Succubus

Chapter 29: Prayers and Scares

Chapter 29: Prayers and Scares

A man with a huge beard stood at the altar and growled his sermon to the congregation below. Together the people stood in neat lines at the center of the church. At the back were two teens and an enormous man that no one else could see.

Adriel performed at mass exceptionally well. The other members of the Orthodox congregation kept looking at him, wondering who the handsome stranger was and why he was so good at praying.

Next to the angel Peter seemed clumsy, but that was because he was trying to whisper a conversation while following the motions.

"You see that woman?" Peter whispered to Adriel.

They both looked over to a bench set against the wall. Usually they were just for elderly church-goers who became too tired to stand, but now a woman in her late twenties was sprawled on it, fast asleep.

"Men too," Daumantas said. On the way inside they'd passed a man sleeping on the front steps. He was in his church clothes, but he hadn't made it inside before he fell asleep.

Peter scowled and looked up past the priest. "They're still in town, and they're feeding on people again."

"Let's not be too negative," Adriel said after a perfect bow. "The gap probably means they tried to find a different way to eat, but it didn't work. I think if we found them we could organize a way to keep them fed."

"And if not you can kill them both," Daumantas said from the other side of Peter.

"You're talking about children," Adriel said gravely.

Daumantas said nothing; he just looked up toward a stained glass window.

Peter coughed softly. "I want to speak with them. Adriel might be right about the gap in feedings. They might be looking for a different way to eat."

"And if they can't, what will you do?" Daumantas asked. "Let them go free and people may die. There is also the question of their mother. The longer she is on Earth the more likely someone will get hurt. Her existence is predicated on conflict, to be away from it is the same as keeping a succubus away from love."

"Miss. Kim has been finding plenty of small conflicts to keep herself fed," Peter said. "She's been weaseling in on varsity basketball practice and doing one v six." Peter rubbed a bruise on his arm.

Mass ended and the church-goers slowly shuffled out the back door. Outside the sun was shining and people broke off into small groups to stand around their cars and chat about the week. Peter grabbed his duffel bag and dragged Adriel through a crowd of people. All of them were asking if he were new in town and if he'd like to meet their granddaughter.

Peter, Adriel, and Daumantas headed deeper into town. Along the way they passed those groups singing hymns that had been going around town. They'd been recruited to help find the missing kids, but no one was quite sure who had organized them.

As Peter passed the pizza restaurant he felt his feet leave the ground. He looked down and saw Daumantas and Adriel looking back up at him with shocked expressions on their faces. Peter looked up and saw June holding him with one hand and pulling herself up a gutter with the other. Peter looked back down. The saint and the angel looked at each other before running into the pizza restaurant.

Peter was thrown into the corner of the roof. June sat next to him on the edge overlooking the town square.

"I've been busy so I haven't had a chance to talk with you. Did you think I wouldn't notice someone else involved in all this?"

Peter opened his duffel bag and pulled the sword out. His body shifted into the stances that he'd been practicing every night.

June looked at Peter with her eyebrows raised. She didn't look angry or scared, just mildly surprised that he'd picked a fight with her. Her eyebrows went back down and she grinned. Four horns appeared on her head.

"Alright, Mistress says I can."

June stood up and unbuttoned the cuffs of her shirt. She rolled her sleeves up and bounced from one foot to the other. Peter felt nervous that anyone could be so excited to fight.

Peter shuffled forward, keeping the sword held at eye level. He lunged forward hoping to slash June on the leg. He wasn't actually sure how much the sword would do to her. Would it kill her the moment it made contact, or did he have to get a vital? If it were the second option, then was it any better than a normal sword?

June didn't let Peter find out. She dodged smoothly to the side and pushed his head with the tips of her fingers. His practiced stance barely kept him on his feet.

"A slash will take too long. I'll get out of the way. Try something faster."

Peter frowned and held the sword in front of his chest with his arms slightly bent. He shuffled forward then moved for a quick stab.

The blade stopped mid strike. June held it clamped between her fingers. Peter wondered how she could touch it, but then he noticed that June's fingers were wrapped in a piece of her shirt. She'd torn a piece off the cuff without his noticing.

June pulled the sword to the side so Peter was forced to step forward or risk letting go of his only weapon. June's fingers clamped around Peter's head. Peter could feel that if she squeezed his skull nothing would stop her fingers from meeting her thumb.

"Your friends are coming so I'll be quick. Tara is the missing demon, yes?"

Peter said nothing and the grip tightened. He suddenly felt a real fear of never seeing his twenties.

"Yes, she's the demon," Peter gasped.

"You saw her before she disappeared. If you find her again, bring her to the dance this Friday. If you see a handsome boy in glasses do the same."

June released Peter's head and stepped up onto the lip of the roof. The door to the roof flew open. Daumantas and Adriel scrambled toward Peter just as June stepped backward and fell out of sight. Peter rushed to the edge and looked over, but the teacher was gone.

"Are you alright?" Adriel asked.

Peter rubbed the side of his head. Daumantas collected the sword and examined it. Only after he was sure it was unharmed did he look down at Peter.

"You have marks on your face."

Peter took a deep breath. Any anger he might have felt was overshadowed by a lingering sense of dread. It was the same as a car missing him by an inch.

"My goal is the protection of the faithful. If you cannot perform that goal, I will find someone else."

"Who else?" Peter challenged.

The saint looked back at him but said nothing. He turned and looked out over the town square. Whether he was looking for the demons or a new champion, Peter didn't know.

"What did she say to you?" Adriel asked.

"I know who Erlik is," Peter said.

That got Daumantas and Adriel's attention. Both saint and angel crowded over to Peter to hear what he had to say.

"The middle schooler who went missing a few days ago. I don't know his name, but he definitely stands out."

"And he's probably still in town, looking for Tara," Adriel said.

"Paimon is looking for him, so she knows who Erlik is hiding in," Daumantas said.

"So we just need to find him, but where would a boy hide?"

The three stood on the rooftop and looked out over the sprawl of Bridgeton. Not a big town, but plenty of places for a boy to hide.