Chapter 31: In his good graces

Mishka followed behind Cain, she felt a touch nervous since she wasn't exactly close to the doctor. He had yelled at her the night before but something told her there was more going on under the surface, she didn't take it to heart especially after the night he spent with them.

He seemed like a different person as the alcohol entered him, he was fun, smiling. It wasn't fake either, she could see the actual happiness in his face and it made her heart swell. She didn't know Cain, but she could read him pretty well. She eyed the small scars he wore on his arms, legs, and a few on his head. They were similar to Abel's which told her he had some sort of abuse in the past.

Her thoughts were dashed as they came to the small, electric car. It beeped as the man placed a hand on the handle and pulled open the door,

"Erm, excuse the mess," he whispered, a note of embarrassment in his voice.

Mishka was surprised to see how messy the car was, she didn't take him for a messy person, but then again she didn't know him.

"It's fine! You should see my cousin's car," she laughed, waving a hand as she got into the passenger seat. Stepping down the trash, he looked at her as if she grew a second head.

"Really? You...don't care?" He was used to driving around other doctors, coworkers or his mother who often chastised him for his messy ways.

She blinked at him, "No? Why would I care? It's your car. If you want I can help you clean it later,"

He didn't reply, shaking his head as if he couldn't understand what she said. He pulled out of the parking spot, she noticed he looked...nervous? Why would he be nervous?

"Hey Cain,"

He blinked at her now, arching an eyebrow.

"You...alright?"

"Yeah uh," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he drove down the street.

"I'm not used to being around people my own age, I guess," he said with a shrug. She could have told him that.

"Don't worry about it, how's the head?"

"Oh, its pounding, but a coffee will help,"

Mishka nodded, shuffling awkwardly, Cain placed his phone on the dashboard popsocket. It blinked awake, starting up his music without a word needing said.

The woman relaxed more into the seat at the sound of the rock, she glanced out the window as the city flew by. The Christmas decorations twinkled happily against the morning skies. Her mind wandered. Eyes moving to the giant tree that was set up for the world to see in the heart of New York.

Cain watched her out of the side of his eye, Mishka made him nervous. What was she planning? Was she going to trick him into comfort and blindside him? She always seemed to be watching people, did she notice Cherm? His mind raced with thought, attempting to drown out panic with the pound of the bass.

"Will she hurt us? Do you think she's plotting?" Cherm asked him, he felt the shadow shutter under him.

"Mother is the only one we can trust. We need to take Mishka to mother. Mother will tell us"

Cain shook his head, glancing at Mishka who went from the window to her phone. She was pretty to look at, with warm skin, curly hair too bad her voice reminded Cain of a small dog's bark.

"Where are we going, anyways?"

Mishka was the only smart one in the group, Donnie was smart, but Mishka was a different kind of smart he couldn't place. Maybe she was plotting, did she know his plot? Should he rid himself of her? Should--

"Earth to Cain,"

Cain turned his attention to her, tilting his head, she reached forward causing him to flinch. His first thought was to slap the hand away but he forced himself to pause,

"Relax, you're like a jumpy cat," she laughed, pushing his hair out of his face. Humming to herself,

"Now where are we going, doc?"

"Coffee shop, I can't function without it."

"Okay, so we're getting coffee, what next?"

He paused, he didn't think of that. His brain had been so muddled.

"I'm thinking we can go talk to the homeless folks," she began, "they're pretty good about finding things. Maybe someone's seen it,"

"They might be too drugged out to see it," Cain scoffed

Mishka snorted, "What about that sentence sounded okay to say?"

He stopped, what? He ran the words through his head. Glancing at her, she wasn't angry. In fact she looked more curious,

"Well...they're...probably on drugs,"

"Yeah, maybe, but they're still human. we should show them some respect,"

He felt a flash of rage, him show respect? To them? He didn't want to argue, shaking his head at the thought before sighing.

"I'm not mad at you,"

He turned to look at her, the rage inside him cooled down, which confused the doctor.

"I'm not challenging you either, I'm just saying, they don't need to be the butt of a joke."

He nodded slowly, she was right. They didn't do anything to him, why was he so mad at them? His mind grew fuzzy once again.

Mishka watched the man's face journey, she smiled at him. Making sure her voice was calm, warm even. She could see the other had a good heart, she saw he was trying to be happy even if he didn't understand it. What was his story? She silently thanked Allah he didn't snap at her again, though he had been pretty ramped up when it happened.

They parked the car in front of the coffee shop, stepping out and making their way to the door. The doctor felt the bruise under his eye throb, his head burned and his blazer wasn't keeping him incredibly warm but he could only think of one thing. Coffee.

She opened the door for him, holding it for a person behind them too which caused him to look at her with a puzzled expression but he didn't say anything as the pair made for the front of the register. A man sat behind the register with a frown on his tired face.

Cain's ears pricked, for a few seconds he thought he heard the sound of a harp but it was as though it were inside a tin can. He looked down at his friend, expecting her to notice but her eyes were on the menu.

"White chocolate mocha, iced, medium," he said to the barista, the man nodded.

"Hello, how are you?" Mishka asked, the man tilted his head with a smile.

"I'm great, just started this job, first week!"

"That's amazing, congratulations!" She grinned at him, Cain stared at her with a puzzled expression before turning to look at the man who beamed. He seemed gloomy only a heartbeat ago yet, Mishka had completely changed his personality with a sentence.

"Is she a good manipulator? Is she manipulating us?" Cherm murmured, Cain didn't hear her order as she continued to chat.

He went to get his card but she placed her phone over the scanner, it beeped softly. Why did she pay? What was her game? Cain pondered this as they made for the end of the bar, waiting for their coffee. She continued to chat with the people behind the bar, she reminded him of Abel but with a more charismatic nature to her. Abel always seemed to act as if he were on a stage doing a performance but Mishka was more passive about it. As if she was used to being the center of attention.

The pair left not too long after, the sound of distant screeching, or was it laughing, didn't bother the doctor. He was in the middle of New York, the odd noises weren't something he would bat an eye at.

"So, homeless?" Mishka asked, taking a few sips of the warm coffee she held between her hands. Cain glanced around, his breath billowed slightly as he eyed the Christmas lights and cheerful faces. It was almost the holidays, did someone pick it up and sell it? Maybe the charm was lost in a little girl's stocking.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Cain murmured, shoving his free hand into the warm blazer. His feet clunked as he stepped over a manhole. Mishka led them down a few paths not far from the coffee shop towards a large collection of tents, Cain felt a flash of discomfort being around the people who trotted in and out of their make-shift homes. Why didn't they just get jobs? Why was it so hard for them?

"Cain,"

The doctor glanced down at her, "Where do you go when you space out like that?"

Cain blinked a few times before looking back towards the collection of people before them. Not answering he made towards the first person, if they could just get a little information maybe they could get out of here quickly.

"Ma'am, have you seen this?" He asked, holding up his phone, only for his friend to grab his arm and tug it down.

"You sound like a cop," Mishka laughed, a cop? That was how he talked to adults in his business.

The woman watched them with a tilt of her head. Her face was sunken in, eyes wide, shaggy dark hair stuffed into an old baseball hat with a jacket that seemed to hardly fit on her thin frame.

"Hello, we're trying to find our friend's missing pendant, have you seen it? It's very important!" The homeless woman smiled at her, glancing at the pendant with a hum. She shook her head after a few seconds.

"No ma'am! I can help you ask around if you'd like,"

"That's be amazing, thank you! I'm Mishka, this is Cain,"

Cain nodded at the ebony skinned woman, she stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Well it's nice to meet you both," She laughed, "I'm Richie!"

"Masculine name for a woman," Cain said, causing Mishka to arch her eyebrow at him. He shuffled uncomfortably now, was that not right? Though he often spoke without thinking he liked to believe, as a doctor, he came off as intelligent all the time but since hanging out with the group he's felt as though he couldn't say anything correctly.

"You aint no sugar Cain are you?" The woman asked with a cheerful smile, she turned her head to Mishka again and waved her forward. Why was she helping? Did she want money? Cain couldn't wrap his head around the fact that this stranger would put her neck out in any way to help them, he watched as Mishka and Richie chatted on the way towards the other tents.

"It's beautiful, I hope no one stole it," Richie mused.

"Me too," Mishka said, "Cain and me would be devastated if that happened,"

Richie glanced back at Cain then at Mishka, she didn't say anything to this which made Cain's mind race with curiosity. As they entered the large space Cain felt shocked with how many people were there, he'd seen homeless folks around but never so many at once. The place was dirty, covered in trash, old food and rats, yet everyone seemed to be going about their business as if it were nothing.

The three moved slowly through the group until they came to the very end, having taken a good hour or two to chat with everyone and anyone, occasionally Cain or Mishka would have to hand over a few dollars until they ran out of extra money for information but no one had much to say about the Chamulet.

As they came to the end Cain paused, sitting on an old towel was a woman and her baby, the two stared up at him with a smile.

"Hello Matty!" Richie sang out, "And little Bacon,"

"Bacon?" Cain whispered,

"Kevin Bacon, he's the father," Matty said proudly. Cain opened his mouth to say something but caught Mishka's eye and let the words fall in his throat. Mental illness wasn't part of his teaching, though he was aware of it he didn't often put much thought into mental illness.

"Have either of you two seen this?" Mishka asked, holding up her phone towards them.

"Oh!" She grinned, "I might have,"

Richie let out a groan, "They're already out of money, have you seen it?"

"I might have," She stared daggers at Cain, he hesitated. She wasn't wearing much, her clothes were ripped apart and tattered with only a blanket around the baby. He watched as Mishka pulled off her comfortable, thick jacket and handed it to the woman who took it with a bright grin on her face.

"Turner, he's over by Heavenly coffee! Heard he got two free coffee's cause some police were chasing after a rabbit with a gold necklace, that's your best chance! Mac was with em apparently," She said with a soft slur to her voice, cradling the baby.

"Welp, if Turner got it this is the end," Richie laughed, "Me and him go back and not in a good way! You two can find your way to the coffee shop, yeah?"

"We were just there," Cain groaned, Mishka wrapped her arms around his arm and tugged him,

"Yeah we can, thank you ladies," She waved towards them, pulling Cain as she went.

"Why did you give her your jacket?" Cain asked as they left the two behind. She looked at him with a puzzled expression,

"She was cold and I have like five of them,"

"But...it's yours, shouldn't...she find her own?"

"She will eventually, my parents are both Psychiatrists, I can see she's fighting something heavy and I don't mind helping even if its a little,"

Cain stared at her in shock, he'd never heard of such a thing. Through his life he'd fought for everything one way or another,

"Shouldn't she fight harder then?"

"Some people can't, some shouldn't have too," She whispered the last part as they walked. Her arms still wrapped around his, she was much shorter than him but something about her brought a strange comfort to the man. He'd never had someone hang on him like this aside from his mother, silently, he enjoyed it.

She shivered as they walked out of the homeless camp, keeping close to him in an attempt to stay warm. He hesitated before pushing her lightly away, he pulled his blazer off and wrapped it around her. She beamed at him,

"Aw, you got a soft side, sugar Cain,"

"Don't call me that,"

"Too late!" she laughed, taking his hand causing him to look at her in shock. He'd never had someone be so openly bold with him before and yet, she did it in such a way that it didn't cause him any honest discomfort.

"I'm holding onto you so you don't get distracted," She said with a grin, tugging him towards the coffee shop once more. He followed without question, why was she touching him? Being so nice to him? Why did he give her his jacket? He felt confusion cloud his mind as the pair retraced their steps back the way they came.

A man walked away from the direction of the shop, holding two coffees in his hands with a smile so wide it hurt his cheeks. The coffee cups having been packed with extra sugar! Shaggy red hair bounced in his face, his freckled cheeks almost glowed with joy.

"Turner?" Mishka asked as the other walked past them, he was tall and lanky with a red beanie covering his straw like red hair. He wore a pair of sandals in the dead of winter and a smile on his face.

"That'd be me, miss!" He laughed, his voice whistled as he spoke. Smiling at her to show off his broken teeth, Cain's first reaction was to judge the others' dental hygiene only for Mishka to squeeze his hand. He stopped. Turner is human? That's right, he was a human.

"He is below us." Cherm hissed, causing more confusion to cloud his mind. He hardly knew Mishka, yet he found himself trusting her word over Cherms. His only real friend.

"They said I could have these coffees, right before they chased the rabbit," Turner said quickly as if he was going to get in trouble for having both coffees.

Mishka and Cain shot each other a look, "What way did they go?" Cain asked.

"The men or the rabbit,"

"Wh-- both? Did the rabbit have a golden necklace like this," Cain pulled his phone out, showing it to the man. He tilted his head, eyes tinged red as they danced over the golden Adinkra.

"Yep! That's it, lucky rabbit. Well, they have two feet so extra lucky,"

Cain tilted his head at the man, glancing at Mishka who shrugged, "Thanks Turner, what way did the Rabbit go?"

The red head turned his body, pointing up to the large skyscraper whose top kissed the darkening clouds.

"It couldn't have gone to a park or a bush, it went to a skyscraper," Mishka scoffed, shaking her head. Cain blinked at the large building, he'd passed by it a few times recently but now as he really looked it was rather high. Why would the man send them there? Is it a trap?

"Come on," Mishka huffed, Cain shivered, glancing back to his car he let the woman's hand go and made for the vehicle. She blinked in surprise but followed after him, pulling out her phone and typing away on it as she went. A frown on her lips as she scrolled through her Twitter, the group was being tagged all over the place. She heard the sound of police but couldn't place where, she watched Cain dig through the trash in his car before tugging a hoodie out.

"Not much of my style but I suppose it'll work," he murmured to himself, tugging the hoodie over his button up. Letting the collar peak out of the front. The words 'Grossman school of medicine' had been stitched over the front.

"It should be your style," Mishka chuckled, she wrapped an arm around his waist and held up her phone.

"You gotta take a selfie with me," she laughed.

He leaned down awkwardly so he was more in frame, giving a small smile until she pushed her cheek against him. He laughed, it was such a sudden thing it caught him off guard, just as she took the photo.

"Let me see," he said with a small chuckle, she opened the picture up with a grin. He couldn't believe it, every picture he'd seen of himself looked the same. His skin always seemed grey to his eye but in this picture he seemed to glow, his caramel skin bright as his usually dulled Hazel eyes beamed.

"Looks great!" She mused, adding a filter of color to pop out the color of their eyes before posting it on her Twitter.

The sudden burst of sound caught the hunters off guard, the hum of a harp filled the air around them. Mishka glanced around frantically before spotting a small, white rabbit. It hopped out of the doors to the large building not far away.

"Come on!"

Mishka took off towards the building, Cain blinked in surprise when she suddenly started to run. He took off after her, nearly getting hit by a car who honked at him as he raced past.

The pair made their way towards the hare who turned and raced away as Mishka stepped up, breathing deeply and leaning down to the pavement below. Snatching up the Chamulet with a bright grin. She glanced at red marks that had been written on the door, racing a thumb over the odd symbols and smudging it. She shrugged and got to her feet, holding the necklace in the air.

"Got it!" She yelled.

Cain puffed as he walked up the steps, his head pounding as he raced his fingers through his hair.

"I'm...out of shape," he groaned, taking in a few more breaths as Mishka held the necklace out to him.

"Hold it up like you just caught a giant fish," she laughed.

He blinked a few times, taking the necklace in his hand. It whines softly as he holds it up before it falls quiet as if content.

"Smile! Like you did for the last picture,"

Why was she taking another picture? It wasn't that important was it? He forced himself to smile but she rolled her eyes at this,

"Come on, Sugar Cain,"

He sneered at her, clearing his throat and forcing out a bigger smile.

"Good enough!" She laughed, Cain wrapped the chamulet around his neck to keep it safe. The Adinkra under his shirt knocked lightly with Abel's.

"So what now? Head back?" Mishka asked as scrolled through her social media, making sure to tag Cain in her pictures as she went.

"I have one stop," he said, "I know a guy who can help us understand this thing more,"

Cain pulled his phone out, though he didn't have any intention of giving the necklace back to Abel he needed to know more about it. Silently hoping Mishka wouldn't question him as the phone buzzed in his ear.

***

Mishka followed after Cain as they entered an old, musky bar. It was getting to be later in the afternoon, talking with the homeless had taken far too long but she didn't mind. Now they had the Chamulet and that's what mattered, the bar was small with a bartop that looked as if it came out of an old Western movie.

A few booths with bright red padding laid against the far wall past the bartop, a few pool tables settled in the center of the room and past that an old bathroom. There was an employee only door a few ticks past the restrooms, it's red door stood out against the dark, yellow tinted walls. The smell of smoke filled the air, it was the last bar in New York to allow smoking inside and was famous for it.

Why were they here? Mishka watched the handful of people who played pool, drank some beer, and a few tossed darts at a dart board not far away. It was quiet despite the news on the television and the occasional whack of billiard balls. Mishka kept quiet, smiling at the woman behind the bar who chatted with a bald headed man. His nice suit stood out against the rest of the crowd who wore shirts and jeans. His cartoon tie made her tilt her head, it was an odd addition to his very professional feeling vibes.

"Cain!"

She turned her attention to the voice, a man hopped up from where he sat at the booth. Cain shot the man a smile, it was fake, she knew his real smile now.

"Laszlo!" Cain said with a smile.

The man's skin looked as if it had been permanently tanned, his dark hair matched his dark brown eyes. His voice held an accent that Mishka noted was from a certain part of Mexico, he wore a messy button up and a bandanna. His jeans covered in dirt, he smelled of sweat and alcohol.

"Sit, sit, what did you need help with my friend," the man asked, grey dotted Laszlo's choppy facial hair and rolled through his dark locks.

"¿Y quién es esta hermosa mujer que te acompaña? ¿Una novia?" (And who's this beautiful woman with you? Girlfriend?)

"No importa," ("not important") Cain grumbled, his face flashed a light shade of red as the two sat down.

Mishka settled herself beside Cain, smiling up at Laszlo but remaining silent. She didn't want to interrupt.

"Si importa, yo solo te he visto con tu madre o ese...tipo de mujer de apariencia molesta" ("It is important, I've only ever seen you with your mother or that...kind of angry looking woman") he laughed, "Esta mujer luce bien para tí," ("this lady looks good on you,")

Cain shook his head, "Solo la quieres para tí, perro viejo," ("you old dog, you just want her for yourself,") Cain laughed, Mishka couldn't believe the shift in Cain. Speaking to someone far older than him it was like the man was a different person, was it a defense mechanism?

"Eso podrá ser cierto," ("That might be true,") the man added

"Suficiente plática, necesito saber sobre esto,"("Enough of the chat, I need to know about this,")

He pulled the Adinkra from around his neck. It shone in the yellow lights of the small bar.

"Este tipo, siempre tan serio," ("Always with the business, this guy,") Laszlo's eyes glowed as he spoke to Mishka now, "¿Cómo lo soportas? Debe ser un festival del sueño," ("How do you handle him? He must be a snoozefest,")

Mishka laughed, "Para eso sirve el alcohol," ("that's what alcohol is for,")

Cain looked at her in shock as she spoke to him, he hadn't expected her to know Spanish. Especially not with how quickly Laszlo spoke, sometimes even Cain had a hard time understanding the man.

Laszlo laughed, "Eres todo un personaje, ¿No es así?" ("You are a character, aren't you?") His eyes gleamed as he switched himself to English.

"So you need to know about this, huh?" He reached into the front pocket of his shirt, pulling a pair of small, old, broken glasses on the brim of his nose. His expression changed as he really took a look at what Cain had.

"Is that..." he pushed the glasses onto his nose more, snatching the Adinkra from Cain and inspecting it. The Adinkra started to hum loudly again,

"This...is an Adinkra, but not any, this is Archangel Faiths-- how did you get this?" The happiness in the treasure hunter's face changed, he stared at the two with such a serious look it made Mishka uncomfortable.

He reached under the table, pulling out a bag that had seen better days. As he tossed it out in front of them sand fell from the inside, he snapped open the old bag and started to pull out a large binder. Inside held thousands of pictures, maps, passports, there were so many of the pictures scattered onto the table she could hardly make the cigarette burns in the wood. He flipped through until he came to a set of pictures, pushing them towards Cain and Mishka.

They both leaned in, they were pictures of paintings on walls, in churches, on temples. They were all showing a woman with a head of curls, a smile on her face, a large halo with her arms open. The more pictures they saw the more they saw her story, just as Israfil had told it to them.

"Archangel Faith was the first archangel to take a human vessel," he started, pulling a map out that looked as if it belonged to Indiana Jones, made of leather, torn on the sides and dirty with large red and black marker covering it in random areas.

"But when she died everyone and their mother wanted her Adinkra, it was said it held her grace, her power, maybe even her soul. She was able to raise Jesus from the dead after only three days but sacrificed part of her grace, the rest she stored inside this." He handed the Adinkra back to Cain, shaking his head.

"If she only sacrificed some of it to bring him back...she must have been really powerful," Mishka murmured, letting her fingers dance over the photos.

"Oh yes, she was." Laszlo mused, leaning into the cushions. "It was lost after her death, not even Jesus could find it." He ran his fingers through his hair, "everyone in the community of Faith have been hunting for it since."

"Community of Faith?" Cains eyes moved from the photos to the dark haired hunter, "yeah, the COF. It's small now, many people gave up trying to share the word of Faith. After the Adinkra was lost and the Bible was being written they kept everything about Faith out. Fearful the hunt for the Adinkra would cause a war between God's followers. So, every angel's Adinkra was taken. Not just Faith's, but all of them. God made it so the humans would evolve to hold their power easier, that way they wouldn't need the Adinkra's,"

"So now we only have a few paintings, murals, texts and information about it all." He continued, taking a few sips from the beer that sat beside him on the table.

"How do you use the grace in it?" Cain asked, tilting his head as he placed it back around his neck.

"That, my friend, is something no one knows."

"Have you seen Born again on twitter?" Mishka asked, pulling out her phone and holding it up to him. Showing one of the videos of Abel's use of the Adinkra, the man looked at the video with wide, fearful eyes.

"A new king," he whispered, looking past the phone to the two and back.

"It's said...in some very old books, that a king is the only one who can use the Adinkra. A chosen king. A kind of his Lionheart. But, there were also rumors of other kings. That though, is just a rumor,"

Cain and Mishka shared a look as Laszlo dug through his bag again, he pulled out another small book and tossed it down. Flipping it open to a single picture, the beautiful stained glass glowed in the picture showing a man with a Halo over his head. The hall had light casting in all directions, and below him stood an angel, with a lion for a head and a heart on his chest. The angel held a large blade that was made of pure white with wings that took up most of the picture.

"So...only a king can use it?" Cain asked, he couldn't keep the fear out of his voice. He had been told his entire life he was the King, angels were wrong and he was meant to be the chosen one, was his friend lying? Was this a trick?

"Yeah buddy," he said, stuffing a few of the pictures back into his bag. "Only a true King can use an Adinkra if he isn't an angel."

"What if the angels are wrong?" Cain blurted out, Mishka glanced at him with a tilt of her head.

"Wrong?"

"Yes, what if they're wrong. They picked the wrong king."

"Well, I've never heard of that," Laszlo laughed, "Ive heard that if one king dies, another will rise to replace them. But I'm not a hundred percent on that, and like I said earlier, some rumored there to be many kings. Kings to bring the world together."

Cain visibly relaxed at that, his leg bounced softly as they continued to chat lightly.

"I've been treasure hunting for as long as I remember," Laszlo mused, "hunting with the other COF members. I'd be careful with that, if they see it, they might do anything to get it."

Mishka went to reply but something stopped her, the sound of the bartender letting out a scream of pain. All three turned their heads towards the woman, the bald man with the cartoon tie was holding her by the neck. Smiling at everyone in the room,

"Now that I have your attention," he said, knocking a beer down to the floor. Mishka eyed the coffee on the counter beside the man, had they just missed him at the coffee shop?

"One of you has what I'm looking for,"

The men playing pool looked at each other in confusion before storming over towards the attacker. He shook his head, scoffing as the men made for him.

"Run," Laszlo whispered, shoving his stuff into his bag. The small black book fell to the floor as he dashed from his spot and took off towards the emergency exit not far. Mishka snatched the book up quickly, stuffing it into the pocket of Cain's jacket.

"Wait," Cain started but his voice died in his throat at the bald man's laughter. The large men who had been playing pool hovered around him threateningly, only for long, dark, ribbons to fly out of the man's back. They wrapped themselves around the men who screamed in fear.

Mishka jumped up without thought,

"Those men's deaths aren't our problem," Cain hissed at her, she shook her head.

"Everyone's life is important," she shot back.

The bald man watched her jump up, he threw the men in his grip across the room. Before Mishka could do anything she was grabbed by the dark, thin ribbons.

"Cain!" She shouted in shock as she was dragged towards him, "oh no running away now," the man chuckled.

"Do you have my Chamulet?" He asked with a broad grin on his face.

Holding her upside down in front of him, she spat in his face causing anger to flood his vision.

Eyes slowly started to open over his body, they covered his face and rolled down the black ribbons. Their deep, angry red color burned with hot fire.

Cain leapt up, Cherm shuttered under him, "leave her, she is no use to us. We have the Chamulet. We run."

He hesitated, watching with wide eyes. How stupid, she was stupid! If they laid low maybe they'd be out, he turned towards the emergency exit.

"You're not gonna get it, baldie," she snarled at him,

"you can do whatever you want to me, but it won't matter. You'll never get the Chamulet,"

The man dropped the bartender, she scrambled away sobbing as the ribbons coiled around Mishka like a snake. Her head hurt now as she remained upside down, but the look of determination didn't leave her gaze. The thin, sharp ribbons made soft hissing noises as they moved against her body.

"Oh my dear, and how will you stop me? You're trapped." He smiled at her with his teeth, eyes glowing bright in the darkness of the bar.

Cain slowly made his way to the exit, listening, his heart screamed in a way he never experienced. He recalled the selfie they'd taken, the feeling of closeness when they slept next to each other until Cherm pulled him out of the bed. He recalled her inviting him to play games, how she gave her jacket to a soul she never met. He couldn't describe what he felt as he only stood a few inches from the exit, a few people shoving past him to escape.

"Cause a good persons already on their way out with your precious Adinkra," She spat,

A good person.

He stopped, he wasn't a good person, was he? But she believed he was. He could hear it in her voice.

"Run run run leave the whore,"

He turned on his heels as rage burned deep into his gut, he made a split second decision. One he hoped wasn't a mistake. Snatching a cue stick from the top of the bright green fabric of the pool table and holding it out like a baseball bat.

"Oh, so it's you who has it," he hissed, tightening the grip on Mishka who gasped as the ribbon moved up to her chest. Ready to crush her in its grasp.

"Too bad you won't be able to save her,"

He shot a sharp, angled ribbon at Cain who smashed the wood against it with a loud grunt. The cue stick broke in half, the ribbon let out an inhuman grunt as it collided with the floor. He held the shorter end of the stick now, the tip jagged as he glared daggers at the man.

"Cherm, attack," he snarled, but the shadow didn't move. The bald man grinned at him, his eyes glowed red as more ribbons exploded from his body. Cain clenched his weapon, using it to smack the ribbons away.

"Cain! The woman!" Mishka shouted, Cain's head shot to the bartender who was trying to escape, holding up her phone as ribbons of blackness stared at her with it's many eyes.

Cain hissed, smacking away more of the dark ribbons and leaping onto the pool table. His nice shoes clicked against the green fabric as he moved to the otherside of the table coming down hard on the demonic ribbon below, stabbing the end of the stick into the creature's body. blood exploded from it's eye, covering the doctor. The woman stared at him with wide eyes, the thick, black blood covered his face.

"Thank you," she whispered, Cain nodded before whipping his head around towards the man.

The tightening was starting to hurt badly as the ribbons moved over Mishka's body.

"Cain get out of here," she squealed, the doctor ran his fingers through his now messy hair. Not moving as another set of ribbons lashed out at him, he leapt back onto the table and jumped to the otherside of the room, landing on the second table. The demonic ribbons following after, he smashed the broken stick against the ribbons as they flew through the air.

"You think you can run! I'll crush her!" He shouted, laughing.

The ribbons wrapped around Mishka's chest only for them to scream in agony as gold light flooded around her chest/

"What?" He spat, turning his head to Mishka. The rest of his ribbon like demons shot back to him, cowering against him as they dropped Mishka to the ground.

Cain used this distraction to his advantage. He charged for the man, holding the pool cue tight. But the man was unafraid of Cain, holding up a hand, an explosive black wind knocked him and Mishka backwards.

"Are you okay?" Cain shouted to her,

"You were supposed to leave," she shouted back as they got to their feet. His jacket was dirty, blood rolled down his nose. He felt pain flashing through his system as they stood in front of the man. The blood from the ribbons stained his hands.

"My name is Saint Bernard," he laughed, his large fangs poked out of his lips. "Remember the name, because I'm coming for you,"

"Yeah? And we're Team Born Again, we'll wipe you off this planet!" Mishka shouted.

The man frowned, he held his arms up. The dark ribbons surrounded him, lifting him in the air. All the eyes on his face blinked and moved at the same time to stare at the two hunters.

"Cherm!" Cain yelled as the ribbons whirled around the saint before booming towards the two.

He didn't need Cherm, he could control the darkness! He let out a breath, dropping the cue.

'Mishka. Protect her. I have to protect her.' He thought to himself, he wasn't sure why he felt the wild desire to keep her safe but he wouldn't let this "saint" place another hand on her.

His pupils turned to pin pricks as the rage rolled through his body, he went down and placed a hand on the ground. He could feel the darkness squirming under his touch, with a quick upward motion he yanked the blackness from the core of the earth and upwards. He stared in shock as the dark color turned to a brilliant white, the dark ribbons slammed with full force against the pure, beautiful grace.

Shock, confusion, it all rolled through him as the grace protected him. The darkness had turned into angels' grace before his eyes. He heard Mishka gasp, he didn't have time to think. He slammed his foot on the ground, making a fast pushing motion at the shield causing it to fly forward. It smacked into the tornado of blackness that held the saint up, the ribbons howled in agony before dropping the Saint.

The saint landed on his shoes with a snarl, his human vessel popped, the skin crawled as darkness covered the man's hands. Black veins settled in the other's face as he glared daggers at Cain and Mishka.

"Give me the Chamulet, or I'll use all I have and I'm not afraid to kill the innocent people in this place,"

Cain stood his ground, Mishka grabbed the broken pool stick and stood beside him.

"Bring it on," Cain roared, his voice deep with rage, he could feel the darkness under him swirl and move, white light danced against his legs. Was he using the Chamulet, he glanced down at his neck but the Adinkra was still. That is. Abel's was, he looked shocked as the Adinkra he kept hidden under his shirt glowed bright. A pump of adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Bernard roared angrily, all the eyes on his body turned bright as he shot more and more of the sharp, thin ribbon like tentacles at the pair. The innocent people who hadn't escaped screamed as they prepared to be killed.

He imagined the man stabbing him, Stabbing Mishka. Ripping her apart. Throwing her lifeless corpse away because she wasn't anything to him. She was just another pawn. But she wasn't. She wasn't a pawn in a scheme, a body to add to the count.

He screamed in rage, the pain he felt shoot through his system almost caused him to black out as the pure white grace flew from the ground. In long, thin beams it blasted through the demonic forces. Bernard stared at it with wide, fearful eyes. Cain's eyes turned to white as he continued to scream, the more he screamed the stronger the grace became.

Bernard misunderstood the untapped energy, the power. He was no match for Cain in this small space and he knew that, his eyes moved to Mishka and then back to Cain. Cain fell to his knees, taking in air as the pain caused his head to pound. His screaming stopped, the light faded from his eyes.

He felt weak now as if he had run a thousand miles, Mishka stood in front of him. Ready to fight for him, he looked at her in awe as she stood. Shaking, tears running down her cheeks from fear.

The saint stared daggers at her, adjusting his tie and picking up the coffee on the table beside him.

"You're lucky," he hissed, "I don't know how you saved yourself, but if he hadn't nearly killed himself trying to control angels grace everyone in this room would be dead."

He sipped the coffee, placed a five dollar bill on the counter and walked towards the door.

"That's it!" She shouted, "you're just gonna walk out!" He paused, not turning to look at her. His hand on the handle of the door, the room was a mess with Cain's blood everywhere, the chairs knocked everywhere, bottles of alcohol had been shattered by the demonic forces.

"I have a meeting to get too,"

He said, snapping his fingers and vanishing. Mishka dropped the pool cue, the people who remained started to clap causing the woman to feel embarrassment roll through her.

Cain continued to breathe deep, he had pulled his own Adinkra out and stared at it with wide, confused eyes. The darkness should be that, dark. Yet somehow he had turned it to angels' grace, he didn't understand and where was Cherm? He felt the creature's presence but it didn't come to his rescue. He could always depend on the demon but now? He looked up at Mishka as she went down to him, racing her fingers through his messy hair and looking him over.

"Are you okay?" She asked with worried eyes, when she went to place a hand on his head he flinched away from her. She confused him, he didn't like it. He grabbed the side of the pool table, attempting to pull himself up.

"We gotta get out of here," he breathed, shaking.

"You can hardly stand," she whispered.

"Excuse me,"

They both turned to.look at the bartender. A few people stood behind her, she held a first aid kit up with a small smile on her face.

"Can...we help you, now?"