by David Paul
Many groups of people are outside in the plaza dining alongside the vampire and the demon as if it were a normal, yet wonderful evening. The garments of the patrons makes David believe that he is in the 17th century. David realizes immediately that it is wine mixed with blood, and it is fresh blood. The vampire could smell the blood through the tangy alcohol and the fragrance of the wine, but he still drinks. His senses awaken, and the craving for more fresh blood comes over him. Devin tops off another glass of the fresh crimson beverage that the vampire imbibes without a fight.
“Isn’t that delicious?” Devin asked. Devin enjoys the drink himself.
“It is quite delicious,” David said. The vampire sips the evil brew and swirls it around in his mouth, pleasing the palate.
The demon has a mischievous smile.
“I thought that you would like the blood of an infant.” The vampire looks at the drink momentarily in disgust and commences drinking it without giving his wicked son a response. “Keep drinking it,” Devin said. “You know that you absolutely love the taste of fresh blood.”
The vampire cannot help himself as if all of his will power is nonexistent. The sly demon keeps refilling the vampire’s glass. The fancy crystal decanter seems to be bottomless. Devin has finally broken into David’s mind. The vampire spills the bloody wine down the sides of his face as he races to drink more and more.
Combining David’s two favorite liquids together was a slick move on the part of the demon. The wine reminds him of his former human life, his father, and love lost. Wine provides the vampire with some marginal comfort by tapping into his subliminal impulses of familiarity and love. The fresh blood temporarily puts an end to the nagging hunger that he has been plagued with for seemingly an eternity. The thirsty vampire cannot get enough. Devin is the Devil’s bartender, and the demon keeps his glass filled.
David envisions himself swimming in a sea of blood. The utter contentment of this vision was liberating to the troubled vampire. All of his doubts and pain are washed from his battered mind. This is the closest to heaven that the vampire has felt in his existence. In his glory, he wades through the fresh blood taking in large amounts it into his open mouth.
The Sun is shining like that of the Mediterranean Sun that the vampire was fond of as a human. The picturesque horizon is like that he has never seen. The amber clouds on the horizon open up gloriously. A warm refreshing rain of fresh blood showers the sea, and David feels the gentle drops on his skin as he swims toward the sea’s end where it meets the clouds. The warm rain brings feelings of comfort and warmth to his cold dead soul. David is under the demon’s spell.
The disillusioned vampire is in dire jeopardy. Devin is playing David’s emotions like a well-tuned violin. He has planted the seeds into his mind and is letting the vampire sow them. Once a demon has a hold of their victim’s mind, the victim will play right into it. Right now, David is giving into his unattainable desire for peace within himself. For centuries, his inner conflict has been nothing, but a burden on his brain. So far, nothing that he has done has brought peace into his world.
The closest thing to the aforementioned mental peace has been when he has willingly succumbed to the curse. The demon has tapped into his soul and is bringing out selfishness from deep within the vampire’s psyche. Of course, all of these feeling of comfort are truly false, but they seem to be a pleasant reality. Once David completely believes in this fallacy, his soul will be in the possession of his wicked son.
Devin realizes that his father is under his spell, but he doesn’t want to interrupt him yet. The demon is letting it fester and percolate within his father’s mind. Time is on the demon’s side, and he is perfectly content waiting for David to completely give into him. For added measure, the demon slips in Katerina at the end of the horizon.
His love for Katerina will be a strong motivating factor. The bloodlust inside the hungry vampire has grown to astronomical proportions. David needs blood, and Devin knows this. In a dream-like state, the vampire is swimming toward his lost love on a sea of blood. Devin senses a checkmate on the horizon. Soon, the father and son will unite to rule the universe with Lucifer.
The confident demon envisions ruling the world with fire, darkness, and pain. If the demons are victorious, they will be able to walk on the Earth without hindrance and human kind will perish. It is God almighty that puts these restraints on the Beast, and if God falls, then the Devil will have free reign. The angels will be enslaved as well. The demon can taste the victory on his blasphemous lips.
Rawley is done with his mental preparation and watches David closely. The vampire is completely engaged with Carver. The knight splashes Carver with more holy water, and this temporarily dazes him, and he loses a small grip on David. The vampire looks as if he is surprised by something and appears to be somewhat foggy. Devin realizes that his grip on David has been compromised, but decides to go for the throat anyways.
David looks at Rawley with an evil stare as Devin pulls his strings. The vampire keeps hearing a voice in his subconscious mind telling him to keep swimming towards the horizon and Katerina. His conscious mind is telling the vampire to kill Rawley and Detangelo. The wicked voice calls for him to taste the blood.
“Taste the fresh blood,” the voice said. Over and over it is repeated. “Take their souls.” The vampire is losing the battle. “Take their souls.”
The exorcist can see the vampire’s intentions through his eyes. David lunges for the detective and pins him to the wall by his neck. The defensive circle no longer protects Jack.
“What…what are you doing?” Jack asked. The detective is in complete shock that his new friend is behaving like this.
“David!” The exorcist said. Rawley shakes him. “Wake up! Do not listen to the voices in your mind.”
Rawley takes out a perfectly crafted wooden stake from a holster on his belt. Rawley is about ready to stake the bloodthirsty vampire and stay true to his duty. The vampire has his back to Rawley. Dr. Carver watches with eagerness from the dirty bed.
“David,” the cop said, “let me go.” Detangelo is gasping for air.
Detangelo is completely petrified and is scared to react. The vampire just looks into his eyes as if studying the detective. David’s eyes are completely red. Slowly, his fangs emerge and black talon-like claws grow from his fingers. The detective sees David in his true form, but this time the vampire is out of control. The detective urinates all over himself out of uncontrollable fear. Jack sees what a vampire looks like when enraged and drunk on unrelenting power.
“Take their souls,” echoed in David’s conscious mind again. “Em-nioj!” The demon entices him in backwards English. “Em-nioj!” The tension is high inside of the room. “Em-nioj, rehtaf!” The vampire is struggling on the inside. “Em-nioj, rehtaf ym!” The voice said.
Rawley splashes more holy water at Carver in an effort to distract him.
“Fuck off, Rawley,” the doctor spurted out. The warrior hits the doctor with more holy water. “Sssssssssss,” his skin burns.
“Your dead Gloria is sucking cock in the bowels of Hell.”
Carver has a sinister grin.
Rawley responds by giving Carver a vicious bitch slap that sprays more of his blood from his open wounds throughout the room. The demon is still able to twist Rawley’s emotions. The warrior regains focus, and a part of him is hesitating to kill David. He has the vampire’s back toward him, and this is the best chance that he’ll ever have to take David out.
The warrior is scared that he will undo fate by killing the vampire. Another part of him wonders if his fate can be undone. He knows that killing David may be next to impossible either way. Rawley is not foolish enough to think that he can easily destroy a master vampire such as David, but he will die trying to fulfill his duties. Momentary indecision plagues Rawley.
“Don’t even think about trying to stop me, Rawley,” the vampire said. He knows what Xavier Rawley is thinking.
“David,” Rawley said. Raw
ley attempts to bring David to his senses. “Remember who you are, and why you are here.”
The vampire momentarily ponders Rawley’s words as he can see Katerina at the edge of the horizon deep inside his mind. An aching in his black heart causes him to grab his chest with his free hand. The vampire feels no heartbeat. David is reminded that he is no longer a living creature. He has a look of confusion on his evil face as he swims toward Katerina inside his dream-like state.
Sensing the temporarily distraction of the vampire, Rawley wastes no time and splashes David with a stream of holy water hoping to snap him out of the demon’s influence. The water striking his undead skin makes an audible burning sound, and the vampire winces in pain. David releases the detective who slides down the dingy wall of the house and lands outside of the circle on his backside. Jack is dazed and attempting to regain his wind.
The enraged vampire turns his attention to Rawley. The fury in his eyes practically burns a hole through the exorcist. David’s laser beam red eyes show ferocity and wickedness. David flies at Rawley full force, and the two wrestle around, but Rawley cannot compete with the sheer physical power of the vampire.
The chaotic vampire tosses Rawley to the other end of the house, and the warrior strikes his back hard on the opposite wall. The old horsehair wall caves in as if made of Styrofoam, and the impact shakes the entire house. Rawley seems unaffected, and the noble warrior springs into action by charging the vampire with the stake in hand. The warrior makes a running leap at David, and the vampire catches him in mid-air, but the stake still finds its place deep in David’s shoulder.
David immediately slingshots Rawley against the same wall that Detangelo is slumped against. Another loud rumble shakes the old house as the wall explodes, littering the room. Rawley lands on the already shaken detective. Normally, the efficient killing machine would have made short work of the warrior. The vampire still has not completely turned to the dark side of the scale. If he had, Rawley would already be a dead man.
David is still fighting the influence of the demon, but he is still losing the battle. Carver watches with anticipation as the vampire removes the wooden stake from his shoulder. David drops the stake to the ground and it rolls away from him under the bed. The vampire slowly approaches Rawley who is now standing on his feet.
Rawley realizes that he is only buying time with the vampire and hopes not to get killed in the process. David is about four feet from Rawley. As a last resort, Rawley pulls out an ornate crucifix and brandishes the cross in the vampire’s face. David gasps as the cross is punishing to him. Rawley has the doubtless faith necessary to use such a simple, yet effective method versus the vampire. David is furious and shows his discomfort by growling and hissing at the warrior. Maybe a normal man wouldn’t be effective against a vampire of David’s power, but Rawley is no normal man. The crucifix is the only weakness that Rawley will most likely be able to exploit against his superior opponent.
“David,” the exorcist said. Rawley holds the cross in his face. “Search within yourself and find the right path.” The vampire doesn’t respond. “Are you going to align yourself with the same individuals responsible for your curse?” The vampire growls and hisses in inhuman fashion. The burns from the holy water have already healed on his skin.
For the first time, Rawley sees David in a different light. He see’s the monster inside him in its true form. Rawley is brainstorming to discover a way to get David to fight off Devin hoping that it isn’t too late. The demon shares the same blood as the vampire, and this genetic link facilitates the demon’s work. The two are bound by blood. The blood tie strengthens the telepathic link between them, offering Devin a virtual highway into David’s mind. This makes David so much more susceptible to the mental onslaught of the cunning demon.
“Are you going to let your love die in vain?” Rawley asked. The vampire still has no verbal response as he shields his eyes from the crucifix. Inside the mind of the vampire, the image of his love is still there. Rawley’s words are striking a chord inside the tormented monster. The vampire feels his chest once more, as his heart feels alive for the first time in centuries. He still envisions Katerina, and she speaks to him from afar.
“Turn away from me!”
“I cannot. I’ve never forgotten you, and your love still burns in my dead heart.”
He replied to her without actually speaking.
“This path will not lead you toward me,” Katerina said. “It only appears as such. Feel the mark of the Devil on your skin and remember where it hath come from.” Her voice faded.
“Join me, father,” a voice said. “I have been waiting centuries to reunite with my estranged father.” The voice echoed mercilessly in his mind. “I can take away all of your pain and unrest. Just take my hand and walk with me.”
The demon offered the vampire a crooked contract in return for his soul.
The vampire has reached the end of his long path for now. David is standing at the fiery threshold of damnation. The vampire is stopped at the crossroads of his reality and existence. He has been offered the Devil’s deal. The demon has offered him an end to his suffering. In the movies, a pact with the Devil is inked in blood and bound by fire. In the real world, the devil needs nothing, but an agreement to complete the pact. One weak moment is all it takes to be eternally enslaved. Whether the consent is verbal or non-verbal, a soul will be his for the keeping. The fate of the world rests on the struggling vampire.
David feels the mark of the beast on his chest and remembers his dream with Devin who had bestowed it. The vampire remembers the horror of watching Katerina die. A burning anger flares up deep inside of the vampire’s soul. This is the same anger that he has felt for centuries towards those responsible for his losses. The vampire takes control of his dream and reaches Katerina on the horizon. She is not who she had seemed to be.
More demonic trickery haunts the vampire. He looks down into the sea of blood and realizes that he is really swimming on a sea of lost souls that are burning in the flames of Hellfire. The tortured looks on their faces show centuries of eternal pain and suffering. David even recognizes a few of the unfortunate souls. The facade of false contentment quickly fades, and the vampire snaps out of his delusional trance.
“That crucifix is murdering me,” the weary vampire said. David looks confused. He doesn’t remember what he did while entranced.
“David, are you alright?” Rawley asked. Rawley is unsure if these actions are also a ploy, so he keeps the crucifix up in a defensive position.
“What happened?” David asked. The vampire is still shielding his eyes from the crucifix.
“You tried to kill Detangelo,” Rawley said, “and then you came after me.”
“I was in a dream world filled with lies.”
Apparently, Devin is not thrilled with the outcome of his encounter with his father. The doctor begins to convulse wildly, spouting blasphemies and spitting venom from his mouth.
“Carver’s soul will forever be mine,” Devin interrupted. “He will die before you rid the world of me.”
Everything happened so fast that Detangelo still hadn’t gotten back into the protective circle, putting himself at risk. Unfortunately for Jack, the demon wants to take out his wrath on whomever it can. Suddenly, the detective starts to writhe in a painful convulsion. Jack tears off his shirt and exposes his bare stomach to Rawley, Carver, and David. It appears as if there is someone inside his skin. The flesh on his chest and stomach appear to be animated by something from within his body.
Hundreds of inverted crosses superimpose themselves on the detective’s skin like tattoos made of scar tissue. These demonic markings are forming everywhere. Devin is such a powerful entity that he can possess more than one soul at a time, and he is tormenting the detective. Even with the protective amulet on, the detective is easily manipulated by the powerful demon.
Detangelo is in excruciating pain, and it is evident from his looks. Rawley is still skeptical of the vampire because
he fears that the demon can take control at any given moment. The detective’s condition requires immediate attention, and Rawley’s doubts are put on the back burner for now. David appears to be fine, but Xavier has his watchful eyes on him.
“I have to make sure that Jack is safe,” Rawley said. “We have really pissed off Devin, and he’s punishing him because of that.”
The vampire returns Detangelo to the protective circle, but his physical ailments are still evident. The detective is definitely suffering from physical wounds that have transcended from a mental attack. These types of physical afflictions are common with a possession. The demon uses the victims mind against itself to affect the body. In the detective’s case, he is suffering from a classic trauma. The demon has total control of the victim’s body.
Transformations such as gray hair, aging, bruising, and bleeding out of an orifice are standard fair for demonic possession, and the damage is mostly cosmetic. In extreme cases, demons can cause heart attacks, aneurisms, and strokes. The power of the mind is an amazing phenomenon, and the demons take advantage of that. Jack doesn’t appear to be suffering from anything permanent, but he is not completely out of danger.
Rawley attacks Carver with more holy water, and the demon inside him becomes docile for the time being. The demon is playing possum and waiting for a better time to strike.
“No offense,” the exorcist said, “but this son of a bitch is a tough one to crack.”
“I made the mistake of looking him in the eye,” David said. “I found myself reviewing my entire life. The demon knew things that I had never told anyone else.”
“He is linked to you,” Rawley said, “and that gives him an edge.” Rawley looks down at the ground.
“What?” The vampire asked. “I sense some doubt in you.”
“I’m just getting worn down a bit,” the exorcist said.
“Sorry about earlier, Xavier, I didn’t even know what I was doing. I’m alright now.”