The Demon of Lust
The air grew cold.
What was the comfortable breath of Fall had slowly shifted to a cool wind. Their quiet climb had not been long. If Maxwell had to guess, maybe around 15 minutes. Despite her clothing, the woman showed no discomfort. She confidently led him higher and higher.
“Are you cold, knight?” She peeked over her shoulder.
“No, I like this weather.”
A smirk formed on her lips. “Then we have something in common. You may have a mouth on you, but I find myself attracted. Honestly, I like mean men.”
Shadows covering Her face, She stood between the two, biting Her nails. “She says this to everyone, Max. How can people like this be real?”
“Is that your sales pitch to everyone?” Maxwell said flatly.
She laughed. “Yeah, and a lot of them do fall for it.” Her smile grew sharper, and she raised her index finger to the sky. “My name is Cleo. The others I led up here never knew me on a name basis.”
Maxwell remained silent. She stopped and turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Normally you would respond with your own name.”
“Maxwell.” His bored tone still rang.
“Very formal! That is fitting of a knight!” She twirled on her heels and continued forward.
He followed.
“Tell me something, Maxwell. Why did your Order do the things they did? Do you even know? It was so long ago, and you sound so young.”
“Neither of us were alive to see it. I could ask why you do the things you do.”
“But you’re standing for something that is long gone. If you ask me, It’s gone for the better.” She threw her arms out. “I love the world! The animals, the trees, the weather, I love all of it! We are a beautiful part of it, just like the animals around us. All of us are one. So should we all not be together? To love freely and accept each other?”
“They always appeal to good nature. But evil is hidden within platitudes. Whether Cleo is aware of it or not.” She said with a sigh.
Maxwell looked away from Cleo. His eyes followed the steep decline to his right, littered with trees and dirt. “Would you consider this freedom? Your village is in ruins and everyone looks worn down. Sure, they can distract themselves with pleasures, but they are missing something. We were created for a higher purpose, and that purpose was not to divulge in pleasure.”
“You sound just like our previous mayor. I was too young to see it all, but my step-mother spoke of him. He also had a friend who was a farmer out west. The two still preached of your Order’s Great One. When the farmer brought food he would partake in preaches with a few people. It created division, and the village was in constant conflict.” Cleo’s hike halted and she took a breath. “As a child I was viewed with suspicion because I could see things beyond the material. My biological mother was a witch, and the town viewed me as cursed. The mayor and that farmer tried to change me. But our lord saved us, saved me. He stopped the two men and their followers.” She turned and looked to Maxwell, with a red face and a smile. “I saw it. He cast them down the mountain. A woman came looking for the farmer. Our lord told her what he did, and gave her the chance at redemption.” Cleo held her cheeks. “She bowed to him! He then pointed at me and told her to raise me, because I was special! Soon I’m going to be more than his concubine! I’m going to be his bride!”
Maxwell narrowed his eyes at the girl.
She kept going. “This is why I know he will show mercy to you. If you bow you’ll get to live!”
“It seems that those who rejected him did not get to live. Not much of a choice, is it?”
Cleo knelt and ran her hand through the dirt. “They returned to the earth, where we all come from. They live through her, and that is a beautiful thing.”
She rose and continued. “I’m so lucky to live in this time, where we are returning to our roots. To the truth! You too can be saved, Maxwell! Come, we are almost there.”
With tired eyes he watched her move ahead. A soft sensation rubbed his heart as She wrapped Her arms around him and whispered in his ear. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink or acknowledge it. Cleo is dedicated in her ways, and so are many others. Stay strong, Max.” She took a soft breath. “Poor Abigail and John, how could we ever tell them?”
“Maxwell?”
He blinked and looked to Cleo. Her eyes were furrowed.
“I was thinking about what you told me. Let's continue.” Maxwell moved towards her. She remained still, a look of confusion on her face.
“Is something wrong, Cleo?” He asked.
“N… No. I thought I saw… Its nothing.” She murmured.
“I take it we’re close?”
“Yeah, just around this corner.” She responded as she continued leading him forward.
...
“There it is!” Cleo breathed.
Maxwell saw it as he weaved between a wall of branches. Before the two was a house made of logs. It was a single story structure, but its size was in its length. The wind’s harsh breath shook the torches that lit its entrances. As the two made their way Maxwell caught sight of another, smaller structure to the building’s left.
“That is where newcomers go after our lord accepts them. There, they come together.” Cleo said. “You could be in there soon.”
Maxwell returned his gaze to the main building.
“Have you ever loved something knight? Surely you’ve at least desired?”
Maxwell remained silent, eyes glued to the double doors before him.
With a sigh, Cleo climbed the stairs and placed her hand on the door. But she failed to open it. Her brow furrowed again. He stepped beside her and placed his hand on the door.
“He’s here, Max. Inside this building.” She whispered.
“Maxwell…”
He looked to Cleo.
“I can’t figure out what it is, but I sense something with you. I can’t tell what exactly it is, but… Perhaps our lord will know.”
She stood between Maxwell and the door, looking at Cleo, cold eyes dissecting the woman.
The doors creaked as they slid apart. Before them was a hallway lined with candles, leading to another set of doors. A long rug ran its length. The two continued forward, soft foot falls echoing their approach.
“P-P-Please! No more!”
The muffled breaths of a woman whispered from the walls. Maxwell quickened his pace and Cleo stumbled as she tried to catch up.
“M-M-Master! Please I’ll brea-!" She cried.
Maxwell kicked the doors open. A large blur flew past him and smacked into the wall with a sickening pop. He looked over his shoulder. A mass of bloodied flesh slid down the wood and sat on the floor.
“Why did you bring this man to me, Cleo?! The man who murdered my son!”
Maxwell’s gaze snapped back to the room’s center. The demon was not exactly what he had expected. He was tall and stout, like the giant, but he appeared to be a youthful man. Long black hair brushed his shoulders as he rose from the bed.
“To commit such actions… What a horrible thing you are.” She said.
Maxwell looked to Her. She knelt before the bloodied mess and poked it, rubbing blood between Her fingers.
“These were beautiful people once. To have fallen for such a monster… What a waste.” She turned Her frigid gaze towards the demon. “I look forward to watching the light leave your eyes, creature that is enslaved to lust.”
“It was a two part plan, my lord! He would either bow to you, or you would slay him! I have brought you one of, if not, the last of your enemies!” Cleo stumbled over her words.
“Do you not sense that THING with him?!”
“I-I don’t know what it is my-”
The thing lost its temper and slammed its hand into the bed. The furniture cracked like a twig, burrowing into the floor. Cleo gasped and shielded her face.
Maxwell drew his sword. “If you’re anything like your son this will be easy.”
“My son was a hideous fool. You will find that I am much stronger!”
“M-My love-” Cleo began.
The statement hung in the air unfinished.
Maxwell stared at the ceiling in confusion, unable to process what had just happened. His senses swam back and he rolled to his feet. Beside him was the mangled corpse, and before him was the demon, holding Cleo’s head in his hand.
“How could my wife not sense such a spirit? In you I needed more than a body, and you failed me. You are a failure to your name Cleo. I will find another.”
Tears ran down Cleo’s eyes as she closed them. The demon hurled her down into the floor. Blood spat in the room, covering the walls and floor.
Lifting its bloodied hand from the corpse, it turned its glowing yellow eyes towards Maxwell.
“Now, at least I can kill you and end your damned legacy, knight.”
