I scream, watching in disgust as his eyes travel down my naked body.Gripping the sheet on the bed, I wrap it around myself.The anger in his eyes turns to rage.
All the color drains from my face as I stumble back against the wall.Father Knoll prowls into the room, leather-bound prayer book in hand.He thrusts it towards me, veins bulging at his neck.
“I came to offer you salvation, child.Offer you the chance to pay penance for your lustful ways.”He wrinkles his nose in disgust.“I thought a night spent alone in hunger would make you more agreeable to the life I could give you.The life of a Sister.”
Coming fully into the room, he is only a few feet from me.I can smell his putrid body odor.Saliva collects at the corners of his mouth.
“Instead, I find a whore where a Sister was left.A deviant—who allowed herself to be defiled by a creature.”
His eyes fall to the bed.The crimson stain of my virginity lingers on the mattress.I swallow thickly, my stomach threatening to upend its contents.
“No human man would’ve left those marks on you.Have you strayed so far in your sinful ways that you cavorted with a beast?”
I open my mouth, but fear steals my voice.Father Knoll shakes his head and tosses his prayer book atop the bed.Stomping towards me, his hands go to the buckle of his pants.
“It would seem the only way to save you is to treat you as all vile women should be.A show of force might do you some good.”
My head feels dizzy, but I cannot afford to pass out.Not now.I have no weapon, no exit, but I still have the means to fight him.
Why had we not left last night?Where has Baezal gone?Has he abandoned me after all?Gotten what he wanted and fled in the morning light, never to be seen again.Were all his vows hollow?
It isn’t possible.He is my protector—my knight—he would never?—
“I can see you beginning to understand,” Father Knoll sighs, his belt hitting the stone floor with a metallic clank.“The beast fucked you, gave you his putrid seed, and left?Of course he did.What use would a demon have for a lecherous whore beyond the pleasures of the flesh?”
Father Knoll is within arm’s reach.I look around, desperate for anything to arm myself with, but this room is heartbreakingly bare.His polished boots nearly brush my toes.His scent makes my stomach roll.Yellow, cracked teeth grin down at me.
“Only I can save you.Only I love you.Repay my kindness over the years, Sister Willow, by keeping quiet and letting me enjoy this.”
Reaching down, I close my eyes and twist away.Fear freezes me, and any thoughts to flee are wiped from my mind.I brace myself for his disgusting touch, hoping there will be some kind of opening for me to break free of his grasp.As the moments pass and I don’t feel his clammy skin, I crack one eye open.
The spot where Father Knoll had once stood is empty.I blink, trying to comprehend what has just happened.There is a wet thud out in the hallway, followed by a muffled scream.Rising on shaking knees, I tuck the sheet around myself and pad out into the hallway.
The sight that greets me is gruesome.Still, my heart lifts at the sight of familiar gray skin.Baezal has returned, his wings proud and splaying from his back.The sunlight streaming in from the stairwell illuminates the sharp angles of his face.A forgotten sack of food rests against the wall, along with the bloody scene at his feet.
Father Knoll trembles against the stone floor.Blood spills from his mouth as he presses a hand to his stomach.The fleshy contents of his organs seep between his splayed fingers.His white robes are just as scarlet as the ones I arrived in.Blood soaks the floor beneath him as he weakly murmurs for mercy.
Baezal’s claws curl around Father Knoll’s thick jaw.
“You came back here to scare her—to hurt her.Returning was a mistake, and you will pay for it with your life.”He snarls down into the other man's face.“You will die here.For keeping her caged, my hands will bring about your end.”
“Baezal,” I breathe, stepping fully into the hall.
His head whips towards me, dark hair spilling over his shoulder.My breath catches on a sob as moisture pricks at my eyes.He wipes his bloody hands on the wall before approaching me.I can’t contain myself and launch into his arms.He catches me up against him, smoothing down the sheet around me as if in need of a physical reminder that I’m okay.
“Willow.”He says my name like a prayer.“I’m so sorry, my love.I only left to find breakfast for you.I never should have abandoned you here, defenseless.Your fear— I felt it and nearly went out of my mind thinking that I didn’t get to you in time and?—”
“Shhh,” I whisper, pressing my hands to his chest.“You saved me, Baezal.Again.”
“Always.”
The softness in his gaze turns hard as he looks over to Father Knoll.His ruddy complexion has gone shockingly pale.His breathing is ragged.The stench of death is already upon him.
“Let me end this.”
Biting my lip, I mull over his words.Ever since I was a girl, I’ve been afraid of Father Knoll.Afraid of him noticing the changes in my body or being caught alone with him in his study.He preyed upon me just like he had dozens of other Sisters in the monastery.He was the real monster, not Baezal.
Father Knoll always seemed to be this imposing figure—wielding enough power to make him dangerous.Now, as his death looms, he is just a man.A pathetic one at that.The fear of him I once had melts away, replaced by resolve.He is my greatest demon to overcome, the one I need to conquer to be free of my past.
