Dead and Horny Ch. 17

"Not lost. Rotten. Like a corpse." He slammed her into the ground and then kicked her hard enough that she slid across the floor and into the wall. The men nearby drew tasers and ran enough voltage through Dana that her thoughts became a jumble and she couldn't control her body. She had difficulty processing what happened next, but vaguely understood that she was being taken somewhere by the security team.

By the time they reached their destination, her wig had come off and she had lost both shoes. They searched the pockets of her jacket and took her phone and the pendulum. There was the sound of clanking metal, and then she was stuffed into a cage. The room smelled of fresh blood and dog hair. By the time her thoughts were back in order, the lights had been turned off and she couldn't see.

Dana sat up and felt her way around her prison. The surroundings were pitch black, but a quick examination with her hands revealed that she was in a small cage. It was small enough that she couldn't fully stand.

"So," a familiar voice said. "What are you in for?" This was followed by a horrible hacking cough, and then a long sniff. "Wait...I know that scent..."

Dana sighed as the werewolf let out a cry of rage and started yelling. At least she wouldn't have to worry about being quiet when she broke out.

Lily sat with her legs crossed, one foot bouncing with irritation as the crowd engaged in another hymn with Deacon. Most of the crowd had their arms raised as if soaking up salvation like dying flowers with insipid smiles on their stupid faces.

"You're glad you're missing this," Lily said to the sleeping woman. "This guy is force feeding people turds and they're thanking him for it."

The woman mumbled in her sleep, a puddle of drool forming on the front of her shirt. A rather obese woman stepped in front of Lily, blocking her view.

"Down in front." Lily stabbed the woman in the ankle with her tail, putting in just enough juice that the woman had time to stumble back to her seat before drifting to sleep. In fact, there were at least five other people who were currently out cold. Four of them were Lily's, she had been jabbing people who irritated her. One she hadn't was a woman who had screamed Deacon's name and fainted into someone else's arms.

The hymn came to an end and the light on the stage shifted. Deacon had done a quick costume change and now wore his Sunday best and was holding a different Bible from before.

"My friends." He gazed out over the crowd, his dark eyes glinting in the light as he took them all in. "As much fun as we've all had this evening, I'm afraid that I have to remind you that despite the venue, the showmanship, and the beard that my daughter wishes I would shave..." He paused and smiled as people laughed, hooted, and cheered. "That I am a man who has been called, a man of the Lord. None of this would be possible without His grace, His guidance."

It was like a blanket had been draped over the audience, everyone hanging on his words.

"We can talk about my book, my life, this beautiful country, but all of it pales, it absolutely pales, in comparison with this right here." He held up a Bible with gilded letters on the front. Some people cheered, others applauded, but the bulk of the audience remained silent.

"Now this tour is named after my book, and my book, well...you've all seen the advertisements." He sat on a wooden stool that a stagehand set out for him. "For you see, my words don't truly matter. No, that doesn't mean you can get a refund at the merch table."

Laughter now. Lily ground her teeth and looked at her phone. She had texted Dana a few times, but the zombie had gone silent.

"No, my words are but a tool, a compass, and they have been divinely inspired to help you all find the right path. And you all know where that path leads, don't you?" He opened the Bible and flipped through its pages. "If you take anything from this show tonight, it is that God himself has left you breadcrumbs that you can follow. He has an entire kingdom He wants to share with you someday, but you can't just have it. It isn't a participation trophy. You can't just live here on Earth and expect an eternal reward, you have to live by His gospel, to find the way through the words He has left for you and me."

"Twenty bucks says a grift is coming." Lily elbowed her sleepy companion.

"You see, I never asked to be chosen. It happened when I was at a low point in my life, when I was out of work and homeless. I was sleeping in a shelter when a man of the cloth left this very book behind on a nearby table. And do you know what I did?"

"You read it!" The voice came from back in the crowd.

"No. No I did not." Deacon winked. "You see, my soul was hungry, and it had been offered food, but I did not know that this was what I needed. I saw that he had left that book behind and I wondered if I could use it to level my cot." He flipped open the pages and held out the book. The crowd was silent as the screen above him came on, the camera zoomed in so people could see the torn pages.

"That's right, friends, I took this good book, the word of the Lord himself, and I opened its pages and tucked it under the leg of my cot. When the Lord's words were offered to me, I slept on them, but not in the way I should have." He closed the book and held it high so everyone could see it. "That night, I wasn't visited by angels. I didn't see Jesus. Instead, I slept in a void, in a darkness so bleak that I wondered if I would have the strength to make it through tomorrow."

A woman two seats over burst into tears.

"Gimme a fucking break." Lily glared at her phone, willing it to light up.

"The next morning, I was in a bad place, but I got a good night's sleep. I pulled that Bible free and felt guilty that I had torn its pages. When I went to inspect the damage, there was a passage that caught my eye and I read His words for the first time.

"Folks, I will never forget that first line, that moment I was captured by the Bible. It was Matthew 19:21. Jesus said to him, 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.'"

Lily's tail was snaking behind the seats, moving toward the sobbing woman. One good jab in her butt cheek brought the sobbing to a halt, and the woman tilted forward as if deep in prayer.

"Well, what could I say? I had no possessions other than the clothes on my back. No bank account, no land, no car. My shoes had more holes in them than Swiss cheese. Yet this man I had never met, a man who was the son of God, he already considered me perfect! I still qualified for true treasure in heaven, and he only asked one thing of me. That was the moment, the calling. It wasn't just about opening my ears, but my heart as well, and to truly hear what He asked of me." He set the book down on the stool and rose, the video screen becoming clouds once more. "I had to follow Him. That was it. And it's something you can do as well! Following the word of the Lord is easy, His instructions are right there."

In the computer generated clouds above Deacon, a QR code appeared. People were already pulling out their cellphones and aiming it toward the false sky. Out of curiosity, Lily did the same. It pulled up a page for donations.

"Now we all can't start at rock bottom, friends, and I'm not asking you to sell it all. But every little piece you give will go to help people like Veronica." A side screen turned on, showing the woman from the opening sequence. "Or Matt, who lost his job this month." It was a trucker now, his arms around Deacon's shoulders. "This is money you can give today to help us build a better tomorrow. For it is only by following the good book that we can find our way to eternal paradise in His kingdom."

Lily lowered her phone and saw that the people in the front rows were frantically typing in passwords for Paypal, and bank account numbers. Stunned by this show of blind obedience, she looked up at Deacon and smelled the demon for the very first time.

It wasn't the scent of sulfur, that would be too obvious. It was a thick smell, like potpourri, and the room was now saturated with it. Sweeping her gaze around the room, she could feel its influence washing over the crowd. Deacon had moved close to the stage and was kneeling down to touch people's hands as they shouted things like "I want to be perfect, too!" and "I'm going to Heaven!"

The man's eyes glittered, and Lily could sense the leash around this man's heart. The demon held the other end of it, but where? She maneuvered forward through the crowd, trying to get close to him. The energy in the room had soured, but everyone was too caught up to notice. Someone started singing Amazing Grace, which caused hundreds of others to join in.

"I'm gonna stab that fucker," she muttered, nearly to the stage now. Deacon was smiling and waving, but Lily could see the ravenous look in his eyes. This wasn't a man who would be satisfied with the money he was getting right now. There was something he wanted even more.

Nearly at the stage, she reached her hand for his, hoping to catch his attention. He spotted her, and stretched his fingers for hers.

Lily smiled for the preacher man, her stinger already manifesting in her palm. When they touched, she planned on dosing him hard, hoping that the man would fall flat on his face.

But it wasn't meant to be. Deacon paused just short of her and a strong hand grabbed Lily by the wrist, slapping her arm down and away. Stunned, Lily looked over to see her seat companion grinning at her from behind red-tinted eyes.

"Hello, sister." The woman pulled Lily back and away from the stage. More hands grabbed her, but they were strong and many. She was grabbed by a few security guards and dragged out of sight behind the stage. Her seatmate followed, along with a few others that had been sitting nearby. Even the woman who had fainted was there, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Lily tried to squirm away, but a skinny man met them in an underground tunnel and wrapped his arm around her neck. He was stronger than all the others, and she tried to bite him. She may as well have been biting a chunk of rebar.

"A cage will not do for this one." The security team dragged her through the tunnel as she screamed. If she wanted, she could have teleported away straight home to Mike, but then Dana would be on her own. That, and she didn't need the demon tracking her.

No, demons. She cast angry glares at the people who had been seeded in the crowd. It was so obvious now why Dana hadn't been able to get a lock on the creature. There was more than one. That would make the job of finding out which one was responsible for Leeds a bit harder.

But it wouldn't matter if they found a way to kill them all.

She was dragged into a concrete room with sigils already being prepared by stage hands. Lily gasped as she passed through the boundary. It was just her and the skinny guy now. He slammed her onto the ground and backed away before she could retaliate.

"This one must have been with the woman," he declared in a thick accent. The audience members stood outside the circle with large grins and glowing eyes. Lily moved around the edge of the sigil in the floor, pressing her fingers against the magical barrier.

Her flesh was peeled away, leaving charred bone where her fingers had been. Swearing to herself, she stepped back and examined the floor.

"These are angelic," she said, casting a wary glance. "Which one of you chuckle fucks put this together?"

Nobody answered. The scrawny bodyguard contemplated Lily for a couple of minutes, then touched his ear.

"Let him know that the threat is neutralized." He scowled at Lily and moved toward the edge of the circle. She noticed that he was very careful not to touch the ink on the floor with his shoes. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

"What? I can't hear you?" She took a step back and held a hand to her ear. "Could you come a little closer, I--"

She definitely didn't expect him to cross the boundary and slap her. Grunting, she sprouted horns and head butted him in the face, but he didn't even flinch. Instead, he grabbed her by the horns and twisted her around so that she was looking outward.

"Now it is I who cannot hear you." He shoved her face into the boundary, and she screamed and flailed wildly as her face ignited. She stabbed him numerous times with her tail, but he didn't react. After a few seconds, he threw her to the floor again and stood over her.

"Weak little imp," he sneered, then crouched down. "I ask again. Who are you and who sent you?"

"I'm the girl who's gonna fuck you up." She grinned at him and was promptly treated to the barrier again. It hurt like hell, but there was no way she was going to tell this guy anything. He wasn't a demon, that was for sure. But what the hell was he? Not human either.

He left her smoldering on the floor as her skin regrew. Moving outside of the circle, he spoke with one of the demons and then stepped out of the room. They stood and watched, saying nothing.

"Aww, c'mon. This is like a slumber party, and we're old friends, right?" Lily stumbled around the room, now aware of how disoriented she felt. She moved up to the edge of the boundary to stare at her former seat mate. "Did we go to demon college together?"

The woman grinned, then licked her lips. "I'm what you would call a dropout, so probably not."

"Now, now, formal education isn't everything. Sometimes it's about life experience, right?" She contemplated the woman. "Oh, I see. You aren't an actual demon. This is just a possession. I can tell, you know. I can't actually possess anyone, but you know what they say. Those who can't do judge those who can."

"Nobody says that." This time, the voice came from the next person down.

"Oh, come now, I'm sure someone says it." Lily strolled over to the next person in line. "It seems like you're wearing a meat suit, too. They say you should wear your Sunday best, but it looks like you all dug shit out of the bargain bin."

They all chuckled, raising the hair on the back of Lily's neck. It wasn't their laughter, but the fact that they all did so in unison. This was something different, something she hadn't seen before.

"What's wrong, sister? Cat finally got your tongue?" This was an older man with a potbelly.

"Or could it be that you realize you've stepped into some serious shit?" Her seatmate grinned.

"There are worse things than hell," said the fainter. "Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to learn all about them."

"What is this?" Lily paced her prison, sniffing the air. The scent wasn't as strong as before, but it was there. Every person in this room wore the same leash she had sensed around Deacon. "Holy shit. I thought there was more than one of you, but that isn't true, is it?"

"Ooh, you're quite the clever one." Potbelly sneered at her. "So you can tell there's only one of me?"

"Yes, but...how?" Alarm bells were ringing in her mind as she stared at them all in terror. "A demon can't possess more than one person at a time. That's not possible."

"It was you who said experience was more important than education." The fainter picked up a stone and flicked it Lily's way. "So what you think isn't possible, well...the world is a much bigger place than you've been led to imagine."

Lily bit her lip and moved to the center of the circle, now uneasy. "Just who the hell are you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

They all laughed again, that same, eerie stereophonic sound. Potbelly crouched down and ran his hands lovingly just outside the edge of the wards.

"I don't go by any name, not after all that I've accomplished." He gestured to the others. "Or rather, we."

"But, if it makes you happy," her seatmate added.

The fainter grinned, her pupils dilating all the way. "Then you can just call us Legion."

Lily snorted. "Okay, that's funny. You named yourself after a bunch of discount demons who struggled to possess one person?"

Potbelly shrugged. "It's all about marketing, sister. But that's a different kind of Hell."

"Indeed." The door had opened, revealing Deacon Osgrove. He walked in while sipping from a bottle of water. The thin man was with him, never more than a footstep behind. "But I'm afraid it's intermission and I don't have time to discuss economics with hellspawn today. Succubus, right?"

Lily shrugged. "Come in here and find out."

"Kinky, but no thank you. My friend here may be bulletproof, but I'm afraid I'm a little bit softer." Deacon inspected the sigil and nodded. "Immaculate work, but I want to keep a small guard. Have someone go check on our other intruder as well. If this one is a demon, I wonder about the other."

"They are already on their way." Deacon's bodyguard bowed his head.

"Good." Deacon sipped his water and grimaced. "What an interesting night. I hate to leave, but it's time for me to go spend more time with the flock. I'll be back later, so don't you fret. You're gonna get the backstage experience of a lifetime."

"Blow me."

Deacon chuckled. "Maybe, but I'll make you sign a contract first. Timotei here will be your company until I get back, so please make yourself comfortable." On his way out, Deacon paused. "And if you all could go back to working the crowd, that would be great."

Legion in all their forms grinned, then left the room. Now it was just Lily and Timotei.

"So. Timotei, huh? Did your mom have a lisp or something?"

Timotei hissed, revealing a pair of large fangs.

"Oh. Vampire, huh? Sucks to be you." Lily snorted.

"Not vampire. Vampyr. Pure blood." Timotei sneered. "Now shut up for a bit or I'll make you sorry."

"Vampyr?" Lily could barely hide the icy core of dread that had formed in the center of her body. Vampires were rare enough, but if this man was telling the truth, then they were in even bigger trouble than she could ever have imagined. "Did you inherit your mother's li--"

Timotei moved faster than she could blink, and she cried out when her face ignited against the boundary of her prison. Using the holy flames as a distraction, she managed to text a single word on her phone before the Vampyr could snatch it away and crush it between his fingers.

RUN

That's right, monster family, we've got fucking vampires now!

Well, Vampyr. I'll let you all fight over what sort of twist I've put on the myth of the traditional vampire, but the lore runs deep, indeed.

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~Annabelle Hawthorne