Capturing The Angel of Death

Tempest Farms

"Mister Pedro" Marcelo called back before reaching out for the man's outstretched hand.

"They've done it again! All the vegetables dead!" Pedro explained immediately. There was no time to waste on formalities. The sooner that the demons here were exorcised, the better it would be for everybody.

Marcelo heaved a sigh of both disappointment and guilt. The recent attack was definitely his fault. If only he had been here on time, he might have been able to save some of the man's plants. But it was too late now, they were all dead and it was his fault. As compensation for his tardiness, he halved the payment before proceeding to the area that this attack was most dominant.

He surveyed the dead plants thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned as he made his assessment. He could definitely feel the aura of something unnatural, but it wasn't from the plants. Something was definitely killing these vegetables, but he could bet it wasn't a demon.

He uprooted a dead vegetable and took a careful glance at it, before bringing the rotten plant closer to his nose for a smell assessment.

He almost gagged at the pungent familiar smell.

"Sulfur dioxide" He said sharply.

"What?" Pedro questioned.

"Someone's poisoning your crops. It's not the work of a demon. If you have anyone in mind, you should report to the police" Marcelo advised before heading towards the pen. He wasn't done yet. He could feel the presence of something ominous, something unnatural and evil and it was getting stronger with every step he took towards the goat pen.

"Master!" A voice called for him stopping him between steps.

"Sebastian" He whispered to himself after recognizing the boys voice.

"Sorry I'm late" Sebastian apologized while running towards the standing man.

"It's alright, you haven't missed a thing" Marcelo assured before continuing his walk.

Sebastian was a seventeen year old orphan who had been blessed with the gift of vision. Unlike them that relied on information from the troubled family before consultation, Sebastian could tell if there were any evil forces nearby just by coming in contact with any object that might be connected to the demon. He was the Youngest member of the Anti-Quinns, and had the most potential amongst them all. And this was the man reason why he had taken him under his wings.

"What are you people doing? My problem is with the crops not the goats!" Pedro yelled the instant Marcelo opened up the Pen's gate. If those goats were to escape, then these two men were going to find and bring back every last one of them.

"Have you noticed anything unusual about your goats Mister Pedro?" Marcelo questioned while examining the blood stains all over the floor.

"Miscarriages," Pedro replied. "They've been loosing their kids, but the vet said it was due to unbalanced diet. I've increased the nutritional value of their feeds, they should be getting better by now" Pedro explained confidently.

"Sebastian?" Marcelo called for the boy after plucking a hair off the female goat that laid still beside the pool of dried blood.

"It's not the feed, something's eating their child!" Sebastian confirmed immediately he touched the hair on Marcelo's palm.

Without wasting any more time, Marcelo unsealed his arsenal. He opened up a bottle of holy water and emptied the content on the almost lifeless livestock before making a small leap backwards. The goat's skin was sizzling now, and the poor creature was let out cries of pain.

"Step back!" Marcelo ordered. The demon present was a weak one, but he still couldn't risk it possessing anybody nearby.

"Damn exorcists!" A hollow and husky voice screamed from the animals mouth. it's voice sending out weak shockwaves that didn't do more than scattering the dried hay on the floor.

Marcelo ignored the ranting and angered demon and began his exorcism chants. Whether strong or weak, all demons were formidable and could do much damage than expected if allowed to escape. If he hadn't discovered this demon, it would grow stronger in less than a week time and animals wouldn't suite it's taste any longer. It would seek a human host and would grow much more dangerous than it was now. There was absolutely no room for mercy when it came with dealing with creatures like this.

Sebastian watched the goat flare up and burn to ashes while the flames took form and launch meaningless attacks on his master. This wasn't his first time seeing this, but everytime he watched this man bind and expell evil spirits, something in him couldn't help but feel renewed. It was like watching a series, every episode came with an exciting twist. His master seemed like a different being with every exorcism, and the thrill of seeing him change everytime could never get old

"In the name of the Father, Son and Holy spirit, I damn you back to hell, you unclean spirit!" Marcelo concluded while watching the raging fire die down with a hollow voice screaming as the flames dwindled out.

Pedro's pen had been completely destroyed now, and all the livestock that were within the range of the flames had been completely destroyed. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the man, and had collected no payments after. This was all his family's fault. They caused all this, and now demons and evil spirits were roaming the place just as humans did. With every exorcism he performed, his hatred for the Quinn's tradition grew, and that for Azrael tripled. Death was supposed to be an impartial being, but the Quinn's had turned that belief upside down. Now the poor suffered and died out because they can't afford exorcisms. The church was now a business center and without money, appealing to them was almost impossible.

The Anti-Quinns were only a handful and couldn't be everywhere. They were doing their best and he was aware that they couldn't save everybody. The news of people dying from demon attacks shattered him everyday, and there were no other people to blame if not for the Quinn's. They had influenced the town with their impure beliefs and now people that couldn't handle these spirits were summoning and letting them loose. It was just unforgivable, they were unforgivable. He despised them, and everyday he made steps to stopping them, but first he had to stop the being they worshipped. Azrael.

"When do you think I can start exorcism on my own?" Sebastian asked as they drove out of the farms premises. He was already confident in himself and was sure he was qualified to exorcise these spirits, but for some reason Marcelo would never allow it. He couldn't oppose the man. Marcelo was like a father to him. He provided him with everything and made sure he lacked nothing, and the least the could do to pay him back, was to be obedient.

"When I say you're ready Sebastian." Marcelo replied flatly, not taking his eyes off the road for one second. He was aware the boy was already good on his own, but he wasn't just strong enough yet. There were spirits and demon's out there that he couldn't handle by himself alone at this level, and loosing him was like loosing a son. He saw himself in the boy and was sure that if anything was to happen to him one day, Sebastian would carry on his dreams.