by Mia Bishop
He executed the last demon quickly and made his way over to the woman. "Hey?" Lack of sleep had extinguished any reserves of niceties he might have harbored. Giving her sunken in cheeks a light smack. "If you're alive, open your eyes."
Meredith crossed her arms over her chest. "You're a fucking Neanderthal. Check her pulse."
Rolling his eyes, he placed two fingers to the pulse point in the woman’s neck. He had one flicker of hope this time would be different, that all of his hard work would pay off and he had saved her from possession. But the lack of pulse told him he'd needlessly gotten his hopes up again. He shook his head. "It's no use, Meri. There were too many inside her, the poor thing never stood a chance."
"No, that can't be right. She can't be dead."
"She is. The Brimstone demon was probably right, they were keeping her alive."
Meredith lifted her chin defiantly. "You're wrong, she isn't dead."
"Meri, there is no pulse. It's over."
Arveda stormed into the kitchen. Nico’s feet left the floor the moment she extended her hand and the room whizzed by as he was propelled into the wall. The air rushed from his lungs at the crushing weight of his body meeting the solid surface. "The child can’t be dead. It’s not her fate to die this way."
"Sometimes fate fucks up, Arveda. Maybe fate didn't see this girl getting stuffed full of demons like a god damn piñata.” He struggled against her magick pinning him to the wall. He had a point to make and she was going to listen to him. Arveda needed to look at the situation realistically. “Maybe Fate just fucked up, wouldn't be the first time. But you can't change facts. No pulse, not breathing, equals dead. And the dead don't come back, if they do, they come back wrong."
"Ignorant ass." Arveda's spell faded allowing him to move again. "Girls, come help me tend to Abigail. I need her cleaned up for when she wakes."
"Arveda, I get you are in the running to be the mayor of Crazy Town, but the woman is dead. She ain't waking up. Burn the body and let her rest in peace." He paused watching all the Striga dutifully cleaning up the dead woman. All of them ignored him, even Meredith. He shook his head. "Are you even fucking listening to me?"
"No, Father." Arveda lifted her head and glared at him. "And do you want to know why we aren't listening? Because you've lost your faith and therefore you have nothing to say that is worth listening to. You only believe in what you can see at the bottom of a bottle. You've lost sight of the bigger picture. You could be a champion, a warrior to help win this fight. God and Satan are still battling it out for Earth and for the fate of mankind. Satan stopped playing fair a long time ago and the Church decided to act like ostriches and bury their collective heads in the sand. Ignoring this war won't make it go away, Nico. It only ensures that the other side will win, because believe me, while the church has stopped fighting the war, the demons never did."
He held up his finger. "One, I'm not a priest anymore. God doesn't want me. I kill anyone I try to help." He ticked off another finger. "Two, there is no war. And three, even if there was one I'm sure you and God could find a better person to help score you a victory."
The elder Striga opened her mouth to say something just as one of her daughters screamed. Nico whipped his head around to see the dead woman on the table sitting up. Her eyes were glazed over and her mouth was latched on to the arm of one of the Striga girls.
"She's a god damn vampire." Picking up the Piñon stake he was two strides away from burying it in the creature's chest when Arveda used her magick to slam him into the wall again. "Damn it, Witch, stop doing that."
"You will not kill her."
"The hell I won't." He struggled, but the weave of magick tightened around him. The old bat wasn't going to let him go anytime soon. The girls were working frantically to pry the creature's mouth from their wailing sister while the elder Striga kept focused on him. "Arveda, you are going to get us all killed. Stake her and burn the damn body."
"No. You might have lost your faith, but I haven't lost mine. She is the key and must be protected." She pushed back a loose strand of blond hair and smoothed out her clothing. He could tell it was all an effort to control herself. The Striga were known for their violent bursts of anger.
"Arveda, I'm begging you. Kill the creature, the woman she used to be is dead."
She shook her head and was about to speak when the girl on the table let go of the meaty arm in her mouth. She stared blankly at him, turning her head from side to side as she studied him. When she finally opened her mouth no words came out, only a hoarse gurgle.
Nico pointed at the creature and fixed Arveda with an incredulous stare. "See. Kill it."
Arveda glared at him. "She, not it. And I refuse to harm her." She closed the distance between her and the dead woman and lightly stroked her cheek. "Speak child. Just give it a try."
He had to admit for a blood-sucking creature the thing was pulling off the right amount of fear and confusion, it was no wonder the Striga was falling for it. She looked like a wounded deer, unfortunately this Bambi could probably rip their heads off and drain them of every drop of blood in a matter of minutes. Still, something inside him wanted to believe. But then she smiled, flashing her fangs and darting her tongue out over the bloody tips. "Arveda, watch out."
The Striga shook her head and cupped the girl’s chin. Her voice was melodic as she spoke, "Those are some awfully deadly teeth you have there, best to keep them hidden for now."
The girl clamped her mouth shut and peered back up at the old hag. Her words were barely a whisper and sounded more like gravel than any feminine voice he'd ever heard. "Am I really dead?"
Arveda nodded her head. "It would appear you've undergone some changes recently. Do you remember anything?"
She shook her head. "No, nothing."
Suddenly, howls pierced the air making all of the girls in the house go still. One by one, all eyes turned on Meredith. Arveda snapped at her daughter. "Go tell the mutt to leave us alone. I don't know why he bothers coming around here."
Nico knew why, Meredith did too from the deep blush instantly coloring her cheeks. She ducked her head and hurried out the door.
All attention was back on the creature. Arveda continued to keep one hand on her new guest. A low buzz faintly radiated around the elder Striga, and the sudden stillness in the air was a give-away Arveda was doing something to control the situation. As best as he could tell, she was casting some sort of spell while she comforted the young woman. "You told me your name is Abigail, but I suspected you were using a fake name." Arveda tilted the woman's chin up. "Did you know Abigail means 'my father's joy'? You are something special. God has chosen you. Can you tell us your real name?"
"I—" The woman shook her head. "I can't remember."
All the Striga murmured among themselves for a second and then hurriedly went back to the task of tending to their sister’s bloody arm to keep from looking like they were hovering. Arveda patted Abigail’s head, "Well then, we will just keep calling you Abigail, if you don't mind."
"Okay, but why can't I remember? Who was I? Or... Who am I? I don't understand any of this." The young woman's voice was slowly warming-up, the rasp of an old man who smoked four packs a day was replaced by something sweet and innocent. If it weren't for the fact she was a creature of pure abomination he'd almost say she sounded seductive.
He had to hand it to the elder Striga, she was a natural at mothering. She soothed her hand over the girl’s matted hair. "Don't worry about all that right now. First things first, we have to get you cleaned up and I'm going to look you over from head to toe so we can figure out how you got those teeth. I know it's scary, but you can trust me."
Abigail pointed at Nico. "But he wants to kill me."
Arveda shot him a glare that would make a normal person shrivel up and die. "He's an idiot. He doesn't understand your role in all of this just yet."
Abigail’s voice cracked, "And what is my role?"
"You are going to do great things, my dear." A
rveda motioned for some of the girls to come closer and help the creature off the table. "Great and wonderful things.” She whispered something to one of her daughters and the group helped Abigail walk out of the room.
Nico struggled against the magick still holding him against the wall. Narrowing his eyes on Arveda he clinched his fists. “Let me go, hag.”
Arveda wove her hands as she chanted. A shiver went through him, he hated the way magick made him feel. When she was done she clasped her hands together and turned to him still pinned against the wall. With a wave of her hand she dropped the spell holding him.
His tone was sharp, "That's it then? You’re just gonna give her free reign to kill all of you in your sleep?"
"Don't be daft, Father." The older woman smiled. "She can't hurt anyone here. My spell will keep any hunger or knee-jerk reactions under control. Now, you and I need to have a little talk."
She pointed to the living room and reluctantly he followed, adjusting his collar and sleeves as he made his way into the magick laden den of the Striga. "What about?"
"Abigail, of course."
"That creature? The way I see it is—"
"She is not a creature, she is a girl, a woman by human standards, who is lost and confused."
"Fine, fine. What is there to talk about then?"
There was a long pause. Nico always hated silence when something needed to be said, it usually meant something horrible was about to happen. He met Arveda's gaze and the unexpected happened. He could see the fear she was hiding. He was never particularly gifted at picking up on subtle signs but at the moment he could read the old hag’s face like a book. She was nervous. Fear mingled with horror in her icy cold stare. It was as if her entire essence was screaming all at once 'Don't make me say it.' He shook his head, he needed answers and the night had dragged on far too long for him to play let's-beat-around-the-bush. "Well?"
Arveda took a deep breath. "I don't like this anymore than you do."
"Don't like what? Not killing that creature?"
A quiet growl came from the usually well-refined woman. "I need your help." Arveda picked up a cast iron tea kettle and poured herself a cup. She reached for another mug but he waved her off, instead he pulled out his flask and took a swig. She wrinkled her nose, but didn't say anything about his choice of beverage. "Do you think I enjoy having to ask you for a second favor? Don't you think I'm humiliated enough as it is having to rely on you to help us already?"
"Then don't ask. I'll never mention this again and we can both pretend it didn't happen."
She glared at him. "It's not that simple. I need another favor from you."
"Fine, what is it?"
"It's Abigail. She came to me weeks ago, she wanted a reading."
"Yeah, Meri told me. She was blacking out, waking up in different places, couldn't remember, et cetera. The possession explains all of it."
"No, it doesn't. She wasn't possessed at the time."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because the wards I have around this house would have made her react violently like she did tonight before you pulled the demons out. They can't stay hidden under my roof."
"Okay, and your point is?"
Arveda rubbed her temple, reminding him of Meredith at that moment. He found their shared mannerisms uncomfortable at times since one was his dearest friend and the other was a woman he’d rather see burn at the stake. The older Striga drew his attention back as she asked, "Did my daughter tell you what happened?"
"Yep, you took one look at the girl's hand and sent her away. Meri didn't say why."
"It's because of what I saw. Her future, laid out in front of me. In that brief moment I read her palm I witnessed everything. The fall of this town, the enslavement of mankind, and Satan winning the war against Heaven."
Nico's head lulled back, partially from aggravation but mostly from lack of sleep. "Get to the point, hag."
"The point is this. The Gates of Hell are about to open and she is quite literally the key and you, Nico Lynch, are the one who unlocks Hell on Earth."
That got his attention. He sat up and leaned forward. "That thing in there is the key to opening the Gates of Hell and we are keeping her alive why?"
"Because the Gates open when her blood is spilled in Dusk by your hand." She paused. "Whoever possessed her and did whatever they've done to give her blood cravings—"
"She's a fucking vampire, Arveda, just admit it."
"No, she isn't. I don't believe that. They did this on purpose. They knew if we pulled out all the demons she would react like she did. They had a purpose. The demons have been gathering outside of Dusk for quite some time now, you know this."
Nico groaned. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Bullshit, you've been out patrolling, killing demons who get too close to town. I've watched you, you are protecting these people from the threat and you know it is out there. Those demons are waiting for the Gates to open. So what do they do? They find the key, but they can't kill her, they aren't the ones who are supposed to kill her. God created this girl specifically so the Gates couldn't be opened because his servant would never kill an innocent girl, you are that servant. Like it or not. They found a loophole. They stuffed the poor girl full of demons, you exorcised them and what happened?"
"She turned."
"Right. And your first instinct was to do what?"
"Kill her..." His words trailed off as it dawned on him. He was being played. "I'm no one's pawn, not yours, not God's, and not Satan's. She needs to die because she is a vampire, she's already dead. I'm pretty sure undead doesn't count as living. I get you believe all this, but think about your daughters and this town. You can't keep a newly turned vamp around here and just pray nothing bad happens."
"My daughters will be fine. And I don't believe she is actually dead, nor do I believe she is a true vampire. You may not be a pawn of Satan but if you kill her you've done exactly what they wanted you to do. What would you call it?"
"I call it doing the world a favor. You're welcome." Arveda glared at him over her cup. Nico glared right back. "Isn't that why you called me here? To do what you couldn't do? Admit it, Arveda, you want her dead but you are too bound to your faith. You need someone like me to come in and do it for you to keep your hands clean."
"No. You're wrong. I called you here because we needed your help. Humanity needs your help."
"If I'm the one who kills her then why in the world would you want me anywhere near this girl?"
"Because God demands it."
"That's a cop out and you know it." Nico slipped his flask back into his jacket and scrubbed his hand over his tired eyes. "What aren't you telling me, Arveda?"
"A lot. To be honest. But it’s all stuff you don't need to know right now."
"That's an even bigger cop out." He shook his head. "Fine. I won't kill the creature. Happy now?"
"Not exactly."
"What now?"
"Well, she can't stay here. She needs protection and she needs to be carefully observed. More importantly she needs to learn what her part in this is."
"So teach her."
"I can't. We can't. We are magick users, not fighters."
"Hate to break it to you, but she isn't a fighter either."
"But you are."
"And your point is?"
"Train her to fight demons. Teach her to help us until I can figure out what happened to her and reverse it. She is meant to fight in this war."
"Not a chance in hell."
"You have to."
"Why do I have to?" Nico paused and held up his hand. "Let me guess, because God demands it."
Arveda nodded. "Exactly."
Grinding his teeth, Nico sighed. It was obvious Arveda was going to keep driving the same point home every time he asked something. No point in continuing this any longer, he finally sighed. "Fine, I'll train her. Are we done here now?"
"Not quite."
"What more do you have to say, woman?"<
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"She can't stay here."
"Okay, and?" Arveda gave him a blank stare. His eyes widened. "Oh no. No, no, no. There is no way in hell I am playing vampire baby sitter for you."
"You have to. You can teach her how to protect herself from the demons. Plus, you’re the one who’s worried about her eating everyone. This way you can keep an eye on her."
"It's not happening. I won't do it."
"You will."
"Why?"
"Because God commands it."
Nico snapped in frustration. "My God, stop saying that!" The tension knotting in his muscles from holding back his anger ebbed, he wasn’t going to let Arveda get any further under his skin than she already was. He took a deep breath before arching a brow. "Do witches have a direct line to the big guy upstairs now?"
Her eyes flashed red and he tried to repress the instinct to flinch in the presence of the Striga’s anger. "Do not lump the Striga in with common witches. We are of royal blood, we served the cloth, we serve God, and even though we have been cast out by the church, we still do His work. You call us hags and witches, but your Popes used to consult with us. We were the mystics of the Catholic Church and we held every honor the church could bestow. Do not, for a second, think I stand around my cauldron tossing in puppy dog tails and eye of newt while lifting up praise to Satan or any pagan gods. As much as you are a servant and an instrument of God so am I."
He shifted nervously in his seat. He knew the Striga held a high order in the church centuries ago but it always threw him for a loop when she reminded him that even after all they'd been through they still served the Almighty. It made him feel like a downright ass for turning his back on God. Though in his defense the Church could go screw themselves. "So you're telling me God commands this of me?"
"Yes, he does."
"Got any proof?"
