*****
"Ahh!" Cole shouted as he sat up. He hyperventilated -- his heart beating out of his chest, his body drenched in a cold sweat. He observed his surroundings. He was back in his apartment, lying in his regular bed.
Cole took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. It was all only a dream. He had relived the horrific night of Maria's death in his dreams for years now. The dream normally ended with Cole finding Maria brutally murdered in the bed when he opened the door. This new wickedly twisted ending left Cole missing Maria more than ever before. Holding her had felt so real. Damn.
Cole dropped his head to the pillow and looked to the side. To his surprise, Zafira lay beside him in bed, staring back at his face.
"Good morning!"
Startled, Cole let out a loud yelp as he tumbled from bed and to the floor below. Zafira laughed hysterically at his clumsiness.
Cole climbed off the floor. "Don't ever do that again!" he yelled at her.
"I'm sorry," she snickered. "I forget you're easily startled."
"I don't care about that," Cole grumbled. "I'm talking about my dreams. You stay the hell out them!"
Zafira raised an eyebrow. "Whatever are you talking about?"
"That dream -- it was your doing, wasn't it?"
Zafira scowled at him. "I'm beginning to think you never listen when I speak. I told you before; I cannot alter a pure soul's mind. That dream was entirely your doing. I can, however, still view your dreams."
"Is that why you like watching me sleep? So you can watch me suffer over and over again?"
Zafira rolled her eyes. "I'm a demon. I could not care less about your emotional torment. In dreams, I get to see a mortal human's deepest darkest desires, the type of desires they won't even admit to themselves. These are not simply plucked from their brains when I read their thoughts. In their mind, these desires do not exist, buried under layers of denial. But not in dreams. As a bonus, I get to view these desires in full motion, as if I were a stranger peeking through a window."
Zafira shucked the covers off the bed, revealing her perfect naked body as well as a small wet spot on the mattress where Cole had slept. "I do like this new ending to your dream; it would appear you do, as well."
Cole looked at the mattress and then at his underwear. There was a sticky wet spot on the front of his boxers. He had in fact cum, just like in his dream. He watched as Zafira ran her index finger through the wet spot on the mattress, gathering a dollop of his semen and then licking it off her finger like sweet icing.
"What was she like?" Zafira asked.
Cole looked at Zafira with a confused expression. "Who? Maria? Why do you want to know?"
"Curiosity. I wonder what is so special about her that you're willing to go through with the ritual."
Cole sat down on the bed. "You saw how beautiful she was, right?"
"Yes, but beautiful women are a dime a dozen in this world."
Cole nodded, "You're right. But her good looks didn't compare to her inner beauty. We had this... connection, something special I can't really explain. We knew what the other was thinking without saying a word. She had a heart of pure gold, helping anyone who asked. She always put others before herself, especially me." He sighed, remembering.
"In the early years of our marriage, she put up with me going through college, and then me working long hours as a street cop. It must have been lonely for her at times, but she was the one encouraging me to keep working hard. Honestly, I don't think I would have made detective without her support. I'd come home and she'd have dinner ready with a smile on her face. I never met anyone who I could love as much as she loved me."
Cole hung his head low. A tear fell. "She deserved better. Despite all my training and duty to 'serve and protect' I couldn't protect the most important person in my life. The only thing she ever wanted was a family, and her dream was stolen the moment she realized she was pregnant."
Cole turned to Zafira, sobbing. "That's why I want to catch the motherfucker who did this to her and my unborn child. To bring them to justice."
"Don't you mean, avenge their deaths?" Zafira suggested.
"Call it whatever you want."
Frustrated, Cole dressed himself. "I assume you're here because I still owe you 'dinner'. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back. You were pretty pissed last I saw you. It's been over a week now."
Zafira smiled wickedly as she got off the bed. "If I were 'pissed', you or your friend wouldn't be alive. I wasmildly irritated. I'm over it now, though. I had a gangbang with some gang bangers; then I fed their remains to Stacy to relieve my frustration. So, I'm sated for the time being."
Note to self, Cole thought: Do not do anything else to irritate Zafira. "So what brings you here then?"
"As per our agreement, I thought that we'd obtain the last thing needed for the ritual. You still want to see this through to the end, don't you?"
"Yes," Cole assured her.
"Good. Once this Maria stuff is out of the way, you can better focus on your end of our deal."
"Fair enough. So what are we after?"
Zafira paced about the room, "Like I said before, this item will be tricky. We need an angel's feather."
"An angel's feather?!" Cole protested. "How the hell are we supposed to get that? You said yourself that you can't kill one, and I doubt an angel will just hand one over."
"You're right on both counts. I do have a plan, but I need your help."
"What do you need me to do?"
"I'll tell you when the time comes," Zafira smiled. "We have to go to Purgatory, and you are to be my date."
"Purgatory? You mean that place between Heaven and Hell?"
"Not that Purgatory," Zafira laughed. "It's a bar, a special bar, a safe haven for those who rise and those who fall."
"I'm not sure what that means."
"You'll understand when we get there. Meet me at my place in an hour."
"Should I wear anything special?"
Zafira looked him up and down. "I don't think it will matter. You're not going to get the best of welcomes, no matter how you're dressed."
"Wonderful," Cole said sarcastically.