Myosotis - Exorcist's Beginnings

Chapter IX: Hidden Skills

It was four in the morning, when they were on their way to the inn, but before arriving at their destination, they noticed an unexpected frenzy in the village square. In spite of the time, there were some people there booing, so they decided to get a bit closer and observe what was happening. The mayor was being apprehended by a couple of policemen and behind them was Don with a smug expression on his face and this time he was once again in his neat good boy outfit with slick blonde hair.

"What happened?" asked Macaria to one of the locals.

"The mayor was caught doing some kind of witchcraft" he replied, which surprised them.

"What?!"

"I know. I was shocked too, but look at his fat belly in this time of thin cows" the villager pointed.

At that moment, Don spotted them and approached them with a triumphal conceited face.

"What are you doing here with the police?" asked Dumah.

"What do you think? I told them that while I was blessing the house I found... strange objects, so I persuaded them to come at night, since they would certainly catch him red-handed and they did", Don boasted.

"Is he really guilty or are you just framing him?" Dumah asked.

"I don't see why you doubt me. I'm more surprised at you for not making such an obvious connection", Don retorted.

"So he killed Mr. Anthoine and his wife? What about Lady Dora?" Macaria asked, confused.

"Mr. Anthoine was just a scapegoat that no longer served its use and Lady Dora was just a stupid fat fool who was being used too", Don stated confidently.

"So you know about Lady Dora. Why didn't you kill her?" Dumah asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Lady Dora was possessed."

"Hum..." At that moment, Don's confidence dropped.

"You didn't know? Who hired you?" asked Dumah.

"The mayor's butler. Wasn't he the one who hired you too?" said Don.

"No. Lady Dora did", Dumah replied.

"Why would a demon call an inquisitor?" Don asked. "Who is going to pay you now?"

"Lady Dora must be innocent then. She must have called me in a fit of conscious desperation", Dumah deduced.

"Or maybe the demon wanted to kill an inquisitor" said Macaria, and both stared at her quite perplexed. "What? That must happen."

"I guess, but it is quite a risk for the demon too. Anyway, I solved the case and already got paid. I'm going now. Have a good night, Miss Macaria. I have some free time now, so if you want a more pleasant company tonight, I'm in room 17", Don said, and Dumah glared at him. Macaria just replied with a nod and a feigned smile.

"Is it really solved? It still seems to have so many loose ends" said Macaria, when Don stepped away.

"No way the case is solved, but since I'm not getting paid and the demon was exorcised, I don't really care anymore" Dumah replied, as he watched Don walk in the distance.

Upon arriving at the inn, they went straight to bed, but Macaria struggled to fall asleep as she was busy overthinking about that town's case. However, her mind would get distracted by something else. A familiar noise was coming from outside and even though Dumah forbade her from opening the window at night, she did it anyway. It was finally raining after three dreary years. People ran outside and joyfully let the pouring water fall on them. It was a sensation they did not feel in years. It was like a heavy burden was lifted from the earth and it could finally drink after years of intense thirst. Dumah woke up from all the noise the villagers were making outside. Since the sky was dark from the heavy clouds, Macaria could not get a decent glimpse of his face, but he still reprehended her. He put his mask on and also went to the window to see what was taking place and that was when Macaria realized he was not wearing much.

"I spent almost a thousand in this village with this inn and that overpriced restaurant and did not gain anything, but at least, we got the right demon. Better than nothing, I guess" he said, gazing at the excited people outside who talked loudly and sang jubilantly.

"Doesn't it bother you that no one knows it was us? Or worse, that they think it was Don?" she asked. Unlike him, she was busy looking at the contours of his body. For what she could see, his body was not that damaged and she thought how unlucky he was for having his injury right on his face.

"I guess you have to learn to be altruistic. As an inquisitor, the last thing you want is fame" he replied, returning to his bed.

She sighed. For some reason, the lust she felt before did not disappear. She expected it to stop when the demon was exorcised and be gone with the rain, but it was still present. That and her curiosity to see his face seemed to only grow stronger with each day that passed. She wondered if he felt anything for her and if he was telling the truth about Beatrice. Was it really true that they did not have a serious romantic relationship? But did he love her? And would he reject her for Beatrice? Beatrice was probably one of the most beautiful women Macaria had ever seen and it was unlikely he would prefer her to such an appealing and enticing woman like Beatrice.

"Close the window and just go to bed" he ordered, as he took off his mask to sleep.

In the dark, they could only distinguish the contours of things and of each other. Unspeakable courage overpowered her and, after closing the window, she found the way to his bed and sat on top of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, surprised.

She did not reply, since she did not know what to say and just let her hands do the talking for her. She ran them along his body and found his face, which was smooth; she could not feel any contours of any scar. He did not like her touching his face, so he grabbed her wrists rather aggressively, but she was not intimidated and did not budge, instead she leaned in and kissed him. Without breaking the intense kiss, he rolled her over and ran his hands up her legs, but suddenly stopped.

"Go to your bed" he said faintly.

"Why? Is it because of Beatrice?" she asked.

"No, it is the demon that is making us this way. It takes time to come back to normal", he said, and she did not reply, as she was pensive.

"Is that really true?"

"Yes, they make us do things we wouldn't usually do, without us even noticing" he said, and she nodded.

Macaria returned to her bed, while convincing herself that Dumah was right and what she felt was not real and the next time she would wake up, all the lust would vanish. However, the morning came and nothing seemed to have changed inside of her. The window was open to let the fresh air in. Dumah was dressed in a simple black shirt, which was slightly open. Macaria was still in her bed gazing at him.

"What is your relationship with that Beatrice girl?" Macaria asked, as she could no longer hold herself back.

"s****l" he said bluntly.

"Oh" she gasped in mild surprise.

"She is also a good advisor, I would say."

"Do you love her?" Macaria asked.

"No."

"No?" Macaria was surprised by his answer. How could he not love such a beautiful woman who he had s*x with? She felt confused and an awkward silence filled the room. "Is it because she is not old enough for you?"

"What do you mean? She is five years older than me" he replied.

"Exactly, you only love women above forty" Macaria jested, as a way to change the subject.

"You know, that joke is getting tiring."

"Not for me."

"Why do you even care?"

"I care, because it would be weird if you had a thing for my mother. I saw the way you looked at her."

"Oh my God... How many times do I have to say that I don't want anything with your mother? And also..." he hesitated, this time in a calmer and somber tone. "It's better if we forget the events of last night."

"Is it really?" she said, as she attempted to reveal her breasts to him, but he stopped her.

He noticed through her nightgown that her n*****s were hard and so was he. He ran his hands through the side of her body, her full breasts, her waist, her hips and could not help but to also want her.

"You really grew up well" he muttered. His remark confused her a bit, but she chose to ignore it, as he never answered her questions anyway.

"Why can't you have with me what you have with Beatrice?" she asked.

"We are work partners, we shouldn't mix things" Dumah replied and turned his back on her.

"It's the same with her" she argued.

"It's different. Our partnership will end as soon as your case ends. Moreover, it's the curse that's making us this way. We have to hurry up and get out of here, before something worse happens."

When he got up, she noticed something in his trousers and she put her hand there. When she did that, he felt a mix of relief and ecstasy, like he felt the night before. He did not want her to stop and, by her lustful eyes, she did not intend to. Her lips opened up slightly as if they were hungry for something. She unbuttoned his pants, but at that moment Don appeared.

"Oh my, I almost feel sorry for interrupting" Don jested. He startled them and Macaria suddenly came back to herself and felt embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?" Dumah said, irritated. "Can't you at least knock?"

"I came to say goodbye" Don replied.

"Bye, then."

"You never liked me, but this time you seem really upset about seeing me. You must be really... eager." Dumah rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw annoyed. "Were you about to suck his c**k? I heard you were in a convent. Do you even know how to do it?" Don asked Macaria, but she just got red and did not answer.

"Get out of here" Dumah said threateningly.

"I can teach you" Don said to Macaria and grabbed Dumah's crotch.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Dumah exclaimed, flustered, and pushed him away, before kicking him out of the room.

"Sorry, sorry! So sensitive!" Don was saying, as he got the door slammed on his face.

Dumah sighed and him and Macaria did not talk to each other for a while, as they felt awkward and unsure of themselves. It was better that way, they thought to themselves. They only hoped everything would go away, once they got out of that village.

They were going back to Calandre, where Beatrice worked at the Bawdy Shirina. They needed her help to further decipher Lucero's grimoire, although Macaria suspected Dumah had ulterior motives.

"I actually do feel much better now. Like I've come back to myself, you know? You were right. All of that must have been from the demonic influence" Macaria said on the train and some nearby passengers glanced at her uncomfortably.

"Yeah, say it louder. I don't think people in the last carriage heard you" muttered Dumah, who had his hat down trying to take a nap.

"Sorry. But this is good. We really should pretend nothing ever happened" said Macaria.

"I'm glad you agree."

"Nothing should be mentioned to that Beatrice girl, right?" she asked, and Dumah hesitated.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. Are you afraid that your friend Don may say something to her?"

"Why should I be afraid? Me and Beatrice have nothing. And may I remind you again that the i***t named Don is not my friend. And would you stop being so nosy, for Lord's sake?"

"No need to get upset, I was only doing some small talk. The trip is so long and boring" she complained.

"Then do what I am trying to do and sleep a little" he suggested.

"Or maybe we could go to the bathroom together and finish what we started that night" she said with a provocative smirk on her face.

"Oh! Well, if that is what you want, then..." he stuttered, taken back.

"I was only joking! Calm down" she exclaimed.

"I knew it, I was just kidding too" he said, and she suddenly looked serious at him. "What is it now? Is it my face again? You won't stop until you see it, right?"

"No, because I know that you are lying and I want to know why" she said.

"I'm lying? You saw my face?" he asked.

"No, but I felt it that night. I touched your face with my fingers and it was smooth and I touched it with my lips and... everything was perfectly fine."

Dumah stared at her upset, but still managed to feign a smile. "So that's why you came to me that night? Of course, I should have known. Someone as cold as you wouldn't be easily affected by... what was taking place."

"I was affected!"

"Were you really? Were you not pretending everything, so you could appease your curiosity?"

"You seem upset. Why does it matter if I was pretending or not? Nothing was real anyway, it was all due... to external influence", she argued, trying to avoid anything to do with the word 'demon', as well.

"Fine" he said, putting his hat over his eyes again to sleep.

"Would you have preferred if everything was real?" she asked.

"Let's do what we agreed on and pretend nothing happened" he concluded. She sighed, annoyed and conflicted.

Macaria did not understand why Dumah did not teach her the code written in Lucero's grimoire, so they would not have the need to go back to Calandre. However, he argued that it would take years for her to properly learn the code and they did not have time for that. After all, learning that skill would be useless for her after her father's case was solved.

They arrived before noon. Bawdy Shirina was empty at that time. They found Beatrice at the counter preparing for the day ahead. She seemed quite drowsy and not as well put together as Macaria had first seen her. Since Beatrice worked all night, Macaria assumed she had just woken up and yet she was still statuesque and beautiful with her big green eyes, pale skin and black hair, which was not properly brushed, but the slight wilderness of it made her look even more appealing. The black corset really tightened up the little that she had as a bosom, although her long neck and collarbone were attractive enough on their own.

"I'm glad to see you back, Dumah. This must be Macaria, right? I heard a lot about you" she said. Her voice was deeper and even smoother than Macaria had anticipated. For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off of Beatrice's face.

"Oh, did you? I assume Don stopped by already", Dumah replied and she smirked.

"He arrived an hour ago. He was quite satisfied with himself for solving that village's case", Beatrice said.

"He didn't solve anything, but I'll let it slide this time."

"That is true. He didn't even find the demon. We were the ones who exorcised it" Macaria said, and Beatrice's face went even whiter than usual.

"E... exorcised it?" Beatrice stuttered.

"Yeah, it turns out my temporary partner has some hidden skills. It didn't really solve anything, so I don't know how useful it is", Dumah said.

"What do you mean? The curse on that town was lifted and the possessed victim didn't have to die" retorted Macaria.

"It is as you said during the whole case, she could be guilty. For all we know, when she wakes up, she can very well summon another demon", Dumah argued, and Macaria just sighed, defeated.

"How talented you are" Beatrice complimented her, although it sounded rather forced. "You may want to keep her around, isn't that right Dumah?" Beatrice's question made Macaria stare at her conflicted.

"I prefer to work alone, as you know. Once I find her father, our partnership comes to an end" stated Dumah, and for some reason the tension in Beatrice's face got lifted and she almost smiled, which did not go unnoticed by Macaria.

"So we better start decoding that book. You must be really missing your father, right?" Beatrice said to Macaria.

"How did you know that we had a book for you to decipher?" Macaria asked, and Beatrice and Dumah exchanged suspicious looks.

"Oh..." Beatrice gasped.

"Well, since I told you about Macaria's talents, I think it is fair for her to know about yours" said Dumah, and Beatrice shrugged. "Macaria, Beatrice is kind of a psychic."

"A psychic?"

"Yes, she can do many things that other people can't, like entering people's dreams" Dumah tried to explain.

"So she can enter any person's dreams and just know anything about that person if she wants to?" Macaria asked.

"It's not that simple. She has to have that person's permission first", Dumah said.

"Just like a demon then" Macaria said, and Beatrice was horrified by her comparison.

"No! Of course, not like a demon! How could you say that?!" Beatrice yelled at her, which was unexpected as she seemed always too cool to get that kind of reaction.

"What? Did I say something wrong? Demons also need people's permission to possess them; they often trick people for that goal. You taught me that, Dumah" Macaria argued.

Beatrice looked at Dumah hoping he would defend her and so he did. "People with psychic abilities have been persecuted for centuries because of remarks like those. Regular people tend to be misinformed and accuse psychics without truly understanding them. Beatrice, don't take her seriously. She is just ignorant and new at this. She means no harm."

Beatrice feigned a smile. "Yes, I know. It's just a bit difficult for me to hear such things. I apologize for screaming at you. It was uncalled for."

Both Beatrice and Dumah looked at Macaria as if they were expecting an apology from her too, but she just stayed silent and kept on analyzing Beatrice's every movement and expression.

"We better start with that book, since you are free right now", Dumah said to break the ice, and Beatrice nodded.

"Can I join you?" Macaria asked.

"No, you're just going to distract us. Don't you want us to solve this as quickly as possible? You will only be a nuisance. Go take a walk or something" said Dumah.

Macaria was not pleased with Dumah's rude words, but she did not like feeling like a burden and she already felt that enough on a daily basis since she joined Dumah. She wondered if they were really going to work or if they were going to do something else, as they were so persistent about being alone. Not really knowing the town of Calandre, Macaria planned on wandering off without a destination in mind. She remembered that she only knew Lady Marabel, the witch who lived in the swamp on the outskirts of town and she definitely did not want to go back there and get her boots and dress all muddy again. Then, she remembered her family and how much she wanted to find a phone and call them.

"They can be real jerks, can't they?" said Don, who found Macaria at the inn's exit, while she was daydreaming.

"Oh... It's you..."

He laughed at her dispirited reaction. "I know that we did not have the best start. After all, you were with Dumah, who I imagine did not speak very highly of me."

"No, he certainly did not" Macaria replied.

"Well, you only heard his version. What about we have lunch together and I tell you about my version?" he asked.

Don had two personas: a neat one, which he presented to his costumers; and the other one, which Macaria assumed was his real self. At that moment, he did not have his neat appearance with slick pulled back hair and somber clothes. His blonde hair had a more natural look and he had his ear and eyebrow piercings on and he was not wearing gloves to hide his hand tattoos. It seemed to be the trademark of that kind of people. Beatrice also had ear piercings and one on her nose, as well as tattoos on her arm that Macaria forgot to look at, because she was too focused on her peculiar expressions that she could not read. She was actually surprised that Dumah did not have any tattoos. Maybe he was hiding one under his mask.

"No, thank you" Macaria replied.

"No? Why not? Are you afraid of Dumah? You think he will be jealous? He's right now with Beatrice. I doubt that he is even thinking about you", Don said.

"No. I just don't like you" she said bluntly.

Don laughed again at her honesty. "How upfront you are. I enjoy that. But won't you give me a second chance? It's not like you have anything better to do, do you?"

"I guess that is true."

Don guided her to a nearby restaurant, which did not look appealing at all, but at least the hosts were friendly enough and seemed to know Don well. The appearance of the restaurant was rather eerie and Macaria was pretty sure the kitchen was infested by cockroaches. It was pretty dark, the tables and chairs were in dark wood and it had quite a imposing stone fireplace at the end. She could tell that place used to be grand once upon a time, but it did start to fall apart many years ago. Surprisingly, it was packed, there were at least two dozen people sitting at the tables and when Macaria looked at the dirty menu, she understood why. The meals were pretty cheap and so was the red tablecloth, which was shredded.

"I must admit I'm very curious about you", Don confessed.

"Why? We already told you that I'm only working with Dumah, because of a case" she replied.

"Yes, sure, but that is not reason enough for Dumah to take people along with him. There must be something about you" he said.

"Well, there is not.”

"Hum..." he gasped, doubtful of her response. ”We all have a sort of special ability, you see? Beatrice is a psychic and Dumah is a sort of seer" said Don.

"A seer?!" she exclaimed.

"He didn't tell you? He has dreams about the future or about certain cases. They are usually really strange and only make full sense when the event he dreamt about is over. Do you know what I mean?"

"So it's not that useful and can be quite misleading" concluded Macaria.

Don laughed. "Exactly, that is why he tends not to trust his own ability. It is quite pitiful really."

"And what is your ability?" Macaria asked.

"I come from a family of banshees. My sister is a banshee and I am one too", he replied. His sister was the blonde receptionist at Bawdy Shirina and her name was Belinda. "That was how I knew about Anthoine's death. I sensed it. But you can't tell anyone about us. It's not really understood by the general public, you know?"

Macaria was pensive. "So people are not just born with it, they inherit it?"

"Not always, but most times it is inherited, yes. Why? Do you know anyone like that? Do you have any hidden skills aside from knowing how to perform exorcisms?" he asked with eager eyes.

"No, I was just curious."

"It's nothing special to tell you the truth. Beatrice needs the person's permission to enter the dream, which most people don't give. Dumah has premonitory dreams that are far from being clear or helpful. And I can sense death nearby, which is not that better either. I can't help the victim, the person is already dead, by the time I sense it, but I did find a few killers like that, so I can't complain that much" he said.

"It's better to have some ability than to not have them at all, though" Macaria said.

"Is it? If you have one, you are both susceptible to demons and the general public. You can never be yourself freely."

That conversation made Macaria think if perhaps Dumah actually took the wrong sister. According to Don, Dumah had visions. Maybe he knew someone with special abilities lived in the Delacroix household, but was not sure who had said abilities. Moreover, he did seem rather shocked when he found out that Lady Dora would take time to recover from the exorcism. There was someone who could make her recover quicker and that was Macaria's sister, Benedicta. Benedicta did have a special ability, but the entire family kept it a secret and Macaria intended to keep it.

After their meal, Macaria and Don parted ways and she went back to the inn, since she did not know where else to go. There, she found Beatrice alone cleaning up at the counter. From the two empty plates on the counter, Macaria assumed she and Dumah also had their lunch.

"Oh, hello Macaria. Did you already have lunch?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes, I did and actually it's a good thing that I find you alone" Macaria replied.

"How so?"

"Listen, I don't know what Don said about me and Dumah, but there's nothing for you to worry about. There's nothing between me and Dumah" said Macaria.

Beatrice laughed. "How silly. I was not worried about you at all."

Macaria did not appreciate her patronizing tone at all and found her rather rude, yet Macaria still managed to feign a smile. "So who really is Dumah?"

"Dumah? I get why you ask that, since he is pretty quiet", Beatrice replied, and at that moment Dumah appeared from the door behind the counter.

"Where were you? If you are looking for food, there is nothing left for you" said Dumah, and Macaria turned up her nose.

"Oh, don't worry, she already had lunch. She was asking me about you and I pointed out how quiet you are", Beatrice explained.

"Honestly, I thought he would be quieter than what he turned out to be. Sometimes, he is even a bit too chatty" said Macaria.

"Really? He is usually very quiet. I guess he must feel comfortable around you" said Beatrice.

"How darling of him" retorted Macaria with obvious irony, and Dumah glared at her.

"Are you two done talking about me? We had a break, but it's time to get back to work, Beatrice. And you" he said to Macaria. "You can go back to wherever you were before."

"I can't. Don went to take care of his business too", Macaria replied.

"You were with Don?!" he exclaimed, almost disgusted. "Unbelievable... Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?"

"Why do you care? There's nothing better to do around here", Macaria argued.

"Yes, let her be. Don is not that bad. You are starting to sound a bit jealous", Beatrice teased, and this time Dumah turned up his nose at her.

"Fine, do what you like. In fact, stay in his room too, for all I care" said Dumah, and Macaria rolled her eyes at his childish statement. "And I don't know if you still care, but there's a phone in the reception room, in case you still want to speak with your family."

"Oh really?"