The Demon Hunter

"I am alive," I conceded, "although not unscarred." I rubbed my chest thoughtfully, where the tissue still ached, and sat down at his gestured invitation.

"So," he leaned back in his chair, "what brings you back here?"

"Information," I said. "Information and a request."

He gestured for me to continue.

"You know the theory that Le Grand had that demons arise out of humans, and that every man is potentially a demon?"

The Monsignor arched his eyebrows. "Your memory for these trivia is excellent, considering how long ago you read them."

"Le Grand also thought that exposure to demonkind contributed to this process." Again, Romaine's words sprang unbidden to my mind and I pushed them away as I had been forced to do for every waking hour of the last two weeks. "He was the Diable-Chasseur Premier of his time. Tell me, what happened to him?"

Monsignor Rousseau stared at me long and hard before replying. "Like St. Gabriel, he was the best there was at what he did, so the Church tolerated his excesses. But then he went too far and the assistants that had been appointed to watch over him were unable to conceal what he had done. With his nature made public, his usefulness was over and he had to be destroyed. And it was St. Gabriel who did it."

I nodded, lost for a moment in my thoughts.

"You mentioned a request, Father Dupont?"

I looked up. "Yes." I took a deep breath. "I cannot be a priest anymore." His face showed no surprise. "The words seem... hollow." I sighed, wearily. "I have lost my faith."

"Now you want to hunt demons." I nodded, not looking at him. "You realise now the price you will pay?"

"I have already paid much more than I would ever have wished. Now I want to make that payment worthwhile."

"And what if the day comes when I tell you that Philippe St. Gabriel has slipped the leash of his keepers and I give you orders to hunt him down and destroy him, what will you do then?"

I gave the question careful thought. "I will do what has to be done," I finally told him.

"Despite the fact that he saved your life?"

"That would probably make it easier." I looked at the Monsignor. "I do not think he did me a kindness, setting me on this path. It would have been better had I not survived."

The Monsignor nodded sadly. "Yes," he said, "I think you are now ready to become a Demon Hunter."

The End