I'm a Missionary and My Friend has to Save Me from a Brothel

Part 1 l Part 2

I was stunned into silence.

This woman, Lydia, called Cassara a Valkyrie!?

I rushed out of the room to see a darkened club of some kind, and Cassara’s hand around someone’s neck.

Lydia glared down at Cassara, shouting something, “Em nome do Administrador de Penthasil, exijo que você pare!”

Cassara looked up to Lydia, her eyes narrowed, “O Regente de Penathsil não tem poder aqui. Quem diabos é você?”

Lydia heaved a sigh, revealing a small pin.

It appeared to be a set of silver strands, within the center were three concentric rings with a silvery gem in the center, Lydia announced down below, “Kápoios pou státhike brostá sta mátia tis Athinás kai ézise!” 

Cassara grumbled, “Oh you would be a Hiereiai of Athena…” Cassara dropped the poor bastard who she held up by the neck, and started towards the stairs leading up towards Lyida’s office.  

“Hiereiai of Athena?” I asked, looking at Lydia.

“It pays to be worldly,” Lydia said as she turned and headed back into her office, “As well as other worldly.  I’m ordained by Athena.”

“Were ordained,” Cassara growled, “It’s not like it’s a lifetime role, going to guess you’re not in the sect.”

“Obviously not right now, but the cult doesn’t determine my connection to the Goddess,” Lydia informed, “Now, stop fucking up my club, your friend is fine, ask him yourself.”

Cassara sighed as she looked down at me, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I rubbed my wrists, “Nothing but a bruise here or there.  No permanent damage.”

“Bruises, huh?  Guess I gotta make-up for that,” Cassara said as Reginald stepped in front of her.

The two of them were eye to eye, “You busted up my club,” he said, his hand balled up in a fist.

Cassara narrowed her eyes as Reginald gave me a side eye.

“Seems we’re square, if you ask me,” he said as he motioned for us to walk into the office.

I sighed and walked in, Cassara behind me as Reginald closed the door behind us.

“You Valkyrie know how to make a mess of things, that’s for sure,” Lydia explained.

“Uh, can I ask a question?” I interjected.  Reginald, Lydia, and Cassara’s eyes were all on me.  I flinched, “You said she’s… a Valkyrie?”

“Oh?” Lydia turned to Cassara, “You didn’t tell him?”

Cassara bit her lower lip, turning from me.

I narrowed my eyes on her, “Wait, you’ve been on my ass about…” I shook my head, “No, no she didn’t tell me anything.”

“For your protection,” Cassara quipped.

“Yeah, that’s worked out really well so far,” I snapped.

“Girls,” Lydia said as she snapped her fingers, “Let's behave and focus on the important matters,” she grinned at me.  “Your friend is a warrior of Penthasil.  While there’s plenty of Greek Goddesses all over, the Valkyrie is the official term for the warriors of Penthasil,” she chuckled.

“Why use a Norse term for a Greek warrior?” I asked.

“Oh, why not ask…” Lydia turned back to Cassara, “Sorry, didn’t catch your name.”

“The name is Cassara, and that’s all you get,” Cassara snapped.

“That's all I need!” Lydia said with a wide grin, “Not a common name, you’re the personal protector of the Queen of Penthasil.”

“Former Queen,” Cassara grumbled, “She got usurped.”

Lydia’s eyebrow lifted, “Queen Rachel was usurped?”

Cassara growled, “Yes, willingly.  That's why I left.”

“Why would the Big Bad Queen of Penthasil give up her crown?” Lydia asked.

“Lust,” Cassara said with a clenched fist, “Some big bitch showed up, apparently they had a thing, got married and now she’s calling herself ‘Empress’,” Cassara explained.

“Hmm,” Lydia frowned, “Titles are important, that implies she intends to rule multiple countries.”

Cassara fixed Lydia with a firm gaze.

“Ah,” Lydia said as she took a drag from her cigarette, “So, that’s why you’re here causing trouble?  Defected from Penthasil and now just causing a ruckus wherever you go?”

“For once, I didn’t have much to do with this one,” Cassara growled as she crossed her arms, “Unless I’m cursed or something.”

Lydia looked Cassara over.  The shorter woman walked up to Cassara, narrowing her eyes on Cassara’s as she looked up to her, “hmm…”

Cassara looked to Lydia with a bemused and tired expression, “Can we just get out of here?  We have nothing to do with whatever you have going on here.”

“Actually, you got a lot to do with it now,” Reginald snapped, “You two saw the client shambling off, so you’re going to help get the heat off the Boss.”

I turned to Reginald, “And why do you think I can track him?”

Reginald lifted an eyebrow, “I didn’t say you could, Padre.”

I winced.

“Yeah, how could-” Cassara was about to say before Lydia interrupted her.

“You’re not cursed,” Lydia said matter-of-factly, “but you are being followed, in a way."

“I’m sorry, what do you mean: followed?" Cassara asked.

“It’s hard to say. It's whoever you’re following that’s got someone else hot on your heels,” Lydia explained as she sat and prepared another cigarette in her holder, “It’s the only reason the Goddess you’re after hasn’t come after you.”

“A Goddess?” Cassara asked, rolling her eyes, “No offense, if there is such a thing as Gods and Goddesses then why are we right here right now?” she turned to me, “no offense to you either, David.”

“I didn’t really get the church going vibe from you,” I said with a shrug.

“Well as much as you may not believe in them, they certainly believe in you,” Lydia added.

“I’m hard pressed to believe I’m being followed by a Goddess,” Cassara snapped.

“Yeah, I feel like I’d have noticed,” I thought back to the sprites which were floating over Cassara for a second, “Or maybe I did?”

“Huh?” Cassara said, looking at me.

Lydia shook her head, “no no, The Goddess isn’t following you, you’re the one following her,” Lydia explained, “You’re being pursued by an Angel.” 

My stomach sank, “ah… What kind of angel?”

Lydia looked to me and shook her head, “Not fallen, padre,” she explained, missing my meaning, “It’s no archangel, but it’s trying to guide you to find a place where there’s been an injustice of sort, while keeping you off the Goddess’s radar.”

“And you know this, how?” I asked Lydia.

“I know, because I see who’s following her, and who you two have angered,” Lydia explained, “Because I saw it with Her eyes.”

“Who-” I tried to ask, but was cut off.

“Athena’s, David,” Cassara interrupted, “She still has an eye of Athena with her.  It lets her see things, usually very specific things.  You apparently need to know exactly what you’re looking for when you use it, though.”

“Even the Arties know of the power of The Eye, I see,” Lydia said with a smile.

“Yeah yeah,” Cassara sighed, shaking her head, “So, you know the Steward of Penthasil?”

“Yes, Dimitra and I are fairly close,” Lydia smiled.

“How close?” Cassara asked.

“Close enough where I could easily inform her of a rogue Valkyrie wandering around the United States,” Lydia smiled, “Especially an ex-royal guard.”

Cassara clenched her fist, “You can’t inform anyone if you’re dead.”

Lydia lifted the chain around her neck, “don’t be so sure.”

Cassara paused, and rolled her eyes, “Fucking witches.”

“I prefer Hiereiai,” Lydia said as she dropped the chain back around her neck.

“So can you tell me who’s after us, or who we’re following?” I asked.

“You’re in no place to make demands, David,” Lydia hissed, “I am, however.  Now, I don’t have to tell Dimitra where you are.”

“What do you want, witch?” Cassara said firmly.

Lydia narrowed her eyes on Cassara, “Take my man here, find my client, and drag him, preferably still kicking, to the police.  I don’t care how, as long as he’s alive and kicking.” 

“Yeah, well he’s not,” I grumbled.

“I don’t care if he’s undead, unalive, or a vegetable!” Lydia snapped, “Just make sure the bastard is moving on his own when you drag him to the police so my girls can stop getting hassled!” Lydia seemed rather exasperated.

I paused, seeing a moment of weakness from her.

“They’ve enough to deal with without the police asking them questions and snatching them and their johns up,” Lydia heaved a sigh as she took an inhale from her cigarette, “It’s bad for everyone.”  Lydia turned to Cassara, “Do me this favor and you may earn my silence.” 

Cassara growled, turned on her heel, and stormed out.

Reginald was right behind us as I followed Cassara out of the club.  My backpack in his hand, “So, where do we start?”

“I guess we should ask our shambler tracker,” Cassara said, fixing me with a stern glare, before turning her ire to Reginald, “there better be eleven fucking bottles in there, bucko.”

Reginald pushed the bag to her, “there’s ten.”

Cassara glared at Reginald, “I haven’t even had any yet, and I’ve lost two bottles!” 

Reginald shrugged, “It’s pretty good.  Have some now, you seem a little on edge.”

Cassara glared at Reginald, and then me, “At this rate I should…” 

I heaved a sigh, “Cass, I promise you we’ll discuss this when we aren’t in mixed company.”

Reginald laughed, “Lovers quarrel?” 

Cassara narrowed her eyes on Reginald, “not my type.” 

“Not even a little?” Reginald asked.

Cassara shot Reginald a bemused glare, “He’s not a short Asian girl in fishnets, so no.” 

“Fair nuff,” Reginald said with a shrug.

Cassara turned to me, “better fess up later David.  In the meantime, I’ll turn down the burn factor.”

“Gee, thanks,” I heaved a sigh, “But yeah, let's head back to the motel and start from there.”

“Right,” Reginald said as he pointed to a large black Escalade with blacked out windows, “I’ll drive.”

“Not conspicuous at all,” Cassara said as we walked to the massive SUV.

…

After a few minutes we were back at the motel, and I headed to the alleyway.

I glanced at Cassara as we made it to the back of Motel as Reginald turned the car off and got out, “You know, we could just both run.  Not like we have a reason to stay here,” I pointed out.

“Yeah,” Cassara sighed, “Then Lydia’s girls are going to get harassed by the local authorities and, eventually, someone’s going to do something stupid.”

I looked at Cassara.  I closed my eyes, and the shadow world came back.

Cassara’s aura was blue, and overhead were three of four sprites which floated and moved back and forth over one another, occasionally passing through each other.

Another set of sprites were behind her, closer to the ground that I hadn’t noticed.  These were darker, and appeared to follow Cassara’s hands.  I noticed here that Cassara’s hands appeared as if they were dipped in black ink, specifically her finger tips.  

I glanced up to Cassara, and saw her compassion, if that makes sense.

Her aura was reaching out to me, and while I could see other emotions she was pushing back, like her anger, which was clearly radiating around her, making her aura wobble and shift erratically, I could see something moving within her.

A sensation of hurt, betrayal.  

I flinched, figuring that this was my fault.  I should have told her about my dream and about running into the Angel, Sofia.

It was something we’d have to resolve later.  Right now, I could see her compassion for Lydia’s girls was genuine.

I opened my eyes, back in the real world.  “Okay, fine,” I turned back to the alleyway, and closed my eyes again.

The shadow world returned, and while the yellow and blue trails that were the strange woman’s and Cassara’s had faded, my red and white one was still there.

I began to follow it, but as I did, I realized that my body wasn’t with me.

I turned around and saw my body, Cassara, and Reginald behind us.

My body looked like the phone I had seen the young boy drop: no aura around it, just a physical form.  Cassara stood next to me, seemingly not noticing anything wrong, or maybe she just hadn’t noticed yet.

My eyes scanned to Reginald, whose aura was exceedingly calm, and red.  His hands, all the way up to his shoulders, however, appeared black, as if stained with ink.  Not unlike Cassara’s, but a far more extreme version.

I wasn’t too sure what this meant, but I got a sinking feeling it had something to do with their sin, possibly even a specific one.

When I glanced at Cassara’s hands again, I saw a vision appear.

A flash of the man who attacked Kayode, and her stabbing him multiple times in the stomach, chest, and ribs before he was pushed into the water.  All of this I saw from Cassara’s point of view.

I shook my head, my eyes focusing on Reginald.

As I looked at his hands, images flashed in my mind.

All violent, all horrific.

Guns aimed at other men, multiple rounds fired at the chest and head.  Gloved hands wrapped around another man’s throat as he struggled before life left his eyes.  The fairly new and clean gloves being discarded, so new they had the price tag still attached.

Before more visions flooded my mind, I tore my eyes from Reginald, shivering in horror as I tried to refocus on the task at hand. 

The more distance between myself and Reginald the better.

I started to follow the trail of steam that was still glowing, heading down the road.

The stream floated down the road for a few blocks before turning down a side street.

I looked to see my essence stretched down the street a good distance away.  I heaved a sigh, but then glanced at my hands, noticing the wings where my hands should have been again.  

“Wait, could I maybe…?” I said to no one in particular.  

I turned behind me to see my body and Cassara’s standing down the road.

I spread my arms out, and gave a flap.  

I’m very certain that there was no real motion I needed, it was the intent behind my movement, as I flew through the air, down the streets, and rushing after the echo of my stolen essence.

After a few twists and turns, which I tried to keep an eye on, I found a location where my essence was resonating, a large house up on a hill with a private gate of some kind.

The house had pastel colors, pink terracotta roof with large yellow and white siding with stucco on the outside walls.  The driveway leading past the private gate was stonework, certainly expensive and well maintained.

The garden looked like it could use some weeding, which seemed odd.  Normally places like this were well kept.

I couldn’t help but notice that, unlike a lot of the man-made objects, the plants had green or brown auras around them.  Though some were purple, but not many.

I moved closer to the house, trying to see if I could take a peak inside.  As I looked into the house, I spotted it.

My aura’s echo.  Not just mine, but Cassara’s as well.

There was something else in the house. 

I landed in the courtyard, looking up to one of the yellow framed windows.

There I could see the pulsing of the yellow aura from the blond woman I saw earlier.  

She had something to do with this, I was certain.

Before I could go further, however, I felt as if someone grabbed me from behind.

Like someone had hit rewind on an old VHS tape, I found myself rolling backwards through the last few minutes until I gasped sharply, a white flash filling my vision as Cassara pushed down on my chest.

“David!” Cassara shouted, “Holy fuck!”

My vision was blurry as I tried to make sense of the ringing in my ears.

Cassara sat me up as my heart jolted, or tried to jolt, painfully in my chest.

I gripped my chest, as if my heart was remembering how to beat.  

It was the same sensation you get from when your heart skips a beat, amplified ten fold.

“David, calm down, are you okay?  Do I need to call an ambulance?!” Cassara said, eyes wide as I looked at her.

My vision was blurry, but as I tried to focus I could see echoes of the shadow world and the real world overlaying each other.

I saw Cassara’s distress, her panic, her concern, also a slight be of pride that she managed to save me buried behind all of that.

Wait, save me?  From what?

“W-What happened?” I gasped, rubbing my temples as my pulse throbbed hard in my ears.

“You tell me!” Cassara snapped, “One minute you close your eyes like you’re meditating, the next minute you collapse like a sack of shit!  Your heart fucking stopped and I started chest compressions!”

I blinked, confused, “Wait, chest compressions?” I asked.

“You were dead, bub,” Reginald said, “For about two minutes and forty-one seconds”

“Dead!?” I said, my head still spinning.

“Yeah, Dead,” Reginald informed, “Ain’t dead now, but you were.  Trust me, I know dead when I see it.”

Cassara growled to Reginald, “We get it!”

Reginald gave a nod and turned to the SUV, “Well, we got a location, bub? Or am I taking you to the hospital?”

“Yeah, it was a big house,” I thought to myself as I considered the villa I had seen when I was traveling, what I can now only assume, was the spirit world. “Yellow window trim, white stucco, I think it was a terracotta roof.  Had a private driveway.”

Reginald scoffed, “Gotta be shitting me.”

“What?” Cassara asked.

“If this prick is locked up in his own fucking house, I’m gonna have to give the cops a lesson in police work,” Reginald laughed as he walked to the SUV.  “Well, come on then, before he leaves again.”

Cassara got me to my feet, and walked me to the car.  My legs slowly finding the means to move again.

“You have a shitload of explaining to do, you know that?” Cassara hissed.

“So do you, Valkyrie,” I said, both panicked and exhausted.

Cassara winced at the remark, “Okay, fine,” Cassara said as she bit her tongue, “But I have my reasons for hiding that.”

“I have mine too,” I said under my breath, “But let's just say I don’t want to discuss it in front of Reginald.”

Cassara pushed me into the backseat and belted me in, “Okay, fine.  But when we have our heart-to-heart, and if I sense an ounce of bullshit from you, I’m out.  Got it?”

I was about to answer before Cassara slammed the door in my face, I grumbled as she got into the front seat.

“Drive Reggie,” Cassara announced as she buckled herself in.

“It’s Reginald,” Reginald corrected as he began to drive.

“You know where we’re going?” I asked, trying to lean forward, only to have the rear belt jolt me back into the seat as the SUV started moving.

“Yeah,” Reginald informed as we drove on.

My head was pounding, my hands aching, and every time the truck took a turn that was too hard for my liking, I found myself growing increasingly agitated.  

“You were hiding stuff from me too, Cass, you don’t have to lay into me so hard,” I grumbled.

“Like I said, I’ll explain later, and it was for your benefit," Cassara looked up to meet my eyes in the rear view mirror, “Can you say the same?”

I narrowed my eyes on hers, “I don’t know.”

Cassara’s expression was surprised to say the least.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on with me, okay?  I don’t know why there’s a Zombie that rushed out of the closet and attacked us!  I don’t know how it seemingly sucked our energy away but didn’t turn us into Zombies!  I don’t know why I can see that, either!  I don’t know why we got roped into Lydia’s man-hunt either!” I shouted, turning to Reginald, “And don’t why the Fuck is your name Reginald?!” 

Reginald’s expression was deadpan as he drove along the hill leading towards our destination, “My father named me.”

I blinked in confusion as the SUV came to a stop.

“Could have been worse, I could be my brother,” Reginald said as he rolled down the window reaching out to a pin-pad in front of the gate, “Pops’ named him Sue.”

I paused for a moment before Reginald put the numbers into the pin-pad, the gate opening.  “How did you know the combination?” I asked.

“Gotta know this stuff when you got the high rollers,” he tapped the side of his head, “Confidentiality is key, but this is an exception,” he said as we drove onward.

We came to a stop by the front of the large estate.

“Is your brother’s name really Sue?” Cassara asked.

Reginald got out of the SUV and closed the door without answering.

I gave Cassara a shrug before she got out next, opening my door.

“You good to walk?” Cassara asked.

I unbuckled myself and got to my feet, feeling mostly steady, “Yeah, seems so.”

“Cool,” Cassara said as she followed behind Reginald, “Keep your head on a swivel.  We’re doing these guys a favor and satisfying our own curiosity, but this dude’s bad news, okay?”

I nodded, “Yeah.  He’s…” I shivered as I recalled some of the visions I had witnessed when I looked at his hands.

“A killer,” Reginald explained as he reached the door, “Don’t gotta tell me, you both know one when you see one,” he said as he turned to Cassara.

Cassara crossed her arms, “Yeah.  That I do.”

Reginald nodded, “I have better employers these days.  But back in the day, I had to do what I had to do.  You get certain skills from birth, you use ‘em.”

“Who was your last employer?” I asked.

“I used to work for the cartels, did a whole lot of side jobs,” Reginald scoffed as he knocked on the door.

“Why’d you leave?” I asked, concerned.

“Boss got killed,” Reginald said rather simply, “I quit after that.”

“Cartel bosses dropping dead usually means you just go with whoever killed them,” Cassara shook her head, “What with how the gang violence goes down, that is.”

“Gang didn’t kill the boss,” Reginald said, as he knocked on the door.

“Who did?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Reginald said, shaking his head, “Not that La Cruz didn’t deserve it.”

“That was your boss’s name? La Cruz?” Cassara laughed, “Just ‘The Cross’?  How’d he get that name?”

“Crucified people in the desert,” Reginald said simply, “Probably why he went out the way he did.  Like I said, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“We’re chasing a Zombie,” Cassara sighed, “and this isn’t my first rodeo.  Try me.”

“My Boss,” Reginald said as he turned to Cassara and I with a rather serious expression, “was killed by an Angel.”