Deceased Dora

by Claire Chilton

  “I just got off Skype with the Pope.” He panted for a moment before continuing. “Sidney Simkins, you have been relieved of your post as the Black Bishop and recalled to Rome.” Theodore handed a piece of paper to the still yowling bishop before snatching the hat off his head and placing it on his own.

  “And, I am honoured to report that I am the new Black Bishop.” He showed the printouts to the members of PISS, who all paused to read them.

  “Where’s the official seal?” One asked.

  “The Pope said he’d send it via UPS, so it should be here by the end of the day.” Theodore smiled at his new subordinate.

  The man in the black suit saluted him. “What are your orders, sir?”

  “Ah, orders, right.” Theodore paused for a moment. “Okay, let’s carefully detach the foul-mouthed bear from ex-bishop without harming either of them.” He nodded at Pooey, who shrugged, released Sidney and walked over to stand beside Kieron.

  “Okay, that’s done. Right, I think you boys can take Sidney to Rome. The Pope is awaiting his arrival.”

  Theodore lowered his voice. “In handcuffs is probably for the best.”

  The suited men nodded as they holstered their guns. Two of the agents grabbed Sidney and led him towards the doors.

  “Would you like some of us to stay here for your protection, sir?” One of the men gestured at the remaining supernatural creatures.

  “Ah, no. I’m surrounded by my loving family and an angel.” Theodore hugged Josie to his side and gestured to Kieron. “My duty is to work with these creatures, as now is yours. We are all God’s creatures. If we are to bring peace and work together, then we must always keep that in mind.” Theodore offered a serene smile.

  The PISS agent nodded and saluted again. “Yes sir, a new world it is then.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the church, and the other PISS agents followed him.

  Kieron scanned the room for Dora, wondering how she would handle her father being the Black Bishop.

  He frowned when he couldn’t see her.

  He tried to recall the last place he’d seen her. She had been fighting the matriarch near the doors.

  He turned to face the entrance of the church, which was now a broken gaping hole in the front of the building.

  A wisp of black fluttered on the top stone step of the entrance.

  With a feeling of dread, he walked towards it, recognising it as a black curl of hair as he drew closer to it.

  He sped up and raced towards the doorway when he saw a mass of ebony curls draped over the steps. He fell to his knees as shock trembled through his body. He couldn’t breathe and the world around him faded away as he stared down at her body lying on the hard stone.

  Her skin was paler than usual. Her dark eyelashes and red lips a startling contrast to the pale skin surrounding it. She lay on her side with her knees bent and one arm stretched out behind her.

  He touched her neck. Two bite marks marred her skin.

  He felt for a pulse, but there was no beat. Her body was still and cold. No breath inhaled or exhaled.

  He was silent, unable to scream. Inside his head, he was screaming, but outside he was trapped inside his body.

  He hauled her into his arms and hugged her cold body close to his, rocking back and forth with his eyes closed in unbearable pain.

  His body shuddered with locked up emotion. Tears escaped his clenched eyelids and slid down his cheek, falling onto her hair.

  Pain wracked his body, and his muscles clenched in silent anguish.

  She was dead. He couldn’t feel her near him anymore.

  Dora was dead.

  Kieron slammed his fist into the dresser in Dora’s room, cracking the wooden surface with the blow and knocking a pile of books off the side of it.

  Damn this world!

  He slowly exhaled, trying to control the rage that was building up inside him. It had taken them hours to make him let go of her body. Only after they had convinced him that he might be able to bring her back had he allowed them to take away her body.

  A small sigh behind him reminded him that he wasn’t alone.

  He turned to look at Pooey, who was perched on her bed. His eyes were wide with sorrow as he looked up him.

  “She can’t die. She’s a demon,” Kieron muttered for hundredth time.

  “She wasn’t a demon when she died,” Pooey said.

  “Why does it matter? She’s somewhere right now. Maybe we can find her.” Kieron couldn’t face the idea of a world without Dora in it.

  There has to be a way.

  “She sacrificed herself. You know that will never get you into Hell.” Pooey knelt to pick up the books that had fallen onto the floor.

  “So? We’ll go to Heaven then.”

  “Oh yeah, because that’s so easy. How?” Pooey angrily waved a green book at him.

  Kieron frowned, staring at the green tint on the grimoire in the little bear’s hands.

  “Where did you get my mother’s cook book from?”

  “Er, the floor, you dumba—”

  “Holy shit!” Lucian gasped as he entered the room, his eyes locked onto the book.

  “What?” Kieron clenched his fists. The warlock knew something, and it was about damn time he told them what it was.

  “Oh, nothing.” Lucian smiled and turned to leave.

  Kieron launched at him, knocking him to the floor and pinning him down.

  “Enough bullshit! Tell me what you’re hiding before I beat it out of you.” All Kieron could see was red as he stared at the warlock. Dora was dead, and this son of a bitch knew more than he was telling.

  Lucian rolled over, scowled and shot Kieron off him with purple blasts of energy before he getting to his feet.

  He rubbed his jaw and frowned at Kieron. “What the hell is wrong with you, boy?”

  Kieron landed on Dora’s bed and sank into it. He could still smell her scent on the pillow, so he buried his face into it.

  “I need her.” He managed to mumble into the pillow.

  “Then stop acting like such a child, and go and get her then!” Lucian cried.

  “Oh, know how to get into Heaven, do you?” Kieron heard Pooey’s voice filter through the pillow.

  “Actually, I do.”

  Kieron jumped off the bed and pulled the warlock into the room, shutting the door behind him.

  “Tell me! Tell me everything. Please, help us bring her back.”

  Lucian sighed, shaking his head. “Look, I only know a few things. I don’t know if you can get her back, but fine. Okay, I’ll tell you what I know.”

  He snatched the book out of Pooey’s hands and held it up. “This is your mother’s. I recognise it. There is only one reason it would be here.”

  “How do you know my mother?” Kieron asked.

  “I might have met her in limbo a long time ago.” The warlock shifted his eyes to the dresser, refusing to look him in the eye.

  “You’re an angel!” Pooey cried.

  “What?” Kieron asked.

  “No. Not you, him.” The were-bear pointed to Lucian with wide eyes. “I knew you smelt funny for a reason.”

  “I am not an angel.” Lucian shook his head. “I was an angel once.”

  Pooey slapped his forehead. “The Fallen One. A fallen fucking angel! That’s how you ended up in limbo.”

  Lucian narrowed his eyes and strode towards Pooey, looking as if he planned to strangle the little bear, but instead he flopped face-first onto the carpet halfway across the room, appearing to lose his balance on fresh air. “Oww.”

  “I thought it was because he fell over a lot.” Kieron frowned at the fallen warlock.

  Lucian rolled onto his back and stared up at them both.

  “Fuck it. I fall over a lot because in Heaven the axis is different. When you come to Earth from Heaven, it’s like walking sideways up a wall, difficult to master. But when you’re dropped out of Heaven like a rock and fall, it’s impossible to realign with the Earth’s axis.” />
  “So he’s right? You were an angel.” Kieron stared in awe, as events seemed to connect in his mind. “And you knew my mother, and I’m half angel, and …”

  “Hold on there, sport. I didn’t create any demon spawn if that’s what you are asking.”

  “Then why are you here? Why did you stay with us all this time?” Kieron didn’t believe him. “Are you my father?”

  “Fuck.” Lucian rubbed his brow. “I don’t know. It was a long time ago. You know, a trip to limbo, a hot demon girl and a fallen angel get crazy on power in a stationary cupboard. You don’t expect this to be the result.” He pointed to Kieron. “But who did what and when is not really important right now, is it?”

  “Not important?” Kieron roared. “You didn’t even look for me!”

  “I didn’t know you fucking existed!”

  “You tied me to a fucking tree!”

  “I thought you were a regular angel, self-righteous mother-fuckers that they are.”

  “You called me Angela!”

  “I always wanted a little girl, but I guess with all this whining, you’ll do.”

  Kieron snarled and leapt towards Lucian, missing him by an inch as he rolled sideways into standing position while Kieron landed hard on the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs.

  “Is that anyway to greet your daddy?” Lucian’s voice filtered down to him, making him even angrier.

  He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ex-angel, feeling hate and anger boiling through his veins. “You’re not my father.”

  “Finally, something we both agree on,” Lucian said. “So shall we carry on with saving Dora instead?”

  Dora.

  The name caused a wave of sorrow pass over him, making his anger fade away as the pain inside his chest crushed his heart with a vice-like grip. “Can we save her?”

  “I think so. Well, kinda. I wasn’t sure until I saw this.” Lucian picked up the green spell book and waved it at him.

  “It’s just a mouldy book from Hell.” Pooey frowned.

  “No, it’s not.” Lucian shook his head. “I gave this book to your mother. Did you know that?” he asked Kieron.

  Kieron shook his head. All he knew about the book was that his mother never left Castle Lascher without it.

  “It’s a special book. In fact, it’s not even a book. Not really.” Lucian flipped through the pages.

  “What is it then, a fucking bicycle?” Pooey asked.

  “It’s an anchor. When I met Anika, we exchanged some gifts—spells to be exact. I gave this spell to her. If she ever wanted out of Hell, she could anchor herself to Earth with this book. Think of it as a passport from Hell.” His eyes widened with realisation. “That’s why this church is such a shithole!”

  “Huh?” Kieron frowned, feeling confused.

  “The decay, the book will decay the place it is anchored to. It was meant to open a door, but not to leave it open for a long time. Your mother must have left the door to Hell open.”

  “So we can go back to Hell?” Kieron asked. “Dora might be there!”

  Lucian shook his head. “She’s not in Hell. I knew someone had died when the white energy flashed. That’s a soul going to the gates of Heaven. She’s up there, but the question is do you want to drag her back down here? You could just go home.”

  “The only place I belong is with Dora.” Kieron scowled at the suggestion.

  “Ditto.” Pooey stamped his foot on the ground.

  “Okay then.” Lucian nodded. “There is something weird about this church. You can’t anchor the book just anywhere. It’s an angel spell. It takes real holy power to lock the anchor here.”

  “You guys can sneak into Hell whenever you want?” Pooey narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t that cheating?”

  “Trust me, you can’t stay long, and it’s punishment watching what you can’t have,” Lucian muttered.

  “Why’d you fall out of Heaven anyway?” Pooey asked.

  “That’s not really important is it?” Lucian averted his eyes and then turned to stare out of the window. “Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, this church isn’t just a church.”

  Kieron sat up and stared his Lucian’s back. It was a lot to take in.

  He can’t be my father. Look at him! He’s not that much older than me!

  “What else is it then?”

  “According to the plaque downstairs, it’s a door. Heaven has more than one gate, more than one door. There are a few of them on Earth. I didn’t know this was one until I saw the engravings.”

  “So we can go through the door into Heaven?” Kieron jumped to his feet.

  “In theory,” Lucian muttered.

  “What does that mean?” Pooey narrowed his eyes at the warlock as he turned around.

  “These gates haven’t been used in millennia. They’re like old sewer tunnels running underneath Heaven. Some are blocked, others forgotten. Angels rarely come to Earth anymore.”

  “So what? We go in one, and we try.” Kieron jumped to his feet. “And we’re taking Dora with us.”

  “Her corpse?” Pooey wrinkled up his nose. “Won’t it start to smell?”

  “I’m not leaving her behind.”

  “She’ll get a new body in Heaven,” Lucian said.

  “I’m not leaving her!” Kieron snapped and slammed his way out of the room, heading towards the crypts.

  Kieron sucked in his breath as he entered the crypts. Dora’s family had laid her out on a stone altar with white lace draped over her from head to toe. Lit candles surrounded the altar, and there was a photograph of her at school resting near her feet.

  He picked up the photograph and smiled at her scowling expression. She hadn’t been meant for school or a uniform, even back then. He narrowed his eyes.

  She’s not meant to die either.

  “She was blessed to know you.” Theodore’s voice cracked as he spoke behind him.

  “I was the one who was blessed.” Kieron turned to face her grieving father. “She deserved more than she ever got.”

  Theodore nodded in agreement, and a stray tear rolled down his cheek. “She’ll be safe in Heaven now, but God help me, I wish she was still here instead.”

  “We’re going to bring her back.” Kieron said before he placed the photograph back on the altar and clenched his jaw in determination.

  “Isn’t that a sin?” Theodore looked hopeful, regardless of the blasphemy.

  “Not if I ask God himself.”

  “That’s what I was looking for!” Lucian rushed down the stairs, staring in Kieron’s direction. He dashed towards him and straight past him.

  Kieron turned around and peered at the ex-angel.

  He was running his fingers over the stone engravings in a plaque on the wall.

  “Yes, this is the gate!” he cried. “Okay, angel-boy. Open it.”

  “Oh finally, we find it after looking through the whole frikkin church,” Pooey muttered as he walked into the chamber, angrily brushing cobwebs off his fur.

  “How?” Kieron asked, staring at the stone block. It was already slightly ajar.

  He peered through the gap, only seeing darkness inside.

  “Do your angel thing.” Lucian nodded. “Then you can all be on your merry way.”

  “But, you’re coming with us, aren’t you? We need a guide.” Kieron had no idea how to open the door or how to get out of a Heavenly sewage system.

  “No, what? You’ll be fine. I believe in you, son.” Lucian patted him on the shoulder.

  “If you don’t come with us and show us the way, then I’ll make sure I tell every single angel about how their ‘fallen one’ landed on Earth instead of Hell where he belongs.” Pooey said in a low voice. “Fail-angel, you are going to take us through Heaven to find Dora.”

  Lucian narrowed his eyes. “This is going to suck. Fine, whatever, open the fucking door.”

  A sharp draught blew through the room, and the lacy voile over Dora’s body blew off as a ghoulish howl echoed through
the catacombs.

  “Ah crap, the Hell door is going to be a problem. One sec,” Lucian muttered as he cast a blue light upon Kieron’s mother’s grimoire. The book glowed turquoise, expanding and cracking in his hands.

  “Say goodbye to going home boys,” he said as it exploded into a thousand pieces and fell to the floor in a fiery mess, eventually burning up into cinder.

  “Goodbye Hell.” Pooey sadly mumbled, scuffing his feet on the stone floor.

  The howling wind disappeared, and Kieron walked over to Dora’s body. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  “I’m going to bring you back,” he whispered as he scooped her up into his arms. He stared at the door and flashed his wings while gripping her tightly against him.

  He summoned every ounce of power inside him to get through the gate.

  A familiar golden glow surrounded him and Dora. For a moment, she felt warm in his arms.

  The cracked door began to open, and the tunnel inside appear lined with silver and gold as it glowed at them while the door swung wide enough for them to enter.

  “I don’t know why you’re bringing that. She’s not in there.” Lucian muttered, pointing to her body as he stepped into the tunnel.

  “I don’t know why we’re bringing you, but shit happens.” Kieron followed him, scowling.

  “Good luck, and say hi to God for me.” Theodore shouted after them.

  “We’ll get his autograph for you,” Pooey muttered as he warily stepped into the tunnel. “And probably lightning bolts up our asses for breaking into Heaven,” he added quietly.

  They all spun around as the door slammed shut behind them with a loud crash.

  Kieron caught a last glimpse of Earth, and the hopeful expression on Theodore’s face as the door closed.

  He sighed and turned to stare down the tunnel. It seemed to be an endless golden road with shiny silver walls.

  “Which way?” he asked Lucian.

  “This is a very clean sewer,” Pooey said.

  “Depends on your opinion of clean,” Lucian muttered.

  “What do you mean?” Pooey glanced at him.

  “Angel piss comes out golden.” Lucian pointed to the ground.

  “Oh, gross!” Pooey stood on tiptoes. “You couldn’t have got me some shoes before we came in here?”