mahriya thank you! (: nahh. antipatiko si damien eh. masama ugali : P
pach it's like looking into your future, huh?
ikaw, anu gagawin mo pag may bampirang nagconfess sayo?
ate fairy thank you po! ay ayaw mo nga pala ng po, sorry ^__^
louise_doroja thank you! haha kapangalan mo yung isang ttalker dito. but he's not active :[
ran1441 ang tagal na natin naguusap pero i still don't know your real name @__@; haha. thanks for reading dear!<3
emily papatayin siya ni damien. joke! (:
aubrei eto na (: ok lang naman siya, medyo. haha.
CHAPTER 4... actually tapos ko na rin yung 5 : P
IV. ENTER LUCIFER;;"better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven." - paradise lost, john milton
The priest and the deacon were arguing. They were trying to keep their voices down, but Celia could still hear them when she pressed her ear to the door. No one had asked her about her version of what had happened. But even if she told them, would they believe her?
She was still leaning against the door, trying to eavesdrop, when Damien opened it. He looked at her disdainfully and told her that Fr. Matthias wanted to speak with her.
“
I can explain,” she said. “
I didn’t kill the girl.”
“
But you had blood on your mouth. Can you explain that?”
Celia couldn’t help a blush, and she hated herself for it. “
The killer kissed me.”
“
I didn’t see anyone but you. And why would he do that?” Damien snapped.
“
I don’t know. He left when he saw you coming.”
“
Really,” the deacon said sarcastically. The priest held up a hand.
“
Brother, let her speak. Tell me everything that happened, Celia.”
“
I was walking around town, but I didn’t let anyone see me. I went to my house and the park... on my way back I heard a girl crying for help near the cemetery,” she looked up, but saw distrust in the holy men’s eyes.
“
I tried to help her. But the man overpowered me.”
“
And who was this man?” Matthias asked.
“
I don’t know, but he was... beautiful. He called me Lilith.”
They were all silent until Celia remembered something. She hiked her shirt up to her ribs.
“
He stabbed me, but it’s healed. It has scar tissue now, though. Can you see it?” She pulled her shirt back, displaying the fabric. “
And it has blood here but not much anywhere else.”
The men seemed unimpressed.
“
And did you see how the girl died, Damien? She was stabbed through the heart. You know I don’t have a knife.”
Damien sat up. “
That’s true, Father.”
“
All of the killings were done with a knife. And Celia wasn’t out when the other murders took place,” Fr. Matthias thought out loud. “
So it’s possible that the killer is not a revenant.”
Celia felt alarmed suddenly. It was almost dawn. “
I have to sleep now. I’m not the killer.”
“
I believe you, child,” said the priest.
She was at her room’s door when Damien caught up with her. He held her wrist and placed a small package in her hand.
I thought he hated my guts... Surprised, she opened the small bag and saw a necklace with a crucifix for a pendant.
“
Happy birthday, Celia.”
She looked at his gift and then at the deacon,
really looked at him for the first time. And as she thanked him, she thought,
I guess even the most arrogant pricks have hearts.------------------------------
No one was around when Celia woke up. There was a small glass with blood left for her on the table as well as a loaf of bread. Could she eat bread? She took a bite. It tasted exactly like it had before she had changed. She realized that she hadn’t eaten anything in nearly a month.
Humans ate. Humans couldn’t survive without food.
Does that mean there’s no chance at all for me?And what happens to vampires after they die, anyway? Do they go to hell? They kill to live. Murderers went to hell. She was a murderer. She took another angry bite.
Damn Leon, damn him to the deepest circle of hell. She was eating (to be precise,
attacking) the bread with such ferocity that she didn’t notice it when Damien came in. He wasn’t wearing his cassock and she was surprised at how normal he looked. He could have passed for a regular college student. A student who had never met a vampire before, who didn’t have to deal with the burden of her secret.
“
I didn’t know you eat,” he said. “
Father Matthias wants to hold vigil masses to pray for the souls of the serial killer’s victims, but he’s afraid that people will be harmed. He’s organizing it now, suggesting parishioners go in groups for safety.”
“
I can identify the man if I see him again. Is there any way that I could see pictures of everyone who lives here?”
The boy looked thoughtful. “
Maybe the city hall could help. But they’d be mistrustful of your motives. And they’re only open during the day.”
“
Oh.”
Damien shrugged and turned on the television, turning it to the town’s local channel. Father Matthias was there, urging the faithful to attend the vigil masses. Beside him was a man. Celia’s blood froze.
“
DAMIEN! Who’s that guy beside Father?”
He raised his eyebrows. “
He’s a pretty handsome fellow, isn’t he?”
He thought that he knew what she was thinking.
Impressionable teenage girls and their crushes.“
This isn’t the time for this. He’s the guy I saw at the cemetery. I’m sure of it!”
“
Are you sure?” he asked. “
It was dark, mayhap you saw someone else. It can’t be him.”
“
I’m a vampire. I see well in the dark,” she replied with exasperation. “
I swear on the bible that I am certainly, irrevocably sure that it was him who killed the girl.”
The deacon had a hard time comprehending this. “
I... this isn’t possible... he’s a good man.”
“
Because good men kill in cold blood.”
“
He’s Lucian Ferrer, our parish’s biggest benefactor. He’s a philanthropist known not only in Goodhope. He’s also the CEO of a banking firm,” he went on.
Celia could feel her irritation increasing. It was as if Damien had a stupid, schoolgirl crush on the bastard.
“
I’m sure of it. I don’t care what front he puts up. He killed her.”
For a long time, neither spoke. They were watching the man, the man with eyes as deep and as blue as the sea, express his sincerest condolences to the victims’ families on television. Father Matthias laid a hand on his shoulder when the man wiped away a tear.
------------------------------
“
DAMIEN, I’M GOING TO KILL YOU,” Celia screamed. She marched to the deacon holding a handwritten note in her hand. “
What the hell were you thinking? Do you think this is funny?!”
The boy looked confused. “
What are you talking about?”
“
THIS!” She shoved the note in front of his face. Her breathing was heavy and she looked really angry. The priest had not yet come home; he was probably too wrapped up in church activities. He had asked the young man to look after Celia and make sure that she didn’t go out alone again.
He read the note out loud. “
Lilith, you may try, but there is no salvation for your soul.”
“
Explain that to me,” she demanded. The girl was on the brink of tears. Seeing Damien genuinely clueless was making her anxious. It couldn’t have been anyone else. “
No one came into my room... it was lying on my bed when I came in just now but it wasn’t there when I woke up and we’re the only ones here.”
Damien shook his head in disbelief. “
I don’t know who wrote that...”
Celia was crying now. She raised a hand to her neck and felt for the crucifix.
“
I’m scared, Damien.”
TO BE CONTINUEDFood for thought: While reading articles about Lucifer, I read that Jews do not believe that angels have free will, making rebellion impossible. They believed in “HaSatan” meaning “adversary”. HaSatans or Satans tempted humans. If God was the first entity in the universe and he does not create evil, who created HaSatan? Sana may Jew sa TTalk para malinawan ako :0
