FSE

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Winter's chill flowed through the city streets like a ghost's whisper, boots crunching in the silent night upon the frost covered sidewalk. A man in a heavy black overcoat and mantle padded along patiently towards his eventual destination, tall street lights illuminating the sidewalk. In one arm he held a book with a crucifix upon the cover, rosary beads carried close to his heart wrapped around the other hand. For a moment he paused by a lonely building, a home that seemed removed from the rest of the city. As he approached the building by some unseen force the air grew thicker weighing down upon the man's shoulders, but he only chuckled a bit as he ascended the concrete steps, the thick air only passing over him. As he reached the door he shut his eyes and his lips pulled up into a kindly smile, his knuckle coming up to tap upon the door. Behind him, his shadow writhed and slithered, amber orbs flashing for just a moment before the presence settled. A priest had come to spread the good word.

Blue eyes from a young man peered warily into the night as the door cracked open. For a moment the eyes moved up to survey the kindly priest's face. He looked healthy with some age, but not enough to make him look elderly. Salt and pepper hair visible within the lamp's light that hung just above the entrance. To the youth, the tall priest appeared to be built well, but unassuming and otherwise not a threat in the slightest. The youth opened the door further and stood there in a hoodie and jeans, hands hidden in the pockets as he spoke, eyes trailing down to the objects of faith the priest held with a flash of contempt, "Need somethin'? If not get out, we already got enough faith."

The priest made no change in his facial expression from the remark, instead he spoke in a tone filled with warmth, his accent marking him as an English man, "My child. I feel a great danger looming over this home. Might I ask you to kneel before God with me and abandon this unholy ground?"

The youth snickered, but paused, his eyes widening as he saw a black dog with sharp ears pacing within the man's shadow, fiery amber orbs glaring holes into the youth, fur flat like the shadows it seemed to rise from. His wide eyes then jerked back towards the priest as he caught a glimpse into the gaze of hell itself. The priest's own eyes reflected the dog's gaze, a demonic glow of amber that couldn't possibly be human. The boy shook and stepped back from the door just as the priest dropped his rosaries to seize the youth by the neck lifting the struggling thing clear off the ground, "W-what are you?!" choked the young man as the beads finished clattering upon the solid steps.

The priest only smiled, eyes bright and kind behind the square glasses he wore, "Why…lost child. I am father Jonah, a priest and tool of God. I will not judge you demon, but I will see you delivered to your judge, jury, and executioner."

For a moment the boy's eyes flashed with false panic, and then pure rage when the facade had not convinced the steady gaze of the priest. The youth hissed and convulsed clawing out at the priest that dared touch him with those filthy hands, "TRAITOR--" The youth screamed before suddenly being silenced, a snap ringing out in the quiet night as the priest squeezed the life from the possessed youth's neck. Throwing the convulsing corpse inside he closed his eyes and made a quick prayer, finger crossing over his chest as he stepped through the threshold, or what was left of it. This place was no longer a home, it was a den of demon kind and thusly, there could be no threshold, no place for any good spirited being to call home. Shuddering a bit he felt the sting of wards upon his arms, but he shook it off sighing as he dusted his coat off and shut the door, amateurs playing with things they had no knowledge of, and by the looks of it far too young. With a quiet sound of disgust and disappointment he shook his head and continued on into the darkness.

Inside the city home it was strangely quiet, the ground level abandoned of all furniture and life. As his boots creaked upon the wooden floorboards he could feel the desperate, shaking, buzz of hellish power emanating from below. The building itself radiated a sick miasma that was even thicker on the inside, the stuff rolling off of the priest as if he we were at home. Surprisingly enough it felt even colder on the inside than it did outside, perhaps as a result of bills being left unpaid, or it could have been brought upon by the presence of demon kind. At the very least the sickening aura and bone chilling temperature of the home would have kept any innocent lambs away from the place while he worked.

The source of that sickening power came from some steps he found, the feeling sending ripples through the air letting him know that he wouldn't be dealing with only one lamb led astray. Pausing for a moment he reached into his shadow to pull a sleek sawn-off shotgun, a wooden framed lupara with a special load that was certainly just as illegal as owning the very gun, but legality had no place in hunting the damned. Shells were precious things that could be packed with all manner of power, and these were given precious and righteous fire that would certainly leave any demon reeling, if not dead from the first barrage. Of his time on this earth, he had always admired human technology, even during the days where he had fallen from grace and as he inspected the firearm to make sure it was loaded, he smiled, the hunt was on.

As Jonah reached the bottom of the steps he smelled the acrid and metallic tinge of blood, an unforgettable scent that caused his body and shadow to writhe as he remembered old pleasures and sins. He heard whispers from his shadow and set his mind to ignoring the presence, speaking quietly to himself, "Later." The shadow's writhing slowed down to a gentle vibration in response and Jonah sighed, glad to be free for now.

The dark of the cellar would have blinded anyone within, if not for the dull light provided by oil lamps upon the wall, a rather rustic look. What was once perhaps a storage place for various kegs had now been reduced to a cultist’s den. Candles here and there with weak fires, wax stained in red. Occasionally he'd see a skull or two, but it was easily seen that those were children's props and nothing more, but despite the false props and store bought mediums, he felt his stomach twist and turn in delight and horror at smell of blood that only seemed to grow stronger as he stepped further into the dimly lit cellar.

It wasn't long before his search led him to a frightened lamb, a young girl in black robes standing right in front of him, yet again cutting a nearly comical look compared to the very serious nature of the miasma within. For just a moment their eyes met, and in that frozen moment he knew that she had been possessed in the way that her eyes were devoid of all emotion and sensation, and only deeper inside did he see a hidden lust and desire for mayhem. He spoke as he brought his sawn-off up to meet her face, his voice booming through the darkness, laced with holy power and causing the girl to recoil, "Repent as I have and serve a higher purpose, or be delivered."

As soon as the girl hissed and her jaw unhinged he pressed the trigger, hand steady as fire and brimstone thundered through the room and through the girl's doe eyes that would have seemed so innocent if he were a normal man. He shuddered then as he broke open the sawn-off, loading two shells that slipped from his sleeve before clamping it shut. The smell of burning flesh, of acrid blood sent ripples of desire through his body. Oh how it would be to join the damned again to taste blood upon his tongue, to stain his fangs and wet his appetite with virgin bodies and lives. He shuddered again and shook himself of the sensations, a bit sickened with himself, but these sinful desires were normal and should not be ignored, only tempered with faith and good deeds, and tonight he would be on a good hunt. Tearing his gaze from the fresh corpse pooling with blood and sticky gore he continued on.

From deeper within the cellar he heard demonic wailing and hissing, a sure sign that they knew he was there. Let them know, for he was not afraid, he had god at his side, and a damn good gun. Further into the cellar the props and gags were stained with proper blood and entrails, human meat and skin hanging over wax skulls and candles, a sight that had his shadow churning and giggling. Whether the flesh and skin had been brought about by human or demon hands, he could not tell.

Descending further into the darkness he paused for a moment, instincts screaming before he cast his bible into the mouth of a pouncing abomination straight from the darkness, human mouth distended and twisted into something entirely bestial that bit down upon the good book and choked on it just as Jonah fired off another shot. Again thunder cracked and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, Jonah sighing and shuddering again in pure jubilee as he delivered another poor creature to their maker, the corpse falling with a heavy thud, what was left of the body twitching with the final spurts of life. Complaint and anger rose from his shadow, but he ignored it, work had to be done.

Eventually he found himself at a center of sorts, where a young man with tan skin had been stripped of clothing and set in the center of a large circle drawn in blood. The boy couldn't have been older than twenty, but there he lay at the mercy of demons and foolish stray lambs who desired to use him for their purpose. Again the demons came, less human than the last. Two of them had shed their human skin entirely and wore the muscles and tendons of their previous hosts upon chitinous armor that shone bleak brown in the candlelight. Jonah shuddered as he saw the gore, his shadow bursting forth and grabbing them both by insectoid mandibles without his will, his eyes shutting for a moment as he collected himself. They chittered and screeched and clawed their way through his shadowy hold, but as they freed themselves, Jonah was there, fire and brimstone thundering out again to deliver one to the good lord, and the other impaled upon his arm through the chest, his eyes flashing wild and hungered for just a moment. As quickly as he had dispatched the first two, he tossed the corpse of the impaled demon towards a young man not yet full transformed, his eyes missing, but his body still intact. Jonah spoke out in a voice that shook the air along with the click of shells sliding into place, "Do none of you seek salvation?! Do none of you wish to be free of sin?!" The eyeless man hissed and Jonah brought up his sawn-offed freshly reloaded and closed his eyes as he fired, "May God be merciful upon you all." he said quietly

Jonah felt nothing else within the shadows, and thankfully so, for this had been a freshly called hoard and he would have had much more trouble if it had been an established nest. Despair took hold along with the demon clawing at his senses. He hadn't been able to save a single lamb, and that was truly his desire. Jonah's amber eyes widened then as he heard the young man in the center of the room coughing. Rushing to the boy's side he knelt down to listen to the boy's strained words, "S...save me padre."

Jonah felt warmth welling up, a chance to save a soul from damnation and death. The warmth did little however, to sate the beast within that seemed to be screaming that much louder, "An innocent, a single innocent that you may lay claim to," said the demon's whisper. Ignoring the beast he touched the boy's heart and whispered, "What is your name my child?"

The youth coughed and sputtered his name as Jonah helped sit him up, "Julius."

Jonah's eyes flashed fiercely as he stood there before Julius, hand feeling through the boy's hair, "Brave child, look up to me, show me your eyes."

Julius looked up and stared, eyes wide with fear. His eyes were darting from side to side though, combatting some terror deep within. Jonah knew that this boy was fighting for his spirit with all of his might. He swelled with pride at finding one with such faith and he spoke softly, "Say a prayer that is close to your heart dear child. Let us be rid of this demon together."

Julius shook and tears streamed down the young man's face, but he spoke his prayer, a simple one that all Spanish families knew and loved. Jonah echoed the boy's words, speaking as the priest held the boy's head in place. For one moment nothing happened, but the boy's eyes shut tight and he fell onto his back a great and terrible scream sounding off in the air as a white circle opened just above the youth's chest. From it was cast a demon, insectoid and wet, chittering and hissing curses of all sorts. As it stumbled upon many legs it saw the host that it had been falsely promised and lunged without any other thought, but it was met with swift judgment from Jonah, fire and brimstone ending its life. As the corpse fell, Jonah knelt by the boy, eyes scanning to check for damage, hand moving to touch the boy's bare chest. He smiled as he felt life surging there, steady breathing from Julius securing his belief that Jonah had indeed managed to return one lamb back to pasture.

As Jonah began to shrug out of his overcoat he felt the boiling prickle in the pit of his stomach remind him that the demon within was not satisfied with the simple carnage. Shutting his eyes he attempted to will away the pangs of hunger, trying to ignore it before suddenly the voice surged into his presence, "I will not be ignored." The voice of the black dog hissed. With a sigh he knelt down and covered Julius with his coat, eyes shut as he listened to the complaints of his former self, "Time again we have had the chance to sink our fangs into blood and spirit unending and yet you only go for the clean kill without taking life from their bodies. You can consume demon kind to feed us and yet you do no such thing."

Jonah sniffed indignantly, "Burgers are tastier, and that much more wholesome."

The black dog hissed again, "Your wholesome attitude will starve us." This time the shadow of the demon within was fully formed and out of his shadow, stepping around to Jonah's front to be seen.

Jonah rolled his eyes, taking his glasses off for a moment to clean them on his sweater, certainly it meant that the demon was furious, but it could not act without full control and so he paid it little mind, "It will not starve us...You are simply over indulgent."

It retorted quickly, its shadowy tail lashing from side to side, "But we are weaker than we once were. You have not drank deeply from a soul in quite some time..." The black dog then moved around to sit at the boy's side, amber eyes flashing with hunger, "And there is this one...Pure, innocent...Supple and ripe for the picking."

Jonah carefully placed his glasses back, his fingers shaking as he answered, "He's had a rough night and is the only survivor of this place."

White fangs gleaming within the shadow appeared as the black dog gave a toothy grin, "He'd still survive...You'd just have to get a bit creative with your draining."

Frowning he crossed his arms, the creature retreating back into his shadow. In an instant he felt the heat and hunger of the beast within and shut his eyes hissing out a silent prayer for strength. It was true, he hadn't feasted upon a spirit in such a long time. He loathed himself, loathed his body for what it was and what it would become if he allowed himself to overindulge, and yet he needed it, he needed the life energy of beings to survive. Worst of all, his past self had been correct. He could have taken from the demons that inhabited those human husks, and now he found himself looking down at an innocent man with hungry eyes and burning loins. Jonah knew that it wouldn't end well, that if he indulged in lust and hunger he would damage the young man. The more he admitted his fault, the more the shadows around his body quivered and seemed to gather closer to him. As he felt the shadows touch his skin he made no movement to stop it, it wasn't right, but perhaps he should feed upon an innocent, may god forgive his damnable soul.

From his thoughts he was awakened abruptly when he saw that Julius was sitting up now, clear eyes meeting his own as he spoke, voice echoing out against the walls, "You're just like those creatures you killed."

For a moment the shadows receded, shame crossing his own features, but he nodded. Julius made no movement to flee, or to panic, instead he only smiled, "I guess God really does forgive the damned...Do you think he’ll forgive me?"

Jonah had no idea if he had been part of the summoning ritual by consent, or if he was just another poor soul kidnapped and forced to participate, but still he said without a doubt, “God forgives all sin so long as the faith is there and the desire to better oneself is strong.”

Julius then chuckled letting the overcoat slip, "I felt it...While you ripped the demon from me, padre. Please...If you're fighting demons...I want to be part of that fight, I don't want to see more people like my friends die. Go ahead and take from me if that is what a fist of God needs."

Damnably perceptive, but just as foolish. It would be wrong to take advantage of the boy, wrong to drink deeply from spirit and carnal desire, and yet he found himself kneeling, leaning in close to the young man, hand extending to feel over his cheek, skin soft and untouched by another, "Perhaps...Just a taste..." As delirious and foolish as the boy was, Jonah couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t stop himself from repeating an old sin that had haunted him time and time again, he would have to temper himself better in the future, but for now.

As he admitted to his lust and hunger the shadows shuddered violently and coiled around his body, his mouth moving to take Julius'. There their lips met in the darkness of the cellar coated in the scent of blood and fear. Jonah's own lips quivered as he tasted the sweet and quivering desire of the youth to serve and protect. Such innocence flowed through his own body in the form of warmth, warmth that radiated through his body, a warmth that could very well kill the boy if he drank too deeply. Bringing his lips away he leaned in to kiss and breath against the other's neck, shadow covered hands like claws moving down to feel over Julius' body.

Julius at the same time shuddered and shut his eyes, the kiss bringing on a certain fatigue and pleasure to his body that intermingled in the strangest of ways. Underneath the priests touch he felt himself harden, those firm hands gripping in all the right places to toy with Julius' heart, his body desiring more and more until finally the priest pulled away unexpectedly. Julius panted sitting there looking up at the man bewildered, "Wha? That was it?"

Jonah smiled just a bit. Indeed, that was not enough to fully satisfy him, or the black dog, but at the very least it stopped the pain, "Yes. For now. You're already weak from your little possession, let's not make it worse."

Julius bit his lip about to protest, but as he rose he felt his body about to shatter and he coughed nearly falling over if not for the priest's steady hands upon his shoulders. Jonah set Julius down gently and he understood then that if he would have continued Jonah would have perhaps wrung him dry of everything he had, but...what did he mean when had said, for now? Such a concept excited the youth. His mind was still muddied and any form of affection seemed to feel so right. Had his friends given him something to inhibit his thoughts? He could feel no sadness, no anger from within, just a slight buzz at the back of his mind along with the heat and pain brought along by the demon priest's sudden embrace.

Slipping the overcoat onto Julius he helped him up fully, arm under the other's as he began to walk, "Come now, the authorities will be here soon enough."

Julius raised his brow but followed along, unsure of what to really say or how to even move his body at the moment. He had more questions for the padre, for instance why a demon was serving underneath God? He decided with a shudder to focus on his questions rather than take in the sight of the macabre scene around him. The human mind could ignore only so much before breaking, and yet he was too tired to feel too much.

Whatever had happened there with his former friends had left him stunted for now, and so he allowed himself to be taken up the steps and through the home that he had once known and out the door where black cars gathered. Julius shivered, the overcoat doing little to protect him against the winter night. He was a bit surprised that the police seemed to ignore them, instead rushing inside. Blaring sirens brought his attention to paramedics rushing to take him from the priest's ginger hold. It was strange, as he was taken away he felt a dark hunger and rippling fury from the priest, but nothing happened. The kind demon padre that had saved him only smiled and waved politely, not a single sign of hatred or lust in his motion, but something beneath the surface boiled, that much he could feel. Julius would have to look up the priest sometime, and perhaps, perhaps he would be allowed to join the hunt, or at the very least the priest would finish what he had started in the cellar.

Jonah stood out there while the unit took care of cleaning the building. The police would make some story as usual and the officials of the city would file the real case in the trash. The heat and fury surrounding his shadow seemed to subside just a bit as he allowed the cool winter breeze to brush against his person. Reaching into his pockets he pulled out his plane ticket, making note that he was late. Chuckling he tore it in half, the Vatican could wait he supposed, if only because he knew that an important trip would only be interrupted if there were a reason behind it. Of course it could have been a coincidence, but then again, the lord worked in mysterious ways. One thing was certain though, he would have to visit that young man when he recovered, and otherwise the old dog would never let him live it down.

As if summoned by the mention the beast answered low, "No, I will not stop bothering you about it. You promised me a feast when you made those motions towards the boy...And yet I get only a nibble. Compromise with me traitor, do not think you can contain me forever."

Jonah sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck, perhaps the dog was right, at the very least he would rather not experience the pain of a furious demon inside of him again, and he would rather not lose control. Shutting his eyes he clasped his hands together to make a silent prayer for the lives lost, and for the lord to give him the strength to find the corruption he suspected had rooted itself deep within the city. His hunt had just begun.