It was a quiet car ride. Even with the jostling of the road Barnaby still manged to fall asleep, curled up on the passenger seat resting his head on the window. The past few hours were finally catching up to him, and even though he was hurtling down the road with a man he barely knew, Barnaby felt strangely safe. Crowley also found himself driving slower(still far over the speed limit), and for once left the radio off. The boy needed some rest, he looked like he had been up for some time. Barnaby seemed like a good kid, quiet and cautious but Crowley could sense a certain stubbornness within him. It's was a shame he had to leave him behind, the demon was starting to like the boy. But he had to find Aziraphale, that was his first priority.
Crowley didn't mind the silence as he pulled off the M25. It gave him a chance to think, to plot. Of course, he couldn't plot much without knowing who he was up against, but it was comforting. Despite what he wanted others to think, he wasn't that powerful of a demon. Crowley always had to rely on his imagination and quick thinking to stay ahead, sometimes it scared him. In an fair fight with Hastur or pretty much any other supernatural being he would be creamed, only a nuisance. So, he relied on clever tricks and his silver tongue, but that might not be enough anymore. What if he wasn't strong enough to protect what he loved anymore?
Shaking his head, the demon pushed the thoughts away. He had other things to focus on, like facts. What did he know? Crowley ran this morning over and over again in his head trying to fit it together. Aziraphale stooped whoever Cain was from kidnapping Barnaby sometime while he was in hell. Cain who must have been affiliated with an gang or other organization, retaliated last night by kidnapping his best friend. Barnaby somehow got away and hid in his flat. It sounded simple, an open and shut case. But something about it was nagging at him, it felt like he was missing a piece of a puzzle. Just barely unable to see the whole picture. Hissing in frustration, Crowley turned onto a small country road.
"But how would you know you hit a vampire?" asked Brian.
"You would feel the bump under your car, duh!" Pepper argued.
"But when you looked in the rear-view mirror there would be nothing, you would never know," pointed out Wensleydale.
"If you stopped and got outside you'd see it," Adam said.
"if you stopped!"
The Them had been fighting in Anathema's kitchen for the past ten minutes and the witch was starting to get tired of it. Sure they were defiantly cute at times, but not now. Besides no self-respecting vampire would be out on a road in the first place, a ghoul maybe. They never had been intelligent creatures. But this wasn't about a ghoul, it was about vampires and the petty argument was really starting to get irritating.
"Kids, how about you play outside? Maybe check the ditches for vampires or something," she sighed holding back a smile. The four looked at each other for a second, then Adam gave a nod. Even with all the pointless bickering Anathema loved being the children's new 'aunt'.
"Okay, we must test our hypothesis!" The Them were almost out the door before the witch realized her mistake. Anathema rapidly set down the mixing bowl and rushed after them.
"Hold on! You four better stay out of the roads!" she warned, remembering a particularity painful run-in with a 1926 Bentley. The kids didn't seem to be listening, instead they grabbed their bikes and pedaled off chattering. "Hey, I mean it!"
This time Adam looked back and gave Anathema a reassuring smile. It was easy to forget he was the Antichrist, son of Satan, prince of darkness. He was the nicest kid in town except for some childish trouble making, that he always made up for. Even with supernatural powers he was the most kind-hearted incoming sixth grader to be found. And there was no way he would let his best friends get hit by a bus. Feeling relived, Anathema headed back to check on her cookies.
"What was that about?" Newton asked sticking his finger into the dough. Her boyfriend had moved in not long after the Armagedon't, taking up a job in the local post office.
"Apparently, if you ran over a vampire you would have no idea because you couldn't see him in the rear-view mirror," Anathema chuckled taking the mixing bowl away. These past few weeks had been the happiest of her life. Not having to worry about some world saving prophesy, just watching the strangest eleven-year-olds in the UK, and spending time with her boyfriend.
"That's stupid, there's no such thing as vampires. Is there?"
"Oh honey, of course there are,"
A baffled Newton was about to ask a million questions when the front door slammed open.
"Crowley and Aziraphale are here! I saw the Bentley driving past Brian's house," Adam grinned. The children loved the supernatural pair. And since they met the two had tried to visit as often as possible. And to the kids they were superstars, the Them practically worshiped the ground they walked on. Loving the poorly done magic shows just as much as racing around town at dangerous speeds. They constantly pestered the immortals about everything from the Titanic to if kicking puppies was a sin. And all four of them would sit for hours asking for story after story of earth's long history. What Anathema found the most endearing though, was how the duo enjoyed hanging out almost as much as the kids, she could always see both their auras turn bright pink with delight every time one ran up excitedly.
Anathema held back a grin as a familiar crunch of gravel began to make its way up the driveway. The Them were back already, practically rushing the vintage car, waving at the driver. When it stopped Crowley gave the children a grin that didn't quite reach his ears. His aura was darker than usual today, streaked with dark blues and the occasional flaming red. As he got out of the driver's seat Anathema knew something was really upsetting him. The demon hid it well though, smiling and answering the little one's questions like nothing was wrong. With the opening of the passenger side door a young boy hopped out rubbing his eyes surprising them all. A sudden wave of silence cut through the excited chatter, only to explode with questions.
"You have a son!"
"Who's this?"
"What's with the shoes?"
"Did they send another Antichrist?"
Barnaby almost ducked back into the car. He hadn't met another kid before, much less four at once. They seemed awfully loud, crowding around him jumping from foot to foot. It was overwhelming being the center of such laser focused attention. Backing against Crowley's legs, Barnaby looked with pleading eyes.
"Give him some space you rascals," the demon came to his defense. With sheepish grins the Them backed up to a more reasonable distance, still staring like owls. For a moment they just gave each other odd looks before the dark-skinned girl stepped forward.
"Come on guys, you're scaring him!" she growled, then turned to Barnaby, "Sorry, I'm Pepper and those dorks over there are Adam, Brian, and Wensleydale,"
"Hello," the boy replied taking a few steps away from Crowley's lanky legs. These strangers didn't seem too bad, just excited. Maybe all kids were that way.
Still standing on the porch Anathema watched the interaction curiously. Where the hell did her favorite demon find a child? But something else bothered her more. Something was missing, it was right on the tip of her tongue. Everything about this seemed off and out of place. And the witch wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Wait! Where's Aziraphale?" Adam cut to the heart of the problem. The two supernatural beings always came together, practically inseparable. But the angel was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't in the car, and Adam would defiantly notice him getting out. This must have struck a nerve because for a few seconds the demon's smile disappeared, replaced with worn-out worry.
"Adam, I need to have an adult conversation with Anathema. So, how about you all go cause some trouble," Crowley said rebrandishing his forced smile. Adam saw right through the facade but knew better than to argue. Whatever it was, the demon didn't want them in it.
"We can baby sit for you!" offered Brian, "My little sister is about his age,"
Pepper and Wensleydale nodded eagerly, they wanted to know more about this new boy. And besides adult conversations were supposed to be for adults only.
"Not this time, Bart here has to talk to Anathema too,"
"Barnaby,"
The Them watched curiously as Crowley fetched a plastic bag from the back seat and headed inside with the boy in tow. As he walked past, Anathema gave the demon a concerned look and exchanged a few whispered words before closing the door behind her. All was left was four confused eleven-year-olds standing in the yard. They just stared in silence for a few moments until Pepper spoke up.
"What was that about?" she griped.
"I still think they sent another Antichrist, to replace Adam," Wensleydale decided.
"But he doesn't seem like the son of Satan, he's too quiet. Abby never stops talking," said Brian.
"Well no one thought Adam was the son of Satan until he started flying!"
"Let's find go find out then. I bet if we sit under the windowsill we could snoop in on the conversation," Pepper suggested. They had done it before, it wasn't that hard.
"No way, that's rude. Besides, I don't want to be grounded the last week of summer break," said Adam. If Crowley wanted to keep this a secret, then it should stay that way. The demon would tell them when he was ready, Adam was sure of it. With mumbled half-hearted agreements the Them set off again in their original hunt for vampires. Who knew, maybe Crowley hit a few on the way here.