I texted Luke late, but it was better than leaving him at ‘read’. He had wanted to hop on COD last night, but I was busy sinking my demon fangs into a civilian. And now, I couldn’t put anything in my mouth. Whatever I tried to chew down—toast, eggs, bacon—they all felt incredibly disgusting on my tongue. The blood I downed earlier was to blame. There was this lingering metallic taste festering in my taste buds, and unless I drank more blood, I wouldn’t be able to keep anything in my stomach. “Shit, I was starving…”

This Sunday was going to be one of those hustle days where I only have one meal. Whenever I needed to save money, I cut down on food, and distracted myself with something else. Not the healthiest habit, but that Ivy league school wasn’t cheap, and my mom made it clear that she was willing to empty out her bank account for me to stay at Carthage.

Now, I had another reason to stay.

As I walked down the sidewalk five blocks down from my apartment, my stomach grumbled. I thought about Lumi, and how understanding she’d been with everything. My familiar didn’t even bother asking me why I insisted on taking the bus when I had a fully functional car. Driving a car meant having insurance, gas, and money for maintenance. What I’d done Friday night wasn’t exactly legal, but I was desperate to impress Sasha, which turned out to be me impressing a demon instead.

I sucked my breath and clenched my fist inside my pockets. “Fucking Persallus,” I growled through my teeth. My blood boiled whenever I thought about that demon bitch, enough to make my arms warm and my hands hot.

W-wait, hot?

“Crap!” I cried, flinging my hands out of my pockets and seeing a bush of hot flames engulfing them! The fire was chewing down my sleeves, so I jumped over the tall hedge like an Olympian and eyed the nearest water hose. My feet shuffled erratically along the grass field, and once I turned the dial and got water going, I hosed myself down like a dog.

My heart was racing. It wasn’t until the fire went out did I realize that I didn’t feel a burning sensation. There was no evidence of a fire on my skin, only on my clothes. The bottom half of my hoodie was gone, and so were the sleeves up to my elbow. I looked like a wet hobo, and I could only imagine what the cute blond in the simple ivory dress standing there staring at me thought.

I didn’t even hear her coming…

“Oh, heh,” I chuckled nervously, pivoting to turn the faucet off. “Sorry about that. I was trying to light a cigarette bud and it went terribly, terribly wrong.” I gulped. There was no way she was going to buy that.

She giggled. “A bit excessive, aren’t we?”

I snorted. “Yeah. Thanks for the water though, um—”

“Ava.”

I smiled. “My name is Isaac.”

“It’s nice to meet you Isaac,” she said in a perky and sweet voice. “Would you like to come inside the abbey for some fresh towels?”

An abbey—that would explain the tall richly decorated building traced with stone and stain-glass windows. I’d just stolen water from a nun house, which meant that Ava was a nun, right?

I couldn’t go inside. Something was telling me not to. This was a place of the Holy Order, and I was a demon. The two didn’t mix. So I looked back at her and her bright blue eyes and prepared to wipe that adorable smile off her lovely face. “Ugh, I’m sorry, Ava. I’ll have to reject your offer. I was on my way to work when—”

“Lying is a sin, you know.”

My throat went tight. How the hell did she know I was pulling her leg? Was my face that revealing?

“Come on, don’t be shy. I’m sure I have a t-shirt that could fit you, unless you’re planning on walking around in that terrible number. Crop tops don’t suit you.”

I chuckled. “That’s awfully sweet of you, Ava. But—”

“You’re not imposing,” she said, gently taking my hand into hers. “Let me be a Good Samaritan and help you. Okay?”

I cracked her a sheepish grin. “All right.”

She walked us through the courtyard and down a stoned path lined with pillars on one side, and doors on the other. Ava had an elegant grace in her step. Poised, with her head up high, confident and charming. She closed her eyes and said bluntly, “You don’t look like the type who smokes…”

“Really? You seem to be sure of yourself when reading people.”

“I’d like to think so.” She opened her eyes and turned to me with a cheeky expression on her face. “Mind telling me what really happened?”

“Heh, let’s just stick to the cigarette story.”

“All right, suit yourself.”

“Hey, I don’t want to seem like I’m nosy or anything, but you seem pretty young to be a nun.”

“What does age matter when serving the Lord?” She tilted her head at me. “Do you believe in God, Isaac?”

“I was never really much for praying or church-going.”

“It’s never too late to be saved.”

I laughed. “Oh, I think that train is long gone now.”

She stopped walking when I said that, staring at me hopelessly.

“Egh, well, what I meant to say was—”

“We are here,” she interrupted, pushing a door open on the right with her hand and inviting me inside a cement room.

It looked like a bedroom, but it wasn’t flashy in the slightest. There were about four lanterns all together, dull wooden floors, one tiny narrow window, and a dresser with a desk on the far corner. If I could be honest, I was getting prison cell vibes from the lack of homey aesthetics.

Ava walked inside and made her way to the dresser. She scooped a shirt up and walked back over to me before stopping again in the middle of the medium sized dungeon of a bedroom.

“What are you afraid of, Isaac?” she asked me, while goosebumps crawled all over my skin. “I don’t bite. Here. Wear this. I think it’s big enough for you.”

A simple long sleeved t-shirt. Seemed harmless enough. I looked over my shoulders before I moved closer to her and said, “Thanks.”

“Aren’t you going to change?” she asked me, her eyes glowing and large. There was even a subtle blush on her face, and I was starting to get the feeling that this nun here was tempting herself on purpose.

“You mean, here?”

“Yes…”

I chuckled inside. “Okay, sure. If you don’t mind, of course.” I stripped my burnt hoodie over my head, and when my eyes caught dirty Miss Ava again, she had a towel!

How the hell did she get that so fast?

“May I dry you off?” she asked, stepping closer toward me.

“Um, sure, I—” I held my breath when the tips of her fingers touched my chest. Her skin felt incredibly cold against mine at first, but then I got used to her tracing a line between my pecks and over my stomach.

“You feel nice, Isaac…” she whispered, hiding her blush by keeping her head down.

“So, that towel and this shirt was never part of the equation, was it?” I teased. “You know, if you wanted to get me alone, you could have just asked.”

She finally looked up to me, the guilt in her eyes turning me on even more. “That bed is filthy… it hasn’t been changed in months…”

“We could always go somewhere else. Let’s say, my place?”

“This is sinful… I shouldn’t be lusting over a man I hardly know…”

“Then let’s get to know each other, Ava.”

“I really like you. There’s something about you that attracts me. You’re mysterious… and maybe even dangerous.”

I chuckled. “You’re giving me too much credit.”

“Am I?” She leaned in and went on her tiptoes, her soft pink lips drawn to me. I’d never kissed a nun before, but the taboo sensation behind messing around with one was a huge turn on. Might even be a fetish. Regardless, I wouldn't get any playtime with this sexy blond church goer, because as soon as I reached in to cup her face for our first kiss, someone barged through the door.

“Mother Fitzgerald, what are you doing?!”

Mother?

Ava peeled away faster than I could process who’d stormed in here.

“I’m simply helping this man get a change of clothes,” she stuttered half convincingly.

“Are you, now?” he said as I turned to him. He was tall, blond as well, and could may even be her brother. He had a pair of rectangle glasses on, his eyes intimidating as he stepped in between us and snatched me by my wrist. I balled up my fists and glared at him. The guy didn’t look much older than me. Maybe in his early thirties. He had no right handling me like that even if he was a grumpy ol’ church bat.

“This demon has tempted you!” he cried out, making my stomach cave in.

“He is no demon, Kevin! Let him go!”

“Where did you find this heathen!?”

“He was by our spigot! He was only using our hose. He’s just a civilian, please, let him be!”

He eyed me down viciously. “You demonic piece of shit. Did you really think you can just waltz in here and fuck my sister?!”

“You get your hand off of me you big—” I winced, bucking over while the asshole made me swallow my words. I wasn’t expecting him to attack me like that! A man of the church. The stereotype was such bullshit. He had no problem airing my lungs out when he punched me in my stomach.

“That’ll teach you to talk back to me! There’s more where that came from!”

“Kevin, no!”

“How about an express pass to where you’ll be living for the next eternity?!” He tossed me into the dresser, the piece of furniture almost tumbling over me with the scary strength he had. Just as my back slammed against it, I heard a click, followed by gears churning. And soon, the wooden floor panel underneath me opened up, swallowing me inside.

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