Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 66

Maria de los Santos knelt before the crucifix—the centerpiece of the altar in her living room. "Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espiritu Santo. Como era en el principio, ahora y siempre, por los siglos de los siglos. Amen." She recited the prayer: Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be a world without end. Amen.

She spend most of the day on her knees, deep in prayer, asking for the Lord's protection over her house and for Diego. Although Maria had faith that he would be alright in the end, prayer never hurt.

Well, never hurt that much. Her body, worn with age, creaked when she knelt and wobbled when she tried to stand. Such was the way of a human life. Everyday, she knew, had been a blessing. The Good Lord could take her at any moment, but not today.

Maria knew this. She felt it in the pit of her stomach.

She tried to explain it once to Diego when they visited an art museum. The boy had just turned ten. "Life is like a painting, a masterpiece." She pointed to one of the art exhibits. "Muy hermoso. The most beautiful art ever made, but we can't see it."

"Why can't we see it?" Diego asked.

"Because God is the creator, the artist, and we are the colors on the canvas. Each of us plays our part. Only God can see it. But every once in a while, we can get a glimpse of it. Just a tiny one for a brief moment."

Sometimes she had dreams. Sometimes she had visions. On occasion, the Lord sent signs that revealed truths to her. And, every once in a while, she had an epiphany, a realization that would come from her gut like a heavy indigestion.

Today,  she felt it in the pit of her stomach. She knew what she knew. For this reason she didn't so much as flinch when she sensed the demon outside her house—the one who had come to kill her.

Taking her cane, she swung open the door and faced the man standing on her front lawn. He held up a long box in his hands.

"Are you Maria de los Santos?" he asked. "I have a package."

She huffed. "Demon, you have no need to lie. Take out your weapon, but it will do you no good here."

The demon chuckled. "So it's true what they say about you." He tore through the box, revealing a dagger, its blade a dark, cobalt. "This shield you have around your house is weak. It won't last long and neither will you."

She waved him away with her cane. "If you leave now, you will live. Stay and your physical presence will come to an end."

He scoffed. "You're just a human. A puny, insignificant human. I'm going to squash you like the bug that you are." He ignited the dagger, fire coursing along its blade, and approached the wall of the celestial shield. He drove the weapon into the celestial barrier. Small explosions of electricity and flame erupted from the impact. He worked against the shield like a metal worker cutting through steel.

Undeterred, Maria climbed down the front porch steps and hobbled to the edge of the shield, opposite of the demon. She closed her eyes and sniffed, inhaling the scent of him. "Old, older than your master."

A battlefield in the heavens, a clashing of swords, lightning and fire, winged creatures...

"Secrets you hide from your master," Maria pressed.

"Shut up, old woman." The demon had punctured a hole into the shield and now worked to expand its size.

More images came to her mind. "You are not fallen. You are a defeated angel."

"I said shut up!" He growled, adding more force into his work. "I'm going to kill you soon."Maria sniffed again.

A dark place. A secret conversation. "Be my eyes and ears." Voice sinister. "I will return, Barbas."

"Barbas," Maria said. "Lucifer's agent on Earth."

The demon halted for a moment and glared at her. "No one will know once you are dead." The hole was much larger now. Only a moment more, and the demon could easily step through the shield.

"The fallen hunters, your master, Araqiel, doesn't know."

Barbas hacked at the shield, clearing the space. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."

The two stood, only a few feet from each other, yet Maria made no move to retreat or defend herself. Instead, she leaned on her cane. "Last chance. Leave now. Even a powerful demon, Lucifer's own elite, can die just as easily as any other fallen."

"You talk too much, woman." Barbas waved the flaming blade in front of him.

Maria pointed at him. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, I cast you out of this world."

He laughed. "Parlor trips don't work on me."

Maria felt the presence of a strong demon hunter. She moved her finger to the source of this energy. "Angel of God, I call on you now for my protection."

"What?" Barbas turned, but the celestial sword pierced through his body. The electricity sizzled inside him. "How?" He stumbled to his knees. "Old woman, I'll be back."

Maria nodded. "Yes, we will meet again."

White light flooded from his open mouth and seeped from his eyes and out his nose. Then in a flash, his body disintegrated into a pile ash.

The hunter was tall, taller than even Maria envisioned, with gray eyes and light brown hair. Maria scattered some of the ashes with the tip of her cane.

"Who was that?" the hunter asked, holding her sword in Maria's direction.

"Come," Maria said. "Much work to do, but first we must have tea."

Maria sniffed, taking in the essence of this angel. She shuffled back to the porch.

"Who are you?"

"I invite you, Gemma, hunter of demons, into my home. Accept my invitation and serve as my invited guest." She opened the door. "Or do not."

Maria stepped inside, but left the door open. She knew that this angel warrior wouldn't resist the invitation to learn more. I have need of her, she thought.