Father Alasdair MacLeod had studied the rites by which a Seraphim might be summoned long before he came to America, but studying such things in the safety of an Order library was very different from attempting them while the dead were clawing their way from the earth. The first time he called upon one was during a desperate encounter with the Dark Confederacy, when Kane and his Crusaders were in danger of being overwhelmed and Alasdair finally accepted that mortal weapons might not be enough.

What answered his summons was not quite the heavenly apparition imagined by generations of religious artists. The Seraphim appeared as a young woman dressed more like a frontier gunfighter than an angel, with a long coat, broad brimmed hat and great feathered wings spreading behind her. Most surprising of all was the pistol in her hand. Alasdair later observed that if divine messengers were expected to work in America, it was perhaps only reasonable that they should dress and arm themselves accordingly.

She has never given Alasdair her true name. When asked, she simply told him that a name was unnecessary and that he should concern himself with why he had called her rather than who she might be. Alasdair consequently refers to her simply as the Seraphim, although some members of the posse have privately begun calling her the Angel of the Long Colt. Nobody has yet been sufficiently brave to use the name in her presence.

The Seraphim is not a permanent member of Matthias Kane’s posse. She comes only when Alasdair successfully summons her, emerging into the mortal world with wings spread and pistol already drawn. She does not take orders easily, even from Kane, but seems instinctively to understand the purpose of the Twilight Order and directs her fury particularly towards supernatural creatures. Zombies, vampires and other abominations receive little mercy from her, while those who command or summon them attract her attention with alarming speed.

There is something unsettling about her even for the Crusaders. She speaks little, displays almost no emotion and disappears as suddenly as she arrives once her purpose has been fulfilled. Alasdair has occasionally attempted to question her about where she comes from and what she truly is, but the answers have been frustratingly vague. He has gradually concluded that some mysteries are probably intended to remain mysteries.

There is, however, one thing about which the Seraphim has been perfectly clear. When Father Alasdair MacLeod calls and she chooses to answer, somebody has usually done something sufficiently wicked to deserve what happens next.

Then the wings unfold and the pistol clears its holster.

Thanks again to ChatGPT for assistance with the pics.