Deadly Deceit

Prologue

"Hello..?"

A small voice, sounding like it belonged to a young girl, called out. Belial immediately paused, and he began to frantically inspect the room. The room was very simply, yet very poorly, decorated. A worn-down and stained couch with a matching armchair, a coffee table with visible stains and spills all over it, like the owner never bothered to clean it, and ants could be seen roaming on it. The shelves and side tables were caked with dust and grime. There was a single picture frame on the wall, but the glass was so cracked and dusty that Bel couldn't see who was in it. The room itself reeked of cigarettes and alcohol. It smelled like straight Vodka and Jack Daniels. Who the fuck drinks straight Vodka or Jack? Well, besides Russians. I suppose they drink straight Vodka-...

Suddenly, his gaze averted to a small silhouette that he spotted, standing in a nearby doorway. He glanced down at the body in front of him, then back up at the silhouette, which was clearly a small child.

"Oh, shit-! Uhm..." Bel cursed softly, pushing the body away. It only left a trail of blood behind. He could only imagine how this looked to this kid. A tall, slim, black-haired, red-eyed vampire that very obviously just killed whatever authority figure this kid was living with. And he sure as hell couldn't kill a kid, even to eliminate witnesses.

The child stared at the body before looking back up at Bel.

"... You look sad," the child stated blankly, "and you look weird."

"I-... Thanks, kid," Bel chuckled.

"Why do you have sharp teeth?" The child asked.

"I- Uh... Don't worry about that, kiddo," Bel answered, panicking.

"... Okay," the child replied cheerfully.

"This- uh... Okay, unrelated... These weren't your, uh, parents... right?"

The child peered back over at the body, now seeing the other that was beside it, while Bel stood.

"Those are my mommy and daddy," she said, "but... I don't like them very much."

"... And why is that?" Bel asked, confused.

The child hesitated before she spoke, looking down at the pale, bloodied bodies, "... They hit me."

"What?"

"They said it's normal, but it hurts." she explained, but she showed almost no emotion while she spoke... like she was completely numb.

"... That's not normal, kiddo. That's absolutely not okay," Bel looked down at the bodies, now feeling justified in this murder, "... but they can't hurt you anymore."

"... You promise?" The child asked.

"I promise." Bel confirmed.

Bel knelt to the child's level and held out his pinky. The child wrapped her pinky around his, and Bel smiled. When the child approached, Bel could see that she had soft black hair that looked like it had barely ever been brushed. It was severely matted and tangled, and it looked horrible. Poor kid... Her eyes were hard to see, but they looked incredibly dark, so Bel immediately assumed they were brown.

"... What's your name, kid?" Bel asked.

"... Celeste," the child answered.

"Beautiful name. I'm Bel. Well, Belial, but... everyone calls me Bel. And I'm taking you home."

"Wha-"

"I'm not leaving a child alone. That's how bad things happen."

"Oh. Okay."

...

As Bel arrived at his dimly lit home with a sleepy Celeste curled up in his arms, he sighed. Never, in the thousands of years he'd been alive, would he have guessed that he'd get stuck caring for the child of one of his victims. Even if Sam would have told him that, he'd never believe it...

Sam...

Bel shook his head and grabbed his keys, fumbling with them before finding the right one and unlocking his front door.

As he entered, he observed the room, sighing. It had once been such an elegant place, but over time it had become flooded with empty alcohol bottles and trash. Sure, the furniture was still beautiful, gothic masterpieces that looked like they walked right out of a painting, but gradually, they began to feel unnecessary as Bel spent more and more time alone in his room. He looked down at Celeste, who was snuggled up to his chest, snoozing away. He smiled, patted her head, and carried her to his room.

When he got to his room, it wasn't much better than his living room, still thoroughly trashed and honestly starting to smell horrible. He bundled Celeste up in a blanket and tucked her into his bed, then flopped down beside her. He'd have to tackle to ordeal of Celeste's matted hair in the morning... It was too late for a child to be awake, and she was already peacefully sleeping.

Bel stared up at his ceiling, the only sounds in the room, Celeste's snoring and the soft whirring of the box fan, being a comforting ambience. He peered to his side, just to see a picture of Sam on his nightstand. ... Sam...

He sighed softly. I'm not fit to be taking care of this kid... am I...? I can't be any better than her biological parents... Sam would think I'm crazy...

... Fuck. I miss you, my love.

Why did you have to go?

End of Prologue

(Hello all! I spent a while working on the prologue and decided that since I had already finished it, I would publish it! I hope you all enjoy it! I'm not sure when chapter one will be done, but I'll get it done eventually! ^^)