“Wait, how can you do that? How is that possible?”
The vision of Cain shook his head. “Cain, time is a concept that humans can only experience one way. I can experience existence.”
“Al’bah you’d better—why? I don’t understand!” he screamed.
The vision of Cain tilted his head as if intrigued. “You know what, Cain? I asked the very same thing to Law. It was when he asked me if I wanted to be Bound to a mortal. I could not understand why a mortal would want a Demono as his companion. And I am surprised, more than you will ever know, how much my answer parallels his.”
The vision began to grow faint, almost melting into the desert sky. “Perhaps I need to experience the full weakness of the human race firsthand, as you do.” And like that, the vision was gone.
Alone, Cain started to walk in the desert, but as he took his first step, he miscalculated the complexities of the body he now inhabited and fell on the ground. “The hell?” he said, taking stock on how Al’bah’s body actually worked.
It was a unique experience. Instead of just walking, he had to actually think about what it was he was doing. Using the muscles he thought he had produced an amplified effect on the muscles that actually moved his bones. He remembered Al’bah telling him how she didn’t know how strong she was, but he could never imagine how awkward motion could be.
Does this mean…? Cain thought, reaching around his back to try to extend Al’bah’s wings.
Suddenly a memory gripped his senses. Taint! Taint was here! The shadow was in front of Al’bah, and it grinned that terrible grin. Were they pleasant dreams? What he remembered after that was…
God, no! PAIN!
Chapter 63
Al’bah’s Labor
“I have seen hell, and I can’t remember it. I have experienced hell, and I don’t know what it was like. I look upon my life, and it is worthless.”
—Cain Lamentson
Al’bah passed through the entirety of Cain’s life in an eye blink. It was an amazing life! The trials, the triumphs! Cain’s life was as beautiful as it was sad.
If only he would have believed in the Creator! Oh, how much more would life had made sense!
It was quite the eye-opener for her to see just how Cain completed the ritual of Bonding. But in truth, though Cain would never agree, it was no accident. The Christian who tried to witness to him had a spiritual power that Al’bah could not bear to behold.
Did the Creator truly grant his prayer? I wonder.
Oh! How happiness filled her to know her Bond truly sought her out and that in some unconscious way, he knew exactly what he was doing. Her love for Cain doubled, tripled! Her heart felt so full of love.
At last, Al’bah was back in the desert. She started to walk to where Cain was. It was easy enough; all she had to do was follow the sound of the screaming and crying.
Al’bah stopped and looked on the hard surface of the desert. It was still twilight, and her form was easy enough to spot. The ground was gouged in many spots, as if Cain had tried to bury himself; the clothes Al’bah had on before she pulled this trick were torn, as was most of hair that was on her form.
One wing was completely unfurled while the other was halfway unfurled. Her skin was cut and gouged in innumerable spots, her hands coated in sticky blood. The still form took no notice of Al’bah until she knelt down and spoke. “And now I do understand.”
The vision of Al’bah opened her eyes and looked up at the vision of Cain. “I…you…who am I?”
Al’bah caressed Cain’s face and gently whispered, “Here, let me show you.”
Al’bah concentrated for a moment and reverted Cain and herself back to their original forms. A standing mirror materialized upon the desert floor. She sat Cain up, now in his current form, tall but no longer proud. Athletic, but no longer muscular.
Cain sat looking at his reflection for several long moments, moving his hands, touching his face. He looked at Al’bah; his eyes were dull, almost lifeless. With a deafening rumbling, the entire background of Cain’s mind shifted to a homestead. There was a large house, an even larger barn, rolling fields of wheat, and a sprawling orchid just beginning to bloom.
Cain reached out to the cheerily lit house as the fireflies just started to dance. “I want to go home. I want to go to sleep.” His head lowered, and his voice took on a quality Al’bah had never heard before.
He sounded as though he lost…
“I want to die.”
…the will to live.
***
The next two days were hard. Cain’s physical condition improved significantly, and he was even able to help Amidres’ with the chores around the homestead. He would talk and even join in the conversations that went on around him.
His eyes, however, stayed dull and lifeless. What was worse, he would barely talk to Al’bah when they were alone. Nothing she did could bring him out of the depression he was under. Even her most powerful methods of seduction provoked little to no effect. It was as if she had killed him. All he would ever say to Al’bah whenever she tried to bring him out of his despair was that he had nothing to complain about, and needed time.
“How much time do you need, Cain?” Al’bah asked, running her hands over his body, trying to release the soreness that came with his muscles re-growing and healing.
Cain rolled over. “Al’bah, do you remember when I was twelve?”
Al’bah lowered her head. She knew what Cain was alluding to. “Is that what you think of me? Of what I did?”
Cain sat up. “I don’t know what to think, Al’bah. I want to be so mad at you, but I—” Cain shuddered and crossed his arms. “I want to say you raped my existence. I want to say you stole my identity. But…but…”
Cain clutched his knees much like Al’bah had done before. He felt Al’bah hold him in her arms and wings as they wrapped around his body.
“I can remember it all! But at the same time, I can’t. Every time I see you, I am reminded…of something. I know that Taint tortured you…I can’t even imagine the horror I feel even now stretching on for days, months, years, centuries!” He wiped his eyes and touched Al’bah’s wings so gently. “I can’t imagine why you let me touch your wings. That you take me into your embrace.”
Cain sighed and said quietly, “I don’t feel worthy of that.” He started to push her wings away.
Al’bah grasped Cain’s arms with hands of steel and used her wings to force his head to look upon her. “Especially since you now know what it means to me. You are all the more worthy.” She released his arms.
Cain nodded; he didn’t touch her wings but did not shy away from their touch. He shook his head sadly. “To know Taint would hurt you like that. I just can’t believe—”
“And what conclusion you have come to?” Al’bah said softly, trying to keep her Bond from remembering the horror that they now both knew.
Cain looked up to Al’bah and shrugged. “That’s just it, Al’bah. Sometimes knowing stops you in your tracks, and leaves you without direction.”
“And sometimes when that happens…,” Al’bah said, remembering the words Cain spoke to Charlie long ago
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“There is nothing that can be fixed.”
“You just wait for a new sense of purpose to take hold.”
“And hope that you can recognize it when it does.”
Cain settled back into bed, holding Al’bah close as she snuggled up to his chest. “I will say this: I don’t think I could ever have a relationship that is as close as ours is.”
Cain dozed and jumped violently, crying out as he felt his wings being torn apart when he was Al’bah.
“I am here, my Bond,” Al’bah whispered.
Cain trembled into her arms.
“Please, don’t let me go.”
“So long as you want me, I will never let you go.”
Chapter 64
Pastor Ray Hughes
“It is time to test his mett
le. It is time to reap what was sown, and see if it bore fruit.”
—Purity
It sure is cold this morning, praise God. We can’t have warm weather all the time. What was the saying? “These are the times that try men’s souls”? Yes, that’s it. Now, if I could only remember where I know that line from.
Ray Hughes, or Pastor Ray Hughes, stepped out of his old and beaten truck. His breath misted in the cold morning, and he was glad to have made it early to the Wellses’ residence.
He knocked on the door, and in no time at all, it opened up. “Pastor Hughes!” Serenna exclaimed loudly. “I knew it would be you! Come in! You must be hungry!”
Ray noticed a young couple huddling by the fire. “Ah, so these are the two you told me about on the radio? Wait a second? Aren’t these two—”
“Pastor Ray Hughes, as our God is a God of truth, I tell you this: I believe that they are innocent of wrongdoing,” Serenna said sternly.
Ray took off his jacket and shoes at the prompting of Serenna, and he walked over to the two huddling by the fireplace.
Yes, these are the two that the authorities want for the murder of three people. He stepped closer and felt an intense doubt. They are innocent, I am sure. I do not know why, but there is something strange about the woman.
The one he knew as Cain had returned his deadpan stare into the fire. The woman he knew as Al’bah was staring at him with wide blue-violet eyes, full of a strange fear.
“You are not human,” he said simply. “Or you are possessed.”
Al’bah suddenly could not look into his face. “Yes.”
“Yes? To which one?”
“I am not human.”
“Really now?” Ray looked back to Serenna, who seemed shocked at this knowledge. “How long have you known this?”
“Um…I think three, maybe four days? But how could you know?”
“Never mind about that,” Ray said, turning back to Al’bah. “What is your purpose? Why are you here?”
Al’bah was able to look into his eyes, her fear now replaced with a deep peace. “My purpose is to love Cain, my Bond. I am here because he chose me as his companion.”
“I think I will cut more firewood,” Cain said, getting up and leaving.
“Cain, where—”
“Forget it, Al’bah. I wanna be alone for a moment. I know a sermon before it comes.”
Something strange about that one. Ray returned his attention to Al’bah. “Really now? What are you, then?”
“Those in my race call themselves Demono.”
“Demon?”
“No, Demono. My race is not one with God, though I seek restoration.”
“Your race? You mean there is more of your kind?”
“The entirety of my race has many different castes. I am a Succubus.”
Ray narrowed his eyes. “The Bible doesn’t mention Demono or Succubi.”
Al’bah nodded. “The Bible does not.”
Ray considered what was being revealed to him by this creature that looked like a beautiful woman.
Yes, she’s right, he thought, catching the double meanings of her words quite easily. The Bible doesn’t mention Demono, or Succubi. But then again, the Bible doesn’t reveal everything to man.
Ray felt a powerful temptation to learn and to know about existence through this creature. He quickly quelled the notion. Although Al’bah did not strike Ray as a deceitful creature, her ability to speak so well in double meanings made him uncomfortable.
“You see, Succubi are considered to be an upper echelon caste and—”
“You are speaking of things that are outside God’s Word and revelation to man. These things you tell me are not for me, and I no longer wish to hear them.” He stood a little taller. “I think I am going to pump some water, and then see what I can do about that poor soul out there, but before I go I want to ask you some questions, Al’bah.” He put on his glasses and prayed for truth.
“Do you acknowledge that God is above all?”
“Yes.”
“And you wish to regain your place with God?”
“Yes.”
Pastor Ray Hughes turned and opened the door. “That is all I need to know.”
He left, glad to have resisted temptation.
She knows what pleases mortals, Ray thought to himself. She helps Serenna with the chores, and must be very pleasing to Cain. And I’ll bet anything she is a supreme fountain of knowledge to questions that I have always wished to have answered.
Chapter 65
Worth
“Know this, Succubus: you and your sin ruined you! If it takes eternity for you to embrace my corruption, so shall it be! An unfathomable expanse of water may be pure. Let one mustard seed of me enter, and it is all Taint-ed. This is my will, and you will be a part of it!”
—Taint
The Wellses had nearly twenty cords of wood. In the span of three days, Cain had split and stacked almost all of it. His rate of recovery shocked Serenna and Amidres’, even with Al’bah reminding them she was a significant factor. He was sharpening the axe when he saw the Christian pastor come around the corner of the house and walk up to Cain.
The Christian was an adult black male standing about five foot six, but the way he carried himself made him seem larger than life. His hair was going gray, like a frost that had started on the ground, and his smile was a blazing white.
Cain stared at him for a moment, thinking the man would speak. After a while of nothing, he grabbed another log, placed it at the ready, and lifted the axe. “What?” he shouted, letting the axe fall to his shoulder, looking at the Christian with accusation, unable to concentrate with the weight of his eyes upon him.
“I didn’t say anything,” the Christian pastor said with a calm voice.
“Then why are you here? Why do you want to watch me?” he said while bringing his axe to bear and, with a controlled breath and swing, split the log in two.
“I am here to assist in the chores I normally attend to when I visit.”
Cain stopped for a moment, looking at the Christian pastor. “Do you wish to take over? I can pump the water.”
The Christian pastor shook his head. “I already pumped enough water.” He sat down on a cord that was already finished and continued. “Serenna and Al’bah are getting dinner ready, and I’ll just be in the way. Amidres’ hasn’t returned, so I came out here.”
Cain noted the Christian pastor still hadn’t told him why he wanted to watch him. But as long as he didn’t come to preach, Cain supposed his presence didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore, but he still needed to eat, as did Al’bah. So he did chores that were easy in comparison to his days in construction.
It was different to cut firewood, or to work with wood with Amidres’. It was different to peel the potatoes for the evening meal; it was the fact that he was working for himself that made it different. And also the physical labor kept the waking nightmares away.
He quickly brought his axe down on another log. He had to stay busy, keep his mind occupied, or sink into what he called a state of senselessness. It was the only way to keep it away from his mind.
Cain knew that Al’bah had meant well to endure his life and force him to endure a day of hers, but by doing so, everything Cain had went through, his triumphs and failures, his sorrows, and his…his entire life, was so insignificant. Everything he was, and everything he endured, meant nothing to him anymore
But…
He remembered how Al’bah had held him, how she offered yet again to return to…to…
He tried to split another log to keep the horror away, but his hand trembled, and the axe slipped from his grip. Cain cursed under his breath as he walked over to the axe, and he was about to pick it up when he was seized by a harsh chill upon his body.
“Damn this weather, so cold. I am so cold,” he muttered as he wrapped his arms around his body and—
What the hell?
Cain noticed how his body was postured. He was stand
ing hunched over and cradling his own torso, much like Al’bah whenever she told Cain that she was cold. As soon as his thoughts returned to her, Cain felt an immediate and almost overwhelming desire to be near her. He wanted to hold her and have her hold him.
Is there no free will! Cain shouted in his mind as he forced himself to grasp the axe and split the log with another controlled swing.
How could she even think of returning to Taint? To endure millennia after millennia of that was too much to even fathom, and yet she was willing to do it.
Why, God? Why? Cain wailed in his mind.
There was nowhere for him to run; he couldn’t even claim that Al’bah was ignorant of the struggles of his life. She understood him—how could she not? She lived through his entire life. How much worse that made it all! He hated how she could bring up subjects and memories still sore but thankfully forgotten. How she could finish his sentences, and…and—
And, how much she now meant to him, how she became so close to him.
Cain noticed the Christian pastor placed another log on the stump. “Mister Hughes, can I talk to you?” Cain said, turning to him.
The Christian pastor walked up to Cain; his dark eyes held a truth, a burning intelligence. “By all means, Cain, but I will only grant you the request you have asked of me.”
“What?”
“You asked if you could talk to me. I will listen to whatever you want to talk about. But in return, I will not answer any questions you might ask of me.”
“Perhaps just one? Why not?”
He put his shoulder on Cain much like Purity did. “Because, Cain, you are not ready to listen.”
Cain braced himself for the expected fit of anger to take hold of his senses, but it never came. He started to talk; his tale was a vastly different one from the one shared with Serenna and Amidres’. From his encounter with Law, to the way he felt his own control over his life was taken from him, bit by bit. But more than that, he found himself speaking of the grief of the loss of any and every sense of destiny or worth.
Succubus Tear (Triune promise) Page 38