Darkest Hunt

A thick layer of clouds made the night almost pitch black, not that the darkness prevented him from seeing the path he had chosen as clearly as any mortal out during the light of day. His prey, however –well, the soul he hunted should have long ago stumbled and tripped over the loose stones that had paved the narrow cemetery lanes. He should have captured his prey’s soul long ago. He should have been halfway back to Hell by now. By rights and the delicate balance of the world, this soul he chased should be begging for its life, or to God for help, at least. Instead, his bare feet pounded the stone beneath him, the occasional jagged edge scratching the layers of scars that served to remind him of previous hunts. He could feel those scars rip open, leaving a trail of blood behind him that even a baby could follow. It would all be worth it once he had his fingers wrapped around his prey’s neck, sucking both its life essence and its soul from its oh so fragile mortal body.

The sounds of hounds barking in the distance behind him made him stop mid-stride. Did the mortals actually think they could stop him? A low baritone chuckle escaped his dry throat. He would have abandoned the chance hours ago if not for the fact he had not captured enough souls this night. For every soul that ascended to Heaven, one needed to be dragged down to the depths of Hell. And by the grace of God, he would have the one he chased now join him there. The scraping of metal against stone brought him back to the city of crypts and gravestones the soul had entered to protect itself. How foolish of a mortal to think a cemetery could protect itself against its fate, he thought as a grin showed off his perfectly white teeth.

His perfect looks often helped draw in his prey. He could count on one hand all the times his chiseled physique and shining black hair had not drawn his prey to him, tonight being one of them. The scratching of metal had come from his right, about two rows over and maybe two buildings to the south. He lifted his left foot off the stone underneath him as his body pivoted to the right as the sound of men shouting joined the howling and barking. No matter how quickly they came, they would arrive too late –he would make certain of that. He pushed the distraction of the mortals out on the prowl from his mind, focusing only on what he could hear in the graveyard.

Labored breathing and the pounding of a mortal heart guided him towards his prey. The heartbeat grew louder and louder in his ear with every step. His grin grew wider. He had been hunting down these pathetic mortal souls long enough to know which crypt his prey had taken refuge in. As if to confirm it, small mortal feet scratched against the stone floor as he came to a complete stop. Why did the mortals have to make it so easy? Just once he wished they made his hunt a challenge for him. This one would frighten quicker than the last soul he had taken. All he had to do was use his immortal speed to make it look as if he had closed the space between where he stood and the gate in a heartbeat.

A yelp echoed from inside as his long fingers wrapped around the rusting metal bars. He chuckled as the muscles in his arms began to tense and pull the gate off its hinges. A snarl escaped his throat when his strength failed to make the gate budge even a little. Was the Lord above protecting this soul? Inside a feminine scream drowned out his own voice as a curse fell off his lips. In God’s name, why –and how—had these mortals constructed something that not even he could break? His strength continued to fail him even as his prey’s screams grew higher in pitch each time the gate vibrated against the stone. By God, he would rip this gate off its hinges and drag that cursed woman inside down to the depths of Hell. He would make her his very own plaything if it increased her torment –

“’Our Father who art in Heaven,’ Devil,” a shaky voice behind him intoned.

He growled, releasing his fingers from the metal bars. His prey quit her blasted screaming, thank the Lord. Slowly he pivoted around to see an aging priest holding a crucifix towards him. He joined his voice to this mortal as he continued to recite the Lord’s Prayer.

“’Hallowed be thy name,’” their voices spoke in perfect unison. “’Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.’”

He took a step closer to the priest with each line of the prayer, the stones and pebbles jabbing deeper into the soles of his feet. By right, the pain should be making him scream instead of reciting the words he did not himself believe.

“’On earth as it is in Heaven.’”

The priest pulled the crucifix closer to his person when it became clear it hadn’t frightened his target. He stopped moving towards the pathetic mortal priest when his big toe touched the tip of the man’s boots. The man’s eyes widened as he opened his mouth to finish the prayer but his voice failed him.

He chuckled. “That’s better.” A grin returned to his lips as he lifted his hands. “Your soul the Lord can keep.”

He grabbed the man’s head, twisting it until the snapping of bone echoed through the cemetery. As he released his grip on the priest to let the body fall, his prey in the crypt let out a scream that reverberated right through his body. He closed his eyes, letting a contented groan echo through the maze of crypts. Refusing to let the pleasure of the death linger, his eyes snapped open and before the priest had completely crumbled to the stone below, he was back at the gate. This time, the metal hinges were not a match for him. He ripped the metal bars out of the doorframe and tossed it behind him. He could hear the gate come to the ground on top of the priest as he stepped inside the crypt. It took his eyes longer to adjust to the absolute darkness than it did to grab his prey.

His eyes focused on the bluest pair of eyes he had ever seen on a mortal. His lungs quit taking in air as he pulled his gaze from her eyes to the rest of her face. This mortal woman had the palest skin and blondest hair he had ever seen in one of God’s earthly children. She wore the robes of a cloistered nun but she looked too young –and too beautiful—to have taken her final vows. By rights, he should drag this woman down to Hell –he had earned her soul by capturing her. His hellish kingdom would be better for the presence of a woman as beautiful as her. But in the same breath, how could the world be deprived of such beauty?

He slid his free hand across her cheek to the back of her head. She did not fight him when he leaned down to kiss her lips. To his surprise, she seemed to welcome his touch. He cursed himself for thinking it. The world did not deserve a woman so beautiful to walk freely on it. Perhaps it was a good thing, after all, that she was about to take her final vows if she had not already. Even he had no right to enjoy her. He pulled his lips away from her, but he couldn’t pull his body away from hers. He rested his forehead on hers. This one belonged to God, he told himself; yet his body refused to let go and step away. There were other souls out there for the taking –he should let her return to the abbey where she would be safe from his reach. He should take her back there himself. God often paid him the same courtesy after all. She did not belong to him. He didn’t deserve her. From the moment he broke his allegiance to God, he knew he was doomed to spend the rest of eternity alone. It was the will of the Lord above and it kept the balance.

“I’ve been waiting for you, my lord,” she whispered.

Her words so reminded him of the ringing of a cathedral’s bells calling the faithful to worship that he almost believed them. She wasn’t as pure as she looked, being out in the dead of night as she was. A short trip to his kingdom might be punishment enough for the sin of lying to him. Then, back to the abbey, she called home she would go by his own hands. But he would hear what she had to say next first.

“He saved me for you, my lord,” she promised.

He opened his mouth to contradict her but for the first time since his Fall, his voice failed him. Those words were not false, of that he was absolutely certain. The Lord above did so many things for him in the shadows so the mortals might fully accept his disgrace into darkness. A heartbeat later, this beautiful creature wrestled free of his grip, taking several uncertain steps back until the wall wouldn’t let her step back any further. He should close his eyes, he thought, to keep the desire he felt building up for her inside him at bay. But she had been promised to him and no other. He watched her lift her hands up to a knot at her right shoulder; it easily came undone in her fingers. His eyes followed her hands as they reached for another knot at her waist. Her robes fell open to reveal her porcelain skin. He grinned watching her shrug her robes off her body, revealing her perfectly proportioned curves. He took a step towards her as the robes fell into a pool at her feet but he stopped himself midstride.

He was unworthy of such a gift. He had done so much wrong, so much evil, in the name of keeping the balance in the world that he had no right to know the pleasure she offered even for the brief instant this would last. But she seemed not to care, nor did God Himself. She extended her fingers out to him, a smile forming on her lips.

“Spread your wings,” she urged.

By rights, this once the balance could burn in Hell.