Flirting with Sin Ch. 01

I looked at her, glanced at Gales in pieces on the floor, and then turned back to look at Alison's softly slumbering form. With an exasperated sigh, I just shrugged at the songstress.

"I'll tell you on the way home, Voh."

XV: Deliverance

We strayed from the city proper, sticking to the backstreets and the borders. There was only one safe place I could think to take Alison and it was an inconveniently out of the way backwood slum. A place that might keep her out of the prying eyes of the Church. Though I had failed in my duty to end her life, if she merely escaped from the city's watch, then perhaps, God willing, we might both be spared of this fate.

The rosary was still around her neck. It gleamed in the light of the sun but it no longer burned her skin. I wasn't sure what to make of it; Alison was still very much a demon. The ears atop her head, her fur and tail and claws all attested to that.

Alison would mumble in her sleep, restlessly tossing in my arms. "Mother... where..."

Shuu'Vohsa refused to go back to the apartment without me. She remembered my promise for chocolate eggs and wanted to personally ensure I made good on it. The song demon fluttered about, floating next to me as I walked, sometimes perching on my shoulder when she was too lazy to trek on her own. Part of me was annoyed, but still another part couldn't stop imagining my landlord beating down my door and Voh answering, naked as the day she was born. Better that she was out here with me.

The paladin was sitting out on his porch in a rocking chair, leaning back and forth. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw me.

"Hunter!" he called out to me. "That's--that's Alison! What happened?! Did you--?"

At the sound of his voice, Alison's green emerald eyes popped open.

"T-Trevor...!" Alison gasped, staring up at me. Her head twitched this way and that, her eyes darting about in a panic. "Where--?"

"Calm down," I said, meeting both their eyes. I directed them to the rosary resting on Alison's chest. "Gales somehow made her demonic metamorphosis much worse. He was a twisted monster, but I managed to subdue him. I put the necklace on her and it helped me to bring her to her senses."

The cat demoness took the rosary in her claws and turned it over, watching the silver gleam in the sun. Her brows furled with grief. "I... After he grabbed me, I was seeing red. I was so angry, so filled with hate. He fell, and then I saw Mother, I remembered her, and I..." She grimaced, her eyes shut tight. She gripped the rosary bitterly.

"Alison..." came the paladin, sadness in his gaze. "Gales was a wicked man, and you were made to bear his sins. I can only imagine the pain he has caused you. I am so sorry."

Tumbling from my arms and rising to stand, Alison answered Markus with a shallow smile. "At least Mother can finally rest in peace. At least now, I'm... free..." She stared at the rosary in her palm as if wondering what the word really meant.

"No," I said, the word cutting a hole in their somber bubble. "You are still a demon. You will not be suffered in this city. The Church will never stop hunting you."

Alison flashed her fangs at me.

"Are you going to hunt me down, Trevor? I told you--I will never give up Mother's gift. This is who I am. I was always afraid in the life I had before. I will not go back to being afraid," she reminded me, the words rumbling growls in her throat.

I shook my head. "As far as I know, the demon known as Alison Gales was lost in the Inferno, drawn there by the false priest who had corrupted a small chapel in one of the vacant sectors. May she meet the second death in the lake of fire."

The ears atop Alison's head twitched with confusion for a moment before she let out a raspy cackle. "Is that so? You're not very good at your job, Trevor!"

Shuu'Vohsa, perched on my shoulder, put a finger to her lip. "But, Miss Alison is right there..."

"What about you?" Markus turned attentions to me. "Alison will be safe if she leaves the city, but you must return to the Church. Someone will be made to pay for Gales' death."

Again, I shook my head. "Gales was no man. He was fat with the blood of innocents, a demon by any measure. I was merely doing my duty."

"Then why spare Alison?" The paladin crooked his brow at me. "To say nothing of the queer bird on your shoulder..."

"I made a promise to someone," is all I could find to answer.

Shuu'Vohsa glanced down at me from her perch and grinned. "Mister Trevor promised me an egg!" she chirped cheerfully.

The paladin folded his arms and gave me an accusing look.

"... I've made a lot of promises lately," I said, shrugging.

The road that led into the city was long and winding, an old forgotten path pockmarked with decrepit pre-Church buildings and broken asphalt. Shuu'Vohsa spent much of the journey perched upon my shoulder and at a few points I looked up at her to find she was about to doze off, lose her grip and fall to the ground.

Voh was wearing a robe she'd borrowed from the chapel, plain and brown, but she liked to complain about it and espouse the freedom of being naked. I wouldn't have minded touting her around as bare as when she came out of her egg, but it wouldn't go over well as we snuck back into the city.

Ahead of us, off in the distance, I saw the glint of golden armor. Several figures in metal suits, clanking buckets of steel approaching with heavy steps. Among them was a man in an elaborate robe, a metal cross bound to his chest and a tall witch hunter's hat on his head.

... An Inquisitor. Just what I fucking need.

"Are those Church people? Your friends, Trevor?" Voh peeped cluelessly.

"Get behind me, Voh. Stay close," I ordered. The veins in my forehead were throbbing.

The Inquisitor drew a long silver blade and approached us, the paladins shortly behind. He held it out in front of him, the point directed at my heart.

"Demon Hunter Trevor Rensor. Hunter of the Church. The Inquisition of the Holy Cathedral of Our Salvation the Lord has been tasked with your arrest. You may come quietly or face destruction and damnation," he shouted into the open road, his voice carrying over the whipping wind.

I put a hand on the gun under my robe. "Am I to be informed of my supposed crimes?"

The Inquisitor reached into his robe and pulled out a small black book, flipping it open with one hand.

"Your complacency and failure has lead to the death of an innocent citizen. Timothy Willits," he recited.

"I took my lashes for that," I shouted back. He was hardly innocent--if not for him, Alison would still be human.

"The murder of Father Richard Gales. You blaspheme against the Lord by taking the life of one of his most devoted servants."

"Gales was tainted by demonic corruption! To let him live would have been to shirk my duty as a Hunter!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "'His most devoted servants?' The man was nothing but a twisted monster. A creature of the Inferno."

"Is that so? What proof have you? His remains were found free of demonic contamination," the Inquisitor retorted. "A Demon Hunter's role is to carry out sentences pronounced by the Church and to protect the innocent. Your kind are dogs best kept on a short leash, lest you deem yourself the judge, jury and executioner."

His voice was tinted by smug self-satisfaction and a knowing smile. My hands balled into fists.

"Consorting with demons," he damningly accused. "We have reason to believe your recent blasphemy in the chapel of Father Richard Gales was aided and abetted by demonic forces. Such as the weapons on your belt... and the one standing next to you."

My teeth were grinding into powder and cold sweat crawled down my back. There was no way out of this and he knew--it was written all over his smug face. There was nothing this self-righteous bastard enjoyed more than looking down upon others he deems less sanctified.

"Voh, run! Fly away!" I shouted at her, pulling out the magnum and aiming the barrel at the Inquisitor's head.

"B-but--!" she stammered, backing away from me.

"Very poor decision, Demon Hunter. Very poor," the Inquisitor said, his words rife with malicious glee.

From his belt the Inquisitor hurled a hook on a long chain. It snapped around Shuu'Vohsa's waist and the hook sank into her side. She screeched in terrified agony as she was pulled away, a trail of blood following after her path toward the Inquisitor.

Damn it!

Every muscle in my body tensed. I held the magnum steady and drew the four pounds of weight to send death into him. The shot rang out into the streets.

Clang! The bullet struck the Inquisitor's silver sword and ricocheted into the broken asphalt. His peeling lips formed a wide, wicked smile. He took the hook in hand and put it to Voh's neck.

"Attempted murder of a member of the Inquisition of the Holy Cathedral of Our Salvation the Lord. Your crimes pile up. I will see you burn, Hunter. You and your hellspawn pet."

Teeth grit and veins burning, I drew Lightsbane. I didn't care if there were ten or a hundred paladins behind him.

"Choose your next moves very carefully, Demon Hunter," he hissed, the words snaking from his infuriating smile. "Do you care for this demon? Lay down your weapons and surrender yourself. Take another step and I will personally ensure she meets the second death."

"Tr-Trevor...!" Voh cried, trembling in terror.

"Do not worry, hellspawn. You shall burn on a holy pyre together. Your sins shall be exorcized from this our Lord's land by fire, hand in hand. Is that not romantic?" The Inquisitor cackled.

"God damn it!" I spat in agonized frustration. There wasn't a thing I could do.

"Tut-tut! Taketh not the Lord's name in vain," the Inquisitor mocked.

Slowly I lowered to the ground and set Lightsbane and the magnum down on the asphalt. I shook in impotent rage, utterly powerless.

"Well done, Hunter. Perhaps the two of you shall have a chance to see one another again as you burn for eternity in the lake of fire," the Inquisitor sneered. "Take him away."

He gestured to one of the paladins, all faceless golden armor, who approached me and nonchalantly struck my head with the butt of his rifle.

I sank to the ground where I was quickly swallowed up by nothingness.

The cell was freezing cold. I couldn't remember the last time I ate. There was nothing to occupy my mind but the drip drip drip of water leaking in from the ceiling.

This dungeon was specifically for those who had committed crimes against the Church and were to be put to death. There would be no trial. I had overwhelming evidence of my guilt and that Inquisitor was all too eager to put me to the flame.

How many hours had it been? Days? Time ceased for me in this place. The seconds passed by in unbearable quiet while somewhere above me, Voh was being tortured or worse.

I knew of those like him. They hated that the Inquisition wasn't the sole authoritative branch of the Church and that those like me had any sort of power among the average citizenry. He wouldn't be happy until all Demon Hunters were nothing more than lap dogs who kill on command or were driven out of the Church entirely.

A shadow darkened the dim hallway, followed by the clicking of heels. A nun stood before my cell, her face darkened beneath the veil of her wimple. Her habit was long and flowing black, such that I couldn't see even an inch of her skin--but I didn't need to. I knew her well.

"You've really done it this time, haven't you, Trevor?" Alessa sighed, pressing her black silken hands against the bars. "Do you feel even a sliver of remorse for what you've done?"

I hesitated.

"No. Not even a little."

"That you should turn from the Lord in such a manner after all your vows and training. How deeply sorrowful. I shall pray for you from the bottom of my heart," she said, her words slow and pained--and not at all genuine.

"Save your breath, Sister. I did what I had to. If this is where my fate lies, I will have to accept the weight of my sins."

Alessa put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Trevor. Givin' up, just like that? That ain't like you." Her tone had shifted, the faux-concerned drivel shifting to a spunky sneer.

The cell door opened and the nun sauntered inside. She planted her heels on either side of where I sat, then she pointed two fingers at my forehead and lifted her thumb, mocking a gun.

"What are you...?"

"Bang." She lifted her fingers to her mouth and blew away the imagined smoke. "How's it feel for the shoe to be on the other foot, huh?"

"What are you talking about, Alessa?"

The Sister pulled back her wimple. Black hair, pale skin, her warm smile--that's what I thought I saw, but I was unable to make sense of her face. It blurred and shifted like my eyes had lost focus on her. I blinked again and again, struggling to make her out, but I could only see her gaze on me like burning embers in her darkened orbs.

"... Alice."

Lowering herself to her knees, her black lips parted and a tongue rolled out of her mouth, followed by the other, and flicked against me like a snake smelling its prey. She leaned back into the faint light to reveal her orange skin and shifting stripes. She smiled wide, a bed of sharpened daggers lining her mouth.

"You kept your promise," the lilim said, ever grinning. "Are ya really surprised? I wanted to help you, but I knew you wouldn't let me--so I showed you what I'd look like if I were a little more demon."

An inverted cross hung from her neck. Had she always worn it? Had I merely turned a blind eye to it all this time? It must have protected her from the light of the Church.

"I didn't expect ya to come lookin' for me again later, but I'm glad. I did tell you to come to me if ya needed help, and you did. That makes me happy, Trevor, even if ya didn't know it was me."

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. Loathsome demon. You planned this all along, didn't you? Lure me into a vulnerable position and then take my living soul." I accused her through grit teeth. In the end, even the person I thought closest to me was a devil after all.

"No, not like this." Alice put her hands on my shoulders, her glowing red cores stared into my eyes. "I wanted you to come to me of your own free will, Trevor. I wanted you to offer yourself to me, accept me as your personal savior. We've become so close, haven't we? Why should God have your soul? I've done so much more for you than He ever has. I'm always stickin' my neck out for you."

"You're nothing more than a soul-sucking fiend, like all the other devilspawn."

I glared death into her. Betrayal and deceit sat in my lap as she closed in on me, her two tongues rolling over her lips.

"That's not true, Trevor. I'm your soul-sucking devilspawn. And I won't let you get away."

The demon pressed her black lips against mine, her tongues pressing forcefully into my mouth but finding only teeth. She frowned and kissed my forehead instead.

"Get off of me."

"I'm still her! I'm still Alessa. Haven't I been good to you? Haven't I been there when God was not?"

"I..."

I faltered. I had been an outsider in the Church, in the city, for as long as I had been a part of it. Alessa had been there to tend to my wounds and see to my health when others had been indifferent time and time again. For it to have all been a demon's deceit was a bitter pill.

"What do you want from me?"

Alice smiled in a way that made my gut sink.

"Accept me. Become my mortal thrall, let me in, and I'll protect ya just like I always have." She touched her burning hot fingers to my cheek. "I won't let them crucify you, or burn you at the stake, or cut off your pretty little head. You belong to me. I won't let anyone have you... if anyone's gonna kill ya, it's gonna be me," she said, her smile never wavering--then she leaned into my neck and sunk those daggers into my skin.

I could only grunt and growl. Everything had been taken from me and I saw no reason to resist. I gripped her habit and held on for dear life as she sucked a mouthful of me from my veins.

Once and then twice her tongues traced along the holes in my skin, lapping up the blood. "Mmm. You better not let me get used to this. You taste real good. Maybe Girty was right." Winking, she put her burning-hot fingers to my neck to gather up some of the blood. "I'm gonna need summa this if I'm gonna get you out of here."

Alice stood up and began tracing her bloody fingers along the dungeon wall. She drew the outline of a door, then began quickly drawing runes inside it.

"Go where? To burn in the Inferno? I'll end up there soon enough anyway," I grumbled.

"Don't you wanna save tweety-bird? She's still kickin' up there, you know."

"You saw Voh?" Invisible needles pressed into my scalp. I still had a duty to fulfill after all. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, I saw Tweety. She's doing okay right now, but it prolly won't be too long before they're nailing her to the cross," Alice said, shrugging.

"We have to help her. I can't just leave her here to die, it's my fault she's here in the first place."

"Wow, Mr. Martyr. It's like you think you're Christ himself. Not everything is your fault," Alice reprimanded me, hurriedly drawing runes. "We'll help Tweety, but ya can't do that with just your bare hands and loud mouth."

Finishing her bloodrite, cracks formed in the dungeon wall in the outline of a door. The passage creaked open and the desolate voidscape of Inferno Alice had taken me before stretched out beyond it. The lilim stood next to it looking proud of herself.

I stood up and began towards the door, but she stopped me.

"Just a sec, loverboy," she said, those burning eyes narrowing in on me. "I helped you with Alison and I'll help you with Tweety, but remember this. You belong to me. And if I'm gonna save you from bein' strung up on a heretic's pyre, I want you to swear it to me. There's no goin' back if you step through that gate. Got it?"

It doesn't look like I have much of a choice. Between being burned alive by the will of the Church and surviving on the whims of a demon, the latter had already saved my sorry hide more times than I cared to admit. I just nodded at her.

"Alright, we can make it formal later. Come on," she ordered, an impish smirk spread across the little devil's face.

Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me through the demonic gateway. The door slid closed behind us.

To be continued.

Thank you very much for reading this far.

This whole thing has been a journey for me in learning what I value about writing, what kinds of characters and scenes I like to write, and coming to terms with not aiming for perfection.

There will be a part two to this story eventually. Will Trevor save Shuu'Vohsa from the Church? What of Alice's deception--who is it she serves, really? How many crimes is the Church simply overlooking in the name of the 'greater good?'

All questions that will eventually be answered, maybe, possibly.

Contact me if you enjoyed this story and are interested in doing artwork commissions of the characters, as I may be able to pay you.

And again, thank you very much for your time and interest. I hope you enjoyed Flirting with Sin.