Nocturnal

by David Paul

  “It is Devin’s mother’s engagement ring.” The vampire opened up to his team. “I’ve had it for centuries,” David said, “and I carry it on my person at all times.”

  “We need this to use this, David.” A look of relief falls over Rawley. “We’ve got the demon on the ropes.” Detangelo seems happy that there is an alternative to the crystal.

  “I understand, Xavier,” David said. “Use it to imprison this demon forever.”

  “This is better than the crystal.” Rawley eyeballs the craftsmanship of the piece. “You cannot beat the durability of diamond,” Rawley said.

  “Let us finish this,” the vampire encouraged Rawley.

  “You will finish nothing!” The demon screamed. More blood and foulness falls from the mouth of the damned doctor. “Carver will die before I release his soul.”

  “Silence, dark deceiver!” Rawley yelled. “You will be gone soon enough.”

  “Rawley,” David said. “Don’t listen to him. Let’s get this over with while he is in a weakened state.”

  Carver growls.

  “In time,” the demon said, “I will have all of your pathetic souls.”

  Carver looks at Rawley.

  “You faggot do-gooder, I’ll make sure to keep Gloria’s pussy filled with huge demon cock.” Carver laughs. Rawley doesn’t flinch.

  The doctor looks at Detangelo.

  “Just wait, mortal. Wait and see what happens to you.” A bitter sincerity is in Carver’s eyes. Hundreds of years of evil lurk behind those eyes. Detangelo is frightened and intimidated, but he is not broken.

  Lastly, Carver looks at David.

  “And you, nightwalker,” Carver said, “just wait until I swallow your soul. You think that you know pain, but you know nothing, father. I have forgotten more about pain than you will ever know about pain.”

  None of the teammates respond to the disgusting Carver. They know that the demon is just trying to buy some time. They know that Devin is just trying to find an opening in their psyches. It is his one last chance to rattle a member of the team. The demon’s words seem to be filled with desperation. It is almost as if Devin knows that he is beat. It is almost as if he was saying his last goodbye to everyone while bound to the bed. Xavier is going to repeat the ending exorcism procedure.

  The team waits eagerly.

  “I banish thee into the world of light. May you find yourself bound by the many facets in this diamond.” Rawley holds the shining ring high above his head. “I banish Asimodeus Lucificarum Vampyrum, Devin Schilld, and any other name by which this false prophet takes as an alias. I banish thee into the netherworld of angles, confusion, and solitude.” Rawley makes the sign of the cross using the beautiful ring.

  Carver’s body convulses uncontrollably, and the bed smashes against the wall with force. A black shadow or smoke-like mist seems to permeate from Carver’s mouth and hangs heavily in the air. The odd vapor-like mass makes its way floating around to everyone in the room like it was trying to find itself a new home. It floats in limbo caught between mediums and dimensions. For the first time, the doctor’s eyes do not appear black and lifeless. Instead, they bear the look of strain and confusion as the doctor continues to convulse, and the dark mist lingers around the room. The demon is leaving his body, and the vile aura is visible to the naked eye.

  “I banish thee from this man,” Rawley said, “the foul beast that you are! I smite this demon.” The Knight of the White Light focuses all of his collective power to combat the evil spirit. Nothing happens and the foul smoke lingers. Devin isn’t done yet. The demon has been expelled from the host body, but his black presence searches for a new flesh puppet. “I banish thee from this man, the foul beast that you are! I smite this demon!”

  An intense spark of electricity struck the diamond. The diamond ring has an odd shimmer or glow to it. The black mist gets sucked out of the air and pulled into the diamond as if the diamond is a high-powered vacuum. The platinum band turns red hot, and it burns Rawley’s skin. As a reflex, he drops it, and the burning hot ring falls from his hand. The heated ring lands on the doctor’s leg leaving a ring-shaped marking branded onto his skin.

  The brand will serve as a permanent reminder of these events. The vampire grabs the ring and admires the weird lights flashing from inside it. Quickly, the ring returns to the normal ambient temperature of the room. It appears to be a beautiful engagement ring once again. A strange calmness comes over the room. The aura of the house even changes to that of being warm and almost cozy.

  Chapter Eighteen: Aftermath

  The room remains still.

  “Did we do it?” The detective asked. “Tell me that the demon is gone.”

  “Devin is imprisoned inside of that diamond,” Rawley said, “but I don’t know if Carver is doing too well.” Rawley checks the doctor’s vital signs.

  “Is he dead?” The detective asked.

  “He has almost no heartbeat.” Rawley looks at the detective in defeat and disgust. Rawley immediately tries to perform CPR on the fallen doctor with no positive results. He also tries some of his healing powers on Carver. It is if the life has been sucked out of him entirely.

  The doctor has a bizarre look on his face, and he expired with his eyes wide open. The filthy demon had to take Carver’s life in trade for his soul. Devin wasn’t lying about Carver’s fate. This is the second time that Rawley has lost someone during an exorcism. Both instances were because of Devin. He is relieved to be done with the ritual, but is angry that Carver had to die. After the bruises and markings fade away, the doctor looks oddly at peace. At least, he looks better than he did. Rawley draws the doctor’s eyelids down to cover their blank horrific stare.

  “At least he is with his wife,” the vampire said.

  “I just wish that I could have saved him.” The exorcist had his head down.

  “You have saved him, Xavier,” David said. “You freed his soul from the demon, and he can die with a clean spirit.” David pats the warrior on the back.

  “But his name will be tarnished in the newspapers as the demonic slasher or something lame like that,” the detective interjected.

  “That’s only if we tell anybody,” Rawley said. He has other ideas. “Maybe, we should bury him somewhere sacred and forget that all of this has happened.”

  “I’d rather do that then attempt to explain the truth to the media and my people,” Detangelo said.

  “Then the matter is settled with Carver,” the vampire said.

  “What about the girl?” The detective asked. “She can open her mouth about tonight.”

  “I doubt that she will remember anything about tonight, but she may recall being kidnapped. We can tell her that Carver is no longer alive and hopefully that will calm her down. She was kidnapped and sexually violated, and there will most likely be trauma from that,” Rawley said sadly.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Detangelo said. “I’ll give her my card to answer any of her questions. Hopefully, she’ll forget everything, and think it was all a dream.”

  “I don’t think that she will forget tonight,” Rawley said grimly.

  “I can make sure that she doesn’t remember a thing. Let’s not even worry about that,” the vampire said.

  Even with the loss of Carver, the night was not a Pyrrhic victory. The vampire takes out the eagerly awaited, celebratory cigars. He clips their ends to perfection and strikes a wooden match to light Rawley and Detangelo. The vampire strikes another for himself. David motions toward Rawley.

  “I’ll bury the doctor and any obvious human remains,” David said, “and you bless the grave.”

  “Agreed,” Rawley said. The smoke from the Cohiba orbits around his face.

  For a long while, the team smokes their Cohibas in absolute silence. It is obvious that both Rawley and Detangelo are enjoying the fine Cuban cigars that the vampire had brought. They have been through a trying night. No words could ever fully give justice to what they have been through or what they have accomplis
hed. They also toast a drink together with some of the remaining Scotch. This is an important victory against the tyranny of evil overlords. Devin is an instrumental piece of their infrastructure. With the antichrist imprisoned, Devin will remain a docile beast trapped in an impenetrable diamond fortress. Lucifer still looms, but the vampire has resisted his persuasive charms for now. They have collectively given the world hope and a fighting chance against the darkness that lies ahead in the short future.

  David carries Dr. Carver’s battered body and a shovel into the woods. The detective stays with a still unconscious Kaye Miller. Kaye’s face is bruised from Rawley knocking her out. Within minutes of digging, the strong vampire has a rather deep grave dug. He puts the body of the fallen Carver along with his vile and bloody bed sheets into the grave. The vampire turns away as Rawley fashions a makeshift wooden cross that he places on Carver’s chest. The vampire covers the grave over with freshly aerated soil. The remains of the other cult members burned away to ash and didn’t require burial. Rawley gives a short makeshift burial ceremony in the woods as they lay the unfortunate Carver to rest in the surprisingly calm forest.

  The exorcist blesses the hidden grave with sacred oils. The vampire was sure to bury the body deep enough so that no animals will investigate. They both hope that he is reunited with his fallen wife in a better place. At least Carver didn’t die in vain. Unfortunately, the good doctor is a casualty of this war, but he is an acceptable casualty in the grand scheme of the universe. His death may save millions of lives in the crucial hour that will decide the fate of civilization. They were able to capture Devin, and that was critical.

  The team gathers their gear and leaves the ashes of the dead behind as if nothing had happened. The clearing in the forest stands as a message to the other side. It is a warning that evil will not go unpunished in this life or the next. A good rainstorm should most likely wash away the filth. Not only did they imprison Devin, but also they thwarted a major demonic cult. Gatherings of that size are rarely orchestrated in the modern world. In this age, it is pretty difficult to have a full-blown black mass with a wild orgy in complete secrecy.

  In the olden times, it would sometimes take a rider a week before they were able to alert anyone of such blasphemy. In our present world, the police are a phone call away, and helicopters with night vision make it nearly impossible to escape their grasp. A third world country is an easier choice of locale for such an event. That evil congregation is gone, but there will be more in the future, and they may be worse. The team had a streak of luck to not happen upon a more prepared crowd.

  Perhaps, Devin’s followers were sacrificed. He may have intentionally let them perish in pursuit of collecting David’s soul. David wouldn’t put it past Devin to have his own people killed. The followers sacrificed their lives for their own twisted cause. In the grand scheme of the universe, maybe, it had to be this way. One lone werewolf was the only soldier that represented the lapdogs of Hell. There are more of the damned out there lurking in the night. There are still many places for the Devil to dance. David has vowed to be there waiting.

  Rawley takes the same trail that the vampire used to get out of the forest. He easily traverses the terrain in his tank. The vampire admires Katerina’s engagement ring, and he laughs to himself at the irony of the inscription on the inside of the ring. In his early years as a man, he had hoped that Katerina would be bound by his love and his marriage would have lasted until death did them part.

  Centuries later, it was the love that he had shared for Katerina that allowed him to bind the wicked demon. The love for Katerina never ended, even though death had found her. Death evaded David for many centuries, but her memory lives on. The vampire knew that it had to be that way because of Fate. No matter what he did in the past, the vampire could not avoid what had been fated. He laughs because he is incapable of producing tears. His bottled up emotions will be carried inside him until his tenure in this world is over. The truck hits a large rock, and everyone inside the cabin is shaken briefly. Kaye Miller awakens finally.

  “What in God’s name happened to me?” Kaye asked. “Who are all of you?” She is very confused, and she is bound by plastic restraints. The detective cuts her free. “Why am I wearing only a jacket?” She feels violated. “What the fuck is going on here?”

  No one is answering her questions. Kaye coughs violently. She is panicking. Kaye Miller feels like she woke up in the middle of a Twilight Zone episode. She has been kidnapped, sexually violated, and completely traumatized. Her face is banged up, and the after-effects of the demonroot are worse than a hangover. The woman suffers from temporary blurred vision and shortness of breath as her heart and lungs slowly return to normal operating speed. Rawley stopped driving for a moment.

  “David, make her stay calm,” Rawley told the vampire. The vampire turns around in the seat and locks onto her eyes with his impressive stare. The glowing redness mesmerizes the brutalized victim. Rawley touches her on the arm and casts a healing spell on her, which completely remedies all of her physical ailments. All of her bruises turn from purple to that of her natural colored flesh. “Her body is healed,” Rawley said, “but her mind will have scars.” Rawley drives.

  “I will make her forget everything that has happened.” The crafty vampire invades her mind further. “In a sense,” David said, “it will be better for her to never know or remember of these morbid adventures.” Rawley nods his head in approval, and the detective agrees as well. “Sleep,” the vampire said. The vampire eyes flash and Kaye doses off instantly. “She will wake up in her bed as if nothing has ever happened.”

  “We should drop her off,” the cop suggested to Rawley.

  “We will,” Rawley said, “just let me get out of here.”

  He motors the team out of the forest in low gear.

  After a bit of four-wheeling, Rawley pulls his massive truck out of the forest and through the cornfield. He travels down the dirt path, and he is finally greeted by dry pavement. The night is still relatively young, and Rawley makes his way to Miller’s house with David’s directions. Rawley walks right into the house with Kaye in his arms. He carries the victim to her bed and covers her up with a crocheted blanket.

  When she wakes up, everything will appear to have happened in a dream. It may seem like a nightmare, but she will be able to get over it. She was in therapy prior to this traumatic experience, so maybe it is for her own good that she is unaware. Rawley’s spell healed her body completely. Even if she had cancer, she would have been cured. The exorcist blesses the unfortunate woman. Kaye Miller is sleeping in her bed safe and sound as Rawley locks up her house and jumps back into his truck. They are heading back to Rawley’s house.

  “Just remember to give me back any left over grenades and submachine-guns,” Rawley joked.

  “I will never forget tonight,” the detective said. The shock of the evening has not worn off. The detective still cannot believe what he had seen transpire. “I will never forget.” He shakes his head.

  “You would be lucky to forget about tonight and not have it haunt your dreams,” the vampire said.

  “You have now earned your right to call yourself a protector of the people,” Rawley said to Jack.

  “I will continue down this path,” the detective answered.

  “We have formed an unbreakable bond,” David said. “Our alliance will help the cause.”

  “What do we do now?” The detective asked. “I have a feeling that this isn’t over yet.”

  “We’ll keep in touch with each other and share information,” Rawley said. “Hopefully, we will not have to crash an entire satanic congregation again.” Rawley joked about the night. Detangelo shows his agreement by nodding his head.

  “It could have been worse,” David said. Detangelo struggles to imagine how much worse things could have been. “The congregation could have been full of werewolves and vampires.”

  “Let us just thank God that wasn’t the case,” Rawley said.

 
“Yeah,” Jack chimed in. “Thank God.” Rawley turns onto his street right after Jack’s remark.

  “Anyone want to come inside for a nightcap?” Rawley asked.

  “You don’t have to ask me twice,” Jack said. A drink is right up the detective’s alley. “I really could use another drink for the nerves.” Rawley shakes Jack’s hand.

  “Maybe another night?” David asked. “I’m actually going to head home to check on my Fiona and Emily.” The rest of the team seems disappointed. They want to have a couple drinks together to celebrate their victory. “I may even sit down with my old friend Capello. He may be able to point all of our future efforts in the right direction. I’ll probably just wait until tomorrow.”

  “You can take a rain check on that,” Rawley said. “I’m sure that we will have many more chances to get together. Our work isn’t completely done yet.” They arrive at Rawley’s house, and the men shake hands like men of honor. Detangelo and Rawley waste no time and start to head inside for a long awaited drink.

  “I’ll talk to all of you soon,” the vampire said. Rawley pauses and turns around to look at David. “Great work my comrades. I will be the guardian of this ring and make sure that Devin is never freed from it.”

  “I was wondering what the best course of action would be for that,” Rawley said.

  “It will be safe with me,” the vampire said.

  “Very well, David.” Rawley pats the vampire on the back. “Let’s have a drink,” Rawley said to Jack.

  Rawley gives a relived smile and leads Detangelo inside his home. Xavier Rawley knows that the ring will be in good hands.

  The vampire races home to see his beloved, Fiona. David cannot wait to see Fiona to celebrate with her. The vampire has much to tell her about what has transpired. His new-found openness with Fiona will allow him to share more of himself with his love. David can rest easy for a short while until the next phase of the prophecy reveals itself.