The Chamber of Sins

The boy didn’t answer; he withdrew his hands from hers and showed her the sofa.

“Sit down, Lionette,” Robert said and brushed the place next to him softly.

The woman followed his instructions, her eyes inquiring.

“Margo had stolen the Book of Sins,” the boy blurted. Lionette pulled her brows together in a scowl. The woman’s eyes went emotionless in a second; her mind protected itself by rejecting the catastrophic news. A cynical smile appeared in the corner of her mouth, and her lips departed. She said something, or she thought she did, as not even a whisper got out of her throat. A beam of light grew in front of her, exactly where Robert’s face was, and exploded into her face with nuclear power.

Lionette woke up later. People gathered around the bed, watching her worryingly. She stared at them, her eyes empty, and her face astonished because she knew nobody.

“She is awake,” somebody cried, the others reacting by bending over her. The woman was lying in the guest room of the Order’s house, her mind wandering somewhere else, in an era where she was with her husband and her daughter and granddaughter, laughing in front of a hot tea and chocolate. Lionette smiled and got to rise on her feet. The floor felt slippy, and she balanced.

“Lionette?” A boyish voice said her name.

Li-o-nette, her mind repeated.

“It’s me, Robert. Are you alright?”

She nodded, unsure of the alright meaning.

“You passed away,” the boy said, his voice scratching on her brain.

“Take this.” A glass of water popped in front of her eyes.

After drinking it, she recognised the shaded-orange tapestry chosen by her and Stephionee when they first move into that house. The last conversation came to her mind, and her trembling hand released the glass on the floor. It tumbled with a dry sound and stopped at the edge of the rug.

“Margo,” she whimpered.

“It’s alright, is going to be alright,” the boy’s palm patted her shaking hands.

Retreated to the next room, Stephionee, Robert, and Lefebvre planned the attack on the demon’s pit. Stephionee peeked at the door from time to time.

“Where is Dubois?”

“He had something to do,” Lefebvre said.

“Now? When demons are invading us and all the people went crazy?”

Lefebvre shrugged as he concentrated on drawing red circles representing the fighting outposts. Robert threw a look at the woman and exited the room. The Lionette’s room door was ajar, a slight rustle coming from inside. Robert peeped into the room and saw the Debois’ body leaned over the oak desk. He was going through some papers when Robert entered the room.

“What are you doing here?” the boy asked.

“Nothing,” the man responded.

“She is asleep. Where have you been?” the boy continued his interrogation.

“Had some business to solve,” Debois responded, aware of the boy’s glare.

“Still didn’t answer. What are you doing here?”

Dubois turned his face to Robert, his eyebrows raised. “Do we have a problem?”

“We might if you don’t answer my question.”

Dubois smirked and pushed the drawing back into his place.

“Found it,” he said and dangled some car keys in front of Robert. “We are going to need a van.” The man glared straight into Robert’s without blinking. He passed him quickly, his body all stiff. Robert exhaled nervously.

Loudly screams made the boy gape through the window. It was a commotion outside in the street and Robert ran out. People were running chaotically, like being chased by something terrifying. A loud noise occurred, and Robert stared in its direction. Two cars got into an accident, a steam of air getting out from under one car’s hood.

He strode to the accident place to give first aid to the victims. He made two steps and stopped as he saw demons devouring people’s hearts right there in the middle of the street. Everything was covered in red, the thick dark blood flowing from the victims’ bodies and painting the asphalt in grotesque shadows.

Somewhere on his right, some people were leaned over a deformed red mass.

Desperate cries were coming from the neighbouring houses, terrifying people running towards the boy, followed closely by a horde of demons. Stephionee appeared behind the boy’s back.

“Take this,” she said, handing him over a small box.

Still watching what was happening on the street, the boy whispered, “This is hell, unleashed.” He sighed as he peered into the girl’s eyes.

“What is this?”

“It’s the angels’ shield,” Stephionee responded. “Just help me with it.”

“How this works?”

“At my sign, press this little button,” the girl said, showing him a small round pin. As the girl crossed the street, a deformed form followed her.

“Watch it!” The boy yelled and ran towards her. The girl took out her sword and slid down the creature’s throat; a terrifying roar followed. Both Robert and Stephionee watched a large group of people fighting something. They left on the pavement a human body, lying in a puddle of blood, mutilated by the dark-minded fellows. As hearing the commotion, the group started moving in their direction.

Stephionee sent Robert to the other side of the road; her eyes were focused on both enemies - the demons seeking human blood and the humans driven by the world's sins.

Precisely when Robert arrived on the other side, Stephionee waved at him.

“Push it!” She yelled, and he pushed it.

A plain wall of energy reunited the two devices. It looked like a concrete wall, a dam against the evil stretching along the width of the street. The first person got thru it. As he got to the other side, he came as an altogether another person. The man looked around like coming from a long trance, not knowing what happened to him. At least two days vanished from his mind. Then the demons got through. They entered the pure energy wall, little sparkles of essence filling the air on the other side. Robert smiled and signalled Stephionee.

A loud horn sounded behind them, and Dubois riding a dark-grey tuned truck loomed from behind an adjacent street. The car was equipped with a seven-barrelled weapon, orientated directly to Angel’s shield.

Robert took a moment to process what he was about to do and ran towards the vehicle.

“Stop!” the boy cried and remained firmly in front of the running car. Dubois didn’t seem to be impressed by the boy’s determination. The arm fired in the shield's direction. The boy dogged the bullets at the last moment by throwing himself to the ground. Robert swore the man and looked for Stephionee. The girl was glaring at the working shield. She looked terrified, and Robert realised why she was frightened.

The shield destroyed only the lower caste’s demons; the powerful ones were getting through it easily. The bullets that Dubois aimed were for those creatures, dissipating them in a sec.

Robert stood on the cold concrete until Debois arrived in front of him.

“Are you going to stay there all day, or are you going to help me with those?”