Black capes flowing with a wind that always seemed to accompany them, no matter where they go; tall horses dressed on thin pieces of shiny armor, blessed with protection against the dangers of witchcraft; and a tall banner beautifully woven in blessed wool, showing a golden bit apple on a black shield. These were the three telltale signs of an end to all witches and sorcerers, heralds to the arrival of the Church of the Saints’ favored children:
The Genesis Corps.
A troupe of five horsemen walked through the main entrance of sleepy Gwynedd very early in the morning, and still managed to get a crowd of curious folk surrounding them. Most members of the Holy Purgers did not really mind the attention, at least not the riders, for they knew that their mere presence was supposed to inspire fear in all heretics hiding in a location.
They were confident in their abilities, despite the many witches that actually managed to escape their grasp.
But there was a single pair of eyes that, in the middle of that whole crowd, stared with fear at the coming of the Brotherhood of Prosecutors. A spy, a sentinel, the right hand of the Demiurge and the woman who had been waiting for this moment for at least two days by now.
Sister Marina gulped, walking away from the crowd without a word and quickly fixing her habit in place as she broke into a sprint, rushing out of town. Why? How? Did they really arrive now? It was way too convenient a response to a screw-up that was supposed to be a secret! Could it be that they had been discovered long ago, kept under vigilance for months waiting for the one moment the Demiurge slipped?
No. The nun shook her head as she ran off the trails and into the forest. The Demiurge could never let something like that escape his grasp, if they had been discovered he would have known somehow! Marina was sure of it!
But then, how? Was this really just a coincidence? Was it the Will of the Gods really for them to fail?
Once again, no. They were working with the Will itself, following its whispers, unearthing their secrets! To think that it would guide them so far only to let them fall was ludicrous… As the forests gave way to their Chapel, Sister Marina came to the obvious conclusion:
“There is a spy among us.”
It has to be like that, no one else could have alerted those savages so quickly.
But whom? Tasce? Corinthia!? No, it had been way too long, they would have been discovered before. Arianna? The Demiurge trusted her, could he really be deceived so easily? What about the newcomer? It would be so easy to just blame Alejandra, but Marina personally didn’t think much of her. This was way beyond her little brain.
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But in that case, whom?
As she was about to get into the chapel, the answer came to Marina’s ears: the creaking sound of the back door being closed a little too hard. Curious, the nun walked closer with her usual quiet steps, expecting to find either Alejandra or Arianna preparing for another round of searching for the elusive Baraqiel.
But instead, she found the lonely Witch child, accursed and wicked as ever… alone, talking to herself in mumbles as usual. Normally, Marina would just ignore the devil and continue with her day, but at that moment something compelled to pay attention, listen, and follow…
—
“I told you that bitch knew too much.” Said Marina, arms crossed and fury burning in her eyes as she stared at the Demiurge on his bed. “The way she spoke of you, the heresy she spouted for a child to hear, no less!! Arianna is the spy, no doubt.”
Enrico remained in his bed for a moment longer, slowly digesting her loyal assistant’s words while feeling a hole grow deeper and colder in his stomach. Treason coming from so close, just as he began thinking about letting the younger nun into the deeper details of his plan—he felt betrayed and, honestly, quite bitter. A part of him seriously wanted to doubt all Marina said and simply blame it on the old crone’s jealousy, but now was not the time for irrational fears.
Marina had never failed him before, and she probably wasn’t starting now.
“Well, we will deal with her after things are properly moved” After taking a deep breath, the Demiurge turned to his assistant. “Marina, we will have to retreat from this location.”
“Again, and so soon too… it feels like it was just yesterday when we had to abandon a chapel…”
Memories flooded them both, images of a nice spot up a hill close to town in Wijdal, close to the east of Britta. It had been home to so many experiments, so much advancement! Until they had to run off and burn it all to avoid detection. This time wouldn’t be too different… a year or two of obscurity before starting the process of building it all from the ground once more.
This time it would probably take longer, considering the money was starting to run low with the latest modifications to the Coordinator Spires.
“... I must recover that vessel, Marina. Before we leave, I must Coordinate them with Baraqiel one last time! If not, this whole ordeal would have been for naught!”
“I lost track of the kid when coming back to you, but I know how to find out where that little devil went.” Marina smirked. “Don’t worry… now that we know who’s working against us, if we find that Witch we will find Baraqiel for sure.”
After taking a slow breath and getting right back to her feet, Marina simply added:
“We just need to ask the right person.”
—
The right person was not one of the other nuns, for none of them could even answer a simple question.
“Do you know where Gabrielle goes when we leave her alone?”
Corinthia was as uninterested in it as usual, Tasce was afraid of it and that wasn’t a secret to anyone. With Arianna nowhere to be found and Alejandra being too new in the chapel to really be of use, Marina had to ask the children as they went around the kitchen during chores. She expected them to be eager to help… big was her surprise when finding out that none of the little girls had anything useful to say.
“Gabi? No idea, she disappears sometimes!” Said Samantha with unnatural familiarity with the devil. “I always thought she simply hid from everyone!”
Once again, the world seemed to conspire against them… but then, the Will of the Gods showed them mercy with Kimberly, who came into the room with a huffing, annoyed expression and simply said.
“The old mine. Do you know the old mine, Sister? She always hides there.” The other children gave Kimmy some shocked looks, as she simply lifted her nose and spoke. “She thinks herself so clever, but it is always the same place!”
The old mine… Marina knew exactly what they meant, the failed quartz mine deep in the forest, the one place they had told them not to go! Of course!
“That’s a good girl, thank you Kimmy. The others could really learn a thing or two from you.”
After ruffling the snitch’s hair a little bit, Marina was quick to run off. Kimmy felt quite confident, proud of herself even! For she had no idea what she had just done.
She had no idea of the lives she had just doomed.