Page 270 of Mayhem and Minnie

Minnie uses her powers to unlock the doors and we barricade ourselves inside.

“Get any holy items you can find,” she mentions as she looks around the cathedral.

The colored glass filters the light from the outside, lighting up a path for us to find our way in the darkness. I use the flash on my phone, but it doesn’t do much considering the sheer size of this construction. The ceiling is tens of feet high, and if this wasn’t such a precarious situation, I might have taken the time to appreciate the beauty of the building.

As it stands, we’re in a crisis.

Minnie heads to the altar and grabs all the crosses and other religious paraphernalia she can find.

“If they come inside, I’ll use my powers. But there are so many of them.” She sighs. “You hold onto these. If they come near you, use them to defend yourself,” she says as she hands me some crucifixes and a container with holy water. “It might not do much, but it’s better than using your fists.”

“Will they turn into monsters, too?”

She turns to me, her expression grave.

“We’d be lucky if they did. That means they’re low to mid-level demons. But if they maintain their humanoid form…” She trails off, and for the first time I note the fear entering her gaze. “Those are high-level demons and they’re much, much more vicious. And powerful.”

“You’re strong. I saw you in action,” I mention.

She chuckles.

“I may be strong, but I’m not that strong. Four to five high-level demons? Sure, I could handle those and a slew of low to medium. But I have a feeling those are not low or medium.”

“But who the hell would organize this attack? And how would they be able to track you if your gods couldn’t?”

She bites her lip and shakes her head.

“That’s what I’m wondering, too. If they were, indeed, sent by a Son of Tenebreis, then how the hell could they track me? The Sons of Tenebreis have been locked inside Tartareia for thousands of years.”

“Didn’t you say they can control demons?”

“Yes, remotely. But as you said. If Aperite deities cannot find me when we’re physically in the same realm, how could a demon from Tartareia manage that?”

“Has this happened before?” I ask. “Have those Sons of Tenebreis sent demons after a god before?”

She shakes her head.

“Maybe it has and I don’t know. But as far as I’m aware, demons do everything in their power not to be found by our soldiers. This is all so weird.” She takes a deep breath. “Hopefully, they won’t be able to enter the holy grounds and?—”

No sooner Minnie spoke than the doors of the church begin to rattle.

Her wide eyes meet mine.

“Take shelter behind the altar and keep the holy items next to you.”

“I’m not about to?—”

“Do as I say, Marlowe,” she cuts me off.

In the blink of an eye, a thin strip of ice covers her entire body, forming a suit similar to the one she’d had on at my mother’s house.

Kneeling on the ground, she presses her open palms on the floor and murmurs something.

Ice forms from her palms and covers the entire floor of the church, enveloping the walls and the furniture.

She continues whispering the same chant as the rattle of the door becomes louder. But before she can finish her chant, one of the ceiling high windows shatters, and a figure jumps inside.

What the…

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