Even though none of his Quad had earned their portion of his angelic nature yet, their demeanors announced they were ready to fight without backing out, no matter the evil they faced. Thank God.
Lyght smiled softly at Tyler and the stray cat. They'd polished off their snack in record time then curled in the big chair they'd been given. While the cat groomed and purred, the boy's eyelids drooped and finally fell shut. The cat froze, stared at Tyler a few seconds, then turned on his abdomen. Purring loudly, it proceeded to push at the boy's belly with first one forepaw then the other, growing gradually louder and more energetic.
Lyght noticed his Brothers and a couple of the others watching with the same mixture of puzzlement and worry as he felt. About the same time, the cat seemed satisfied and dropped to its belly with those forepaws curled elegantly under its body, chin resting against its chest and tail in a neat tuck against one hind leg. Its eyes immediately narrowed to watchful slits and it appeared ready to stay on guard as long as the boy napped.
Hmph. Bloody odd creature. Lyght forced himself to turn away before it could do anything else interesting.
Toren approached with a broad grin and sat in the empty seat on his right. "You believe that?" He nodded at the cat. "I actually think that little thing would totally kick anyone's ass who bothered the kid now."
"Oh, I have no doubt. It's a mean little bastard."
Toren's grin broadened and he gave a soft chuckle before going serious. "You didn't have any trouble getting Kassie out?"
Lyght sighed inwardly. Should he tell Toren what had happened to Kassie so maybe her friends could help her deal with it? Or was that strictly hers to share? "No, Brother. I walked in, she asked me to bring Tyler and I did. Walked them out in the Blink, just as I'd planned."
"Glad to hear it went so well. I'm learning that few things with this mission do."
Lyght gave several solemn nods. "Given my humans, I'm learning that rather quickly myself."
Toren went serious again, but before he could ask Lyght to betray any of Kassie's secrets, Kassern stood and interrupted.
"Okay, everyone." Immediate silence fell and all turned their undivided attention to him.
Lyght leaned closer to Kassie. The ingrained habit to avoid that which might weaken him fell before the power of her fragrance, and his insatiable need to inhale her into his being at every opportunity. He breathed her in deeply, not concerned whether his Brothers noticed or not, anticipating the dizzying effect it always had on him.
Kassern continued. "I suspect the luxury of having everyone in the same place at the same time will be rare from here on, but for now, we're going to take advantage and figure out our next moves." Several nodded agreement but most sat in watchful silence. "We know a couple pieces of the Enemy's endgame. We need a few more."
Dorn spoke up. "And toward that goal, some of you have already begun to work, anticipating what we might encounter next. Searches for out-of-the-ordinary news stories and paying attention to old contacts led us to Kassie. We want to refine that process and be more efficient with it."
Jessie, the female half of Dorn's human couple hesitantly raised her hand. Dorn nodded permission for her to speak and she cleared her throat. "We know part of the Enemy's plan is to try and corrupt the Pope. During the forming of Dorn's warrior, I received part of his angelic powers in a way that has…allowed me to know things…about people and stuff." She seemed the type to not speak publicly and yet smart enough to not be controlled by her inadequacies.
She went on. "I've been seeking an audience with the Pope to find out if he's been turned. At this stage, with a new Pope, they could pretty well win in one move if they manage to overcome his innate goodness and they're no doubt giving it an all-out effort. If he's still free of demonic influence, we should maybe find a way to protect him. So far, I'm getting the run-around at each level and I've identified a few corrupted clerics." She pushed hair behind her ear and hurried on. "They're being dealt with. But Sallie and I and Karly have been talking. We think we've hit on something."
The entire room waited in suspense.
Jessie shrugged a little at the sudden undivided attention. "We could be wrong of course, but it makes sense, given what we've seen so far. But it seems like the Enemy might focus his efforts on the things that hold human society together, the things that set us above beasts. Religion, we know, but what else sets us apart? Government that protects its citizens. Parents that protect and nurture children." Jessie darted her gaze around the table, but she avoided making eye contact with anybody.
Apparently sensing her sister's distress, Sallie took over with a confidence and authority that could only come from being the wife of the Aquamarine Warrior. "If we're right, we're going to see concentrated demon activity in areas that undermine human society and drive us further from God. Increases in church corruption, government corruption, which are generally rampant everywhere, but we need to determine where and how the demons are exploiting that corruption."