The Devil's Son (II)

Prologue

Dust moats floated in the air, lit by the sunlight streaming in through stained-glass windows into white embers. The room was quiet, only occasionally disturbed by the sound of rustling rosary beads or the movement of fingers following Bible text during silent prayer.

The Church of Constance was a small rural structure, built in the early 500's as a haven for pilgrims and other people of God. Throughout the years, it hosted Catholics, Protestants, Mormons and even a Satanic Cult at some point. Now though, it was mostly deserted, only kept clean and cosy by the local nun, who still believed in God's word.

Elizabeth de Baptiste was praying, her blond hair sweeping over an open Bible, her eyes closed as her lips pressed against the porcelain skin of her hand. She had been sitting here for an hour now, talking to God as if talking to an old friend.

Nun Josephine, who sat just a few rows behind the praying woman, peeked at the young woman's back. Elizabeth was a new face, someone who had come to their little town of Polinem as a visitor for the past two weeks. She was on her honeymoon, she had said, but Josephine had yet to meet the fiancé.

'If it's ok with you, I would like to pray here for a little bit,' Elizabeth had said upon arrival, shaking a surprised nun's hand and waltzing in without proper invitation.

Still, Josephine supposed, it was nice to see young people interested in the message of God again. Although the village of Polinem was small and obscured from the modern world, fewer and fewer youth had been coming to Church. In fact, some of them avoided the place - saying that the place looked old and haunted.

It was at that moment that the Church doors creaked open and although Elizabeth did not look up from prayer, Nun Josephine took a break from her ogling to look past her shoulder.

The figure in the doorway was tall and lean, a man with icy blond hair and eyes the colour of green moss. He was wearing casual clothing, nothing that compared to the usual Sunday church attire, and his form was backlit by the sun who had now found a way to shine its light into the small church.

Elizabeth, taking her time to finish her last words, whispered a soft 'Amen' before she arose. With one polite nod to the stunned nun, she left the church with the blond man.

Just before he closed the door he flashed a stunning white smile at Josephine, who for a moment thought she saw his mossy green eyes turn scarlet red - before the church doors closed and the nun was left in the dark once again.