The Priest And The Demon

Chapter 9

clar·i·ty

ˈklerədē/

noun

--the quality of being easy to see or hear; sharpness of image or sound  

***

We both paced back to the church in silence. Neither of us had anything to say to the other— except an 'I told you so' from me. I knew I couldn't say that out of the blue right after he burned the bottom of his palms. I knew he hurt.

Miles' head turned to me. "You were right."

I turned my head to him slowly. "I didn't want to say anything. I figured it might be a touchy subject."

I heard him chuckle. "Yeah, I guess."

"I was gonna tell you to put your hands in the snow," I admitted with a nervous laugh. "But I thought that it might push you the wrong way."

His laugh sounded again and I saw the church. It had taken a shorter time to get to the gate then it did to get back. I sighed quietly seeing Damien sitting outside smoking. He saw us too.

In a matter of no time all three of us were studying each other. I stared at the cigarette hanging from Damien's lips. Damien looked so human, I almost questioned his species.

"Hello, love birds," Damien muttered with a laugh.

I saw Miles smirk. "Hello to you too."

His dark hair was tangled up at the top. He looked like we had left him, but in a desperate need of sleep. Both of us stopped in our tracks after seeing Damien take another breath. "I'm pretty sure I've figured out the whole light and genetic hybrid thing with Foi."

I felt my stomach clench at the sound of her name.

Miles put his hands out to show Damien. "I won't be able to do anything for a while. I'd like to hear it."

Damien only shook his head and smiled at Miles' hands. He took another long drag and began to speak—smoke pouring from his lips. "When I was still in the palace," I crossed my arms and listened, "we had scientists from all around trying to create new hybrids to help win the war. We needed a new weapon."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "War?" I questioned. "What war?"

Damien's dark brown eyes had a glimmer of silver in them when he looked up to me. "It was the first and the last war with the Dragons. We had been weeding out the ones that didn't want to work for us and then they rebelled. All but a few were killed." Damien raised the stick up to his mouth again and let the smoke linger on his breath before letting it escape. "We used them for . . . horses— as humans could relate. They pulled carts, worked in mines, were rode into battle, and even sacrificed in some quadrants. They were taken for granted and we ended up killing all but a handful. I don't know where they escaped off to.

"One scientist, Syndicat, as everyone called him, made a certain hybrid one morning. He had concocted a red serum over many years. I remember seeing the serum bubble and hiss. He injected it into a human baby girl. The baby squirmed and cried. I expected the serum to kill it. But she was unlike anything he had ever experimented with. Once the baby stopped crying, its eyes had opened and it began growing. In a matter of seconds it was the size of a twelve year old. Its brain was fully developed and full of knowledge that only a demon could understand."

Damien's eyes locked on the cold concrete beneath him. His lips moved quickly and both Miles and I were tuned into every word. Miles, although, seemed to know how the story was going to end.

"When it spoke, its only words were in English. Only Syndicat, at the time, knew English. Everyone else spoke the demon language—normally German. He had full, intelligent conversations with it. I remember watching them speak between themselves in that language. I tried to keep picking up words that had some significance to the two of them.

"After a while I noticed, in the time they spoke, her body was growing up to match his age. She began to fall in love with him. That I knew."

I stared at him. His cigarette began to lose its amber color at the end. Ash now slowly let go of the smoldering inside—falling to the ground.

"He named her, Little Lamb." Damien chuckled, "Syndicat had an interest in Hebrew at the time. He spent every waking moment with her. Syndicat trained, conditioned, and fought with her. He was making sure she was ready to win the war for his people. Although, her only motivation was him, he only saw her as a weapon and an experiment. I knew he was waiting for this one to fail like all the others had. He never kept a place in his heart for her. Syndicat knew that if he did, and she died or was just another failed experiment, it could be the death of him. He always said he created a monster—a beast inside his head.

"When the time came, he let her loose on the battle field. She was ravenous and programed to kill. I watched the poor thing kill thousands of dragons in their wake. She led sneak attacks with Syndicat safely back at the palace. That was the only way she would attack at night, when she knew he was asleep and safe. She told me once and she didn't want him seeing her like that. I'd seen her at her worst and most dangerous. She saved me once, too. A debt I'll never be able to repay."

My eyes widened. "Why not? Is she still alive?" My hands gripped the sides of my jacket in curiosity. The wind barely blew a breeze past the three of us, but it sent a shiver up my spine, giving me goosebumps all over.

Damien didn't look up to my gaze. He reached down and put out his cigarette slowly. "She won the war for us. I escorted her back to Syndicat. He was surprised to see her. She was stained with dragon's blood when she went back to him. I remember when she hugged him with the biggest smile, he hugged her back. He'd broken his promise to himself. He was falling for her, too." Damien's voice shook. "Then came the hardest part. If she were to go on another spree of killing, she could take out the entire population. Syndicat was ordered to kill her. He put it off for days until he found a way to get rid of her."

Miles turned and went into the church mumbling, 'I hate this part.' Damien glanced up to him as he disappeared into the warmth of the building. Those dark eyes turned to me.

"He made a reverse serum to put into her. He did it one night after he had tucked her in and kissed her forehead. She fell asleep as quick as lightning and he drove the needle into her neck. Her form began to shrink and she became a human baby again. Syndicat made the week's journey in a matter of hours to this quadrant and gave her over to a human couple without any children. He vowed to never make another hybrid again."

"How does this have to do with Foi?"

Damien's gaze bored into mine. "I think he's being forced to make hybrids to get that baby back—to take this quadrant back."

~~~

I imagined what Syndicat might look like. My mind kept telling me he was tall, light russet eyes, had black hair, and he wore the mad scientist glasses. It told me he was kind, smart, and careful.

Miles lay next to me, his heat radiating under the blankets. I blinked away the sleep in my eyes and focused on Miles' breathing. But the image of  Syndicat  was engraved in my mind. It was like I knew the image in my mind from somewhere. Even the image of Laisser's white hair and beautiful blue eyes came into my mind. Then eventually, both played a main roll in my dream.