Radicle (Terminal trilogy #2, can stand alone)

16: Bad luck running

TC led me to her house again, and honestly barred the door when I told her I had to head out again in a few more hours.

"You're kidding me, right? You do recall what happened last time I let you wander about alone, right?"

"I have work to do in the city."

"I'll come along then."

"At the church again."

She sighed heavily. "Stop going there. I'm serious. That place is going to mess you up."

"I have work to do."

I was not, I decided, going to let TC know I was leaving soon. Or anything regarding the whole kidnapping thing. She probably wouldn't want to hear about it anyway.

I did finally persuade her to let me out. But it wasn't really persuasion, per se- she insisted on coming along, and I was only allowed to make one short speech before she dragged me back home. I didn't like being so tightly wound in her grip, but I couldn't think of a way out of it.

I entered through the back entrance and Lilith, who honestly seemed to always be awake and around when I came by, glared at TC.

"Gather some people. Neophytes, devotes, whoever. " I said. "You're welcome to stand next to me, you know, while I speak."

She ran off to follow my orders, and I wasn't actually sure she'd take the opportunity. She had quickly been losing her assertiveness as the church grew. I couldn't quite figure it out. But I wasn't fond of the change.

"She a girl you fancy? She's sort of cute, I guess." TC said, looking entirely disapproving.

"I do not fancy- that means like right?- girls." I said.

"Boys?"

"I do not feel such feelings at all, obviously. I am properly chaste."

"Yeah, but being chaste is different from being asexual. Are you asexual?"

"I'm chaste." I urged.

"Yeah, alright then." When Lilith came back and gestured me to follow, TC only leaned up against a wall and crossed her arms. "Five minutes. I'll be watching."

I stepped out to a crowd that probably numbered around one hundred. They were densely packed, but only a few looked truly unhappy about this fact. They were silent as I chose a spot to stand.

"My brothers, my sisters, my children and my people- I come here today to be the bearer of bad news: You, truly, are the chosen ones. Now I know you may already know that. We've said it so many times. We've known it so many times! But only now can I say I truly know it. And my knowledge is your knowledge. And my will is your will.

"This may be the last time I speak to you directly. But do not fear- the guidance of Heaven can always be found in the hearts of the truly faithful. And thus, I will always be with you. But first, I must return to the surface. To Earth, of course, to cleanse it of it's evils. But also to Heaven. To live as an angel once more."

Here is where I drew out my wings- or wing, as it now was. Gasps, comically fake sounding but surely genuine, sounded.

"I was besieged by nonbelievers. By the fallen. By those who want you to doubt and question and reject those truths you know to be evident- those of justice, of righteousness, and of piety. The fallen sinners tore off my wing, jealous of my faith. And angry, too. Angry that my words had found an audience. An audience who didn't doubt, like they did, and would never question, like they did.

"They expected me to fall when they tore off my wing. But I am not so easy to dissuade. I killed them all. And it was okay- it was okay to kill them. Do you want to know why? Because they were wrong. They were terribly, terribly wrong. And I? I knew better."