Chapter 21: National Treasure
Chamuel glanced occasionally towards Abel who was dawning a pair of sunglasses, the night before still playing in Chamuels mind. His thoughts puzzled with the slayer's odd mannerisms, he also noticed the man flinching away from Chamuel once or twice but laughed it off.
"Stop moving so fast and I wouldn't flinch away from you," The slayer had told him but something just felt off that the angel couldn't put a finger on. He listened to the slayer as he read through the text of a book, though his mind was far away from the romance plot between an angel and a woman in a post-apocalyptic world.
It was something the two started to do as a way to pass time, having already gone through a few books they now settled on reading another. The GPS on Chamuel's phone beeped as they entered the city of New York. Abel set the book down, looking up at the tall buildings, giant billboards and skyscrapers.
"Damn, this is awesome," He said, pulling his sunglasses up to get a better look only to wince at the sharp pain in his head and eyes.
"Yeah, sure is," Chamuel agreed, glancing occasionally out the side window as he merged off the freeway and into the streets of the big city.
Abel had stopped reading now, switching the music back on so he could enjoy the scenes around him. Chamuel glanced over at Abel, causing the slayer to shoot him a grin which sent a wave of warmth through the angel's chest. He looked away quickly, gripping onto the wheel tight until his knuckles turned white.
"Never been to New York," Abel laughed, "I've always wanted to explore,"
"Well, maybe we can! It's almost Christmas and I've always wanted to see one of those giant trees,"
"With the lights?"
"Yeah, I love string lights. They're gorgeous,"
The map app chimed again at them, Chamuel turned a few more times until they came to a large mansion like home. It stood proud against the sunlight that filtered above, Chamuel could see a few symbols carved into the wood that most people wouldn't notice but it was something the angel caught on immediately.
The two turned to look at each other as the corvette pulled up to a large gate.
"Mish is fucking rich,"
"Well...her uncle is,"
"Maybe we should marry her, get all that change,"
Chamuel snorted, elbowing the other. "Why would we both marry her?" He asked with a laugh as the gate let out a soft hiss. Chamuel stuck his head out of the window, typing in the code that he was given into a keypad that sat on a large stone that was covered in ivy. The gates themselves a crisp white, the dark plant was placed neatly on the metal. Letting them grow around the bars. The doors open up, allowing the Slayers to drive up towards the front door of the home. It was bathed in trees that followed the driveway right to front of the home and tapered off around it.
"Double the money, come on Chammy,"
"Abel I'm gay,"
"So you have a fling with the butler,"
Chamuel almost choked on his own spit at the other, Abel grinning wider as Chamuel laughed and waved a hand in the air.
"Shut up, Abel, I hate you," He laughed.
Abel continued on with his joking, making the angel turn red from laughter as they came up to the front part of the large, white home. It reminded Chamuel of heaven almost, with its giant windows, stained glass here and there, with a huge garden in the front that housed multiple flowers of all types. Though he noticed the lack of sounds from birds he brushed this off.
"Wow, this place is gorgeous," Chamuel said, still laughing a bit between words.
"What's a Slayer doing with all of this," Abel murmured, "Nathan always said slayer's...don't exactly like to be...yaknow, fancy?"
"Sticking out like a sore thumb?" Chamuel offered,
"A really big thumb," Abel agreed as he pushed out of the car and into the chilly sunlight. The home is dotted with flowers, trees, and fences. Shrugging at the angel who came around the car to meet him.
"Oh!!" A voice yelled, the two glanced up to the second story window. A woman with bouncy blonde locks, crisp blue eyes and a big smile was waving at them with joy flooding her features. She leaned out of the window semi dramatically, she reminded Chamuel of a girl from an old movie with her perfect body and dimpled cheeks.
"You boys! The Lancaster's!" She yelled, scrambling into her room.
"Did...we get married recently?" Abel asked, grinning up at Chamuel.
Fireflies flashed through Chamuel, catching the Slayers eye for a heartbeat.
"Yeah, last week. It was the paperwork I needed you to sign," He replied
"I never signed that,"
"It's okay, I signed it for you," Chamuel winked at Abel, which caused the slayer to roll his fingers through his hair a few times as if he were suddenly nervous.
The door swung open, the woman came out with arms out. Her high heels clicked on the concrete below. Her long, blue skirt moved angelically in the wind with her ruffled white top.
"Oh, I've heard so much about you boys," She laughed, wrapping her arms around Abel who chuckled uncomfortably. She let him go and hugged Chamuel who awkwardly returned it, shrugging at Abel when she pulled away.
"Oh, how silly of me. I'm Norma," She said with pride, standing up proudly. "Mick's wife, oh, did he not tell you?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
"He told us of you," Chamuel said. "Is that what you mean?"
She chuckled, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest.
"That's just like him, you know." Her voice was warm as she spoke, "Well he had to go on a slaying trip, he won't be back for a month or two. He asked me to help you in the meantime,"
Abel and Chamuel glanced at each other.
"Norma!"
They all turned to look towards the sound, Mishka was pulling into the gates in a large van. She waved eagerly at the woman, Chamuel could see Donnie was sitting in the seat next to her talking with Israfil who was settled in the back. The guitar wrapped around his frame.
"Mishie!!" Norma shouted, racing past Abel and Chamuel. Mishka pulled up behind the corvette, parking quickly before leaping out. The two collided with laughter, hugging one another tight.
"Well, I trust her," Abel laughed, grinning up at Chamuel.
***
Baal paced back and forth in front of Nathan, they had just checked out of their motel and went to collect their things but Baal couldn't keep his anxiety from flaring up. Nathan felt helpless, the demon had shared a lot with Nathan the past two days since the video had been watched. He understood the man's fear, if Chamuel found him a threat that was it. Back in the day, it wouldn't bother Baal if he had been blasted to smithereens. But now? He felt a strange sense of belonging to the Earth, to the people of it. To the souls who needed something. He was one of those souls too, his friendship with Nathan helped put that more into perspective.
"Baal, come on, I won't let Chamuel blast you. We need to go, we told Abel we'd meet them in an hour," Nathan pleaded, standing up from the bed and holding his hands out.
"Come on, breathe in and out," Nathan sucked air loudly into his nose, letting it out of his mouth as his therapist taught him. Baal repeated the action a few times, rubbing hand sanitizer on his hands.
"Stop," Nathan took the bottle from him, causing the demon to huff in frustration, "Look you're not dirty, Baal. You don't need this stuff," Nathan shook his head, pocketing the bottle.
"It's fine, trust me," Nathan gave the other a reassuring smile, "Cham won't kill you unless you go for Abel, trust me,"
"I...like the kid, I wouldn't do anything,"
"Exactly, so why would Cham blast to?"
Baal nodded slowly as if the thought wasn't something he considered, "You're right, I'm just,"
"You're freaking out, it's fine. If...I met…" Nathan held his hand up looking for an answer, "Uh...Harrison Ford," He grumbled out, "I'd be nervous too."
Baal nodded again, huffing and grabbing the motorcycle helmet off the table.
"Harrison Ford can't turn you into Salt," Baal pointed out, Nathan opened his jaw to speak before closing it again. Maybe that was a bad example.
"Erm, well I mean, we don't know him personally, maybe he could,"
This caused Baal to laugh, "You're right…" He whispered.
Nathan smiled, "I'm always right," he laughed, grabbing his helmet as well and pushing it on. The two made for the motorcycle, Baal continued to breathe deeply to keep his panic down as he got on the vehicle. Nathan sat behind him, gripping on to the man as they raced out of the parking lot.
The city went by in a quick blur, it wasn't that he was going terribly fast but more so that he felt as if he was about to get into the biggest battle of his life. He knew little about the kings, he knew their bloodline was rare, that it ran deep and far. But this was the first actual King since the original that saved thousands. The chosen one by Faith, an archangel no one had even heard of for thousands of years. Yet, here was Baal, a king of hell who tormented, manipulated and destroyed many souls. He knew Abel in passing, through the few short conversations they had, through social media or from Nathan making it impossible to size up who he was.
Even then, he didn't know a lick about Chamuel outside of videos he posts. He didn't even accept Baal's friend request on facebook! Focus, Baal! The app that played in the earbuds in his ear chimed, telling him to make a few quick turns. He listened, trying to drown out the anxiety with the sounds the gps made.
"Whoa," He heard Nathan say even above the wind and the sounds playing in his ear, he glanced through the screen of his purple helmet up to the large home. Coming to a quick stop in the front, the sun was dying down behind the large, beautiful home. Nathan gawked up at it all, knocking on Baal's helmet with his knuckle lightly.
"I gotta punch in the code,"
Baal blinked away his shock at the beautiful home, moving the bike closer to the keypad so Nathan could do his thing. The gates let out a whine as they pulled themselves open, it reminded Nathan of entering a cheesy horror attraction at a theme park. The two drove up to the top, Nathan noticed the corvette was parked in a garage a few inches from the front door, beside the garage was a large van that looked like a good mix of a weather vehicle and the Mystery Machine in Scooby Doo. With it's large back end, a skylight opening that held a radar of some sort beside it.
-
"Park over there," Nathan said, pointing towards the corvette. Baal nodded, following the other's direction. Parking in the same garage beside the beautiful red car, Nathan hopped off. Placing his helmet on the back of Baal's bike. Racing his fingers over the side of the car, smiling. His smile vanished when he glanced through the front windows, he could see Abel had somehow changed around things in the front. It looks more modern, with a few flashing lights on the dash. His eyes turned over the dried blood that had been mostly cleaned on the leather but stubbornly remained.
He could almost feel Gil roll in his grave, but it was Abel's car now though that was supposed to be a surprise. Glancing back towards his friend he could see the demon king attempting to stay relaxed. Nathan made for the man, putting his hands on the others shoulder.
"Baal, this man isn't some Jesus figure, I watched Abel choke on a pickle in his cheeseburger. I've seen him trip over nothing. He made me listen to the same song at least twenty times in a row and he still got the lyrics wrong. You can do this,"
Baal nodded, racing fingers through his hair as he set the helmet down. Nathan walked towards the front door, looking it up and down with a puzzled expression.
"Mick's wife must have really got him to open up," Nathan said to the other, "He wasn't usually this fancy,"
"Happy wife, happy life," Baal mused, though it came out more of a question than a statement as Nathan reached forward and rapped on the wooden door with his knuckles. Norma swung the door open, gasping as she saw the two. Grabbing Nathans hands and tugging him in, the slayer let out a yelp of shock.
"Oh Nathan," She squeaked, "It's been forever!" She hugged the tall man who laughed in response.
"It's been a minute, last time I saw you guys was at the wedding," he said with a glint of laughter in his voice.
She held up her hand to show off the ring on her finger, winking. "Five years, ten months!" She hummed.
"Ma'am," Baal said nervously, stepping into the room and holding out a hand. She shook it vigorously, "Hello, Baal?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
He nodded lightly, "That's...me,"
"Oh, you are so handsome! If I was single," She teased, winking at him as well before turning on her heels and rolling her shoulders at the two.
"Come on, parties in the living room! We're still waiting on someone else, right? You said he'd be here at--" She pulled her phone from the pocket of her skirt, planting a hand on her hip.
"Eight?"
"Yeah, he's...got a long work day," Nathan said with a chuckle, he hadn't told Abel about Cain yet. He wasn't sure how to bring it up actually, he'd tell him when they got to the living room.
Nathan entered the home, in awe at how big and beautiful it was. The door opened up to a large inside, whose ceiling rose high into the sky, it was painted like the top of a church with angels flying happily everywhere in a pure blue sky. A few scattered couches in the front, beside that was a staircase that raced upwards. Every floor was open, you could see almost every layer of the home from where Nathan stood.
Past the stairs he could see into another large, open room. The sound of talking could be heard coming from inside that room, though it didn't have a door, just a large, fancy frame. He could make out couches in the room as well as hear the sound of Abel's laugh.
Norma guided them towards the living room, she talked a mile a minute as they followed behind her. Passing a few artsy looking statues, some paintings and a large fish tank. Norma knocked on the wood beside the frame,
"Okay, we got two more," She announced, stepping aside.
Nathan felt as if he was going to a friend's sleepover with the way Norma talked to him, but she'd always been like that. It wasn't unusual, he couldn't figure out what Mick saw in her personality.
"Nate!" Abel laughed, leaping up from the couch and throwing his arms around his uncle. Nathan blinked in surprise, he wasn't used to hugs from his brother but then again, this wasn't his brother.
"You made it!" Abel laughed, stepping back
"No thanks to you," Nathan chuckled, "Oh,"
Baal stepped into the warm light of the living room, standing beside Nathan. Rolling his sleeves up nervously,
"This is Baal, he...well, saved my ass from getting crucified,"
-
Abel tilted his head to Nathan, standing in front of Baal and looking up at him. Baal felt fear rise through his veins as he locked eyes with the Slayer, Abel's hair was getting longer, his green eyes shone with a warmth that reminded Baal of a hug.
"Oh yeah? You're Baal, huh?" Abel laughed, holding out a hand to the man.
Baal shook his head, immediately he got to his knees and bowed his head at the man. Staring at the ground as he half expected the other to send war after him within seconds,
"My-- King," It felt odd to say that to Baal, this all felt odd, but he needed to do this. For the souls he could still save. "Please, I want to help you save everyone." He whispered, he could feel everyone's gaze on him as he continued. The silence in the room turned awkward for a few seconds as the man worked over his words. Glancing up at Abel, his eyes pleading.
"I am Baal, first demon king of Hell, and I am here, bowing to you, to show my respect and hope you will accept me as your tool to save this place."
Abel looked at the man in shock, he knew Baal was a demon king. Though he hadn't been prepared to see how big the man was, he wasn't afraid of him. Baal simply stared at him, longingly. Abel blinked a few more times, smiling now he got to his knees as well. Grinning widely and placing two hands on the others shoulders.
"Hey man, even if I am….a king?" He chuckled, "I don't know about any of that, but if anything I should be bowing to you. You saved my Uncle," Abel gestured to Nathan, "I've only known him for a short time but I don't know what I'd do without him. Besides, even if I was a king, I'd rather have a hug," Abel leaned forward and hugged the demon laughing lightly.
Baal gasped at the hug, looking at Nathan in shock. Nathan shrugged, giving him an 'I told you' look. Baal wrapped his arms around Abel, returning the hug as tears raced down his cheeks. He felt weight physically fall from his chest at the others words, his hug. Baal laughed, letting the other go, the two standing back up. The man brushed his tears away, smiling wide at the king.
"They always said the King was forgiving, I just never expected him to forgive me," He chuckled, Abel scoffed, "Again, I'm not an actual King, and you're my friend,"
"You don't even know me," Baal offered, causing Abel to shrug as he sat back down beside Chamuel on the couch. Feeling a trickle of embarrassment after everything.
"I didn't know any of my friends at first, doesn't make them any less a friend,"
***
"Wait, so you're saying I'm Jesus?"
Everyone gathered on the couch, Baal sitting on a small coffee table in front of the couch. Drinking a beer in a bottle, a long red straw sticking from the top. Nathan sat next to Baal on a chair, moving his own beer between his hands.
"You're telling me I had sex with Jesus?" Mishka whispered to Donnie who shrugged.
"The ultimate sin," Abel joked,
"It's virgin mary, not virgin Jesus," Donnie pipped up,
"Not virgin mary anymore," Chamuel mused,
"Haven't been for awhile," Mishka laughed.
"Is any of this important?" Nathan asked, looking at the group with a raised eyebrow, knowing Baal wouldn't interrupt their conversation anytime soon.
"Anyways," Baal continued, "You're what they call the King of Kings, and that," He pointed to the Chamulet around the Slayers neck.
"Is Faiths Diadem, it's not just for opening secrets, it also--"
"Holds her powers,"
Everyone froze at the new voice, glancing up towards Cain who stood in the hallway. Carrying a case of beer in one hand, wearing an old band shirt under an unbuttoned lab coat, the sleeves rolled up. His hair parting awkwardly to the side, his hazel eyes glancing around them.
"Sorry," He chuckled, putting the beer down on the counter beside Baal.
"Hi, I'm...a little early,"
"Oh hush, never too early for a party,"
Norma waved at them, grinning wide before making her way back to the kitchen.
"Thanks mom!" Donnie shouted at her, chuckling, "Is it just me, or does she treat us like high schools?"
"It's not just you," Nathan sighed,
"Who's this?" Israfil asked, frowning at Cain with his eyebrows pushed together. Something about him bothered the angel but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Oh, I'm Cain," he said with a nervous laugh, "Erm...Cain Granjero, I'm uh,"
"He's Abel's half brother," Nathan blurted out, "I meant to tell you but...well I wanted to say it in person but...Baal was explaining,"
"And I'm early," Cain laughed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
Abel perked up, "Brother?" He asked, looking at Nathan with a skeptical look.
Cain swallowed hard, "My mom...Eve, she's also your mom. We have different dads but, well,"
"How do you know that?" Abel asked, he scooted closer to Chamuel. Cain glanced at Chamuel, then back to Abel.
"Uh, well, my mom she recognized you online and she's...got dementia so if she recognized you I figured it was true,"
Abel relaxed a bit, standing up now with a tilt of his head. He looked Cain up and down, nodding his head. He could hear his friends muttering to each other.
"So…" Abel started, biting his lip, "I was born a girl,"
"I know, she...said you looked just like your father, that's...how she knew," Cain looked away from Abel for a few heartbeats.
"I know it seems crazy, but fate...I think it put us together, look, we have the same hair, same eye shape," He shrugged, "I can even get us a DNA test, completely free,"
Abel blinked in surprise, the frown turned to a large grin.
"So...Cain?"
"I know what you're thinking, I won't try to kill you in a field," Cain said with a returning grin, holding out his hand to Abel. Abel grabbed it, chuckling, "I'm gonna hold ya to that," He joked, letting the man's hand go.
"I gotta brother, damn, this day just keeps getting better,"
"Well, I might be about to make it worse," Baal said, patting the seat beside him. Abel frowned, sitting down next to the demon who sighed. Cain made his way to the couch, sitting in the empty seat besides Chamuel. He recognized the man as the angel in the videos, the selfies. But sitting beside him his chest turned to fire, his bright blue gaze, soft blonde hair. He felt nauseated and thrilled, that was his angel. The angel of War, he knew it now as he started up at the blonde.
"I'm Cain," He whispered,
"Chamuel," Cham murmured back, "I'm uh-- angel of love and war,"
"I saw you blow that lady apart,"
"I-- yeah," Chamuel looked away from Cain, his frown faded.
"Sorry, I...bet that was hard to do, but you kind of had too,"
Chamuel nodded lightly, not replying to the other. Cain silently cursed himself out, he always had an issue talking with people in a nn professional manner.
"Mishka, Mishka Amir," The woman beside Cain whispered to him, nudging him with her elbow. He looked at her in shock as if she had just assaulted him before giving a hesitant nod,
"C-Cain," He stuttered out awkwardly, feeling his face burn.
"So, what happens then? I'm king, I kill the devil or something and this place returns to normal?" Abel asked
"As normal as things were," Nathan added
Baal shook his head, "It's not that easy, kid." He grumbled, "the Chamulet picked you. But, I don't know much aside from that."
"So...we don't know what the Chamulet even does?" Cain piped up, tilting his head.
"Nope, at least, not with the king. I know what they do for angels, but people? This only ever happened one other time," Baal pointed out
"Well,"
Everyone turned their head to Israfil who shuffled uncomfortably, "I...was the original owner of the Chamulet," He murmured.
"Yeah that's true, do you know how to work it?" Abel asked, pulling the necklace off and holding it to the brilliant moonlight that shone through the bay windows.
"Well," The angel took his snapback off his head, fiddling with it nervously. "I know it has Faith's Grace--"
"How did you get it?" Nathan asked, "What makes Abel's different from the one you have?" The man nodded to the angel's Diadem that sat around his neck.
Israfil looked around at everyone, placing the hat on his head and he floated off the couch and settled on the floor. Pulling the guitar forward, its white paint shimmering in the moonlight. The strings chimed a few times, he took in a breath and ran his fingers over the strings again. This time, the wires turned to pure gold, everyone looked at them in awe.
He started playing the guitar, a warm, loving tune. His eyes flashed to a glowing white, the lights flickered till they turned off. As he played the golden strings a picture formed before him, glowing bright in the darkness. It was him! A smaller, more cartoonish version of him, it looked as if a small child drew him in crayon that glowed bright in the darkness.
"Long ago, when me and Faith still roamed the Earth," He started, the picture morphed and moved to fit the scene, showing Israfil and a woman, a few inches taller than him with curly locks. A crown sat on her head that shimmered especially bright.
"We created joy, peace wherever we went. I, with my music, showed the world what it could become. They painted me on murals, in the skies of their churches, they made me more babyish but that was okay! They sang the songs I taught them, that is, until I fell in love. Faith. Beautiful, archangel of Love...and war. She was the most powerful and intense of the archangel's, the lord looked upon her and thought she was perfect."
The picture moved to show the two angels holding hands, running through scenes of old together turning the cold, cool colors of the land to a warm, bright, vivid palette.
"Faith and I moved through the world with the Lord's blessings, I sang of love while she danced on the wings of war. We were happy, that is, until a wickedness happened. We welcomed the King of Kings to the world, Jesus, they were beautiful too. They were strong. That is, until the prophecy happened. Call Jesus what you will, but they fought for this world."
The pictures morphed to a world in ruins, until the shining light of Jesus was shown. With their dark skin, long curly hair that ran past their shoulders and a smile so bright it turned the darkness of the world to light around them.
"Faith, she was assigned to him just as Chamuel is assigned to Abel, but Faith couldn't protect Jesus the way she wanted. An evil force, a terrible creature of pure hate, attached itself to Judas,"
The picture showed a shadow now, its evil red eyes like claw slices in the shadows. It hid itself in the shadow of another man, who watched Jesus with an angry glint in his gaze.
Cain felt Cherm shuffle against him, Chamuel blinked a few times looking behind him as he also felt the shadow. Cain grinned at Chamuel, "Sorry," He whispered, Chamuel smiled back and turned attention back to Israfil.
The pictures showed the three, attempting to save the world from this great evil that started to swallow everything whole.
"We fought," Israfil said loudly, he started to float as golden light danced around the room. Kicking up a soft wind that ruffles the books in their bookcase.
"But no matter what happened, it couldn't be stopped. The dark creature won!"
The lights, pictures, they vanished for a few heartbeats. The sound of the guitar echoed around them.
"Faith wouldn't have it, she prayed to the universe, begging them for help. He answered," The wind started to die down, the pain in Israel's voice filled the room with a strong sadness.
"He said, I will take your grace of love, War will rage and Jesus will return. Faith took the universes offer, Jesus returned three days later and defeated the Evil,"
his voice cracked lightly, his hand dropped. The strings vibrated softly, the picture shown before them was of Israfil watching Grace being destroyed by the very war inside Chamuel.
"She...was able to store her love into the Diadem, it was given to me. I was told to give it to the next King," He whispered, the picture showed her handing the necklace to Israfil as darkness swallowed her whole. Tears ran down cartoon Israfil's cheeks as he ran away from Faith, not looking back. Behind the fleeing angel showed Jesus, rising from the darkness below to welcome the world once again thanks to Faith's sacrifice.
"I hid away from everyone, everything, until the necklace told me who it was meant for. Till Faith, picked her next king. Hundreds of years, I waited, I'd have waited forever for her."
He glanced over at Abel, the pain in his eyes burned into the Slayer's heart. The pictures faded away as tears raced down the angel's cheeks, he sniffled in an attempt to keep them away.
"And now, she'll be back through you, I'm not sure if she'll come back physically. But you have...all my loyalty, just as she did."
He bowed his head to Abel, "Issy, man, like I said. Bowing aint my thing," He chuckled, attempting to process all the information he got. Israfil grinned up at Abel, brushing tears from his eyes and wiping his nose.
"But how do you use it?" Chamuel whispered, Israfil simply shrugged.
"I was only the keeper of the Chamulet, I...never found out how to use it,"
"What about yours?" Abel inquired, causing the angel of music to glance down at the necklace around his neck.
"Mine was given to me when I first entered Earth, it's just to help keep my grace from destroying my human skin. It's nothing special, it's not like Faiths."
Silence followed this, Cain shuffled awkwardly as he looked around at everyone.
"So...that was neat, but...what now?" Cain asked, Donnie got out of his spot on the couch and made for Israfil. Placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, giving him a small smile.
"Well," Baal said, "There is still a prophecy," He pointed out, pulling out his cellphone and holding it out for everyone. Showing the blurry picture he had grabbed of the painting before being chased off.
"Yeah," Cham murmured, "We need to find the rest of that, maybe it'll have a clue on the Chamulet,"
"I mean, it can't hurt," Mishka pointed out, "So how are we going to do this? Are we just going to walk into the museum and look at it?"
"Unfortunately," Baal grunted, putting his phone back in his pocket. "It's not being displayed yet, so you'll have to bust it out of a locked room. It's also been put behind a locked case,"
"Is that because some crazy person keeps trying to grab it?" Nathan asked, arching an eyebrow at Baal who snorted.
"I thought it'd be easy to grab," He muttered,
"Yeah, until your girlfriend came around,"
"Girlfriend?" Abel asked with a snort,
"Yeah, this guard he's obsessed with," Nathan laughed,
"I don't need a couple of Lancaster's making fun of me," Baal growled, glaring at Nathan who patted him on the back.
"So we need to break into it?" Donnie asked, sitting beside Israfil. Leaning on him, making the angel chuckle and playfully push him away.
"Oh no, I'm not getting arrested," Mishka snorted,
"That's fine, cause I'm gonna do it!" Abel said proudly, puffing out his chest in a melodramatic manner. He nodded to Chamuel who grinned at the man,
"Me and my wingman," He said, making his way to Chamuel and shoving himself between Cain and the angel. Cain felt anger rise in his throat but swallowed it back, seeing the way Chamuel grinned at Abel made the anger trickle through his veins.
"Watch it," Cain growled, though Abel ignored him.
"Good, cause I'm...banned," Baal said with an awkward cough.
"That's fine, Benjamin Gates and Riley Pool didn't have anyone but themselves,"
"Who?" Chamuel asked, grinning at the man.
Mishka loudly sucked in air, "Oh my God Chamuel," this was followed by a collective groan between the younger adults in the room.
"National Treasure?" Donnie said with a laugh,
"Oh come on, who'd get that," Cain defended,
"We did," Mishka pointed out,
"It's okay Cain, I get this abuse all the time," Chamuel joked, Abel shook his shoulders playfully at Chamuel causing the angel to roll his eyes.
"We have to watch it!" Israfil piped up, smiling again as he hopped to his feet.
"Hell yeah! It's Research," Donnie added.
"Guys, come on, we need to actually steal the thing. This isn't a game," Nathan said, getting to his feet.
"Nathan's right, this isn't a game," Cain added, following the others action and attempting to pull himself from between Abel and the couch cushions.
"Actually," Baal grunted, "We can't do it tonight anyways, Bailey aint there."
"Why does she have to be there?" Nathan asked, tilting his head at Baal.
"Cause the other guard is older, and has been working longer. He locks the place up tight, but I know a door Bailey always forgets to lock."
"So, we wait till tomorrow night?" Cain asked, tilting his head.
"I suppose so, yes,"
"Well, my aunt says everyone can stay here," Mishka said, her warm brown eyes moved across the room as if she was inspecting the group.
"Oh, good cause I'm...eating through my money," Abel said, feeling his face burn
"Sounds good, let me call my mom and let her know," Cain said, stepping out of the room with his phone to his ear.
"So…" Abel started, looking around him, Nathan sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Just say it,"
"I don't have to say it,"
"It's killing you, just say you,"
Abel grinned at his uncle, "I'm going to steal the declaration of Independence,"
The group laughed at Abel's impression, except Chamuel who stared around him blankly.
"What? Is that what it's about?!" He asked with a shocked look on his face.
***
Cain leaned against the wall outside, making sure no one could hear him as he spoke into the phone.
"I'm in," He whispered, "They trust me, I'm going to need to stay here a few days. Get their trust fully, then we start phase one."
"Alright my king," Amaryllis said into the phone, their voice sounded a little tired.
"Can you take care of my mom?"
"Yes, you'll have to call her though when you can,"
"I will," He murmured, after a few more short minutes of chatting he hung up the phone.
Leaning against the house, racing his fingers through his hair as he thought of the angel. He suddenly felt dizzy, tying into his phone before placing it to his ear once more. He heard soft chatting before his mothers voice jumped into the receiver,
"My king! I'll miss you, baby boy!"
"Hello mom," He chuckled, "I love you,"
"I love you, Cain,"
"Mom, I think I found my Lionheart,"
There was a pause from her end, "I knew you'd find them, send me a picture!" He grinned, his mom's voice filled with excitement.
"Oh, you and them, my boy! You're going to have wings of gold, they will be your Lionheart."
"Mom, you were right, he's a man,"
The woman chuckled at the other end of the phone, "My Frodo, I told you, now it's your turn to save the world."
Cain smiled, finishing his talk with his mother before placing the phone back into his pocket. He took in a few breaths of air, he already had the next few days off he just had to play nice with everyone until his time came. Could he even do that? He never had friends growing up, he already felt like the odd one out as he started making his way back into the house. Blinking in surprise as the large group collected themselves on the couch. All of which were shoved together, that is, aside from Nathan who had taken to sitting in a chair on his phone not far away. Baal settled beside Abel, talking to the man with his phone out, Mishka and Donnie strumming at the strings on Israfil's guitar as the angel explained his grace to them.
Cain eyed Chamuel who sat, mostly, alone on the end of the couch. Cain made towards the angel and settled beside him and Mishka, Norma came out only seconds later with her arms filled with taco ingredients.
"Taco night," She sang as everyone started to collectively talk to one another.
Cain looked up at Chamuel with a smile, the angel glanced down at him. Giving the man a smile in return, he felt a rush of excitement within his veins. It was all coming together. The sound of the movie starting caused the group to settle down, Norma took a seat on a chair beside Nathan. Holding her plate of food, exchanging quiet words with the older Slayer.
Cain looked around him, feeling a spark of jealousy at Abel's ability to befriend all these people. Cain wasn't a people person but Abel? It was as if his brother was the opposite of him, from his long hair to his personable nature the man was the spitting image of what Cain's mother seemed to imagine Cain should be like. If only they knew he wouldn't reach his destiny, Cain was going to rewrite their destiny and nothing was going to stop him. He'd stop the world from falling victim to Abel, the antichrist.