Heaven

chapter 35: blood and altars

Father Caleb was kneeling by the altar. Around him, candles illuminated his presence. While he prayed, he thought of Sina. What had happened between them was beautiful yet dangerous, like a hammer falling upon glass – at least that was how he thought of it. It had been long...too long since he had fallen in love. Since he felt right. And there Sina was. A lighthouse to his sinking ship. But he was also a demon – an enemy with the sweetest blood. Caleb's heart lay in shambles.

When the door opened, it brought in the wind. Fingers of a faint breeze touched his shoulder. And then came a voice, so sweet yet full of angst. It was a voice he thought he'd never hear again.

"Caleb," Sina's whisper carried over to him and pulled the priest out of his thoughts.

"Sina?" Cal looked over his shoulder. When he spotted Sina lingering at the door, he rose and began to hurry over. But halfway there, he stopped. "You cannot –" be here, he nearly said but bit his tongue to stop the words from coming out. Everyone was welcome in the house of the Lord. Even demons. Even Kadisin.

"Can I come in?"

Caleb wanted desperately to rush over and put his arms around him but he held back. "You shouldn't have come."

Sina looked at the door frame -left, right, up, down. "Invite me in." When Caleb remained silent he begged, "Please."

"I will not stop you." Father Cal felt his heart wailing in his chest. Love was not something he thought he'd ever feel again. But the sweat on his palms and the ache in his belly kept telling him he had fallen.

"I can't without you inviting me in."

Caleb turned his back to Sina. He hung his head and avoided looking toward the altar. "Entering the house of the Lord will not stop me from wanting to attack you," Cal admitted.

"Attack me? Why?" Sina's voice rose in question. "What have I done to you?"

Caleb felt like the flames from the candles before him were watching and waiting. "You made me feel something," he whispered.

"Something bad?"

"Something good."

"Then?"

"Your blood..." Caleb blanched. "I told you I knew what you are."

A moment passed before Sina replied, "Yah."

Caleb touched his head. He felt his temples throb. Fear clawed at him. It howled and reminded him that he was a killer. He had killed humans. He had killed demons. What was stopping him from doing the same to Sina?

"How do you know?" Sina asked.

Caleb did not reply. He took a step towards the altar. He would walk away. Leave him standing there. He would try to forget. But how does one forget someone like Sina?

"Caleb? Don't walk away. Tell me now, damn you!"

Deeper and deeper into the church Caleb went, and Sina felt further and further away. But the pain came closer. It reached up to Cal and he reached down to take it. Between heartbeats, he felt the church shudder. Then an almighty cry came from the entrance.

Father Caleb turned to see Sina had entered the church and was standing there like someone had just tried to strangle him.

It was not simple pain marking Sina's delicate features, what anguish he wore was a mask of torment. Sina was shaking. He clasped his hands together and brought them to his chest which rose and fell dramatically. "Invite. Me. In," he croaked.

When Cal did not, Sina took a step deeper into the building. Every word escaping his lips sounded like a dying beast. "I will come to you whether you do or don't."

On trembling legs, Sina half staggered, half walked. It took barely a minute before the demon dropped to his knees. "I'm in love with you, Caleb," came a faint utterance. He held up his palms as if trying to stop an oncoming blow and bowed his head. A curtain of black hair hid his face.

When Sina lowered his hands and looked through his hair, Caleb saw the streaks of red. Blood trickled down Sina's eyes like a waterfall of tears. From his lips, crimson ran down his jaw and onto the wooden floor. "I can't be in someone's home or a holy building uninvited and not bleed to death. Invite me in, please," he whispered.

Though the scent came to Caleb like a seductress, it was the anguish of seeing Sina in such a painful state that made him cry out and run to him. "No! No!" Caleb fell to his knees and pulled Sina into his embrace. "You're invited in! You're invited into Saint Agatha's church."

The shaking subsided as did Sina's rapid breathing. He looked up and his eyes had stopped bleeding. There was no more red dripping from his lips. But the stains were there, and they whispered of paradise.

Caleb traced the lines of crimson as they created a map to wonders he knew of and wonders he had yet still to discover. Inching closer, he drew in a deep breath and then quivered.

Straining to speak, Sina touched Caleb's arm. "Do you want my blood?"

Thinking he'd choke on his own saliva, Cal nodded. "Yes."

"Caleb?" Tears rushed down Sina's face, washing away the streaks.

The priest closed his eyes briefly. The blood hunger was powerful but what was just as powerful was the desire to hold, love, and be with Sina. Inside him, the two sides began to duel. "Yes?" Looking down, he saw Sina's eyes rolling to the back of his head and his lids fluttering.

"I can't stay in a church too long. I think I'm going to pass out. Take me out of here if I do. Take me somewhere safe."

And pass out Sina did. Caleb held him and rocked him. He smelt Sina's blood twinging with incense and myrrh. He fought the urge to feed because his emotions held back the blood-lust branding him a monster. Cal's heart felt as though it would break were he to lose Sina again. "I will keep you safe. I promise you."

*Fun Fact: Sina's got to be invited in or else there's hell to pay. This is something from vampire mythology I thought would look good on our demon.