Chapter 10

We drove back to the motel room and we just relaxed on the sofa, watching television. We didn't talk about the case, but I wrote about it in my journal, especially about my prayer, as Gadreel watched the screen. He glanced over at me now and then and when I was done, I gave it to him to read. I watched him as he read and when he was finished, handed it back to me, meeting my eyes. I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"You did the right thing." He assured me, but we both didn't feel very victorious. Five townspeople just killed a little girl for being a ghoul. They killed her out of fear and lacked understanding what lurked in the shadows. Not all monsters have to be killed. That's the shades of grey I've come to see.

And I was sure Gadreel saw them too.

"How did the ghoul get you?" I asked him and he glanced at me, face blank.

"I was shortly behind you, tried to help, and she attacked from behind the door." He replied and I nodded my head. I knew he was not far behind me.

"When did you want to leave?" I asked him and he stared at me, as if unsure, then he had that slight frown on his face.

"Whenever you want." He replied. I was certain he said that because he knew I was eager to leave this town. I hated staying in the town where I just killed something. I wanted to be like an exterminator: kill and leave.

"We can put our stuff in my car and grab some food in another town." I said. He nodded his head, turning off the television and getting our stuff ready.

When we drove out of the motel parking lot, out of the town, I felt better. The more distance I had put, the more I felt like the case was part of my past and no longer weighing down on me.

Like I had promised, we ate in the next town that was a couple of hours away. The diner was almost empty, there were no slutty waitresses and it had good food. Gadreel and I ate in silence, but it was nice and relaxing, until I had to pay and realized that I wouldn't have much money for another motel room. My stress was returning and it spoiled my joy.

"What else do you do to get money?" he asked me softly so that he wouldn't be heard by anyone else. I couldn't help but grin. Not only that, but he seemed like he hoped that I wouldn't be offended.

"I do the whole three cups and a ball trick." I said and when he stared at me with that frown and slight pouty lips, I smiled and continued. "It's called the shell game. You hide a small ball under one of the three cups and shuffle them. The player gets to guess where the ball is. How I win money is either I use speed and mislead the player, or I cheat." I said and grinned as he gave me his full frown at that last word.

"You cheat?" he asked me, clearly not impressed, and I laughed.

"It's called sleight of hand." I replied with a small laugh. "I make the small ball disappear and reappear towards the end so no one gets suspicious." I added and watched as he raised an eyebrow at me, as if to say that he wouldn't preach at me because he understood that I needed money, but that he wished I did something other than trick people.

"Then there's my favorite card game." I said and his frown softened. "Speed." I said and watched as he stared at me, expression blank. "The point of the game is to get rid of your cards before your opponent. I'm very good at it." I added and gave a gleaming smile that made him smile softly.

There was also something else I did; something I should tell him about.

So when we left the diner and drove out of the town, I stopped on the side of the highway and reached for one of my bags on the back seat.

"There's one thing I do to help me." I said, smiled at him to reassure him and got out of the car with my bag. He got out too and followed me to the hood of my car where I had placed my bag and began going through it.

I had taken out a journal, but not my hunting journal, a green candle and my lighter.

I glanced at him and he seemed puzzled, but when he met my eyes, I think he already had an idea of what I was doing.

"I do candle magic, which is like a prayer over a candle of a specific color." I said and then he just stared at me. It made me feel like I was back at that bar where he scolded me, thinking I was prostituting myself. I know we got passed that, but I guess I was afraid of a repeat. "What? Angels got something against Wiccans?" I asked him, my voice taking on a cold and harsh tone. He quickly softened his stare and looked down at my journal. "I do a wealth candle magic spell." I concluded.

"You practice Witchcraft." He said as he stared at my journal intensively. I sighed, picked it up and gave it to him, trusting him to look through it. I was hoping that he would understand me, or at least not judge me.

"I practice Wicca." I corrected him. "I lost my faith when I was a teenager and discovered Wicca. It just felt right and it made me happy, less resentful towards my old faith." I said and watched his expression closely as he flipped through the pages of my Book of Shadows.

"You don't believe in God." He said with what sounded like a hint of sadness, but also a glimmer of uncertainty, as if saying that he didn't really believe that. I would have felt hurt, if I wasn't smiling. I couldn't be hard on him. He was an angel who had probably seen God and I was merely a human; I couldn't argue religion with him. But I could get him to understand me and my faith.

"I do." I said and he met my eyes, looking slightly surprised. "I just have a different name for Him." I added and when he raised an eyebrow, I explained. "Many Wiccans use different names. I use the name Cernunnos for the God and Hecate for the Goddess." I said and smiled as he seemed a little perplexed. I stopped there. I could have explained a lot more, but I didn't want to confuse him with so much information. I would take just one step at a time; if he was willing to listen.

"Why Wicca?" he asked me, his face blank, but soft.

"It felt right, like I was meant to take this path. When I was losing my faith; it felt like I was in a dark pit, hearing only the echo of my own voice. After I discovered Wicca, I felt like someone was listening and responding." I added and then his expression changed, but it was somewhat sad. He was silent for a couple of seconds.

"I can understand that feeling." He said and I didn't know what to say, but I guessed no words were needed. How I felt was what he had endured in Heaven. Maybe having someone knowing what he had been through was more useful than any words.

He glanced back at my Book of Shadows and flipped through the pages of spells. It seemed like he read the title of every single spell. But, only one category captivated his attention tremendously: the spells that I, Anne Cromwell, had created.

"Your spells have good intentions." He said, sounding a little surprised. At that point, I began placing everything back in my bag, taking my journal gently out of his hands.

"Wicca has one golden rule: do no purposely harm others or yourself." I said and placed my journal in my bag. I could feel his eyes on me and when I glanced back at him, he wasn't frowning. "Wiccans believe in Karma. Whether it's good or bad, it comes back to us three times stronger." I added and walked over to my door, placing my bag in the back seat and standing there, smiling at Gadreel who walked back to the passenger side. He mirrored my smile and we both got into the car at the same time.

"Your spells, do they work?" he asked me and when I met his eyes, I grinned.

"That prayer I mentioned in my hunting journal is actually my 'Calling for Help' incantation." I said as if to indirectly affirm his question. He simply looked at me and smiled softly; no hint of judgment in his eyes. Did he accept my choice of faith?

With a smile on my lips, I continued driving down the highway, with the volume of my radio turned up a notch. It felt good to share my faith with someone and not feel afraid that they would fear or hate me simply because they didn't understand or didn't want to.