The Warriors of Light

The tension in the room increased as I steadily watched the thing that was once a man now transformed into a demon right before my eyes. I didn't think they existed. I didn't believe what I saw to be really true. I wanted answers when I showed up here, but now I'm left panting with more questions as Gregory squatted in front of me. I didn't realize I had sat on the stairs of the sanctuary, eyes locked in a catatonic state as the demon withered and dissolved.

"He has seen far too much, Brother Gregory. He must have his memory wiped." A voice from behind me spoke, but I never turned back to look at them. "He has witnessed much more than most due to your neglect."

Gregory sighed as he put on his robe. "I had hope..."

"There will be no hope. Dispose of him now."

That caused me to snap. "Excuse me?" I turned to see the other priest there that watched me earlier. "Dispose of me? Like I'm one of these demons here?" My voice rose higher and higher as Gregory tried to get me to calm down, pulling my arm back. "I'm not some piece of trash you can just throw away," I replied offended. I turned to Gregory, jerking away from him. "What the hell is going on here? I want the truth. I deserve the truth."

"Why, because you waltz in here and demand it?" Gregory retorted, now his anger aimed towards me. "We owe you nothing. Just leave." Gregory took several steps before I grabbed his arm hard, twirling him back around. He quickly hit a pressure point in my arm causing it to go limp instantly with a chop of the side of his hand. "You need to leave, Ray, now." He whispered while grabbing my arm to pull me closer to him so I could see he meant business.

"You owe it to my brother. Brad was killed by one of those things. You can't ignore that. He looked up to this church, made this his life and you will turn your back on him, for what?

Obviously, you know way more about fighting them than Brad did. Where were you when he and Johnny Stan were attacked?"

Gregory's eyes went wide then as he pushed me away from him. He turned back to the muttering priests as they spoke amongst themselves of the new revelation of what I knew. "Where is Johnny Stan now?" One of the other priests demanded.

"I ain't talking until someone explains to me what the hell is going on," I demanded, holding my limp arm looking determinedly at Gregory as he turned to his peers. He gestured for them to go with a nod. They didn't look happy about it but left Gregory to me. He gestured for me to follow him into another set of doors away from the chaos that just ensued. He led me into his office, gestured for me to sit as I looked around the rather normal office space.

"If you want our help, Ray, then you will have to help us. The Order won't take kindly to outsiders knowing about our work."

I leaned in closer. "Did Brad know?"

Gregory sighed as he sat back in the chair. "He did, in fact, know." He placed his hands over his face, ashamed at what he was about to tell me. "I wanted to recruit Brad in The Order because of his loyalty and righteousness. I needed a successor and Brad was more than willing to help the church. He was very willing to stop the evils that plague this world."

"So, it's guilt." Gregory looked confused at me as I continued. "Guilt for opening his eyes, which eventually got him murdered."

Gregory sighed again. "I never told Brad to go after demons...not on his own. He broke protocol. My mistake, but, I assure you, it will never happen again."

"It will. The night I came in drunk...I remember the assholes back there said I could fit like he did. You...opened my third eye?"

That caused Gregory to look more interested. His eyebrows rose with my question. He even leaned over a little, interested in knowing what happened to me that he wasn't aware of.

"I simply hit a pressure point to will you to sleep. I never opened the world around you. How it is that you came to see demons, is beyond me. You are telling me you saw one? When? Where? With Johnny Stan?" I just pulled out my camera, luckily it wasn't broken. I showed Gregory. He saw the man there and nodded as I put my camera away again. "I see..."

"What exactly is happening? Why did this thing kill my brother? Who is he? What is he?" "Agares...a demon cloaked as a human. He has been roaming around, for some time now, collecting souls and downright taunting me."

"Cloaked?"

"Yes, the demons you saw were lower levels. They had terrible cloaks surrounding them to disguise themselves as humans; nevertheless, the power wears off over time. Agares, however, cloaks himself as human only when there is some sort of technology involved, in your case a camera. But, only people who can see demons can see him. His powers have grown greatly. He is even able to hide from those who usually have the capability of seeing him."

"Explains why you are looking for him. Now, I'm looking for him," I said.

Gregory shook his head. "You can't even hold your own with a low-level demon, Ray. How are you planning on fighting Agares?"

"Whatever it takes. I have to avenge my brother...it's..." A revelation came to me as I looked away from Gregory, ashamed. "It's the only thing I have left now."

Gregory leaned closer to me with seriousness on his face. "You are giving your entire life to vengeance. You have everything to lose. You just aren't thinking right now because your mind is clouded by finding out the truth and seeking justice for Brad..."

"Okay, and?"

"What happens when everything is fulfilled? What will drive your life then, huh?"

I was completely stomped. Nothing felt more right than finding who killed Brad and making them pay, demon or not. I was consumed by finding the truth and honestly didn't care what happened to me afterward. My life was nothing. I lived a miserable existence. Brad gave me purpose. I wouldn't fail him.

"I don't care what happens to me later. I want that demon. That's all that matters to me." Gregory didn't reply as he leaned back in his seat, exhausted. "Why is this demon after Johnny Stan?" "I'm not certain about that. When he came here, I tried to talk to him. We offered him protection, but we can't hold him against his will, of course." He looked away as he spoke to me, giving me the feeling that that wasn't the case.

"I want the job." I blurted out. "Whatever you were going to do with Brad, I want in." Gregory laughed. "You think you can handle being one of us, Ray? Look at your hands. You haven't stopped shaking. You're erratic and reckless. You don't even believe in what you say, or God for that matter. How can you be one of his Warriors of Light when you can't take the oath?" He stood walking over to me. He pressed his hand on an adjacent wall that opened to reveal all sorts of weapons. My eyes widened seeing all the intricate designs and swords, even guns. Gregory walked back over to me. I stood, still holding my limp arm. He lifted my arm, pressing several pressure points while I jerked back the opposite motion, as before getting feeling in my arm back. "But because you are correct, I do feel responsible for Brother Segal's death, I will help you, Ray. Tell me where Johnny Stan is."

I sighed, giving in as I made fists. "The police station downtown. They are holding him there for Brad's murder. They have video of Agares, but they couldn't see him."

Gregory began to nod placing his arms behind his back. "Choose your weapon. Demons will be coming for you now that you can see them. You will need protection."

I must've looked like a kid in a candy store because Gregory laughed softly at my facial expression. I picked up a small sword instead of a gun and started twirling it in my hands to test the balance. I was clearly terrible and nearly cut my arm off. Gregory caught the handle of the sword with ease. "Each of these weapons has been blessed and dipped in holy water, but very lethal to anyone. So, perhaps you should take the small pistol instead, for starters. I will go retrieve Johnny Stan tonight. Meet me back here at 3 a.m."

"What are we doing that early?" I was disgusted by the time frame. I watched Gregory place the sword safely back inside its sheath as I held the gun.

"Okay, make it 2 o'clock. You need as much training as possible if you wish to find and beat Agares. If this is your true-life purpose, it shouldn't bother you to wake up at that time, right?" He walked out the door, waiting for me to put my weapon away, and I followed him back into the sanctuary. The place was cleaned to a tee. No signs of a fight. The pews were back together and neat. The windows fully repaired as if nothing had happened. I was in awe at how fast these guys work.

"Who the hell are you guys?"