Convoke

Chapter 51

Tom and Ezra hurried after Cal. By now, they could hear grumbling thunder on the horizon, and the wind was picking up. "What are you going to say?" Tom asked, a little out of breath when they finally caught up to him.

"I'm not sure yet. Though I think Gren will do all the easy work himself." Cal looked as determined as ever, so Tom trusted him and decided to let him take the lead.

The little butchers shop soon came into view. It's pig shaped sign started flapping in the wind above the door. Gren's mother was placing a sign on the path with the latest deals. She double glanced at Ezra, walking hand in hand with Tom.

They entered the shop but chose to flick through one of the leaflets by the door, one talking about where the different types of meat had come from. Tom wasn't really reading, and neither was Ezra.

Cal approached the counter, immediately grabbing Gren's attention from the demon hovering at the front of the shop. "Hey Gren, how're you?" Cal asked.

"Um, alright," Gren said with a shrug. "Is he your friend?" He pointed to Ezra.

"Yeah, he is." Cal turned his attention to a string of pork and apple sausages. "They look good."

"Is it true he used to be an angel?" Gren asked.

"Yep."

"Is it true that the old angel was unfair to him?"

"Yeah. Very unfair. That angel is strange, isn't he?" Gren shrugged, so Cal leaned against the counter. "He's always asking me about my dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Yeah. It's probably nothing." Cal smiled and asked for six of the pork and apple sausages.

But Gren was intrigued enough to ask, "What about your dreams?"

"He just always asks people if they dream of demons."

"I dream of demons," Gren said as though they were talking about the weather. "I dream about them all the time."

"Me too. Don't you think that's weird?"

Instead of shrugging, Gren frowned. "My mum does too."

"Don't you think it's odd that the old angel wants to know about it, almost like he already knows?" Cal stared innocently.

"Yeah, kind of. Does he have something to do with it?"

Tom turned to face Ezra, smiling with satisfaction.

Now it was Cal's turn to shrug. "I don't know. I'd like to think he doesn't, but after what he's done to Ezra, I would say he's capable of a lot. Anyway, I shouldn't really be speaking about it." Cal smiled and paid for his food. "I heard someone say they always have bad dreams when the angels sing. Imagine if that was true." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Anyway, I've got to go. See you later Gren."

Cal walked out, followed by Tom and Ezra who didn't mention the conversation until they were a few shops away.

"Brilliant," Tom said, squinting into the wind. "Gren will tell everyone that. And everyone will tell everyone else."

"I just hope it works, and we can figure out how to stop the angels if they are responsible."

They returned to the pub just as the rain started and hung out by the pool table until Tom began his shift. Ezra and Cal wouldn't start theirs until later that evening, so they accompanied Tom by the bar, keeping him entertained on a quiet afternoon.

Soon enough, the locals drizzled in. Finn was the first to arrive, looking tired and eager for a pint of John Smiths. He stood at the bar, sipping his pint for a quiet moment before glancing in Ezra's direction.