REVENGE

PROLOGUE

A cold gush of wind washed over the land and trees surrounding the large building of the ancient church whistled, bending to it's command. The hazy gray sky contradicted the normal July weather of clear blue skies and early rising of the summer sun. To a normal person, this was a sign that it could be one of those rare summer days when they experienced rains which meant a dull boring day but to the person standing just a short distance from the church, this was just the perfect day to accomplish his next mission.

He stared intently at the stained glass windows but this time, he wasn't about to crawl through one of them while he could just walk through the door with several other faithful ones going to renew their beliefs and strength in readiness for the day's mass.

"Hypocrites!" He muttered under his breath and spat the word out in disgust. Little lambs they were, sinning all week long and waiting for the pile to grow so that they would finally go unburden themselves behind a tiny wall that separated them and the priest, their shepherd. He still didn't get why they all chose to bare their souls to an earthly being, pouring out their dirtiest deadliest sin to him like he was supposed to help them carry their weight. He doubted some of them even knew the significance of confession or they just did it because it was required of them. Such is faith. You never know what it is about and it's significance unless you have had a one on one revelation. And he had. He believed he had a mission and he wouldn't rest until it was fully accomplished.

He looked at the time, "Perfect." It was only a few minutes before the loud iron bell tolled to call believers to mass. Only that there would be no mass that day but none of them knew it. After a thorough field research he knew that the good shepherd was on his last lamb, helping to set it's path straight home. He grinned. That was one way to describe it. Perhaps the shepherd also needed a little guidance, now with all that baggage spewed all over him, who ever checked on him to make sure his own heart was pure for the battle of the faithful? Perhaps he would have a little chat with him, just to be sure.

He walked straight towards the confession room, passing the last of the believers, a young woman barely in her twenties with the innocence of a fawn. Beautiful yet naive. What could she possibly have done, turn a hopeless lover down? Break a heart? Their eyes met and he smiled at her. Her sudden blush confirmed that his charm was still on point, that had never failed him. That however wasn't his focus. He headed straight into the confession box and took his seat on his side of the screen. The priest was already on his feet ready to leave but he sat back down.

"Forgive me father for I have sinned," he intoned, the words sounding ridiculous in his head.

"Confess your sins and repent with your heart and the Lord our father will forgive you," the priest replied. "What would you like to confess today son?"

He exhaled and cleared his throat, "Uh huh, let's see... maybe that man I killed in front of his kids and wife or the other one who offered me a lot of money to spare his life or let's say the other one who-" he chuckled and turned towards the screen where the priest's mouth hang wide open, his eye balls protruding like inflated balloons. "Wait, is that too much? Surely our father thou art in heaven would find it in his massive heart to forgive me, no?"

"Who... are you?" the priest stammered.

He smiled and lowered the screen so that they were now looking at each other face to face. The priest edged a little further away from him but a wall behind him kept him close enough.

"What I would really like to know is..." He frowned, "How does it feel like, having to carry all that weight of baggage left on your shoulders by all these people and everything they have done? Does it hurt?" The priest shook his head vigorously. "Surely it must be too much to hold inside you alone, not allowed to talk to anyone about it, hide secrets that could potentially solve the human injustices in the society if they came out, no?"

"I talk to God about it and it is never a burden. And our father doesn't judge by the quantity, he forgives all of us equally if we repent. He will forgive you too, nothing is ever too big for Him."

"I am not seeking his forgiveness," he replied and stood up making him edge away a little more. "But you will have to forgive me for not finding you sooner to put you out of your misery." He reached for him and pulled him up on his feet. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead and his eyes went wider than saucers as he seemed to suddenly realize what was going on. This was his favorite part of his mission whereby the victim was at his lowest, shaking like a leaf in autumn and their hearts racing at light speed. He could feel his own blood pumping through his veins, warming him up in anticipation of the thrilling and satisfying feeling he was about to get once he was done with the priest. He grinned, "If I were you, I would be praying for my damned soul." This he said as his powerful set of brown eyes turned to a shade brighter, golden like the morning sun and his voice deep from his bowels which sounded more of a growl. His hand tightened around his throat as his long fingers elongated with claws protruding and piercing through his skin. His features turned, sharp hairs pricking through his skin and teeth displaying a perfect set of fangs. A moment like this was the only one he allowed his true self to show and the thrill that came with it was enough to create a whole other lifetime flooding through him.

"What are you?" the priest struggled as he lifted him off the ground, his head almost touching the roof of the room. His skin turned pale by the second as the hold sucked the life out of him slowly.

"I am a person haunted by the past, a past that you helped create, a past that could have made me a different person from who I am today. You are the reason I can't get rid of my nightmares and part of a mission I have to accomplish. Your death marks a step towards achieving it and your death means a part of my soul healing." He grinned, "So, forgive me father for I have to sin." Using his other hand, he sliced through his chest, broke through his cage and ripped his heart out then let go of him, the lifeless body hitting the floor. He took out a bunch of yellow roses and placed them carefully on the body, "For your journey home." He then straightened himself up and sighed in satisfaction. The iron bell tolled loudly marking the end of his short ritual. He turned, slipped through another door and left the building.

As frustrating and shocking as it was, detective Blake Tanner couldn't help but see the irony that came with the details of the latest call she had gotten that morning. A church, a priest and a murder all existing in one sentence was something that hadn't been heard of in a really long time, that is as far as everyone she knew had heard. It had probably never happened in history. Like what kind of sicko would even step into a church and take out a servant of God, as old as father Anthony had been? Even if it had been doing him justice, the old man had been mere couple of months from his grave. The killer could have just left him to face it naturally.

The colleague who had called her that morning hadn't given her much details about what exactly had happened so she would have to get there to know. She drove straight towards the church whereby most of her colleagues already were but since she was in charge of the crime scene following the upcoming retirement of her captain, no o