"In Dracula's era, a master vampire was couriered during daylight inside a coffin surrounded by the earth of his lair."
"No way!" Carlos pushed himself away from the wall. "I'll stay here for a night or so, get stronger, then leave on my own."
"Your choice. But every night you stay here alone, you run the risk of your enemies picking up your trail. Our prayers at the safe house will keep you hidden from them. We have opened the boundaries to you only."
That reality gave Carlos pause, and he let his breath out hard in frustration. He was not going out like that again. Yet the last thing he wanted to risk was an airport search where some stupid security guard might open his coffin and fry him in broad daylight.
The elder cleric nodded. "You'll have to trust us. No one will open the coffin if priests are accompanying it. There are some protocols afforded our calling."
"Seems you guys have thought of everything," Carlos said slowly, still not fully trusting them. "How do I know it's not a trap?"
Father Patrick stepped dangerously close to Carlos. "I give you permission to use your telepathy to see the location and to sense through me whether or not there is a trap."
Carlos studied him carefully. "You got a lotta faith, Father. Might be foolish. You know, I could reach out and snap your neck. I'd get a real kick from the adrenaline rushing through your blood. The bagged stuff is much weaker and it takes more to produce a buzz, feel me?" Carlos smiled a half smile as the other men bristled. But he had to respect the old dude when he didn't even flinch.
"That's not what you're going to do, however."
"Why not?" Carlos asked, seriously mulling over the possibility.
"Because you still have a chance to save your soul, which is something you now want almost as much as you want Damali back in your arms."
The response gave him pause.
"I opened my mind," Father Patrick said, "and to read me, you have to open yours. We both know how a mind lock works, and are too wise for games. Fair exchange is no robbery, Carlos. I believe that is a favorite saying where you're from."
"This is bullshit."
"Is it?"
"I'm out."
"You know, redemption requires a period of atonement." The priest casually studied his nails as Carlos moved even closer to him. "I'm old," he added. "I've lived my life, done what I was supposed to do. Kill me and I ascend and will have nothing more to do with this foul earth. But, you, my friend, have a long road before you. You might want some guidance along the way. But, again, as always, it's your choice."
Carlos frowned. He felt trapped, and hated it. "I find her for you, secretly guard her while you - "
"No secrets," the old man said evenly. "We have four men here - "
"Four?" Padre Lopez's glance shot around the small cavern. "I am not - "
"We pleaded with you to stay outside the cave," Asula said, cutting him off.
"Can you go back to pretending that incarnate evil does not exist, now?" Monk Lin asked, staring at him hard.
"Once you have seen this, life as you've known it has ceased to exist. This is why we gave you a choice, Padre. Now you have just been inducted into the Covenant."
"Seems like homeboy just got jacked, if you ask me," Carlos said, shaking his head. "He could pose a risk."
"All of us pose a risk." Father Patrick sighed. "We all have free will. Padre Lopez can go back to his parish and tend weddings and funerals, and do what a good shepherd does. Or, he can be a part of something larger. It will always be his choice. But that can be decided later."
"Get back to the part about this protection squad," Carlos said, tiring of the conversation. He wanted to get to Damali. He needed to see her, even if he couldn't be near her. He needed to know what was expected of him, and what his atonement sentence was all about. The approaching dawn was also a threat, and he needed rest and to feed some more.
"Damali Richards and her team make eight additional members, added with our four, less one, to bring the total to eleven... we are missing one for the holy number of twelve. It is Canon Law - twelve. Always twelve." The cleric pointed at Carlos. "You're number twelve."
"You must be high." Carlos brushed past the four men and headed toward the cave's entrance. He'd project himself far away from all of this madness even if it took the last of his strength. "Join a human team to fight vampires and demons? Plus, your math is off! You said you're four - less one?"
"Me. I'm the one who cannot go on the last leg on this mission," Father Patrick said.
"Why not?" Carlos stared at the man hard. "You a punk, now, or something?"