Acrasia

Dead End.

             I rush to the church without hesitation. Axar lurches up and nearly trips over his legs trying to leap out of the car after me. I float over the steps and pound on the door. Once I decide they've taken too long to open it, I force the door open and step in. I close my eyes and sigh, taking in Seraphine's aura. I can feel her in this room. She was here! Is she still?

          "Sir, may we ask that you not destroy church property?" An older man who's nearing baldness calls after me. A group follows him into my path. Another man cuts them off from the back as he stands before them gesturing them to stay where they are. He grabs his cross as he eyes me, shivering.

         "Stay back. Might I ask what you are doing here?" I almost laugh at his poor attempt at bravery.

         "How do you know what I am? I'm only here for one thing. You had something of mine here, I want her back." A man gasps.

         "The girl! That demonic girl-" A younger man slaps a hand over the gasping man's mouth and silences him.

          "The girl has left. She told me to be wary of you, not to let you in. I recognized you from her description."

          "Why would she tell you that?" I spat. I can hardly keep my anger in check. She warned them of me? She is gone? She left? I was so close! I couldn't have missed her by an hour.

          "She only wanted us safe. She told me you had killed her, and she feared for us as well. She's a kind creature."

          "I am not. Tell me where she went. I'm starving, I am low on patience. Where. Did. She. Go?" I flip a bench over as Axar tries to stop me.

          "I believe, she went searching for that young man there." The man points at Axar. "Go to your home. She will be making her way there. This was all she said to me before she left."

           "I can read your mind. I can tell if you are lying. You have one chance to be honest with me before I dig into your primitive brain and see for myself." The man stands taller, cross still clutched.

            "She wants to find that boy. To be sure he is safe. She told me that was her mission. That is truth. I have not lied to you. Her memory was fuzzy, where you lived I do not know, she did not say. But she was trying to remember how to get to that boy. She will find him. Leave here and let her come to you."

           "What if I remain here and wait for her to come back?" I counter. The men become stiff and fidgety.

            "She will not be back. We turned her away. This is a house of God." The balding man barks.

             "Very well. I'll leave then." I turn to leave and I grab a bible from a pew on my way out.

           I pivot and throw the bible with such force the corner catches the balding man in his chest and blood begins to surface. I watch as the group works over the man to slow his bleeding and pray over him as he yells in panic. I could see in his mind his distaste for Setaphine and his treatment of her. Had he not pushed her away, she would be here. I'd have her now. I could've killed him, but Axar is already frightened enough. I need him on my side. He had the premonition, so far it has gotten me so close.

          "Is he dead? Why did mama Sera tell them you killed her? Is she running from us?" I punch the steering wheel and the airbag flies out, I have to slash it way and it falls into my lap. Axar instinctively covers in the backseat. He must've jumped back there during my fit.

          "I'm not certain, and I do not care. As for Seraphine, she is deranged. She doesn't know what she's talking about. Even the priest admits she was rattled." I snap.

          "Do you think she's okay? Like her ghost is okay? Do ghosts feel? Do they get hungry or scared?" I can feel his worry and I sigh.

           "They feel nothing. She's not going to be hungry or scared. Possibly confused, but she won't feel distressed." I follow the scebt of her back towards home, windows still cracked. Her scent goes for miles, and miles until we reach a little club. I circle back around after realizing her scent stopped there. Seraphine is not a super social or party type. Why would she be around here? I give Axar some money to walk around stores nearby and eat as I go into the club to investigate, following a short line in.

          The music and scenery is loud and cheesy. Lust and drunken cheer linger like a cheap potpourri. Women and men notice me immediately, and several women brush by me as they pass through. I'm hungry, but don't look at them. I'll feed soon, but right now I need Seraphine. I follow her scent around in circles and to couples. I'm sweating now, shaky and starting to feel dizzy. I relent and sit down on a padded loveseat with the blonde who keeps stalking me from afar.

       Once seated, she pounces onto my lap and places her hands on my chest. I stare into her small eyes and face of smudged makeup. She leans into my ear and purrs her best seductive hello and I chuckle. I repeat her formalities and soon she drops all banter as she focuses on trying to kiss and rub herself against my body. She moans and pulls at my clothes as her pupils dilate. I let her finish her little deed and I feed from her. I catch her eyes and entrance her, bidding her to go find another man and leave me alone. If I do not, I know she was follow me the entire time and I'd likely be tempted to kill her. I make my rounds past the gyrating couples, brushing them just close enough to steal sexual energy. My favorite, along with fear. Even having gorged, it doesn't compare to even one feed from Sera. I'm stronger now, but even more restless and irritable.

         I find a booth that has Sera's anxiety all over it. I sit here, exactly where she did and I touch the table. Across from Sera sat a female. This puzzles me, until I pick up the female's aura. A nephilim hybrid. Sera's mother? That has to be it! How would she know to check here for her mother? Was this a coincidence? Or has her mother been following her this entire time? In a daze, I follow Sera's trail right through the club and out the back entrance, not bothering to look up until I slam into a man.

           "Watch where you're going cocksucker!" In seconds I cover his mouth and absorb his fright, and drain him of blood while people dance around us, oblivious to our encounter.

            I shove him roughly to the floor after he is dead and I vanish to the car. I collect Axar and drive behind the club following the trail that ends abruptly on the highway. I pull the car off onto the shoulder and scrounge for any sort of clue. No. No. No! Not like this. I got so close. So god damned close. I howl out my frustrations and sit on the ground. Completely ignoring the looks I get from people in passing cars. Something glints along the gravels and I lunge for it. It's a silver angel necklace. It has Seraphine's scent, and two men. One man's is familiar, and in moments I remember him. Justin. The cheating ex. The other, I do not recognize but it is faintly similar to Yeomorah's.

         I tuck the necklace in my pocket and pace for a moment. It's a dead end, something isn't right. Two auras, all dead end here. Ivara's, Seraphine's mother's, has seemed to linger. It gets stronger to my left as I wander. I go up the shoulder of the road about a mile, lithe as a cat as I work to avoid the steep embankment where there should have been a guardrail. Ivara's presence is undeniable here. Like standing next to her. Within a few minutes I realize its because I am.

           There, in the tall brush below, lies the mangled body of Ivara. Seraphine's mother. Seraphine's mother is dead and crumpled below. In her fingers is a piece of emerald green silk. Sera's nightgown! I'd know it anywhere, I even remember the blush on her face when I bought it. Solemn, I retreat to the car towards home. I have to summon Ivara's spirit tonight. I have to know what happened.  Where is Seraphine?