Hansel & Gretel-The Twin Demon Hunters

Chapter 3

It was dark when he arrived; gnarled trees hung low over the baronial church, creaking ominously in the howling winds. The heavy oak doors broke open, echoing around the empty church. The moonlight shone through the heavily cracked stained-glass windows, casting an eerie glow onto the dusty alter. Thick cobwebs hung on every surface and his footsteps sounded deafening on the cold stone floor. The church was at quite a distance from the locality and the villages. The horse that Hansel was riding was tired and snorting frequently, telling that he was tired.

“We are there boy, just a few paces more and then you can have your rest and food,” he soothed the steed.

Being a succubus had its own advantages. They could communicate with all the animals and understand their emotions. It could come in handy sometimes. Just like now Hansel knew that he needed to tie off his steed some where it could graze. The church probably had a shed at the back but he needed to report to the Father as soon as possible. He was already quite late.

9 o'clock. The old church bells rang out into the darkness, sending a flock of pigeons into disarray, cooing and flapping violently away from the aged building. Each slow chime echoed through the cavernous inner hall, reverberating off the ancient stone, bouncing between each red velvet lined pew and finally laying to rest upon the altar.

The steed neighed and Hansel could hear that faint sound although that should not have been possible but he could not help the demonic hearing. He looked up at the stained windows with cracked glasses and the dark gloomy church. This was not at all what he had expected in this age. This was supposed to be the era of darkness when people had started coming back to faith and the churches were in the maximum glory with the priests living in the lap of luxury. But he could find no sign of the same in this dilapidated House of God.

He reached the altar and found that the cross with the figurine of Jesus Christ was hanging from a tilted hook. This is remarkably depressing.

“Hello….. Is anyone there?” asked Hansel out loud. His voice echoing through the entire empty expanse of the hall.

There was no sound except that of his own voice ringing back in his own ears. Finally as the room went darker and the candles kept burning as dimly as they were Hansel could hear the faint sound of footsteps coming from the back on the floors of stone. He went in that direction and found a small frail man coming out with a small candle stand in his hand.

“Hello there….” Said Hansel as he greeted the old man but then recalled that he was back in time for almost six centuries and his language was absolutely modern. The old man was probably hard of hearing and did not say anything as he came closer and then put up the candle. He saw Hansel’s face and took in his collar and the dark heavy cassock and smiled at him drily.

Hansel took his hand which was free and caught hold of it with both his hand and kissed it and then placed it on both his eyelids as a mark of reverence.

“Bless you Son. The Lord be with you, my child,” said the old man in a soft voice.

“Apologies Father for coming so late at this hour but I seemed to have lost my way in the woods and then in the vale,” said Hansel as the priest kept the candle on a nearby pew giving a slight relief from the darkness.

“No worries, my Son. The Lord has his plans decided for each one of us. If you had lost your way then there must have been some reason behind that. Nothing is in vain dear boy…Come now, have a seat,” said the old priest as Hansel followed him quietly with his head bowed.

“Father, it pains me to ask you this but do people not flock anymore to hear the sermons and listen to the goodwill of the God and stories about his Son?” asked Hansel.

“No no…they do not. People have turned away from God and they have lost their faith in the pleasures of body. They do not search for their soul anymore, but we must all be patient,” said the man with a sigh.

“But that is not at all how this should be at all Father. People ought to understand that they have strayed away from the path. It pains me to say that the house of our Lord is in such disrepair. What about the knights and the nobles of the region? Are they blind to the plight of the common people?” asked Hansel in a loud voice. His voice boomed out through the chuch once more and the bats flew away over their heads making both the men duck down.

“I understand your pain Son. You are here to serve the Lord and you want to do that by serving the people but the people also need to be willing to be served,” said the older man as he proceeded through a door at the corner of the church.” But patience is a virtue and we have to be patient to pass through the really tough times and such is the situation now.”

“But Father, before I came here I heard in the village I was passing by that there has been some abnormal behavior in some women in the outlying villages. And I also heard that they were probably because of some demonic activity. Do you think that we should go and help spread the word of the Lord rather than waiting for them to come to us?” asked Hansel as he followed the priest in the inner sanctuary of the church probably towards their quarters.

“That is a good thing you are saying my son. Probably that is the reason you lost the way so that the Lord himself could enlighten the path before you. I shall go with you and bless the villagers. I am now so old that it is very difficult for me to travel but now you are here I think we shall again bathe in the Holy Light once more,” said the priest.

“I did not get your name son. What should I call you by?” asked the older priest and Hansel smiled inwardly at the question.

“Father Hans,” replied Hansel. He did not like getting away too much from the name that was given by his mother.

“That is not what we see or come across normally. Any reason why you chose this name Father?” enquired the priest.

“I did not think about it in that way but there have been so many Johns, Lukes and Simons with me that I felt better to stick a bit out of the crowd. I was reprimanded severely for my choice but I stuck with it. Probably it is close to my heart since it was the name of my father whom I lost at a very young age. After that it was the path of the Lord that saved me and my sister from utter ruin and damnation,” said Hansel in a genuine voice although that was not even half of the truth.

“I am very sorry to hear about that, my child. You have been tested quite hard at a very tender age. That is the reason that the light of the Lord burns so brightly in your heart and you are so passionate about the cause of our church. I am really glad that you found the Lord even at the worst times of your life,” said the priest as they finally came upon a small room.

Hansel looked at the room and found that it was a tiny cell with a sparse bed and it was not clean at all. The cobwebs were hanging from the roof and there was a small window at the top of the room with bars. It did not look much different from a prisoner’s cell. It was a good thing that he could not be bound within spaces and he had that control over his own body.

“It is not much but it is all that we can provide at this moment. I am not sure that we could have done better even with any help from the knights or the Lords..” said the priest, as he smiled wanly at the younger man.

“It is all that anyone can need Father. I cannot want for anything more,” said Hansel as he entered the room and lit the old candle from the candle in the old priest’s hand.

“I shall leave you then, for prayer and rest. It is quite late and you have travelled a long way to come here,” said the old priest.

Hansel did not feel like say anything more and bid the older priest good night. It was a situation that he had to make best of and he could not help but make the rumours that he had said to the priest true. So of course it was only natural that he had to show his presence in the outlying villages in his original form.

He retired to his room and started removing his cassock and clothes. He did not have much time and just hoped that his presence inside the rooms of the women in his original form enticing them would be more than enough to strike fear in their hearts and create a wide-spread panic all over in the villages. After all these were the news that ran the fastest.

As Hansel came to his original form he felt at peace with himself. Wearing the skin of a human for such a long time had made him itchy. It was like an itch which was spread all over but he could not tend to it. His senses were much stronger than any normal mortal because of his demonic form and so was his speed. He just hoped that his sister did not summon him in a pentagram tonight because if she did it would be the end of all things.

Hansel materialized outside the cell and landed on soft grass and then he closed his eyes and smelled if there were any fertile women nearby who were currently in heat. And there was. It was like the scent of a musk deer in the forest which pulled him towards that particular home.

Hansel disappeared once again and then appeared in the place where that woman was there. It was a small hut inside the forest with lots of vegetation and leaves and other roots hanging for the sake of protection from evil spirits and dark forces but those things never deterred him since he had the blood of a human male running in his veins as well. There was someone inside the cottage who was in considerable heat without her being aware of the same.

Hansel pushed the door open with a creak and entered in steps which could not be heard except the occasional flick of his thick forked tail. He stood there looking at the woman who was there lying down and moving and tossing and turning from one side to the other like there was something wrong with the bed. But it was not what she wanted. She was dreaming and Hansel could see her dreams. She was dreaming of a meadow land where she was running fast with the wind blowing in her hair amongst the sheaths of cornfields and there was someone who was chasing her. Probably someone she liked.

Hansel chuckled with his fangs bared. This was the perfect time to sink his teeth in his prey.