Chapter 26 - A Prince of Hell Part 2

“Interesting right?” H hauled him out of his thoughts. “Typical greedy men. They wanted me to take her immortality out and transport it to some mediocre object wherein they can use conveniently to satisfy their hunger for life.”

Marcus cringed with the words. “That’s si-ck, ” he said, disgusted.

“You think?” H stopped once again and folded its arms in the chest. “Anyway, I care not about their wicked plans. I am a demon after all. I deserve to have fun too. Hell, I even made a pact with them and cheered for their future success, if they found the right human for the job.”

Its diabolic smile returned as it cupped Marcus’ tense chin. The latter gritted his teeth, eyed the demon sharply, and deliberated on spitting its pale face for good measure.

“And now here were are...” H whispered, releasing a cold hush as it examined Marcus from head to foot. “I guess my silent cheers gave fruit to you.”

“Wh-at do you- mean?” Marcus questioned.

“Oh, don’t fuck with me, priest. You know exactly what I mean.”

The bastard stood up and adjusted its trench coat, staring down at Marcus as if it had just found a chest of treasure.

“I may not know what is so special about you, but your body is strong enough to house me, ” it explained, then went to look at the dull sky after taking a deep, sharp breath. “Huh! Imagine that — an exorcist priest, a servant of God, holy of men — is my redemption. You came along hoping to exorcise me not knowing I was waiting for someone as strong-willed as you so that I can do my business. I hated that André Rogratiatto failed to prove himself worthy you know. He was supposed to be the brotherhood’s best candidate. I am glad you came along to take his place.”

Now that was a nicely-laid trap.

“Do- you- think th-at I will per-mit you to use my body to exercise yo-ur wick-edne-ss?!” Marcus shouted in anger. He tried to stand up but a pulling force brought him down on the sand again.

“I don’t need your permission, priest, ” H announced, self-assured. “Huh! Look at you! You are under my control already. I can do anything I want without you bothering me.”

They exchanged cold glares and while Marcus was still struggling with the spasms in his arm, he felt a sense of trepidation when the demon licked its mouth with its long tongue and its expression changed to that of a lustful man.

“That reminds me, ” it started, “You are driven mad by that woman.”

“I am- not, ” was Marcus' strong reply, knowing immediately who it meant.

“Oh, fucking hell! Why do you pretend about it?” A brief glow of red emerged from its unnatural eyes when it flung its hand in the air. “I can feel your desire for her Marcus. It is so potent. So solid. Is it because you are a priest that you do not acknowledge it?”

Lovely Ysabelle... Maybe... just maybe... if Marcus was a normal man, he would have given to the demands of his heart. He was slowly falling for her, he cannot deny that anymore, but it wasn’t a simple subject matter to talk about, especially when he ain’t just a normal man.

“I ta-ke my vows se-riously, ” was his simple reply, although there was pain weaved together with it.

“Oh?” H quirked a brow. “Then maybe it’s time for you to experience letting go.”

By that, Marcus shot the demon a deadly look. “Do-n’t you dare touch her!”

He darted up, successfully blocking almost all of the spasmodic pain away by sheer determination, but it was too late. H was quick to bring him down with a forceful elbow blow to the head. Marcus fell on the ground, sprawled with his face pressed on the sand.

H tsked while looking at the unconscious Marcus.

“Ahh, but Marcus, I won’t. You will.”

***

After that heated conversation, what quickly took over Marcus’ consciousness was the demon inside him - “H”.

The possessed human, Mr. MacMillan, was still crouching at the ceiling when H now stood with a haughty grin and heterochromatic glowing eyes in the guise of Marcus. His arms, both left and right, were filled with blue and violet flame tattoos but of course, it wasn’t visible as the cassock’s sleeve was covering it. His body emitted a violet haze though, clear enough for the demon to see.

The possessed human was bathed in clotted blood down to every garment. His skin looked different and his head had taken the shape of an elongated alien with spiky corns jutting out. It was a transformation any low-class demon could do once they devour their victim’s soul.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, ” H disapproved at the sight before him, “you know what Galera, you just made me hungry.”

The demon tilted its head like a puzzled puppy, eyes rounded and sharp teeth bared halfway. “My prince...” it rasped, surprised to find the development. Though what it saw was a different face, it knew exactly who the royal entity was based on the scent it whiffed inside the room.

“I am just born out of this body, you know, and I need nou-rish-ment, ” H drawled, whipping his fingers in liquid motions.

“Of—of course, Prince Haien, ” the demon gulped hard before falling cleanly on the floor with its mutated scaly feet. Damn, no wonder the room smelled of ammonia. The low-class demon actually resides in a sewer-like river of Hell. “I can always give you the soul of this man.”

H lazily closed his eyes and basked on the aroma of the fresh blood around him. “How about both? That would be better.”

While lifting his hand higher, he opened his eyes and a rush of color changed the heterochromatic ones to a solid, glowing red.

Galera shrieked like a trapped money when it felt an invisible chain tightening its still-human neck. “Pr---nce! Ack!” it rasped again, but it didn’t take long at all when its life force along with the caretaker’s soul lifted in mid-air like balls of light: one colored greenish-red and the other yellow.

Just as the lifeless body dropped on the floor, so did the balls disappeared in front of H when he ingested it.

“Hmmm... fuck, so good, but not enough, ” was his only remark.

He turned towards the door and knocked on it thrice, intending to act just like a priest who had supposedly finished his exorcism rite.

“Father Marcus!” shouted the man who was still holding the gun.

“Take Mr. MacMillan to the hospital now!” H shouted with vigor, sounding exactly just like a worried priest would. “Though the demon is exorcised, your employer is far from safe! He had lost a lot of blood!”

Mr. Grann, having pieced together what he meant, raced inside the bedroom together with his two employees. Not aware that Mr. MacMillan was already dead, they lifted him up and took him quickly to the basement parking lot where an emergency van was parked.

The man who was holding the crucifix earlier was left alone with the impersonating priest. H saw him holding his stomach, face contorted in pain and disgust.

“I—I think I should go home, Father. I can’t stand staying in the castle anymore.”

H felt a shiver of fear run down the man’s spine. “Are you saying you are resigning in your job here?” He made it sound as if he was sorry.

“I think, I—think I will, ” answered the man, not at all hesitant.

H hid a grin. “I believe you should.”

‘Opportunity. Lovely, tasty opportunity, ’ he commented in his mind whilst looking at the man’s robust life force.

The man nodded and as he made his way out of the receiving room in slow strides, the demon’s smile broke out widely.

“Now, for the main dessert, ” he said, thinking of the one woman in Marcus’ thoughts.