Page 17 of Prayer of the Damned

“I take it Libretto didn’t offer you any of his. If I recall, I didn’t either, yet you took it anyway.”

“It was necessary.”

“I’m not even going to ask, Dad, because unlike you I trust you completely. But right now, I have to trust my instincts. If you refused to stay at the castle, that must mean something bad is about to happen. The least you can do is let me in on what you’re worried about.”

The voice of reason must have finally pierced my father’s defenses. “You’re right.” Thank God he agrees with me. “As I’ve said before, demons are immortal. Only our creator can remove us from this world, but we’re not impervious to everything. When the Devil came for your life, he recruited you into a war that’s been waged from the moment the first man set foot on the land of the living. though you haven’t completed the transformation, the Devil has given you rare power… that’s never happened before.”

Did he mean the fact that I didn’t bleed? “And Libretto’s jealous? That’s what this is about?”

“You must understand that Libretto rules the demon world with an iron fist, he has for thousands of years. Straying from the familiar, a loss of control, these aren’t things he’s used to.”

“Why me?” I exhale in frustration. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

“You’re no ordinary demon, you don’t feed like we do.”

“Does that have something to do with the remnants of humanity still within me?”

“Maybe… that would be my guess, but I can’t confirm it until those remnants are gone from your bloodstream. The question is whether God’s army is aware of that, and what his position on it will be.”

“God’s army? You mean… angels?”

“Not just them. Some humans are part of this war too.”

“Isn’t it natural to assume they’d take God’s side? Redemption and the promise of Heaven and all that shit?”

“Language!” my father chastises me, but I don’t care about that anymore. “The hearts of humans are easy to sway. You’d be surprised to learn that there are some religious folk claim that they act in the name of their God, but are in fact working on behalf of the Devil.”

“And what does the Devil actually want?” I dare to ask, because if he’s recruited us into a war, I should at least know what we’re fighting for.

“Souls,” my father replies. “Every human who knowingly gives their soul to the Devil is another bit of power the Devil draws on.”

“I assume our world’s not so different from the human world. Power makes the world go ‘round, on all levels.”

“You’re a clever girl, Bellcolor,” my father praises me, but for some reason it doesn’t sound like a compliment at all.

“Are you motivated by that power too? All the money you have, the offer to join the Council?”

“The race for power was the center of the first century of my life. It was also necessary for the part the Devil has designated for me. It’s important that you know it wasn’t at all simple back then. Things are handled differently these days.”

“What’s changed?” I’m curious to hear about the past. When I think of history, the olden days actually seem simpler than now.

“It wasn’t the historical changes that forced me to change, Bellcolor, but rather the family that changed me. When I met Naomi, I’d alone lived for so long that it was almost unnatural to me. But it happened. She pierced every aspect of my life, every vein, and when she was gone she left a void I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fill.”

“I didn’t think demons could fall in love...”

“Not frequently, we dedicate our lives to the cause we’ve come to this world for. And yet, it happened to me.”

“It’s too bad I never really got to know her… maybe I’d be less angry with her if I knew why she chose to abandon me, us.”

My father opens his mouth to reply but I stop him. “I shouldn’t have said anything,” I admit. It’s unfair. He lost the love of his life and I shouldn’t dump my anger on her for the way my life turned out because of her selfish choices. “Tell me more about this war.”

I ask and pray that I’ve managed to change the subject away from what I don’t want to get into. Not now, at any rate.

My father looks at me and I know he can hear all the thoughts running through my head. This whole mind-reading thing really isn’t cool at all.

“Like us, angels walk the earth as well, and they fight for the same souls.”

“So what’s the goal? For one side to get as many souls as possible? A competition of sorts? Like a soul soccer match?”

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