WITCH - ARA

Fourteen

As I stepped out of the library, the cool evening air did nothing to cool the heat coursing through me. Blaze's defiance, the way she rebelled against me, only fueled the fire. I could still feel the warmth of her body against mine, the way her breath had hitched when I whispered in her ear, the way she trembled when I bit it. My thoughts were a chaotic swirl, a mix of desire and something darker.

The street was quiet, the kind of eerie calm that felt like it was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. As I walked, I couldn't stop my mind from drifting back to the time I was a priest. My hands had blessed the innocent, but they had also called upon powers that were far from holy. The occult practices I dabbled in were addictive, their allure impossible to resist. I had summoned spirits, conversed with them, and allowed them to connect to me in ways that no priest should.

But secrets have a way of surfacing. Father Matthias found out. I could still remember the look on his face when he caught me-disgust, fear, and disappointment all rolled into one. He called me a blasphemer, told me I was damning my soul. He wasn't entirely wrong. That's how I became a fallen priest, no longer bound by the laws of the church, but by the laws of something far older, far darker.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. I pulled it out and saw the name flashing on the screen-*Ethan*. He wasn't a friend, not really. More like a student who respected me, looked up to me, even though he didn't know the full extent of what I was. We met in religious classes, and he had a knack for sensing when I was...off.

I answered the call. "Ethan."

"Sir," he replied, his tone respectful, almost cautious. "There's someone who wants to meet you."

"Who?"

"I don't know. They didn't say, just that it was important. They seemed...serious."

I paused, considering. My mind was still full of Blaze, of the library, of the way she tasted when I bit her ear. But there was something in Ethan's voice that made me listen.

"Where?" I asked.

"They'll be at the old chapel, the one we used to go to for private prayers."

"Alright. I'll be there tonight."

I hung up, slipping the phone back into my pocket. As I walked, my thoughts drifted back to the spirits that never seemed to leave me.

☆

I stepped into the church, the familiar scent of incense heavy in the air. The ancient stone walls seemed to close in around me as I made my way to the confessional, where Father Matthias was waiting. The man had been my mentor once, but now, the look in his eyes was one of stern disapproval, tinged with disappointment.

“Keith,” Father Matthias began, his voice low and authoritative, “you’ve been absent for far too long. Abandoning your duties as a priest... that was the only true purpose you had. Without it, you're lost, drifting toward damnation.”

I leaned against the wooden partition, a smirk tugging at my lips. “You think I'm lost, Father? The only person who'd end up in hell is you, for judging my decisions. Or do you think you’re the gatekeeper now?”

His eyes narrowed, clearly taken aback by my boldness. “This is not a matter to joke about. Your soul is at stake.”

“My soul was never yours to save, old man,” I shot back, sarcasm dripping from my words. “I found meaning in things beyond this confessional, things you could never understand.”