Heaven, Hell, and Earth

Chapter 31

"I am so relieved that none of you were hurt." Solomon said once he was reunited with all four of the supernatural young people he had raised. "When I was informed that it was a giant gecko demon, I knew that the danger had only increased ten fold."

"Sorry we couldn't get him." Vaggie said, feeling embarrassed at her failure. "We didn't expect the demon to be that large and that out of control."

"It's alright Vaggie. All that matters to me is that none of you were harmed."

"Were there any casualties?"

"I don't think so. Most of the people got out of the way."

"Thank God."

"So how did you guys catch that overgrown lizard?" Angel asked.

"Millie lured the creature into an abandoned chemical plant and Moxxie rewired the pipes to spray liquid nitrogen on to him. The cold made him as weak and harmless as a common earth worm."

"Clever." Alastor said.

Solomon's gaze then fell upon Charlie. Seeing her after such a longtime, he couldn't stop the warm and joyous smile that rose to his face.

"Hello Charlotte."

And Charlie could not stop a similar smile from being expressed on her face. Nor could she bring herself to refuse the long awaited embrace Solomon gave her.

"Hello Solomon." She said hugging him back. "I've missed you."

"I know and I've missed you." He pulled back and took a moment to look at her. "Why look at you, look how beautiful you are. But then again you always were a pretty one. Even as a baby."

"Thank you."

"However as thrilled as I am to see you again, I have a feeling that you weren't brought back by something good."

"You're right." Alastor said. "Look at her wrists. They've been cut in the most peculiar way."

"Actually they weren't cut at all." Charlie said. "That's what scares me about this."

"Alright calm down, let me take a look at them." Solomon said.

Charlie removed the pieces of cloth that had been tied over her wounds, and then presented them to Solomon. His fear and apprehension to the marks was almost instant, but he did his best to remain calm on the outside.

"What made these?" He asked her.

"I don't know. They just appeared a few days ago. I don't know how or why."

"Same thing happened to me." Alastor said, taking off his gloves and showing the marks that had appeared on the palms of his hands.

All the color was instantly drained from Solomon's face as the realization hit him. The stolen book, the rosary beads found at the scene of the crime, and now these markings. There was no hiding from the truth anymore.

"I need you all to come back with me to the bureau. There I shall explain everything."

Moxxie and Millie drove them all back to the bureau while Blitzo stayed behind to handle the publicity. Upon arrival, Solomon directed them into the conference room and took a moment to breathe before finally going into the whole story of Alastor's birth and how he found Charlie.

"It wasn't just a coincidence that you two were discovered by me in the same place at the same time." Solomon confessed. "However let me start at the very beginning. As you all know, my late colleague Magdalene and I grew up and were trained in the same Vatican. But it wasn't just us two, there was a third member. Dominick Pentious. He was once like myself, steadfast in Christ and a defender of the lord's children against all unholy evil. But torture at the hands of terrorists drove him to madness, and he turned away from God, developing a hatred for all humanity that was unlike any other."