Chapter 8

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Ami sat on the log outside of her little brick house, staring out into the night. She had for a time tried to pretend that the encounter with the ghost had never happened...but there he was again, glowing in a creepy fashion as he stood off in the distance, looking in her direction.

Goliathus had been gone for a long time, and it was becoming painfully obvious that she was being left all alone again. Well...almost all alone. As Ami watched the strange figure he finally moved and began walking towards her. Quickly she sprung to her feet and headed back towards the cave, where she had left little Solarus sleeping. But before she could even make it halfway to the entrace, he was there before her again, blocking her way. A closer inspection now showed that this white robe she thought she had seen him wearing was in fact a toga. He also had purple stripes of cloth over the garment, and on his feet were a pair of calceus. It was odd, how all of her history lessons from school were now swimming into her brain at this very moment.

Now of course this ghost made sense. He was in fact, an ancient Roman priest. The golden dagger was once again at his side, clutched in his hand this time.

Barabas.

As if on cue, he gave a slight nod. Realizing who this was suddenly caused fear to once again be replaced by fascination. Goliathus had spoken of this man, and in none too friendly a fashion, but it was really quite amazing to be standing here and looking upon a spirit that had to be over two thousand years old.

What do you...want from me?

I am watching over you.

At this statement Ami felt both apprehension and some kind of awed reverence.

...why? Goliathus doesn't speak too kindly of you, Barabas.

Ah. You know who I am.

Yeah, but-

What has he told you? The cathedral? Did he speak of Alonus?

Ami's eyes widened, and she actually took a few steps closer, as her interest only rose. The cathedral...yes. Though not a whole lot of details. He said it was the first lair. As for this Alonus...no. Another...heradus, I take it?

Yes. But it is far more than that. Barabas turned his gaze away and up towards the mouth of the cave. Solarus.

Yes...he's in there. Ami felt a surge of motherly protection and suddenly felt worried. You're not here to hurt him, are you?

His head snapped back towards her, his eyes narrowing.

No. I have no wish to harm my grandson.

Wait...what? Ami blinked, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. Things just got more interesting every day in this new life of hers. She took a few steps closer, feeling a little more assured that this spirit in fact meant her no harm...but he was still such an imposing, striking sort of character that she kept a good distance between them regardless. The way he glowed and yet was surrounded by an eerie halo of darkness didn't help either.

Did you say grandson...Barabas?

Yes.

Then...Goliathus...he's...your son?

He nodded, but it was barely perceptible. There seemed to be a great, troubled sadness in his eyes now, even though the face remained stoic.

Ami was about to say something further when his echoey voice rang out more strongly that before in her mind.

Come with me, and I will show you all you want to know, young Ami.

But... Ami folded her arms across her chest, now seeming very uncertain. I-I can't go anywhere. I have to look after Solarus until his father-

Goliathus has a great peril to face and shall not return without your help. You are not his property, despite what he says, or how he treats you. It is because of you, young Ami, that he is changing, no matter how he tries to hide it. A mere "breeder"? What is this term? Alonus never used that to me. She had a great fondness for me, although she often considered herself weak for having affections towards a human.

He paused and immediately Ami had a flood of new questions in her mind.

But why does he leave me alone for so long or treat me so cruelly? He spoke of tormentors once... Ami was surprised at herself at the hot tears springing to her eyes and she fiercely tried to fight them back.

You care about him.

Yeah...yeah I suppose I do, but-

Go into the cave, hold Solarus if you feel the need to. I will not take you to Rome in the physical form...I could not even if I wanted to. But I will take you there in spirit, and show you all you need to know. For again, it is you who must help him now Ami...you are the only one who can.

This time when he paused, Ami only continued to listen with rapt attention, saying nothing.

You must awaken Alonus.

/

Patricia Jenner left the nursing home feeling more confused and frustrated than ever. The psychic's words just didn't make any sense. At one time she had called that creature a "demon" or a "devil", and had tried to help stop her brother's death in any way she could. Now...it seemed she was taking his side...at least in a way...and kept on insisting he wasn't evil.

She also told her she didn't understand. Understand what, exactly?

After another hour of pleading, however, Trisha had the answers she needed. The Creeper was currently using a cave for his lair in a very remote place called "Bells Rock". Jezelle had said she saw a very old brick house there, owned once by a family of poor farmers. With this information, she had pleaded with Trisha not to try and harm the child, warning her with some crazy story about the ghost of an ancient Roman priest who was very powerful and was desperate to clear his good name based on some horrible past tragedy. Whatever. Trisha didn't really care about some weird spirit she just wanted to kill that bastard and get revenge for her brother. That's all she cared about...all that mattered.

And to hell with what Jezelle said...that demon-spawned child couldn't be allowed to live either if she had any say in it.

/

Jack Taggart Jr. was getting tired, very tired. They had been going back and forth down this dirt road in Nowheresville, South Carolina for hours on end...and the tedious task combined with a constant fear of when that monster would show up were taking its toll on him. Trisha had called them insisting they were close, she had already known the Creeper was in the state due to the missing person's reports, but now she apparently had gotten some new information from that crazy psychic, what was her name?

Jezelle. Shaking his head in disbelief, he rolled down the window of the truck and peered out as he pulled over to the left shoulder and looked back into the flatbed.

"Dad...anything yet?"

"I heard somethin', Jackie. Just keep drivin' slow...and keep the lights off."

"Great," he muttered. "Perfect."

The truck slowly crept forward. From behind, a large silhouette of a winged creature swept back and forth across the sky, bathed in moonlight.

/

The remaining trek to the cave was only a few yards, but seemed like an eternity to Ami. At every step she had to keep looking back to be sure this hadn't of been just some weird dream and that it was all actually real.

And he'd be there, phasing in and out of view, and sometimes moving like he was straight out of an old movie reel. Occasionally the dagger he held seemed to glow more brightly than any other part of his form. What was with that dagger, anyway?

Hm, but he had promised answers, hand't he? Ami had found the prospect of finally knowing the truth about Goliathus and his past to be both extremely exciting and also profoundly saddening. Surely..this wasn't going to be a nice story. Goliathus had not turned into a terrifying man-eater on moment's whim. This was not, as Barabas was making painstakingly clear, a normal habit of a heradus.

When the cave was finally reached, little Solarus was already there, peering out and moping with a big pout. He was obviously hungry and his puffy, tear-filled eyes were making that very clear.

"I'm sorry Sollie...here I am, here I am..." He hopped rather readily into her waiting arms and she nuzzled him close. "Momma's here now it's ok."

Ami went over to her big pile of furs and sat down. In an instant, Barabas had phased in front of her. He was so close, that Ami noticed something else about him. Around his neck was some kind of necklace...no, a bulla. It was, as she remembered, a little pouch containing some kind of protective amulets.

She also realized he had a musky but pleasant scent. I can actually smell him, too? Then again, didn't many stories of ghosts sometimes include smells? It was all so weird and yet intensely alluring...she could get lost in Barabas if she wasn't careful. He was way too interesting.

So why was it that with him also lingered an ability to strike fear and trepidation in others? No matter how hard she tried, she could not get fear out of the equation.

Are you ready now, Ami?

Tell me something, priest...how are you going to do this? Am I in any danger?

You have nothing to fear, young Ami. He said, without actually answering her question. He slowly spread out a glowing, opaque hand towards her. Taking a deep breath Ami clutched Solarus close to her with her left arm. Then she reached out her right hand and touched Barabas.

It was like being struck by a bolt of lightning. She felt herself jarring backwards as if something incredibly heavy had slammed into her, but there was no pain, only a frightening sensation of falling like she was a boulder. Almost, almost a scream came up from her throat but with an enormous amount of will she composed herself and fought it back. The sensation suddenly stopped with another slamming sensation of force and then the world was spinning. The spinning was incredibly fast and Ami felt nausea growing, but a few blessed moments later it ceased, and she found herself on her back, and staring up at a massive, rounded ceiling of a dome. The first thing she noticed was it was covered in beatiful, flowing paintings of people, angels, and mystical creatures. To her right were rows upon rows of stain-glass windows bordered in breathtaking etched gold.

A strong, and now familiar voice rang out in her mind, sounding more normal and less echoey than before.

Ami peered down over her chest to see the priest standing before her again. He didn't glow or appear see-through this time.

Okay wow. I don't ever want to do that again.

We are here, in the cathedral.

Yes, I've gathered that. This place is...gorgeous.

Looks are deceiving. It is both a place of beauty and a place of corruption...and death.

Ami gulped. Was Goliathus born and raised here, so to speak?

Yes, young Ami. Yes indeed. He was to be its next guardian...

Barabas stopped, a pained expression now clearly on his features, and suddenly he didn't seem so imposing anymore. He seemed like an obliterated, lost soul who was desperate to accomplish something very important indeed.

I will spare you nothing. I shall tell you the story, and you may ask whatever you will. He fingered the bulla around his neck. First I will tell you that I am hardly a priest in any true sense of the word... he made a slow, sweeping motion over his garments. ...despite what you see here. I started out as one...but then I met Alonus, and everything changed.

This Alonus...was she here the whole time, or did you just meet her by chance?

I cannot say for sure. One day I am in the cathedral, practicing my daily rituals at night when none other are here, and I look up to see a figure among the paintings that I did not notice before. Curious, I walk up closer and take a better look, only to see that this figure is not a painting but in fact a real creature, it moved and I saw a glint of golden eyes peering at me from upon a dark face.

I was of course frightened at first, and put my hand upon the hilt of my dagger, ready to defend myself if need be. But it...she...glided down upon enormous wings of midnight and settled before me, looking me over. I was stunned, thinking some kind of evil spirit had indeed found its way into my cathedral...a supposed holy place.

But in fact this was no demon. The creature spoke to me as I am speaking to you now...in the mind. She told me she had been watching the activities of the church for many weeks, but that it was me in particular she had taken an interest in.

I asked why...she only said that I smelled differently than all the others.

Then she asked me if I had any food. I offered her some bread that I had but she shook her head and spoke of needing raw meat.

I had my own livestock, as I was a wealthy Roman, and offered her whatever she cared to have. She took a cow, something she said was her favorite. Her appetite for the raw flesh was both frightening and fascinating...as you yourself have said about Goliathus. In a very short time she had devoured the animal down to nothing but mere skin and bones.

The rest of the night we conversed. I asked her what she was, and she told me her race were rare and dying out. They were once protectors of humans, although fear and general loathing of their carnivorous habits had caused great problems between the species in the past. Now, they would only protect that occasional "worthy" human they may come across...a human they could trust.

Alonus, as I discovered her name to be, was not certain if there were others of her kind. Being so elusive and isolated in nature, they often did not see others anyhow. She loved the cathedral, for its tall spires to hide amongst, for the glittering gold, and the paintings which fascinated her.

For many days which flowed into weeks, she returned to the great cathedral, always under cover of night, again and again. Over time, my young Ami, I grew very fond of her. Her own behavior around me began to change, she would act odd and begin to show affection...an affection that was so human and yet also so alien. I tried to resist what I thought were very wrong surges of desire in me. I tried not to see her as a human woman and yet the attraction grew no matter what I did.

On one particularly warm summer's night some months after we had first met, she came to see me as usual. On those great and magnificent wings of iridescent midnight she swept down and came up close to me, enveloping me within them in something much like an embrace. This was typical behavior, but this time around, it lit a fire in me like I had never known. I grabbed her in a tighter embrace and found myself trying to push her down onto the floor. Alonus did not resist, but she writhed about on her back and howled out in her eerie cry, her claws raking my back. I bled, but hardly cared and ignored the pain. Our union was animalistic, primal, and urgent. I had never felt such raw lust before that drove me to near insanity. For many hours our sexual bliss continued until at last Alonus forced us apart and said she must go. The hunger, she said, was an all-consuming need that was even greater than her desire for me.

She left to feed, and I fell into an exhausted sleep.

/

End Chapter 8 This is a re-write of the chapter. This is definitely more of where I wanted to go with it. I got no reviews before, which was a huge disappointment considering people are always saying they like my stories and want more. Well my urge to write is going to die out like a flame in water if I get no feedback so please...if you really do like it then write a review and let me know.