposed to be here. I think it's time for you all to return to hell.' Hearing this, the vampires went all out at her. She fought and slashed through most of them. Andrei came out again, this time with a wooden stake, and ran a vampire through. The vampire had been trying to attack her from behind. Calista wasn't watching, but Andrei took care of it for her.

'Get back inside,' she screamed at him.

'You're welcome,' he retorted. On his way back inside, a vampire attacked Andrei and bit him just before he drove the stake into its heart. Seth saw what had happened. 'Nooooo!' he screamed. He charged into the fight but was stopped by Raphael's strong arms. 'You will have your fair share of fights before this war is over. However, this battle is not for you. You must wait.' Seth was agitated and could not be mellowed by his words, but he had no choice but to return to safety.

Charlie was very disturbed. When he saw the vampire nun coming towards them, he didn't hesitate to kill her. Raphael and Calista were still killing the remaining vampires. Andrei did not stick around for them to get to him before he ran off into the night. When the battle was over, they realized that he was missing, but Raphael, Calista, and Seth were able to sense what happened.

They spent the night at the gas station.

At dawn, the travelers restocked and continued their journey until they got to the headquarters of the church. The place had a twenty-foot gate, with a fence measuring the same, and armed men guarding every inch of the compound. There were several platforms on the top of the walls, with armed guards patrolling them. There were symbols drawn all around the compound to keep the demons out. And if by any means any demon crashed into the compound from above, it was said that it would run mad before dying. As they approached the mighty gate, they were given a warning shot that stopped all the vehicles. 'State your business, and be on your way,' said a voice from within the wall. Charlie and his men came out and were identified. Before they were allowed through, they underwent a rigorous process of searching, tests, scans, washing, and disinfecting before they were allowed to go through the final entrance.

*************************************************** *********

It was a mansion with three steeples, each of them stretching hard to touch God's cloud. A long line of maple trees stood guard to the left and right flanks of the premises. The low guttural growl of three bloodhounds said all that needed to be said about intrusion and its consequences.

'The hounds sense our presence,' Calista whispered to no one in particular.

'If it's just a growl, they certainly have nothing against you,' Seth replied.

A priest named Father Marcus came to meet them. Seth thought him to be a strange-looking man for a priest. His face was characterized by sharp features that included an angular jaw, bushy eyebrows, and a sharp nose, perfectly ensconced by high cheekbones on both sides. His chin seemed to lead the way. It always pointed forward. Father Marcus was of a strong, athletic build and probably could trace his ancestry to one of the monarchs of old. His aristocratic bearing was a pointer to the fact that he definitely had some ounce of blue blood.

'You must be Seth,' he said in a soft melodious voice that betrayed a hint of Romanian accent.

'Indeed, I am,' Seth replied, not quite sure of how exactly to respond. He quickly shrugged off the awkward feeling. Nothing of that sort mattered now; after all, he was the one who men and angels were in search of.

'His Holiness, Archbishop Lucian Antonescu, desires your presence.' He looked at his other companions. 'Alone.'

'Some things are just not going to happen—things like letting you go anywhere alone,' Raphael insisted. 'We're coming with you.'

'Sir, we have our orders clearly given, and they were to allow only Seth before the archbishop,' Father Marcus interjected.

'And we have ours, which clearly do not give room for any man to overrule,' Raphael replied.

'Mmm, big man, you clearly do not know who the archbishop is.' His eyes were cocked, facing Raphael.

Raphael stepped up into his space and said, 'He is a man.'

'It's okay, everyone. It doesn't call for misunderstanding.' Seth turned to Raphael and Calista, who were standing battle-ready. 'I think it is okay if I go with him.'

'I promise he'll be fine,' Father Marcus interrupted.

'The word of a man has no relevance to me,' Raphael said to Seth. 'I have a responsibility from God to protect you and keep you alive until you accomplish your purpose. Until then, we will all stick together.' Then two of the guards pointed their guns at them. In a flash, Raphael cut their guns in two with his blade and knocked them both out. Others came running in, and then Calista placed three arrows on her bow and stretched the string. 'This will not take long,' said Raphael as he reached for the hilt of his sword.

But the bishop came out and stopped them.

'If death is what you seek, then death will come to you all, not us.' Calista spoke with her hand on the string.

'My apologies, gentlemen, and lady. I wasn't aware of your presence. Do pardon my men; they can be very high-handed with strangers in these parts because of the times we live in … anyway, welcome to my courts.' After he apologized to them, they went along withthe bishop and Father Marcus accompanied by two other guards. Their other companions were taken to a different area of the compound where many others were receiving aid. Seth kept turning his head from one end to another as the aesthetics of the house kept him glued.

'I put in a little more effort to make it homey and comfortable because it keeps vague hope alive that things will come back to the way they used to be.' The archbishop spoke with the ease of a prolific speaker and the grace of an evening talk-show host. He led them through an exquisitely furnished living room.

The whole house was fragrant with scented candles and musk with a hint of lemon. Their smooth-talking host led them through alleys and corridors. The walls on both sides held mementos of his numerous accolades as well as pictures of previous leaders, family members, and inspiring quotes from contemporary and classical writers. 'I built this place in the mid-nineteen eighties, hoping that someday it would be a refuge, such as it presently serves.'

'Are you saying that you knew about this before it happened?' asked Seth.

'I did know that something was coming, but not like this, and that isn't the matter here,' he replied calmly to quash Seth's agitation. But he had just touched on a very sensitive area, which Seth blamed himself for at night when he went to sleep and in the morning when he woke up, not to mention every hour in between.

'What is the matter here, Bishop? More important than you warning the world of such disaster?' He stopped the little tour, close to a fountain at an opening of the courtyard. Others who were taking refuge sat on benches to unwind. The bishop did not want to cause a scene, so he asked that they keep walking.

'My young priest, you are still very young and have a lot to learn about this world we are living in.' They sat on a bench in a densely lit hallway while Calista and Raphael shadowed them from where they stood. 'The book of Revelation has warned us for over two thousand years about a day such as this, and yet we did not heed it. I have a very special priest here, about my age, and his sight to the physical is gone, but he can see the spiritual very clearly.'

The bishop whispered the name, 'Prophet Andrew Andreius,' and continued.

'He had a vision of this day thirty years ago with no specific date to it, and this prophecy was distinct,' he spoke with zest.

'And why is that?' Seth asked, with so much curiosity in his eyes.

'Because he mentioned your name, Seth, before you were born. I did all I could to warn the world at that time. But I later became one who was regarded to be mad. I did that for ten years of my life, preaching and warning of a day when the seals would be broken. But no one would listen, so I started building this place from my family's fortune.' A young nun walked up to him and whispered in his ear. He got up and asked that they should follow him.

Meanwhile, Calista had noticed a particular nun who had passed them twice already. The bishop continued his long speech until he led them into a place that seemed from every indication to be his chambers. 'Be my guests to a light refreshment.' They sat at a table lined with fruits, fruitcake, dates, lamb chops, vegetables, soup, and brochette. An attendant stood by to meld the wines. 'He was and still is one of the finest sommeliers around. Exquisite Italian fruit wine, an inconsequential amount of alcohol,' he said with a smile. He said grace and started helping himself to the meal set before him.

'Please, do help yourself … it's a buffet, after all, except for the wines, perhaps,' said their host. The angels turned down the offer but tested what Seth was about to eat before allowing him to eat it. 

Seth ate while Calista and Raphael listened as Archbishop Lucian updated them of the goings-on and how they had created a refuge for the helpless women, children, and aged men. The younger men were being recruited into their salvation army, wading off the dark powers that had infested the land.

'All you've been, yet fighting merely the children of demons,' Raphael told their host.

'And how would you know that, my dear young man?'

'Because it would take more than ten strong men to take down one demon,' Calista replied.

'I see.' He stroked the crucifix on the gold chain around his neck as he studied Calista thoughtfully. 'What is it you say your name is again, sweet lady?' he asked. 

'Calista … my name is Calista.'

The archbishop continued without acknowledging that he had heard her say her name. 'What we initially heard was that all have ascended to heaven in some celestial war. Of their children, we have heard nothing of, except every creature we once considered mythical now prowls unhindered on the streets of our world.'

Raphael told the archbishop, 'Thousands have crashed back to earth in the course of battle outside the gates of heaven, and they are bound such that only men can release them. If they are released, they can neither be exorcised nor easily killed, except by angel blades, blessed objects, by pure and holy men.'

'And would you regard me as a man, pure... and Holy? Would you say you are such a man, mmm?' the bishop asked.

'I am no man,' he quipped.

Archbishop Lucian regarded him with a curious look.

The meal was over. Seth thanked their host like a boy who had just eaten his long-lost mother's homemade muffins.

'Strange times are upon the people of the earth,' their host said as he took them to an underground chapel where some nuns were taking care of a blind priest. When they got into his chambers, the blind man got up and walked to Seth, and kissed him on the cheek. The priest told Seth that he had a message from God for him.

'This is Father Andrew Andreius. He is the prophet,' said the bishop to Seth.

'We know who he is and that which he bears,' said Raphael, creating a presence of curiosity to those who dwelt there. Andreius chuckled and continued.

'There is so much to do, but so little time, my son. Come sit with me on this chair where I have sat many times when I pray for you.' The two men sat down while the angels maintained their stand. 'Heaven gave you Raphael and Calista. That means things are worse than I thought.' The bishop was surprised to hear him say that, but all he could do was run his eyes through both of them for another look.

'There are two of you, one without sin, and the other with the purest of heart. You have read the pages while the other would destroy it if he were to read it. And if he reads it, then all is lost for humankind, but until then, you must find and read the pages before he does.' His Spanish intonation was sweet to the ear.

'Father, I do not understand these things you speak of. They sound like riddles to me. Please make it plain for me to understand,' Seth pleaded. The blind priest squinted as though he were trying to contain a painful feeling.

'I see what you are going through, my son, for your burden, is too heavy for you alone to carry. But it's so sad that no one else can carry it for you.' He spoke with the utmost compassion for Seth. His words set the place on silent mode, as all listened keenly to all he had said. 'There are two of you, different sides of the same coin, one without sin and the other with a pure heart. If the pure heart reads of the pages, they would be destroyed forever, and then the world will be doomed forever.' He exhaled.

'But Father, would it not be better if the pages were destroyed?' Seth asked.

'You can still undo that which you have done if you can find the pages and read them backward. But if they are destroyed, then the devil has won,' said Andreius.

'If the pages are destroyed, then there would be no page to read.' Seth spoke under his breath. 'Where can I find this other reader, so I can warn him before he makes the same mistake I did?' Seth asked him.

'You are not meant to find him. You are to find the pages and put the devil back in his cage,' he replied. 'But know this, your paths will cross in the course of your journey, and you will know him, and he you. This is the devil's doing, not yours. For thousands of years, many have asked why Lucifer had not been given a second chance for repentance. This is why, for a demon can never be made to embrace the light,' Andreius said with subtleness.

Seth's curiosity had the best of him, not being able to shake off the insatiable need to know everything. 'I don't believe that it has to be this way,'he murmured.

'Angels are Supernatural beings, created out light, to serve the light, while demons, on the other hand, are creatures of darkness, born out of the darkness of treacherous rebellion, to serve darkness,'Andreius replied.

'When angels die, demons are born,' Calista whispered.

'The only way to stop the apocalypse is for you to read the pages backward,'Andreius said. 'You must take it from the end to the beginning.' But Seth was more apprehensive about the devastation that had already been done, the lives lost and the evil now prowling the earth. 

'There is no amount of evil done that cannot be nullified, my son. You are a brave young man to have done what you did. It takes great courage,' he said, gently placing his hand on Seth's shoulder.

As the blind priest continued speaking to Seth of other details of his quest, a nun had walked into the meeting room to take some orders. Calista felt her strange presence, but she had already heard some of what the priest had said. Calista asked the blind man to stop talking. As she walked up to the nun, Calista asked who she was.

'I am Sister Katherina,' she replied.

'Not the vessel, the demon,' Calista interrupted.

Then the demon burst out in wild laughter. One could not have imagined that such a sound could ever come out of a human body. It was gruff, deep, and high-pitched at the same time. The hideous cackle reverberated in the whole room. The demon tried to escape, but Calista stopped it. There was a rough shuffle in the room before the demon left her with a fearful squeal. She spewed out of her mouth in the form of gas, disappearing into the night.

'How did this happen? No dark force was supposed to be able to survive inside the compound.' the bishop yelled.

'Someone must have altered the writing on the wall. We must check every inch of the wall to make sure we correct it, and fish out the mole who helped them,' said Raphael. 'She had been on us since we got here, but she was recently possessed, barely minutes ago.' Calista stood to examine her. She found her pentagon tattoo, a symbol of the servants of darkness.

'We do not have time for that. You guys can go. We will handle that,' said the bishop.

They realized that part of the mission had been compromised. The blind man told Seth that he had to go as quickly as he could to the place where it began. Seth thought it was where he read the pages, but Calista told him that it began where Lucifer first came to him and introduced himself as an angel of the Lord.

'The Chapel of Angels in Italy,' he said, half to himself but out loud.

'We then must be on our way at once,' Raphael said as he turned and headed for the door.

'With a deep sense of obligation, I have one more gesture to make as my own contribution to the success of your journey. I will send two others to join your campaign,' said the archbishop.

'All the men you sent down to bring Seth were a bunch of liabilities. We surely wouldn't need any help from them. It is better and safer this way,' Raphael told him.

But the archbishop had something else in mind. 'Father Marcus has many skills that will come in handy for the team,' the archbishop told them. He then nodded to Father Marcus. Marcus glided with feline stealth as he walked. Seth had this bruise on his face that he sustained in their encounter with Karkes. Father Marcus walked up to Seth, placed his palm where the bruise was and closed his eyes for three seconds. When he removed his hand, the bruise was gone along with the pains. 'He has the gift of healing,' said Calista as her eyes lit up.

'So what else can you do apart from having the gift of healing?' asked Raphael.

'He is a master of the white lotus art of martial art and an excellent mechanic. There is nothing he can't drive or fly. He can throw knives, axes, tomahawks, spikes, stars, and pretty much anything with a point with accurate precision!' explained the archbishop. 'Plus, he can read the thoughts of a man, just by touching his head.'

'Impressive,' said Raphael.

'He's a descendant of the Varrh people, who shared the ability to heal, listen to the thoughts of others, and have a great appetite for killing. They were thought to be wiped out from existence in the early six hundred B.C., but somehow, by a stroke of luck, or divine arrangement you are here.' He looked at Marcus.'The Varrh people are extremists in whatever side of the divide they fall to, good or evil. So I'll ask you this one time, are you for good or evil?'

Calista walked into his space and waited for a response. 'Good,'Marcus responded, and she returned to her corner.

There was a sigh of relief from Lucian.

'The second person?' asked Seth.

'Rico!' the bishop called out.

And there came a tall Mexican with six pistols around his body: two under his armpits, another two strapped to both his thighs, one tucked into the back of his pants, and the other one was an ankle piece. He was also wearing a belt full of little knives. He had very thick eyebrows.

Raphael chuckled. 'I presume he is a gunman.So, can you show us a little demonstration?'

Rico walked up to the archbishop, gave him three coins, and walked back a bit. He asked the archbishop to toss them into the air whenever he was ready, all at the same time. He threw all the three coins up, and as they went up slowly and just about descending, Rico reached down to the pistols on his thighs and shot all three coins. He slung the guns into their holsters before the coins landed.

Marcus picked them up and gave them to the bishop, showing him the holes in the middle of the coins. Calista asked the bishop to toss the three coins into the air whenever he was ready. She dropped her hand low with her bow in her grip. When the archbishop threw the coins into the air, she reached to her quiver, pulled out three arrows, and shot them at once. The arrows pinned all three coins to the wall.

Seth seemed to be enjoying the show as he sat at a corner smiling to himself. He had never come this close to danger and wild adventure.

Rico now brought out a scarf and blindfolded himself. He asked the priest standing close by to toss one coin into the air, squatted, placed one hand on the ground, and waited. When the priest tossed the coin into the air, Rico listened to hear it ascend. He pulled the pistol from behind his pants and shot a hole into the coin in midair.

Calista pulled out her scarf and then requested that the coin be tossed. When it was tossed, she shot an arrow to the sky, but the coin landed on the ground before the arrow began descending. When it landed, it pinned the coin to the ground. When Rico saw what she did, he dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out another coin.

'Stop the demonstration; we have had enough showmanship for the evening,' the bishop said.

Then Rico turned to Raphael. 'What do you think?'

Raphael turned to Calista and asked her what she thought.

'It looks as though we have some new burdens,' she answered. 'As long as they don't have a problem following orders, we'll do just fine,' she said to the bishop.

Then Rico raised his left hand. 'Excuse me.'

'What is the problem? You don't like taking orders?' she asked him, and he was surprised.

'Yeah, it's not my strongest … Wait, how did you know what I was going to say. Do you read minds?' he asked her.

'I don't need to read minds to know what you were going to say, and the answer is yes. I read minds,' she answered.

'Not good. Not good at all,' said Rico as he sat down.

'I think this one can stay behind if he would not follow orders. I'd hate to see something bad happening to him,' said Raphael to the bishop.

'On the contrary, Fredrico is one man you would want to have on your side when push comes to shove,' the bishop replied.

'What's push comes to shove?' Raphael asked. The bishop was surprised that he did not understand what it meant.

'It doesn't matter. Rico, just promise them you would follow orders, okay?' the bishop urged him.

'Okay, I will follow orders.' They all weren't convinced, so Rico continued. 'I give you my word.'

Hmm.