Chapter 2
Christine and Margret were sitting underneath a gazebo in a garden. Christine attached a chain to her Connection Cross and placed it around her neck. The cross was a little big to be a pendant on a necklace but it wasn't heavy enough to be a problem. "What do you think?" Christine asked. She turned so Margret could see the fruits of her labor.
"It's perfect Christy, just perfect!", beamed Margret, "I can't believe St. Michael named you guardian of the child!"
"I know! Lord knows I've been guardian angel to a lot of mortals but this is the most special one yet! I'm going to do everything within my power to ensure the safety of this child."
"All of the forces of Hell will be after this little kid. You'll certainly have to keep on your toes."
"I'm willing to go up against the most powerful demon if it means keeping him safe."
Margret playfully rolled her eyes and said, "Uh- Oh, look out! Christy's serious mode just activated."
Christine laughed and said, "Very funny Margret. Very funny." Christine stood, "I have to get going. The child is about to be born and I want to be there when they put him in the nursery."
"What demon would be stupid enough to steal a child from the hospital nursery?"
"An underling trying to please his superiors. That's why I have to get going. See you later."
"See ya Christy, good luck!" With a flap of her wings, Christine across the garden to a marble circle in the grass. The middle had a cross formed with mosaic tiles. Christine stepped onto the mosaic cross. A golden light shone on the borders of the circle. Christine closed her eyes and pictured the hospital where the gifted child was to be born. She honed in on the maternity ward and focused on the room where the child's mother was in labor. The gold light raced toward the middle of the circle and shot upwards into the sky, taking Christine with it. The beam disappeared without a trace.
Christine stood by the wall in the delivery room. Even though she was invisible and intangible to the mortals, she felt it was best to remain out of the way. On the bed was a woman fox, her face twisted in pain and her belly swollen with the child about to be born. The bangs of her bright blonde hair were plastered to her forehead by sweat. Her husband, a handsome white-furred fox was kneeled beside the bed. He winced as his wife clutched his hand and squeezed it to the point of cutting off the circulation. Bustling about the room were 2 nurses and a doctor. One of the nurses took a position at the end of the bed with a blanket. The other fetched things for the doctor. The doctor gave the she-fox a drug of some sort and instructed her to start pushing. She let out a scream that drowned out the words of encouragement from the people surrounding her.
Christine had never had any children of her own when she was alive. As she watched the process of birth, she was extremely thankful that she hadn't. After 30 minutes or so of screaming and pushing, the nurse at the end of the bed finally stood up with wailing bundle in her arms. She went to the side of the bed and tenderly handed the bundle to the mother's waiting arms, "Congratulations. You are the parents of a healthy baby boy."
"Oh, he's so beautiful." cooed the mother as tears of pain and happiness mingled in her eyes. Christine walked to her beside and peered over the father's shoulder. The baby was a little smaller than average. He was a fox with yellow-orange fur and white fur on his muzzle and belly. He had two long, bushy tails tipped with white. Oddly enough, his right eye was sky blue and the left was a golden orange.
The father took the baby in his arms and said, "He has your fur Lillian. And your grandmother's tails."
The second nurse came back with a clipboard and a pen, "Do you have a name picked out?"
"His name is Miles Prower." Said the father. The nurse jotted down the name and scurried off.
The doctor said to the proud parents, "I'll leave you three, hahaha, alone for a few minutes. A nurse will be back then to take little Miles here to get a full check-up to make sure everything's a-ok." The doctor went out and shut the door.
Lillian reached for Miles who was still crying, "Let me hold him Jonathan." Jonathan slid Miles into his mother's arms. "Shhhh. Don't cry Miles, Mommy's got you." Soothed Lillian as she rocked the distressed baby slightly. The volume and intensity of Miles' cries began to decrease until he was almost silent. He snuggled close to Lillian's chest, seeking the warmth and her reassuring heartbeat.
Christine stood protectively beside Miles as he lay sleeping in his hospital crib. She surveyed the relatively dark nursery with a watchful eye. A nurse or two would come around every once in a while to check on the babies or to perform other duties. Occasionally a baby or two would begin to cry but the nursery was otherwise peaceful. Around 3 AM the entire nursery was quiet. All of the babies were either asleep or drinking a bottle. Christine's ears were perked for any disturbances. She heard the sound of shuffling near the door of the nursery. Turning her head slightly, she caught sight of a dark figure slinking across the tile floor. A tapping quietly accompanied the stalking creature as its claws scrapped the tile. It stayed low to the ground with its spiked tail dragging behind it. A small growl escaped its mouth full of glinting yellow teeth. Christine knew it was a demon. From what she could tell it was an underling; a weak brand of demon that was just smart enough to speak broken English. Other than that the beasts only made animal-like noises. A demon of this class usually only posed a threat to mortals who had been dabbling in things they shouldn't. To a seasoned angel, an underling was little more than a fly.
As the underling wove its way through the rows of hospital cribs toward her, Christine slipped a Bible out of the pocket in her robe. She knew the banishing spell by heart but having a Bible present never hurt. The underling stopped about 5 feet in front of Christine. It took a step forward into a pool of moonlight coming from a skylight in the nursery. The demon slightly resembled a jackal with its long snout and toothy grin. Its eyes were black with no pupils. The reddish-yellow flesh seemed to drip off of its bones as it shuffled its huge paws on the tile. Christine stood tall in front of Miles' crib and said in a commanding tone, "Leave, demon! You are not welcome here."
The underling snarled back, "Never."
"If you do not leave of your own will, I will forcefully remove you from this building and banish you back to the twisted hole from whence you came."
In a barley understandable growl it replied, "Must please Master. Master wants child. Must give child to Master." Christine held up the Bible. Immediately the underling let out a hiss and backed away slightly.
She began to recite the banishing prayer, "By the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I bid thee to leave this building. You are no longer allowed to be here for I banish you to your realm. Be gone, hound of Hell! By the power of Jesus Christ, be gone!" As Christine spoke, the underling began to howl and screech as if the words themselves were stabbing it. It quaked, shuddered, and nearly collapsed onto the floor. When Christine had finished the underling roared before dashing toward the window. It jumped through the glass and landed in the grassy courtyard of the hospital. It than got up and ran into the night.
5 months passed in the blink of an eye. Miles was growing up fast. He smiled, laughed, imitated sounds he heard (he was especially found of mimicking the pigeons that nested on the roof of his home), and played. Christine felt comfortable leaving him alone during the day with his parents for she knew that not even the stupidest underling would dare attack the child in broad daylight. However, she always appeared at his crib-side as soon as he was put to bed. One night, a particularly strong underling tried to steal him from his crib but naturally Christine was there to intervene. Frightened by the demon's horrifying visage, Mile began to cry. After a difficult wrestling match with the underling, Christine managed to banish it from the house. She approached Miles who was still crying. She brushed away his tears with her hand. Miles stopped crying and looked at her. Christine smiled kindly and Miles let out a giggle. He grasped her finger and looked up grinning. This child really can see us immortals. To think this tiny little thing has such a power. thought Christine as Miles continued to play with her finger. She gently removed it from his hands. "Go to sleep little one. Have no fear; I'm here to protect you. Go to sleep." whispered Christine as she bent and kissed Miles on the forehead.
The next morning, Christine was back in Heaven telling Margret about the previous night's events. When she had finished, Margret stamped her foot and said, "Those no good demons! Attacking a baby is low even for them! Its good thing I wasn't there or that underling would have received a thrashing! You better keep a good eye on that kid Christy."
"Of course I do.", replied Christine, "But I'm worried. The attacks have been dying down over the past month. They used to come almost every night but now, an attack only happens once or twice a week."
"So?"
"So, demons aren't exactly quitters. They must be planning something big."
"Oh don't worry Christy! It's nothing you can't handle. All of the attacks have been by underlings right?"
"Yes. With the exception of one middle class demon on last Thursday."
"Then you have nothing to worry about." said Margret with a wink. Around evening time, Christine's Connection Cross began to glow. She leapt into the air and flew to the nearest portal.
Christine arrived in the living room of Miles' home and let out a gasp. Miles' father was lying in a pool of his own blood. His chest was torn open, revealing what was left of his internal organs. Christine was frozen in place. She had seen blood before but never such a huge amount like that was soaking into the carpet. A scream tore her from her thoughts and Christine half climbed, half flew up the stairs. She went straight Miles' room. The door was torn off its hinges and lay in a splintered heap at the end of the hall. Without hesitation, Christine burst into the room.
Miles' mother was in the corner clutching the crying child to her chest. Tears of terror streamed down her face as she screamed, "Stay away from my baby! You can't have him! Stay away! In the name of God stay away from my baby!" The distraught mother held up her rosary with a silver cross dangling from it. Christine looked around the room for the intruder. She spotted him in the corner and her heart skipped a beat. In the corner of the room was the infamous Umbra Diaboli, a demon whose power was second only to the Devil himself. His name meant 'Shadow of the Devil' in Latin and suited him all too well.
He was a black hedgehog with crimson demon stripes (markings that identify and distinguish a demon among its kind) winding about his head and tipping his quills which were bent in a V-shape. His eyes were blood red with black slits and burned with all of the fire of Hell. He pocessed sharp black claws on his hands and feet in addition to a long, thick, tail and black leathery wings that resembled a bat's. Umbra looked at Christine and smiled, revealing his sharp, blood stained teeth, "Why, hello there. Took you long enough." Masking her fear, Christine moved across the room and in front of Miles and his mother who were still huddled together. Seeing Christine, Miles let out an unintelligible noise and reached toward her.
Filled with determination, Christine said, "Leave this place Umbra! You are not welcome here!"
Umbra took a step forward and said, "You know that im not going to leave here with out that baby."
"You will have to go through me first."
"Not a problem." Moving faster than she could see, Umbra lunged forward and slammed his fist into Christine's face causing her fly across the room and hit the wall, rattling the pictures hanging there.
Upon hearing the bang and seeing the pictures on the wall rattle, the panicked mother began to shout once more, "Away demon! Away from my child and away from this house! You can't have him! Stay away!" The silver cross on her rosary trembled as her hands shook.
Umbra scoffed, "Do you think that piece of tin will stop me? Bah!" He swatted the rosary from her hands. As he did the beads and cross burned his skin, causing Umbra to snarl. He grabbed Miles' mother by the throat and lifted her off the ground. Making his voice penetrate the spiritual barrier between mortals and immortals, Umbra growled, "Surrender your child to me or die." The mother's eyes widened upon hearing the demonic voice come from the same invisible force that currently had her by the throat.
She wept and pleaded, "Take me demon, I beg of you take me! My son is but a child! Take my soul demon and leave his! Please, I'm begging you, take me!" A snort of contempt ruffled her bangs.
Meanwhile, Christine who had been fighting to stay conscious by the wall was now rising to her feet, "Let her go Umbra! Your fight is with me!"
Umbra turned his head slightly, "You name is Christine, isn't it? Stay out of this Christine. We all have our obligations to our superiors and this is mine. Don't make me kill you."
"You have to if you're going to take Miles." Umbra growled and tightened his grip on Miles' mother who still clutched the 5 month old to her bosom. Miles, who was merely whimpering before, began to cry. Christine pulled out her Bible and began to pray in Latin, "PATER NOSTER, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo." Umbra let out a screeching hiss as the holy words bored into him. Blood trickled from his ears as Christine forcefully shouted, "Amen!" Touching a clawed hand to his ear and seeing the black substance, Umbra began to become enraged. He turned on Miles' mother and tore her throat with his teeth before Christine could stop him. Umbra looked at her with a strip of furry flesh hanging from his mouth. He smiled and spat it at her. Christine jumped back as it landed at her feet.
Umbra laughed maniacally, "So much for prayer, eh Christine?!" Blood dripped onto Miles who was locked in his mother's cold, dead embrace. He reached out to Christine once more as he cried.
Anger sparked into Christine's heart as she launched into a new prayer with renewed vigor, "Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indigent."
Umbra dropped the corpse of Miles' mother and covered his ears, roaring, "dampnareangelusetdamnaretpreces!"
Ignoring him Christine went on, "GLORIA PATRI, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen!" With a loud howl, Umbra charged toward Christine, claws outstretched. However, his movements were slow, rash, and clumsy. Christine dodged the attack and launched one of her own. She kicked the demon in the back of the head. While Umbra attempted to rise, Christine rose her arms above her head, palms turned up wards, and swung her arm back down, forming her fingers into fists along the way. She than opened her hands and in each palm was a pulsating ball of light. She clapped them together and shot a thick beam toward Umbra. Quite suddenly he whirled around and shot a dark, sinister beam at Christine. The two beams collided and began pushing against each other.
This did not last long for Umbra was weakened by the prayers and Christine's steel resolve was unwavering. Christine put forth as big a surge of energy as she could manage. The gold beam turned pure white and engulfed the dark beam and Umbra. There was a huge flash of light. When it cleared, Umbra lay in a crumpled heap. His breathing coming in animal-like pants and gasps and his body was covered in bleeding cuts and burns. Christine stood with her shoulders slumped and her ears and wings drooping. Straightening herself slightly, Christine strode to Umbra who was struggling to even steady himself on all fours. "Get out." She said, "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, get out."
Umbra narrowed his eyes, "Irrumabovos. irrumabodeus. tibiomnes angeliincaelo etirrumabo! vosomnesarderein inferno,tumte.Ipseegovos trahatin ignem! Don't think you've seen the last of me. I'll be back and I will have my revenge. That child will be mine one way or another!" Umbra fled from the room and was gone.
The air was pierced by a high-pitched cry. Christine turned to see Miles trying desperately to escape his deceased mother. Christine ran over and scooped him up. She bounced him gently and said, "Shush little one, hush. The danger is gone for now. Hush, save your strength." Miles calmed down and looked at Christine, the tears on his face mixing with his mother's blood. The angel kissed him upon the forehead and wiped away the blood and tears. This boy, he is an orphan now. I must find a suitable place and trustworthy mortals to leave him with. thought Christine as she descended the stairs into the living room. She plucked a baby blanket from the floor and wrapped Miles in it. She then pulled the hood of her robe over her head. Christine's wings vanished as did her halo. Holding Miles close, she quickly hurried from the house and into the street. She walked swiftly down the street, occasionally giving waves to people who cast her odd looks.
After turning a corner and walking a few blocks, Christine came to a large, 3 story house. She gazed up at the sign which read, Helga's Home for Homeless Children. She knocked upon the door. Almost immediately, a plump female German Shepard answered. She smiled and said with a German accent, "Hallo! Vat brings you to mien humble orphanage?"
"Are you Helga?" asked Christine. "Ja. Vat can I do for you?" "I have a child here. He is 5 months old. Can you take him?"
"Ja, ja! Of course I take him! Don't you worry mein Kind; he will have a good home here. Vat is his name?"
"Miles Prower."
"Such an 'ansome name. Give him here." Christine carefully handed Miles to Helga who cradled him in her arms.
Christine bent down and gave Miles a kiss on his forehead and whispered, "Stay strong little one and remember, whenever you need me, I'll be there." With that, Christine turned and walked back the way she came. As she past Miles' old house, she wove through the gathering crowd of people. The police were now calling the home a crime scene and roping off the area. Christine turned down an alley. Once concealed, she removed her hood causing her wings and halo to appear once more. She took to the skies and flew over the city. Suddenly, a dark shadow engulfed her. Before Christine had time to react, something slammed into her from above and drove her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and turned to see Umbra. He smiled wickedly and said, "Did you miss me?" Christine opened her mouth to give a fiery reply but Umbra cut her off with a swift blow to the stomach. Umbra shoved her down onto the ground as she attempted to catch her breath. Christine looked up at Umbra who grinned once more, "I told you I would have my revenge." Umbra kicked Christine in her face and everything went black.
Christine awoke with a groan. She slowly sat up, her aching head protesting. Christine looked around, it was morning and she was lying in the grass of a park somewhere. What happened to me? Where am I? After a moment of thinking, Christine remembered what had transpired the previous night. As she got to her feet, Christine felt an odd pain in her stomach, as if something stirred inside her. Her hand flew to her belly. "Oh no."
Author's Note: Sorry I took so long everyone! Any ways, this is chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it! I know there's a lot of Latin in this chapter, I wanted to make it more real, ya know? Christine says nothing but prayers in Latin, while Umbra, being the demon that he is, spits curses in Latin. By the way, I do not agree with anything Umbra says at ALL. I'm just trying to write a good story and I'm sorry if I offend anyone. Well here's the translation for the Latin parts. You have to love the Google Translator: 1.Christine pulled out her Bible and began to pray in Latin, "PATER NOSTER, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo." Translation: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 2. Anger sparked into Christine's heart as she launched into a new prayer with renewed vigor, "Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indigent." Translation: "Lord Jesus, forgive us our sins, saveus fromthe fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most needof Thy mercy." 3. Umbra dropped the corpse of Miles' mother and covered his ears, roaring, "dampnareangelusetdamnaretpreces!" Translation: "Damn you angel and damn your prayers!" 4. Ignoring him Christine went on, "GLORIA PATRI, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen!" Translation: "GLORY be to theFather, and tothe Son, andHoly Spirit.As it wasin the beginning,is now, andever shall be,world without end.The same!" 5. She said, "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, get out." Translation: "In the name ofthe Father,and of the Son, and Holy Ghost, get out." 6. Umbra narrowed his eyes, "Irrumabovos. irrumabodeus. tibiomnes angeliincaelo etirrumabo! vosomnesarderein inferno,tumte.Ipseegovos trahatin ignem! Translation: F*** you. F*** your God. F*** your heaven and all the angels in it! You will all burn in hell! Especially you. I will drag you down into the fire myself! Whew! Remind me to use less Latin next time. I hope you like this chapter, im going to try and get the next one out ASAP. Please read and review. Thank you.
