"I BROUGHT YOU DINNER," FATHER Malachi said to the door. As usual, there came no response. Abel was always good at the silent treatment, but three days was still a long time even for him. Malachi would have been more concerned were it not for the fact that his plate was always gone when he returned. At least Abel was eating.
Malachi stayed by the door longer than normal this time. He still clung to the foolish hope that perhaps today would be different. He prayed that Abel would open the door and talk to him again. Even if he didn't speak, Malachi would be content just to see him.
His fate was decided, the young boy's death was inevitable. There was only so much time left to make amends. But as long as Abel was refusing to speak with him, there was no chance of that happening.
One long minute stretched out into several. Malachi waited for what must have been an eternity before he accepted that it wasn't going to happen. Hanging his head in defeat, Malachi turned away, disappearing down the stairwell once again.
The hall he left behind was quiet and empty. Abel had always preferred it that way. No one was around to see the bedroom door opening, nor could they see a shadowy hand with long, spindly fingers reaching out from behind it. The hand took the steaming plate of food, pulling it into Abel's room. A soft click resounded through the hall as the door was shut once again, the lock turning into place shortly after.
Crumbs fell onto the bedroom carpet as a portion of the food was devoured without any kind of decorum. The plate was then set onto the floor, the window opened to let in the flurry of black birds who were pecking eagerly at the glass. The birds surrounded the plate, greedily picking at the food like they hadn't eaten in days. They ate yesterday, though, they were fine.
One particular bird shifted its attention from its meal to the figure sitting on the bed and watching the spectacle. Its head tilted to one side as if to say you're not the one I'm used to. But the stranger fed it, so it wasn't afraid. Six eyes blinked in curiosity, then the bird went back to tearing apart the food on the plate.
"It's the least I could do," the stranger said. In the blink of an eye, the stranger was gone, and Abel's bed was empty once again.
YOU ARE READING
Dead Moon Chapel
FantasyA young priest makes a deal with a sexy demon to reject his faith and lose his purity in order to save himself from being sacrificed to a looming, all-powerful God. * * * All that young priest Abel Atherton wants is to become an exorcist, but that d...
