The Demon's Sin

Part 2 - The Room

It was seven days before Esther was ordered into the chamber again. She dreaded it. She could smell demon blood from corridors away.
Ulysses was standing over the alter. Esther could see a very still body on the stone slab. Was it alive?
She put her supplies down, but paused. The walls still glistened, and the floor was still polished.
Sensing her mind, Ulysses spoke.

"You are here for the demon, again."

Esther gathered herself and approached the alter, expecting Ulysses to leave. Except, he didn't. For a moment, they both looked at the demon.

It looked far worse than it had before. It's body was mangled and it was barely breathing. Any parts that looked like a man were unrecognizable now.
"This demon has information". Esther was surprised to hear Ulysses speak again.
"We cannot let him die before we have it."

Esther's thinking began to slow. There was no reason for Ulysses to be telling her this unless she needed to know.
She glanced nervously at the angel next to her, feeling that she was about to be assigned some new responsibilities.

"Please, care for this demon until it is well enough to be interrogated again". Ulysses finally turned to leave. Esther was not relieved.
"How?" Her voice was sharp against the marble walls.
Ulysses did not answer her, but motioned to some unseen angels, who entered the chamber.
Esther watched silently as the the two shadowed figures lifted the demon from the alter. Pieces of it remained on the stone, stuck its own syrupy blood.

How could it possibly still be alive?

Esther followed the angels to a new chamber. It was a round room, made entirely of white marble, lit by a few simple crystal lamps. It had no windows. In the middle was a large copper basin, and on two sides of the room were beds. On the far side was an armoire.

The Angles placed the demon's body in the basin. They paused for a moment, quietly chanting. The tub began to fill with a strange liquid. They left wordlessly.
Esther did not bother to ask any more questions. She knew she wouldn't get answers. Instead, she watched the basin fill with a steamy bath.
The demon's head laid back over the edge of the basin. It's gored mouth hung open, showing broken teeth and fangs. It looked truly horrific.
The pale liquid was quickly turning brown, mixing with the demons blood and fragile flesh.
Esther walked to the armoire and opened it. The doors chimed as hundreds of potions and elixirs rattled. Bottles, salves, and solutions Esther had never seen before.
On the top shelf in the back, she found a few bottles of plain water and took two.

Returning to the basin, Esther removed her blouse, stripping down to her undershirt. Replacing her apron, she wrapped the fabric of her blouse around one arm and knelt by the demon, doubting herself.
Sighing, she placed her wrapped arm under the demons head and gently lifted it to an upright position in the basin. Its slimy face now rested on her shoulder as she cradled it from outside the tub.

"Demon." She shook the body gently.

"DEMON." she said louder, shaking him more.

The demon moaned softly. With her free hand, Esther pressed the bottle of water to the demons lips and let some spill over it's cracked skin. It's mouth opened desperately at the sensation.

Esther gently poured small amounts of water into the demons gasping mouth. It took difficult swallows. She continued until the demon turned it's head away.
Placing the bottle down, she tried to stand, but found her arm stuck. The fabric fused to blood and open wounds.
She tried to wiggle her arm free but it pulled harshly on the demons fragile skin, causing it to whimper.
Esther considered the options. Her supplies were out of reach. She tried again to gently pull her arm from the blouse and felt it begin to come free, but soon realized she was pulling off the demons flesh.
Esther took a deep breath and tried not to vomit. She picked up the water bottle and carefully poured the remaining amount on the blouse.
Once it was empty, she dunked the bottle into the basin, gathering the strange liquid and pouring it over the demons head and onto her arm.
She continued until the fabric was completely soaked. Slowly, she was able to peel with fabric from the demon with minimal damage.
Esther let go of the demon and stood to shake what filth she could off and dry her soaking arm. After a few moments, she turned back to the basin and gasped.
He had slipped under the surface of the bath.
Esther dove toward forward, knocking the air out of herself as she slammed against the edge of the tub.
She plunged both hands into murky bath and yanked his body up, feeling her nails sink into him.
The demon sputtered weakly once it was above the water, and began to cough. Esther clutched the demon close to her at the edge of the tub with both arms.