In The Name of The Father

There are things. Things that shouldn’t be. Things that don’t belong in our world but make their way here anyway. Some people call them ghosts, some people call them demons, they come in many forms and go by many names. But a monster is still a monster and they shouldn’t be here. That’s where I come in - My name is Cain Ramus and I am a priest. A very special kind of priest.

“Father, I am worried.” She began, the aging woman sat in the front pew as a black haired man stood before her. He was dressed accordingly, a black suit and jacket buttoned up. A white collar wrapped around his neck. “She’s listening to terrible music, spends all her time in her room. She even refused to come to church last Sunday.”
“Mrs Shall, it sounds to me like your daughter is acting… Like a teen-ager.” The priest responded, trying his hardest not to sound sardonic to the woman.
“She died her black. It was a beautiful gold before but now she has died it black.”
“My hair is black, Mrs Shall. I would not worry about that sort of thing.” The priest began making his way towards the end of the pew and Mrs Shall followed.
“But… I heard that these are all signs that a child is straying from the right path. That they’re destined for hell.”
“Mrs Shall, you have come to me and confessed your sins time and again. No one is perfect and your daughter is not in danger by acting like a teen-ager. If she truly does act against god I’m sure she will seek forgiveness in time. The best thing to do is to let her make her own way back. Guide her but don’t push her - If Christ can be kind and tolerate a tax collector, surely you can be kind and tolerate your daughter?” The priest lead Mrs Shall towards the large double doors at the from of the church, sounding kind and sincere with each word.
“Oh but Father, is there really nothing I can do? The other day I even saw her wearing a strange symbol on a necklace. Sort of a star but not even the Star Of David!” Now the priest froze in his tracks, for a moment a look of fear seized his face. But the composed young man brought a smile back immediately.
“Listen, if you are truly worried then send her to me. Tell her I’d like to talk to her. I’m not asking her to pray of confess anything. I just want to talk to her.”
“Oh thank you Father. You are kind and I will do as you suggested. Thank you for helping me and thank you in advance for helping her.”
“It’s my pleasure. That’s why I’m here.” The priest held the door open and the woman left for her car. The priest smiled and waved good bye before making his way back to the alter. Seeking something to occupy his time in the empty church.

The following day, Mrs Shall had returned and she was in quite a state.
“Oh Father, I’m so worried.” She burst out through tears and sobs. She threw herself against the priest’s chest and he hugged her soothingly. “I asked her to come see you. I said you wanted to talk and she became angry. Started screaming at me then said something in another language and stormed out of the house. I don’t know where she’s gone and none of her friends have seen her.”
“There, there Mrs Shall. Don’t fret; I’m sure your daughter has just gone to blow off some steam. She’s probably with one of her friends but doesn’t want you to know. Just calm down and if she’s not back by tomorrow afternoon, call the police.”
“Can’t you do anything Father? Hasn’t she ever said anything to you?”
“I’m sorry Mrs Shall but I haven’t spoken to your daughter properly in years. There’s nothing I can do, this is for the police to handle. Call them or go down to the station and talk to them. Tell them what’s happened and how long she’s been gone.” Mrs Shall sighed and sat down, her tears had slowed but she was still very upset. The priest met her fear and sorrow with all his kindness. Silently Mrs Shall and the priest sat and prayed. Then when Mrs Shall felt ok she went on her way and the priest resumed his daily chores around the church.

On the third day Mrs Shall came in, two policemen followed in with her.
“Cain Ramus?” asked one of them in an official tone.
“Yes sir, that’s me.” Responded the black haired priest.
“My name is Frank and I’m here to ask you a couple of questions concerning the Mrs Shall’s daughter.”
“Sure thing, Frank.”
“That’s Officer Frank.”
“That’s Father Cain.”
“Understood, sorry Father.”
“All is forgiven, officer. Now what did you want to ask me?”
“Have you seen the girl at all?”
“Not for a week or so, no. I certainly haven’t had any contact with her since she has gone missing.”
“Of course. Could you identify some things for me?” Frank’s partner brought over a bag of things to the priest and laid them out on the front pew. He poured over them for a minute, studying them carefully.
“This is a collection of scriptures, the book of revelations to be exact.” Cain said, as he finished examining the first item. “This symbol is call behemoth, common in different satanic practises.” Cain said in reference to the next item, a small wood carving of an inverted five pointed star. In the centre was cruel looking face with resemblance to a goat. “This…” Cain paused for a moment as he studied scrap of paper with messy writing scrawled across it. “I’m sorry, I can not read this.” Cain then went on to the final item, a glossy flyer for a night club. “The Ninth Circle?” He asked, looking up at the officers.
“We’ve looked into it but no registered organization uses that name. We think it’s a night club acting illegally.” Frank explained.
“What makes you think that?”
“Other than not being listed, the flyer suggests alcohol distribution. We checked and there is no license for any such club.”
“Well I’m sorry officer but I have no children and don’t involve myself in this. I wish I could be more help but I truly have nothing more to offer.
“Thank you for you time, Father.”
“Not at all, officers. I’m here to help all who seek it.” With that, the officers left and Mrs Shall followed after them. Cain watched them leave and when at last they were gone he turned and made his way into the back of the church.

Cain now stood in a small study room. A wardrobe to one wall, a desk at the end opposite the door. The only light coming from a weak light bulb in a desk lamp. The hazy light cast a warm glow over the green carpet and brown walls. Cain undid his jacket and opened the wardrobe. Inside hung a long black cotton trench coat. He placed this over his black T-shirt and buttoned only the top button. His white collar was still visible and a silver crucifix hung from his neck. The rest of his attire was black and Cain grabbed a pair of sun glasses from the desk. With these slight changes to his attire he picked up a phone and dialed. The phone rang only once before the sound of a hors voice came over the phone.
“Hello?”
“Noah, it’s Cain.”
“Ah, good afternoon Cain. I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“I have an errand to run, would you mind watching over the church?”
“Of course. That’s my job after all - Serving the parish along side you. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Noah, you live five minutes away.”
“Yes but you know I never miss my cartoons.”
“Don’t be a sloth, Noah.”
“Don’t be blinded by your pride, Cain. We all have our vice but god forgives us. Watching cartoons isn’t exactly blasphemy.”
“Very well, I’ll see you in twenty minutes.” Cain said with a sigh and a smile. Without another word he hung up the phone and went back into the main part of the church. At this time of day it was rare for anyone to come in and so there he waited.

As he promised, Father Noah arrived in twenty minutes and was dressed accordingly. Cain explained the last few days to him. And the white haired man nodded.
“I see. So she’s involved with the Ninth Circle?”
“That’s what I think. The police haven’t got a clue where to look so I’ll be retrieving her personally.”
“Please Cain, don’t get carried away. They are still god’s children and they have a chance.”
“Their hearts are corrupted by dark influence, I have a faith their sins will be forgiven even if they don’t get a chance to ask.”
“Alright, you better not waste any more time.” Noah took to arranging things on the alter while Cain left.

It was around nine o’clock when Cain arrived at his destination. He got out of his car and gazed down the dark alley that opened before him. It’s mouth waiting to swallow him into the shadows that lined it’s walls. Unflinching, the dark haired priest stepped forward and made his way down the alley. Deep below the ground, dark practices were taking place.

“By order of the dark one, we gather here in the Temple Of The Ninth Circle to call from the depth Judas The Betrayer. His malice and wrath shall be granted upon us. Let the punished have revenge tonight.” It was a frighteningly large group. Nearing thirty or so young men and women, none past the age of twenty-three. All except for their leader, who was a middle aged man with a rough exterior. Short, light brown hair with white roots and a strong unshaven chin. He and his fellow ‘parish’ were dressed in black robes that covered a variety of clothing styles. From black shirts baring skulls and obscenities to blue shirts with popular logos. All bound by a common darkness in their eyes and a pure black robe that draped around them and fell upon the cold stone floor. The room in which they gathered was less of a room and more like a box. Four stone walls, a flat stone ceiling and stone floor. Heavy grey bricks cemented together. The back wall had a stair case leading up to a ledge which in turn had another door. This lead to a long steep stair case that opened at the alley. The room itself was decorated with fire, burning softly in torches jutting from the walls. Between them hung the corpses of past members, chained at the wrist and ankles as if crucified upside-down. All of them wrapped in the same black robes common to the members of this demonic order. Wicked shadows danced in time with the flames and played on the cold faces of the people gathered. Each stood in one of five half-circles like a statue, unmoving and unemotional. “We have bought together all that we shall need. Hair of the vile, dirt from the grave and holy water, set alight.” The man continued to shout to his participants. On a large stone slab before him was all the items he mentioned. A pile of dirt, a lock of greasy grey hair and a small dish of water, clearly mixed with something an oil or alcohol to set the surface alight. The face of the alter was printed with a red behemoth and between him and the first circle was a larger version. Cain watched from the ledge, the dim torch light just enough to illuminate what happened below him.

One by one the circles began to chant and eventually their rhythmic speaking was in unison and stating the same phrase over and over. A language strange and undecipherable to the priest but something about the way it hissed like a snake and twisted the tongue was foul to his ears.
“To make the door I give you that which separates life from death.” Said their leader, before scooping up the dirt in his hand and casting it forward. “The fragments of a body fitting, vile fragments of the wicked deceased.” He continued before casting the lock of hair on top of the dirt, into the centre of the marking on the ground. “And to spit in the face of those who condemn you, I offer you the tainted holy water. Rich in the flames that curse you. Let the darkness cast out the light.” The small dish exploded into a short burst of flames as it made contact with the ground. The dirt and hair quickly caught alight and the flames formed a spiraling vortex in the centre of the red star. “Finally, I shall breathe to you a mortal life and give you blood of the purest.” There was a slight movement in the circles and two robed figures carried a struggling life form up to the alter. Cain heard the muffled cries of a desperate young girl and knew at once who she was. Sally Shall, the girl he had come to find and set right. Wasting no more time, the priest leapt from the ledge, pushing off the metal railing. His fall was broken by the bodies of the cult members. He landed on their soft bodies and stepped off them, unfazed. Cain pushed his way passed the statue-like members who uncaringly let him past. Each one trance like and failing to make any action to stop Cain’s movement.
“You may address me as Father Cain.” He stated to the cult leader, not waiting for the obvious question to come.
“I’ve heard of you, Father. The priest that bares the name of the second betrayer and seeks redemption on those whom break the laws of god.”
“Then you know why I am here.” Cain said, stopping short of the flames.
“I know. But you can do nothing while you are there and I am here. This land is not sacred to your divine being and neither you nor he have power in these walls.”
“This is indeed forsaken land. But I offer you this chance once and once only, repent and be welcomed to the grace of the lord.”
“The lord is dead, priest. He offers no help to his suffering children. But we, we shall gain all the help we need from those who care.”
“The fallen care only to escape their punishment. You will let them from the hells and into our world. That can not be allowed.”
“You act as the hand of God but your crusade is self-righteous. No god has commanded you and I shall not bow to a man who wears sun-glasses at night.” The cultist spat mockingly at Cain who showed so sign of caring for his taunts. Cain simply smiled and reached into the pocket of his coat.
“Then in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit… I shall act upon you the will of the divine. If you seek so much to be with the fallen then I shall send you to them.” Cain pulled out a small round bottle of clear liquid. He opened the cap and swung his arm out towards the alter. Water sprayed from his bottles and splashed the alter, the man and the ground around him.
“Holy water? You dare insult me?” The cultist pulled Sally into his grasp and held a golden knife to her neck.
“One move and I’ll complete the ritual, priest.”
“You’re not fooling anyone, you need to spill her blood on the alter or in the flames. The alter is no good now that it is blessed.” Cain’s smirk hit the cultist like a blow to the face and scorned he kicked over the alter and leapt towards the red star in the centre of the room.
“Hold him!” He called as he struggled with the girl.
“Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. May you all rest in peace and may god have mercy on your blinded souls.” Cain went silent for a moment as if in prayer. Then in a flash he whipped his coat back and drew two guns from his belt. They were heavy silver pistols. Crosses printed on the handles and Latin phrases written along the body. In an instant he fired them into those cultist that surrounded him. Those that were hit finally let out a gasp of pain before falling to the ground.
“You are too late, priest. I shall make the sacrifice.” The lead cultist held the girl above the flame, kneeling as close as she could and forced to bend over them, the knife right above her neck. Cain said not a word but with a display of expert marksmanship he fired once. Then twice. The first bullet hit the blade and split it in half. The second hit the lead cultist’s shoulder, forcing him to let Sally go and withdraw in pain.
“It’s not possible! I am a servant of the fallen.”
“These bullets were once a silver cross, melted down and blessed in the Vatican. Before being cast into the bullets they are now and cooled in holy water. They will destroy both mortal bodies and those of the fallen.” Cain raised his guns again and aimed at the lead cultist and spoke:
“I pray you find salvation.”
“I bow to no man!” The cultist cried and drove the broken blade into his stomach. “I offer myself, Judas The Betrayer, through me may you find a host and thrive.” Then he collapsed into the flame, the fires swallowing his blood as it drained from his corpse. For a time nothing happened and Cain unloaded his pistols into those cultists who remained and moved on him aggressively. A few fortunate broke from their trance and fled. When there was no more life in the forsaken shrine to evil, Cain unbound Sally.
“Thank you, Father.” She said, with regret spelled across her face. “My friends… The night club…” She searched for some explanation but knew in her heart there was no excuse. “I’m sorry, this was all my doing.”
“No.” Cain said, cocking his guns in preparation for the worst. “Not entirely. Your mother pushed you and it drove you to rebel further. It’s what teen agers do.” Sally gave a small smile to the kind priest and a slight nod. “The important thing is that you learn from it. Both of you.”
“You mean… Start going to church and not wear so much black?”
“I mean be yourself… Provided that this isn’t you. You don’t need to go to church to follow god and you dressing in black doesn’t make you evil. Just remember that while on earth, Christ taught one thing above all else: Kindness and tolerance. How, where and when you pray is up to you.”
“I think I understand. But how can I repay you?”
“Have faith and be good. If you truly feel you are in debt, that is all you must do.” Sally fell silent and a cool breeze floated through the air. Cain didn’t say anything after, he waited for Sally to act - whether she started to leave or said any more was unimportant. Then something happened that Cain had feared deep within. Sally spoke but with a deep voice not her own. The voice was deep and rough, a tongue poisoned by hate. Her eyes turned a deep blood red and with a sickening smile she looked at the priest, piercing his soul through his glasses.
“Foolish servant of the divine.” She said, but in a language not her own. Aramaic, a language Cain did know and he replied:
“Judas The Betrayer!” He stated back in the demon’s own language. “But far more than from that gnawing, was the foremost pang’d by the fierce rending, when ofttimes the back was stripped of all it’s skin. ‘That upper spirit, who hath worse punishment’ so spake my guide ‘Is Judas, he who has his head within and piles the feet without.”
“Ah, how I do love the classics.”
“Well you’ve got a whole eternity to read them, demon. I’m sending you straight back to that frozen crypt.”
“How do you plan to do that, priest? The ritual is done and I am free - you dare not kill the innocent.” Cain gritted his teeth as the demon Judas smirked evilly through Sally’s lips.

Cain withdrew his holy swords to the holsters on his belt. Then from his pocket he took out a small bottle, the contents of which he splashed in the demons face. “Holy water?” He laughed mockingly. “Such tricks are wasted, priest. In this mortal form I am immune. Not that it matters, without it it’d still be ineffective.” Cain didn’t answer but thrust his arms forward and gripped the beast’s shoulders. With all his strength he heaved her back and pushed it against the wall.
“Kill me and suffer my fate.”
“You underestimate me, Judas. I will send your damned soul back to the depths. Suffer with the sinners and the fallen.” Cain held her Judas at the neck, forcing him against the wall. The body’s teen-ager arms to short to reach the priest. Cain took from another pocket a silver tin and carefully he rubbed his thumb in it. With a thumb stained in ashes he marked a cross on Sally’s forehead. Then, with his hand still free and the demon writhing in his grasp he made the sign of the cross. “In the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit: I will cast you into hell where you will suffer an eternity by the wrath of the divine.” Cain splashed holy water across the girl again and she let out a horrid shriek.
“You would bring the lord’s presence into this forsaken place?” The demon said, trying to struggle out of Cain’s grip. Cain however was not disturbed and continued his own chant.
“From this body of youth an innocence to a timeless torture I send thee. In the name of Christ and by the powers of The Lord I condemn thee.”
“Stop Priest and I will grant you anything.”
“Out of this shell I send thee.” Cain took the crucifix from around his neck and slid it down his arm and over Sally’s neck. “Out of this mortal I send thee.”
“You will suffer for this, Cain the Betrayer.”
“Out of this world I send thee!” The demonic voice gave a final screech like a swooping hawk and the girl’s body flailed between Cain and the wall. Then all at once the room became silent.

A few moments later, Sally awoke to find herself staring up at a concerned looking priest.
“Father?”
“It’s alright. You’re alright, and the betrayer is gone.”
“I was somewhere dark, I felt like my body was being torn apart again and again. It was horrible… What happened?”
“You became a vessel for a demon. I exorcised him and then you were unconscious. Your body was waiting for it’s soul to return.”
“Then… All this is over?” She asked, a look of hope creeping onto her face.
“Yes, for you this is all over. Come on, I’ll take you home.”
“That’s twice you saved me, is there anything I can do?”
“Yes. Don’t tell anyone about this. Some people might worry if they discovered the local priest went around shooting devil worshippers.”
“Oh, so you’re like a super hero and I have to keep your secret identity from everyone.”
“Something like that.” Cain chuckled as he helped Sally to her feet. He opened his mouth to say something but his was silenced by an icy wind that whipper through the room.
“Father…” Sally asked, huddling close to him. Cain stepped to block her and drew his guns. “What’s happening?”
“Looks like the exorcism didn’t work like I planned…” The wind picked up again and the torches flames all at once succumb to the air and died. Cain and Sally stood alone in darkness, a cold wind wrapping around them and carrying to their noses a horrid smell of flame, burnt meat and sulphur.