The mosque, Masjid Gibrael, stood across from the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin. While the Cathedral used its grounds entirely as a house of worship and cemetery, the mosque had a soup house attached. That was where Helena headed.
There was a good sized line there already. There were plenty of hungry people in the Immigrant Realm, and unlike the many charity kitchens in the slums the mosque was close to the docks, where the homeless lived, trying to make do with odd jobs. Helena moved around the line without watching much, but Camila couldn’t help to slow down and look.
“You look like a tourist,” Acedia muttered. “Are all you outsiders so nosey?”
Camila grinned. “Can’t a girl keep a sense of wonder? There’s actual jinn there!” She blinked and looked over to Helena. “Though I’m kinda curious how someone who can grant wishes can be hard up for food.”
“Not everyone gets to be the wish granting jinn,” Helena said. “Some get stuck needing to eat rotten flesh.”
“Ah,” Camila winced before looking down at her own locked arms. “Have I said how happy I am to be the upgraded jiang-shi? Because, like, as annoying as this is, not being a rotting corpse is nice.”
Helena smirked. “I’m sure if you sent a note to the Living Dragon he’d appreciate it. There’s probably not a lot to read in the magical seclusion wing of a prison. Giving him something to mull over for his five hundred year sentence would be nice.”
“Maybe later,” Camila replied with a handwave.
Acedia looked between the two of them. “What’s the point of demons existing when there are people like you two wandering around?”
Camila turned to pat Acedia on the shoulder. “We need someone to talk to obviously! It’d be dull otherwise.” The demon just turned away with a grimace.
They arrived at the door to the soup kitchen’s back entrance and Helena knocked. After a moment the door opened and a man looked out. “Peace be upon you. I’m afraid the entrance is the other door.” He started when he saw Acedia but recovered quickly. “However if you cannot enter the holy ground I can speak with the Imam to see what might be done.”
“We’re not here to get food,” Helena said. “I want to speak to Nezaiel. Tell him Helena Aeode, the Curse Gunner, wishes to consult with him about the murders in the city.”
The man’s eyes opened wide and he paled. “Ah… I see. One minute please.” The door was hastily shut as he retreated.
“So he actually going to get that angel, or are we just gonna stand here and hope?” Camila asked.
“Humans who forget to deliver messages between magicians and other powerful magical beings don’t live long,” Helena replied. “At least not long as humans.”
Camila shook her head. “Don’t pigs have pretty short lives?”
Helena nodded. “True. But I know someone who turned a foe into a tortoise. The tortoise outlived her. And not just because she got stabbed.” Helena shrugged. “It’s too bad he was such an ass. Otherwise my grandmother might have turned him back.”
“You know a bunch of very violent people,” Camila said with a sidelong look.
“I was born in a very violent realm,” Helena admitted.
Acedia looked between the two of them. “Ah. That’s why your souls are so different. It’s hard to tell under all the blood. Weird that the undead killer still cares and the witch doesn’t.”
Camila’s eyes hardened. Helena ground her teeth and glared at the demon. For someone who claimed to be no good at being evil, Acedia had managed to find just the wrong thing to say. Camila had to still feel some guilt from the murders she’d been puppeted into committing. And Helena’s Hellenistic morals and the conflict with more modern realms was a constant sore point.
The door swinging open killed the awkward moment. A man in black robes with a white belt and head covering was there frowning at them. Still he bowed. “The angel Nezaiel wishes to meet with you. Please follow me.”
Helena turned and walked after the man. Camila shook her head then followed after, with Acedia bringing up the rear.
The kitchen paused in its work to stare at them as they walked through. Understandable. People probably didn’t get to meet the angel often, much less a witch, a jiang-shi, and a demon. The robed man led them through a door to a small storehouse. Racks of canned food filled the walls. It was a strange place to meet an angel.
But an angel was there. Nezaiel stood next to a stack of dried noodles from across the river. He was slightly built and androgynous in his white robes, but his presence filled the room further than even his white wings could stretch. Even without his aura at full power Helena could feel the pressure. She glanced behind her and saw Acedia was cradling her wings around herself. Camila of course didn’t notice a thing. The jiang-shi’s unique command seal had all sorts of benefits. Helena took heart at this and let her own magical aura push out a bit.
The Imam who’d led them there shivered as he was caught between Helena and Nezaiel’s presence. The angel turned his light eyes to the man. “Thank you Yuusef. I’ll see them out when we’re finished. Peace be upon you.”
“Upon you be peace,” the Imam said with a bow before quickly stepping outside.
Nezaiel motioned to the crates. “Peace be upon you as well. I fear this place is not well furnished, but please, feel free to sit if you desire.”
“I’ll stand,” Acedia muttered. Apparently her fight response had kicked in again.
“Legs don’t bend easy so I’ll pass too,” Camila said. “So can I ask why you aren’t all glowy and stuff like the other angel we saw?”
Nezaiel nodded his head. “I chose to veil myself to not cause fear in your demonic friend. There is no need for hostility among us, and fear will only lead to mistrust and misunderstanding.” He folded his hands. “However I’m curious as to who you’ve seen before. As far as I know there are only two members of the host currently in this Realm.”
“Someone’s trying to fix that. By murdering demons.” Something he should have been informed of, Helena mentally noted. She shouldn’t play her hand yet though. “They’ve developed a kabbalistic ritual to create an angel golem. At least three are dead already and given they’ve tried to murder poor Acedia here twice, more are likely to die in the future.”
“I see. So that’s why you’ve come to see me.” Nezaiel nodded in understanding. No real concern of course. Angels never seemed to care like a normal human would. Caring would require those icky ‘evil’ feelings like rage. “I shall pray for their souls. However I fear that is the limit of the aid I can offer. I can’t sense a fake angel.” He looked over them. “I could offer you sanctuary within Masjid Gibrael, but I fear it would be painful to you all, unless you were to accept the teachings of the prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him.”
Camila bobbed her arms. “Sorry. Technically still Catholic. Not really much for hiding anyway.”
“I’m not interested in dying to save myself from dying,” Acedia muttered.
“Perhaps one’s soul is more important than life,” Nezaiel said.
Helena sniffed. “While technically true, any time you have to choose between the two something’s gone horribly wrong. I want to avoid that.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I’m quite sure you can do more than pray. You have access to the Cathedral and the Mosque. You know this place like the back of your hand. If the culprits are working here in any way you can track them down.” Assuming he wasn’t hiding them for his own purposes.
“I trust all the people here,” Nezaiel said. “While they are humans with their faults, if I had sensed any of them had committed sins like murder I would have spoken to them already. As I have in the past to those who fall.”
Camila raised an eyebrow. “Hope you turned them into the police while you were at it. Forgiveness is nice, but so’s defending victims.”
“It is best if they turn themselves in,” Nezaiel replied. “And all of them did in the end. I do not seek the justice of this world, but the next.”
“Where’s the place for me and my sisters in your ‘next world?'” Acedia muttered. “You claim to offer love, but it’s always on your terms.” Helena had to hide a smile. She didn’t think the demon had it in her. It seemed she had some backbone after all.
Nezaiel bowed to the demon. “We don’t offer them on terms. We tell you how to heal yourself. The path of righteousness is the cure to your affliction.” He raised his palms heavenward. “I understand it is harder for you. To sin is your being. But I believe with faith you could free yourself. To join in the chorus instead of falling back into the damned.”
Helena stepped out of the way as Acedia’s wings snapped open. “Join the chorus? Join the chorus?!” Acedia glared at the angel with fire in her eyes. “Humans created me as their scapegoat. Someone to blame when they failed. And here you are, pretending you’re saving me by making me a slave to your own master!” Helena flinched as the words echoed in her head. “At least these two idiots are trying to save me for their own purposes. I’d rather be helped as an experiment or out of pity then arrogance!”
Camila turned to the demon. “Like, I’m not helping you out of pity.” But the jiang-shi woman fell silent as Acedia turned her glare towards her. Helena didn’t even bother to refute Acedia. The demon woman was good at seeing flaws.
“Humans have many reasons for what they do,” Nezaiel replied. “Both selfish and generous. If you wish to escape you must see that. And you must see that service is not slavery. You will be part of something greater. You’ll have a chance to help not yourself, but all creation.”
“I’d rather be myself,” Acedia hissed. Then the demon deflated. “Even if I’m utterly useless…”
Nezaiel sighed. “Your words and your thoughts don’t match.”
“As much as I love watching people created to fight each other argue,” Helena said as she stepped back between the two. “There’s something else I need you to do for me Nazaiel. I want to meet with Amaiel.”
That caused the angel to blink. “Amaiel? She has no love for witches or demons. And while she follows the Lord’s commands to leave this world to the laws of man, she does not work to save the people in the same way I do. I doubt she would consent to that meeting.”
“A chance to threaten a magician? I’m sure she’d love that,” Helena replied sweetly. “Honestly I’d fight her myself if I thought she’d agree to a non lethal duel. She’s the fun one of you two.”
“I don’t think she would enjoy hearing her presence encourages you to commit more sins,” Nezaiel replied.
Helena shrugged. “That just makes it sweeter.”
The angel shook his head. “Very well, I will ask. And I shall tell her all of what we have spoken today. If nothing else I imagine she’ll want to beat you to finding and exposing this mockery of our form.”
“And you’ll be trying to beat us both to the culprit so he survives,” Helena said.
“Correct,” Nezaiel replied.
Assuming of course he didn’t already know and was trying to quietly get them to confess while the bodies stacked up. Just because he wouldn’t kill her, didn’t mean he was trustworthy.
“I won’t waste any more time then,” Helena said. “Thank you for your help.”
“May God’s light shine upon you,” Nezaiel said. “And may his rod and his staff guide you through the darkness.”
Camila gave a distracted wave. “Later. Maybe we can chat when everyone isn’t dying.” The jiang-shi woman floated over to Acedia. “You ready?”
The demon’s wings folded to her back. “Whatever.” Acedia turned and headed out the door. This was going to be a bad day it seemed.
They moved through the soup kitchen again. The staff broke out into whispers, but Helena didn’t pay them any attention. She was focused on the two women in front of her. One who she’d wronged, and one who was probably questioning herself.
Outside the heat of summer was making the air smolder. It was a humid heat, different from her homelands. But it drove Acedia towards the shade of the nearby park all the same. Camila and Helena followed after, the jiang-shi with considerably more drive.
As Acedia flopped down Camila moved to face her, without leaving a space for Helena in the mess. The snub stung more than Helena expected it to. But she knew why. She forced her anger and sorrow down and moved to stand near the two.
Camila was the first to break the silence, as expected. “So, like, I guess I do pity you. Kinda. And I know that sucks. I hate it when people pity me ’cause I’m dead. But that isn’t why I want to help. I want to help because I know what it’s like to need a hand.”
“So you’re a busybody?” Acedia muttered.
“Yep! That’s right,” Camila smiled. “Was kinda true back when I was alive too. I swear Pai took the job in the US just to get me out of trouble.”
The demon sighed. “Wonderful.”
Helena inched forwards and bowed. “I, on the other hand, should apologize. I haven’t been serious enough. I just was letting Camila do as she wished.”
“And now?” Acedia asked.
“I’ll be incompetent of my own will,” Helena admitted. “I’m terrible at helping people emotionally.”
A ghost of a smile might have flitted across Acedia’s face. But Camila interrupted with a hard glare. “So. Was saving me an experiment too?”
“As I said, I’m terrible at helping people emotionally. Helping people magically imprisoned is easier.” Helena hesitated. “Camila have you ever seen slavery? Seen someone claim ownership of another human?”
Camila’s eyes stayed narrowed, but the woman shook her head. “Kinda illegal in Brazil. And the USA. Happens still, but I never saw it.”
“Good for them,” Helena replied. “I have. I’ve seen how people are treated by those who ‘own’ them. Who controls them.” Helena’s eyes flickered to Acedia. “Like she said, I’ve seen more death than you. I’m accustomed to it. The first death I saw was that of a slave who’d talked back to his master. Many of the deaths I saw after were similar.”
She took a deep breath. “My grandmother always told me I looked like one of her cousins. From a weaker branch of the family. She’s right. The resemblance is uncanny. I’ve known what I would look like since I was ten.” Camila’s foot started to tap against the ground but Helena pressed on. She wanted to explain to her friend. “I told you it’s impossible to travel through time, but you can scry on the past if it’s someone related to you. As part of my training I chose to scry on her.
“I’m sure you’ve heard how Alexander the Great razed the old city of Thebes from me. I mention it often enough,” Helena said. Lyudmila had called her out on that before.
“Pretty often,” Camila said.
“My branch of the family escaped. The rest didn’t. Most died. She was sold into slavery.” Helena forced herself to look Camila in the eye, chaining herself to the present. She didn’t want to remember the sights and sounds. “I got to see her life play out. It was not short. But it was also not happy. I came to despise the horrid system, and anything like it.
“That’s why I was so adamant about freeing you, Camila.” Helena looked down at Acedia. “And why I apologized to you. Control over the mind is even worse than simple ownership of the body.”
Camila sighed and all the tension flowed out of the woman. “Yikes. I was being a bitch wasn’t I. Sorry about that. Should trust my friends more.” She grinned at Helena. “Still you did all that because I asked? Should I be flattered?”
The dark cloud hanging over them seemed to lift with Camila’s spirits. Helena grinned. “Also because I wanted to fight an angel. That’s very important. I’ll finally have done something even my tutors haven’t.”
“What great friends,” Aceida muttered. “Willing to go to hell on a whim and for a cheap thrill.”
“Go to hell?” Helena sniffed. “On death I will travel to the realm of Hades. After which he will judge me, and by judge me I mean wave me through because great Hecate is his beloved wife’s best friend. After which I’ll likely get a job as one of the lampade.” She looked over at Camila. “That’s probably where you’re going too by the way, just because of our magical connection. Unless you really want to stay Catholic.”
Camila blinked. “Uh, that’s kinda weird. Wait, do I get in on the special deal?”
“Of course,” Helena replied. “We look after friends and family there. At least those of us who follow Hecate.”
The jiang shi chewed on her lip in mock contemplation. “On the one hand seems like a better deal than burning or hymns. On the other hand ain’t that kinda encouraging nepotism? Seems like a bad cosmology.”
Helena shrugged. “You work with the gods you have, not the ones you want.” She looked down at Acedia. “I’ll make you the same offer, but that would involve dying near me. Also lampades have a very similar job to the one you’re trying to escape so you probably wouldn’t like it.”
“No,” Acedia said. “But thanks for offering.” The demon almost seemed to mean it too.
“So now that we’ve had our heart to heart, what’s the next part of the plan?” Camila asked.
“First-” Helena stopped. Something was trying to contact her. Not via mirror, but another source. She looked around. A flash of light drew her attention to a footlong dragonfly icon. It was fluttering in the air above waiting. She immediately knew it was waiting on her. “First someone wants to talk to us.”
“Ah?” Camila peered at it. “Who could that be from?”
“I have a guess,” Helena said. “Gold Rat Hsu.” They’d worked together recently, for a certain definition of the term. He likely wanted to discuss some of the fallout from that mess.
Still she didn’t immediately beckon it over. It was a polite message, but magicians who weren’t at least a little paranoid didn’t live long. She peered at it closely, letting her eyes truly open to see the magic on it. The thousands of curses, spells, and blessings in the area made it hard to see, but she knew the person who made this dragonfly and the lines of his magic cut through them all. When she was certain there was only the spell needed to move the dragonfly and have it respond to her orders present she waved it closer.
The small construct fluttered over and landed on her palm before dropping a note onto her hand. She let it rise back into the air and fly off before opening the note and reading the short message within.
“So what’s the jackass want?” Camila asked. “The Triads whining again?”
Helena reread the letter. “No. He’s calling a conclave of all titled magicians.”
Acedia sat up. “Huh?”
“Wait, you actually have those?” Camila hopped over. “I thought you hadn’t even met most of the other magicians personally.”
“This is the first time a conclave has been called since I’ve moved here. Probably the first in a long time,” Helena folded the note and put it in her pouch. “Which means something has gone very wrong.”
Camila hopped forward. “Something like a murderer making a fake angel to purge all evil or something?”
“I don’t think so? That’s bad, but not quite worthy of gathering every named magician in the city.” Helena grimaced. “Either this is bigger than we thought, or something else is happening. We need more information.” But how? She didn’t even know what she was looking for.
“I might have something,” Camila said.
That was odd. “How? No offense but you’ve only been here two months.”
Camila looked a little uneasy. “You know how I said I might have a job? Well this is when I find out. Help me back home so I can change and I’ll show you.”