The moon took the form of a bulbous, silver circle against a dark canvas as a thick haze muffled its glow. Dim yellow specks of light from the street lamps took over its role and illuminated the empty road leading up to a large building. Three figures materialised from the shadows in the middle of the road.
“Why do we always have to do this at night?” Jonathan grumbled while Lucy literally pulled a cloak out from thin air. She covered a shivering Anya and supported her as they walked along the pavement.
“It amplifies my powers,” Lucy replied simply as Anya opened the inviting gates of First Baptist Church. Jonathan followed her, walking into the chapel.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Come in, Lucy.” He turned back to Lucy, who was still standing outside the building with a nervous look on her face.
“‘I… Alright.” She closed her eyes and placed her foot testily on the chapel floor. The black tattoos on her arm glowed slightly in response as she let out a loud exhale of relief.
“Not dead yet.” Her footsteps echoed around loudly. “Glad to see Gelfant’s work is as good as his father’s.”
“Oh dear, I sure hope we’re not too late.” Anya looked around the empty church with a worried look.
“No, we’re not.” Lucy’s eyes were glowing red again. “No blood has been spilled in this place yet. But I sense faint traces of lingering magic. Search the place for anything out of the ordinary.”
“On it,” Jonathan said as the world slowed down around him and his companions turned into statues. He darted around the amphitheatre, checking under every chair and pillar. It was not like he had ever been to church before, but this place had as many people as a typical modern church after Sunday service. The speedster gave up searching two seconds later and returned to his companions.
“I can’t find anything,” Jonathan shook his head. “Is there anything in particular we should look out for?”
“Pardon me, but is that statue supposed to be shining like that?” Anya asked curiously, pointing at the podium. Lucy and Jonathan turned to the direction she was pointing at. Moonlight poured in from the painted glass windows, and the wings of a marble Seraphim shimmered in return. A look of realisation crossed Lucy’s face.
“Magic revealed by moonlight… Duncan created a waypoint!” Lucy said excitedly as they rushed to the statue mounted on the speaker’s podium. “Well done, girl! All we need to do now is feed it a spark of magic to reopen the gateway.”
“Can I try?” Jonathan asked eagerly as a small spark of electricity left his fingers. It connected with the Seraphim’s wings and danced around the statue. He stared in awe as the wings began to move and spread themselves open as if the statue was alive. A small circle of light from its back exploded violently, and the trio scrambled backwards. It expanded into a man-sized rectangular portal, yawning into darkness.
“No time to waste. Let’s go.” Lucy stepped into Duncan’s portal.
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“Motus Prohibere!”
The man froze in mid-air, struck by a yellow beam of light. A fist swung down on his face as his body tumbled and crashed back onto the ground. He groaned, slowly getting to his knees and clasped his wrinkled hands together.
“Too late to say your prayers, Paul!” Duncan snarled and kicked the side of his head. The old man fell to the ground, groaning loudly in pain. The vengeful man lifted him up and slammed him onto a wooden table.
“You think your soul is saved just because you repented your sins?” Duncan bellowed, spit flying onto the pastor’s bruised face. “You think I’ll just let you go?”
He shoved him back onto the table and reached into his coat. Duncan’s eyes glinted with gleeful madness as he twirled a purplish black pill in his fingers. “Do you know what this is? Of course you don’t, mortal. This is an elixir of life that will only keep you alive, no matter what happens to your body.”
The witch doctor laughed sadistically. “You are going to suffer. For eternity. Your soul is going to decay painfully forever.”
He gritted his teeth as his voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. “You will suffer as I have. Every. Single. Day of your accursed, immortal life.”
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“My time has come. My soul is ready…” Paul’s lips trembled as they struggled to form words. “In Him… we have redemption… through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with-”
“Shut up, shut up!” Duncan yelled, clutching his head as though it was in great pain. “Nay, there is no redemption for thy vile deeds! You don’t deserve a place in Heaven! I am thine Hell, murderer! And I will- Argh no, not now!”
Duncan fell to his knees as he writhed on the floor, silver streaks covering his blonde hair. Golden pills scattered over the ground as his trembling hands dropped the satchel from his coat. He crawled painfully on the floor, stretching a hand for them. His fingers closed around one and put it in his mouth ravenously. Duncan chewed it quickly and groaned as he struggled to stand up. A golden light flashed briefly in his eyes.
“Why… is this… still not enough…?” he fell back to the floor shivering, his eyes still bloodshot. “More… I need… more!”
The dying immortal picked up the pills from the floor and stuffed all of them into his mouth. He stood up and let out an excruciating scream as a golden vapour exhaled from his mouth. Blood streaks trailed from his chafed fingertips as he dug them into the wooden table in agony.
“I will not yield to you!” he screamed at the air, clutching his chest.
“I’m sorry,” Paul said in a wavering voice. “I know the atrocities I took part in my youth will never be pardoned. I was a fool to join such a vile cause, and you paid the price for my folly. I truly am… sorry, and I accept punishment for my sins. Do what you must to ease your pain.”
“I don’t want your apology,” Duncan growled, panting like a wild animal. “I want you to suffer!”
His body trembled as he forced the pastor’s mouth open. The witch doctor’s hands scrambled around the table, looking for the defective elixir-
“Duncan, please stop!”
“W-what?” Duncan turned around, bewildered at the three people that had somehow found his cabin in the forest. “How did you find me? If you’re here to stop me, don’t. This man has stage four cancer and only has months to live. I have waited decades for this moment, and I won’t let anyone get in my way. Don’t make me hurt you, Lucy.”
“I won’t just sit by and watch your addiction consume you when you saved me from mine.” Lucy raised her pistols at Paul. “Let me return the favour.”
“No!” Duncan stood in front of her weapon. “If he dies, he goes to Heaven. It… It’s not fair. Why does he get eternal bliss while I suffer on Earth forever? This murderer deserves none of such grace; he deserves eternal condemnation! Why… Why…?”
“You haven’t lost everything,” Jonathan spoke up. “I know it feels like you have, and I know how good it feels to pick up vengeance as a new purpose in life. Venting your wrath on him will not give you the peace you need. Maya would never have wanted to see you like this.”
“What would you know?” Duncan screamed. “I have lived more than ten of your lifetimes alone, boy! You don’t understand!”
“No, I don’t. But I have something you might want to see.” Jonathan pulled out a stack of yellowish envelopes. Duncan’s eyes widened as he practically snatched them out of his hands, flipping through the letters with trembling hands.
“T-this?” He clutched the papers tightly. “I… I thought they were lost forever. How did you…?”
“I pulled some strings to extract them from the Tennessee Police Department,” Jonathan said. “Your loved ones will always be here for you, Duncan. Even if the world does not deserve your forgiveness, you do. A beautiful thing is not treasured because it lasts forever. It is treasured because they will always have a place in your heart. Don’t sully Maya’s memories any longer, my friend. It’s not too late to turn back.”
There was a heavy silence in the air.
Duncan shrieked again, slamming a glowing fist onto the purple elixir this time. It crumbled into dust upon the impact. He sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Lucy stepped forward, but Duncan interrupted her.
“Let’s go home, my friends,” his muffled voice choked. “I’m feeling… rather tired.”
Jonathan reached a hand out to help Duncan up, but felt a warm sensation in the back of his trousers.
A flash of movement outside the cabin caught his eye.
“Leo’s here!” Lucy only had time to yell in warning before a dark shadow burst in from the back of the cabin, plunging its shadowy claws into the pastor. Paul’s body contorted as his mouth opened in shock and silent agony. The shadow continued on its path, letting his body fall limply to the ground. It collided with Jonathan.
The red gem clanged softly as it dropped from his pocket. The mass of darkness refined itself into the shape of a man, and the vampire took his chance to seize it from the floor. Lucy immediately drew her pistols, but Michael O’Cornell darted behind Duncan and grabbed his wrist before anyone could react.
Dark particles swirled around the two men, and they disappeared into the darkness abruptly.