Father Gilbert Mystery
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“It’s the one in black,” Father Thomas whispered to me. “He comes into my church.”
We both looked at the man who had walked right past us down the corridor of Saint George’s Church. I could tell he was a priest by his robes, but there were so many priests wandering about St. Georges that it took little effort to spot him from a distance.
There was something different about this man: not only was he wearing a cloak with his hood up and the collar turned away from us, he also wore an expression like those in hell. His eyes seemed too wide and his mouth too open for someone who lived a peaceful life as a priest.
He looked ready for war or death itself. It wasn’t until we saw him enter a room full of people that I realized why he didn’t look so good.
The other men inside the meeting hall had swords on their belts. This man stood alone. And yet he carried nothing, even though most of them were armed. But there was more to worry about than what he wasn’t carrying: he was staring directly at me when he entered and now he looked like he wanted to eat my soul.
“Is it true?” asked Father Thomas again, looking nervously between Father Gilbert and the man who was stalking us. “You are here because you think he is possessed? You have come to see if he will burn himself out and die?”
“That’s part of it,” said Father Gilbert. We all watched the approaching man. Even Father Thomas had just been talking about how much he hated violence. “The problem isn’t his physical health; it’s that his mind has gone mad.”
“How do you know that?”
Father Gilbert smiled slightly then shook his head and pulled back his hood. The man before us couldn’t have been any less threatening. If anything, he looked almost friendly.
“I was the one who brought the demon into your church, Thomas. Don’t forget that. Now, if we’re done discussing things behind closed doors—”
Before he could say another word, the approaching priest reached out and grabbed Father Gilbert’s collar tightly.
There was no need to ask if he’d hurt him. A few seconds later, he pushed the old man backward so hard that he went crashing through a set of double doors and onto the floor outside, where he lay motionless. I hadn’t expected anyone to be watching us from within the building. That was probably why I was able to take such quick action.
“Don’t!” screamed Father Thomas as he tried to stop me. He ran towards the doors that the priest had just broken and threw himself forward to push them closed over the fallen priest. As soon as they were shut, I jumped down off the balcony and landed beside Father Thomas, ready to defend myself from any attack.
But the two of us knew better than to try and fight the priest. Not against the Archdemon. She wasn’t going to bother fighting fair, and neither would I. I didn’t even have a weapon of my own; she was far stronger and faster than any human.
Besides, I didn’t want to hurt anybody who might just be confused beyond reason. And Father Gilbert… Father Gilbert had a habit of getting himself in trouble. No one else seemed to understand how dangerous he really was. But that was his problem and it wasn’t mine. I just needed to get out of there safely without anyone else dying.
Then, when our eyes met, something passed between us: some message she didn’t quite trust me to understand. But I did. She was afraid.
She had never seen a vampire before. Her people were used to thinking of vampires as mythical creatures who had died hundreds of years ago. But here was Fenrir: a real live, blood-drinking monster of her nightmares.
And I understood. Because I was exactly like her in every way.
I felt the heat rise within me. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to Father Gilbert. Or Father Thomas either. But Fenrir was too powerful for me to fight on my own.
Instead, I took a deep breath and released it slowly.
Then I spoke, calmly and firmly, so as not to frighten her, although I was still scared myself: “Please, don’t kill him.”
My words were barely out of my mouth when Fenrir’s face changed into what looked like relief.
As if her entire body had been wracked with pain, it eased up at once. Then, as quickly as that, it returned to its original expression of anger and rage.
“Don’t worry,” said Fenrir. “He won’t survive this conversation.”
Her voice wasn’t like any other voice I’d ever heard, and not only because it was loud. It carried such strength and power that even after a few moments’ silence, everyone within twenty feet of the entrance remained frozen. They weren’t moving until she told them to.
“What do you want with us?” I asked, trying to keep my tone as calm as possible.
“Why do you care?” she snapped, turning to glare at Father Thomas before she turned back to me again. “It makes no difference to you whether your precious priest lives or dies, does it?”
Father Thomas struggled to his knees, clutching his arm. “No… that is… of course I…”
“We can make you forget,” said Father Thomas suddenly. He was obviously struggling to pull himself together and put on a brave front. There was a desperate edge to his voice now. “If you want to go home, I can erase this memory from your mind.”
I couldn’t help but notice that Fenrir had stopped glaring at Father Thomas. Instead, she was studying the priest more closely, as if trying to decide something. After several moments, she nodded slightly in response to his plea.
“Okay,” said Fenrir then, “but I’m going to warn you both that if I start losing control, there may be no saving you. We should probably leave while we’ve got the chance.”
The Archdemon moved forwards, her long black cloak trailing behind her. She stood before Father Thomas, whose eyes were wide open as if he couldn’t believe his luck, and looked down at him with disgust.
The Archdemon reached out and touched the side of his head gently, sending a chill down my spine and causing all of the hairs on my arms to stand on end.
At once, the old man’s body started to twist and contort as if he’d been injected with some kind of drug, and in an instant, he was standing beside me—a tall thin figure with dark red skin and piercing yellow eyes staring at me with undisguised hatred. I could feel his emotions pouring through me.
Fury and rage, and the desire for revenge; it was all there and it burned like a fire inside my chest.
“You know, I hate having to explain things twice,” snarled Fenrir as she pushed Father Thomas’s body away from her. “Just so you know, Father Gilbert, that was a trick.”
A second later, I found myself on my knees looking up into the Archdemon’s cold, hard eyes. She wasn’t smiling anymore. Her lips were pursed as if she was clenching her teeth in frustration. For her part, Father Thomas seemed equally shocked, though it was more at the situation than at the Archdemon’s revelation about the trick.
“How dare you!” he spat angrily at Fenrir. “Who are you to tell us what we’ll or will not do?”
But Fenrir was already shaking her head, her black hair falling over her shoulders as she did so.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” she said, rolling her eyes as she gestured towards Father Thomas. “That guy? I’ve known him since he was nothing more than an arrogant little boy, and he has the nerve to talk about who I am, just because he thinks I owe him something because of that.”
Father Thomas scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, but Fenrir didn’t seem to mind.
“So how about you two quit talking nonsense and answer my question? Who do you work for, really?” she demanded. “Are you with Fenrir or are you working against her?”
I glanced across at Father Thomas. He looked miserable. His eyes darted back and forth as if he were desperately searching for an escape route, while at the same time trying to appear unafraid. But Fenrir was right: we needed him. And I wasn’t about to tell her any lies.
“Actually, Fenrir,” I replied, “we’re here on our own behalf.”
“Well, good. You can both leave now.” Fenrir turned away from me and glared at Father Thomas. “And take your friend with you.”
She waved one hand dismissively and then turned to me again. “Come along, Al,” she ordered. “Time for a chat.”
***
It took a lot of effort for Fenrir to keep control of herself. I could feel the Archdemon’s rage boiling off her. It was hot enough to burn a hole through my skull and I felt dizzy and weak just being near her.
But at least it made me realize why people always said they wanted to kill the Archdemon when they were in trouble. That kind of strength would be handy if ever I found myself fighting someone like that. I wondered if it came with a curse. If so, I could hardly say no to it; after all, Fenrir was the one who’d chosen me.
After several minutes, Fenrir finally managed to calm herself down. She stepped forward and held her hands out in front of me.
“Hold onto them tightly,” she told me as she gripped each of my wrists firmly. “Otherwise, we’ll lose control again.”
I stared at her, feeling as if she’d just shoved a handful of ice-cold water into my stomach. This isn’t what we agreed upon! I tried to struggle free. “Fenrir—” I started to protest.
But she raised one hand to stop me, and for whatever reason, it sent a shiver of fear up my spine. I knew I should have been angry at this new development. After all, we were supposed to be helping Father Thomas find his godhood, not doing whatever this Archdemon wanted her to do.
I had no idea how she planned to use Father Thomas, and I didn’t want any part in it. But still, as much as I hated to admit it, I found myself wanting to obey her. I think it was because she had a certain power about her that was difficult to resist, even for someone like me; it was almost hypnotic.
Even though she wasn’t exactly the nicest person I’d ever met, there was still something compelling about her presence. There was a sense that she could see everything around her, while I felt like I was being watched.
“Don’t try anything,” she warned. “If you do, you might regret it.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I felt suddenly very small and exposed before her gaze. But then she smiled and patted my cheek.
“All right then,” she said. “Let’s go.”
She stepped closer to me, but I couldn’t move. My muscles wouldn’t respond. At first, I thought it was just a side effect of being bound by her spell, but then I realized that Fenrir hadn’t actually touched me yet. So I concentrated on moving my arms and legs again, and soon enough found that I could flex and relax my muscles once more.
But the Archdemon didn’t seem satisfied with that, for as soon as I got back under control, she reached out and grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to face her. With one hand gripping me hard in place, she leaned forward until we were staring at each other from only inches apart.
In the dim light coming through the windows, her green eyes seemed to glow brightly in their sockets. A chill ran down my spine, despite the heat of the room. And then she kissed me.
For a moment, I was completely frozen. Her lips parted mine without hesitation, and as they slid across mine, I could feel her sharp teeth pressing against the tender flesh of my bottom lip. The sensation shocked me, causing my heart to jump and my lungs to constrict.
My head spun as her magic surged against my brain and blood roared loudly in my ears. For a few seconds, I fought against it, trying desperately to break free from her grip, but she was stronger than me, and I was unable to escape. Then she pulled away abruptly, and I gasped for air.
She smiled coldly, her fingers digging painfully into my shoulders. “Not too bad, I suppose,” she said. “But you’ve got some work to do.”
She released me and stepped back. But instead of looking relieved, she frowned. “You must be thirsty after that,” she observed. “We haven’t stopped since last night.”
I stared at her blankly, and she rolled her eyes. “Drink,” she ordered. “The sooner the better. Otherwise, you won’t last long in your training.”
With that, she turned to leave. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder at me; her expression suddenly softened.
“Just one more thing,” she told me sweetly and then walked out of the room without another word.
When she’d gone, Fenrir turned to look at me again. I felt so exhausted and confused that it took me a second to process what she was saying: “One more thing?” I asked stupidly, and she nodded solemnly. “What else do you want now?”
At least this time, Fenrir didn’t hesitate. She pointed at my chest. I followed her gesture to see that she meant my cloak, and when I lifted my left arm, I realized that the Fenrir-skin pouch was lying loose and empty where she’d torn it from my sleeve during the fight.
It seemed that she hadn’t bothered to retrieve our stolen treasure. Instead, she was going to make sure that none of us went hungry or homeless tonight. She must have brought enough food for three people; there was a large loaf of bread along with a pot of jam in the satchel. When I tried to pull it free from the strap, however, she pushed against my chest.
“Leave it alone,” she told me. “It’ll be all right.”
Still, it didn’t seem fair. We’d already lost most of our gear in the fight with the Valkyrie; if I had my way, she would have given us those coins for safekeeping and let us keep them until we figured out what to do with them.
But instead, she’d taken advantage of the situation and used our stolen loot for something else entirely. Now we weren’t even certain who owned that coin; the Archdemon could just as easily have been responsible for its disappearance.
My mind whirling with thoughts about money and magic, I watched the Archdemon stride toward the door and turn around to wave casually at me. There wasn’t any point in protesting, so I did as instructed. Fenrir smiled as she passed me and exited the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts for the first time in days.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply as I allowed myself to calm down. I could hardly believe that I’d made it out of Valhalla alive—even though, technically, I guess that I hadn’t, not really. I had managed to kill a Valkyrie, but as I looked down at my bare feet, I couldn’t help wondering how much longer I’d last once I was freed from Fenrir’s spell.
Then again, she didn’t know exactly what she had unleashed upon herself with that spell of hers. All of her powers were new to me, and I certainly wouldn’t have thought twice before using them to protect my friends, if need be. Even as weak as I felt right now, I was still confident that I could handle a few more of the Archdemon’s spells.
And Fenrir seemed to think so too.
As far as she was concerned, she was the victor. She had killed one of the Valkyrie and captured two more without so much as breaking a sweat, and she would probably go home happy knowing that she’d done a lot of damage. But for me, things weren’t so cut and dry. If anything, we were both losers.
There was no question that I was weaker than I had been the day before, and Fenrir was obviously pleased by the fact. The Archdemon knew full well that I was in trouble, and yet, she had decided to leave me alone in the training chamber while she returned to her own chambers for an evening meal.
This wasn’t good news for either of us, but I suspected that she was hoping for something else altogether.
She wanted me to die.
The End