A Demon tried to kill me once, now I hunt down demons (Part 2)

Part 1
Mom stared at the Angel, likely unsure whether she was alive or dead.
To be honest, I wasn?t entirely sure we survived either.
As the three of us walked through the doors with the Angel following behind us, we stared in shock at what was before us.
Past the doors was a massive room, like a cathedral. White marble seemed to comprise every single surface, from the floors to the ceiling and even the walls. The lights were dim, but what they illuminated most were a pair of huge statues of a pair of angels. The one on the right was a woman, with a serene face and a huge staff. To her left stood another angel, this one with its face obscured by a dark cowl, and in place of staff, it had a sword, held between two hands, the point resting on the ground between its feet.
Each statue was over thirty feet tall.
The doors closing behind us broke our revere.
?The place isn?t much, but it is far better than before, thanks to your husband,? the angel told us.
My mother turned to him, shocked, ?You know Fred??
The angel put his trench-coat back on, concealing his wings, ?Yes, I hired him to restore this temple.? He extended his hand. ?My name is Timothy Crestfall.?
My mother took his hand. ?Sandra Macaione, these are my boys, Colin and Trevor.?
My older brother Colin looked to Timothy in awe. ?Hi, Mr. Angel.?
?Timothy is just fine, young man.? He smiled, then turned to my mother. ?I?m glad to see Belial didn?t harm you.?
?Belial? Is that the nut job who burned our house down?? Mom had regained her senses, after the shock of seeing this angel that saved us seemed to wear off. ?You to explain yourself, mister! What have you gotten my family mixed up in??
?Mrs. Macaione, don?t blame Saint Timothy, please!? A Latino voice shouted from behind a plywood barrier.
?Jorge?? My mom said, confused.
?Jorge! How are you?? Colin first smiled then looked confused.
Jorge was a day worker my father often picked up. Colin used to speak middle school Spanish to him as a courtesy when dad would swing by from job sites and Jorge was still in the truck. One a few occasions, Mom gave him a drink or offered him a beer. I never understood him, since I didn?t speak Spanish.
Jorge smiled. ?I?m fine, Colin. How are you and Trevor? You two listening to your mother and father??
I nod. ?Yes, Jorge.? Then I frowned. ?Jorge, when did you learn English??
Jorge smiled at us. ?This place was made by God and here, boys, here everyone can speak to each other.?
?That?s awesome! Was this place really made by God?? Colin asked, running towards the large angel statues.
My mother followed, looking to the woman statue. ?She?s beautiful.?
?My grandmother,? Timothy said, smiling.
Jorge looked at my mother. ?That is Saint Dinah of Enoch, first daughter of Enoch and the last Metatron--? Jorge paused to smile. ?--at least until Saint Timothy.?
Mom turned to Timothy. ?Did it skip a generation??
Timothy?s face fell as he looked up at the statue. ?That?s one way of putting it.? He then smiled at us. ?I?m just glad you?re safe from Belial. For now, let's get you a place to sleep. I?ll work on getting you long term accommodations where you?ll be out of Belial?s reach.?
?Who is he? Why is he after my husband or us?? Mom asked.
Timothy turned to us. ?Belial is a powerful demon prince. Why he?s after Fred and you is likely because Fred accidentally took something powerful out of the temple. Belial knows Fred had it, and he wants it. I?ve stored it back here to keep it out of Belial?s hands.? Timothy sighed. ?I had hoped once I did so, Belial would give up, but it seems he?s only intensified his search.?
My mother frowned, moving to Colin and me and holding us tight to her. ?Under any other circumstances, I wouldn?t believe you.?
Timothy smiled. ?You?re safe here. Don?t worry, Belial cannot find you in this temple.? He glanced at Jorge. ?Jorge, why don?t you show them to their rooms, and I will see if I can find them a permanent replacement??
Jorge smiled brightly. ?At once, Saint Timothy!?
Timothy chuckled. ?You don?t need to always call me that.? And with that he walked out the doors, shutting them behind him.
Jorge turned to us. ?It isn?t much, but there are some beds this way.? He led us down a hallway where there were a series of unremarkable rooms. Inside each was a few beds. The room was small, and the beds seemed crammed inside. ?I had assumed you wouldn?t mind sharing a room for the night, considering what you have all been through.?
?Thank you, Jorge, for everything,? Mom gushed.
My phone rings as I walked down the street to the bus stop and it?s Colin. Great.
?Sup,? I said, picking it up.
?Meet me at the airport. I?m coming home.?
I took another drag from my cigarette as I sat at the bus stop. ?Did you ask the clergy?s permission??
?The Vatican is likely to deploy us any day now, so I don?t think I need to ask permission. I?ve booked a flight now; I?ll be there in about a day,? he explained.
?And what makes you think I?m not in Austin, where you just called me, telling me ?hey if you?re in the neighborhood want to expel a demon???? I protested.
?A flight from Austin to home is about two hours, at the worst,? Colin shot back.
?I have classes in the morning. Some of us consider higher education vs, well, none, to be important.? To be honest, I was sure classes would be the last thing on anyone?s mind going forward if people were acting like my father.
?This is bigger than your education, Trevor! The fate of the world hangs in the balance.? Colin was getting testy now. ?Skip the classes and the semester, find a flight home and we?ll meet at the airport.?
Another drag to calm me as Colin?s cheesy sense of ?duty? spilled out of the phone. ?And what makes you think I?m in a mood to see you or Dad??
?The fate of the world isn?t enough for you to give a ****? Also, are you smoking?? Colin whined.
I took a deep drag of my cigarette and blew smoke into the mic of my phone. ?No.?
?You?re a ****, you know that?? Colin spat over the line.
?Takes one to know one,? I tiredly shot back. ?At least give me some time to get a flight, okay? I?m eating Ramen noodles every damn night, it will take time to get a ticket.?
?I got a flight from Rome to home, you can manage one flight going from Austin up north. See you soon.? And with that, the line went dead.
He?s a peach, ain?t he, folks? Well, you can?t choose your family. Lord knows mine is beyond messed up.
But the point of contention here didn?t come from us crammed into a single room on some temple which may or may not have existed. I still question if this was all in my head, a shared bit of imagination that Colin and I dreamed up, or if it was real.
?
After three nights in the temple, my brother had a working theory that had been driving my mother up the wall.
?We died,? Colin asserted.
?Colin, shut up!? I complained.
?Colin, for once, I agree with Trevor. Enough of this,? she protested.
?Hear me out!? Colin reasoned. ?We died in the fire, right? An angel comes, takes us before we feel any pain, right? So we?re here, as a family with Jorge, a guy who we never ever talked to outside of me saying ?hi? in terrible Spanish.?
My mother did that thing where she rubbed her temples in a desperate attempt to stave off the migraine and/or agita that my then thirteen-year-old brother was inducing in her at that moment.
?So, we?re here, and this is like? purgatory, right? It?s not good, it?s not terrible, we?re just here. Existing. Like we are awaiting judgment!? Colin theorized.
?Colin, sweetie, if what you?re saying was true, and we were dead, then you couldn?t feel pain.? Mom gave her counterpoint by pinching his arm.
?Ow!? Colin shouts.
?Now enough of this, okay? I don?t want to hear any more theories.? Mom was getting a little stir crazy and I couldn?t blame her.
There wasn?t much to do here: no TV, no video games. Jorge had found Colin and I a pair of Nintendo DS?s but the batteries died quick. While those kept us distracted for a few hours, Mom wasn?t having such a great time.
?Did Timothy say when he would be back?? Mom asked.
Jorge shook his head, offering her a plate of rice and corned beef. ?No, Sandy, I?m sorry.?
She groaned. ?You don?t know how to cook anything else, do you, Jorge??
Jorge laughed as he shook his head, ?No Sandy, I?m sorry. I could show you the kitchen if you?d like--but it?s not well stocked.?
?You two just living like a couple of bachelors, aren?t you??
Jorge frowned a bit. ?Yes, well--yes.?
Just then the doors opened and Timothy walked in. ?Sorry that took so long,? he apologized.
My mother was ecstatic. ?Oh, thank God! Tell me we can get out of here? I?ve been going stir crazy.?
Timothy smiled at us. ?Yes, in fact, follow me. I?ve got a surprise for you.?
With that, my mother grabbed Colin and my hands and rushed to the door.
As we stepped outside, we weren?t in our old house anymore--rather we were in a huge backyard of another house. It was a decent looking place, to be honest. Had a nice back porch, was red with a gray roof, two stories and the next neighbor looked to be almost a quarter of a mile away on either side.
?Oh, who?s place is this?? my mother asked.
Timothy smiled. ?Yours, all yours. Bought and paid for.?
?What?? Mom?s shouted, ?We still had a mortgage on the old place! The insurance couldn?t have possibly covered it.!
?Fred helped me and I?m helping back. I have some connections with the government.? He motioned around us. ?All of this is yours, in your name, far away from Belial?s reach. Soon to be further, if Fred can do what I believe he can.?
She turned to Timothy, concerned. ?What do you mean??
?Fred will take care of Belial,? Timothy clarified.
?But Dad isn?t a priest!? Colin shouted.
?You need not be a priest to cast out a demon,? Timothy gently explained to Colin. ?You just need faith. Powerful faith.?
Jorge was behind us. ?And the right tools.? He was wearing a suit. ?Timothy, we should get going so we can meet Fred.?
Timothy nodded. ?You?re right, we need to get going.? He looked to us, handing my mother the keys. ?As I said, it?s all yours.? He turned and walked into the doors, closing them. As he did, the doors vanished and we were standing in the backyard, staring at what was our new house.
With that, we ran to our new house.
It was remote, somewhere in the Midwest, we weren?t even sure where. Mom was busy going through all the cabinets and wondering who had such poor taste as to choose the terrible dinnerware and glasses. The fridge was fully stocked and Colin and I found a Playstation 3 in the living room.
Despite the terrible internet, we were pretty stoked about the new house.
It was a week later that my father showed up, looking like he had seen a ghost.
Timothy had knocked on the front door, shouting, ?Fred?s here!? Jorge was in tow.
I peeked into the foyer, taking a break from playing co-op Call of Duty with Colin.
My mother rushed to the door and swung it open, smiling wide.
Dad hugged and kissed my mother like he hadn?t seen her in years.
Then mom broke the kiss and nailed him, hard, in the shoulder with a solid punch. It was a strong enough punch to make Timothy and Jorge wince in sympathy pain.
?Never take a job like this again!? She shouted. ?It scared us half to death!? After a moment of calming herself, she asserted, ?Also, we will go to church, like, a lot!?
The color was coming back to my father?s face as he just smiled at us. ?I thought you were dead, you and the boys.?
If my mother had been angry at my father, the look of anger she shot at Timothy made it look like she was dancing for joy. ?Oh, you did, did you?? Se charged right up to Timothy and hammered his shoulder with her fist, hitting him once for each word she said. ?Timothy! How dare you do that to him!?
Timothy was, for his part, putting up a weak defense. ?I?m sorry Sandy!?
?The boys are playing video games and they won?t shut up about how the Internet sucks,? Mom asserted.
It was truly bad, in retrospect.
?Now get in here while I try to figure out dinner,? Mom said as she walked into the kitchen.
I remember sitting back in the living room, Jorge joining Colin and me.
?Sorry if we lied to your father, but Saint Timothy helped guide your father to vanquishing that demon.?
?Why do you call him Saint Timothy?? Colin asked.
?Because he?s an angel,? Jorge explained. ?Well, mostly.?
?Mostly?? I asked.
Jorge nodded as he explained, ?Saint Timothy?s mother was an Angel, but his father is a terrible man. He tricked his mother, you see, and that?s how he got to her.? He shook his head. ?But Saint Timothy is nothing like that.?
Colin nodded. ?He saved us.?
Jorge smiled wide. ?Yes, he did. He will save all of us.?
With that, I went back to playing Call of Duty, feeling like things could finally get back to normal.
I couldn?t have been more wrong, because it wasn?t long before she showed up.
?
The day seemed to start out just like any other. Mom was making dinner, Dad had gotten back from a job working at some contractor?s, vowing to get enough money to start his own business up again.
Then the knock on the door that changed my life for the worst happened.
Three knocks doomed no one like these knocks did.
?Fred, can you get that? I?m elbows deep in a chicken,? Mom shouted.
My father hefted himself up off the couch and headed to the door.
Colin and I peeked from the living room to the door and it was at that point where teenage hormones doomed us both.
Standing in the doorway was a redhead in white robes. This is an understatement. She had a flawless face, not an ounce of make-up, but had pale pink lips, bright red hair, and even light brown, almost red eye. But red eyes don?t exist, so they had to be light brown, right?
And eye, to emphasize because I could only see one. Flawless bright red hair covered over the other eye.
When she spoke, it sounded like honey, her voice high, lilting, almost shy. ?Hello sir, I?m sorry to intrude. My name is Tasha Crestfall.?
My father is staring at Tasha now, kind of zoning out.
?I understand that you might have met, or maybe seen, my brother? His name is Timothy, and I have been looking for him for years. This might sound crazy but I? well, I had a dream he was here! That must sound? uh? sir?? Tasha seemed to notice that her appearance entranced my father. She looked less than amused by his staring. ?Sir?? she said again, with some agitation in her angelic voice.
Dad shook his head and cleared his throat. ?I'm sorry, something distracted me,? he stammered.
?Clearly,? Tasha said, unamused by his response.
As if my mother had some kind of sixth sense for my father ogling someone, she was there in the foyer, hands washed, and smacked him upside the head.
My father grunted, ?I?m sorry!?
Mom seemed ready to smack the crap out of him once again.
Tasha was now far more interested in speaking to my mother. ?Oh, hello miss! I?m curious if you have seen a young man named Timothy come through here? This house looks very familiar and I, well, I think he may be in danger,? she clarified. ?I had a vision, of sorts. I know that may sound far fetched to you.?
?Timothy?? My mother stammered a bit. ?No, no - he?s not here! Not now, and we haven?t seen him for some time!?
My father chimed in, ?If you?re a demon, you need to tell me because I?m not doing that again.?
?I?m not?? Tasha seemed to stutter. ?I?m not a malicious demon, I swear,? she explained, exasperated.
?Are you sure?? my mother quipped. ?Because you sure appear to be seducing my husband just by looking at him.?
Tasha?s cheeks turned bright red and Colin and I couldn?t help but find it made Tasha even more alluring.
?My very happily married husband, Fred,? My mother started, giving a fake smile to Tasha.
Tasha seemed to brush past my mother?s defenses now, smiling and shaking her hand. ?It?s nice to see such a happy couple!? It was odd that she?s wearing white gloves and white robes. ?If you don?t know Timothy, I?ll be on my way. I?m trying to find him, you see.?
?Well, we know him, just not where he is now. Why? Is there something wrong?? my mother asked.
?I had a terrible vision of him facing someone I?ve? well, that I?ve dealt with before.? She adjusted the strap attaching her staff to her back. ?I have been trying to find him but I?ve not had much success. I had a vision of your house.?
?If you?re a friend of Timothy?s, I certainly can?t turn you away. It?s thanks to him we?re even alive,? Mom said, pushing my stupefied father to the side.
Tasha walked in, now smiling. ?Well, I?m glad Timothy is out helping people. Considering our family history, it could go either way,? she beamed to my mother. ?I didn?t introduce myself to you: Tasha Crestfall.?
?Sandra Macaione. You?ve already met my husband, Fred.? She gave him a look that informed him that he was on the couch tonight. ?As I said, any friend of Timothy?s is a friend of ours.?
?Well, nice to meet the both of you,? she said as she looked around. ?Though I?m less of a friend of Timothy?s, I?m his half-sister.?
?Which half?? my father inquired, frowning.
?What would that matter?? Tasha asked, her smile fading.
My father cursed under his breath. ?Well, you see it all depends: if you?re the daughter of the Angelic mother or the monstrous father.?
Tasha took her staff off her back and placed it down near the couch. Then she noticed us and smiled at Colin. ?Oh, hello there!? She turned to my father. ?Are these your boys??
?You didn?t answer the question, but yes. The older one is Colin and his younger brother is Trevor.? My father introduced us.
Tasha sighed. ?If you must know, not that it matters, I am a daughter of the ?monstrous father?.?
My father pushed himself between Tasha and us.
?I understand your concern,? Tasha said, her hands up. ?but I am nothing like him, nor do I agree with anything he does.?
?Yeah, sorry if I?m not too convinced with the ?I swear I?m not evil? thing,? Dad shouted.
Tasha crossed her arms under her chest because she couldn?t fit them any other way, ?Listen, my brother is in grave danger. I saw that he was facing a potent demon and I came to help him.?
?That demon? I took care of him, okay? He?s back in hell where he belongs,? my father asserted.
Tasha?s eye grew wide. ?You? You sent Belial back to hell??
?Yes, and I can do it to any other demon, so mind your tone.? My father continued staring her down. ?If you are his sister, as you claim, why didn?t he mention you??
Tasha turned to pick up her staff. ?If you don?t know where he is, I?ll be on my way.?
My father grabbed something from under the coffee table, which looked like a small bottle of water and splashed her with it.
Tasha stopped dead as the water touched her and she dropped her staff. Her hair floated over her head a bit and she turned to face us. Her left eye was glowing a bright red now, and as her hair floated higher, glowing now, it revealed a horrific scar marring her otherwise perfect face.
It looked like something grabbed her face where her right eye was, and tugged, ripping away the flesh that was there and pulling the neighboring facial features inward with it. Her scalp dipped lower on her face and even her ear seemed pulled closer to the front of her face.
?That water, where did you get that water from?? Tasha asked, touching a small wet spot on her shoulder. ?It?s? so potent.?
?From Timothy,? my father explained. ?He gave it to me from the temple.?
Tasha leaped into the air, like an excited schoolgirl, and squealed in delight. ?T-The temple!? The Guardian Temple!?? She rushed to my father and grabbed his hands. ?He found it?! Did Timothy find the temple? Wh-where is he? Please, oh please, you must tell me!? she titters.
My mother walked over and removed her hands from my father, turning Tasha towards her. ?Timothy was here several days ago, but he left through a doorway he opened in the backyard.?
Without another word, but with a few squeaks of joy and elation, Tasha rushed out the back door.
As she ran, jumped, and stumbled, Colin stared at her in lust, and I won?t lie, I did too.
My mother?s comment still stuck with me. ?Great, now boob-zilla over there will give the boys wet dreams and terrible standards for their future girlfriends to live up to.?
My father seemed just as interested in watching Tasha run off as we were, so mostly he didn?t respond.
Tasha then fell to her knees in the backyard and started to pray.
?Oh sweet Jesus,? Colin said.
I chuckled. ?Lord have mercy.?
My mother soon grabbed both of us by the ears. ?Okay, that?s enough you two little horndogs.?
My father scoffed ?Huh, she opened the door.?
We all turned and saw the doorway opened, disembodied from any kind of wall, in the middle of our backyard.
?Thank God she?s gone,? My mother whispered, before she gasped, ?Oh no! Her staff!?
My father frowned, ?What??
?She might come back for it!? Mom protested.
My father moved to the staff and attempted to pick it up, but gasped in pain as he did so. ?What the hell? It burned me!?
Colin got away from my mother and grabbed the staff. ?I?ll bring it to her!? And with that, he ran off into the backyard. He was unphased.
?Colin!? my mother shouted, ?Get your ass back here this instant!?
?I?ll get him!? I shouted and ran after him.
My father chastised from a distance, ?Trevor! No!?
But I didn?t listen, because I was trying to stop Colin from doing something stupid.
?Ms. Tasha, you forgot your staff!? Colin shouted.
But the doors were closing and she was already inside.
?Colin!? I shouted, ?Don?t go in there!? I tried to catch him or at least get to him before the doors shut.
I managed to make matters worse though. Before the doors closed, I leaped into the air and tackled Colin from behind. This had the effect of making Colin fall forward, and slide into the doorway. It shut behind us and I felt that nervous sickening feeling you get when you just broke something expensive.
Tasha?s staff clattered to the floor as we both did the same.
?T-this? this can?t be?? I could hear Tasha whimper.
I rubbed my arm a bit, grunting. ?Colin, you moron! Now we?re stuck in the most boring place in the world!?
Colin?s eyes were wide as he was staring at something off to the side, where Tasha?s voice was coming from.
I looked down, noticing the remains of white cloth shoes on the floor, and some other bits of tattered white cloth.
Tasha?s soft crying in the corner caught my attention. ?No, I can?t meet Timothy like this! Why can?t I change back!?
On the ground was Tasha, but not the same as we saw her in the house.
She had horns: huge red and white horns coming out of her head and curled around the sides of her head. A pair of pinkish bat-like wings flapped against her body, trying to wrap around her shoulders and arms. On the ground, scraping against the floor, were her feet.
Well, not feet, but rather a pair of cloven hooves, each red, closer to pink. Red fur that mimicked her hair color, covered her feet up to her legs, which were otherwise covered in white cloth. Where the fur was, the cloth of her pants was ripped and torn.
Tasha even sported a spaded tail which twitched around the floor as if it didn?t know what to do.
My father was right, she was a demon. And my brother and I found ourselves trapped with said demon.


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