Chapter 4

The Soul Beast was unlike anything he had seen, but its eyes held the familiar glint of hellfire as he gazed at it, the eyes expanding and growing brighter.

He shook his head hard and shut his eyes, pulling out a set of sunglasses. He cracked a vial of holy water and wet the lenses, then put them on. The Soul Beast turned away, but its image was still in the water, taking the place of his reflection.

"The name's John Constantine. Remember it," he said, turning away and heading for the front of the Church. He took several steps before pausing, one foot held above a puddle of water. The Soul Beast was there, staring up at him. Glancing around, there were puddles everywhere, each and every one an open door. He was surrounded.

He had only a little holy water with him, not enough to purify every puddle in his way. He would have to find a way to deal with the creature, unless…

'I need your help.'

The reply was instantaneous. What do you need?

'Holy water. Can you grab a jug from my apartment?'

Yes, but I'm on the other side of town.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. It was one of the puddles…so this beast was breaking the rules too. Funny how often he attracted this kind of attention.

'I'll hold out for as long as I can. When you get here, drive straight through the alley and don't look at any of the puddles.'

Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can.

But something told him that it wouldn't be soon enough. This was a trap.

Being a cop was very handy at times, especially with lights and sirens attached to her car. The fact that it was midmorning was fortunate as well. People were either already at work or not going anywhere yet, giving her mostly clear roads.

That John was asking her for help this quickly truly scared her. All of Hell wanted him, and wanted him badly. Before she had met him he had Chas to back him up. Now there was just her, and she still wasn't quite ready.

Just her. The thought hit her so hard that she almost struck another car, but veered away at the last moment. All she and John had right now were each other. For some reason that thought made her feel very small, and very nervous.

Driving up onto the sidewalk, she rushed into John's building and burst through his door, only to trip and almost fall on the cursed package that Papa Midnight had sent. It was lying next to a shelf which had cracked, spilling its contents everywhere, package included.

Inching away carefully, she suddenly had a very strong desire to open it. Shaking away the urge, she did grab a small towel, wrap the package up without actually touching it, and shoved into her pocket before picking up one of the jugs of holy water. It was surprisingly heavy, yet she managed to get it down to her car.

'Waiting.' John thought to her.

I'm on my way. She assured him, feeling the panic within her begin to grow irrationally. Something was very wrong about this, though whether it was her own intuition that told her this, or John's, she couldn't quite tell.

The puddles had inched closer, and were on the verge of coalescing into one large puddle all around him…at which point he knew he would be done for. The three eyed Soul Beast calmly stared at him, knowing that it had him trapped. One puddle suddenly broke away and inched closer, the Beast almost grinning within it.

John grinned back, and flicked a drop of holy water into the puddle. A high pitched shriek deafened him as the Soul Beast rose up and away from the puddle, leaping into another and backing away, though not so far as to allow him an avenue of escape. Yet John had to smile at the shaken Soul Beast's panicked flight. It had just shown him how to deport it.

Pulling out a small bottle of salt, he sprinkled it in a circle around him, then flicked the salt at the Beast. It shrank back, every one of its little puddles inching away. The salt itself wouldn't keep the Soul Beast away for long, but it would buy him time. Next he pulled out a chain that had numerous small crucifixes on it. Tearing the chain apart, he set the crucifixes around him on the salt, one by one, and muttered an incantation. Next he pulled out his large crucifix, the same one that had adorned the Jesus Gun, as Angela had called it after their illustrious meeting. Large, gold, and adorned with gems, it was gaudy but it was blessed several times over, and would not loose its effectiveness when placed on unsanctified ground. He had carried it whenever he went out on a job, but hadn't used it for some time.

"Ok you son of a bitch…you want John Constantine. He's here."

The Soul Beast hissed at him, and suddenly there were twenty of them in pools around him, glaring at him in anxious expectation. One word rang through his mind.

Shit.

Angela heard, and slammed her foot down on the pedal, leaping onto a sidewalk and dodging people as she cut a tight corner, tearing off her right side mirror in the process. She was almost there, having caught a break with the traffic lights. But her panic was at a fever pitch as she caught sight of the Church.

A coldness swept through her as she came to the alley. John was standing amid several puddles that seemed to rise up around him, each with a demonic beast hunched within.

'Grab the holy water and roll it to me. When it gets over the puddle, shoot it.'

She nodded, and grabbed the large jug out of the back of her car. Setting it in place, she quickly rolled it toward him.

John looked toward it, and suddenly one of the beasts leapt at him, one hand outstretched to strike. He ducked, but felt a searing heat cut through his shirt into his back as the beast's claws raked his back. Another beast also leapt, bringing claws down onto his shoulder, also inflicting a searing heat.

John grunted and held the crucifix up over his head. One beast, who had leapt, tried to veer away, but its leg struck the holy instrument and it shattered into pieces, and those pieces became wisps of smoke that hung over him.

The jug had been rolled half way to him by then, but as it neared a puddle moved before it, and another and another, slapping it continuously and slowing it down. Angela ran for it, ready to kick it to give it speed.

'Don't touch the water!' John mentally cried out. Too late, a puddle lunged for her, which she deftly avoided by leaping onto the jug itself and jumping off it, clearing the puddle and the circle of salt. John caught her, dropping the crucifix to the ground just beyond the circle of salt. Water quickly circled it, though made no move to touch it.

The jug continued to roll toward them, but as if in slow motion as the water around them both began to rise again, higher this time in several flat sheets, the Soul Beasts within staring intently on their pray, their eyes glowing the very color of Hell itself as they tried to take the two most valued souls on Earth.

"Close your eyes," John said, reaching for a handkerchief and a lighter. He wrapped the cloth around his hand and waited, lighter in hand as he looked to the jug of holy water.

Angela suddenly saw through his eyes, through the safe glasses sprinkled with holy water. Pulling forth her gun, she took aim using John's eyes, and fired. The bullet struck the jug in its center, a stream of holy water flowing out suddenly into the water the Soul Beasts had possessed.

Another cry echoed as the water became purified, and all the Soul Beasts erupted up out of the water above him.

John grinned and lit the cloth, then sent a blast of pure light up at the Soul Beasts, vulnerable in his realm, weak from the holy water. Their cries pierced his ears and his soul, yet they did no damage as both he and Angela instinctively raised their mental shields, which were more powerful when reinforced by the other. An almost physical barrier of bluish white energy engulfed them as bits of the Soul Beasts fell around them, bursting into little puffs of smoke as they struck the holy water or the mental shield they had thrown up around themselves.

John had closed his eyes from the intensity of the light, and now cast the burnt cloth away before it could burn his skin. Angela's head rose and she looked around at the bits of bluish smoke that slowly rose toward the sky.

"Thanks," he said, letting his forehead fall against her shoulder. She set her gun down and wrapped her arms around him, feeling herself start to shake from the pent up emotions.

"From now on…we do this together," she whispered into his ear.

He chuckled and held her tight, then moved to stand up. As he stood, he heard a familiar voice, one that he had hoped never to hear again, but was so shocked to hear now that he scarcely believed that he had heard it.

"Hello my son," Gabriel said from just down the alleyway, dressed in priest's clothing. John stared for a total of ten seconds before cursing.

"Fuck me."

Tweaked a few things here and there in all the chapters, but I can't think of what to write next. No ideas since I last posted, so suggestions are welcome. Constantine is coming out on Tuesday, so hopefully a fix will give me inspiration. Till then.

Aamon.