Hello my wonderful readers,

I hope you are all well. I have here a very sad little chapter. It is time to put the fallen children to rest. I may or may not have been putting this chapter off for a while as my poor heart couldn't take it.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took a chunk of my soul to write this one out I have to say.

If you enjoy this chapter please leave a cheeky comment. Even if it's a smiling face I will be happy with that. I am like a dog – easy to please ^_^

These chapters will be becoming more frequent over this month so I hope you are all ready for more drama.

NQ

X

Chapter 31 The Funeral

3POV

Joy was short lived in the orphanage, and as the day went on the orphanage and its inhabitants became more and more anxious about the funeral. This funeral was never meant to happen – then again what funerals are? As Alexander Anderson straightened his robes out in his bedroom mirror he couldn't help but think on the events over the past week.

Those children should have never died like that, the soldiers of Iscariot fought and they did their duty, the Sisters of the ministry had done their duty protecting as many of the children as they could manage. But the children…they did not die with honour – the infected should have been given some dignity, they had not gone feral, they were frightened little children who knew no better. What must they have thought when the very people that claimed to care about them turned and shot them? What must their final thoughts or prayers to the Lord have been? Were they scared? Did they even know what was happening to them? It made him feel sick to his stomach.

Anderson had taken many funeral services over the years – none however had affected him so deeply. The people he would be saying goodbye to today were his friends, co-workers and the children he had grown to care for. He felt guilty – he blamed himself for their deaths. If he had not been fighting the werewolf he would have been able to delay the Bishops order to murder the infected children. He stood in silence for a moment sending up one last prayer before he left his room and headed towards the garden.

The funeral had to be held outside the church in the grounds – as the infected children could not be taken into the church. It was getting dark outside, torches lit up the area where the survivors stood. Candles surrounded a solitary coffin – they would not be able to bury all of the infected children or adults. They needed to be burned but that would be done in private behind the building during the ceremony. The bodies would be burned during the night when the children slept – it was too traumatic for them to see that at their ages.

As Anderson made his way up to the front of the group he and a few other parish members began to set up for the funeral by doing the necessary rituals and prayers.

Avery stood to the side of the group of survivors, the remaining nuns, Iscariot soldiers and a few of the older children made two neat groups, standing watch over the coffin. The tense silence that filled the air was broken only by the soft echoes of tears coming from the children. Marcell and Sarah had been dressed in their best clothes as had the rest of the attendants. Marcell wore a pair of grey trousers, a black shirt and jacket whilst Sarah had been put into a little black dress with a red flower headband with black patent shoes. Everyone managed to look smart given the circumstances.

Avery stood holding onto Sarah, resting her on her hip as the little girl leaned her head on her shoulder. Marcell stood close to Avery, holding onto her hand for moral support – he promised himself he would not cry but he found it so hard, they were saying goodbye to his friends, his best friends. He felt helpless and he felt angry.

As Anderson stood at the front of the congregation he looked over the crowed, adults and children alike, all dressed in black grief stricken yet silent nonetheless. He wondered to himself if this whole situation could have been avoided. Was there something he could have done?

As he swept his eyes over the sea of people, his eyes fell over the redhead he was looking for. Avery stood with the two infected children, he could see she was still bruised from the battle a couple of days before – her face cut and bruised she was dressed in a modest black cotton dress and a grey cardigan. She had cleaned herself up as much as she was able, her copper hair pulled back into a bun at the back of her head she was looking down at Marcell and offering him words of comfort – Anderson felt a heavy pain in his heart as he watched the young boy cry quietly into Avery's hip, trying his hardest to not show anyone he was crying.

The congregation went silent as Anderson stood up at the small wooden pillar, resting his Bible open on the wooden frame he took a deep breath and looked over the passages.

Avery POV

I watched Alex try and compose himself at the front of the congregation; I could tell he was finding this very difficult. Many people would have expected a man such as him to be unfeeling and cold during situations like this – I had found the case to be quite the opposite. He loved the children and his co-workers – their deaths had shaken him to the core. His very morality and pillar of belief was being shaken from under his feet.

A year ago, the same man would have no issue with destroying all demons and monsters for the glory of God. However, now things were different – these were not monsters we were parting with – these were our friends, our loved ones and the innocent children we had all come to love.

It wasn't fair, he had to put on a strong exterior, he was their leader – his team looked up to him for guidance and the children looked to him as their saviour. He was the one who ran the orphanage, he was the one who gave them a chance to have a happy life – the children idolized the Scottish priest and with good reason.

As I clung onto Marcell's hands I held Sarah close to me, she was sleeping peacefully – blissfully unaware that her fate would have been the same as her fallen friends had she been left alone a few minutes more. Marcell was completely aware of the fact that his friends were dead and gone – he was not taking it well. He tried to be strong, but the trauma he had seen was too much for an eight year old to ever have to face.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul."

The company stood in silence as we listened to the sermon – for the first time in four centuries I was actually willing to pay attention – this was not a time to praise God. This was a farewell to the people who had welcomed me to this place with open arms, a farewell to the children who I had come to care about – to the babies that never got the chance to live their lives to their full potential. This sermon was for those little angels.

"The righteous, though they die early, will be at rest. The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace."

I watched Alex give the sermon at the front – he stood alone through all of this. He was the one that had to build back morale, he was the one they looked to for guidance – he was the one that had to give the fallen their final rights. It was not fair – he had watched his own me kill those children – I could tell it was tearing him apart inside.

Throughout the funeral I looked up and caught his gaze a few times; I tried to look away as there were tears forming in my own eyes – tears I would not let anyone in this company see. Especially not Marcell, I had to be strong for him most of all.

Heinkel POV

I stood in silence listening to the sermon from Father Anderson. I was still angry and confused with what I had witnessed a few hours before. How could a man of God such as Father Anderson fall into such sin with a harlot such as Odette Avery. I was no fool, she could dress as modestly as she liked and act as human as she could but deep down inside she was nothing more than a demon – a monster and an abomination that deserved to die. It should have been her we were burning today not those children!

She was never supposed to stay with us for this long – she was supposed to be dead by now. For the last twelve months she had somehow managed to wriggle her way into the circles of the orphanage and the clergy – she had wrapped certain nuns around her finger and was easily influencing the children. I looked over at the redhead who was looking up at Father Anderson; I felt my eyes narrow as I looked at the spectacle. It was an embarrassment, a demon and two infected children were able to attend this funeral – this funeral was for the fallen soldiers of God not for a faithless whore and her demonic brood.

How had Father Anderson been tricked in such a way? He was the best the Vatican had to offer, he was the prime example of a Godly solider on earth. I had always looked up to him – now I was concerned for his soul. He had made a vow, to follow a life of chastity; I would not be a good student if I didn't warn him of the cost of his actions. To be caught in such a sinful act, with a former demon of all things – not even an affair with a woman of the church but he had acted in sin with one of Satan's daughters, it was inexcusable.

Was this the first time they had acted in such sin or was this an ongoing sin which they had kept guarded from others? Had he broken his vow entirely? Surely not, he knew the comeuppance for such behaviour. There was no way that Father Anderson would allow himself to act in such an shameful way – not without reason. Was this his plan? I was so confused.

As I stood and watched the sermon I couldn't help but notice the glances the two were giving each other. Not that the pair even noticed – when one looked up the other would look down or look away it was almost undetectable to one who was not looking for signs. Father Anderson would run his eyes over the congregation, letting his gaze fall over the redheaded demon a little longer than he should have done. Was he hoping she would look up from the children? They were a disgrace.

Marcell POV

They were all dead, my friends were dead. I was a monster, Sarah was a monster – we are like them, we could kill people if we got angry. We should be dead…it should be us going in the ground not them…

I look up at Nanny Avery who is trying hard not to cry, I can tell she is holding back her tears – she loved the children, she always loved children from the first day I met her she was so sweet and loving to us all. She was the new mother to all the children – now she had lost all those children.

I hugged onto her side tightly, burying my face into her side as I cried as quietly as I could. The only comfort for me the gentle stroke of her fingers through my hair. I was so confused and angry – why did Father Anderson and Nanny Avery kill those werewolves but will not kill us now?

I thought that they would kill us too, we were monsters after all. I looked up at the redheaded woman who was looking down at me and with a sad smile she handed me a tissue to wipe my nose. She leaned down and wrapped her free arm around my shoulders and hugged me into her.

"Why did they kill so many of my friends? I will kill those monsters!" I spoke quietly up to Nanny Avery – who looked down at me with sad eyes. "Hush now Marcell, I know it's horrible. I am angry too don't think horrible thoughts like those please." She whispered gently as she stroked my hair. I felt the rage building up inside me as I thought about the monsters that attacked us.

"But they killed my best friends…" I hissed quietly. My new mother pulled me in front of her gently and wrapped her arm around my shoulders; I hugged onto her arm and tried to control my tears, the only positive thing which had come from all of this was that I gained a baby sister and a mother in one day- I lost everything I had and gained everything I wanted in a few hours. I always prayed to God for a family but I didn't think it would come at such a price. I thought God loved his children I guess he didn't work like that.

"Marcell, hide your claws darling." She spoke down to me gently, looking at my hands I gasped as my claws had come out without me realizing it. I was scared and managed to change my nails back to normal and then pulled my shirt sleeves down to cover my hands. "I'm sorry..."

I was so scared, what if we were next? What if they found out that we were the monster and we would be hunted down? Father Anderson always said that monsters deserved to die….did he mean Sarah and I deserved to die to?

As I looked up at my new mother I felt that familiar sadness hit me again. I was not angry anymore I was scared, so scared… "Will I go to Hell?" I asked tearfully, scared to death of the answer I would get. I knew all demons went to Hell it was written in the Bible…I was doomed.

Avery POV

Poor Marcell was not dealing with this very well at all, he clung to me teary eyes as if he was scared to let me go in fear of him being taken away. It broke my heart to see him hurting so much – he shouldn't have to deal with this not at his age, no child should deal with something like this.

"Will I go to Hell?" I heard him ask as he held onto me. I frowned down at him and shook my head. "No, you will never go to Hell; I promise you will never be like them. You are a good boy." I said as I held him against me – I was finding it hard to hold Sarah and hug Marcell at the same time but no one offered to hold her for me. So I struggled down to hug the little boy and reassure him that he was not a monster and that he was never going to end up in hell. "Marcell look at me. I promise you, you will be okay, we will get through this– I won't let anyone ever hurt you again."

Anderson POV

As the ceremony came to a close I watched as the congregation paid their respects to the fallen. Flowers were placed on the coffin and I watched in silence as Avery placed a small blue teddy bear on top of the coffin. I could see she was upset, Marcel and Sarah clung to her like I had never seen them do before – they looked scared. Scared but healthy – they were infected by seemed to act no differently than they had before. I thought on the fallen children, would this all have been avoided if we had given them the chance to see if they would become monsters? We would never know now.

I signalled to a small team behind me to begin burning the bodies of the fallen – it was not customary but they were infected and we couldn't afford to place anyone else in danger. Demons had to be burned there was no other way – even if they were innocent children. They could not be buried on blessed ground – not anymore.

"For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear friends here departed, we therefore commit their bodies to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

Heinkel POV

I couldn't take it anymore; I had to address this issue before it escalated further. I watched as the demon placed a small bear on the coffin – it was probably cursed! As the ceremony came to an end the majority of people returned to their rooms as it was getting late; dinner was yet to be served and the younger children needed to be put to bed.

I watched as the redheaded demon led the children away from the coffin. I watched as Father Anderson's eyes followed the three of them in their movements. This was too much; I had to put this demon in line. She was not about to lead our best solider to sin.

Avery POV

I wanted to return to my room as quickly as I could, Sarah was fussing she was tired and needed to be put to bed and I could tell Marcell did not want to be around people any longer than he needed to be. He stood quietly holding onto my hand as I rocked Sarah.

I turned around as I felt a familiar aura settling behind me, as I turned I groaned slightly as I realized it was Heinkel Wolfe. "Babylon, I want a word." The blonde woman stood with her arms crossed, opposite me – she did not look happy. I was tired and not in the mood for this confrontation – I lowered Sarah onto the grass and asked Marcell to watch her and stay there for a moment whilst I talked to the angry androgynous woman.

We moved out of the children's earshot, both of us standing defensively – I was not rude enough to start a fight at the funeral but it wasn't something I was going to put past the Iscariot bitch. "So, how are we going to do this? You going to chastise me like my mother would or are you just going to try and hit me?" I asked dryly as I crossed my arms across my chest. The blonde did not appreciate my comments – she took a step forward so we were nose to nose much to the horror of a few onlookers including Father Anderson who stood on the other side of the grass talking to the remaining members of his team.

"Listen to me you little whore, I have known Father Anderson all my life; he raised me from childhood in this very orphanage. He is like the father I never had, he trained me and now he is my superior. I know him well enough to know he would not break his vows for just anyone. What kind of black magic have you used on my mentor?" The German woman hissed at me – I was shocked at her comments, she really was not taking the situation well at all. I mean I could understand why she was being so tight arsed about the situation – she took a vow, Alex took a vow and all the Catholics had taken vows but God damn it I hadn't. "Father Anderson is the most ardent follower of the Lord, he would not break is vows for a demon whore like yourself!" Heinkel growled as she puffed on her cigarette, blowing smoke into my face.

"If we were not at this funeral, I would lay you out right now!" I had had enough of this, the last thing I needed at this point was a self righteous little papist biting at my ankles like some kind of angry Chihuahua. "I would like to see your try harlot!" Heinkel spat back at me. She was over stepping herself – it was just a kiss! It was not like I was planning on marrying the priest. I did feel bad for making him break his vow but he kissed me first – I guess all this woman saw was me half naked pinning her beloved teacher to his bed. I had to admit my alibi was not looking the best at the moment but why was she not yelling at Anderson about this? He kissed me!

Anderson POV

What in the name of Jesus Christ in Heaven was Heinkel doing? I had told her to remember her place and to not talk about the situation again. I didn't ask her to go and confront Avery in the middle of the funeral! I winced as I watched the exchange between the two women – I couldn't hear the comments being made, they were being very quiet – which I thanked God for; we did not need the whole congregation knowing about the current situation. A priest who had taken a vow should not be caught kissing anybody – let alone a former demon. I was such a fool, how did I let this happen? I should have kept myself in check – I had kissed her, for the first time I had been the one to initiate the kiss. I began to panic slightly as I watched the two women stand nose to nose – I was no in the mood to break up a fight not tonight, not after the funeral this was not what we needed. The dead deserved more respect than that.

Heinkel POV

I wanted to smash the redheads smug face into the ground, I wanted to crush her body into the dirt, I could do it – I could grab her by the hair and slam her to the ground and kick the living shit out of her human body. She wouldn't be able to fight back – I had seen her fight the team in the gym, she was weak now. A demon in a weak human body – it was pathetic and laughable.

Someone needed to teach this harlot a lesson; if I had to be the one to do it I would be just fine with that. Although this was a funeral I was not allowed to touch her out of respect for the dead. I could still mess with her head a little – if she really was becoming a human she would have to deal with human feelings sooner or later.

"Do you love him?" I asked quietly as I watched the redhead's eyes widened in shock."I'm sorry? Say that again?" The redhead gasped in horror. This was fantastic; the idea of love had shocked her so much she was physically repulsed. "Do you harbour romantic feelings for Father Anderson?" I asked once more, ensuring that no one else could hear us.

"Of course fucking not! What kind of question is that!?" The demon exclaimed slightly louder than I expected causing a few people to turn and look at us both. I straightened up and looked around at the few people who were trying to listen in – I was not about to ruin Father Anderson's name by saying any more. "You demonic whore – you get your claws out of Father Anderson or you will be the next body we bury." I hissed into the redhead's ear.

Avery POV

I blinked a few times as I watched the blonde woman walk off disappearing into the small crowd of people. "Well that was charming…" I muttered to myself as I turned and walked back over to the children.

What was it with humans and the idea of love? Why did everything have to have a reason? Demons are so much simpler – if we are horny we have sex, if we want to kiss a stranger – we kiss the stranger. There is never this subtext of intimate feeling which seems apparent in the human community. Why did people think that a kiss meant anything more than a kiss? It was a bodily action- like anything else. I could kiss a random member of the congregation – granted I would probably get slapped silly but I could still do it. There were no grounds not to; I would not be in love with that person. If I was in love with every person I kissed I would have a very complicated undead life…that was damn sure. Humans are animals– it's all carnal.

I kissed Anderson because I enjoyed kissing him – not because of any other grand reason. I liked the way his lips felt on mine, I liked the way he touched me how he was a little rough to the touch but at the same time he was so gentle with me. I liked the way that he seemed to strive not to care about me yet he still showed me more consideration than anyone in the entire orphanage. I liked the way he would always be there in my worst moments, stopping me from doing something I would regret Anderson did have his good points I guess - I mean I no longer wanted the man's internal organs served on a plate but I hardly harboured feelings for the bloke.

I mean, it took me forty years to admit I loved Walter– did Heinkel really think after one kiss I was going to have even the slightest fondness for her favourite priest? Honestly, who do these people think I am?

Marcell POV

I didn't know how I managed it but I had heard the whole conversation – I could hear everything now. I never had such good hearing or sight before, all my senses started to feel sharper. I could smell everything, hear conversations that were happening on the other side of the room, I could even hear heartbeats…it was so strange.

I watched the conversation between Miss Heinkel and Nanny Avery – Miss Heinkel used to be so kind to me, now she was mean and cold; she did not try and speak to me once when I was in the room with her yesterday. She just spoke to her friend and ignored us as best she could – that was not normal, I suppose she knew about us now and that made her hate us. Why did everyone hate us? We didn't do anything wrong - we were attacked the same as them. Why were they looking at me in such a horrible way, it was wrong. I was getting so upset and angry – these people were all lovely to us before the attack.

Everything was changing so quickly, I didn't understand it and I was scared of myself. I felt hot tears fall down my cheeks, I had promised myself I would stay strong and not cry. I was supposed to be a big boy but I couldn't help it. I fell to my knees next to Sarah and began to cry.

Avery POV

As I made my way back to the children I noticed Marcell had fallen to the floor in a heap. I began to panic as I hurried myself over to the little boy worried he may have been going through his first transformation. That would have been a problem, a big problem. Kneeling on the floor beside the children I took hold of the two and pulled them into a hug.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't be crying I should be strong – I just can't help it…Why did they have to die? Why couldn't they have stayed with us?" He sobbed into my dress as I rocked him gently, I felt so bad for the poor child – he didn't need to be in this much pain. It was not right – now with his heightened emotion and senses everything was so much harder for him. "I don't understand –Why does everyone I love leave me?" Marcell cried as I held him. I tried to think of the best thing to say, a few onlookers had given us a side glance and walked off – not offering their help at all.

"The ones we love never really leave us they sit watch over us. Guiding us in our lives, through the good and the bad, they are our angels watching over us. Never grieve for the dead Marcell; weep for the living, they have to carry on living this life." I said gently as I stroked his hair, I had seen enough people die in my years on this earth – I had seen loss, I had caused loss of life, it was something that couldn't be avoided. However, I was always taken aback by the strength of humans, they dealt with loss in such different ways – no one person acted the same. For a demon, loss was something that we did not understand completely – I had felt bad about people passing away before but not until I became a human did I really start to get to grasp the concept of loss from a human standpoint.

"Will you leave me too?" Marcell sniffed as he wiped his nose looking up at me, eyes red from crying so hard. I could see he was tired; everything was becoming too much for the child to handle.

"No I will never leave you Marcell."

Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter. I can never tell if you guys like it if you don't! & I want to make sure I am writing what you like!