Matthew

August Moon

"Sally? Ryan?" Kindle peered around the corner as we entered the living room, and I did as well. I did not expect to find my two friends and my father all sitting in a circle with Ryan trying to hold something that kept slipping from his fingers. It was a strange, ethereal sort of light. It vanished once Kindle stepped fully into the room.

"You have got to show me what else you can do." Sally declared, and my dad walked up to us.

"Unfortunately, that has to wait. There's more important things."

"Yeah, speaking of it, did you get what you need?" Ryan said, crossing his arms as he looked at Kindle and I, furrowing his brows.

Kindle gently nudged me. "Go on. Show them."

I nodded, flexing my fingers and staring at the ring that now rested on my right hand. I willed the light to come present itself at my will, and I was soon being dragged down by the bow again, which Ryan attempted to help catch this time. I hefted it into my arms, wheezing a bit.

"Joseph's bow? How did you..." My dad offered to take it from me, and I handed it over.

It seemed much lighter in his hands then it did mine, and his eyes almost seemed to glow with it. He probably had a better connection to the weapon anyway, he was Joseph's son after all.

Kindle still eyed it uneasily, and I offered to take it back.

"With this, I think we have a chance of stopping Rae for good." I said, narrowing my eyes down at it as I willed the weapon back into a ring and slipped it onto my finger once again. "Just... once I figure out how in the hell to use it."

My father was silent for a long moment, and he turned, suddenly walking into his room.

"Dad?" I called, quick to follow after him. The others lingered for a moment longer but soon came after me, too.

He walked to the closet that sat across from his bed, opening the doors and beginning to push boxes, bags, and old clothes out of the way. I took comfort in knowing my own room was in better shape.

He soon stopped, having come upon the back of the closet now. I could see a small indentation in the paint, much like the outline of another door.

"Jade expected something like this to happen." He said, tracing the outline with his finger. "Once you were born, Matthew, she made me swear to keep these to protect you, at least until you were old enough to understand."

I was tired of being clueless.

"Keep what?"

_____

"They were given to your grandmother by Joseph, and then passed down to Jade and I."

My dad held two small, curved daggers. The hilts were crafted of a similar black stone as parts of Joseph's bow. The blade was ivory.

"They can be used for fighting, but that's not their true purpose. They create a gateway to both heaven and hell. The intended use was to call Joseph if something went wrong... but he's gone now. They can be used against demons and angels if need be."

He carefully handed one to Sally, which was marked with a circle at the hilt, who clutched it in her hands like it was the most important thing she'd ever been given. He then turned to Kindle, who grimaced at his expectant look and turned away.

"You know just who I am. Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kindle muttered. "Best to give it to Ryan."

"But I also know that my son trusts you, for whatever reason. For now, you're one of us." He held the blade out, arching a brow at him. "I'm willing to trust you too, demon."