Mathieu by Irene Ferris Page A

studied them but he could see that they chose to be beautiful beyond words.
    With them were humans. The humans were naked, just like Mathieu, except for the rusted iron chains around their necks. Two chained men and a woman stood behind the Demons, staring blankly into space.
    Mathieu dismounted from the mule and watched it dissolve into nothing before his eyes as Gadreel joined the other Demons.
    One of the Demons looked back at Mathieu. “New one,” it said quietly.
    “Yes. Damonn had reached his end. I’m still breaking this one in.” Gadreel shrugged with one shoulder.
    “Pretty,” another one spoke. “And still lively. You always did like yours lively, though.”
    “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Gadreel spoke with not a small amount of pride. “After all, I have to have something to entertain myself with when I’m not busy raising Hell with you.”
    There were a few guffaws from the other Demons. Mathieu chose to ignore them as he turned his attention to the humans on the bluff.
    “Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?” He spoke to the first one, a man of middling years with red hair and green eyes.
    There was no response. The eyes were cold and flat as the painted saints in a chapel.
    He tried the other two in the same way, but there was no response. There was a moment of realization that their eyes were as dead as Damonn’s had been.
    He turned back to the bluff but the Demons were gone. He ran to the edge and looked down at the town. An army was gathered around the walls, siege engines drawn close. The townfolk were fighting bravely, tipping scaling ladders from the walls. But even his inexperienced eyes could see there was no hope. The invading army was too big and too well armed.
    His eyes could pick out banners that he knew, Templars and Hospitallers and various Dukes and Counts of great importance. His mouth went dry at the realization that this was his army, the army of God set on freeing Jerusalem. But this was not Jerusalem and these people were not infidels. He could clearly see a church in the center of the town.
    Movement caught his eye in the body of the army, and he realized he was watching two of the new Demons travel amongst the ranks. As they rode past, the men grew more agitated, anger pouring out of them and spreading behind them in an expanding wake.
    His attention was drawn to the front lines of the siege. Gadreel stood on the front of a siege tower, its red armor glinting in the sun. It yelled and urged the men there to greater effort and greater hatred.
    Mathieu looked down and saw the last of the Demons at the city gate, hands flat against the wood. It gave a massive shove and the gates swung open. The waiting army swarmed in and around the Demon like a swarm of enraged bees.
    The crusaders rushed into the town and mayhem erupted before his eyes. “No.” He whispered the word and then turned to the other humans on the bluff. They still stared blankly ahead. “No.” He said it louder this time and then took off running down the hill towards the wall. “NO,” he cried a third time as he ran through the open gates and into the town.
    The streets ran with blood. “No. This is not right.” He ran towards the sound of screaming in the distance and came upon a Templar cornering a woman in an alley. She was shielding her child, an infant, with her body.
    “They are innocents,” Mathieu screamed as he shoved the knight as hard as he could. “This is not honorable! This is not chivalrous!”
    The Templar hesitated for a moment, seeming to search the air where Mathieu stood. With a shrug, he continued stalking the woman.
    “NO!” Mathieu ran forward again but a vicious grip on his hair pulled him back and threw him to the ground.
    Gadreel stood over him, a dark scowl on its face. “Let him do his work.”
    Screams came from the end of the alley and the knight stalked past, fresh blood streaming down his sword.
    “This is not right.” Mathieu tried to stand but Gadreel placed