Aquiver -> J. Constantine

04

"Alright, look, if you're just gonna fly off the handle and turn this into some kind of spook show then I have nothing to say to you right now."

Jade listened to the man's words as she, Zed and John entered the pub. All of the miners were crowded around the one who was speaking.

Jade assumed that he was their boss or something considering the amount of attention he got. If someone's summoning spirits to stop his mine, then they could have something against him.

"Curious. Sceptical drunks nowhere to be seen." John said.

"And the ex-priest." Zed added.

"Come again?" John said.

While they were speaking, Jade approached the bar and signaled the bartender to get her a drink. As he handed her a beer, she slid a few bills to him and nodded in thanks.

As fun as chasing down leads is, Jade has always been of the opinion that you should always drink when going out. Although she doubted that many shared her opinion on that matter.

"Ellis. He used to be a priest before his, uh, son died in the mines which could be a good cause for payback." Zed suggested.

Jade didn't believe much in religion and all that crap. If God is real, then he has a screwed up sense of humor. While she didn't believe in any form of religion, she knew that Zed was religious to a point.

They never talked about it in detail, never really wanted to considering their lives were full of things that shouldn't exist and things that they would've claimed didn't exist if they hadn't seen them.

"Murdering priest, sounds legit to me." Jade spoke up.

She took a sip of her beer and just as she lowered the bottle from her lips, John snatched it up. A sound of protest left her lips as he drank some of her beer.

She rolled her eyes mumbling about how he owed her a drink now. John didn't say anything as he lowered the bottle and turned back to Zed.

"When I gave you the slip yesterday, I found evidence of one of those slurry things being raised in an abandoned church outside of town." John said.

"The church that Ellis turned his back on. So he could be the one that's conjuring the evil for revenge?" Zed asked.

Her voice was laced with excitement at the prospect of cracking the case. It felt oddly satisfying to see her so happy with herself.

Jade observed her friend and a small smile tugged on her lips. John glanced at her once he realized she was smiling. Their eyes met for a second before Jade looked away.

"Come with me. I'm taking you for a spin," John told Zed before turning to Jade, "You stay here. Try and be useful by listening around."

Jade rolled her eyes but remained standing at the bar. A part of her wanted to be annoyed at John's comment yet she found herself unable to.

He was the only person who could teach her how to control her abilities. It didn't matter what he said to her as long as he kept his word and helped her just like she and Zed were trying to help him.

Jade took a deep breath before pulling out a chain from underneath her shirt. Hanging from it was a ring, a broken promise of happiness.

She wondered if she kept it as a way to punish herself. All it did was bring pain.

The sound of footsteps snapped her out of her thoughts and she quickly tucked the chain back underneath her clothes.

John gently grabbed her elbow pulling her away from the bar as Zed followed. "Come on, we've got no time to waste."