The Unholy Trinity III: The Final Battle

Coming Soon- In the Beginning

Simeon:

Cemeteries were Simeon Locke’s favorite place to meet women. Women consumed with grief, whether fresh or old, were more susceptible to his charms. That wasn’t to say he had any trouble meeting or charming women. Rather, those mired in sadness were less likely to pay heed to that inner voice that warned against falling victim to his beguiling charms and devilish good looks. And Simeon Locke was devilish in the most literal sense of the word being that he was in fact the devil.

            Of course, that was a fact few on earth were privy to. Being that they were a largely unenlightened group, most humans didn’t realize he walked among them. Instead, they believed him to be a red beast with scaly skin and a forked tongue and long tail, presiding over the depths of Hell with his booming voice and imposing pitch fork. Instead of being offended by it, he found their images of him amusing. If they only knew the truth, that like them, he had the ability to assume a human form more beautiful and enticing than any other.

As a human, Simeon stood at six foot three inches tall with a mass of black hair and dark smoldering eyes. It was his eyes that drew women to him, not that his generous muscles and chiseled features didn’t appeal to them.

Women were intriguing creatures, and part of what kept him so interested in remaining on Earth. Unlike their male counterparts, women were both complicated and easy to understand. Likewise, they served an important purpose. By permitting his seduction, they allowed him to continue an endless production of children that would one day serve in his army of evil and protect him against any attack perpetrated by Christ. It was just unfortunate that doing so meant they were unwittingly sacrificing their lives in service for him.

Having spent so many years on Earth, the army of his descendants was rather large. Not to mention it was at times complicated. Since this wasn’t his first journey to Earth, he had both children and grandchildren the same age as one another and even had great grandchildren who were older than his current human age of twenty-three.

Despite his numerous years on earth, love had thus far eluded him. It was lust that powered him and not lust of the flesh. Lust, like most emotions came in many forms and was more complicated than implied by its four simple letters. It always fascinated him that love and lust both comprised four letters and were as complicated as they were simple. It had been his observation both were meant to be intertwined, an experience he’d as yet been denied but admittedly longed for.

            Simeon indulged in a sigh as he swept his eyes around the cemetery. Pickings were slim today. No doubt Sebastian would have a good laugh over this one. Sebastian, his best friend and confidante and most trusted servant, never could understand his choice of the cemetery as a place to meet women. ‘There are a lot more desirable places to meet vulnerable women’ his friend said on more than one occasion.

            Whether Sebastian was right or not was a moot point since Simeon hadn’t come to the cemetery with the sole purpose of meeting women. While it was a nice perk, there was a greater need that drove him to the cemetery. Unlike most humans who were fearful of death, he took comfort in walking among the graves and becoming acquainted with the deceased. That wasn’t to say they emerged from the ground and spoke to him. It was his dark abilities that allowed him to become so intimately familiar with them. With nothing more than a glance at the stone, the history of the deceased unfolded within his mind.

            This ability wasn’t confined to his dealings with the dead. One look at the living gave him the same information. Most of the time he relished the knowledge given to him, but there were times when he found it tedious. Just once, it would’ve been nice to meet someone and get to know her in the traditional manner. Then again, it did provide a quick way to weed out those he deemed unworthy of wasting his time with.

            As he contemplated this, he surveyed the line of mausoleums on the horizon. The mausoleums were his favorite. Rather than one lonely grave lined upon the ground with countless others, the mausoleums provided a resting place for entire families. Even in death, they didn’t want to be parted, and he wondered about that. Did they really think resting side by side in the same building would make for a more peaceful eternity? Or was the idea of being so far from their loved ones too much to bear? Maybe it was simpler. Perhaps it was a financial thing in that sharing a resting place defrayed the costs of that final place. Whatever the reason, he enjoyed gazing upon the structures and getting to know the families interred within.

            Like the headstones scattered throughout the ground, the mausoleums came in all shapes and sizes. The bigger the building the more people to be found inside. Most of them were locked, allowing access only to a select few. Not that it made a difference. It would take more than a lock to keep him from entering if he so chose. He didn’t need to enter to discern the contents. Even from afar, he could see what was inside.

            At the moment, he was staring at the Griffin family tomb. Multiple generations lay within. There was Bruce and Carol Griffin, the first generation. Two of their children, Stan and Matilda were also resting with them to make up the second generation. The third generation thus far comprised only one young man by the name of Xavier. An empty slot waited at Xavier’s side, a slot for--

            “Can I help you?”