TO Rewrite: B2 — 20. A Saint’s Cadence (Patreon)

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1. Fiona White (Our Lil Fairy Is Back!)

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Flying through the halls, air rushing past them, Fiona kept Catherine, Maria, and their fake Cássia flower clone airborne.  However, after everything she’d learned about Ireland, she couldn’t help being distracted.  Her family was trapped behind some invisible barrier, and she didn’t know how to get to them or help them.

Her gaze darted between multiple branches and giant pieces of furniture, paintings, or suits of armor wielding weapons.  The scenery rushed past her.  Every bloody picture or imprisoned traitor infused into the walls brought her thoughts back to her family.  The haunting music echoing through the walls further set her on edge.

Nora, Mom, Dad…  What am I supposed to do?  Maybe Rachel was right.  I need to get stronger so I can do something when we get there.  If we can finish all of this fast, then the whole US and King Arthur will support me.  I’m Level 10, but it’s not enough.  I need to get mad… flipping mad!

“Fiona, sweetie…”

“Hmm?”

Lost in her own thoughts, she snapped out of it as a gentle voice prompted her.  The sky-blue-eyed saint gave her an encouraging smile, the light-green aura around her golden radiance dimming as she slowed their flight.  Fiona glanced back—no vampires were in sight, only clouds of dust.

Catherine held up her hand, and a burst of wind swept the veil of powder aside.  A brilliant wheel-shaped shield spun through the air, attracted to the saint’s outstretched fingers like a magnet.  The woman’s thick, blinding blonde hair blew back, her pure white-and-gold-embroidered nun’s gown fluttering in the dispersed kinetic motion around them.

“Such fiends are of no concern,” she calmly said, her Italian accent rolling off her tongue as her boots touched the crimson-carpeted floor.  “How do you fair, Fiona, Maria?”

Maria whistled, flexing her gloved hands as Fiona slowly took them to the ground, lifting an eyebrow at the horde of Lesser, Greater, and Noble Vampires the woman had vaporized in one fell swoop.  “Damn, chica.  Couldn’t you have done that back in the hall?  Oh, shit!  Rach’s decoy…”

“Uh-oh.”  Fiona zipped to the half-burned and withering clone they’d been escorting, summoning a large ball of water to douse the holy fire, yet it was too late, and the water didn’t help much, evaporating in an instant.  “Well, that didn’t work out, did it?”

Catherine strained her smile as she swapped her shield behind her back.  “I was afraid of that.  I cannot choose who is affected by The Wheel’s Flame; it projects a Holy blast that purifies and purges any corruption nearby, and unfortunately…”

“Yeah, Rach is a bit… corrupt, for sure,” Maria sighed, head tilting to the side as she watched the flower-like Rachel evaporating into smoke.  “Bah, we’ve done our part, though.  Don’t sweat it.”

“Really?”  Fiona asked, flapping her wings to rise higher in the hallway to scan what was left of those who pursued them.  “Did you get all of them, Cathi?”

“I do like that nickname,” Catherine chortled.  “I believe we have diverted and taken care of enough.  Perhaps… I waited too long, actually.  Hmm.  I am worried about your safety while with me; it would be best if we parted ways from here…  Unless it is too late.  Oh dear.”

“Say that again?”  Maria mumbled, hands going to her hips while staring at the taller woman.  “We’re good getting our asses chased by a flood of bloodsuckers, but now you’re sayin’ we’re not safe when… I see no one.  What’s the deal, Goldilocks?”

“All the nicknames are a treat,” she said, her expression saddening as she drifted to the walls and scanned the hallway branches ahead of them.  “In truth, I am carrying an artifact back—careful…”

“Shrrriiiii!”

An ear-splitting scream filled the corridor, making Fiona’s vision swim and the world turn upside down.  A gentle hand caught her as she fell, wildly throwing up [Wind Wall II].

“Woah!”

Her vision barely cleared enough to see a bright blue ball of plasma fly out of nowhere, penetrating her barrier in an instant—it was going to vaporize them!  It exploded against Catherine’s illuminated wheel, coming between them in an instant and sending electricity spraying around the dome-like shell, attempting to wrap around to strike their backs.

“The hell?!”  Maria asked, raising her sun gauntlets and stepping closer to the saint and covering their back.  “How’d the bastards get ahead of us?  Where is he?”

Fiona’s wings drooped as she scanned the melted blood crystal and devastated half of the hallway that hadn’t been protected by Catherine’s shield barrier.  “It just… went right through my wall.  How?”

Catherine gently lifted Fiona up to find her wings again, somehow totally calm as she moved forward to stare at the hall the blast had come from.  “They have retreated for now.”

“Who was that?”  Fiona asked as the woman placed a hand on Maria’s fist, lowering it and motioning for them to follow her further into the castle.  “I could put up an electric barrier?  It’s new, but I need to increase its Rank anyway.  Can you see them?”

“There’s no need to waste your energy where it’s not needed,” the saint replied, a soothing glow coming from her as she took the lead.  “They were invisible.  If I were to take a guess, the cry was likely the Myth of the Strigoi.  A witch-like vampire based in Rome.  I was hunting her before being redirected to my current mission.  How the tables have turned,” she joked with a brilliant grin that didn’t reflect the situation.

“As for the plasma ball, it was most probably the Myth of the Asema, a South American witch-vampire.  I seem to attract creatures of the night,” she giggled.  “Benjamin warned me that I would find more foes here than friends, but I am happy with the ones I have found.  The Helsings are quite informative when it comes to identifying Myths and Legends,” she added with a sideward glance at Maria.  “My task has brought many fiends tracking my heels.”

“No clue who that is.  Anyway… and what the hell is this mission?”  Maria pressed, stepping around the bubbling liquid lining the ground to follow the holy woman.  “Damn.  How many are there in the shadows—what kind of jump are we expecting?”

Fiona surveyed the ominous and large corridor with the unicorn as Catherine guided them toward some unknown destination.  The saint’s serene demeanor was spooky in the vampiric scene they walked through, the haunting and depressing cry of violins humming around them.

She wanted to ask her why she was on a dangerous ship and a vampire Legend’s Quest, but Maria got to the punch before she could, scanning the woman’s attire for whatever item she was talking about; no bag was attached to her hip.

“Porque el infierno?  Yo, why take part in some crazy shit like this if ya got some top-secret mission from the Vatican goin’ on?  Seems like a hell of a place to lay low, and you were vampire-hunting in Rome before this?  That doesn’t seem right.  We talkin’ straight from the Pope?  What’s the deal?”

Fiona zipped forward, hands tightening against her chest as she peered down the eerie corridors.  “Yeah, do you need any help?  You helped us and you seem friendly so far.  I like to help friends who help me.”

The woman slowed her pace, glancing back the way they came.  “I can only answer questions one at a time, ladies.  Give me a second.”

“Sorry!”  Fiona laughed, rubbing her shoulder.  “I’m just a little nervous after that scream… and now I hear clicking.  Great.”

Catherine’s left hand rose to her dangling golden earrings, drawing their attention to the prickly yet gorgeous pieces.  “So far as I can tell, there are five Myths in pursuit of us at this moment, flitting through shadows, hiding in the walls, and tracking us from the floor above—”

“Shrrriiiii!”

“Shut the hell up!”  Maria shouted.  “Damn.  I can’t hear myself think.”

“Mind games,” the saint commented.  “She is not one of the assassins sent to hunt me; she was merely added to the party for self-preservation purposes, no doubt.  How should I put this?”  she mumbled, tilting her head left and right while smoothing out her nun’s outfit.  “My hunt was immediately postponed, and I was sent to California to aid a comrade in an urgent mission…

“He sacrificed himself to bring this to the Vatican’s attention and died in my arms shortly after I arrived in the United States.  These,” Catherine’s fingers grazed the dangling jewelry, “thorn-themed earrings are not solid gold but plated.  Mmm.  They’re too close…”

Picking up her pace as they glanced around, Fiona gulped as shadows began to stretch throughout the hallway.  She ignited a fireball the size of a piano and lifted it above their heads.

“Yeah, back up!  That’s what I thought,” she barked.

Catherine gave her a small smile as they continued.  “These are creatures of ambush, Fiona.  Where you think they are, they are not.  You needn’t be worried about another attack anytime soon.  Their goal is to wear us down into paranoia.”

“Shit is working,” Maria grumbled.  “The truth?  These bastards already know it, right?”

“The truth,” the saint whispered.  “Hmm.  It seems appropriate at this point, or else you will be used as hostages for purposes you do not understand.  They moved faster than I expected…  Benjamin continues to be right.  It is them.  Such an infuriating man, yet a useful man.”

Her gaze shifted to the wall, and she looked somewhat troubled while displaying the artifacts.  “The thorns are from the crown used on Christ’s head during his crucifixion, soaked in His Divine blood.”

“Shut the hell up…  Dios te salve, María, llena eres de gracia; el Señor es contigo.”  Maria gulped, a shiver running down her frame as she stared at the sparkling golden earrings and made a cross sign in front of her chest.  Their long vine and thorns were only several centimeters from reaching the saint’s shoulders.  “Gold-plated vines from the crown of Christ?  Why the hell would you bring those into a place like this?!”

Catherine streamed out a long breath and gave them a sad glance before returning her focus to the branching hallways, taking them down another route.  “It is… a story I can share shortly.  If you choose to remain with me, we should move to a more open venue.  I… fear separating from me now would mark you as a target.  I hadn’t anticipated they would act in this game due to its risks.”

She looked up as a shadow darted through the ceiling and vanished, electricity sparking on the other side of another wall as a clawed hand ran along its semi-transparent surface.

“These three are manageable, but unlike the other fodder the vampire factions sent to their deaths, these are Myths, and they are powerful.  However, my true pursuers will be close, and they will be on a different level due to the environment they came from.”

Fiona forced a laugh as she floated to the woman’s shoulder, touching down on it to stare up at the large, swaying jewelry above her; the fire behind her kept a reasonable distance to be a threat.  “You’re already so strong.  You took care of all those vampires in a single throw—I didn’t even see it!  I mean, I could have toasted them with a big fireball, but yeah.  We’re tough, too!”

Maria snorted, walking alongside the saint as they moved further into the castle; her focus kept darting to the shifting shadows within the walls.  “You wouldn’t have noticed a donkey falling on your head, Fi.  You’re distracted as hell.”

“B-But I’m worried about my family,” she defended, legs knotting as she played with her feet.  “Ireland is a warzone, and no one can even get inside it to help…  I don’t know what to do,” she mumbled, shivering at the thought of her little town in flames before she could arrive.  “I’m scared.”

The unicorn’s expression became melancholy, glancing down at Catherine’s massive shield, now held in her hand and ready for action.  “Uh… yo, you think the Vatican would help us with the whole Ireland fiasco if we get those back to Rome?”

Catherine’s smile brightened, her golden countenance illuminating.  “I would absolutely love to support the good people of Ireland, even without a trade of goodwill.  I know Saint Colmcille has been gathering aid for his homeland.  I would be happy to contact him on your behalf.”

“Really?!”  Fiona’s belly twisted with excitement.  “I know the legend of Saint Colmcille.  The patron saint of, uh, derry, floods, bookbinders, poets, and, of course, Ireland and Scotland!  What are the odds that we ran into each other?  It’s crazy lucky!  We should help one another.”

“More like unlucky,” Maria huffed, arms folding under her bust as her vision narrowed, and she looked up at the serene woman.  “Rachel’s shit is the opposite, chicas.  All of this—being hunted by these bastards—yeah, I’d bet her tail had something to do with it.  Wherever she goes, misfortune follows.  Ya catch me?  I just have a bad feeling in my gut.  I’ve learned things tend to go south fast when Rach gets in the thick of it.”

“She always comes out on top, though,” Fiona piped up from Catherine’s shoulder.  “She took out a Lesser God!”

Maria frowned as they came to a large dining room with the curtains to the terrace drawn; some of Elizabeth’s serving girls standing by the wall curtsied, their red eyes and fangs revealing them as vampires as they left through what Fiona assumed was a servant’s door.

“Uh-huh.  My point exactly.  Rach leaves mayhem in her wake, chica.  All I’m sayin’ is to watch your backs because, if Miami and her stories told me anything, everything falls apart when the liebre lunar gets goin’.  Why the hell are you trusting us with this shit, Goldilocks?  Ain’t no way you know we’re legit.”

“No?”  Catherine asked as she moved to the polished wood table; it was probably a luxury in a place with no land other than floating islands like the one they were on.  “Dear Jeanne spoke highly of your group when I called her yesterday to inform her that I would be in Miami.  I used this Legend Quest as a chance to travel across the Atlantic without the fear of bystanders getting hurt.  I would then proceed from there to Rome.”

Maria’s expression turned sour.  “Well, the damn girl didn’t tell us shit about you.  I, uh, can respect the decision not to get lil’ niñas and niños involved.”

“Duh!  She’s on a top-secret mission and a saint, horse brain,” Fiona snickered, eyes lighting up as Catherine lifted a spoonful of what looked to be sugar for her to sample.  “So, you know Jeanne?  I like her.  We’ve gotten to know each other better over the last week, and she’s always willing to listen to me.  Ooh!  It’s good.”

The saint removed the spoon after Fiona sampled the rich, chocolate-like flavor of the unique form of sugar in this world.  Brushing her bangs on the opposite side of Fiona, Catherine shot a reassuring look at the nervous unicorn.

“You could say Jeanne looks up to me like a big sister.  I knew her as a little girl.  And why should I not trust you?  I can sense your sincerity, Maria.  You’re concerned about your family in Miami with you here.  Am I right?  Dracula is sending his forces to assault the peninsula.”

“How did you know that?”  Maria mumbled as Fiona’s wings reformed to float over the table.  “And wait, shouldn’t we be going back to help Rach or something?  Damn.  I never know what that girl wants—she never gives us all the damn information.”

Catherine sighed and stepped away from the table, a sad smile now touching her naturally bright face as she directed their gaze to the closed curtains to the terrace.  “I’m afraid we’re already surrounded.  This is as good a place as any.”

“Huh?!”  Fiona shot into the air, looking at the closed door, leading further into the castle and the corridor they’d come from.  She raised her fireball further into the air, two-meter-long icicles forming, ready to fire at anything that moved.  “I hate not having cool senses like Rachel.  Where are they?  I’ll blast them!”

Maria forced a toothy smile and rubbed her gauntleted hands together.  “It’s about damn time!  Suspense is a—uh…  What are you doing, chica?”

Catherine casually threw her wheel-shield into the air as if not bothered in the least by the bats closing in, the curtains fluttering, clicking resonating down the hall, and cackling laughter scratching their ears.  A radiant dome of light encircled the table with them, blocking out everything in the outside world to the luminous sphere.

The woman simply directed them toward the food on the table, a lonely yet beautiful pulse of energy emanating around them from the shield and calming Fiona’s tight chest.   “We have time.  It’s best to take what small joys you can in this dreary world.  Sit, break bread with me.”

Fiona was a little taken aback by the serene saint’s offer as she pulled aside the chair to take her seat.  The woman waited for Maria to circle the table and sit across from her, and for Fiona to float down to the table before speaking again.  Catherine didn’t put off the vibe of someone preparing for combat as her holy shield cycled above, isolating them from the vampiric song and threats outside.

“Shall we say grace?  Maria, could you offer us this thanks?”

“Uh, sure…  Eh-hehe.  I can’t believe there’s normal food in this place,” she mumbled, scanning the table of bread, fruit, vegetables, and meat.  “I’m a forced vegan now, so the meat is all yours.  Are you being serious right now, chica, because this is insane?”

“Sugar is my only diet,” Fiona chimed in.  She felt oddly secure with the saint’s confident and unperturbed demeanor, yet something wasn’t right with it all.  It kind of felt like a last meal.  “Are… you okay, Cathi?”

“Lovely,” the woman whispered, making a cross at her chest and bowing her head.  “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  Thy will be done.”

Having grown up Catholic in Ireland, the primary religion of the island, Fiona mirrored the saint and Maria as the unicorn followed the woman’s prayer with her own.

“Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty.  Through Christ, our Lord.”

Peace fell over Fiona, her fireball dwindling out as she opened her eyes and smiled at the two other women.  Rachel was a chaotic mess of tension and stress, yet Catherine was the picture of grace as she handed Maria a bowl of greens and explained herself.

“As I said, my mission is to deliver these holy artifacts to the Vatican.  My hopes in connecting with you were to have brought you aid and have Omen meet with the Cardinals.  We have been gifted visions by the Lord of Omen’s future and your contributions to the safety of the people of this planet.

“That being said, I’d hoped to separate from you before my pursuers managed to corner me.  Yet, life is tribulation and suffering, meant to strengthen us and refine our souls to be worthy of the reward that will come,” she laughed.  “I relish these small respites of joy with wonderful companionship.  Would you pass the bread and butter, Maria?”

“Uh… yeah.  This trip has been… mmgm, flippin’ crazy,” she said with a small smile at the saint, not swearing for once, which made Fiona’s heart swell.  Maria had a foul mouth, but she refrained from certain words around her.  “We buying time for Rach to join us?”

“That is not my intention,” Catherine smoothly replied, cutting the bread with a hymn humming in her throat.  “Mmm.  These relics were recovered during a rather daring venture into a dangerous Chinese collector’s home and brought to me by Saint Francisco Fernández de Capillas…”

She set the bread on her plate before selecting some strange dishes that resembled brussel sprouts for greens.  “He did not survive the curse afflicting him before I could find someone capable of purging it.  My powers are limited in the restorative field, which is why I respect your gifts, Maria,” the woman added with a true show of appreciation that made the unicorn’s cheeks flush a bit with embarrassment.

“His faith sustained him until he was able to pass me his charge, and I have carried it from California, where I met him, to Florida, where I disembarked on my flight since there was credible intel that the passengers would have been brought into the crossfire…  They’d found me.”

Adding a decent portion of turkey—or what looked like a turkey from the bird-like dish—Catherine slowly began cutting them into slices as they listened to her story.  Fiona munched on her sugar, enthralled by the spinning wheel above that seemed to be isolating them from the predators circling outside.

“When I discovered this gathering of vampires from my informants tracking the Strigori, it felt like the perfect place to find support from Hunters.  Yet, all of them have their own targets… and no one wants to get involved in the hornet’s nest that is China.  No one wants to incur the Legend of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s ire with the current war between the competing dynasties when he rules the northern region.”

“Wait, wait!”  Fiona’s hand flew up.  “I thought the Legend of Empress Wu was in control of China.  Rachel told us there was a video or something.”

“Fi… that’s secret,” Maria sighed, causing Fiona to clasp her sugar-covered hands over her mouth.

“Sorry!”

Catherine chuckled and finished another bite of her food before continuing.  “Saint Francisco told me of the current political climate of China.  Yes, Empress Wu has amassed great power and is in control of Eastern China.  Currently, she is engaged in a war with Emperor Qin for Central China and has taken the global stage to show China as a powerhouse, gathering support from outside her country.  Qin had planned to use these artifacts in some sacrilegious way to tip the scales in his favor… Saint Franciso became a martyr so that wouldn’t happen.”

Maria poked at her salad.  “And now… you have something a warring country wants?  Crap, that’s hard.  I’m guessing they’ve taken over a lot of government agencies, as well, if China is divided like that—I’ve seen it happen with gangs and dirty cops, who go to the highest bidder.”

The unicorn paused and looked up at the blinding woman, her golden hair radiating light as if a living flame.  “What’s with this, uh, meal?  It feels like your last or something,” she whispered, a frown on her lips.  “It doesn’t feel right.  Why are you telling us all of this if it is a top-secret mission from Vatican City that you’re going to complete?”

A short pause fell between them as the serene woman smiled and continued to slowly clean her plate.  “…Mmm.  Food tastes so much better amongst friendly company.  One should always be waiting and willing to die for one’s values and beliefs, whatever they may be.  Do you really believe something if you are not willing to give your everything for it… live and die for it?  I respect all religions for their faith and dedication to their trust in their gods.

“Atheists have their own beliefs and values that are to be respected.  In the end, we can only follow the paths we believe to be right, or else we are lost in eternal darkness, awaiting the crippling depression The Adversary brings.  I love all of God’s creatures—evil or good—all are loved before the Lord, despite their rebellion.  Just because there is love, does not mean justice and judgment can be circumvented, though, and all will answer for their actions.”

Finishing her plate, she cleaned her lips with the napkin in her lap and gave them a peaceful smile that put worry in Fiona’s gut, despite her serene presence.  No, it was because of that serenity that she wanted to cry.

“I believe I have been guided here for a reason.  Maria, you believe the truth you feel within your soul, and what a beautiful soul it is—a gentle soul, despite what you portray to others.  The Holy Spirit shows me much pain in your past, but healing will come.  I promise.  It will come.”

Fiona floated up.  “Cathi… it’s not over.  We can fight!  Omen is good at fighting.  We’re tough!  Rachel tips things in our favor—misfortune and junk.  Right, Maria?”

Maria closed her eyes, rubbing between them as her brow furrowed, and she looked more than a little worried now.  “Is it that bad?  Your barrier is a temporary shield to what was about to be a crazy jump.  Am I right?  They’re ready to take us out the moment this drops.”

“Maria?!”  Fiona glared at the gangster, but the unicorn was weirdly accepting the woman’s suicidal cadence.  “We can fight…”

Catherine lifted her hand to allow Fiona to hover on it, and the woman brought her close to give her a gentle hug against her neck.  Her calming voice reverberated through her body.

“You are sweet, Fiona, but as we’ve talked, I have been shown a vision of what is to come.  You will fight.  You will fell the vampire that comes for you.  However, my faith leads me down this path.  I… had these made in Miami before I came onto this quest, and now I know the reason why I was directed to that lovely jeweler and his wife.”

Floating up, she watched the woman scoot her chair back and slide her skirt to her thigh to unfasten a small pouch securely tied to it.  Opening it, she produced a replica of the earrings she wore, only a slightly different color and shape in places.

“No, Cathi…”

“Due to the haste required, they are not perfect, but they will do…”  Fiona felt as if she was losing a future friend as the holy woman brushed back her thick golden locks to slip the earrings off.  Once free, she placed them in the bag and presented them to Maria.  “I do not even need to ask for your word, Maria… because that is the type of woman you are.”

She looked at peace as Maria hesitantly took the bag, clearly torn at what she was being asked to do—leave her behind to fight some Chinese assassins and Mythickin bloodsuckers.  “What… exactly are you asking of me?  If they’re only vampires, then we can easily handle them.  I have sunlight gloves and your Holy attacks—I know you’re ridiculously strong…  No?”

Catherine chuckled and added the fake dangle replica of the relics to her ears, her Italian accent thickening while shaking her head.  “Emperor Qin is an intelligent man.  He knows the power of saints, and where our power stems.  You are different, though, Maria.  You have a heart and future that will touch and heal millions.  Trust in yourself and God to guide you along your path…  I will be with you, even if I am not here on this Earth.”

Fiona sniffed, fire crawling up her throat and to her nose as she mentally saw the woman rising up to become an angel; despite only knowing her for less than a few hours, there was something about her that made her want to be friends with the saint.  Maybe it was her sincerity, personality, and dedication, but whatever it was, she didn’t want to see Catherine hurt.

“Is there nothing we can do?”

“Of course, there is.”  Not a tear in her sky-blue eye, she said, “Pray for me.”

“I will!”

“And Fiona…”

“Mhm?”

She flew closer as the saint directed her attention toward Maria.

“Protect her.”

“Protect me?”  Maria forced a laugh, tucking the pouch into her bust and rolling around her shoulders.  “Sure, have the mini-chica that cries too much protecting the gang lady who grew up on the streets.  That makes a hell of a lot of sense.  Maybe you should rethink this if that’s what you have going through your brain…  I think it’s a little rattled, Goldie.”

“Maria,” Catherine soothed, moving around the table to pull her into a strong hug that had Fiona sobbing.  “Despite your tough exterior, I know your soul cannot take a life…  You are a healer—a fighter… not a killer.”

Fiona’s eyes grew bigger.  “What?  Maria, you…”

Her answer came from the unicorn’s tucked under bottom lip, trying not to tremble as she looked away, unable to utter a lie after her change and unable to deny what the saint had revealed.  Fiona’s protective impulses intensified at the revelation.  Maria laid down her own life for her when the gangs imprisoned her.  Inside that hard street exterior was a sweet heart of marshmallows.

“I’ve… never killed anyone.  I don’t know if I could… but I know I will defend everyone I can… especially kids.  Dammit.  Why are you doing this shit?  Just buy time until Rachel or Anthony—shit, Scarlet could make them back down.  Just… why?”

Pulling away, Catherine brushed aside a single tear that fell from her eye, still a bright smile on her glowing face.  “It pains me to cause others heartache.  Run far away from the castle.  You will find help along the way, but you must escape the castle grounds.  One will pursue, thanks to your little mouth, Fiona.”

“Huh?!  Me?  I don’t have a foul mouth—that’s Maria’s department!  Your brain really must be on the fritz…  Cathi…  I wanted to be friends.”

“We can.  Just look up into the sky, and I will be there listening to your prayers,” she whispered, carefully wiping away her tears.  “You will understand.  I will cover your escape; they are after me, in any case.”

She looked up as the shield slowly spun down to her outstretched hand, and the holy woman pointed toward the door Fiona had seen earlier.  “Take her through there, Fiona, and you will find your support.  And Maria?”

“What?”  the gangster sniffled.  “There has to be something we can do…  Dammit.  Something…”

Catherine moved forward, holding out her glowing hand.  “When winter comes, and all the flowers are dying, and I am dead, as dead I may well be.  If I died and crossed the stream before you, will you pray that angels meet me on the shore, and will you carry my blessing, last will, and testament to Jeanne?  She’s such a young but strong girl.”

“Yes.”  Maria choked, puffed out her cheeks, and took the saint’s hand.  “Godspeed.”

A bright light flared, transferring to Maria’s right hand, and a golden cross appeared on her palm before slowly fading.  Catherine showed the brightest smile Fiona had ever seen for a woman determined to die as she spoke in Latin.

“Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.  Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.  Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.  Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.”

Turning around, a holy sword appeared in her right hand, and her grip on her shield strengthened in her left.  “May we meet again in His holy embrace.”

Fiona recognized the prayer from her childhood at a funeral service: Prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.

The shield broke, and darkness closed in around them, the shrieks of bats, buzzing of flies, and cackles of night terrors sweeping in, only for Catherine to raise her shield, changing:  “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer!  My God, my strength, in whom I will trust!  My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower!”

Hissing came from outside as laughter followed, and a white-haired, long-fingernailed man stepped through the cycling darkness, fangs gleaming with his pristine snow-white suit—the Myth of Nosferatu.  Yet, he wore no smile.

“A true saint… how revolting.”

“Says the Dracula wannabe-looking chump!”  Fiona yelled, catching the man’s bored stare as his darkness slowly pushed away, forcing him to take a step back.  “Get some fingernail clippers!  No, I’ve got you!”

“Fi!”

[Fae Queen’s Ire II: Activated]

[Warpath: Activated]

[Emotional Surge II: Activated]

[Sweet Magic Boost II: Activated]

[Limit Break: Prismatic War Magic - The Storm: Activated]

Power surged out of her, amplifying as her bright green aura intensified, and she became a shining star of elemental energy.  She carried Maria into the air, rage igniting in her chest at these losers who were attacking them.  She was the storm.

[Wind Magic III: Whirlwind]

“Get lost!”

The cycling gale exploded outward, blowing down the doors, ripping the blinds off the wall, and sweeping away the circling night fiends.  Yet five flickering vampires remained standing around them as if unaffected by the gale that should have blown them through the window and halfway across the city; all of the vampires had some kind of phasing ability—three women, two men.

Only one took action, though, hopped through her storm as if it were nothing more than a mild breeze, the paper talisman attached to her forehead whipping back to reveal dead purple eyes.  Stiff as a corpse, her thigh-length braided hair whipped behind her as the yin-yang talisman she wore spun in harmony.

In an instant, the Myth of the Jiangshi hovered before them.  Claw-like black blades extended from her oversized sleeves, radiating cursed energy; the vampire was practically a blur to Fiona—she couldn’t react.  Maria’s horn flared to life, and her sunlight gloves radiated heat, yet the pale-skinned woman didn’t so much as flinch.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!”

The cursed blades bit into a golden dome that encircled Maria and her, cleaving halfway through it.  The corpse’s dead eyes didn’t even blink as the saint raised her sword and shield to confront the throng.  Fiona prepared to strike back, ice gathering around her, and then her spell collapsed.  Left violet eye flashing a brilliant yellow, the Jiangshi seemed to stare right into her soul, and in an instant, half of her Feats weren’t just deactivated—they were sealed.

[Nüba’s Left Eye is upon you]

[Fae Queen’s Ire II: Deactivated]

[Warpath: Deactivated]

[Limit Break: Prismatic War Magic - The Storm: Deactivated]

[Wind Magic: Whirlwind: Failed]

[Wind Magic: Sealed]

[Water Magic: Sealed]

[Ice Magic: Sealed]

“Huh?”

Utterly stunned, Fiona’s mind blanked as the rush of emotions within her vanished in the woman’s all-encompassing golden eye, time seemingly frozen.

The Chinese hopping vampire flickered and was instantly behind the saint, performing a pincer maneuver as a second vampiric woman wearing a Jewish star flew right through the Holy light Catherine radiated and Fiona’s dying whirlwind, her unbound raven hair whipping behind her in a sway of shadows.

“Fi!”  Maria cursed.

Her friend managed to pull her against her chest as they fell to the hard blood-crystal tile; it happened in a matter of seconds, all while the other vampires were still recovering.  Catherine had been right: these two women weren’t affected by light or the Holy element—heck, even her elemental attacks seemed worthless—and the Jiangshi was on a whole different level.

A wave of plasma erupted at them from a cackling yellow-toothed African American man, electricity arcing around the walls to trap them inside; it wasn’t a huge threat to her since Element Resistances were her strongest, but Maria was vulnerable.  The others weren’t pushovers either, and if they stayed, the real assassins would use them to get to the saint.

“Go, Fiona!”  Catherine shouted while managing to throw the two assassins away long enough to pivot, spin in a circle, and slam her shield against the fading golden dome protecting them; it roared back to life, and they were punted through the doorway to bounce down the hall.

A pulse of light redirected the plasma at the same time, yet she turned most of her attention to the hopping vampire as they were carried away.  The Chinese woman was by far the most deadly of the bunch since the saint couldn’t seem to disengage again from the martial-arts-using corpse, a yin and yang symbol swapping from time to time underneath the hopping vampire’s feet.

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints!”

I’m sorry!  Fiona sniffed, and Maria held her close.  I need to get stronger—stronger like Rachel and Cathi…  How can I save my family if I’m a burden to everyone?  There are really powerful people out there, and they’re only getting stronger.  So I need to get stronger!  I’m not powerless, though!

She saw Catherine’s smile through the crack in Maria’s fingers just before going out of sight, not showing an ounce of struggle on her pretty face, despite the fact Fiona knew she was; the saint wanted to let them know she was confident and strong.  Fiona cried out a song as she left the room, and her Feats unsealed, if only to help a little bit.

[Nüba’s Left Eye has left you]

[Elemental Enchantress II: Wind Magic - Fly]

She heard Catherine’s prayer continue as the wind whipped around the saint, and she knew her spell had met its mark, allowing the holy woman to take to the sky.  Reapplying her flight spell to Maria and herself, she pulled them away, seeing the frustration reflected on Maria’s face.  They’d been training in Anthony’s Quests, but obviously, it had not been enough.

[Level Up - Level 11]

[1 Stat Point Added; 1 Available]

The level came as a shock, but she knew it had to be Rachel and Nia’s doing.  She could get stronger in this Legend Quest, and the night was still young.  If Catherine could hold out a bit longer, then maybe there was a chance!

Just… try to live, Catherine.  Try…

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