Secrets and Sins Part 2: Finding Mary

Chapter 19

~Ava~

Halo? Are you there?

Nothing. Ava sighed.

It had been a day and a half since she had blown through the Halo's unbelievable power to bring Bea back to life. The Halo bearer was still very weak, her limbs felt like they were made of lead, similar to when she dropped out of the sky into the middle of that trail all those months ago. To make matters worse, Ava hadn't heard a single peep from the relic since.

I hope you're okay…

Despite the lingering fatigue and lack of Halo power, she would do it all again if it meant saving Bea. Being able to touch the sister warrior, to feel the warm blood pumping away under her skin, to hear her heart beating strong and steady in her chest, reaffirmed to Ava that she had made the right decision.

"Hey darling, dinner is ready. Do you want it in there or should we try to get to the couch tonight? There's a Disney movie starting soon…" Bea poked her head around the bedroom door, frowning when she saw Ava’s expression.
"Still nothing from the Halo?" The sister warrior approached the bed and sat down next to the younger woman, taking her hand.

Ava shook her head with a sigh, "I completely depleted it so it makes sense it's taking this long to recharge, I suppose." She murmured a little despondently.

Bea squeezed her hand, trying to comfort the Halo bearer, "Well, what do you say we try to get to the couch, the movie might cheer you up. I think it's about the rat that's a chef…"

"Ratatouille!" Ava's face lit up; she loved that movie.
"Fuck yes! Can you please help me up?"

~Beatrice~

Getting Ava out of bed was a mission in itself. It would almost be easier if the Halo bearer was completely paralyzed from the amount of squirming going on. Eventually, with only two instances of Beatrice growling at Ava to 'stop bloody moving', the women made it to the couch. The sister warrior propped the younger woman up with some cushions and threw a knitted wool blanket over her before fetching their dinner of homemade chicken stir fry.

Beatrice observed the Halo bearer discreetly while they ate, Ava still looked like death warmed up, her face pale and gaunt. She knew the other woman would never admit it but bringing the sister warrior back from the dead had nearly meant her own demise.

Stupid selfless idiot.

Beatrice had informed the OCS about their encounter with Reya in a zoom call earlier today. Mother Superior had listened wide eyed to the sister warrior's description of what happened. The nun was extremely concerned for their welfare after such an experience, it had taken all of Beatrice’s negotiation power to convince Mother Superior to allow them to stay in Switzerland for now.

The sister warrior couldn’t blame the leader of the OCS for her overly cautious approach, previous Warrior nuns had never wielded such incredible power before, and they had no idea what exactly the consequences would be of Ava draining the Halo so completely. Beatrice prayed the Halo would recharge normally after everything that had happened, especially with the looming mission to rescue Mary.

Ava’s voice jerked Beatrice from her thoughts, “At least the Halo doesn’t need to do that to give me superpowers, right Bea?” Ava chuckled, turning towards the sister warrior.

“Hmmm what?” Beatrice glanced at the movie to see the talking blue rat pulling the big nosed man’s hair which somehow controlled his movements while he made an omelet.

Doesn't seem particularly hygienic...

“Oh yes, I suppose that could make things a bit hairy .” The sister warrior forced out a smile.

Ava grinned back, “I don't need another brush with death.”

“That was a very loosely related hair pun Ava. I expected better.” Beatrice tsked in mock disappointment trying to stifle a laugh at the Halo bearer’s wounded face.

“Who are you? The pun police? I want a badge number.” Both women dissolved into giggles, it felt good to joke after all the horror in the past 36 hours.

A knock at the door brought their laughter abruptly to halt. Beatrice shared a look with the Halo bearer, no one knocked on the door of their tiny apartment…ever. Ava looked as nervous as the taller woman felt.
The sister warrior got to her feet silently, making no noise as she padded towards the door, grabbing one of the dozens of blades she had hidden around their home. This particular curved dagger was sellotaped to the bottom of the small side table that held a potted succulent beside the entrance to their home.

Standing to the side of the old blue door, Beatrice caught Ava’s eye for a moment. The younger woman was tense like she was ready to spring to her feet to assist, the sister warrior shook her head slightly, she would handle this without the Halo bearer’s help. Besides, with the younger woman’s current half paralyzed state, she would probably end up face first on the coffee table if she tried to get up.

“Who is it?” Beatrice called out tentatively.

“Beatrice?” A thick German accent called out.
“It’s Hans, open up.”

Beatrice breathed out a sigh of relief, placing the weapon back in its hiding place. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ava relax as well. She was surprised that their friend knew where they lived, but then again, the sister warrior remembered filling in their temporary address on the original work contracts they had to sign for the bar.

“Just a minute Hans.” The sister warrior quickly scanned the immediate area for anything demon fighting related, the last thing they needed was the bartender to stumble upon the Cruciform sword or her trusty AR- 15, that could lead to some awkward questions...

When Beatrice was satisfied there was nothing unexplainable in the living room, she opened the door. Hans stood at the top of the stairs shivering in the cold, his expression was one that the sister warrior had never seen on the bearded man before.

Somethings wrong.

“Are you alright?” She asked, a feeling of dread beginning to solidify in her gut.
“It’s the bar…” Hans’ voice cracked a little, like he was holding back tears.
“It's been ransacked.”