Immortals - The demon hunt (boyxboy)

Chapter 6

From the station, they went home through a small park, which was illuminated by the last beams of sunlight. Birds were still singing and there was an old woman, feeding them with small crumbs of bread. Ocassionally, she'd look up and when she saw Caelan and Leon, she smiled at them and waved her hand slightly. They had already passed her, when suddenly Leon turned around and went back.

"The sun is already setting, Madame. You should go home too." he told her with a polite smile.

"My, thank you..." the granny replied and patted his arm softly. "What a caring young man you are."

"Leon, come. She will get home in time." Caelan suddenly said and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He also smiled at the woman, but his smile was kind of bitter.

Irritated, Leon looked from one to another. Did they know each other? As Caelan turned around to walk away, Leon quickly gave the woman a nod and then hurried after him. "Did you know her?" he asked, as they left the park on the other side.

"I don't." Caelan shook his head.

"Then why did you behave like that?" Leon frowned. "I merely wanted to help her, since she seemed to forget the setting sun while feeding the birds."

"Nothing will happen to this woman." the demon hunter replied with a sour face.

"How would you know?" Leon asked.

Caelan stopped, placed his hands on Leon's shoulders and made him turn around. From afar, they could still see the old woman, who was feeding birds again. "Look at her more closely." he ordered. "You're an Immortal, you should be able to see it too."

Leon narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at her again. And really, when the last sunbeams went through the trees and touched her back, they broke into ablazing brightness, revealing a pair of wings made of pure light. "She..." Leon whispered in awe. "She has wings!"

"She's an angel." Caelan replied quietly.

"But... how? She looks so normal!" Leon wondered confused.

"There are many angels walking among us. They take the role of a doctor in the hospital or a manager of an orphanage. Or... an old granny in the park, feeding the birds. Most likely, she cares for the homeless around this area." Caelan explained.

"So they live on earth to help people?" Leon asked. "But why don't they fight side by side with the demon hunters? I would've found some information about it, if they did."

"They don't." Caelan confirmed. "And if you asked one of them about it, they woud most likely not give you an answer. I've been thinking about it too and my opinion is, that they see the demons as a product of our own sins. They don't feel responsible for them."

"Then how are demons related to humanity's sins?" the boy asked, as they reached the apartment and Caelan unlocked the door.

"That..." Caelan grinned. "...is a good question. Many Clerics and Philosophers have been wondering about this already. But if you want Sara's opinion... Your mother always used to say that people's sins, like greed, anger, malice, jealousy and so on manifests itself into evil energy, which allows the demons to pass through the dimensions. It's like a golden thread, which leads them through the darkness to our world."

"And that's why angels would say, humanity is responsible for the demon blight." Leon mused. "Maybe... they're helping people in their own way then? Killing demons certainly makes earth a safer place, but only until more demons appear. But if they help people to abandon their sins, the evil energy, which leads demons to our world would disappear and everyone would be safe again."