by P. K. Tyler
"Are you alright?" he asked, his arms still wrapped around Zeph.
"Woah, hey. What's with you? No smart ass comment? It’s not like I died."
“Yes, yes you did.” Sister Francis Marie said, her voice higher and verging on hysterics. You died. I saw it. I saw you and then Jacek came... Jacek, our last warrior... he came and he put his hand on your wound and... You died, it’s not possible... The resurrection of Christ was God’s one holy gift until the day the Son returns to Earth... is this it then? Is this the end of days? Has the judgment come upon us?
The Nun’s habit was thrown off her head, long, honey brown hair tumbling down her back in waves as she gripped it at the scalp and pulled.
Vai rocked where she stood, Jacek holding her up with his face set in a hard frown. “I’m okay. No big deal."
“The second coming of Christ, the final resurrection, no big deal.” Sister Francis Marie laughed.
Vai smiled and rolled her eyes. It was weak, exhausted. A pitiful excuse for a smile, really. But she made the effort, so Nik did too.
Vai’s knees gave out and Jacek wrapped both arms around her. “Please be careful.”
Jacek helped her up but when she looked down at the blood soaked through her shirt, the color drained from her face.
"Woah. Did someone get shot in here?"
“While Sister Francis Marie may be having a momentary break with reality, she isn’t incorrect, you were most definitely dead.”
“What?” Vai asked, looking up to face Jacek. Blood saturated the back of her clothes. When they locked gazes, the air left the church and time suspended. He held her in his arms and she leaned against his strong chest. From the outside, it looked like a lover's embrace, but the two had only just met. Neither spoke. For one long moment, they didn't move.
Nik couldn't even tell if they were breathing.
Sister Francis Marie shattered the moment with a scream. She ran forward, as if seeing the horror of Father Losado’s body for the first time. She keened at the altar where Nik had spent so much time contemplating his role in this world of good and evil, of God and Man.
“Father! Father! Heavenly God, why have you allowed this horror in your own home? How could this happen to the ones who serve you most faithfully?”
Nik pulled her from the ground. Her eyes were red and swollen and blood seeped from scratches on her face, from the demon or of her own infliction he wasn’t sure.
“Sister,” he shook her slightly.
Her glazed eyes focused for a moment and filled with tears. He could feel the rising scream before it broke free so he pulled her against his chest and held her tight, taking in her misery as his own as he stared up at the gruesome crucifixion of the priest who had taught him so much. He'd never be able thank him, could never concede to all the things Father Losado had been right about all those years. And he'd never again hear the wisdom of a priest who fought for him in ways Nik had never before understood. But having seen the holy warrior in action, he now knew just how profound the loss of Father Losado truly was.
First, he lost Ma and Dika. Now Father Losado. He had precious few allies left in the world. Nik vowed never to take Vai and Zeph for granted again.
EPISODE SEVEN
Chapter One
Zeph knelt on the hard stone floor of The Old Order's underground chapel. Candlelight flickered around him, illuminating the massive crucifix on the otherwise barren wall. A few wooden pews sat in neat rows in the small space, but Zeph preferred to feel the cold of the stone against his knees. He preferred something hard and cruel against him. Anything less would shatter his resolve.
Fabric rustled next to him, but Zeph kept his eyes squeezed shut and his fingers clenched together. Heavenly Father, bless me with your will, show me your path.
He knelt for so long his legs went numb. He took comfort in not having to feel. Tears escaped his tightly closed eyes and dripped down the back of his throat. There had to be an answer. How many sins had he committed to cause this? Was his self-sacrifice really self-righteous vanity? Was his love for Nik really so evil? Could one kiss, one transgression in over a decade, really be so evil that he had to lose his sister?
Adel… Her name rang through his mind and a sob broke free. He clenched his hands tighter and looked up at the thorn-crowned savior hanging on the cross. The look of serenity on the face of Christ usually filled him with peace, knowing that he had a place in God's love and that his path, while hard, was a righteous one had kept him going all these years. But now... Angels said he was meant to be with Nik and his sister was doomed to die, if not by their hands, by the hands of the man he loved.
His tears came faster. How could anyone find peace in any of this?
Next to him, Sister Francis Marie's soft voice prayed: "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears."
Zeph wiped his tears from his face. "Why do you pray to Mary in a chapel for Christ?"
She smiled serenely and turned to him. "We nuns of the Order have our own way of looking at things. When I see the acceptance of Christ, I know the suffering of the women who loved him. His mother who bore him, his wife who continued his legacy."
"His wife?"
Sister Francis Marie turned to him and placed a soft hand on his white-knuckled fists. "We here, in these hidden halls, we're the last of the heretics who keep Christ's true nature alive. We're the last defense between Lucifer and His holy descendants."
"The Sin Eaters. Nik..."
"Yes, and we nuns, we sit and watch and serve. We wait. The Old Order continues to wage war, but we simply wait."
"What do you wait for?"
"The same thing every person devoted through love to someone holy. We wait for the day we must watch them die."
Zeph blinked back more tears, but he couldn't stop the flow. He didn't want to cry, he didn't want to be weak. He'd built his life on being strong. Strong for Nik. He looked up at the gentle nun's deep brown eyes and his quivering lips smiled in understanding. "Maybe this time will be different. Maybe we can do something to save Nik."
He took in a deep breath, the heat of dozens of candles surrounded him like an embrace. In that moment, he imagined he could feel God's love. It lay in his resolve to save Nik. He found the will to forgive himself for his past mistakes with the certainty that his love for Nik was pure and right.
Doubt crept in. What about Adel? He could never forgive himself for failing her so horribly. Guilt sent a chill through him, the warmth surrounding him fleeing into the shadows. He had to save her. He had to save them both.
Sister Francis Marie crossed herself and stood, extending a hand to Zeph. He rose and followed her between the rows of pews, out of the chapel and through a long hallway carved into the earth.
They passed a hall to their left that would have led them through the infirmary, and up into the church above. She led him through a heavy set of double doors and into a dining area that looked like a small school cafeteria. Empty buffet tables lined the walls to his left and right.
His stomach gurgled and Sister Francis Marie paused.
"You must be hungry as I'm sure the others are. We'll stop in the kitchen to get a few snacks and drinks on our way to the den. Vai is cleaned up and everyone's anxious about what to do with Belial."
Zeph was silently grateful she'd left Adel out of her assessment.
They rounded a corner and stepped down into a kitchen. A painting of a field viewed through a window hung above the sink. He didn't know how far down they'd gone, but Zeph was pretty sure there weren't any actual windows in the subterranean church.
The nun went straight to the fridge and pulled out bottles of water and a nondescript, brown paper package. She handed him a few of the bottles with a smile and led the way to the den further in.
As they drew near to the den, Nik's deep voice drifted to him, tempting and warm. That voice had the power t
o heat his blood. Nik's ice blue eyes, though, could stir Zeph's longing like nothing else in the world. Now that they'd come so far, he didn't know if he could keep his best friend, his other half, at arm's length anymore. Every cell in his body seemed to reach out to Nik.
When they turned the corner and entered the room, everyone stopped talking for a moment. In that moment, time slowed. Zeph's gaze found Nik instantly, automatically. He couldn't help himself. He let his eyes roam over Nik's defined features–strong yet elegant, regal almost–across his broad shoulders, down to his tapered waist and bony hips.
"Get a room, guys." Vai's voice broke into their moment, stealing all the warmth between them and suffusing Zeph's cheeks with heat.
Nik laughed and ran his fingers through his tousled hair as Zeph finally got moving.
Jacek chattered with Sister Marie Francis as she unpacked the bag of snacks. The holy warrior seemed more comfortable conversing with the nun than he had been at any other point since they’d met him, but Zeph couldn’t help but notice the way the dark haired man kept stealing glances in Vai’s direction. And almost like a silent, subliminal signal, her eyes would shift to meet his gaze. Then both of them abruptly turned away like teenagers caught staring. He hadn’t known Vai very long, but what he'd seen of her so far did not lend the impression of a woman who held crushes, or of one who shied away from getting what she wanted once she made up her mind.
Zeph shrugged it off and closed the distance between himself and his other and handed Nik a bottled water. His fingers grazed Nik's and he jerked his hand back at the contact. If he didn't get himself under control, he'd kiss Nik right here and now, in front of God and everyone. He'd held back for too long and now any distance between them felt unbearable. A steady heat warmed him from the inside, kept his cheeks suffused with a tell-tale blush. He ground his teeth.
Nik kept his voice low. "Zeph, you okay?"
He nodded and turned away abruptly. Now that Zeph knew he had permission to be with Nik, knew that it was not only right but of God’s own decree, he just wanted to take him far away, to a cave somewhere there were no distractions, no people, no demons. Just the two of them. Selfish. Nik had duties beyond Zeph, but he couldn’t help but feel like there would never be enough time for them.
He would never be Nik's first priority, and Zeph didn't know if he could handle that. He needed to be the center of Nik's world at least sometimes. Now that he realized he could have Nik, he finally understood just how much he needed him, and how hard a life with him would be.
He handed Vai a bottled water. She took it without a word, her eyes studying her lap intently as Jacek continued to flash glances in her direction.
Vai thanked him for the drink and picked at the paper wrapper for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking up at Jacek. "So what now? What are we gonna do about Belial and Adel?"
Sister Francis Marie passed out food from the unmarked parcel as the group spoke.
"I'll take care of Adel," Zeph spoke before anyone else could.
"Fuck my life. Zeph, you're going to get yourself killed," Nik said.
"She had the chance to kill me, Nik, and she didn't."
"He, Zeph. That's not your sister anymore, that's a demon. And his name is Asmodeus."
Zeph couldn't even speak to try and reply to Nik. He saw red and his anger flashed through his veins like acid. They wouldn't listen to him. Nik never listened. He just pushed forward, certain his Sin Eater instincts wouldn’t lead him astray no matter who his actions hurt. And, like always, Zeph was the one hurting. He spent his life either restraining his heart or his mouth as he watched Nik fuck and fight his way through every situation. But he didn’t have to do either anymore, and Zeph had reached the limit of what he could sacrifice.
Nik let out a heavy sigh. "It's better if you start thinking of it that way. That demon is in complete control and there's nothing you or I or Vai can—"
Zeph turned away and walked out of the small sitting room. He was done trying to explain anything. But when it came down to it, he would save Adel.
Chapter Two
Nik shifted on the surprisingly comfortable sofa and watched Zeph as he walked out of the room. Why was that man so goddamn stubborn? Nik tried to take a steadying breath, to understand what losing Adel must mean to the priest, but, fuck, Nik had lost everything and everyone he'd ever known except for Zeph, and until recently even that had been a kind of torture. If anyone understood what it felt like to be so completely alone you wanted to slit your wrists, it was him. Why couldn't Zeph see the truth right in front of him?
Sister Francis Marie followed Zeph of out the room with a glance back at Nik. Her pursed lips told him she didn't agree with how he had handled things. Once again, a woman in black set him straight. Funny, though, that this time it was about his relationship with the priest he loved.
Jacek and Vai sat on either end of the couch, with Nik stuck between them, studiously ignoring each other. It must have been some kind of Old Order versus Romani Gypsies ancient feud thing. Nik almost laughed at the idea of Vai and Jacek tying their wrists together and having a dance-off knife fight.
But there was something else to it too, an energy that pulsed between them even as they put up walls to avoid looking at each other. He'd fought that battle with Zeph for too long to not see it for what it was: Vai and Jacek belonged together, but one of them simply couldn't accept that yet. Maybe if it was just the two of them, working together, getting to know each other. Nik couldn’t help but feel like he was the unwelcome spam in an otherwise happy sandwich.
Vai crossed her legs and addressed Nik. "So what's the plan?"
"The plan? I don't know, find the big ass dude with the black wings and kill him?" Nik huffed, leaning back on the couch and lifting both hands up to his head. Why did she keep looking to him for answers? She was just as much a Sin Eater as he was and she had the advantage of all those years with Ma and Dika. Fuck, I’m an ass. The weight of his own loss pummeled him into the couch at the thought of the two gypsy women. Vai must be in so much pain...
"Stop screwing around. We need to figure out what to do next,” she said, making him smirk. Pain, maybe, but still Vai nonetheless.
"I know, but seriously, I got nothing. Uh... Jacek,” Nik lowered his hands into his lap, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the holy warrior's proximity, “what do you think? What does the antichrist do next?"
Jacek leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and continued to chew on the granola bar Sister Francis Marie had given him. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head, no response forthcoming. The holy warrior had changed out of his knight in shining armor get-up and now wore dark blue jeans and a tight black tee-shirt with some band logo on the front Nik didn't recognize. Dressed in casual clothes, the man was attractive in a conventional kind of way. Dark hair, deep brown eyes. The scar running along the right side of his face was the only indicator of the kind of life he’d lived. That and the haunted look when Nik met his eyes.
Nik put a hand on his shoulder, but Jacek shrugged it off. He didn't take offense, Jacek's grief was in full effect right now, Nik couldn’t imagine what he must have seen before they showed up at the church. The battle with Belial and the demons had been brutal, and the things done to Father Losado’s body turned his stomach. Nik’s own grief bubbled to the surface, but he’d learned well how to shove his emotions aside. Jacek would need him to be patient, gentle. He could do that. "Father Losado took care of me when no one else would. I get what you've lost."
"You have no clue what I've lost." Jacek turned his deep brown eyes up, flickering over Nik's shoulder to glance at Vai briefly, then glared at Nik. "You show up here on the heels of the son of Lucifer himself, with a gypsy, of all people, and a priest who is linked inextricably with the demons. And to top it all off, you're a sodomite and you've corrupted a priest. I saw the way he looked at you, and how you respond to him."
He rose and paced the floors.
Nik's jaw unhinged,
his mouth hung wide open. What the fuck do I answer first? He needed to be patient, the man was speaking through profound grief. They all had suffered losses, especially Vai and Zeph, but this man was undoubtedly sheltered, having grown up within the Order's walls. Nik always felt free to leave at will. But he was an exception. Once a child was given to the Order, they did not leave its sanctuary for any purpose other than to battle demons. Nik took a deep breath and tried to allay Jacek's most pressing concern, but before he could speak, the man turned on Vai.
“And you. Since when are there Romani Sin Eaters? Your people defiled the church, stealing and conning your way through centuries of catholic communities. And now you’re one of the most sacred people alive? I shouldn’t be surprised that one of your ancestors seduced her way into the order.”
“Excuse me?” Vai stood up, fight and fury shone in her ice blue eyes and Nik could see the barely contained need to destroy. He knew that feeling well, sometimes it was all that kept him alive, but Jacek was a human, not a demon, and Vai couldn’t turn her rage and grief on him. “You know so little, you might as well be talking directly out of your ass, assuming your holiness presumes to shit like the rest of us. There were Romani defending this world from demons before there even was a Catholic church!”
Nik’s brain took a minute, but finally caught up with his mouth. "Zeph is not 'inextricably' linked with the demons. He's a good man facing the loss of his sister to a demon who has destroyed her soul. Any normal human being would struggle with that."
"A good man?" Jacek stopped pacing to sneer at him. "He's a gay priest! What about that is good?"
Nik leaped off the sofa, and Vai's cool palm found his bicep.
He shrugged her off.
"What the fuck is your problem with us being gay? What difference does it make? Does it matter when I take in the sick, evil sludge possessing the good people of this world? Huh? Does it matter then that I'm gay?"
All the fight seemed to go out of Jacek with Nik's rant. He shook his head again like he was in shock.
