When T.J's grandfather recovered he was declared the leader of the tribe again and he insisted that not only women be allowed in the tribe but also the poor people starving and living in poverty as well. Later a great feast was held in honor of T.J and his friends saving them. There was music, good food, and exotic entertainment. The next day the four of them prepared to leave and go back home.
"Are you sure you don't want to say?" T.J's grandfather asked him.
"Yeah I have other things I have to do back home."
"I'm gonna miss you."
"Don't worry I'll visit you again."
They hugged each other.
"Thank you for everything."
They parted and then T.J went to join the others. They used the remains of the Babylon candle to get them back home. Once they returned to the Santo Order it was back to work, back to training, and back to their studies. Frida was up in her room cleaning her bow when she felt pain in her wrists and blood was leaking down her arms.
"Oh no!"
She ran to the bathroom in a panic getting Manny's attention.
"Hey Frida what are you doing?" Manny asked.
"Nothing!" She shrieked.
"Wait a minute! Is that blood?"
"No!"
She ran into the bathroom and locked the door. She turned on the sink and desperately searched for a wash cloth or something. Smelling her blood and sensing her fear, Manny went to the bathroom door only to find it locked.
"Frida open the door!"
"Go away!"
"Frida somethong's wrong! Open the door!"
"No! Leave me alone!"
"Frida you're bleeding!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are! I can smell your blood now open up!"
"Are you depth? I told you to go away!"
She finally found a wash cloth and went to wash her hands in the sink. She took off her gloves and began scrubbing her wrists.
"Alright Frida this is getting scary! You either open this door or I'm gonna break it down!" Manny shouted.
"No Manny please!" She pleaded.
But he ignored her and began trying to beat on the door while she was trying everything she could to clean up everything and think of a convincing excuse. All too soon Manny broke down the door and saw on her wrists two marks in the shape of a cross that were bleeding. Markings of a cross on the wrists, that's what the apostle was supposed to have. Frida was the apostle and Django's prime target. He gave her a look of intense horror, shame crossed hers and she immediately tried to run away but Manny stopped her by grabbing her waist.
"How long have you had these?" He said holding up her wrists.
"Let me go Manny! It's none of your-"
"How long?! Answer me damnit! How long?!"
"I...I..I...Ah."
Suddenly she fainted, he caught her falling body and called for help. She was laid in bed and tended to by Sister Josephine. Father Anthony examined her to see if she was in good health.
"She's perfectly healthy but I can't explain where these marks came from." Anthony said.
"They didn't come from an injury." T.J explained. "They appeared on her wrists because she's the apostle."
"That's impossible." Sister Josephine argued. "All the apostles in the world are dead."
"All but one and that's Frida and we should've figured it out sooner that it was her."
"Will she be alright?" Manny asked.
"As I said she's in perfect health." Anthony said. "Right now she's still out cold so leave her to rest."
When Frida awoke she was in the clinic with bandages over her wrists. She sat up in bed and began to recollect everything that had happened before she passed out. Her markings had started bleeding, she tried to wash off the blood in the bathroom, and then Manny...Oh no Manny had seen her. He knew that she was the apostle which meant he was going to be on her twenty-four seven.
"I knew it." She heard a voice say in the darkness. Startled she reached for her bow and arrow and positioned it to shoot whatever was in the room with her if it was dangerous. At first all she could see was darkness then she saw two red eyes staring at her. When the eyes came into the light she saw that they belonged to Django.
"What are you doing here? Freeze or I'll shoot!"
"Now don't get upset Frida I only came to talk." He said. "So you're the apostle, can't say I'm surprised. With your great, heavenly power and who you descended from it's no wonder you were chosen."
"Who I descended from?"
"And you look so much like her that when I look at you it's almost like she's back from the dead."
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't know? Seriously? Well it looks like you need informed."
"Informed of what?"
"I have a little story for you so sit down and listen well." He said. "Now once upon a time a beautiful, powerful, and pure young angel named Catarina was placed on earth with the purpose of healing others and purifying evil and she did her purpose rather well for many years until one day she met a strong, dangerous, and frightening demon named Arturo who's purpose was to help demons destroy heaven. Despite their differences the two fell in love leading Arturo to betray his people and Catarina to sacrifice herself to gain him redemption."
"I know this story."
"But you don't know the rest. Catarina had a younger sister named Ramona who after the deaths of her older brother and sister was very lonely. She wanted a family, a new one. But to do that she would have to give up her immortality and become human to which she did. With her new human body she grew up, married a human, and had a daughter who had her mother's hevenly powers. That daughter grew up, married, had a daughter of her own, that child grew up, married, and had children. This went on for many years then one woman who descended from Ramona married a cop and had two daughters who were perfectly normal leading her to believe that their heavenly blood line ended with her. Until one day, about sixteen years ago she and her husband were blessed with a healthy baby girl who had inherited the family gift from her mother and this child was named Frida."
"Wait a minute what are you saying?"
"Catarina's younger sister Ramona is your great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother. Shocking isn't it?"
"But...I...If that's true why wasn't I told?"
"To be fair not many people know what happened to Ramona after she became human. I doubt both your mother and grandmother had any knowledge that they were related to her."
"Okay so what if I am related to her, what does that have to do with you being here?"
"Nothing I just wanted you to know why you were chosen to be the apostle. My real reason for being here is because I have an offer for you."
"Whatever it is the answer is no."
"Hear me out. Frida let us be married."
"Married? What are you talking about?"
"The night of the blood moon is fast approaching. The night in which we demons shall finally destroy heaven but to make it work we need the power of heaven to permit us to open the gates. At first we thought the only way was to force an angel or apostle to open the gate but now we've learned that a demon can be granted that power through a bond of matrimony." He held out his hand to her. "Come with me Frida and be mine so my dream can be realized."
"Yeah sorry but first of all I'm sixteen and second of all last time I saw you, you nearly killed Manny and molested me."
"Sorry about that did I forget to mention that I have an impulse problem?"
"You are so deranged it's scary and I will never marry you. I'd rather die than marry you."
"That's harsh, I'll have you know most women consider me a catch."
"Get out! Get out now or so help me I'll shoot you right now!"
"I see you need time to think it over so I'll go but I'll be back to hear your anwser. But before I go."
In one swift move he had her pinned to her bed, grabbed her roughly by the face, and prepared to kiss her forcibly just as he had done earlier only this time just as his mouth was about to touch her the door bust open and wooden cross was thrown right into his arm.
"Hey!" It was Manny. "Get your ugly face offa her!"
"How rude, Manny didn't anyone ever tell you not interrupt a couple on the verge of passion?"
"Passion my ass! You're dead you bastard!"
Manny lunged for him but he disappeared in the darkness leaving them alone. Frida was shaking nervously. Was she seriously related to Catarina? The would explain a lot. Also was Django crazy? After everything he had done did he honestly think that she would even consider marrying him? He must be out of his mind. However part of her was worried about where this was headed. She hoped that whatever happened, it wouldn't lead to Manny or anyone else she cared about getting hurt.
Later Manny and the others pulled Frida aside to ask her questions about the marks. They asked her where they came from, how long they had been there, and if anything else strange had happened. She decided not to tell them what happened with Django just yet.
"It started two weeks ago." She confessed to them. "But the whole bleeding thing didn't start til yesterday."
"This must mean the blood moon is at hand." T.J realized. "Frida you are in grave danger."
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Manny said.
"It's none of your business!"
"None of my business?! How can you say that?!"
"Okay I'm not gonna stay here and talk if he's gonna yell at me." She got up and started to walk away only to have Manny grab her. "Get off me!"
"Not until you answer me!"
"I don't have to answer anything!"
"Why?! Why?! Do you think it's not-"
"You don't care!" She snapped. "Okay?! You don't care! You can't care! Just...Just leave me alone!"
"You know I can't do that."
"He's right Frida." T.J agreed. "Now that we know that you are the apostle and that the blood moon will soon be arriving not to mention Django is after you we musn't be too careless. We must protect You."
"I don't need protecting." She said.
"Yes you do." Manny then scooped her up and over shoulder.
"Whoa! Hey what are you doing?!" She cried.
"Well we can't risk you getting captured so while we look for Django and try to destroy him you're going to stay here in the sanctuary."
"What?!"
He carried her out of the clinic and to the church where he locked her in the confession room of the sanctuary.
"Manny this is ridiculous! Let me out!" She demanded.
"Sorry Frida but this is for your own good." He said. "Django won't be able to come near you if you stay here."
"You can't keep me here."
"I'm pretty sure I can."
"This is crazy! T.J, Andrea tell him he's crazy."
"Actually we agree with him." T.J said.
"What?!"
"Well Frida if Django ever caught you, who knows what would happen?" Andrea said. "We're only doing this to keep you safe."
"Fine but do I really need to be locked up?" She asked.
"Yes because I know you and I know you'll follow us." Manny said. "So you're gonna stay here until we get back."
"That is not fair!"
"No one ever said life was fair." He told her. "Alright guys let's go."
The three of them went to grab their weapons and left to search for Django and/or any of his other demon followers while Frida went out of her way to break out of the confession room.
"Come on guys let me out!" She called only to not receive an answer. "Hello? Manny? Guys? You can't just leave me here!...Hmmph! I swear when I get out of here the first thing I'm going to do is find Manny and rip off his cat ears. That'll teach him."
So for next six hours she would be searching for something to help her escape.
