The church inquisitors arrived sooner than expected and had this place locked down quick. I’m pretty sure they even had snipers off in the distance, watching very closely for any unsightly activity. Those guys were headed by a smiling, middle aged man with dark skin and a very white beard. He had a seven star shield necklace almost identical to Yamin.

  “Light above, shine on us! I never believed I’d see the Eighth Star of God in my lifetime, but my eyes do not deceive me this day.”

  “Hello, Father Nick!” I cracked a smile. His kind, energetic tone was contagious. “Thank you very much for coming here.” I gestured to Yamin, who Marek was princess carrying out of the mansion. “As you can see, my friend here is in danger of being captured by demons.”

  “I see,” he replied, adjusting his glasses and examining Yamen's face, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “Yes… yes… The Pope informed me of her circumstances after you called. Poor thing.”

  He had a sullen look, uncharacteristic of his cheerful attitude.

  “Oi, Deula priest, you sound like you know her,” Indena spoke, not giving any respect to this man.

  “Well, I actually do. I knew her father very well. That man was kind as a saint and could smoke like a chimney.” Father Nick waved for us to enter one of the dozen vehicles he’d amassed for an inquisitorial convoy. “Please, we should get on the road soon.”

  Before leaving, I made sure to run up to Adalyn and give her a hug.

  “Sorry we have to leave so soon, but you were very kind to let us stay here for a time. Thank you for everything.”

  “Y'all have nothing to be sorry for,” Adalyn brushed my hair. “It was my fault that this whole thing happened to begin with, so I get the blame.”

  I wanted to say she was being too hard on herself, but she wasn’t exactly wrong. Still, she’d been a kind host to us, even giving us things to help with our journey. The upgrade she’d made to my battle armour was probably the best of all.

  “We’ll be back once Yamin isn’t being chased down by all the demons in heck,” I smiled. “Maybe you can teach me how to make cute outfits like you!”

  Adalyn seemed taken aback for a moment, but her warm smile returned with one final brush of my hair and her kneeling down for a last hug.

  “Anything you’d like, honeypie! But, y’all better get out of my hair and protect Yamin until then, alright? I’ll be counting on you.”

  I nodded, sending her a thumbs up. “You can count on me! Yamin’ll be safe and sound.”

  “Good girl. Now go get that book back!” she pumped her fist.

  With that final goodbye, we all piled into one of the vans and prepared to drive off to the capital city.

  “Miss Veronica…” Adalyn said, waving to the van as it drove off.

  “Yes, Mistress Adalyn?” a maid of the household stepped up next to her and bowed.

  “I’d like you to prepare a cinnamon latte, if you don’t mind.”

  “It will be done.” The maid bowed once again to her mistress, suppressing a curious look. “I must ask though… I was under the impression that you detested such caffeinated drinks for their high calories. Why request such a thing at this hour?”

  Adalyn turned to her and smiled, then marched back inside the house.

  “It’s such a lovely smell to wake up to, isn’t it?” she dramatically brushed her hair as she passed through the double doors. Her eyes closed and her smile widened. “Lil’ Yamy does love it so much, after all. So why not make it?”

  “Of course, Mistress Adalyn,” grinned the maid. “I will prepare it at once.”

  ~☆☆☆~

  Once again, I had to suppress the ever constant urge to press every button on a car door I saw. There were so many, each with some picture or symbol that gave a hint at what they did… Although I was still pretty clueless.

  “Boop!” I pressed a button, but nothing happened. “Beep!”

  “Stop it,” Indena growled. “You’ll blow the car up if you keep doing that.”

  “They wouldn’t put a self-destruct button in the backseat of a church van,” I argued.

  Father Nick laughed from the driver's seat, giving me a playful side eye. “Oh, but you are wrong! One of those buttons will actually blow up the car in thirty seconds! Maybe you’ve already pressed it?”

  With the way he said it, I honestly couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. It was a gamble I’d either already lost, or shouldn’t be messing around with to begin with.

  “You’re bluffing, right?” my voice quivered with concern.

  “Do you want to risk it?” he gave a sharp grin and bounced his eyebrows twice in the front mirror.

  *Gulp*

  “You know, I think I shouldn’t press these buttons,” I said, placing my hands in my lap.

  “Smart…” Indena leaned her head against the window. “Oi, how’s Sparkle face back there?” She shouted to the row of seats behind us where Marek and Cynthia were comforting Yamin.

  “She’s still breathing,” Marek said.

  “You seriously going to answer like that?” she turned her head back to give him a mean look.

  “Unfortunately, Mistress Yamin seems very unresponsive to any stimulation,” Cynthia replied. “We are having a hard time gauging her condition.”

  She kinda looked like a dummy back there… Yamin, I mean, not Cynthia. And dummy as in a lifeless doll, not an idiot. Just to be sure she wasn’t dying or something, I checked her vitals and they ‘seemed’ okay… But given her condition, it was hard to tell.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Curses can do that to a person,” Father Nick said. “That is, if she is cursed at all.”

  If she was cursed, I could’ve just used Curse Heal on her. But this seemed more complicated. At first it seemed like she was going through withdrawal symptoms, but now she was in some kind of coma.

  “So sleeping beauty ain’t waking up for a while, is what I’m hearing,” Indena commented. “You Deula guys really going to be able to look after her?”

  “We sure will,” Father Nick replied. “The church has a powerful barrier around it that completely blocks any darkness from entering at all. She will also have some of the country's most powerful healers and priests watching over her until she is cleared of her dark plight.”

  “You’re all very kind for doing this,” I said to him.

  “So be it,” he sang out, returning his full focus into the road.

  The capital city of Congerlin was coming into view. Night time enhanced the beautiful sight by adding a layer of wondrous lights to every building, especially the Grand Cathedral of Life with its eight stars twinkling above it.

  “The church is so shiny,” I said.

  I kinda’ expected the light pollution to drown out the stars in the sky, but they didn’t seem to do that. The sky was just as pretty as the city was, so it really looked like everything was twinkling like a continuing vista. It was even more spectacular than the first time we drove through here during the day. I wish the circumstances could have been better, but what can you do?

  Seeing as there was next to zero traffic going to and fro from the city, getting to the church was nothing but a breeze. Hardly anyone was out, bar a few checkpoints set up by the clergy to make sure we got there safely.

  “You guys are taking this seriously,” Indena commented.

  “If the Eighth Star commands it, we have no choice but to get things done right,” Father Nick said in a serious voice. “Sister Yamin’s safety must be assured, and we will expend any resource we can to see that through.”

  Luckily, we didn’t run into any incidents along the way. The trip worked out beautifully, and I was happy we made it to the front gates of the church.

  If I thought the palace here was extravagantly detailed, the church one upped it in every crevice. This thing was chiseled like the uncountable craters on Darmos. There wasn’t a single millimeter on the walls that didn’t somehow tell a story carved in stone. Angels and demons were depicted in a grand scale war in the upper sections, while humans joined a struggle below. Wherever a hint of power was produced within the scene, stardust had been generated to portray the energy for the good guys, while a dark looking stone was used to show the bad guys' attacks.

  “This is a depiction of the Battle of the Heavenly Domain,” Father Nick gestured to the wall. “The forces of the Devil waged war on what remained of the loyal angels to God, which are the Seven Stars of Heaven. It is where the scriptures say the devil was sealed away, awaiting his day to return and do battle with the Eighth Star.”

  “That’s me…” I said.

  Father Nick pointed to the very top of the wall where a chiseled angel was standing patiently by a sun-like detail. “That angel up there is supposed to be you.”

  “Why’s she look like a buff dude?” Indena chuckled.

  “Uh-oh…” I shivered. “I’m not going to become a buff dude or something, right?”

  “Ha ha haa!” Father Nick laughed. “No… We weren’t sure what you would look like, so that was just the artist's rendition.”

  "Oh, good… I like being a girl!"

  While we marveled at the details on the wall before us, Marek and Cynthia exited the van carrying Yamin comfortably in a blanket. She might have looked a bit cozy if she hadn’t been suffering horrendous withdrawal symptoms. A few nuns approached them and took her from Marek’s arms, seating her in a wheelchair and carting her inside the church. Silent inquisitors followed them in.

  “Are my friends going in as well?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Father Nick replied. “Although, they will be blindfolded until they reach the room we’ve prepared for them.”

  “Again with the blindfold stuff?” Indena mumbled. “What sorta’ secrets they got in there?”

  Eventually I did intend to go in there and look around for myself at things, but that would have to wait until we got the book back.

  “Hallowed angel, will you not be joining them here?” asked Father Nick.

  I shook my head. “I can’t right now. Someone has to figure out where the grimoire went. And that has to be me.”

  Father Nick bowed, assuring me that he understood my current quest.

  “So be it. I and everyone else shall be praying for your success. May you overcome the dark path you walk into the depths of.”

  I appreciated his prayers, happily accepting them and letting the faith fill my heart with newfound determination.

  Before we took our leave, I made sure to call out to Marek and Cynthia, who were currently being prepared to enter the church with blindfolds and holy water sprinkles.

  “We’ll see you guys once we get back with the book,” I said, giving them both hugs. “Call me if anything happens while we're gone.”

  “We will,” Marek said. “Good luck you two!”

  “Um…” Cynthia couldn’t look me in the eyes. “Please, return safely.”

  Her unusual shyness reminded me that she had something to tell us before the demons invaded. I gave her a serious look and snapped my fingers to get her full attention.

  “Cynthia, you were going to ‘come clean’ about something before the demons showed up. What was it?”

  She remained silent for a moment, her eyes struggling to lock onto mine.

  “I…” she stuttered. “I was going to say… That I’m not used to making barriers of that magnitude…”

  -I Detest Lying Lips-

  I didn’t believe her. She was making that up, because I knew for a fact she was a magical girl with a lot of power and practice. Something was scaring her and keeping her from telling me the truth.

  “Cynthia, don’t lie to me,” I said plainly, drawing out tears from her eyes at my authority. “Is someone hurting you?”

  She couldn't answer me straight as she burst into tears and planted her head into Marek’s shirt. There definitely was something going on with her.

  “What is this about?” Marek asked her.

  Indena came over and put a hand on my head. “What’s going on here? We need to go!”

  Cynthia wasn’t in a place to talk right now. Instead of me interrogating her, I needed to request Marek try and draw something out in my stead. He knew her better than anyone.

  “Wait!” Cynthia shouted as we were about to re-enter the van. “Um… Please change your clothing if it starts to feel uncomfortable… Especially if you have a tie. If you wear it too tightly, you could choke!”

  We all shared an awkward silence as her words set in.

  “What the hell is she talking about?” Indena asked. “Woman’s lost it.”

  “Hmm…” I wasn’t wearing a tie, Marek was. But she referenced changing clothing in general if it got uncomfortable. Was that supposed to be some sort of code?

  I hated leaving them like this, but I had to put faith in the church to keep my friends safe, and Marek to try and figure out what was wrong with his lover. If this place wasn’t secure, where would be?

  Once I closed the door, the van began moving back toward the main street, taking us toward Little Conberg.

  “Indena, you said you had an idea how we could get into the sewers?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “We need to find a beach,” she smiled, giving a thumbs up.

  “A beach?” I tilted my head, very curiously awaiting her explanation for that one…

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