Chapter 9 (Morals doctrinae)
Innocsus sat back in his chair, he folded his hands, and scrutinized Sam. “Strange that you would come to me for help, Azza, you have been on my tail for years, now, I don’t know if I want to help you.”
“Bygones, Innocsus, water under the bridge, come on buddy, the fact that you are still here, means I mean you no harm, Innocsus, you have the connections to the underworld, I don’t, and I lost my number to heaven, so I am politely asking for a little info, or we are all doomed.”
“All right, Azza, I will bite, on one condition, you remove me from that list.” Sam nodded yes.
“That is a deal. Our past is now null and void, I give you my word, and that applies to Thomas here as well, he is new to the game, so when he comes knocking open the door, okay?” Innnocsus looked at me for the first time. “Oh, I see, very well, Thomas, I will be a friend indeed, if you will extend the same courtesy to me. I have a family, I have been on this earth too long, and I will stay as long as I can, because the other place, does not have a get out of jail free card. So what you are looking for is a Jinn, but not one, I mean a group. The day you two sent Abrux home, it opened a temporary portal, so they escaped, and they are after anything that is like us, and I mean, young, old, female they have no restraint.
They have been to my home, they attacked my wife, she is human, so if you can do a protection, prayer over my family, I will give you directions to their, lair.” Sam stood up and shook Innocsus hand. “Deal, give me your address, and here is Thomas mobile number. Let your wife know we are on our way, and please, I don’t want to get shot, I will help you Innocsus, these are strange times, we make the most unlikely alliances, and it is working, it is the one thing, they did not expect, that we would stand together.” Innocsus nodded, and wrote down his address, he was on the phone to his wife, as we left his office. “Who is that?” Sam placed his finger over his mouth, then I followed his gaze, damn the place was swarming with half-breeds. Once in the car, I put the address into the GPS. “Innocsus, is a Principle, Thomas. He escaped, damn I can’t recall when. He did not agree with the actions of the offspring, he has been in hell, and he swore never to go back. The first time I went after him, I can’t say how long back, maybe over two thousand years ago, he begged me not to send him back, I did, and he escaped again, then I found Innocsus, let’s estimate, a thousand years ago, he sat me down and he begged me not to send him back. Because he rebelled against hell, they chained him up with the hell-hounds, and when they got bored, they would free Innocsus, and let the hounds loose.
They would rip him to shreds, he endured that for a thousand years, so no, I can’t send him back. He promised to keep his nose clean, and he has kept his word, if the legions that used to follow him, are set free, they will go after his human family, and I can tell you, Thomas, humans are cruel, but devils, my friend have no conscience.
What Abrux, did to that corpse, is nothing in comparison, to what a devil will do to a human, that lady was dead, Innocsus wife is alive.” I shuddered, and drove a little faster to Innocsus home. He had a stunning home. A lovely wife, she introduced herself as Nichole. She took us through the house, and there were numerous cold spots, meaning, the place was haunted, or that a demon resided within these walls. She showed me the scratch marks over her arms, her bedroom door, and in the kitchen, why in the hell do they always target the kitchen and the bedroom? Sam read my mind. They can’t really tell it apart, it is places humans frequent, so they will destroy it, not really knowing it is a kitchen or a bedroom. He told me this telepathically. The last thing we wanted to do was scare the poor woman to death.
Her home was filled with religious objects and figurines. I asked Nichole if any of it has been smashed or moved.
“Yes, I find my crosses, the ones on the walls hanging upside down, just about every morning, I turn it the right side up, but every morning it is upside down.” It was my turn to reassure her.
“Nichole, I know it is not a good sight, but don’t always see it as a bad omen. Peter the disciple of Christ, was crucified upside down, by his own request, he felt he was not worthy of being crucified as the Lord was, so just maybe, you have a Saint looking out for you, we will now bless your home, do you own a silver cross, that you can carry on your person at all times?” Nichole went to her bedroom, to have a look.
Sam winked at me. That was a good safe. Nichole returned, she had more than one cross. Sam blessed it, and she hung it around her neck. He placed lavender all over the cold spots and it cleared. “For five years, this house, and all in it should be safe, however, if things go bump in the night, ask your husband to call us, and we will repeat the cleansing. Wash your scratches in lavender oil, and I pray nothing will harm you.” said Sam. Nichole looked by far more relaxed than when we first entered her home. Innocsus messaged me the location of the Jinn.
“Thomas, we will need help on this one, I will ask Ariel to come and help us. We will need for them to manifest, in order to exorcise them. As spirit-selves, they can disappear through walls, and floors, and we will never find them. Get the holy water, the salt and the boards and a marker. We need to trap them, before we can send them to the boiler.” We found an old abandoned shack in a very old cemetery, hell the place gave me the creeps, I was not sure if the Jinn was watching us or the dead, either way, this was not a place I would be found in, dead, no pun intended, after dark. I could feel things swirl around my feet. The next moment, Sam enfolded me in his wings and he lifted me off the ground and placed me on the hood of my car. “Stay here Thomas, Ariel is inside, and they are not happy with the intrusion. And brother, they do not like you, your reputation precedes you.”
Sam went into the shack, I pulled my feet under me. The things that were crawling and slithering on the ground scared the shite out of me. The reached out to me, I prayed, believe me I prayed, I pulled my cross out of my sweater, and they seemed to back off, then the howling started, more like a screeching sound, all around me and from the shack. The place vibrated, and then it went up in smoke, black figures clawed at the ground, when it opened up, trying not to be pulled in. I saw Sam and Ariel hover above the ground, and relief flooded my being. It was ice cold outside, but I sat drenched in my own perspiration. I climbed through my window into the driver’s seat. Ariel got into the back seat and Sam, his usual place. We watched as the earth swallowed up these none descriptive beings. Then the graves opened up. “Sam?”
“Go Thomas, get out of here.” He didn’t have to ask me twice. “Will the dead, or what the hell was climbing out of the graves follow us?” I didn’t look at Sam, my eyes were on the road, I needed my home and my cat. “No, they are bound to that place, I will come back later, to make sure, nothing is left behind.” Well I would not volunteer to be part of this road trip. I parked my car in the garage, hugged my cat, and kissed its little head a zillion times. Then I had a shower, with lavender shower gel. I ordered pizza, and poured us a drink, I have never drank this much in my life.
“Sam, how come the churches are so oblivious to this?” I pointed at the salt all around my house. “I think they believe, demonology died out when they crucified Christ.” I nodded, that made sense.
“The Catholic church still do exorcisms, don’t they? I am Catholic, but so much is hush-hush, or swept under the carpet.” The doorbell rang. I gave the money to Sam. I had my fill for one day. He stood in the door.
I looked at Ariel and she jumped up, as Sam staggered backwards. The pizza fell to the floor, and a dagger protruded from his heart. “Oh no!” The delivery dude was gone. “Sam, Sam please, dear God, what must I do?”
“Pull the dagger out of my heart.” I looked at Ariel she nodded. “I can’t touch it Thomas, it’s been forged in hell.” Said Ariel. The perspiration was blinding me. “What if he bleeds to death?”
“Thomas, the dagger is killing Sam, pull it out, and I will heal him.” I pulled, it burnt my hands. Oh mother the blood. Sam lay very still, and he was so pale. Ariel slightly pushed me aside. I sat looking at the blood on my hands. Please God, don’t let him die. That dagger was meant for me. The bleeding did not stop. I dialled the emergency number. The paramedics took one look at Sam and went to work they moved him into the ambulance, and tried to resuscitate him. I watched Sam die. I stood in the snow and I watched him die. The cops arrived, and I told the truth, we ordered pizza, look there it is lying and the delivery guy stabbed my friend in the heart. I drove to the morgue.
I sat in total shock. Sam was dead. My brain would not accept the truth. I asked the ME if I could see the body. Then I sobbed. Sam was dead. They pushed him into the fridge. I went home. I did not see Ariel. I threw the fucking pizza away, and I scrubbed the floor. The ME called me around midnight, the body was gone. I went down to the morgue. And the truth was, Sam was gone. I drove back home and I called Ariel three times, she appeared.
“Where is Sam, Ariel? And if you say in hell, I will go there myself and get him out.”
“When Sam saw you were marked, he vowed to die for you. We didn’t know how or when it would happen, so when the Fallen, tried to walk in to your house, Sam walked into the dagger. He is in heaven, Thomas, there is no greater sacrifice than to give your life for another, he loved you...’
I held up my hands, that was all I wanted to know. Ariel disappeared, and I sobbed. Michaelus appeared, and I allowed him to hold me, he understood what I had lost, twice now. I can’t describe my pain. I am eternally grateful that Sam is back in heaven truly I am, and I never want to see him set foot on this earth, he can now make amends with his Maker and his brothers and sisters, but I lost my friend. Michaelus fully grasped my sorrow. He left and I held kitten Sam. I don’t know how to carry on. A voice in my head said. “Thomas, you know I will always watch out for you brother.” I took out the feather, and I sobbed, it hurt, my tears, and my pain. “Be safe, Sam. I pray your Father will forgive you, but you will be missed until my dying day.”
“Then know, Thomas, on that day, I will come to fetch you, God be with you.”
“And you my friend.” The voice faded, and I was alone. Kitten Sam was curled up in a ball on my lap. The pain, it would not subside. I know God has a Master-plan, but shit, how much is enough? How many tests must one endure before it is enough? I had no answers to my questions.
I went to the shop the following morning, and I told Sean all that had happened, he swallowed big tears. “Sean, I am lost my friend. I thought I finally had it all figured out, that my life had purpose, and now, I have nothing. Sam was my compass, Abigail, my first love. They are gone, and I can never bring them back. I don’t know what to do.” Sean didn’t have answers either.
I gave him the day off, and I worked in the shop. To think I thought this was the total sum of what life was about. Work, home and eat and sleep. Sam changed all of that, Abigail changed that. The blinkers had been removed, and I have not learnt enough, to be a trapper on my own. I did wash that dagger, and I hid it. I have no idea what to do with it. I don’t know who killed Sam. And I know he would be disappointed in me if I sought revenge.
I continued to work at the shop. I honestly had nowhere else to go. I carried on like this for two months, back to the basics, eat, sleep and work. I wondered if this is how Abigail felt, when her life fell apart. Like a robot, just do and don’t ask any questions. A year passed, then another year. Kitten Sam, was a big boy now. Tinker-bell had grown in size. I sold my house, and bought a smaller place. Too many memories, and no joy. That was totally absent, my parents called and invited me on a trip. I told them both to go get effed. And I thanked them for the lie my life was. Well they never called back again. I never saw, nor did I want to see Ariel, she was a reminder. I called Michaelus from time to time. He too carried on, not fantastic, he was the guardian of another young boy. “Michaelus, how do I find my purpose again?”
“I can’t say, Thomas. I have been battling with that question since Abigail died, then Sam, and then my world came to an abrupt stand still, so honestly, I don’t know. I have lived for so long, and it is all the same, the same sins, the same people, the same desires, nothing has evolved. We, you and I seek a higher purpose. And the rest carry on like a herd of cattle, the same mundane existence day in and day out, then they die, and the realisation hits them, they screwed up, they squandered their God-given lives, and then it is too late, dead is dead.”
“Michaelus, when you are free, can we meet for a drink?”
“Sure, how about your place tonight? Sam told me you moved a while back.” Now I really needed to see Michaelus. I asked Sean to close the shop, and I went home to tidy up. I cooked. Went to the store and I bought a bottle. Michaelus appeared, and I embraced him, that calm filled my soul.
“You are looking well Michaelus, now before we eat, please tell me how is Sam?” I poured us a drink, and cat Sam, curled up on Michaelus’s lap.
“Sam, is now called Samuel. He is well, he misses you terribly. But he is fighting the good fight, he has joined the army of the Archangels. He will not return to earth unless Azazel has been set free.”
“So the Keys are still a factor?” I asked. “Yes, Thomas, they are waiting for new hosts, then that circle will continue. Humans do not adhere to the moral doctrine, they continue to sin, and that leaves the door wide open, for them to possess a human body.”
“Do you know of any half-breeds, that have been affected?”
“Not that Sam has said anything, but from what I surmise, the Angels are keeping an eye on the five original keys.” I nodded.
“Does Veronica still own the other Tinker-bell?”
“No, she got married, and moved away. I have no idea who owns it now. I don’t speak to Sam often, it is not really permitted, I am a Fallen, and I am guilty of sin. However, if anything arises, he will tell me, I have not seen him, but I am sure he must look well. All Angel-like and glowing.” I smiled, yes even I could imagine Sam as a shining Angel, pure and his true self. We ate, and we spoke about life in general. Michaelus promised to visit again, and I looked forward to his company.
I was contemplating moving away, starting anew I had no idea where I wanted to go, but I needed away from all the reminders. So I started looking at new homes, shops and other towns. I am now at the point where I want to be invisible, I am tired of people telling me how bad I look, they need to walk a mile in my shoes. So I decided to move to Miami, why I don’t know.
I don’t know if I like the heat, or the ocean. But as per usual, life made the choice for me. My so called parents died in an automobile accident, a drunk driver pushed their car under a truck.
I became the sole heir to a vast fortune, and their empire. So I moved back home. The home I grew up in, is a mansion built on acres of stunning wine-lands. So Italy it was. I signed Tinker-bell over to Sean, the man deserved it. I gave him my home. I made sure my cat was shipped home, I packed what I thought was of value, got on a flight and I swore never to come back, that little thing called fate, will toss you around until you break. Tuscany is stunning in spring. I welcomed the change. That is life, it’s a constant change.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXW8J4iWdm
