Page 178 of Saving Sparrow
“W-what?”
“I said, what is your name, demon!” He thought I was an entity.
“My name is Miguel. Please stop hurting yourself.”
“Miguel,” he mused, blood seeping from the wound. “He who has sent you shall not prosper, not while in the house of the Lord. I rebuke you, demon. I rebuke you… I rebuke you to the pits of hell!”
“I’m not a demon. I’m your husband.” I stepped inside, desperate to stop the bleeding. He stood and turned in one fluid motion. His eyes were like glaciers, hard and cold. If anyone was the demon, it was him.
He stepped over his discarded vestment, stalking me into the bedroom. The whip creaked in his fist, cum stained his rigid stomach.
“Why are you here, sinner?”
“I-I’m not a sinner.”
“We are all sinners, infidel!” He laughed, the dark sound raising the hair along my arms. “The enemy has delivered my greatest weakness, down to the simpering brown eyes. But evil shall not prevail. I shall cast it out.”
I circled the bed, tripping into the sitting area. He prowled closer.
“Repent here and now. Feel His glorious mercy.”
My tongue felt heavy, preventing speech.
“One John chapter one, verse eight, ‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.’ Romans chapter three, verse twenty-three, ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ James four, verse seventeen, ‘If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.’” He recited scripture after scripture, foaming at the mouth.
“Speak these words, and you too shall be free. Ask for His forgiveness and strength, and you shall receive.”
I’d backed myself into a corner, pain and anger consuming me. “I don’t believe in God.”
“Blasphemy!”
“God wouldn’t do this to you! He wouldn’t do this tous!” I reached for him, for any of the others. “Please, come back to me.”
His nostrils flared, cock swelling, and the flogging resumed. “Thou who dare tempt me shall face His persecution. Thou who lures me with sins of the flesh shall have thy skin stripped from bone. You are the harbinger of evil, demon, sent straight from the depths of hell. My faith will be tested, but under the Lord’s watchful eye, I shall triumph.”
“Don’t!” I begged, flinching when the next strike landed.
“I am Abraham, loyal servant of God. ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord.’ You will not keep me from His glory, demon. I will not join my flesh with yours. I will not impart my seed upon you. I will not allow you to lead my righteous soul astray.”
I panted against the wall as he ranted with wide eyes, my own eyes stinging with tears. Where was Sparrow? Why wasn’t he back? He should’ve felt Abraham’s hysteria, should’ve stepped in by now.
I had to leave. To help Abraham…I have to leave.
He continued his spiritual diatribe, gaze unseeing now. His body convulsed as his orgasm tore through him, and the whip sought its pound of flesh. I ran for the hall, backing down it after locking Abraham inside.
Sparrow arrived almost an hour later, movements stiff. “You’re awake.” We watched each other through the window’s reflection. I hadn’t moved from here since leaving Abraham. My heart hadn’t stopped aching since leaving him either.
“I woke up, and you were gone.”
He approached cautiously. “How long have you been up?”
“Not long. Where did you go?”
“I woke up sweaty from a nightmare. I took a shower downstairs so I wouldn’t wake you up.”
I let my gaze roam over the dark, dreary landscape outside, anything to avoid his facial cues of pain. There were levels to Sparrow’s exhaustion, I realized. There was the exhaustion that came from trying to hold off a switch. His eyes were always more tired then, and the bruises beneath them stark, sometimes frightening. He tended to look marginally better after giving in, his weariness then becoming more about his body needing rest rather than his mind. Tonight, his fatigue seemed pain-related more than anything. How long had Abraham wanted out?
“How do you know when a specific alter wants to… come out?”
