Heartbeats and Coals

The church outside of town had been abandoned for many years now, but recently, you’d been hearing rumors —- rumors of a demon having taken shelter there, who protects children and women but slaughters those who intend to harm them. Those who took sanctuary swear that there would be blankets given as they were asleep, or hear a murmur in their ears, or see a shadow crawling across the rafters.

At first, you only took a mild curiosity to them. It was surely a rehearsed tale from their mothers, their grandmothers, old wives’ tales. It was a lesson in that the church would protect you if you cried out for sanctuary, surely.

Then your night came.

It started with a hearty night with friends. The male friend you knew had a crush on you, he was talkative, trying to touch your shoulder or your hand or your hair. Your female friends tried to protect you, but eventually, he and his male friends circled you like a vulture and his comrades, ready for the kill. When you did run, you felt the whiff of his fingers close to your hair, dangerously close, and you felt yourself panicking.

You could go home. Could you? No. He knew where you lived. He could easily corner you and take you by force. You would hate him more than you could ever know, and maybe he would hate himself —- or not, maybe he would be satisfied with your decisions, his actions, your inevitable pain.

Trying to find a destination would take too long, but your mind suddenly clicked. The church. The abandoned church. If he was stupid enough to follow you into the church, even if the demon didn’t exist, you could weave your way through the halls before losing him there.

And if the demon did exist?

Maybe it would understand.

You can almost feel your shoes unraveling from the wear and tear as you ran harder than you had ever done in your life. The men behind you were jeering as you rushed out of the town, the flat path of grass leading you directly to the church. All you could think of was to run, RUN, and declare sanctuary in a church with no preacher.

As you run across the threshold, a scream rips itself from your throat, the single word practically making it hoarse.

“SANCTUARY!”

———-

The deathly white creature’s black and gold eye opens, large and covering half of his face, even as one of his long ears twitch.

He was needed once again.

———-

You more heard than saw the response to your cry, something leaping across the rafters towards you, then past you —- and then behind you.

As you ducked to the floor, your breath ragged and a whimper easing from your lips, you finally allowed yourself to turn around, only to see the beast’s back to you. Upon its back, the dim lights within the church illuminated them.

Wings.

Half of them like an angel’s, half of them like a demon’s, all of them attached the pale white spine of a creature that was most definitely not human. Your gaze lowered to find that some of that same spine led into a tail, long and black, longer than you could even see.

You heard those men screeching to a halt, but you could only gaze upon this creature that had now become your savior. Even from behind, you knew that this was the demon everyone spoke of, and that this was real.

“What the hell is this? Some sort of costume?”

“I dunno, it’s too big to be a costume…”

“Who the hell cares? She’s right there, let’s get her!”

The demon let out a roar, one that you could hear almost twice as loudly as a normal person’s shout —- and you could also hear a couple of the men gasp.

“Shit, that’s no costume…!”

“If this is the demon, then let’s kill it–”

“THIS ONE IS UNDER MY PROTECTION.”

A hush fell over the men, and the creature’s voice hadn’t even been a shout, simply a proclamation. What a proclamation it was, though, with a voice that both rang of angelic bells and of demonic origin. Even your own frightened noises fell silent, as if your body itself was in awe of this creature.

“THIS ONE IS UNDER MY PROTECTION,” it repeated, and it stepped closer to the men, to your pursuers. “SCATTER, FLEE LIKE THE ROACHES YOU ARE, OR YOU WILL BE JUDGED.”

Not another word of doubt or hostility came from the men, but you heard their shuffling and fleeing. Footsteps leaving the area, a whisper here and there of “no way” and “oh god”, before everything fell silent.

After a few moments of that silence, the creature turned around. You could see markings similar to freckles, either glowing with heat or black like dull coals upon that white flesh, and you could see its two fanged mouths, the large ram’s horns, and most of all…that large eye, staring, a golden orb within a black void upon its face.

It knelt in front of you, still large and imposing, but the way it held out one of its many hands was delicate. Gentle, even.

“I would tell you not to fret, but I am sure that would fall upon deaf ears.” The demon’s voice was…lovely. Not the strong tone of its proclamation earlier, no, this one was light and almost feminine. All you could do was stare at it, perhaps dumbly, as it continued. “What matters now is that you’re safe. I can take you to a bed, if you’d like to rest yourself from that awful encounter, or perhaps you might need a meal to find your ground, hm?”

Instead of actually answering, you lowered your gaze to the proffered hand, gingerly taking it in yours before allowing the creature to pick you up. You could feel multiple arms around you, sturdy yet loose, as if it expected you to begin squirming.

No. Your legs were too much like jelly, the adrenaline of the chase having worn out. As you rested your head upon the creature’s collarbone, you could feel warmth —- warmth beyond that of a human, but not as hot as you would have expected with fire.

As it began to walk you deeper into the church, you didn’t hear anyone besides your own softened breath or the creature’s own footsteps. Perhaps it knew that you wouldn’t be pleased to fly, for despite its wings, it brought you up the stairs and into what appeared to be a refurbished library.

Several large nests were made of blankets, each with a stack of books beside them and pillows nestled into them. Had there been more people here, you would’ve thought it was a shelter in preparation for a storm, or even the apocalypse.

The creature paused, its eye seeming to glance over the beds, before it brought you to one closer to the back of the room, where a window was. However, there were very few lights otherwise, save for an unlit lamp beside the nest.

As you were placed in the nest, you felt yourself reach up to the creature’s neck, your arms weaving around it as you finally spoke. “W-wait…don’t go.”

It didn’t even look surprised, instead gently rubbing one of its cheeks against your head, as if it were a mother cat nuzzling her kit. “I understand. It’s been quite the night for you, hasn’t it? I’ll protect you even in your dreams.”

As it crawled into the nest with you, you allowed yourself to be shifted into its lap, and it brought a blanket over you. When it tried to provide a pillow, you shook your head, resting it upon its collarbone as you had while you were carried. Your heart seemed to calm down now, even as you closed your eyes.

“Sleep well.”

Those words were the last thing you heard before you drifted into sleep.