Chapter 23 Sad Symphony

A flame danced with the will of the wind whilst hot wax dropped to a silver plate. A figure sat on a stool and had fingers pressing on several keys of a keyboard. The melody, though depressing and lonesome; was enriching.

It was one that would melt even the coldest of hearts. The player only swayed his head and kept his eyes closed. His tucked lips and furrowed brows told a tale of the sadness deep within him.

Standing away from him, but close to a large window that had no curtains, were three men. Among them was Hendricks. He, like the other men, kept his head bowed and took in the lifeless tune their lord was playing. In their hands were red candles. They stood right next to the queen-sized bed where the silver haired maiden laid asleep.

Ruth slowly opened her eyes but closed them back after. Her head throbbed around her eye sockets making it especially difficult to open them again. Regardless of her pain, she had to see, so she forced her gray eyes open. She could hear the music clearly. Its sorrowful nature took her aback.

A male voice singing suddenly forced her to turn her head. Ruth licked her dry lips with her blurry vision fixed on the singer. To her dismay, he was the one she loathed more than anyone in the world. His voice was angelic and soothing. She couldn't dispute that it was one of the most beautiful voices that she had ever heard.

He sings like an angel... it should be expected considering that he was once one. She thought to herself.

Asmodues turned back and grinned at Ruth whilst his fingers still did their work. He turned away and his tune turned aggressive. Ruth’s skin crawled as it intensified. She turned to her side and slowly sat up, wincing at the sharp pain in her abdomen.

Asmodues slammed his fingers on the piano and burst into a dark shadow. In a split second, the shadow grabbed Ruth’s shoulders and forced her down. Asmodues materialized and stared deep into her soul.

Ruth maintained eye contact as his icy gaze turned her blood cold. To her horror, his stoic expression was more terrifying than his soul snatching scowl. Her shoulders were tightly pinned to the bed—giving her no chance to at least shield her face from what was to come.

Asmodues leaned closer, and Ruth swore she could already taste her own blood. Was he finally going to kill her for her disobedience? Asmodues parted his lips and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her breasts went up and down due to her rapid breathing.

Her heart pounded so hard that she hopped that it would just pop out of her chest. It would have been better to die that way than face the wrath of the demon holding her life.

"Why did you leave?" Ruth heard his deep voice and opened one eye. "I do not understand." he continued.

Ruth gasped stunned at Asmodues’ frown. It was an expression she never thought he would ever have, much less feel. He leaned back but his cold hands were still holding her in place. Ruth's heart slowed down and her numbness was gone. She balled up her fists and glared at Asmodues' state of weakness.

"Do you honestly not know that I absolutely hate you?" she hissed.

Asmodues raised his brows, "Oh, is that -"

"I fucking hate you! You ruined my life!" Ruth screamed and vigorously shook her shoulders in an attempt to free herself.

Asmodues grinned, "Your life was never yours to begin with. You were always mine, Ruth. Your great ancestor Jacob gave you to me free willingly. He was a true servant, one of the best I have ever had. If only your forefathers were like him."

"What do you mean?" Ruth asked through her teeth.

Asmodues sighed, "They converted into Christianity and refused to return to me after all that I did for them." A scowl found its way and he lowered his head. Ruth tucked her lips and didn't blink in response to it. "Your father Eugene was the most useless of them all. That’s why I killed him first."

Ruth scoffed at his words, "Yes, he firmly believed in Jesus Chri-" a slap echoed across the room. Ruth laid still as her cheek slowly turned red.

"I have already told you never to say that name! Do you want me to accidentally kill you, you fucking bitch?!" Asmodues squeezed his hold on her.

"Just do it! I want to die! It's a better fate than this!" Ruth cried aloud but her cries were drowned by a deep growl like that of a beast.

"I will gladly do so after you birth my new body." Asmodues exploded into a shadow again, putting out all the candles in the room.

Ruth watched Asmodues’ shadowy figure grow wider and wider. It spread across the room and made its way to the window—blocking her view of it. Hendricks and the other men got on their knees with their heads low.

The clouds in the sky slowly parted as the cool wind blew on them. In time, the beautiful full moon in the dark sky was revealed. Asmodues materialized and the moonlight peered into the room.

Ruth's heart skipped a beat. She stared at it with her lips parted. Asmodues grinned to himself with his broad back turned to her. He spread his arms apart and laughed evilly.

"Lunar goddess Ashtoreth, what a pleasure it is to see you supporting me!" he said aloud and turned to look at Ruth. "We wed tomorrow night." he said to her.

Ruth gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands. Asmodues went back to the piano and filled the room once more with music. This time, however, it was a cheerful tone. Pulling the sheets close, Ruth cried at the dreadful thought of marrying a demon by the end of the next night.

"Matt, where are you? Why aren't you here yet?"

****

A bullet goes through a man's head. His warm blood splashes on Abigail and a boy who is sitting next to her. She screams while he cries. More bullets hit and the tour guide falls dead. A slender teenage girl with dark hair runs to Abigail. She receives a bullet to her back and falls face down.

Abigail picks up the boy and runs into the boat. Through the windows, she sees several speed boats. Men in maroon robes fire more bullets. Abigail is shocked to see the boy she was carrying down on the floor. In between his eyes is a hole that she screams painfully at. She cries deeply at the pool of blood developing underneath his head.

Husky and raspy voices sound and the next thing Abigail sees are the strange men getting onto the boat. She is surrounded. Two pounced on her and throw her at the feet of a man. Unlike the rest, he isn't in a hooded robe but a neat black suit and trench coat.

"Hello there, I came here for you." he grins at her.

Abigail hit the wall with the side of her fist; crying deeply all by herself. The horrid memory replayed over and over again in her head. No matter what she did, she could not escape it. It was all she thought about. Sleep did not bring her peace because even in her deepest slumber, it haunted her in the form of vivid nightmares.

Had she known that going on a boat cruise in celebration of her 25 wedding anniversary was going to make her taste her husband's blood, she wouldn't have agreed to it. Her daughter just got accepted into Harvard and just like that she was gone. She hated herself for having failed to protect her son. He held onto her for safety only to die in her arms.

"Why didn't that bullet hit me instead?" she lamented as her tears fell to her chest.

Her nose was blocked and her head was pounding but the tightness in her throat was all she could feel.

"Oh God why? Why I'm I still alive?" Abigail dropped to her knees and got onto her fours.

'Fortunate are you to be the one to help me prepare for an important ritual.' Asmodues’ words filled her ears.

"No, I refuse to live like this." Abigail got up and wiped her tears.

She made her way out and walked into the warm sunlight. Adrianna sat alone at the far end. She was busy sharpening her katana with a dagger. Stephanie was sitting with Fernanda. The both of them had their eyes closed and bibles open.

Abigail glanced over to Matt and Alejandro. They were talking but Abigail couldn't hear what they were saying. Her bloodshot eyes were fixed on the revolver tucked in Alejandro's belt from behind. She swallowed hard and carefully made her way to him. To her relief, no one turned their heads to her but went on with their business.

Diego, however, squinted his eyes suspiciously at her as he sailed the boat. He tapped on Jose who was smoking beside him and motioned his chin at Abigail. Jose took a bored look at her and maintained his silence. He and Diego kept their eyes on Abigail as she narrowed her distance. When she was close enough, she slightly moved her hand.

"I can't find the campus." Mark suddenly said to Matt and Alejandro.

Abigail changed her direction and headed to the other side of the boat—hugging herself in defeat. Diego shook his head and Jose faced away uninterested. Matt and Alejandro got into the boat in search of the campus whereas Mark shifted his attention to Fernanda and Stephanie. He looked on as Fernanda said something to Stephanie and then go into the boat.

Mark made his way to Stephanie and observed her packing her bible into her backpack. His shadow fell on her and she faced up. Mark scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile. Stephanie smiled back at him and dropped her gaze to quietly zip up her bag.

"Good morning," Mark greeted her, and she faced up again.

"Good morning," Stephanie kindly replied and got up to face Mark. Her emerald eyes showed kindness, "How are you doing?"

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I'm okay to say the least." he responded with a relaxed smile. "I can see that I am late again for a bible study." he remarked and was rewarded with a chuckle.

"You are Christian?" Stephanie asked him surprised.

Mark nodded his head in confirmation, "For as long as I can remember." he commented. "I have a question, mind if I ask?"

"Please," Stephanie smiled warmly at him.

"We are going to face a demon lord. You and Fernanda are here because we hope that you can, you know, banish him to hell or some shit like that. I have seen a lot of movies about exorcisms and also heard stories too. In all that I have seen, exorcists use crucifix as well as their bibles to cast out demons and condemn them to hell. You and Fernanda only possess bibles, why?"

Stephanie laughed softly and Mark smiled back at her while he waited patiently for her answer. "Well Mark, Exodus 20:3-4 states, 'You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.' So you see, crucifix are idols. How can we possibly use an idol to cast out a demon?" Stephanie ended her answer with a giggle.

"Oh yes, Jesus did in fact ask the Pharisees how a devil can cast out another devil in the book of Mark. I can't really remember the verse." Mark remarked.

"It's Mark 3:24." Stephanie clarified.

Mark laughed softly. "Wow, you are great at keeping bible verses in your mind. I don't think I will be able to do that. I only remember the scripture not the verses." he cheerfully confessed.

Stephanie was about to answer when a new sight caught her attention. Adrianna stood up and glared at it with the wind blowing her red hair back. Matt and Alejandro stepped out of the boat. The campus was held gently in Alejandro's hand whilst he and Matt looked ahead.

The sight of a rooftop was clear to everyone on the boat despite it been far away. Matt's eyes shifted to the land just up ahead. He looked back at the roof and clenched his fists.

"Ruth is there." Fernanda voiced out and heads turned to her.

Matt took in her words and shifted his eyes back to the roof. "Good." he said with a scowl.