Page 36 of Falling for Ash
Okay, that was just gross. And now she was annoyed. Life might have taken one hell of a turn just recently, but that didn’t mean everyone had to lose their manners, for Pete’s sake!
“You will not prevail,” Fr. Perez yelled, still drooling.
How uncouth!
“Heed me, doer of evil! I do not fear you! If you must end my life in the name of our Lord?—”
“What are you talking about? You’re the one with the sword! I was only teaching my class. For heaven’s sake, get up,” she growled, and hoisted him by the arm.
The ease with which she lifted the portly man was surprising and elating. But Gabby had no time to enjoy her newfound strength. She was hurt and upset.
She had reason to be.
The man tried to kill her!
“Who were you on the phone with before I walked in here?” Gabby asked, angrily mashing her teeth together, so she didn’t do something really bad, like curse out the idiotic man inside the church.
“He is known only as the Spaniard. A blessed God-fearing Christian! Unlike you, hell spawn. He is in charge of the Council, for now, giving orders via Rome herself! The Hounds of God are no more. There is no keeping your kind in line! That means we good Catholics must act?—”
“Quiet! You know something, I have had enough of this. Fr. Perez, I am shocked and appalled by your behavior,” she said, waving the sword. “I have been part of your congregation for most of my life. You gave me the sacraments of Communion and Confirmation yourself! So, what are you saying? That I am evil just because I am a Werewolf?”
“Exactly! Then you understand why you must die!”
“You are crazy, and I don’t think any God would condone murder regardless of creed. Shame on you!” Gabby growled.
She was completely scandalized. She’d heard of people being grossly prejudicial against others for just about every reason imaginable, but she’d never been on the tail end of it. Never imagined in all of her life that someone would want to kill her simply because of what she was. Gabby didn’t choose to be a Werewolf.
And even if she did, so what?
Why hate her?
Why try to kill her?
This seriously blows!
Her thoughts surprised even her. She tried hard not to squeak at her own use of language. She never cursed, but boy, was she close!
“No!” Fr. Perez said, nodding his head. “You are the evil one, Gabby. Werewolves cannot be good. That is it in a nutshell, I am afraid. And I am sorry it must be this way. I hoped I was wrong, but Gabby, it seems your stepmother has corrupted you. Yes, my former child, you are my enemy now.”
“But you hired me to teach catechism class?”
“Ah yes, well, you are fired!” Fr. Perez exclaimed, waving his finger angrily.
What?
Oh, that was just great!
She did not know what was worse. That she was being fired from her job, or that Fr. Perez, her childhood priest, was trying to kill her because of some priest-Werewolf prejudice. Both were unconscionable. And to be honest, it sorta hurt.
“You know something, Father? I was raised Catholic, and I take that to heart. I hold many of the traditions of our faith sacred, and just because I am a Werewolf does not mean I can’t be a good Catholic. Now, I don’t need to be in this building to pray to God, so I will leave. But shame on you! Shame on everyone who thinks like you,” she said angrily, reining in the desire to rip his throat out.
Oooh, that’s a new one.
Gabby was never prone to violence, but she sure felt like it just then.
“And you know what?” she asked the priest, waving the heavy sword around as easily as a toothpick. “I am taking this with me!”
Gabby grabbed the heavy blade and went to the back room to gather her belongings. The two mothers who volunteered as aids for the Catechism classes looked at her questioningly when she walked past them with the sword, but she just shook her head. They would figure it out, eventually.
