“We currently do not have many men within the Awakened Children,” said Rion, nodding to the congregation. Malcolm glanced at the room, noticing for the first time that the female to male ratio was probably about four to one.
“Does the gender of believers make much of a difference?” asked Malcolm.
“Of course,” said Rion. “We have many beliefs concerning worship between a man and a woman.”
Malcolm had no idea how to respond to that. Luckily, he was saved having to need to. One of the women in the main congregation let out an audible gasp. Malcolm heard Rose’s voice in response. He turned around again, and his heart skipped a beat at what he saw.
Rose was standing in the main aisle, her hood down and her pale purple face exposed. All around her, the Awakened Children had fallen to their knees, foreheads pressed into the polished wooden floor. Rose was trying to pull one of them to her feet, presumably her sister.
“A star touched…” whispered Rion. “By the Sun!”
She moved fast, splitting off from Malcolm and practically sprinting into the church’s back room. Malcolm made a halfhearted attempt to grab her arm before scowling and giving up. He walked toward Rose, who looked deeply uncomfortable with the sudden surge of attention.
“A star touched!” said Malcolm, in a mocking voice. He dropped to his knees and pretended to bow several times.
“Shut up,” said Rose. “Leah recognized me, but she’s caught up in this stupid cult. She thinks I’m someone worth worshipping.”
Malcolm shrugged.
“What are we supposed to do?” he asked. “Carry her out of here forcibly?”
“What you’re supposed to do…” came a new voice, deep and slow. “Is listen, learn, and open yourself to the possibilities.”
Two figures strode out of the church’s backroom, both immediately catching Malcolm’s attention. A man and a woman, or rather, a demon and a spryte, stood side by side.
The demon was tall and broad shouldered. His skin was mottled, the original color a deep brown, but now with patches and spots of both true black and white. He had shoulder length dreadlocks with horned spikes protruding upward in between them, making him look almost like an African king with a crown made of bone.
The spryte was almost the inverse of her demon partner. She was a small woman, with unnatural pink hair. Her skin was a fascinating mixture of colors, not the full spectrum of a rainbow, but rather, the types of pinks and blues and purples common to the surface of a soap bubble, or a puddle of oil.
“Please, relax my friends,” said the woman. “My name is Shield Maiden. This is Rain Dancer. You need not be afraid of us.”
Her words were not nearly enough to dissipate the tension in the room. Rose stood close to Malcolm, slowly moving herself away from the kneeling crowd in case the situation progressed in a violent direction.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “I’m Malcolm. This is Rose.”
What the hell are we supposed to do now?
“Awakened Children,” said Rain Dancer. His voice had a slight Caribbean accent to it. “You may go about your own business for the day. You heard?”
The entire congregation, including Rose’s sister, stood and headed out the door. Malcolm half expected Rose to grab Leah’s arm, but she didn’t as much as glance at her. It was a smart move on her part, he realized. The more information she gave about herself and her family connections, the more vulnerable she was.
“Well,” said Rose. “It appears that you think you have business with us. Should we get straight to it, then?”
CHAPTER 14
Malcolm felt a little intimidated, and not just by Shield Maiden and Rain Dancer. Rose had an intense look in her eyes, and she’d already summoned her shadow tendrils. They swirled around her body like thick, dark snakes, coiled and ready to strike.
“There is no need for that,” said Rain Dancer. “You’ve heard the sermon from our priestess already, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, about that,” said Malcolm. “It was a little convoluted.”
“We are the star touched,” said Rain Dancer. “Surely you can see that much just from your gifts, can’t you?”
He spoked to Rose, not Malcolm, which boded well. It meant that they still hadn’t recognized him as a threat, and gave them at least one extra card to play if it came to a fight.
“What is it that you want?” asked Rose.
“We just wish to speak with you more,” said Rain Dancer. “We have much to offer, more than you can see.”
Rose lifted an arm. Malcolm could tell that she was preparing to lash out with her shadows, or at least make the threat of doing so. He set his hand over hers and slowly lowered it down.
“You can go ahead and speak,” said Malcolm. “But I’m not really sure that your, uh, church… is right for us.”
“You have questions about our teachings, do you?”
Wow. Where do I even begin?
Malcolm couldn’t keep a smile from spreading across his face.
“I mean, a couple of things are interesting,” he said. “The priestess said that demons and sprytes were ’heroes of the Zodiac’, or something.”
“Exactly,” said Rain Dancer. “We are touched by the stars, and given power from our astrological signs.”
“That’s honestly what you think?” asked Malcolm. “That somehow, astrology and superpowers just… go hand in hand? One mystery complimenting another?”
“You act like it couldn’t be true,” said Rain Dancer.
“And you make up bullshit like a Capricorn,” said Malcolm. “No, wait… definitely a Virgo.”
Rain Dancer broke into a deep, booming laugh.
“Oh, you are a funny one,” he said. “You’re quite right. Capricorn, you know?”
“Rain,” said Shield Maiden. “Let’s get to the point. There’s no need for us to keep them on guard unnecessarily.”
“Of course, my dear,” said Rain Dancer. “I’ll let you do the honors.”
Shield Maiden nodded.
“The two of you aren’t from Halter City, are you?” she asked.
Rose didn’t offer up an answer, so after a couple of seconds, Malcolm shook his head.
“No, we aren’t,” he said. “How did you guess?”
“There aren’t many so called ‘monsters’ left around here,” said Shield Maiden. “The Champion Authority does thorough sweeps of most large population centers in the United States.”
“It’s a crying shame,” said Rain Dancer.
Malcolm gave a small shrug. Shield Maiden glanced back and forth between him and Rose.
“Are the two of you… together?” asked Shield Maiden. “As a man and a woman?”
“Don’t answer that,” said Rose.
“I’ve been instructed not to answer that,” said Malcolm, rolling his eyes. “Which, I’m sure can be interpreted as an answer on its own.”
Shield Maiden smirked.
“I appreciate your sense of humor,” she said.
“Get to the point,” snapped Rose. “We aren’t here to make small talk.”
Shield Maiden nodded slowly, giving Rose a wary look.
“Of course,” she said. “The Awakened Children, above all, believe in pushing for peace between sprytes, demons, and human civilization. We’re always looking for allies in our cause.”
Malcolm looked over at Rose. She hadn’t relaxed in the slightest, and still appeared ready to attack.
“That’s a noble goal,” said Malcolm. “Lofty, but very noble. Uh… we only came here out of curiosity. It wasn’t really our intention to sign onto a movement today.”
Shield Maiden nodded. Her eyes flicked to the side, and Malcolm realized that Rain Dancer was circling around behind them.
“You’re already part of a movement, Malcolm,” said Shield Maiden. “Or should I call you Wind Runner?”