18. Virgil
VIRGIL
I left Barythaya back in my room while Saddle did me the favor of taking care of Hellsing. The kid looked like he'd been through hell and back, literally. He needed to get warm and some food in him. I needed him at full strength for what was coming.
Spectre and a very pregnant Raven worked through the clubhouse doors a few hours later. Both were determined to help.
"What the hell is going on here?" Bulldog asked, slamming the door to his office. "You were supposed to help me, now you're dragging demons and death into my fucking walls!"
"You're right, Prez. This is all my fault," I said "I thought I could keep this contained, but it isn't happening."
"Listen, I'm not a skeptic. I've seen the devil and know how evil he is. We've seen firsthand what he's done to our brothers. Taken their souls, used them…but this is not the devil." His voice low, angry.
"In a way, it is. It's one who serves him," I whispered.
Spectre grunted. "I guess it didn't get the memo that one of ours was the one who chained his boss back to the depths of hell."
"Those chains won't hold him forever, Spectre. You should know that," I said.
"I know how to fight back now, but Bulldog's right, what is this?"
"It's complicated."
Bulldog leaned forward, elbows propped on his knees, folding his hands and pressing them to his mouth as if seeking patience. "Look here, exorcist. I get that you're a nomad, I've got plenty of those riding for us. But I brought you in here to help us figure this shit out. I gave you a roof, food, and a purpose."
"A purpose I never asked for," I told him.
His eyes narrowed on me. "Fine. But I also offered you loyalty and trust, as well as truth and a fucking family. So whether you like it or not, we're in on this together."
I let out a deep sigh. I was being a fucking idiot, my walls up as always. I wasn't used to family or loyalty. I didn't have that in my life. It was just me looking out for me. Having to take care of all of them was just to much responsibility.
"I can't save you all," I muttered, looking down at my shaking hands.
Bulldog shrugged. "Half of us already have a foot in hell anyway, we're just trying not to get dragged down earlier than we should."
I nodded. "I've already lost too many souls, Bulldog. Seen them torn up, burned alive, necks snapped by this thing. There is a entity that is waging some type of war with me. It wants to hurt me by taking what I love away from me."
"Barythaya," he said.
I nodded. "Death said it could help and I rejected it, but then it spoke to her. It got her to accept at her weakest moment when the demon was trying to take over."
"Well, fuck," Bulldog grunted.
"Exactly," I sighed.
"Death itself?" Bulldog asked. "As in a goddamn reaper?"
"Something like that. An angel of death. But it's different than your reapers. Your reapers are still alive, this one's been living between the living and the dead for centuries."
"How the fuck did you get that one on your back?" Spectre asked.
"Let's just say, it's a she…"
"Well, fuck me," heSaddle responded.
"So this reaper, she's inside of Barythaya?" Bulldog asked, and I could tell he was just trying to get a clear picture of what was happening around him.
"Yeah. Supposedly, protecting her. Its now chained itself to me somehow and I'm certain that it won't let go of her until I'm dead.""
"We got a name for this thing yet?"
"Not yet," I responded. The knowledge of having a demon's name gave an exorcist power over the entity. It made it easier to expel. Chaining it back to hell, was another matter entirely."
"I suppose we need to deal with the demon first," Spectre asked?"
I shrugged. "I can't tell you where to start. That's where I fail as a soldier."
"Then let's find someone who knows how to handle this thing."
I looked at him as he reached for his phone, dialing out a number and then put the phone on speaker and set it on the desk in front of all of us. It rang twice before someone picked up. There was a deep sigh and a woman's thick Louisiana accent filled the room.
"You done put dat entity into that child?"
I stared at Spectre, who gave me a grim nod. "How the hell did she…"
Madame Laveaux cut me off. "I done heard ya, exorciste. Ya speak mighty loud when ya need help, yeah? Da boy... da one who came ta ya, he strong, très fort. He gon' help ya carry dat entity."
I shook my head, my voice rising. "I'm not going to put Hellsing in harm's way. I won't allow it. You don't know what they do to people…"
"Oh, I know, exorciste. Je sais. Believe me, I know."
"What do you know, Priestess?" I asked, careful not to insult her. She was young but wise and I could feel her energy, even though we were miles away.
Bulldog glanced at Spectre and he gestured to him. He quietly ushered the rest of the brothers out the door giving us some privacy. Madame Laveaux's voice crackled through the speaker, thick and dripping with that bayou drawl. "Chère, y'ain't nevah gon' exorcize Death like ya would a reg'lar ol' demon. Non, dat won't work."
I clenched my jaw, pacing the room. "Then how the hell do we get rid of it?"
She chuckled low, the sound was like warm molasses, rumbling up from deep within her. "Death? Oh, dat's a tricky thing, exorciste. It ain't somethin' you can jus' cast out wit' a few prayers an' a cross. Non, Death got roots deep, deep in da bones. Y'gon need a whole lot more dan dat."
I stopped pacing, rubbing a hand over my face, frustration boiling up.
"So what do you suggest I need?"
She let out a slow, exasperated sigh, like I was asking her to explain the simplest thing. "Listen here, Death ain't like no demon you've handled. It's part of da world, like da moon an' da tides. It's woven into da very fabric of life. Y'can't jus' push it away."
I gripped the phone tighter, my patience wearing thin. "Then what the hell do I do? I don't have time for riddles."
"Pah! You men, always in a hurry," she scolded, her voice taking on a sharper edge. "If you gon' deal wit' Death, you gotta learn ta listen first. Ain't no way to banish it, but…" Her tone shifted, turning sly. "Maybe, just maybe, you might could bind it."
"Bind it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes even though she couldn't see me. "How?"
She chuckled again, but this time it felt like a challenge, like she was holding all the cards. "Dat's somethin' I could show ya, chère. But it come wit' a price. Death don't let go so easy."
I stood there, the silence hanging heavy between us as her words sank in. "What kind of price?"
Her voice turned soft, almost like a whisper, but it carried the weight of some ancient voodoo wisdom. "If you want ta save dat girl, you gon have ta sacrifice somethin' of yo'self. Somethin' important."
My chest tightened, but I didn't hesitate. "I'll do whatever it takes."
She let out a slow, dark laugh. "I like dat fire in ya, Virgil. But listen ta me good. When ya deal wit' Death, it don't give nothin' back for free. If y'ain't prepared for what it's gon' take from ya, you better think twice 'fore we go any furthah."
I set my jaw, determined. "I'm ready."
There was a pause, and I could almost hear her smile on the other end of the line. "We gon' see 'bout dat, chère. I'll tell ya what ya need, but don't say I didn't warn ya. Ya ready?"
Both Spectre and I leaned closer to the phone, listening to Madame Laveaux's slow, deliberate words. Her voice, thick with that ancient Cajun drawl as she spoke.
"Virgil," she began, her tone steady but grave, "y'ain't gon' deal wit' Death 'til ya face dat demon first. It's two parts, a two- step dance. Da demon—it feeds off da ones ya love, da ones closest to ya. But ya gon have ta call it out, pull it from its hiding place."
I paced the room, the storm outside battering the windows of the clubhouse like a relentless drumbeat, matching my anxiety. My mind raced, and I knew where this was going. I just didn't want to hear it.
"How do I do that?" I asked, already dreading the answer.
"The boy, Virgil," Laveaux said quietly, her voice carrying a deeper, almost mystical tone. "Hellsing,da boy, he special. He walks between da worlds of da livin' and da dead. He don't know it yet, but he's strong. Strong enough ta hold da demon, at least for a while. It's gon' hurt him, gon' break him in some ways, but he can handle it."
I stopped pacing, my heart hammering in my chest. "Hellsing? He's just a kid, Laveaux. You're asking me to put a demon inside him?"
"I ain't askin' ya to hurt da boy," she said sharply. "But dis demon, it's after da ones y'care for most, an' Hellsing—he's next. After Barythaya, it'll come for him, sooner or later. Da demon knows where ya heart lies."
I closed my eyes, my breath catching. Hellsing was like a son to me. He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to be dragged into my world. But if what she said was true, then he was already a target.
"How do I transfer the demon into him?" I asked, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Ya gon' call it out," Laveaux explained. "Draw it outof its hiding place an' force it into Hellsing. Ya need ta use somethin' strong—somethin' dat'll make da demon cling ta him. A siren."
Spectre looked up at me. "The raven," he whispered.
"Dat Raven of yours will do. Tell her to hum her song. She don' good before wit' luring evil in. When it hears it, it'll latch onta da boy like a leech. But he's strong, Virgil. Strong 'nough ta walk between life an' death, even if he don't know it yet."
"And after that?" My voice was tight, the thought of putting Hellsing through that kind of suffering twisting my gut. "What do I do then?"
"Ya exorcize it," she said simply, as if it were a matter of fact. "Once da demon's in him, ya cast it out. It won't be easy, but it's da only way ta break its hold. Da boy will suffer, but he'll survive."
I took a deep breath, trying to process what she was telling me. This wasn't just about protecting Barythaya anymore. Now it was about Hellsing too. The demon wasn't going to stop until it destroyed everything I held dear.
"And after the demon's gone?" I asked, my voice low. "What about Barythaya?"
Laveaux was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, her voice carrying a deeper sense of foreboding. "Death is inside her, Virgil. Not just some shadow or spirit—Death itself. It's seeped into her bones, her soul. But Death, it don't show itself like a demon. It hides, waits. It's a patient thing. We gon' need ta bind it, an' we gotta do it wit'out Death knowin'."
"Without Death knowing?" I repeated, the absurdity of it hanging in the air. "How the hell do we do that?"
"We disguise it," she said, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "We make Death believe we're doin' somethin' else. A simple healin' ritual, somethin' small an' insignificant. While Death ain't payin' attention, we slip da binds round it, trap it inside Barythaya."
I could feel my throat tighten, the weight of what she was saying settling on me like a shroud. "And that'll work?"
"It's da only way," she replied. "But it comes wit' a price, Virgil. Nothin' in dis world or da next comes free, an' bindin' Death—dat gon' cost ya more than y'think."
"What price?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"To bind Death," Laveaux said slowly, her voice heavy with the gravity of it all, "y'gon have to give up a piece of y'self. A part of yer soul. But it ain't just any piece. It's da part dat's tied to her—tied to Barythaya. Y'll save her life, Virgil, but y'll lose da connection between ya. Y'll lose da love she's got for ya."
I froze, the full meaning of her words sinking in. "You mean..."
"She'll live," Laveaux said softly, "but da love y'share—it won't survive. Death gon' take it, leave y'two strangers. It's da price, an' it's steep. But if y'don't bind it, Death'll take her entirely."
I stood there, staring out at the rain as it lashed against the window, my heart pounding. How could I choose between saving her life and losing her love? How could I live in a world where Barythaya didn't know me, didn't feel what we had?
"Is there no other way?" I asked, my voice cracking under the weight of the decision.
"No, chère," she replied, her tone full of sorrow. "Dis da way of things. Death always takes somethin'. If ya wanna keep her alive, ya gotta give it da one thing it craves most...da bond between ya."
I felt like I was suffocating, trapped between two impossible choices. Save her life and lose her love, or let her die and keep what little time we had left intact.
"I'll do it," I said finally, the words catching in my throat. "I'll give whatever it takes. I won't let her die."
Laveaux let out a soft, resigned sigh. "Den prepare y'self, Virgil. Dis gon' be da hardest thing you've ever done. You'll be savin' her life, but you'll lose a part of yourself in da process."
Spectre hung up the phone, my heart heavy with the weight of what was to come. First, I had to face the demon and save Hellsing. And then, I'd have to face Death itself.
But the price I'd pay... the price would haunt me forever.