BloodRayne: Angel's sin
"Oh, this faithless world! Someone must deliver them. If not you, who? You have been saved for a reason. Show them the old demons. Remind them of their fear. Apathy is death. Without darkness, there is no light. Without evil, there is no good." ~ Dan Brown - "Angels and Demons"
"You bitch! Who the hell do you think you are?"
He had come on to her. Told her she was the prettiest girl in the bar. And then she called him a loser, and said she wasn't interested in 'druggies who have never heard of deodorant'. Then she got up and walked away, exiting the bar through the back. He followed her and just when she was stepping on to the street he pulled out his gun. She heard him behind her but she had hoped he wasn't that stupid. She turned around. He was waving one of those Glocks that are too loud for how much damage they do. It was dark in the alley, but she saw him, he could see her too, he could see her hour-glass shaped figure that he had noticed in the bar, he could see how she, with a toss of her head, cleared a lock of her hair from her view. He couldn't see her smile or her fangs.
"Put it down, you'll only hurt yourself." He voice was calm and had a low tone, almost as if she was trying to seduce him.
"Screw you!" He fired twice, two loud bangs echoing in the alley way. The shots stung a little, but didn't even knock her off balance.
"Oh, Fritz, that was a big mistake."
Poor kid must have been in his late teens, maybe early twenties; he was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans with a big wet stain on the front of them. It took her one second to be in front of him, two to grab the gun out of his hand by the barrel and three to hit him in the head with the butt of the pistol. His sight was blurred for a moment from the hit, but he shook his head and tried to get a grip on what was really happening. He was on the ground and she was crouched next to him. He saw her smile and her fangs, but this time it was too late. Her green eyes bore deeply into his and he looked at her transfixed, seeing her for the first time up close. He felt a chill spread through his body that had nothing to do with the sudden wind that was blowing. He was scared like he had never been scared in his life. His whole body was shaking, his fingers were going numb. Fear was moving through his veins, paralyzing him. His heart hammered in his ears, beating so hard it almost hurt, but the real pain, the one coming from his forehead, reminded him this was real.
Sweat beads were forming on his forehead, the water mixing with the blood. She leaned closer and touched his injury. He closed his eyes and backed away.
"Don't worry baby, it'll only sting for a second." He didn't believe her.
Pain shot through his body, starting at the neck, then spreading through his torso and head. He felt as if his neck was on fire and that soon the rest of his body would die burnt under this woman's power. But she had been right, the pain only lasted a second and then he went numb and everything went black.
***
She was staying at one of Brimstone Society's safe houses along with a few other agents. The place was located near the outskirts of the city, one of those houses covered in ivy that look almost haunted.
She came down into the lounge dressed casually: a dark green shirt with black jeans. Her blood-red hair was tied into two small low twin pony tails and she had earrings in the shape of marijuana leaves dangling from her ears.
"Good evening Rayne. Had a nice sleep?" Severin was sitting across from her reading his newspaper.
"You bet. What'cha reading? The horoscope?"
He had kept his eyes on his newspaper until then, but now he looked up
"Nice earrings." She gave him a delicious smile.
"Glad you like them." He returned his gaze on his paper while she turned the TV on.
"Right in this alley, the man claims he was murdered by a demon and then brought to life by an angel. He said he had just exited the bar when a demon in the shape of a woman ambushed him and killed him." The camera switched and was now in a hospital, the reporter interviewing the man who was almost hysterical.
"Sir, can you recall what happened?" Rayne's eyes widened and she felt her heart stop: it was that guy from last night.
"I remember I got out of the bar, pulled out my gun. I fired twice, but it didn't hit her, or it didn't hurt her, I don't know. She came over and hit me in the head, after that she did something, I can't remember what exactly, but it hurt like hell. She…I think she…she killed me! I woke up and this… this guy was standing next to me, he looked like an angel. He was glowing and he said I have to live. Please, just…just help me."
"Karen, what do the police say?"
"The police are skeptic and say no evidence, not even the man's gun, could be found to corroborate his story. No witnesses claim to have seen any woman with the man."
"Officer Nelson, what do you think really happened here?"
"Simple. This druggie got high, fell on the ground, saw green stars and he thought it was a demon."
"But what about the claims about an angel?"
The officer smirked. "Take a look around. I'm guessing that's your angel." He pointed to a nearby billboard on a rooftop that had an angel holding a cigarette and the words 'even angels need a brake' plastered beneath the picture.
"What's going to happen with him?"
"Well, we're bringing him in for questioning, but, you know, we can't hold him for being bat-shit insane."
"Rayne are you alright?"
She had a serious look on her face, her eyes glowing in the scarce light cast by the TV.
***
The cold night greeted her, wind sweeping over her skin and blowing dust in the air. She had found his address via Brimstone's database. She could see him with Aura Vision, sitting on the floor near the bed on his knees. Time to get some answers.
She opened the front door and made her was toward the bedroom. She heard him speaking: he was praying.
"Hi."
The sound of her soft voice jolted him awake. He turned around to recognize her silhouette standing in the doorway. It seemed that the demon from his nightmares will not allow him any rest.
"No…Please, no…"
"No what?" She came closer taking advantage of the effect she had on him. She could smell the fear on him.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so-."
"Chill, sweetie. Just answer my questions and maybe you'll live."
"He doesn't know anything. Leave him alone." She had sensed something wrong, but until she had heard the other person in the room speak she hadn't been able to figure out what. She turned to inspect the newcomer and was surprised when she saw him. He looked like a normal human. She couldn't detect any vampire scent on him either.
"Are you really a demon?" he asked.
She chuckled: "-you scared?" Her tone wasn't aggressive, yet he couldn't deny he was frightened. He didn't know what exactly about this woman unnerved him so he blamed the first thing that came to mind.
"Well, you are the one with the swords."
"Who and what are you?"
"Listen-" He made one step toward her.
"Stop. Stay." He decided it was best not to upset her and obeyed. "Good boy." Before asking anymore questions she looked over her shoulder to see what the other man was doing. He was still on the floor too scared to move.
"I saw you hurt him, you left him for dead like the one you left 3 night ago. Listen, my name is Abel. I have this…gift of healing people. No matter how serious their injuries are I can reverse it."
"That is the most pathetic power I have ever heard of."
"It can still be very useful. Take a look at him." He pointed to the man. "He's never going to commit a crime again. And we did that. You showed him terror like he had never seen before, I showed him mercy. And together we gave him a chance at redemption."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that instead of just killing them maybe you can do more. Haven't you ever wondered whether you're approaching the problem the right way?" He stopped and looked at her, she was very attractive dressed in shiny black and red leather, but there was something frightening about her. Her look, her posture, her weapons screamed 'danger!', but he found that he couldn't leave, so he continued to expose himself, to expose his beliefs.
"Most people need an impulse to change, something has to go wrong in their lives for them to see their mistakes. What if that impulse was a revelation? Fear combined with love to show them their evil? We can give them a second chance, we could save more just like we saved him."
"What about the humans that shouldn't be saved? What about the ones who will keep doing the same bad things over and over?"
"They can change. Everyone can change. They just need a little help."
"Really?" He sensed the sarcasm in her voice, and he prepared for the hit. "That help that you were talking about might not work for everyone, because not everyone reacts to fear the way he did. Some people cave in, but some fight back. What are you going to do with them? And what about the psychos or sadists? People who are mentally troubled? Can they change?"
He took the blow, but his fears took a different shape. He wasn't afraid about being hurt anymore. This woman was going to attack his faith, and he realized that every time he would try to make her see his point of view she would push back harder and harder.
"Maybe not, but some can. You don't understand how it is because you never changed, right?"
"And I suppose you have?" She smiled. It was nothing more than a slight arching of her lips but it made him feel as if he was near the edge of a cliff and she was going to push him to his death just for fun. "You haven't really changed. Just the way you act, but deep down inside you're still the same." She smiled again, this time he felt as if he was looking at a real demon. "He hasn't either." He noticed the Glock in her hand only after she had armed it and pointed it between the other man's eyes.
"No!" He grabbed her arm, but she was too fast. With her other hand she grabbed him by the throat and threw him on the floor. He was going to get up but she put a stiletto heel on his neck.
"Don't make a move or you'll pierce your jugular. I'm going to let this one pass, because even if you're naïve your heart's at least in the right place." She moved her boot and helped him get up. "But, if you make a move on me again it's going to the last mistake you ever do!" He nodded to scared to talk.
"See this symbol?" She pointed to the pendant dangling from her collar. "Find the people that fight under this symbol. You tracked me here so this shouldn't be so hard. And as for him," She looked at the guy that had fainted on the floor. "I don't think you're right, but I'm willing to let time tell the truth."
They parted ways that night, but he was sure he was going to meet this woman again. The impression she had left on his soul was too great and he felt that their moral quarrel was not over.