Nocturnal

by David Paul

  Demons cannot usually take on their true bodily form on Earth, so they possess people to carry out their evil desires. The demon is simply borrowing Carver’s body, and the demon would totally enjoy if David killed an innocent man. That explains why he was trying to provoke David to act upon his impulses.

  “Speak to me demon! Who are you?”

  “I was born of fire and unholy desire.” The doctor spoke in more backwards Latin.

  David absolutely despises when witches and demons speak in rhymes, riddles, and forked tongues. Carver grabs David by the throat and knocks over a small lamp that shatters on the floor.

  “Is everything alright in there, Doctor?”

  Pamela heard the ruckus from down the hall.

  “Everything is fine, Pamela.” The doctor spoke to Pamela in a normal voice while he to choked David.

  “Take your hand off of me, demon.”

  “Are you going to hurt the poor little doctor?” Carver asked. “I have his pathetic soul.”

  David knows that the Carver is an innocent man, and all of this wrongdoing is because of the demon, but that doesn’t make it easier for him to resist his ingrained temptation to kill. The demon probably approached Carver at his weakest moment when his wife was either sick or when she died. The devils always come into your life when you are at your worst. They offer a remedy to your suffering, and they appear to the weak minded as saviors. Even a highly educated and totally religious man such as Carver has weaknesses, and they must have exploited those weaknesses.

  “Speak to me demon. Tell me what I desire.” David easily removes Carver’s clutched hand from his neck. “Who are you?” The vampire asked.

  Carver remains silent.

  The enraged vampire has found himself in a dilemma. He can easily kill Carver and put an end to these murders temporarily until the demon possesses another soul to carry out his will. David would be killing an innocent man, and that still may not put an end to these grizzly murders. If a demon goes out of the way to possess a human for a specific purpose, then it would be a safe assumption that the demon would quickly attempt to find another host body to do his wicked deeds.

  The vampire could also call in Rawley for an exorcism, which could free Carver and possibly trap the demon indefinitely. Carver could possibly die during the exorcism. David doesn’t want to leave Carver alone under the influence of the demon. The vampire decides to detain Carver and charm Pamela to leave without remembering anything. This would at least give Dr. Carver a fighting chance at survival and the possible detainment of the demon or even a banishing.

  When a demon is summoned, the demon is usually bound by the sorcerer. Once a sorcerer binds a demon, they can control what the demon does. The demon will either take on its’ true bodily form or a human form when summoned. Only extremely powerful demons can travel freely between the different planes of the universe. Even Lucifer himself can only travel through the different planes without hindrance for a limited amount of time. His main power is that of influence, and he is a master at influencing the strongest minds.

  David suspects the work of a lesser demon, but the outrageous amount of evil energy coming from Carver has him second-guessing himself. He also suspects that these ritualistic killings are directly geared toward shifting the balances of good and evil. If Dr. Carver were a Satanist operating out of his own free will, then these rituals would most likely be conducted for his own personal gain. The fact that Carver was sought after by a demon with an agenda possibly indicates something of greater importance.

  Demons are tricky creatures that always hide their true motivations by weaving intricate webs of tangled lies. In the end, they serve their own selfish and evil desires. The demons will do things to amuse themselves at times as well. They love to wreak havoc on humans and twist their emotions around. These ritualistic murders go far beyond a bored demon that makes a housewife kill all of her children or makes a husband mysteriously kill his wife. These rituals that were performed on the two victims were very specific with the types of demonic symbols used and the manner of the sacrifice itself. Most possessions end up in random chaotic bloodbaths and not the kind of near-surgical quality work performed on Coelho and Channing.

  The vampire reaches for his cell phone and pins Carver’s head to the desk to restrain him. The doctor squirms violently in an attempt to escape David’s grasp. Even though Carver is possessed by a demon, his strength is that of an ordinary man with some increased adrenaline levels. In any event, the vampire Elder easily restrains Carver.

  “Rawley, we have a live one here. It is definitely Carver, but I haven’t found any other affiliations as of yet. He is possessed by an unknown demon spirit, and I have him restrained inside of his office as we speak.” He quickly explained the situation to Rawley on the phone with Carver growling in the background like a rabid pit-bull.

  “Sounds like you are having a wonderful time.” Rawley jokes and shows a hint of a sense of humor.

  “You are a funny guy,” the vampire said.

  David is actually amused.

  “What are you thinking about for a course of action?”

  “Maybe an exorcism? I know that you are capable of doing that,” the vampire said.

  Dr. Carver shanks David in the side with a letter opener.

  “You piece of shit,” David yelled.

  “What was that for? Geez…give me a moment because I’m thinking.”

  Rawley was defensive because he thought that David was yelling at him. David pulls the letter opener out of his side and flicks it swiftly at the far wall, landing a perfect bull’s-eye on a mental health poster that the doctor has on display. David twists Dr. Carver’s arm behind his back and pins the doctor down with a chicken-wing arm-lock.

  “Sorry, I wasn’t speaking to you, Xavier. Carver stuck me with a letter opener and ruined my sweatshirt.”

  “We can do an exorcism, but that might kill Carver in the process.” Rawley stated the obvious.

  “I am well aware of that,” the vampire said, “but I don’t know what else to do. There is a growing part of me that wants to decapitate him and call it an evening.”

  David admitted his growing urge to kill to Rawley.

  “That could be entertaining, but that probably wouldn’t help out the cause too much,” Rawley said.

  Carver mumbles a host of barely coherent words. Some are in Latin and others are in the forbidden tongue of the demon. Rawley hears Carver’s rant over the phone.

  “He’s casting some sort of spell,” Rawley said.

  David’s body freezes up like he is paralyzed.

  “Yep… A paralysis spell,” David said nonchalantly.

  Carver frees himself and takes the phone from David.

  “Not you again, Rawley,” Carver said. “Being such a pathetic do-gooder is going to get you killed, and I will be there to swallow your soul when it happens.”

  “David?”

  Rawley is confused.

  —Click—Carver hangs up on Rawley and turns his attention to David.

  “You think that you can stop me, David? You are so sadly mistaken. It is such a shame to see you as a pathetic Samaritan. You should be embracing the powers that our Dark Father has bestowed upon you. You make me fucking sick. I’ll swallow your pathetic soul soon enough as well.”

  The doctor observes David closely.

  “Buona sera,” Carver said. Carver said good evening in Italian, and he kisses David on both sides of his cheeks, European style.

  Carver drops the cell phone on his desk, walks out of the door, and leaves David standing paralyzed inside his office. David is astonished because he is usually immune to magical spell attacks against him. The demon inside Carver must be extremely powerful to affect him.

  “Pamela, can you come inside Dr. Carver’s office?” The vampire asked. There is no answer from her. Even though David has mastered the skills and powers of a vampire, he was never much of a sorcerer. He finds himself wishing he were at this moment.
<
br />   “I feel so stupid.”

  He transforms into mist. He floats over to a different part of the office and reappears as his human form, and he is no longer paralyzed. After some thought, he realizes that the demon tricked him into thinking that he was paralyzed. The demon pulled a nice little mind-game on David, and he is somewhat amazed that the demon seemed to effortlessly crack into his mind.

  The vampire picks up the phone and calls Rawley again.

  “Sorry for that. Carver was able to paralyze me, and he got away.” “Shit. I thought we had caught our murderer.” Rawley expressed his disappointment to David.

  “Let me search his office a bit more,” David said. “Maybe, I can get more information for us.” He tries to make up for what they both consider a misstep. “I’d bet the house that he is not working alone, so maybe something else will surface,” Rawley said optimistically.

  “I don’t remember the last time that someone got the better of me. The demon that is controlling Carver is definitely powerful, and I may have underestimated my opponent.” David sounded as if he were embarrassed.

  “He didn’t stake you through the heart, so you did alright.” Rawley offered some consolation to David because he respects the vampire.

  “I guess you are correct, Xavier.”

  David laughs off the misstep.

  “I’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” he assured Rawley.

  —Click—David hung the phone up.

  Deep down, David is actually furious about Carver getting one over on him. He is an Elder vampire of the finest bloodline, and those kinds of mishaps rarely happen in his world. It was not a question of fear because David’s only fear is for the safety of his beloved Fiona. Whatever demon is possessing Dr. Carver just made David’s hit list, and the vampire looks forward to meeting the demon again soon.

  David really found it odd that the demon seemed to know Rawley, and it has the vampire wondering. Perhaps, that is a clue in itself to help reveal the demon’s identity. Somewhere along Rawley’s travels, he has encountered this demon before. That doesn’t really narrow down who it may be because there are thousands of different demons in Lucifer’s pantheon of evil deities, but it brings them a step closer. Rawley has probably crossed paths with countless demons, but the sheer power of this entity would set itself apart from the lesser ones, and that could also help eliminate other suspects.

  Not only do David and Rawley want to stop the rituals, but also they want to identify the demon that is orchestrating everything. With the prophecy nearing the time of hypothesized completion, they both need to watch upcoming events very closely. The fate of the world could possibly be on the line in the short upcoming future, and nothing can be taken lightly. In the grand scheme of the entire universe, two satanic murders are not really of major importance in regards to the complete delicate balance of the world.

  Apparently, the doctor told Pamela to leave for the evening because she is gone from her post at the receptionist’s desk. All of the doors are locked, and the Sun is just about to go down at any moment. Panic then strikes David, as he remembers that Fiona is waiting outside for him. He quickly runs over to a window and sees that her car is still running, but the tinted windows do not allow for him to see if she is still in the car, or not. He calls her on his cell phone, and she immediately picks up.

  “Hey, baby. Are you done in there?” She asked. David is relieved to hear her voice.

  “I’ll be out in a few moments.” David looks around the office. “Did you happen to see Carver come outside?” David asked.

  “I saw a middle-aged gentleman walk out of the office with a cute girl. The man seemed like he was in a hurry, and he sped off in a white Audi S8 that was parked in the back. The girl fixed her lipstick in her visor mirror of her Celica and went off in the opposite direction.”

  “Thanks, babe,” David said.

  David calls Rawley again while inside the office.

  “I think I may have found our next victims.”

  “We need to get to them before Carver gets to them,” Rawley said.

  “I was thinking of getting Detangelo involved because he could get them under protective custody.”

  “I don’t know, David. Maybe we shouldn’t involve the cop.”

  “I can handle Detangelo,” David said. “It might be our best bet for their safety while we are out hunting the rest down.”

  “If you think that he will play ball,” Rawley said, “then let’s go for it.” There was a bit of reluctance in Rawley’s voice. He’s not too keen on letting the police into his affairs.

  “Maybe, he can help us track down Carver too,” David added.

  “Sounds good.”

  “I think that the next two victims are Emily Sunderland and Kaye Miller. Fortunately, both are local. I’ll get back to you soon.”

  David hangs up and runs outside to Fiona’s Cadillac. The sun has finally set.

  “Move over,” David said, “I need to drive.” She hurries into the passenger seat, and David quickly adjusts the power driver’s seat.

  “What’s going on?” She asked.

  David says nothing in response to her question and leaves two smoldering black lines of melted rubber on the street as he rips away from the doctor’s office in a hurry.

  The vampire is driving like he is trying to win the Indianapolis 500. Fiona quickly puts on her seat belt after David maneuvers swiftly around an elderly driver. He is racing at seventy miles per hour in a twenty-five mile an hour speed zone. He is heading for the expressway to get to the city of Warwick. He never spent much time in Warwick, so he hasn’t memorized all of the streets. David asks Fiona to plug both victims’ addresses into the navigation system of the car.

  She is having difficulty entering the data because he is weaving around weekend evening traffic at outrageous speeds. Fiona has a horrified look on her face as she hears the Caddy’s tires squealing and feels the car jerk violently, yet in a controlled manner. Even though she trusts David, the ride is incredibly scary for her. Finally she gets the navigation system loaded. Kaye Miller is the closest, so he opts for her house first.

  “Where are we going?” Fiona asked.

  “We have to save this woman,” the vampire said, “because she is most likely the next victim.” The vampire senses that he is correct.

  The annoying female voice on the navigation system confirms that their destination is coming up on the right, and David mashes the brakes and whips the car into Kaye Miller’s driveway. She owns a small, yet pleasant looking house in a nice quiet neighborhood. He rushes out of the car, only to find that the front door is slightly ajar. The vampire pokes his head inside, and he cannot sense anyone home.

  “Ms. Miller? Emily! Are you in here?”

  There is no response, and the house is empty. David is unable to simply walk into her house. The stipulations of his curse will not allow him to enter her home without being invited. David smells Carver’s cologne with a hint of scorched skin in the background. Carver has already been here, and Kaye Miller is gone. David is upset because he had Carver right where he wanted him, and now another may suffer a grizzly fate because of his blunder. He punches the outside wall and leaves a fist-sized crater in the side of the house.

  David quickly jumps back into the Cadillac and leaves more burnt rubber on the tarmac as he heads toward Emily Sunderland’s residence in East Greenwich.

  “How do you know that they are the next victims?” Fiona asked. David is totally concentrating on the road and is in no mood for conversation.

  “I promise that I will explain everything later, my love. Please let me drive.”

  Fiona is mildly upset because she wants to know what is going on. Whenever David is focused on a task, he usually becomes silent, and he obsesses over it. Fiona doesn’t make an issue out of it because of the gravity of the situation, but she is mildly irritated. Fiona babies her new Cadillac, and David is absolutely whaling on the car and driving it very hard. This is also upsetti
ng her a bit, but David bought it for her, and she knows that he will replace anything that becomes damaged. Nevertheless, it hurts Fiona to see her baby getting abused, but she keeps that to herself while she is a frightened passenger on the wild ride.

  David makes it back to the expressway to head south to East Greenwich. He exits the on-ramp onto the freeway doing well over one hundred miles per hour. Most of the traffic has thinned out, but there are still a handful of automobiles heading toward the beaches on this freakishly warm Friday night in November. David knows that the State Troopers will be out in full force tonight giving out tickets and looking for drunk drivers, yet he doesn’t slow down. After several tense minutes that elapse seemingly in slow motion for Fiona, he quickly exits the freeway. Following the navigation system, he continues the whirlwind journey to finally arrive at Emily Sunderland’s house.

  Emily owns several head shops in Rhode Island and comes from big money. Her parents live in Texas and own oil fields. Emily’s house is in a secluded section of the town with acres of forest behind it for privacy. Music is coming from the backyard, and he slowly makes his way back there. David effortlessly scales an eight-foot, stone perimeter fence to get into the yard. Sitting inside her heated screened-in porch, she is alone smoking a rather large joint while listening to Bob Marley. Emily is wearing cut-off jean shorts and a small tank top. Her long blond hair is wavy and covers one of her light blue eyes. The other eye is slightly bloodshot. She definitely is attractive, and it seems odd that she would be without companionship on a Friday evening.

  Emily sees David approaching her, but doesn’t even panic and doesn’t hint at being frightened or upset. Emily suffers from severe depression, and she does not fear for her own life. She actually prays for death, and this was noted in her patient file. David can certainly relate to feeling like that, and this makes him sympathetic to her emotional issues.

  “Can I help you?” Emily asked.

  The vampire introduces himself to her.

  “Sorry to trespass on your property and intrude upon your evening.”