“Walter Clement Jones.” I snapped, taking a wide stance with my hands resting on my hips as I tried to look as angry as humanly possible, looking up at the man I trusted to protect me.

“Mhm…” He hummed, still staring off into the distance. Wait, was it off into the distance?

More than a little annoyed, I followed his line of sight. I couldn’t help but punch the older man in the arm. Unbe-fucking-lievable.

“Barclay!” He hissed at me. Kind of rich, coming from him.

“The Hell, man? I almost get killed again and you’re out here stalking a cute girl?!”

“What?” He gasped, sounding genuinely offended. “I wasn’t stalking her.”

“No, you followed her outside to spy on her and her friends from a safe distance. That’s not stalker-y at all.” I argued. “Also, as much as I support your desire to get laid after living in near-solitude for 110 years, didn’t you hear me talk about how I almost got killed again just now?”

“Wait, what?!” Walter almost shouted, taking a firm hold of my shoulders as he looked me over.

“I’m okay, for the most part. I gave him a shit excuse and booked it out of there.” I said, trying to reassure him. “But he had the same tattoo as the guy from last night, and he introduced himself as Alexander. This can’t be a coincidence, Walt…” I frowned.

The mere idea that someone could be after me, to rid this world of me, was absurd on so many levels. I mean, I kept mostly to myself, and never harmed any human. Sure, I’d had more bedfellows than I cared to keep track of in my life, but if there was any rule against incubi sleeping with humans, I should have had these jerks on my tail decades ago, right?

“It’s okay, we’re going to get some answers.” Walter said, smiling reassuringly.

***

I groaned as we trudged up the steps of a church at the very center of town. It’s not that I hated churches or anything, and it’s not like the stereotype that demons can’t enter churches either. No, it was the man inside that was the problem for me. Father Gabriel Di Angelo hated me with a fiery passion, though he never bothered to tell me why. Was it A. because I’m gay, B. because of my many, many one-night stands, C. because I’m a demon and he’s a salty angel, or D. all of the above? We’d probably never find out, but honestly? My money was on D.

“Actually, I’d almost rather take my chances with the Alexanders.” I whined, struggling against Walter as I tried to turn back.

“Don’t be such a drama queen, Barclay.” Walter sighed as he pushed the heavy, hardwood door open. “I’m planning to keep you safe and sound for as long as I can, but to do that, I need to know what we’re up against. And apparently, I can’t leave you alone for very long, so I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to go inside.” He said sternly as he held the door open for me, and I begrudgingly entered the church.

“Walter, I didn’t expect to see you so soon. You know service isn’t until Sunday, right?” A man with slightly graying, golden hair, spoke from the altar as he polished the gold and silver relics and candleholders. His back turned to the two of us. However, the acoustics of the building made it sound as if his voice came from every imaginable angle, as though he was truly an omniscient being. Of course, we all knew he wasn’t, even though he liked to pretend he was.

“Of course I do, Gabriel.” Walter replied. “I was hoping you could answer some questions for us. Since last night, my son has been assaulted twice by exorcists calling themselves ‘Alexander’, and we want to know who the ones behind the attacks are.”

The priest stopped polishing the piece he held in his hands and chuckled. “It will never not be hilarious to me how prepared you are to call that creature your ‘son’.” He taunted, before turning on his heel to face us. The light from the stained glass windows cast colourful shadows on his creamy white face. I’d almost go as far as to say it was a beautiful sight to behold. That is, if another person were standing in his place. “However, you’re looking for the Order of Alexander. They’re an ancient group of exorcists that protects innocent humans from demons that would instill impure thoughts into them.”

“So, what now? Am I not allowed to flirt anymore?” I protested, only to be hushed by Walter. Seriously? That was a pretty fair question.

“They can’t be that ancient. I’ve never heard of them.” Walter said, leisurely strolling down the aisle. I, on the other hand, stayed close to the exit. I couldn’t wait to get the Hell out of this place.

“Hasn’t it occurred to you that their level of secrecy might have been what allowed them to become as ancient as they are in the first place?” Gabriel asked, his gaze following Walter as his almost glowing turquoise eyes narrowed in what looked like disdain.

“Is there anything I can do for them that would let me off the hook?” I asked, wincing as his hateful look shifted to me. “I mean, there’s gotta be something, right?”

“No. There is no easy way out for you, I’m afraid. The fact that demonic blood runs through your veins corrupts your very being beyond salvation. All you can do at this point is wait, and pray to God that your ‘father’ here keeps a keen eye on you. Your fate at the hands of the Order of Alexander is pretty much inevitable by now, but I can’t say your case won’t be interesting to see unfold. After all, I’ve never heard of a half-demon being exorcised before. I’m curious to see how much will be left of you on this plane by the time they’re done with you.”

I pretty much deflated at that point, my head hanging in defeat. Tears pricked from behind my eyes, and I sniffled as my nose started running too. Walter's gentle hand between my shoulder blades was only a small consolation.

"It's going to be okay, Barclay." Walter tried, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "I'll protect you, no matter what. Now, let's go home, shall we?"

I nodded silently, leaning into Walter’s gentle touch. As I looked back, I swear I could see a wicked smile growing on his face.

***

Continued in part 2