I lurk under the veil of dark,
Must lingers it conceals my desires
While I wait….
I will be sated, in my sight looms despair.
**********
Adam opened the door of the church's main hall, Clement and other bishop's following him. The noise created by their heavy footsteps echoed throughout the Hall.
He squinted his eyes as soon as he came inside the hall due to the darkness inside; contrast to the brightness outside. It took a couple of minutes to adjust his eyes...
The pack of soon-to-be apprentice exorcists huddled together in a corner, the nun's scattered all over the hall with candles and bibles in their hands.
Adam reached towards the middle of the room where the altar was situated, his heart was trembling, same when he saw the woman for the first time.
He looked towards Archbishop Clement, who returned a nod back at him in approval.
All the men, garbed in white moved in a circle around the bed; a bowl of water and a string of beads in their hands.
Archbishop Clement in his usual white was standing at the bottom of the altar, behind him the cross.
***********
Father Price was sitting in his usual place under the chandelier, waiting for Adam and Clement to go start the exorcism.
His eyes were fixed at the burning fireplace beside the door, the flames which seemed to dance as they wished as if they possessed a soul of its own.
He could make out shapes in those flames; of men; of children; of women. The place felt familiar to him, as it was his own house.
Flames started rising up; the picture of the women, men and children started burning; and from it came another shape, of a cross, slowly burning in the air as it got cut off from the root.
'The menacing laughter of the children echoed in his heart'
Suddenly the door to his study opened up, a young nun came in with a broom breaking the eerie silence. "Father!! Weren't you going to do the Exorcism?" she said, frowning.
"I will, I'm waiting for Adam." He replied with a subtle nod brushing off the earlier incident as his mere fragment of imagination .
"But Father Adam and Archbishop Clement are already in the church." she said, the frown deepening.
Price snapped towards the young lady and snapped "WHAT!"
"Father Adam and Archbishop Clemen...t" She stuttered, surprised at the sudden aggressiveness of Price "- for the exorcism"
Price abruptly stood up from his chair; his hands on his desk. He was thinking why did they went there without him. In his place, it was impossible for anyone to fail to feel the horror and disgust, and a sense of foreboding for the future.
He started pacing towards the door to go to the hall, but as soon as he reached the door he stopped and turned around, and went back to his desk and started to search for something profusely.
He started throwing the books around and opening all the drawers "Em, did you throw or find a paper from the order? With the order's insignia?" He asked the girl.
"A paper with an insignia?" She started thinking deeply about it, eyes closed, forehead furrowed "Ah yes! I do remember picking up and half burnt piece of paper from beside the fireplace and it had the insignia of the order, but I think there was nothing written in it." She exclaimed.
"What!?" gears started working in Price's mind, "Adam, oh you bastard!" He remembered that Adam never showed him the letter, Adam also came out of the room after him, he must have thrown the letter into the fireplace.
Suddenly Price's eyebrows shot up as he started running towards the main hall, he was praying that he was not too late for whatever Clement and Adam were plotting.
He remembered that he also gave the order for the new Exorcist apprentice's to be there at the time of exorcism.
He was sweating profusely and all he could do was run as fast as he could and wish for the best.
****