The darker side (4/7)
The creature that had been in the warehouse followed Peter and Neal to the house. He checks out the property until he finds Neal in a room upstairs. He softly taps on the window and Neal startles but comes over and opens the window.
“Who are you?”
“Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“The last time I saw you, you were passed out on the floor.”
Neal drops his voice. “You were at the warehouse.”
The creature nods.
“Why are you being kept as a slave?”
Neal looks at the floor. “I am not a slave, I am a prisoner of war.”
“You could have fooled me. This angel is keeping you on a leash.”
“I am not a slave, OK?” Neal snarls.
“Hey, hey, it´s OK. I´m a friend. My name is Moz.”
Neal studies Moz curiously.
“What are you?”
“I´m a Faxos, a finder.”
“What do you find?”
“Whatever you need.” Moz studies Neal. “You never heard of us?”
He seems surprised.
“Can´t say that I have.”
“Do you know who the angel is, that is your keeper?”
“Peter Burke.”
“Yeah, for some reason I always pictured him different. He is a famous angel. And what is your name?”
“My name is Neal Caffrey. Nice to meet you.”
Moz gasps, loses his footing and the next moment, he slips of the window sill. Neal just wants to stick his head out of the window when…
“NEAL!”
“Yes?” Neal shouts back.
“Dinner is ready.”
“Coming.” Neal answers. He quickly looks out of the window, but Moz is gone.
* * *
The next day, Peter takes Neal to see the evidence they already have on the case. When they enter the premises, Neal is stared at by the angels. Neal decides to stay as close as possible behind Peter, who seems oblivious to the staring thing.
It turns out they only have one arrowhead, it had been used in the assassination of a high ranking angel. The arrow on itself couldn´t kill the angel, but the spell that was used was just too powerful for their healers to counter and the angel had died.
Neal studies his environment to see if Moz will show up somewhere. He can sense the strange creature, he is near, but Neal hasn´t been able to locate him yet.
“Neal?”
“Sorry, yes?”
“You were daydreaming. What can you tell me about the arrowhead?”
Neal studies it from a distance.
“It is not a demon arrowhead.”
“How can you tell?”
“Here, look at the carvings in the metal, this arrowhead is not made with demon tools. “ Neal pauses and focuses on Peter´s face. “You suspected this already. You know who made this arrowhead, you just don´t know about the spell.”
“I will need a magnifier to examine it before I can verify it.” Peter announces and an angel hands him one. He studies the metal and huffs. Neal is right. How could they have missed that it is made by an angel? Easy enough, they weren´t looking for it. “So, we are looking for a rogue angel.”
“I guess so.”
“Good job Neal.”
* * *
That night, Moz is back at the house.
“You are Neal Caffrey?”
“Yes, I am, why did that shock you so much last night?”
“Do you realize who you are?”
“I am Neal Caffrey, demon. What about it?”
“Oh Neal, you are so much more, you are destined for great things. Nobody ever told you that?”
“No, I…”
“What do you know about your parents?”
“I am an orphan.”
“Oh, welcome to the club.” The creature says with a sad smile.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“You seriously don´t know what you are?” Mozzie studies him to see if he is being honest.
“No, enlighten me.”
“The angels want you close, because you are one of them.”
“What? No, I´m a demon, look at me.” Neal turns around to show Moz his wings and tail. “Angels don´t have tails or black leathery wings.” Neal huffs.
“You never wondered why you look different from the rest of the demons you grew up with? Don´t tell me that you have never noticed your eyes before. What other demon have you ever seen with blue eyes? Or with skin as pale as yours?”
He asked those questions when he was a child and realized his appearance was different from his peers.
“I was told it is a freak thing. So what?”
“Never noticed that you are so much more powerful than other demons?”
“What are you trying to tell me Moz?”
“You are the chosen one, the one the prophecies are telling about. You are the one that will determine this war.”
Neal ponders, can he trust this creature? He did of course notice that he looks different from the other demons and yes, he knew very early in life that his powers were more powerful than most, so he hid them, most of the time.
“Yeah right. Can you help me get out of this thing?” Neal looks hopeful at Moz, who studies the collar.
“No man, I´m sorry, you flew too close to the sun. That is too powerful, I can´t help you.”
“It´s alright. Peter is a decent guy. He treats me right.”
“You sure? That would be a first, a decent angel.”
Both men look up when they hear footsteps on the stairs.
“GO!” Neal snaps but Moz is already vanished.
“Neal?”
“Come in.”
Peter opens the door and looks around the room.
“Who were you talking to?”
“nobody, I was murmuring my incantations.”
Neal can see that Peter isn´t buying it, but decides to ignore it.
“Something I can help you with?”
“Yeah, it turns out you were right, the arrowhead was made by an angel. The elders have confirmed it.”
“So, now we need to find which angel did it.”
“I have a clue, but I want you to study the arrowhead more and tell me what you can find out.”
“Sure. Let´s go.”
“No, not tonight, we will do it first thing in the morning.”
Peter stands a bit awkward in the room.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah, since you did such a good work, this could be a long term thing. Is there something you like to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is there anything that relaxes you?”
Neal hesitates a moment before he blurts out. “I like to draw.”
“Really? I didn´t know demons were into art. OK, tomorrow we will stop at a store and get you some supplies.” Peter is a bit surprised that a demon likes to draw, it is the first time he heard of it.
“Thanks Peter, I would appreciate that.”
“Now, come down, I ordered pizza.” Continue.