Convoke

Chapter 13

Tom recognised the tall and big stature of Ezrakhell. The hood of his blue hoodie covered his face. His black denim jacket was left un-buttoned, and his hands gripped the A5 library book with wrinkled edges. Tom thought he had visited because he needed a new book, but Ezra sat in silence, staring out at the horizon.

Wind, leaves, and the occasional distant roar of a car floated by, until Ezra pulled down his hood, and Tom could see the guilt in his expressive brown eyes. "I'm sorry," Ezra said quietly. "I felt myself getting angry last night. To keep you safe, I had to leave."

"It's okay, Ezra. I shouldn't have mentioned your past like that." Tom was reminded that he sat with a demon, not just another human. "You do handle your anger well though."

"It's been hard. I've had fights that were my fault."

"But you don't want to end up like the demons who have their soul's stripped?"

"No."

They looked at each other. Tom wondered what Ezra thought of him and his tired light blue eyes, brown windswept hair, flushed cheeks and a nervous mouth that was always chewing on a lip or pursing lips or smiling awkwardly. Cal always told him that he never looked as nervous as he felt. "I was worried that I had really upset you."

"You didn't. My past, it's just . . . " The silence spoke for him.

Something he would rather forget, Tom thought. He straightened his back and rubbed his knee, feeling his legs stiffen from the cold wind. "I've been thinking about why you're here. And I think I might ask an angel if they've noticed a rise in violence too."

"You don't have to get involved."

"No, but I want to. Fights between humans and demons affects me as much as you."

Ezra stared down at him. His eyes slowly circled Tom's face, settling on his bruised nose. "What would you say to an angel?"

"I'd just say that there's been way too many fights in the pub, and I wondered what was going on. I wouldn't mention you or anything. Maybe I'll even comment on how their influence isn't helping."

Ezra fiddled with the creased edge of the book. "You'll ask anyway, won't you?"

Tom chuckled. "Well, I really want to understand what's going on." He stood up when his legs started to ache. "The library opens in a few minutes. I'll go now and see if there's any angels. Can you tell me something that's in the book, in case the librarian asks?"

Ezra stood up too. "A demon once had a job in the bakers and burnt the building down by accident. She spent months attempting to rebuild it. The locals felt so bad for her that everyone helped, including angels and demons."

"Wow. I'd give anything for the community to be like that again."

"The book says that she was later killed by a group of humans. A tree was planted as a tribute to her. That was later burnt down too."

Tom was so appalled, his mouth hung open. "How long ago was this?"

"She was killed twenty years ago."

"What was her name?"

"Kreenar."

Tom shook his head with sorrow. "When did she burn down the bakery?"

"Seventy years ago."

"In the span of fifty years, humans went from helping her to killing her. How has this been allowed to happen?"

Ezra looked up to the sky. "I'm doing this for all the demons who have unjustly lost their souls, and for the brainwashed humans who have been killed because of the propaganda."