Devil in Disguise

“Can you please slow down and tell me where you’re going?” Herow demanded as he tried to catch up to the all-but-sprinting princess. He sighed as she snapped she was looking for her cloak, held it up and cleared his throat. She turned back to him before doing a double take and storming to him. She grabbed at it but he hid it behind his back.

“My cloak,” she demanded.

“First,” he said. “Control your temper.” She glared at him but took a deep breath through her nose, the nostrils flaring dangerously as she snarled and let out the breath, a hollow empty sound that took the red from her eyes. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Psalms 18: 32. “Apologize to me,” he added as he straightened ever so slightly, a grin pulling at his lips. Hoshi’s eyebrows furrowed. “You ignored me,” he teased, his voice somehow lighter without actually changing tone. Hoshi couldn’t fight the smile tugging at her lips when she realized what he meant.

“Keep that up, God Man, and I might just kiss you again.” Herow’s heart sped up just a little at the thought. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Psalms 19: 13.

“I took a vow,” he said with a grin. She smirked and shrugged a little.

“Seems we have already broken your ‘vow’, God man.”

“Can I bring you to Heather and Heath so that you and Shadow may have proper clothing?”

“This is proper clothing where I come from,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest, staring up at him.

“That may be but there are some here who feel it is inappropriate for a princess to show off so much. This is a place of God, you may recall. And besides, the tattoos have been raising questions.” Hoshi nodded a little and looked down at her bare, flat stomach.

“As you say I suppose, Captain. If it brings you such discomfort.” Herow knew that wasn’t the reason he had to cover her. He would have rather her wear less. He would never say that out loud. He actually felt terrible for thinking it. He was a man of God.

Herow smiled as Hoshi held out her arms for measurements. Heather had made her an outfit but felt it was not correct so she was willing to make another. He spoke to Rachel and Tanto in hopes they’d watch over Gabriel. They were watching as Hoshi was tugged and pushed around by Heather, her arms extended. Herow was watching her, the long red strands dancing as she swayed ever so slightly with each push and wretch from Heath. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13. Herow could hear Heather mentioning how wonderful her tattoos were. Hoshi laughed as Heather poked her stomach gently. Herow smiled at her laugh, smiled at the fact that her shoulders were no longer tense and her face was so gentle.

“Herow, are you listening to me?” He looked away from Hoshi to Rachel.

“Of course I am,” he said as he nodded. Rachel grinned knowingly and Tanto crossed his arms over his chest with a similar smirk.

“Looks like someone is falling for a certain princess,” Herow frowned and shook his head.

“I took an oath. I can’t “fall” for anyone. I am devoted to Him.” Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

“Sometimes,” Rachel said. “God gives you gifts for being so devoted. Sometimes, he doesn’t want you to be alone, Herow. You’ve been alone for a long time.” Herow glanced at her and shrugged.

“It would never work.”

“Why not?” asked Tanto. “Because she is a princess? Because she is a woman?”

“Because we’re so different.”

“So? Tanto and I are different and we are doing just fine.”

“We need to finish our mission.”

“The boys are fine. Demitria and Avon can take care of them.”

“Speaking of them, they should be here with so we can talk about how we’re going to train them. Hoshi has something in mind.” He took out his phone, if only to have something to take his eyes off the princess.

Meet at H&H’s office
-AH

Be right there
-D

On my way
-A

A loud exclamation of joy escaped Heather’s lips, making Rachel, Tanto and Herow look up. “Your hair is so beautiful!” Hoshi smiled a little—a smile that made Herow’s heart jump—and took it down from its braid. The long strands were crimped and wavy and fell over her shoulders and over her ears. She smiled and when Heather put it over her head, she laughed and placed more on Heather’s head. The hair was long and thick and looked as soft as a pillow. Heather begged to do something with it. Put it up, do something wonderful with the long strands. Rachel quickly hastened over, eager to do the same thing. Hoshi smiled and laughed, making Herow smile suddenly. A joyful heart is good medicine, But a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 She looked at him, her eyes calm and oddly bright. He smiled at her, waved a little and watched as she returned the favor.

Tanto watched as his Captain waved to the Princess of Fire. Much was said about the princess. She was powerful. She was dangerous. She was a wave of destruction. This girl, though, seemed normal enough. She could dance with fire, yes, but that wasn’t enough to warrant the protection Sauer had them put on her. Cameras outside her room and along the hallways in case she got out. Then again, Herow was spending an awful lot of time with her. Day number two and he looked like a love-sick puppy. Tanto glanced at the princess, whose otherwise serious face, was light as she looked at Herow. Perhaps, Tanto thought, this was a good opportunity to make alliances. “So why don’t you just go for it?”

“Do you understand what celibacy means?” Herow snapped, his attention dragged from the beauty that stood across the room.

“Of course I do, Herow. I’ve worked with you for years. I know you have never done anything like that with a human being but just because you can’t race in the Tour de France doesn’t mean you can’t ride a bike in Paris.”

“Paris is actually an awful place to ride a bike. It’s very crowded and no one really likes to listen to you when you tell them to move.” Tanto sighed.

“Look,” he said. “Can you tell me honestly that when you look at her, you don’t feel like smiling? You don’t feel like everything is right? You don’t feel the need to hug her and kiss her until the end of the world comes?” Herow looked away from Tanto, his heart racing. Yes. He did feel that way. He unfortunately had to swallow those feelings down and forget them almost as quickly as he had acknowledged them. Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13.

“No,” he said. “No I don’t.” He said as he took a deep breath. Demitria and Avon chose that moment to walk in and save Herow from further feelings. He needed to steel up. He had to get things back on track. She was making everything difficult. “Great,” he said to them, his sigh a little rushed, “I’d like for you to talk to the princess about setting up a regiment for the boys. They need to be conditioned for different kinds of training.”

“Oh?” Demitria asked.

“She’s going to teach them about magic or something. I’m not entirely sure. I just…I guess we have to trust her.” Herow felt his eyebrows pull together, the seriousness washing back over his face. He was back to being stern and controlling. He couldn’t be that other Herow. He couldn’t be the laughing, smiling, easy Herow. He needed to be the captain and leader. Herow looked at Hoshi, who was laughing as Rachel and Heather played with her hair. Heath was making an outfit for her—something simple yet beautiful as was his style.

Her long limbs were covered with fabric while Heather searched for the right color to match her hair. Heath seemed excited to work on someone so new with new measurements and dynamics. Herow watched her for a moment. She was so human and so normal in those few moments. She looked up at him from Rachel. She was staring back at him, her eyes a liquid grey that made his lips rise ever so slightly. She turned to Rachel and Heather, who lifted their eyes to him. They nodded slightly and finished styling her hair, the long red strands blending together in swirls of braids and some sort of other thing Herow couldn’t describe. He knew that she looked beautiful and that’s all that mattered. Hoshi jumped off the pedestal where she stood and walked to him. He smiled a little at her and wanted to reach out to her, take her in his arms. Instead, he met her half-way. She smiled up at him secretly before looking at the other two. She bowed before them.

“I assume you are the fighters?” she asked. They nodded before bowing back. “I’d like to talk to you about—”

“Herow,” snapped Francois, making Herow jump and straighten immediately. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. We had a meeting today with Sauer so you could tell him about the demons where have you been?” Hoshi glared at the blond haired soldier, who looked stiff in his uniform. “Of course you would be here.” He snapped.

“I am the guest, I may remind you. I was intent to stay at my home!” Hoshi snapped back.

“We’ll bring you right back there if you—”

“I was attending to more important matters.” Herow says as he put himself between Hoshi and Victor. “I have talked to Sauer and we are meeting now.” Herow watched as Victor glared at her and turned away. Herow, sighing, turned to the group and nodded ever so slightly.

“Please excuse me,” he said as his eyes landed on Hoshi. “I have to go.” He was surprised at how softly he spoke. How gently he spoke. She seemed to have noticed as well because she, herself, softened. She nodded ever so slightly.

“I will await your return, then Captain. We can go over the plan your warriors and I will come up with.” He smiled at her, a tender, intimate smile, and nodded before he bowed to her and corrected his position. He gave her an apologetic smile and she returned it before bowing to him. She turned to Demitria and Avon. Tanto was shaking his head ever so slightly, mumbling something to Rachel.

Herow walked away from the princess begrudgingly and followed Francois out of the training building across the main campus towards the president’s office. Francois was always the kind of person that reminded Herow of who he was. They had gone through a lot together. They were in the Communion together before they became officers. They took their oaths together, they did their training together, and they lost many friends and loved ones together. They had been through a lot. Seeing Francois always sobered Herow. He always reminded Herow why he started here. Why he sacrificed so much.

“You seem to like her,” Francois said stiffly.

“Well,” Herow sighed. “She’s new. I suppose all people are attracted to new things. She is going to help us and that’s all that matters.” Francois made a small noise of recognition and Herow cleared his throat. “If you have something to say, Victor, say it now.” Victor hesitated before beginning slowly.

“It just appears that you have taken a liking to her and I fear you are not going to be focused on this mission. We have a very important task of ensuring the Devil does not rise from—”

“The Princess said that is not possible,” Herow said stiffly. “She said there is no way he could be coming.”

“How does she know?” Victor asked as he stopped and turned to Herow. “How can you trust her?”

“You’re the one who wanted her,” Herow said as he held out his arms. “You’re the one who brought her here.”

“I’m not the one who brought her to my room, though.” Herow frowned and sighed.

“Is that what this is about? You’re angry I lent her my room? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Help those in need?”

“She wasn’t in need!” Victor snapped. “We had her things set up. She had her own room. She had her own clothing. We were fully prepared for her. You clearly were not.”

“Why are you angry, Victor? Why am I being blamed?” Herow snapped. “You were the one who wanted her here, might I remind you, Brother. You were the one who pushed for her to be here. You allowed her that small boy. You welcomed them here.”

“And you’re the one she decided to kiss,” Herow’s face fell. That was what this was about? “She is sin, Andre,” Victor said slowly. “She is a walking temptation. You cannot be distracted by her, Andre. We have a job to do. We have things we must finish and complete and do before anything else is put on our plate.”

“I am not distracted by her,” Herow announced. “In fact, I am taking care of her because you told me to.”

“I was assigned to her,” snapped Victor. “You have been and always will be assigned to that demon abomination.”

“She, too, is an abomination, Victor,” Herow snapped. Victor looked away. “Is this jealousy? Brother, we are to against such mortal sin.” Victor sighed.

“That is not the point, Herow, the point is that we must be on target.”

“I have not once wavered from my duties. Never have I ever stopped working on this case, never have I ever stopped putting Him or this first. If you are worried, then by all means, take her from me and gain favor with her.” Victor looked at him for a long moment, before he turned away.

“Sauer wants to talk about what the princess has told you. He heard you were talking to her last night.”

“Yes,” Herow said. “We spoke for a while last night.”

“About?” Herow looked away.

“I’d rather tell Sauer.”

“Would you not tell me? I am your brother.”

“And this is information she told me in confidence. There are things she told me that I am not sure I can talk about.”

“I am your brother,” snapped Victor.

“I am your brother second. I am a soldier first.”

“Who comes first to a soldier,” snapped Victor, “your brother in arms or the enemy’s handmaiden?”

“What happened to your faith in her, Victor?” Herow demanded.

“Did you see her?” Victor shouted. “The red is a symbol! It’s a terrible sign of the devil! From head to toe she is drenched in red!” Herow stared at Victor with his heart pounding. She was the devil. She was the thing they tried to destroy. She was the horrible monster that gave birth to the vermin that ruined the earth. She was the Morning Star that fell from the Heavens and plagued the Earth with poisonous blood. He had every reason to hate her. She had every reason to be hated. “Your demon is much like her. They are far too similar. I made a mistake. I talked to Sauer this morning while you were gallivanting with the enemy.”

“And?” Herow inquired, nervousness running through his veins. Was Hoshi going back? Would he ever see her again?

“He feels I am being too rash. He says that with you, he can find the information he needs to see if I am indeed overreacting. He has allowed me to call a few friends from New York for some further help.”

“Further help? Victor, there is no need to do that.”

“There is. I cannot trust a demon.” Herow blew out an aggravated breath and stormed away from him to the large office building where the director of whole institute. He was a very busy man. Herow didn’t deserve an audience with Sauer but the old man allowed his favorite soldier to enter at his whim. Herow stampeded into the office of Sauer Thomas and the man, small with thinning grey hair and a meager 56 years old, looked up at him with brown eyes.

“Ah there you are, Herow, I’ve been looking all over for you.” His thick British accent made Herow feel inferior as always. His voice was deep and coarse, like he had lived a full life that was ready to be terminated any time soon. Fortunately for them, Sauer was in no hurry to leave. “I was wondering,” he said as he rose, his tweed sweater befitting that of a man well in his eighties. “What was the princess saying to you? Victor tells me she has chosen you to favor.” Herow hesitated before nodding.

“Yes,” he replied. “The boy seems to have picked me and therefore, the woman follows his footsteps.”

“I have yet to see a report, Herow.” He mentioned as he looked down at his desk.

“Yes, sir,” said Herow as he looked down. “I was waiting until I know more. I was going to include more in my report when I finished with her today.”

“Finished with her?”

“She is extraordinary, Sir, and I would have liked to inspect her abilities to their fullest before returning to you with any unexplored possibilities.”

“What do you mean?” Herow cleared his throat.

“She, sir, as you may have heard, is powerful. She has the ability of manipulation of fire. She is well versed in medical training, it seems, and she has advanced combat skills. She knows a lot of history and religion. I don’t know much else of what she knows in the traditional sense but I do know that she is very confident in her skills. She is loyal and true, and very…tactless. She has a very harsh tongue when it comes to serious matters that are often stepped around, and she is timid with her master.”

“And that is…the boy?” Sauer asked as he looked down at the folder in front of him. “Yes, Victor, mentioned him. Last night you let him go with…whom?”

“Parinum and Gabriel, Sir. He seems to have made a good impression on them. The boys seemed to take a liking to him, including Lucas, who you know is very stiff.”

“What can you tell me about him? The boy, I mean.” Herow cleared his throat.

“He is young, sir, maybe eleven at most. He is very loyal to the princess and he seems to know more than any of us. He is much better at talking to the others than the princess. His English is very good after his first encounter with Victor, as is the princess’s. He is braver than most his age would be. He is more selfless than most orphans would be and I am unsure of his past. I would be happy to inquire about that if you should like, Sir.”

“Eventually,” Sauer agreed haphazardly. “Anything else of the boy?” he inquired.

“Yes,” Herow said as he cleared his throat. “He will be training with the boys, it seems.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“It would,” Herow affirmed. “Unfortunately, though, his princess has allowed him the opportunity to do such. She also inquired about schooling for the boy, though I don’t think there is much need for that.”

“No?”

“He is smart, sir, as I mentioned. He has a very good ability of perception. I suppose that’s from years on the street. He knows a lot of things that he shouldn’t know about—about fighting and about very adult things—but he seems so ignorant and innocent.”

“Not all ignorance is innocence, Herow,” said Sauer as he walked around his desk to stand in front of Herow. Standing only five foot six, Herow had to crane his neck downward to stare at his director. “I’d like for you to tell me what it is you discussed alone last night.” Sauer looked up and Herow looked down.

“We discussed Thaddeus,” Herow replied, not mentioning the princess’s “Monster”.

“Oh?”

“He, as you know, Sir, is a demon. She was keenly aware of his origins even more so than the rest of us. She wanted to train him. Have him be sharpened and refined to make him more useful to us.”

“How did she intend to do that?” Sauer asked.

“She wanted to train all the boys. She wanted to make sure they were well versed in the ways of magic.”

“We cannot do magic,”

“As I told her but unfortunately, she is very hard headed and seems determined to prove me wrong.” Everyone can do something. “I told her that it would be discussed with you before allowing her to do such training. She and Demitria and Avon were talking as I left to come see you.”

“I see,” was Sauer’s reply.

“I already set her up with Heather and Heath, I do suppose I should have brought the young boy. I was distracted by the angel and—”

“Angel?” inquired Sauer.

“Yes, Sir,” Herow said as he nodded. “It appears the princess knows an angel and she came to visit Gabriel.”

“Oh yes,” said Sauer as if realizing a revelation. “I heard that he had surgery. Patricia came to see me. She said you and the princess were talking about very serious matters.”

“Yes, sir, but I was going to run them all by you when I came to see you.”

“And how is Gabe?”

“Fine,” Herow said smiling. His heart beat loud in his chest. He was unsure of why but that didn’t really matter. “He’s sleeping now. I think the princess will work with him as well.”

“Oh,” said Sauer with a smile. Herow swallowed and watched the small man tap his chin thoughtfully, his dull brown eyes watching him carefully. “What else did the princess say to you?” Herow knew he should tell Sauer. If he was going to tell anyone, it should be Sauer. The princess was housing a demon for Peter’s sake! She was the reason they were fighting so hard! She was proof that there was nothing wrong. Or was she? Why would the princess be here now? Didn’t Victor or Parinum or Tanto or Bashov or Wakely know what she was? He knew. Why? Why him? He was just a soldier. A Captain, sure, but he was a soldier for God. He wasn’t supposed to know something like that. He was just supposed to go and fight. He was supposed to protect people. Not warrior princesses who housed the Devil!

“She said Thaddeus would be in a lot of trouble if we didn’t work fast. She said Gabriel would be in a lot of pain after he woke up. She said that she’d like to learn more about the others before she started training them.” She said she was the Devil. Herow could feel it on his tongue. He could hear it spill from his lips.

“Anything else?” Sauer asked while lifting his grey eyebrow. I kissed her. Twice. Well, technically it was more than twice that second time. I feel so bad but she was so…beautiful!

“She wants to bring the boys to demons,” he said quickly. “She wants to bring the boys to demons so she can see how well they fight.”

“Oh,” Sauer sounded…happy? Pleased with the fact that his best defense against demons was offering to take young boys to the demons and put them in harm’s way? “What a splendid idea!”

“Sir?” Herow asked.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, Herow, and I know you have been on the front line since you were young, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Herow replied.

“How was it?”

“Terrifying,” he replied softly. “I got used to it after a while, though.”

“Yes,” Sauer said as he looked down at his desk once more at a pile of papers. “I was reading that you did exceptionally well with demons. You found a way to get them…peaceful. An odd tactic but an effective one.”

“Sir?”

“You see,” Sauer said. “Most people think the Communion is here to eliminate the demons from our world and, though we are, we don’t want to kill them. Some of them are good—as good as a demon could be. Good for us, really.”

“I’m not following, Sir.”

“When we were in the war,” said Sauer, “we had agents who were loyal to God help us.”

“You had a mole?”

“Sort of,” Sauer said smiling. “We had friends on the other side, that’s all. But the demons you managed to coerce into leaving the battle field we ended up turning and they, to this day, have helped a lot with a few troubling matters.”

“You have spies?”

“You could call them that,” said Sauer with a smile. “But the point is that you were very good at what you did.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Herow replied.

“Do you recall a certain member of the team when you were young?”

“I try not to,” Herow replied, his voice suddenly wavering.

“I’d like you to tell me about him, if you could.” Herow looked at Sauer, swallowed down his feelings and nodded.

“He was the same age as me, Sir,” Herow replied, his heart clamoring in his chest. He could see the small black haired boy in his mind. “He was very bright and had a very good sense of what was going on around him. He was good at fighting, even for a young boy. As he grew older, before he…died…he was very good. He was sort of funny in the way he got on everyone’s nerves. He was smart and most people didn’t expect him to be. Even when he did show how smart he was, they resented him. They…they couldn’t see him past his big brain or his slightly awkward demeanor.”

“Why did he leave?” Herow looked down, blinking away tears he knew would come once more.

“He died,” he replied. Sauer murmured a small noise of recognition before folding his hands on his desk.

“What was your relationship with him?” Herow sucked in a breath.

“He was my best friend,” he replied. “He was an orphan like me. His parents left him, though, where mine died. We felt….connected. Like we were meant for each other. Like we were supposed to be friends.”

“Well,” Sauer said, sitting up a little. “Do you think there’s anything left to tell me?” Herow shook his head a little, feeling terribly alone.

“I don’t believe so.” Herow said. His brain was having a melt-down. Between Hoshi’s secret playing in the back of his head and the images of his past playing like unwanted movies, he was losing his mind and composure. Sauer nodded.

“What can you tell me about the Eeries?” Herow frowned and blew out air through his nose to steady himself.

“They are very good at what they do.” He answered tightly.

“And your personal opinion?”

“They are a pair of hard working mercenaries.”

“Oh?”

“I just…Sir, Victor is overreacting. There is nothing wrong with Princess Tiri. She is perfectly capable of handling this situation.”

“Oh I’m sure she is,” Sauer said with a smile. “Thank you for your time, Herow. Go forth to love and serve our Lord.”

“Sir—”

“Be sure to take careful notes of our dear guest. Especially the boy, if you will?” Herow hesitated and nodded slowly, unsure of what was going on. “Good day.”

“Good day, sir,” Herow replied as he turned around and walked out of the office with a terrible feeling settling in his stomach. Instead of going to Victor or to the Princess, Herow went to the church and sat in a pew, staring up at the cross. Somewhere inside of him, he was begging for answers. He looked down at his hands clasped in his lap as they always were when he was in church, and sighed.

“It helps to talk through your problems.” A voice made Herow look back at the shadowed person standing in the doorway. Herow couldn’t tell who it was so he rose to his feet and started out of the pew. “I’m not a big fan of formal prayer,” said the voice. It was a woman. “We Greeks were never a big fan of that. We liked to go for the sacrifices.” He stopped and placed his hand on his gun. “No need for that,” said the woman as she walked forward. “We’re not here to hurt you. We came for a special someone.” Herow watched as the doors opened and let sunlight wash in to reveal more shadowed figures. “Would you happen to be Andre Herow? Protector of one Tiri Adalle?”

“I am not her protector,” Herow replied softly.

“Hm,” said the woman with a grin in her voice. “Perhaps, then, you could tell us what we’d actually like to know.”

“What is that?” Herow snapped.

“Where might we find the incubus?”