Saints and Sinners

Forty-two:

Forty-two:

In his head, he was with Alina. The two of them were in his office. Alina was in a black skirt, a white blouse, with her tights, and kitten heals. She had a necklace of pearls around her neck that he had given her. He placed her on the desk, and he took his belt off as he stared at her, ravenous. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this, Alina?" he rasped. "I want you so badly, malyshka."

Alina smiled up at him. "You're all that I want, Aleksander. You're the only thing that I want." She reached up and brushed a strand of his black hair that had fallen into his face out of his eyes. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Alinochka." He reached out and he stroked her cheek. "Such a lovely, lovely girl you are. He stuck his hand down her skirt, into her panties, and then he started stroking her cunt. He stroked her harder and harder, and then put another finger inside of her. "I think you can take another, yeah?"

He placed in a third finger, and Alina writhed her hips on his fingers. A mewling sound came from her, and he smiled wickedly at her before he kissed her. "I am going to fuck you, sweetheart. I am going to fuck you, and put a baby into you, and we are going to be so happy."

"I want that, Aleks," she said, "I want you, I want a family."

"I'm going to give it to you, baby-----"

"Wake up."

There was someone's voice that was calling him. A voice that, strangely, sounded exactly like him. The office disappeared, and he was no longer there. Instead, he was in the prison cell of the stad watch police station. He had no idea how he had agreed to this. Aleksander Morozova wasn't the kind of person that got put in prison. He was the kind of person that stopped people from going to prison.

But there was a stranger with his face standing there in front of him. "You're going delirious from being away from her," his ancestor said, "and that isn't what we need right now."

"Can you tell me what we're doing?" Aleksander said. "Why exactly I'm in a cell, as we're trying to figure out a way to save people from some curse that you're ex-love placed on a bunch of people centuries ago? Because I'm not the kind of man that gets locked up. I'm the kind of man that gets people out of being locked up. I don't like cages, Morozova. And I need Alina."

"I'm perfectly aware," said his ancestor, "I'm almost you."

Aleksander clenched his jaw. "You're not though. You're----I don't know, a fucking ghost or a zombie or something. I am me. There's only one Aleksander Morozova and that's me. Got that?"

His ancestor chuckled. "It's delightful that you think that. I wanted you to know that I received word from The Apparat that Alina is safe. She's with him, at the church."

Aleksander flinched. "That's the last thing that I want. If anyone is with my father, they're not safe."

"But it's what we need to take on Luda. If Alina's with him, she can prove that he isn't the one offering the blessing removals. We can also get the information that we need to clear you and to reveal the truth about Luda using The Apparat. Once we get evidence that Luda is the one that's doing all of this, you will be in the clear."

"And how are we doing this again?" Aleksander asked.

"By stealing The Darkling."

"The ancient, egg art thing?" Aleksander said. "What does that monstrosity against art have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with everything," said his ancestor, "The Darkling has my Alina's soul trapped in there. Once I can get her free from there, I can free the other souls and break the curse. That way a Blessing can be a Blessing again."

"How do you know that the Blessing won't affect me and Alina?" Aleksander asked. "I need her. And you...you should know that. You've been playing this game for what, fucking centuries?"

His ancestor nodded. "You're not reincarnations like all of us. It's different. Besides, there are Blessings. You know that. You've seen them. You and me, we'd do anything to keep our girl safe. That's the one thing that stays constant with all of my descendants. You and Alina are solid. And you'll both be safe once The Darkling has been stolen, and Alina's soul has been free so that I can be with her again."

"What will happen to you?" Aleksander asked. "Where's your soul?"

"With her," he said, "Luda's the one that has been keeping me from dying all this time through the curse. If it weren't for that, Alina and I would have moved on long ago. All I want is to get a happy ending for us. Surely you can understand that, can't you?"

Aleksander nodded. "I can understand that. I just...."

"What?"

"I don't know that Alina will understand that," said Aleksander, "I don't know that she'll want to fight for us. She didn't want to be part of this world. And how are you planning on getting a message through her?"

"I have ways of being persuasive. Don't you worry."

"I'm in prison. Of course I'm fucking worried."