"So basically… I'm Satan?" Renato said in a low voice, horror in his eyes.
Clara smiled without taking her eyes off the road glowing under the first light of dawn.
"You're not Satan."
"You heard what that psychic said! A monster chained with golden shackles inside a cell! Sounds like Satan to me!"
"First: Satan isn't imprisoned. He's perfectly comfortable sitting on a throne made of Cesium-137 and emeralds. Second: he's not a monster. He's the most beautiful thing in all creation. And third: a psychic's visions aren't always literal. Sometimes they need interpretation."
"But she died! Something killed her when she looked at me, didn't it? And it killed all those people in the church too!"
"Yes."
"Then whatever she saw could've been some kind of monster."
The succubus sighed.
"Speculating won't help. We'll figure it all out in time. One way or another."
"Damn it. Vampires exist!"
"You're still stuck on that? If vampires shook you that much, wait until you see the capelobos."
"Tell me they don't sparkle in the sun."
"No. They burn to ashes. As they should."
"Pull over at a liquor store, please. I need a drink. Alcohol helps process information."
"You're underage," she said with a small smile at the corner of her lips.
"For a demon, you're awfully fond of following the law."
"There's a liquor store right there. What are you buying?"
"Wine, I guess."
Clara pulled over and grabbed her Bvlgari purse. She took out some bills and handed them to him.
"Get whiskey too. Old Parr is fine."
"Alright."
He took the money and stepped out of the car. A few men nearby stared at him strangely.
Yeah, assholes. I'm riding in this Camaro. Sweet, right? he thought.
He walked up to the metal bars where customers were served.
"Yes?" the friendly clerk said.
"I'd like a bottle of Old Parr and a wine… that one over there will do."
That was when he noticed the woman staring at him oddly, frowning slightly. It looked like she wanted to say something.
"Oh, sure. I'll get that for you."
Some of the other customers were staring too.
Probably not because of the Camaro, he thought. Do I have something on my face?
One of the customers pulled out his phone and started filming him.
Renato felt irritation rise.
I'm not your mom in bed for you to start filming like that.
He grabbed the bottles and returned to the car.
"Is there something on my face?" he asked Clara once they were back on the road.
She looked at him seriously.
"There is."
"What?"
"Ugly."
"Damn demon!"
As soon as they arrived at his house, Renato dropped the drinks on the table and went straight to the bathroom. He was exhausted—physically and mentally. A hot shower was the only thing on his mind.
He passed through his bedroom, grabbed a towel, and slung it over his shoulder. Distracted, he opened the bathroom door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him.
He walked toward the shower.
That was when he saw, through the translucent frosted glass, two female silhouettes.
The texture of the glass blurred the details, but the shapes of their naked bodies were unmistakable. The taller one was scrubbing her long black hair with shampoo; the other was rubbing soap across her body.
In complete silence, Renato turned on his heels.
Just as he reached for the doorknob, he heard a key turn in the lock.
He tried the knob.
Locked.
He heard Clara's mischievous giggle outside.
"Hmmm? I think someone's knocking," Jéssica said from inside the shower. "Someone's there! We'll be out in a minute!"
"Yeah! We won't take long!" Mical added.
Renato, hiding behind a small cabinet full of toiletries, pulled out his phone and texted Clara on TalksApp.
"What do you think you're doing? Unlock the door!"
"It's a social experiment, so no."
"What do you mean no? If they see me here they'll think I was spying! They might even call the police! They'll think I'm a pervert."
"Don't be ridiculous :) Those girls were raised in the Priory of the Watchman's Cross. They'd never call the police. If they got really angry, they'd probably prefer burning you alive at the stake."
"Oh great! That makes it so much better! Please open the door :("
"Nope."
"You're an evil bitch, you know that?"
"I know."
"Hey, Jés, this electric shower is actually pretty useful, isn't it?" Mical said while rinsing the soap from her skin. "You don't need to heat water over a fire!"
"I-I think so too! The outside world actually has some nice things!"
"Why are you blushing, sister? What were you thinking about when you said 'nice things'?"
"That's none of your business, you brat!"
"Hmmm… what do you think about Renato, Jés?"
"Renato? What do you mean? I think he's a little strange, but…"
"But?"
"Nothing. Just strange!"
They're talking crap about me right to my face, Renato thought indignantly.
"Well… I think he's kinda cute…"
Renato immediately sharpened his hearing.
"You're too young to think about things like that, Mica."
"B-but I'm the same age you were when you secretly dated that boy! So you shouldn't treat me like that!"
Jéssica sighed.
"Where do you want the smack, sister?"
"T-that's not fair!"
Renato had remained silent all that time.
But sometimes human nature betrays us.
The shower wasn't the only reason he'd come to the bathroom, and since certain bodily needs had been delayed, his stomach began to complain.
And from that complaint came a new danger.
He held it as long as he could, but like someone trying to plug a water leak with a finger, something always escapes.
Flatulence is no different.
"I think I heard something," Jéssica said, alert.
"Ugh, sister! Your farts are getting worse!"
"Hey! That wasn't me!"
Seeing them on edge, Renato tried to squeeze deeper into his hiding spot behind the cabinet. But in his nervousness, his movement was too sudden.
His little toe smashed against the corner of the cabinet.
Pain shot through his body like an electric shock.
Renato mentally cursed every swear word he knew.
"There's definitely someone in here!" Jéssica shouted. "C-come out! You spying ghost!"
"Ghost?" Mical started trembling.
"Yes," Jéssica said darkly. "I heard that out here in the outside world, far from the Priory's protections, there are all kinds of strange and demonic things. Ghosts!"
"I-if it really is something like that, we need our backpack! Our stuff is in there…"
"Right! I'll get it! Let's exorcise a ghost!"
Jéssica opened the shower door.
She looked down and saw the shadow of a foot behind the cabinet.
She sighed in relief that it wasn't a ghost.
But she was still extremely, extremely angry.
"I can see you!"
"I-it's not what it looks like," Renato said with a trembling voice, stepping out with his hands raised.
Her hand came in slow motion.
As the air moved through her fingers, the palm seemed to glow faintly—warmly.
The slap was so powerful it felt like time froze in fear.
Renato felt the burning on his cheek.
Then everything went black.
"I tried to stop him! But he… he was determined! He said if I got in his way, I'd be the first victim and he'd grope me all over! Then he went into the bathroom to spy on you!" Clara's voice said.
"That can't be!" Mical sounded horrified.
Everything was dark. Their voices sounded distant, like people speaking underwater.
"He's a pervert," Clara continued, "and as such, he deserves punishment. I suggest we burn him at the stake. What do you think?"
"At the stake?!" Mical sounded even more terrified.
"That seems a bit extreme…" Jéssica said.
Slowly the voices grew clearer.
A small dot of light appeared, expanding until it swallowed the darkness.
"Look! He's waking up!" Mical said.
"What are you talking about?" Renato groaned. "Who are you burning?"
"You!" Jéssica shouted. "It would be a fair punishment for someone sneaking into bathrooms to spy on innocent girls!"
"Are we really doing that?!" Mical looked at Clara and Jéssica nervously. "He helped us, didn't he? We should be grateful!"
"But I didn't even know you were in the bathroom! Clara was the one who—"
"L-look at this!" the succubus interrupted. "On top of the video game console! Look at the atrocities he leaves out in the open!"
"What is it?" Jéssica asked curiously.
Then she saw.
Her face turned red as a tomato.
"W-why aren't the girls in the pictures wearing clothes?!" she said, covering her eyes. "And what are those perverted positions?!"
"Brasileirinhas?" Mical frowned. "What is Brasileirinhas? And what is 'Operation Leva Jato'?"
She started reading the back.
"Bribes, money in underwear, and a jet of—"
She suddenly jumped and threw the DVD away, shrinking into the corner, trembling, her skin turning as red as her hair.
"They're porn DVDs!" Clara Lilithu said. "The kind of thing horny men consume! And leaving them here for everyone to see? Honestly, I wonder if we're safe here with him! This peeping creep! The enemy of all women!"
At that moment Clara looked at Renato, smiled wickedly, and winked.
That hellish bitch, he thought—then smiled at how literal that was.
"That's not mine," Renato said. "And frankly, I'm done with this. I'm going to drink some wine while you decide whether you're burning me or not."
He got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen.
"Killjoy," Clara huffed.
"I want wine!" Mical said.
Renato poured a glass for her and another for himself. Then he went to the back of the house, under the covered patio, and sat in a wire chair.
Next to one of the beams supporting the patio stood a large plant pot. From it grew a lush green chili pepper plant, heavy with small red peppers, catching some of the sunlight that shone like a golden sphere in the sky. Birds sang nearby, composing their morning symphony.
Jéssica approached.
"Hey… you don't need to stay mad. We're not going to burn you."
"I appreciate that. I'd make a terrible barbecue. And I'm not mad."
"That's good." She sat in the chair beside him.
"Want a sip?" Renato offered his glass.
The girl hesitated for a moment, but accepted.
"The only times I ever drank wine were during Eucharist. But like this… cold… it's actually really good."
"You need to try caipirinha someday. I'll make one for us."
"Alright. Hey… sorry about the slap. I got scared."
"That's understandable. But you know, I really wasn't spying. Clara locked me in there. And the DVDs aren't mine either."
"I guess even if they were, I wouldn't have any right to criticize. After all, it's your house."
"Do you believe me?"
"Of course. Clara is the demon here. Not you," Jéssica said, handing the glass back.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You can."
"What was it like… there? In the Priory."
Jéssica thought for a moment, her expression so serious that Renato almost regretted asking.
Then she stood up.
Slowly, she lifted her shirt and turned her back to him.
Renato saw the scars.
"This one happened when they found out I had a boyfriend. You know… we never actually did anything. We didn't even kiss. But sometimes we held hands when nobody was looking.
"They tied me to a post, completely naked, and beat me with a scourge whip while preaching about the love of God. They said I had been seduced by the spirit of fornication. They called me a prostitute.
"Then they searched my whole body for marks, because they said the devil leaves marks. They said if they found them, it would prove I had given myself to evil… and that I should be burned as a witch."
A sepulchral silence followed.
On the other side of the wall, Clara listened quietly, unseen.
Mical stood beside her, eyes filled with tears.
"My sister has a birthmark, you know?" Jéssica continued softly. "I was terrified that the same thing would happen to her. That's when I decided to run away.
"Living there was like that. We couldn't do anything. The boys were trained for war. The girls were trained to become obedient housewives.
"I've never even eaten a brigadeiro, Renato.
"I don't want to go back there. That's why… to live the dream of freedom… I even accepted help from a demon."
Renato finished the last sip of his wine.
He looked at her.
It was hard to explain what he felt.
"I won't let them take you back," he said at last. "I'll protect you. No matter what it costs. You can stay here in my house as long as you want.
"And we're going to eat the best brigadeiro in the world."
Jéssica smiled with genuine happiness.