Mother didn’t notice me at first, but the demons sure did. They were bustling over one another just to get at the unravished meat. Samuel had taught me that demons always went after the purest and cleanest of prey and that was why they were so good at what they did. They had a natural tendency to go above and beyond, to strive to new places, to rise above the others.

That all sounded good, but what it came down to was: the demons were always more attracted to enemies that weren’t yet harmed. It gave them a sick pleasure to rip through the freshness and deflower the person of their normal bodies, their holy temples. They craved bodies that were crisp, pure, and ready for destruction.

I had known all of these lessons to be true because late at night when I couldn’t sleep, I could ask of myself, “Is that what I want? Would it feel good to send my claw through the stomachs and necks of my friends?” The answer was always immediate. I would feel a deep pleasure as my mind daydreamed about these sick ideas. These monsters loved those they could harm from the start.

And so, screaming like wild monsters, the demons came at us in a small horde of around fifteen or twenty. They jumped off corpses, halted themselves mid-chew, flung themselves off rooftops as they all began to change their attention to me, Gauss, and Deborah.

That was when Mother noticed me. Her eyes examined the battlefield with desperate purpose, and that’s when I realized she had been looking for me. What had taken her so long? Hadn’t she noticed that I’d been gone from the church? Hadn’t she heard the stories of a young preacher boy killing an old lady?

Where had she been?”

“We have to move!” cried Gauss, snapping his fingers in front of my face. “Go! Go!”

“Not without her!” I replied, “Not without my mother!”

“You fool! This is her job! Watch!”

Gauss pointed to my mother as she called out orders to her black knights, positioning them in front of the oncoming horde. The Knights moved with agility, order, and efficiency, creating a line to block the demons from getting to us. Mother banged a fist on her chest, the black armor around her breasts clanging loudly, and then she raised her gauntleted fist into the air followed by a battle cry. The black knights repeated this salute. A salute to a very probable death.

“I can help!” I yelled back at Gauss, trying to shove more of Deborah onto him. “Take her and get out of here!”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Gauss growled, grabbing onto my wrist. “You will not only get yourself killed but most likely some of the knights as well!”

The demons hit the line of black knights with incredible force, knocking many of them onto their backs. Just when I thought they were done meat, the knights who had fallen grabbed at the legs of the demons that were trying to pass over and shoved their weapon of choice into their guts. Black and red carnage dropped from their bellies, soiling the faces of the poor knights.

Surely, now these knights would have let go, their mouths probably filled to the brim with demonic blood, but that is not what happened. They turned themselves onto their bellies and drug themselves up to the head of the beast, each pulling a dagger out and shoving it into the eye of the beast. Each of the fallen knights did this in synchronization. How they had prepared for something like this, I had no clue.

“What the…” I said, my mouth hanging open. “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Gauss tugged on my arm, trying to pull me to the wobbling exit my mother had made on her entrance. “They’re the elites, boy. You aren’t ready to fight by their side. You would only bring them dishonor.”

“Like hell I would!” I cried, my voice cracking at the apex.

Letting go of Deborah fully, forcing Gauss to fall over and grab her before she fell, I ran with all my strength towards the line. None of the knights paid any attention to the half-demon reinforcement heading their way. I readied my spear, lowering it to stick into the unlucky demon that got in my way.

Gauss was screaming obscenities at me from behind but I didn’t listen. My intent was fully on helping my mother save what was left of the Refuge and it looked like my opening had just slit the throat of one of the poor black knights who had been overtaken by four crawlies. Three remained on the body to continue the feast while the other pulled itself out of the commotion to continue the stampede forward.

I targeted the thing with one eye closed, my muscles tensing for the plunge. I could practically feel the cold blood shoot all over my face, hear the dying screeches as I hoisted the demon overhead, a symbol that the Refuge would not be taken.

Two claws landed on each side of my shoulder, sinking through my skin and muscle easily and poking out the other end. It was like the Refuge’s butcher had loaned out his meat hooks and I was this demon’s flank ready to be salted and persevered for winter. I prayed to the Almighty that my sinful blood would cease the pain, that was my first thought, but no… pain came and it brought tears to my eyes. I screamed like a child as I was hoisted off the ground.

And just like when a lioness plucks her cub from the hungry maws of the hyena, mother was there for me. Only… the way she saved me was less than ideal.

With one hard front kick to my gut, my shoulder muscles were ripped from the hungry demon. I fell onto my ass, dust instantly flaking over my open wounds. I couldn’t move my arms but flipped and flopped like a fish as my body went through a state of confusion.

What do I do? How do I cope with this? Please, Almighty, save me from this pain and allow the dark blood, the blood I did not wish for, heal these wounds of mine.

My mother scooped me up like a babe and blew the dirt particles out of the holes in my torso. She smiled down at me and brushed the hair out of my face and placed it behind my horns, all the while people, good people, died around us. I could feel the ripped skin start to reform and the pain subsides just a little.

Gauss was here now, a limp Deborah in his hands. He was speaking something to mother that I couldn’t hear. She replied to him. All my ears let in was that damned buzzing noise again. When, Almighty, would I be free from the buzzing?

“Take him,” my mother’s words finally entered my head. “Take him. I’ll follow after.”

Mother pulled out a green orb and crushed it into her hands. She then rubbed the glowing lime green ooze onto both palms and shoved them onto my half-healed shoulders. She squeezed tightly, forcing me out of my painless allusion and pulling a childlike scream from my throat.

Oh, Almighty, how I wish you would take me away rather than let me suffer. Please… no more… Be my savior. I no longer want any more to do with thine plan for me.

And I was awake. Full with energy thanks to the green orb’s magic. I hopped up and took half of Deborah’s weight from Gauss. Something snapped in me and my months of training kicked in. I may have failed at the beginning of this battle but I would be damned if I didn’t see the end with a strong finish.

Gauss beat his chest with a fist and raised it into the air. My mother did the same.

“Take these two to safety, commander. Leave the Refuge under my care.”

That gesture of his, the one repeated by my mother… that meant… Gauss was a part of the elites! My mother was his leader! Leader? Wait…

“What about Leader Nagheed?” I asked, trying to keep the panic from my voice.

Mother slapped my face lightly, something she had never done before.

“You leave that to me, sweetie.”

Gauss started moving and I followed after him, my head still facing towards mother who winked and turned away from me. The last thing I saw before exiting through the wobbly wall was her throwing two red orbs into the fray, followed by the unsheathing of two medium-sized blades from her back.

Suddenly, a golden radiance burst from around the steel, encompassing the entirety of both swords. Somehow, this woman, my mother, was in control of the amazing power that was the grace of the Almighty.

And I… held the power of his worst enemy.