Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 55

Speaking in broken English, Ren communicated to Mrs. Brown, the school receptionist, about needing to leave for a doctor's appointment that afternoon. "Oh, don't worry, Mr. Osaka. We'll get someone to cover for you. Besides you keep this school so spotless." She smiled at him.

He bowed and silently exited the building. Normally, he wouldn't leave while he was undercover, but the text from Sariel requesting an urgent meeting downtown changed his mind. What was he doing here in St. Louis? What was he doing on the Earth's surface?

Sariel hadn't left the underworld in just over a century. Ren wondered if the fallen angel would recognize what had become of society, the way the cars looked now and how people had developed attachments to their cellular phones. In fact, he was certain that someone else had to show him how to send a text message.

Regardless, his very presence here meant that something big was happening. Zoe's message to him today only confirmed this belief. I don't like this.

Since the imprisonment of Azazel eons ago, Sariel had risen into leadership and reigned in the underworld. He first initiated the search for the descendants of the Nephilim to build an army of scions. Azazel's army, he called it. Always loyal, but with far less honor.

Central West High School really wasn't too far from Union Station, where they were supposed to meet. Ren could have flown or even run there in a minute, but didn't want to risk it. Instead, he caught the metro by the nearby hospital.

He sat on an empty seat and glanced across the assorted faces—an elderly woman, a couple staring at a tourist brochure and debating whether to see the St. Louis Arch first or go to the City Museum, and a scattering of people wearing hospital uniforms and smocks probably ending their shift.

Ren didn't mind associating with humans, though he never stayed too long in one area. Eventually, his human companions would grow old and die while his physical form never aged. After a while, they were bound to ask questions. However, he'd taken a liking to Riku. A masterful swordsman. They spent much of the night sparring.

Ren should have reviewed the audio recorded from the farmhouse instead. Angels rarely concern themselves with human technology.

He knew that Leo had returned. He should have been more attentive to the causes of his death. Why would a demon want to bring an angel into the underworld? Doesn't make sense.

Ren read Zoe's letter again.

Ren,

Don't talk about honor. Since when do recruiters align themselves with demon mafia? Since when do recruiters kidnap angel watchers and bring them to the underworld? And you think I might be more of a demon. Perhaps I have thought too highly of you.

I'm warning you. Leave my friends alone.

Zoe

P.S.: Yes. Something isn't right with Austin.

The metro came to a stop, and Ren found himself downtown near the Union Station Hotel. 

He crossed the street and stopped by a fountain, which featured two statues, a man on top of a catfish and a woman on a shell, heading into an embrace. According to the plaque, the sculpture, "Meeting of the Waters," symbolized the joining of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Angels and demons, two rivers that will never meet.

Ren walked through the the large wooden doors and into an expansive lobby with high vaulted ceilings, marbled walls, and a clock prominently dictating time. He found Sariel, dressed in a suit which may have been more appropriate for 1904, staring a stained glass window depicting three women sitting on a stone bench in conversation with each other.