by P. K. Tyler
Adel dressed in the dead woman’s clothes and swaddled the baby in clean blankets. Creeping down the stairs, she padded quietly through the living room and stopped in the kitchen doorway. A thick layer of blood coated the floor. Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer. She left the townhouse by the back door and fled across the neatly manicured, small backyard. Through the tree-line behind the row of homes, distant lights of a busy city twinkled through the branches and leaves of trees.
Asmodeus kept a firm grip on Adel’s mind, but let her move of her own volition. He whispered encouragement as she fled the scene of two deliciously gruesome murders. She stumbled as he thought of the corpses, but he kept her on task. Get help for your baby. Hurry.
She pushed on, racing through the trees. In just a minute, she was through the sparse woods and in the deserted parking lot of an abandoned convenience store, in a very bad part of town. Her hands shook as she realized where she was.
Asmodeus let her sweat it. He’d not let any harm come to her, none that wasn’t of his own doing. But she didn’t need to know that. Protect little Hope, at all costs.
Adel frantically looked around, her breaths coming in haggard gasps. She bent carefully, adjusting her grip on the bundle in her arms, and picked up a lead pipe.
Standing in the parking lot with the moon glaring down on her, Asmodeus noted Adel’s discomfort. She felt exposed, like the heavens above had shined a light on the events of the night, on her. The church. The nun. Bring the baby there. She’ll know what to do.
Adel checked her surroundings. She had a long walk back to Zeph’s church.
Delphina will help you. She’ll know what to do.
Adel crossed the Williamsburg Bridge on foot, carrying her tiny bundle close against her chest to keep it safe. She walked for what felt like forever, but the fervor in her heart didn’t ebb.
When she burst into the church through a side door, she ran past Zeph’s office. Asmodeus sensed the presence of Naamah nearby, snuggled safely and warmly in Delphina’s womb.
When Asmodeus entered the nun’s room, she jumped up off her bed. “You’re back!” She’d looked hopeful, but her face fell when she caught site of the bundle in Adel’s hands. “What’s … is that a baby?”
“You have to help me, Sister.”
Delphina reached out to take the baby from Adel’s arms, holding the small delicate infant gingerly. She held it close, briefly, then cast a worried glance at Adel. Bringing the baby over to her small bed, she lay her down and unwrapped her, listening for breath and checking her tiny wrist for a pulse.
Adel stood at the door, wringing her hands. Sweat poured over her furrowed brow.
Sister Delphina took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she stood. “Adel, this baby has been dead for some time.”
Adel shook her head slowly, mumbling no over and over again. In her mind, Asmodeus watched as she retreated to the safety of a fantasy that played on repeat.
The nun edged around the small room, trying to get past Adel without notice. Asmodeus, now in full control of Adel’s abandoned body, faced her and stepped into her path.
“You have work to do, Delphina.” He gripped her arms and reached out to the demon within her.
Naamah, awaken. Our Father is coming soon. Take control, as much as you can. We have work to do.
Delphina’s face relaxed, her gaze unfocused until she looked as though she might doze off at any time.
“Good,” Asmodeus said, enjoying how his voice came out with Adel’s high notes interwoven with his gritty, low tone. “Go to the hotel on Lexington and 31st, I’ve already rented a room. Everything is prepared.” He gestured to the corpse in her arms, “This was the last piece we needed. Bring it to the hotel and wait for me there. We cannot begin the ritual until midnight, when the meteor shower is directly overhead. I have a few toys I’ve been dying to play with.”
Chapter Six
Nik paced the floors of Zeph’s office, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpet under his feet, his thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. When Zeph had called him that morning to tell him Adel was gone, he’d gone full panic attack postal. Now, with three cups of coffee sitting in his empty stomach, eating away at him from the inside, he had at least downgraded to Defcon Three.
He worried about Adel, but the demon who had found her concerned him more. It had known his name and known how to get a message to him in one of the oddest and most upsetting ways possible. It was seriously fucking with him, which had to be the point. The choir started a familiar hymn that Nik heard sometimes when he came back to Zeph for help to finish off a demon he’d extracted.
“Shouldn’t you be out there, Zeph?”
Zeph had taken off the long, black robe of his profession. Beneath it, he wore black slacks and a thin, black, button-up short-sleeved shirt. The muscles on his toned arms tensed as he leaned against his desk, hands gripping the edge. An image of Zeph turned the other way, gripping the desk and grinding against him, assaulted Nik.
Why did his dick have no sense of timing?
Zeph interrupted his train of thoughts. “No. I didn’t know what we were dealing with. After Adel went to bed last night, I called Father Jonathan. I’m taking a brief leave. He’ll fill in for me this week.”
“What did you tell them? What reason did you give?”
“I told them the truth, basically. That you were in a tight spot and I was trying to help you out.”
“Right. Make me look like the victim.”
“Nik, something bigger than what we’re prepared to deal with is going on. But when it’s over, you’ll go on with your life, onto the next thing. And I...”
“Don’t you dare try to turn this around on me, Zeph. I don’t belong here. Even if I could stay, it’s just too hard ...” Nik ran his fingers through his hair and let out a heavy sigh.
“All I’m saying is that I have to come back to this. I’m not making any demands on you, but I need to leave with an explanation that allows me to return. Let’s just drop it.”
“We always drop it.” Nik stepped closer to his friend, desperate to reach out and run his hand over his back, pull him to his chest and hold him, comfort him. He wanted to tell Zeph it would all be okay, that he would protect him, and Adel, and everyone. But for the first time in his life, he seriously doubted if he could.
“Because there’s nothing else to say.” Zeph looked at him, his green eyes warm and soft. God, he was so beautiful.
Zeph broke eye contact and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Right now, we need to find Adel. She could be hurt. What if the demon who found her came back? She could be possessed.”
Nik frowned, hating it when Zeph denied the energy that flowed between them, but he was right, this wasn’t the right time. “I need to see Vai, let her know what’s going on. If the demons know my name, know how to get to me through Adel, they might know about Vai, too.”
“Sure," Zeph shrugged, “I get it.”
“Zeph, stop acting like a bitchy housewife. This shit is getting out of control and I don’t know what to do.”
“Fine, let’s go see Vai then.” Zeph grabbed his trench coat and scarf, but before he could don either, Adel strode into the room. “Adel! Where’ve you been?”
“I was ... praying.”
Nik quickly scanned the length of her and seriously doubted that whatever she’d been doing had involved much praying. Her hair hung loose and matted in the back, and her clothes were wrinkled. She wore a creamy, knee-length frock with a cardigan over the top that looked soft enough to have been made from Heaven. He couldn’t remember if that’s what she’d been wearing when she first came to the church for help, but he knew she didn’t have the kind of money this clothing required. Her wardrobe and whatever she had been doing didn’t really concern him, though. She showed up, and that simply crossed one thing off his to-do list. “Zeph, I’m going. You stay with her and fill her in on everything that’s going on. Call me if anything happens.”
Zeph, still holding his coat across his arm, took a tentative step toward the door. “Shouldn’t I go with you?”
Nik shrugged, still annoyed by Zeph’s behavior. Someday he’d figure out he can’t have it both ways. It wasn’t fair to either of them. “Nah. You stay here and take care of your sister,” Be a good little priest. “I’ll call after I talk to Vai.”
Though he thought Adel would balk at being treated like a child or an invalid, she only smiled and took Zeph’s coat, carefully hanging it back on the tree. She crossed to the sofa and sat back against it, her legs hanging somewhat awkwardly off the side.
With one hand still on the door, Nik stopped when Zeph called his name.
Zeph gripped his wrist and squeezed briefly. “Be careful, Nik.”
As it always did, the touch sent a thrill through Nik’s body. The small comfort was all his friend would ever offer. His throat constricted too tight for him to manage words, so he simply nodded and left.
Chapter Seven
After Nik left, Zeph sat next to Adel and placed his palm on her forehead. She was warm, but not feverish. He took one of her hands in his. “Adel, you look exhausted. How are you feeling?”
“Well, thank you very much. Just what a girl wants to hear.” Adel picked up his hand so she could raise her legs and drape them across his.
“Ah, comfy?” His laugh was short, uncomfortable. He held his hand up, hovering above her. He was unsure of where to place it and unable to extract himself from his position trapped beneath his sister’s legs. After everything she’d told him, he would have understood if she never wanted to be touched again, and here she was lounging across his lap.
“Quite.” Her laugh was breathy. “Put your hand down, Zeph. You look silly. I just want to rest and you’re warm.” She closed her eyes.
Zeph set his hands on her legs, stretched out over his lap. They’d never been a particularly touchy pair, not surprising since they came from such uncaring parents. He couldn’t remember the last time either of his parents touched him. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, if he let himself, he could remember each whip of his father’s belt against his back and ass. He could feel the impact of every punch to the gut or slap to the face. But before that, before that summer when he’d broken what love his parents ever had for him, he couldn’t remember ever being touched in kindness.
He couldn’t help a pang of jealousy as he thought of Nik running to Vai, especially now that he knew he’d spoken to the Old Order. Logically, it made sense, they both had answers to Nik’s questions. If only Zeph could find a way to keep Nik still enough to listen to the things he’d learned at the feet of Father Tobias. The secrets Zeph stored in his heart went so deep, he wondered if anyone could ever really know the depths of him.
He shifted his weight under his sister’s legs. Her affection puzzled him. After he left their parents’ home they hadn’t seen each other again until their father died. From there, it had been a long road to rebuilding their relationship. He smiled and patted Adel’s leg. It was so good to have her back.
He’d made so many sacrifices over the years, he was glad to have the chance to salvage a relationship with his sister. His love for Nik had cost him his family, but he’d never regretted it. Even when he lived with Father Tobias and dedicated his life to God, even when he sacrificed his own happiness to support Nik. Even if he could never tell him.
Zeph maintained a perfect discipline and never faltered, never succumbed to temptation. But sitting with Adel he remembered what it felt like to be a boy, innocent without walls and lies keeping the ones he loves out.
Father Tobias had come to take him away after hearing about his father’s attempts at exorcising his homosexuality. It had been a moment of clarity for Zeph, to see the priest swoop in with righteous indignation in his eyes. Father Tobias had been an incarnation of God’s wrath as he pulled his father from him and slammed him against the wall. The old man’s face shone red with fury.
There had been too many days and too many beatings for Zeph to count by the time the Father Tobias arrived. On that day, before the priest had come to rescue him, he’d been anointed with oil and washed with holy water while his mother prayed.
Washed everywhere.
His father had poured it down his throat, scrubbed his tongue, washed out his eyes, and drenched his hair. He filled a drugstore enema and forced Zeph onto his stomach over the edge of the bed.
Zeph had so little fight left in him by then, but he screamed. He tried, and when there was no fight left, he cried.
When his father declared his body cleansed, he rolled him onto the floor, pressing on his stomach with all his weight. “Renounce your sins and purge the demon from your soul.”
All Zeph could say, whispered over bloody chapped lips, was “I love him.”
His body couldn’t take the abuse. Hungry and weak, the pressure on his abdomen and flushing of his insides left him covered in vomit and excrement. He screamed, trying with what strength he had left to wriggle away, but exhaustion and humiliation made the attempt futile.
His father knelt on his chest and pressed his hands on the sides of his head, crushing him with giant angry hands. “I summon this demon of homosexuality and cast thee out of this boy’s body, you have no hold here. I cast thee out!”
When Father Tobias burst into the room and wrenched Zeph’s father off him, the breath that filled his body felt like it brought not only oxygen but the healing light of Christ. He’d been certain this was the answer to his prayers.
“This is not the will of God. What you’ve done here is more evil than the worst sin you could imagine.” Father Tobias pulled Zeph into his arms, ignoring the chunks of vomit and shit clinging to his flesh. He ran his fingers over the boy’s face and whispered a prayer. He wrapped Zeph in the soiled blanket from his bed and lifted his emaciated body into his arms. The old Priest seemed frail, but he had strength enough to carry Zeph from the room, his father screaming behind them.
“That boy will burn for his sin. The demon within him must be removed. He’s my son, you cannot take him.”
“He is a child of God, and God will not allow me to leave him in this house for you to abuse. Call the police, we’ll see who your boy leaves with when they get here.” Father Tobias said over his shoulder as he walked out of the house.
He settled Zeph into the back of his car, an old whale that had enough room for him to lay down completely. He shivered, despite the summer heat.
Father Tobias tossed out a final warning before they drove off. “I will keep evidence of this transgression, and if you ever come near this child again, I will ensure you rot in prison.”
While they drove, Father Tobias sang under his breath. At the church, he carried Zeph in through the parish entrance and back into the rooms which were now Zeph’s own.
He could still remember the feel of the cloth Father Tobias had used to clean him and the sad smile of the Nuns who tended to him over the next few days. He was fed broth and bread with butter or cheese until his system could handle more. As his wounds healed, he expected the priest would begin his own version of trying to force him to turn away from loving Nik. Instead, they sat together in the small study, the priest preparing his sermon for the week or reading, while the Zeph stared at the walls.
When he couldn’t take it anymore, he asked, “Why did you come for me?”
“Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ,” the priest replied without looking up from his papers.
“But aren’t I a sinner? A faggot?”
Father Tobias turned in his chair and focused on the boy with hard eyes. “Who you are is a child of God. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven or overcome through Christ.”
“What about the demon?”
The priest took off his wire-rimmed glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them back on and taking a deep breath. “Zelophehad...”
“Call me Zeph, the only person who calls me that is my father.”
Father Tobias nodded. “Well, Zeph. There is very real evil in the world. There are even demons, although it’s not a universally held belief that they can possess and control people. However, if you’re asking about your father’s claim that you have a demon inside you, no, that’s simply untrue. You are who you are and God loves you. You have a choice about how you behave, but your soul is not corrupted by a demon.”
“I still love Nik.”
“I know.”
“You aren’t going to tell me it’s a sin?”
“To love is never a sin. Love is the light of the world and to be able to experience great love is to know God’s grace. That love gave you the strength to survive your father’s misguided attempt to rid you of a demon. To act, though, that’s another question entirely. God has laid at your feet temptations no greater than you can stand. When you are tempted, look to God, he will show you a way to endure. For now though, you should spend your energy healing, not worrying about what I or anyone else thinks of you.”
“God doesn’t hate me?” Zeph pushed the words out over a suddenly dry tongue.
“No, child,” Father Tobias finally stood and came to stand next to Zeph’s position on the couch. “God loves you and Jesus Christ died for you. Now you are tasked with living up to his sacrifice, which is a high calling, but you aren’t alone. I promise, no matter what, I will never allow someone to hurt you like this again.”
“How did you know?”
“Your father isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. The priest he got the holy water from called me. He must have known I’d never give it to him so he went to a parish uptown, but the request was odd enough to make the parish priest curious.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Zeph smiled sadly, remembering the kind priest who raised him and taught him about duty and love.