Who Prays For Satan? Part 2
Read Part 1 here
Daniel didn’t talk much to Raymond over the next few days. They still went to church, still delivered sermons, and still saw each other in passing. But they hardly spoke a word, and never had any contact outside of church.
The young priest spent much of his free time pouring over strange old texts he’d picked up from the library and used bookstore, or reading articles he’d found online. He wasn’t sure which, if any, of these texts were authored by reputable sources, but it didn’t matter. None of them said anything about how to vanquish a demon.
He stayed in the basement of the church most of the time, sorting old boxes and sulking. He preferred to do this alone, but he was usually joined by Father Nestor. Nestor wasn’t exactly the friendliest fellow.
“You should get a haircut,” Nestor said one night, as he was moving a box of old rosary beads.
Daniel didn’t say anything. He was reading an ebook about the occult on his phone.
“You hear what I said?”
“What?” Daniel looked up.
“Oh God.” Nestor rolled his eyes, and turned away.
“Nestor, I’m sorry.” Daniel pocketed his phone, and stood up.
“You know, you should learn to pay attention when people are talking to you.”
“Nestor-”
“And stop calling me Nestor!”
“Yes Father.”
Nestor shook his head. “You’re a good kid Daniel, but you need to learn to respect your elders. This is not very becoming of a young priest.”
“Sorry.”
“That’s better.” Nestor pat Daniel on the shoulder. He then sighed. “It’s not wholly your fault. You’ve spent too much time with that peculiar friend of ours.”
“Raymond’s a good man. He means well.”
“And the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Nestor shook his head. “Sometimes I don’t think he takes this that seriously. He lets in all these gays, and other weirdoes. And he treats his sermons like stand-up, makes the congregation laugh and sing. That type of thing might be permissible in one of those black churches, but we try to be more solemn here.”
“Yep.” Daniel nodded, not really sure what to say.
“The church is a holy place. And the worship of our lord must be taken seriously. For if we dare veer from that righteous path…I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I understand sir.”
“I hope so.” Nestor nodded solemnly.
“What were you saying earlier while I was on my phone?”
“You need a haircut. The one you have now makes you look like a fag.”
One Sunday morning, Raymond was late to the morning mass. Daniel and Nestor were standing by the entrance to the church, greeting people as they came inside.
“I’ve tried calling and texting him, and he doesn’t respond.” Daniel said. The image of the demon’s all-white eyes kept flashing in his mind.
“Probably decided to sleep in late,” Nestor said. “He has often spoken about the importance of rest and relaxation.” Nestor shook his head. “If he wanted to help people relax, he should’ve opened a spa. But it’s no worry. I’ve prepared a backup sermon.”
Nestor began to excitedly pull a folded-up piece of paper from his pocket, when the side door to the church opened, and Raymond entered.
“Ah nuts,” Nestor said, stuffing the paper back into his pocket.
“Sorry I’m late.” Raymond quickly moved past them, as he made his way toward the pulpit. Nestor and Daniel took their seats in the back. Daniel kept staring at Raymond. His old mentor was limping up the aisle.
Raymond reached the pulpit and turned to face his congregation. “God works in mysterious ways, and today he thought it’d be funny if old Father Raymond was late. Our creator is many things, and a jokester is certainly one of them.”
The crowd gave off a small chuckle. Nestor folded his arms as Raymond began his sermon. Daniel wasn’t listening. All his attention was on the bloody bandage sitting on Raymond’s forehead.
Raymond finished the sermon, and Daniel asked if he wanted to have a cup of coffee. They went to the back office of the church.
“How do you like your coffee Father?” Daniel asked.
“Sweet and creamy, like me.” Raymond said, a devilish smile on his face.
Daniel nodded as he opened the sugar packets. He tried to keep his eyes from the bandage. “How is our…friend?”
“Patrick is doing wonderful,” Raymond said. “He’s been reading all the books I’ve given him, and he has even taken an interest in joining the priesthood. And he plays a mean game of checkers.”
“You haven’t had any problems with him?”
“No.”
Daniel looked up at Raymond, and stared directly at him. “None whatsoever?”
“Daniel,” Raymond said sternly. “If you have something to say, then say it.”
“Did Patrick hurt you?”
“Daniel, what happens between me and a member of my congregation is no one else’s business.”
“Unless it’s something wholesome and cute like when you and Patrick play checkers, is that right?”
“You’re a priest. You know better than most, that the private matters of a person’s life are complicated; there is a reason why we are forbidden to disclose the contents of a person’s confession.”
“When Patrick hurt your leg, and gave you a gash on your head, did he confess to that?”
“That is a cruel and unfair question. You are denying a person their fundamental right to seek forgiveness before the lord!”
“So he did hurt you?”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s blood went cold.
“It was an accident, and he said he was sorry.”
“And I’m sure a rabid dog is sorry when it bites someone.” Daniel sneered.
“He lifted me up to give me a hug, and dropped me by accident.”
“He gave you a hug?”
“He’s very affectionate.”
“Well, whatever he is, he’s still a demon. We can’t trust anything he does. It might be a trick.”
“You’re overacting.”
“He’s a demon! You literally pulled him out from the depths of Hell!”
“You don’t understand. If you’d only spent a few minutes with him, you’d see how wrong you are.”
“I have met him.”
Raymond paused. Then he laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Daniel asked.
“You didn’t meet him. You saw him for five seconds and fainted. You haven’t spoken a single word to him.”
Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
“If you’re really so concerned about all this, then come back to my house and see for yourself.”
Daniel’s face went pale.
Raymond smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “There is nothing to worry about. And besides I’ll be there.”
Daniel looked down at the floor. His mind filled with images of that hideous creature. He could see it roaring, beating its chest like a gorilla.
“Just come for a few minutes. You’ll see that it’s alright.”
“And what if it isn’t?”
“Have faith that it will be.”
Raymond unlocked the front door to his house, and opened it. Daniel still stood in the driveway, watching nervously.
Raymond said to Daniel, “Don’t worry.”
Daniel inhaled sharply, and entered the two of them went inside.
They entered the living room, and Raymond closed the door behind them. The house was sweltering hot. Daniel felt like he was in a sauna.
“Sorry about the heat. Patrick is still adjusting to our climate.” Raymond said. “Let me take your jacket.” Daniel gave him his. “Feel free to undress as much as you want.”
“What?” Daniel asked.
“It’s sweltering in here,” Raymond took off his shirt, and began to undo his belt. “And it’s nothing worse than what you’d see at the beach.”
Daniel watched as Raymond removed his trousers. His mentor stood there, covered in sweat, in nothing but a pair of boxers.
“No, I’m okay.” Daniel said.
“You sure?” Raymond asked.
“We can turn down the heat,” A gruff, raspy voice said. Daniel turned, and saw it.
It stood only a few feet away, by the entrance to the kitchen. It held two glasses of ice cold water.
“I’m okay being a little cold if it makes you feel better.” Patrick said.
It walked toward them. His three-toed, clawed crow’s feet clicked on the wooden floor of the living room as he approached. “I won’t complain.”
The demon stopped, and held out a glass to Raymond, who took it eagerly.
“Nonsense Patrick,” Raymond said. “You are our guest here. And thanks for the water.”
“You’re welcome,” Patrick said. He held out the other glass to Daniel. The young priest’s eyes strayed to the green skinny fingers wrapped the cold glass. Drops of water flowed over the long, dirty fingernails.
“You can take it, its fine.” Raymond said.
“It’s okay Father,” Patrick said to Raymond. “I understand.”
“No, no, I’ll take it.” Daniel took the glass of water.
“Splendid,” Raymond said. “Please take a seat.”
The three of them sat down around the coffee table in the living room. Patrick and Raymond sat on the love seat, while Daniel sat in the armchair on the other side. None of them said anything at first. They just sat there, their eyes shifting around the room. Daniel felt sweat creeping down his neck, and into his collar. His throat felt itchy, and he quickly gulped down the glass of water. When he finished, he let out a wet sigh, and set the glass on the table.
“I’m sorry I scared you the other day,” Patrick said to Daniel.
Raymond spoke up. “I’ve been telling Patrick that he shouldn’t be so hard on himself. Accidents happen after all.”
“Of course.” Daniel nodded.
“Tell him about what we’ve been doing Patrick.”
“Well, um, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. The bible in particular. It’s such a great book.” The demon sounded in awe. “It’s really changed my whole point of view. Did you know that Lucifer used to be an angel of God?”
“Yes I did.” Daniel said.
“Extraordinary,” The demon sounded breathless.
“I’m happy to hear you liked it.” Daniel said. His eyes couldn’t stay away from the demon’s clawed hands, as they rested on it knees.
Patrick turned. “But I really have to thank Father Raymond. He was the one who taught me how to read in the first place.”
“Patrick, you’re such a sweet young man.” Raymond put a hand on the demon’s scrawny shoulder. “But you have to give yourself some credit. You wouldn’t have been able to learn as much as you did, had you not been such an attentive, hard-working student.”
The demon’s cheeks turned red.
“Thank you father Raymond.” Patrick said, trying to hide his smile.
Raymond looked over at Daniel. “Are you okay?”
Daniel felt an incoherent wail of supernatural terror welling up within him, but all that came was, “I’m good. Just a little hot.”
“I’ll go get you some more water.” Raymond took Daniel’s empty glass, stood up, and headed for the kitchen. He’d left the room before Daniel could beg him to stay.
“He’s such a wonderful man.” The demon said.
“Yeah.” Daniel nodded. “You’re English is very good.”
“We speak every language in Hell. You can pick up a lot when dealing with the souls of the damned.” Patrick tried a weak smile, but it wouldn’t last.
Daniel slowly nodded.
Raymond entered the room, holding a new glass of water. He gave it to Daniel. Daniel downed it in one gulp, and immediately felt thirty again, but he was too nervous to ask for another glass.
“Daniel, take your shirt off,” Raymond said. “Sit back, relax.”
“No really I’m fine.” Daniel said. “Don’t worry.”
“If you say so,” Raymond turned to Patrick. “By the way, part of the reason I brought Daniel down here, was because I thought it’d be nice if you two got to know each other.”
“Oh that sounds wonderful.” Patrick said. “I love making new friends. Daniel, is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about?”
“Uh, well,” Daniel wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked down at the coffee table, and saw the two glasses. “Uh…Patrick, you don’t drink anything?”
“No.” Patrick shook his head. “Demons don’t need any nourishment. We’re not mortal.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m not sure exactly. At least a thousand years. Maybe more. It’s hard to keep track of time in a place with no day or night.”
“Oh that’s interesting,” Daniel thought about his next question very carefully. “What did you do in Hell?”
The friendly smile left Patrick’s face. His body went stiff, and he turned to Father Raymond.
Raymond didn’t smile. He said, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Patrick nodded, and turned back to Daniel. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Daniel said. “Um…did you have any friends in Hell?”
“I was never by myself,” Patrick said. “Hell is a very crowded place. I did have one friend. At least I think he was my friend. We spent a lot of time together.”
“What was his name?” Daniel asked.
“We don’t really have names in hell. You recognize others by how they look, or sound, or smell.”
“How did your friend smell?”
“Like burnt rubber.”
“Sounds like a good enough name to me.” Raymond said. “Burnt Rubber it is.”
Patrick laughed and clapped his hands.
“What did you and Burnt Rubber do together?” Daniel asked.
Patrick paused again. “I…I don’t want to talk about him.”
Daniel loosened his clerical collar. It was getting hard to breathe. He wanted another glass of water, and he had to go to the bathroom.
“Why don’t you want to talk about Hell?” Daniel asked, letting some of his frustration come through.
“Daniel, please. This is a very difficult subject for Patrick.”
“I understand,” Daniel nodded. He could see the demon’s hands shaking.
Daniel was getting a headache. His bladder was about to burst, and his breathing was getting faster.
Raymond leaned forward. “Daniel, you sure you’re okay?”
“Do you want more water?” Patrick said, also leaning forward. His hideous, bulbous head hovered right next to Raymond’s, mere inches away from it. He saw the two of them framed in his vision, the sweat on their bodies giving them a kind of glow. He suddenly felt sick, and stood up.
“I need some fresh air.” Daniel said as he opened the front door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
To Be Concluded…
Read Part 3 here
This story can also be found in the short fiction collection, Love and Monsters
