Chapter Twelve
Papa Midnight never did anything without expecting something in return. He and John Constantine had that in common. They were both men after something they wanted. Though, Papa Midnight considered himself a man of honor. John Constantine was rash, inconsiderate and horrific to detail. He wasn't going to get caught up in the mess Constantine had thrown himself into. But he would help his on and off again friend find his powerful physic.
Constantine didn't fare well with the opposite sex outside of bed. The fact that the exorcist was desperate to find this woman was enough for him to see this through. John Constantine had come to him, after all.
He'd kept this Zed Martin from him. Why? He wanted nothing from her. She was nothing to him. But given due fact, he was interested. He would find this woman for John Constantine and he would see just what had the exorcist so enamored. Was she so powerful?
Or was it the simple fact that he wanted to see who it was that had the invincible John Constantine so smitten?
The man in question was absent. He couldn't focus with the Demonologist pacing back and forth and criticizing his method of contact. Papa Midnight was confident that he would find Zed Martin.
He turned towards the round table in the center of the rented Suite and placed an alarmingly white feather in the center. He wasn't even going to ask Constantine how he'd come across the Angel feather. A rosary from John Constantine next, and then the females ribbon.
Papa Midnight tilted his head back and closed his eyes, spreading his arms out to his sides. His lips moved as he chanted. He felt the aura that brushed up against his and frowned, pausing in his chant. That aura was a guard. Angelic. It was blocking him, but it wasn't stopping him. It was looking for someone else and he was sure that someone was John Constantine.
So Constantine had been right, after all.
He'd went up against the forces of hell with John Constantine and he knew as well as the exorcist there was a price for everything. What price would he have to pay for going up against the heavenly host? They were just as dangerous as any demon. When John Constantine had said they were going up against an Angel, he hadn't known the exorcist meant directly against the Angel.
That was tedious and anarchy.
"You will owe me for this, John Constantine." Papa Midnight murmured.
He closed his eyes but didn't resume his chant as something soft brushed his aura. He stood there in silence for a moment before opening his eyes.
"Where's John?" Zed Martin asked from across the room hesitantly.
She stood there in awkward silence and the look on her face was enough to have him stare in wonder at the distanced power he felt from her. Her aura was soft and feminine and he'd felt her the moment she reached out in search of John, but instead found him. The spell she was using had located John, but the exorcist just wasn't here. The Suite was rented under John's name.
"He will return shortly. Are you...alright?" Papa Midnight felt compelled to ask.
Horror filled her expression as she stared at him. The woman recognized him, though he knew they had never met before. "You didn't kill him, did you?"
"Someday, perhaps." He looked forward to the day he could rid the world of John Constantine. Whether it was his accent that she recognized, he knew without a doubt Constantine had spoken of him to her. The things he had no doubt said were none too friendly. She obviously knew of their dislike for each other and the numerous times they had tried and failed to kill each other. "I did not kill him. He is alive and well. But I cannot say the same for you. You wouldn't be calling for him unless the need was urgent."
He moved around the table. His intent was curious. Even though he knew she wasn't there and he'd already done it once before, he reached out to touch her. His hand moved through her. Bi-Location could be a difficult spell to conjure but to hold it and converse took great concentration. "He will want to know you are alive and well. I can pass the message to him."
Her lips twisted. "They won't kill me."
She looked almost sad at the thought.
She looked so ordinary. But for John Constantine to be interested and even an Angel who wanted to impregnate her, there was nothing ordinary about her. She was looking away from him and looking around the room. Looking for John, noticing his trench coat over one of the lounge chairs.
"He came to me for help." He said. "This Angel is blocking him, but they do not recognize me."
Her expression was wary and while he knew she didn't fully trust him, he knew she didn't have a choice. Contrary to what Constantine believed, he believed that the longer Zed Martin stayed on this spiritual link, the stronger it became. Telepathy wasn't an impossible action.
"I need you to tell him they're going to Jerusalem. I saw it in a vision. They're looking for something called the Pentalpha."
He nodded. Constantine would know what it was, but he highly doubted the exorcist could make the trip in the time allotted. They didn't have that kind of time to spare. That was one thing they were going to lose.
"And Blastonbury. I'm here." She said suddenly, the look on her face anxious.
His eyebrows snapped down. "London?"
She nodded. Her image wavered.
Why would they keep her right beneath Constantine's nose? Unless there was more than just a blocking spell. What else were they using to keep John from finding her? This woman was special. Heaven wanted her, hell wanted to spawn her and John Constantine was beyond smitten.
Constantine wouldn't be able to find her. Not even knowing her exact location. They could still blind her location. She may be in Blastonbury, but Midnight was sure it wasn't so easy. Nothing someone wanted as badly as this woman was wanted would be so easy.
But he could blur the lines of the spiritual world and reality for Constantine and himself to find her. Not even the angel could block them then. The thought only crossed his mind because he himself wanted to see her in reality, and not just through a spiritual looking glass.
"No, don't break the link." He could see the struggle on her face, but he needed her to hang on for a few moments longer. "John Constantine came seeking my assistance." He withdrew a dagger from the back of his pants and ran the tip of the blade down the center of his palm and then carved a symbolic design on either side. "I can do this. I can lead Constantine to you, but I cannot say the Angel will not realize any bond we create. We will find you regardless. You will have to keep them otherwise preoccupied."
What was that supposed to be mean?
Her eyes lowered when he held his hand out.
"Give me your hand." Papa Midnight said.
Zed hesitated. She kept imagining John walking through that door at any moment. He and Papa Midnight hated each other, so it was shocking that he'd went to Midnight for help. Were they really so lost? She felt lost. "I'm not here." She said, shaking her head.
Papa Midnight didn't say anything, just motioned with his hand. The look on his face was complete indifference and confidence. He could see her growing tired and when she finally lifted her hand and it hovered inches over his, he lifted the dagger. "Find this soul and bring her to mine."
He stabbed down with the dagger as he chanted the words and the blade pierced through the back of her hand. For a split second in time, Midnight could feel her against him. She was solid, her curls brushing his cheek as he suddenly gripped her forearm. He could smell her, feel the warmth of her body.
She cried out and her hand convulsed around the blade, blood dripping down the center.
"I can feel you, but the Angel can also feel me." He whispered in her ear warningly. That was the only hope he could offer her. That small piece of her soul was like a lifeline through the spell holding Constantine back.
He wasn't going to lie. It felt good, knowing that Constantine needed him to find this woman.
The door opened and Constantine filled the doorway. Glass shattered as he dropped the brown bag he'd been toting in his arms and oil spilled across the floor, along with other various herbs.
"What the bloody hell did you do? Zed! Jesus Christ!"
Before Constantine could do something stupid before he realized exactly what he'd done, Midnight spoke. "I brought her soul to mine. I know where she is, but this Angel—"
"I know the bloody spell." Constantine snapped out, cutting the Jamaican Voodoo Priest off. He knew the spell all too well. He didn't like the thought of Papa Midnight using a piece of Zed's soul to get the shit done, but he needed shit done.
Midnight's grasp lowered to Zed's wrist when Constantine gripped her forearms. "Don't you let go." He turned his head back to Zed. He could feel her, but he knew she was only partially here still. "What is it?" Dammit, he should have been here when she'd made contact. He knew he shouldn't have left.
"They're going to Jerusalem for the Pentalpha." Zed repeated for the second time that night, weariness in her eyes.
"Well, that's not good." John muttered.
"Do you know what it is, Constantine?" Papa Midnight interrupted.
"Yea. It was a ring given by the angel Michael, or Gabriel, I think. It gives the wearer protection and the ability to bind and command spirits and demons. I can't think of why Manny would want it. Unless Martin does."
"Could the ring be used against this angel?"
"I bloody sodden hope so." He and Papa Midnight were on the same thought on that. At least he knew one thing they were after. Knowing they were after the Pentalpha was a big step in their direction. Constantine knew if he could get his hands on that ring, he could do a lot of worth while damage with it.
John nodded. "You are alright?" He asked again.
She nodded. Good. Manny hadn't tried to do the dirty yet.
"I'm in Blastonbury."
Little good that did, now that Midnight had done some of his Voodoo magic, though he didn't blame Zed for that.
"I-I have to go." Zed said and Constantine felt his stomach clench at the look in her eyes. That was twice now he'd seen that look.
"Wait—if you can, get the ring, Zed." John said but Papa Midnight was already releasing her and then her hold on the spell broke and she was gone.
John sighed heavily and scrubbed a hand down his face. "They won't do anything until they have the ring. I think Martin wants it to control Manny...though I don't see why Manny would let Martin have that ring."
"And you're sure of this?"
John wasn't sure of anything at this moment, actually.
"They can move her, but you'll know where she is, right?"
Papa Midnight nodded. He could feel her but it was at a distance. At least if they put a glamour on where she was being held, he'd know upon sight. He didn't like knowing the angel would probably feel a difference in Zed, but he'd done what he could on a last minutes notice, so to speak.
"When she gets the ring, we'll go from there." John muttered. Their plans had just changed. Sooner or later, Manny was going to catch on to Zed's little secret meetings. It was only a matter of time. He really hoped she got her nimble fingers on that ring before then. He needed it.
"You place a lot of trust in this woman."
John shrugged. "She's never let me down before."
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