Demon Boyfriend: Beleth (complete)

There’s an old church downtown, near where I work. For the longest time I assumed it was abandoned, but lately the old place has life in it. I’ve noticed people coming and going at all hours, and repairs have been done when I haven’t been looking - a new roof, a new steeple, fresh paint. 

The small used bookstore I work at has seen an influx of business as well. Members of the church’s congregation have been coming in regularly, which has led to our religious section growing by leaps and bounds. I had to reorganize and move around shelves in order to accomodate the need.

The members often talk about the pastor of their church. They call him Reverend Beleth, or simply address him as Reverend. I see him only in passing, standing on the stoop, greeting people as they come in. He’s tall, with a willowy and elegant frame. His every move seems like flowing water, so perfect and fluid. I’ve not seen his face, although I have taken note of his long hair. He doesn’t seem like the sort to be a pastor, save for one in a comic book or romance novel. 

In any case, aside from the veracity and devotion of the members, the place has caused no issues. In fact, their charity work has put them on the map. Reverend Beleth has taken this abandoned church and turned it into a religious hotspot in such a short amount of time, my coworkers and I often joke about them using witchcraft. 

One afternoon I am able to head home early. I’m excited to do it, because the week so far has been a pretty shitty one. We’ve been dealing with a customer who is quite infatuated with the girls who work here, me included. He would come in and follow us around, and despite the warnings he kept coming back. We had to call the cops, and it was a huge mess. Ever since, the girls and I have been on edge. With such raw nerves, it’s easy for the little things to get in. I’m sensitive as it is, but even a ball of yarn could send me into tears at this point.

I’ve been having issues with my car - nothing new, it was always a thing - and as I’m passing by the church my car starts to stall. It sputters and bucks, so I just turn into the church parking lot. As I come to a stop, I smell something awful coming from under the hood, so I turn off everything and immediately jump out.

I stand there for a moment, breathing in deep as I try to tell myself this is normal, this car is old! Then I feel the first few splatters of rain. I gasp in alarm and look up right as the floodgates open.

I run towards the doors of the church, standing under the awning as the rain comes down. I’m already soaked, and the chill in the air feels worse somehow as I stand shivering on the stoop. A ball of yarn would have been better, I think, as I started to cry there in the open.

The doors behind me open, and out steps a dark-clad figure. “Oh, my.” His voice is like honey. “Poor thing, are you all right?”

I hiccup as I try to respond.

“Now, now, this won’t do.” He reaches out towards me. “Come inside, it’s a terrible mess out here. Come get warm and enjoy the music. The choir is only practicing, but it is beautiful all the same.”

I sniffle and rub my eyes as his long, elegant fingers take my other hand. “No. No really,” I whimper. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be…” I hiccup. “I’ll be fine!”

Thunder rumbles like a threat in the distance. “You so sure?” he asks gently. “Come now, I’ve got hot coffee inside, and the choir has food for after practice we can nibble on.”

I look up at him, seeing him for the first time. He’s very lean, almost gaunt, but he has a beauty that is unmatched. I can see now why the congregation is so over the moon for him. I certainly wouldn’t mind having this to look at while I pray. 

“Come along,” he chuckles. “I promise, there is nothing in here to bite you.” He takes my hand as he leads me through the doors. We stand in a small foyer, and through one set of doors I can hear the choir practicing. Beleth takes me through another door, into a common room, where there are boxes of fried chicken waiting for the choir members. 

“Go ahead and sit down.” Beleth motions to a table. “I’ll get you that coffee.”

“No, really, you don’t…” I trail off as he goes to the far corner where the coffee pot is. I sit for a moment, sniffling as I take off my glasses and wipe them. As I place the thick frames back on, I glance towards the stained-glass window. It’s made of many small diamonds of colored glass, forming a picture I couldn’t quite make out. 

I duck my head again, looking at my feet. Outside thunder rumbles, and I get a knot in my stomach as I wonder how the hell I am going to get home. If my car is busted, or about to explode, I’m sunk.

“There, now.” Beleth returns with the coffee. “Now, I took a wild guess as to how you like your coffee, but I am usually very good at this.” He sets the cup down before me. “Three sugars and three creams?”

I stare at him in disbelief. “Yeah,” I stammer. “That’s… that’s dead-on.” I take the coffee cup and look into it. “How did you…?”

Beleth chuckles, and I can certainly see the appeal he has with his congregation. Despite how thin and frail he appears, his beauty shines like sunlight through stained glass. “It’s a gift.”

I glance back down, unable to look at him directly for too long. “Thank you. I’m Madeline, by the way. Mad, for short.”

“You can call me Beleth if you like, Ms. Mad,” he says. “Now, tell me - what brings you like a stray kitten to my stoop?”

I sip the coffee, testing the waters in a way. Then I take a deep breath and sigh out loud. “It’s been a week,” I murmur. “Sort of a whole domino effect until today.” I glance at him again, then quickly look away. “My car isn’t doing well, and I had to pull into your parking lot.”

Beleth nods. “Then the rain, then the thunder, then the tears.” He smiles sympathetically. “I am so sorry for your week.”

I’m not sure why, but I’m having a hard time believing his sincerity. He’s beautiful, sure, but there seems to be something lurking under that smile of his. Not to mention that his eyes seem strange. I am not sure how to put my finger on it, but when I look directly into his eyes, I see a faint shimmer over them, as if he’s wearing odd contacts.

“Mind if I ask if you have a current church home?” Beleth’s voice is soft and sweet, which makes me feel like he’s putting on an act.

“Sorry to say this, but I really don’t trust the whole organized religion thing.” I see his expression hasn’t shifted at all in response to this. “My family was extremely religious, and it sort of turned me off it.” I shake my head, expecting the same spiel from him that I’ve gotten before.

“Shame when that happens,” Beleth replies. He lays his hand on his chest. “I’ve been there.”

I chuckle. “I find that hard to believe.”

“No, it’s true,” he says with a smile. “When I was much younger I battled with it. Quite violently too.”

Something about this seems more sincere to me. I see his smile falter for a moment. 

“It was an all-out rebellion. But I learned I had to fall in order to rise back up.” He takes a small cross from his pocket and offers it to me. “Here, take one.”

I shake my head. “No, thank you. Give it to someone who might actually need it.”

The strange sheen in his eyes flickers again. “No, I insist.” He extends the cross a little bit more. “Even if you don’t appreciate it, I’d still like you to have it as a reminder.”

I look at his fingers, then back to him. “It’s very nice, thank you, but I really don’t want it. I have reminders of religion, don’t worry about that.”

Beleth’s smile wavers, and his fingers holding the cross press down until the knuckles turn white. He covers it all with a soft laugh as he withdraws his hand. “I see.” He sets the cross down on the tabletop. “Too bad, then.”

Once the rain stops, Beleth has one of the choir members look at my car. The man gives me his card after tooling under the hood and gives me a few instructions. At least I will be able to get home. As I get into the car to drive away, I notice the small metal cross on the seat. Frowning at it, I toss my coat over it and drive away.

I sigh as soon as I get to my apartment. My roommate is still at work or has just left, so I’m alone. I sigh heavily as I sit down on the sofa. I’ve been feeling tired and weak, and all this stress isn’t helping my chronic fatigue at all. I start to take off my sweater, and as I do that stupid metal cross falls out and clinks onto the floor.

I scoff. “Stupid fucking thing.” As I reach down to pick it up, there is a flash before my eyes. I see his eyes, or at least, the eyes that hide behind the shimmer. They have elliptical pupils, like a goat’s eyes, and are a toxic shade of green.

I drop the cross back to the floor, and my body feels even weaker than before. I swoon and fall over, limp and horrible contorted, and pass out there on the sofa. 

I start to dream almost immediately. I’m wandering along a dark path covered in moss. Stones descend from the sky before me to form the path, and when they are behind me they rise up and disappear again. I come to stand before two wide doors that swing open, and the rush of air from them nearly knocks me over. As I regain my balance, I see a long line of pews leading up to an altar. Standing with his back turned to me is Reverend Beleth.

I walk slowly towards him, afraid of turning to face to a path that no longer exists. The closer I get, the whiter Beleth’s hair appears. The whiteness gradually bleeds from his scalp all the way to the tips. 

“Ah, there you are,” he whispers.  He drops his hands from their clasped position and lets them fall to his sides. I see two hands on either side, but this is a dream. “I’ve been waiting on you.” He rises up, but he hasn’t been kneeling. He slowly turns to face me, and now his features look sharp and catlike. Three horns grow from his temples and climb the contours of his skull before curling upwards at the tips. His goatlike eyes gleam in the shadows and candlelight reflects in them. He stretches out two right hands to me.

“If you let me love you, I will bless you,” he whispers.

I stumble backwards, hitting the closed doors. Beleth approaches me. His form is gaunt and bony - everything about him is bleached white. Behind him, the organ starts playing, and its deep, melodious tune fills the air around us, creating a wind that whips our hair. 

“Beautiful thing that you are,” he whispers. “Love me, worship me, and I will be your slave.” He crosses his hands, all four of them, over his chest.

“Why?” I shout over the sound of the organ. “You have dozens of followers in that church! Why bother me when you can have anyone?”

Beleth extends his four hands to me, and he touches me. His fingers brush along my skin and run through my hair. I shiver as they stroke down my neck and then onto my bare shoulders. The bony things brush my lips, and I feel a flood of warmth through my body. My heart is hammering fast, and I feel strangely excited. I grab two of his wrists and push them away from me.

“Give yourself over to me,” he breathes. “And I will give you my passion.”

“I don’t need that!” I yell at him. Around us diamonds of glass shatter, revealing a pattern in the darkness - a circle with a strange symbol inside.

Beleth grimaces and lurches forward. “You need me! Just as I need you!”

“But I don’t want it!” I roar at him.

Beleth’s eyes grow wide as the glass around us continues to break. He grins widely. “A challenge it is.”

I gasp in alarm, sitting up off the sofa. My body is one giant ache from the way I was lying all night. As I try to get up and walk, I notice the small metal cross. It’s lying on the table now, rather than the floor. I scowl at it and chuck it out the window. 

“I said I don’t want it!” I yell outside, staring at a cat hanging out on the fire escape.

I go to work that afternoon feeling terrible, but luckily I have a project to keep my mind off of it. I feel exhausted, and almost want to go home, but I know if I don’t catalog these new donations, no one will. 

As I am working there is a knock at the office door. Looking up, I see Beleth standing there. His charming smile is gone, and his expression is all too serious. I bristle at the sight of him, remembering the gaunt, demonic figure in my dreams. 

“We need to talk,” Beleth says. He holds up the small cross before me, and I suck my breath in. 

“No, we do not.” I stand up from my seat. “Please, get out of here, now. I don’t wish to talk to you or anyone from your church again. Thank you for your help yesterday, but that does not excuse your behaviour.”

Beleth looks over me. “Why does it not work? In my lifetime I have met many who can fight it, but they all lose eventually.” The cross in his hand loses its metallic sheen and turns black. “But even in your dreams, you fought me. It is usually there that people succumb.”

I scowl at him and reach for the letter opener on the desk.

“No need to reach for weapons.” He moves his arm from behind his back to show me the letter opener is in his hands. “I simply ask for a polite conversation.”

“First, tell me who you really are,” I grumble. “I didn’t trust you yesterday, and I really don’t trust you now.”

Beleth sighs heavily and sits down. “Beleth is my name.” His long fingers gesture down his chest. “That was no lie.” He laughs to himself. “Sometimes, telling the truth is the best cover of all.”

I scowl at him. “You’re no pastor, though.”

He chuckles. “I am that as well - on paper, anyway.” He crosses his long legs. “Do you have anything I could nibble on? I am deathly hungry.”

I take in a steadying breath. “Not on me, if that is what you’re getting at.”

Beleth throws his head back and laughs uproariously. I step aside, glaring at him as I prepare myself to run. He grins up at me, his eyes that toxic green with oblong pupils. I suck in a shocked breath. I feel lightheaded, sick to my stomach, and almost too weak to stand.

Beleth stands up, towering over me. “You and I seem to suffer a similar affliction.” He sighs as he looks down at me. “A constant state of exhaustion. Perhaps that is why I cannot reach you.”

I steady myself, standing erect again as I grasp hold of the wall. “You should leave,” I grunt. “I have work to do and you have souls to harvest.”

“You aren’t going to try and stop me?” he chuckles.

“What’s the point? These people go to you willingly. If it makes them happy, let them have cake.” I sit back down in my seat as my head starts to spin.

Beleth kneels beside me. “I have a feeling the two of us will be meeting again.”

I glare at him. “I really hope not.”

Beleth smiles. His fingers brush against my cheek and over the tip of my ear as he tucks my hair away. “Strange creature though you are, I believe the two of us can help one another.” He stands back up. “Until the blessed day we meet again.” He turns and leaves, leaving me sitting there with blush creeping across my cheeks.

I let out a breath and glance back at my work. I’m not sure what he is. I’m not even sure I want to delve further to find out. But he is still beautiful. And despite the fact that I should know better, I am drawn to him, whatever he is.