Succubus Tear (Triune promise) (58 page)

Because, this time… it is Christ who wants Cain. And I will not dare to keep him from his Savior.

***

It was about five in the morning at the shores of the Rio Grande. Two figures could be seen on the American side: one was an older black male, while the other was a tall, athletic Caucasian. It was cold this particular morning, and their breaths were visible in the light from the moon shining down upon them, like an eye that decided to watch this particular scene.

The black male wore loose-fitting robes, and the white male quickly stripped down to his undergarment. Together they stepped out a few feet from the shore, and the white male kneeled before the other.

The black male spoke for several minutes, speaking in a tone of reverence, of joy. He then turned to the man kneeling before him and asked him a few questions. The man answered each one, and with a quick motion he was dipped into the water, left as dead, and arose along with the morning sun that was perfectly aligned with the horizon and the river. A new being…now and forever…world without end…amen.

Love at Last

“Just one thing to remember, Cain: this is not the end of a journey, but the beginning. Life will only become harder. But with the everlasting arm of the Lord to rest upon, you will not fail.”

—Ray Hughes

“Ray?”

“Yes, Cain?”

“What about Al’bah? Why couldn’t she—”

“It is something that I have no knowledge on, Cain.”

Cain ran his hand through his wet hair and felt an overwhelming pity for Al’bah. “There isn’t hope for her?” he said quietly.

Hughes was quiet for a long time as the endless hum of the engine of his battered truck and the heater filled the silence, punctuated by the occasional creak or bump. “I will only say this, Cain. In first Peter, chapters ten through twelve speak of the Angels longing to look into the plan of salvation the Lord has for us. This leads me to believe that spiritual creatures are quite lost if they are severed from the Lord.”

He turned down the heater a notch and continued. “However, Al’bah’s nature is strange. It has a duality like mankind has. Al’bah was a purely spiritual being, and was given flesh. We are flesh beings that have a spiritual nature that becomes vastly more important when we pass on.”

Ray shrugged as he continued to speak. “I will admit, her desire for restoration appears genuine, and her love for the Lord is very apparent. She has more than simple faith; she says she
knows
God exists. She has hope, because she desires a place beside God.”

Ray glanced over to Cain with a twinkle in his eye. “And, she
loves
you. I don’t think an irrecoverably damned entity could love if it is completely severed from God.”

“Is there anything that could be done?”

Hughes shrugged as they rounded the last turn and went up the last hill. “Pray, Cain, and ask God for a miracle. God has the answer, if there even is one. The Bible does not reveal everything concerning the entirety of existence to mankind, and so there just might be hope.”

Cain closed his eyes,
praying and thinking hard on everything that had happened, a whirlwind of events not quite unlike the stories that Ray had read to him from the Bible. His thoughts were interrupted by the truck coming to a stop at last. He opened the truck door and stepped out to the dusty ground. Al’bah nearly flew out the front door of the Wellses’ house, and she ran straight for Cain.

“Cain!” Al’bah cried and flung her arms around his neck, her legs wrapped around his hips. “Oh, Cain, where did you go? Why could you not bring me? I want to be with you! Oh, I am so cold.”

Cain gently set Al’bah down and looked into her eyes. “Al’bah, I…thank you.”

 
Al’bah shook her head slightly confused. “Thank me? For what, Cain?”

Cain gently slid his hands to the sides of Al’bah’s face, his forehead touching hers. “For saving my life.” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply of her scent. “If it weren’t for you, I would be dead by now. Or perhaps I would be alive, but dead on the inside. You have brought so many good things to me. You gave me my life in more ways than one. Thank you.”

Al’bah looked from Cain to the pastor. He had a tired look upon his eyes. Neither he nor Cain had slept the night before. With a slight nod to Al’bah, he entered the house. “I think I need a nap.”

 
Al’bah squeezed her fists full of Cain’s shirt and whispered softly, “Such miracles.”

Cain’s vision swayed before him, almost giving in to darkness. His exhausted body begged him to allow sleep to come.
Not yet,
he told himself.
She must know, I must tell her.

“Oh, Cain, you should rest,” Al’bah said, helping him in the house. Once in the spare guestroom, Al’bah quickly helped Cain remove his clothes, taking care as he winced from the various aches and pains still plaguing his body.
Cain sighed as he finally laid down upon the bed. His vision swayed and mixed vividly with memories as he drifted in and out of sleep, in and out of dreams.

“Al’bah, why do you love me? Is it something more than a choice for you?”

She grinned at this. “There are no words to describe the connection we share. You are my Bond. I love you. I chose to love you, as you chose me to be your companion.” Al’bah sighed softly and held her breath for a moment, asking yet again. “And you, Cain, do you…do you love me?”

Cain felt his vision focus and spoke of his love for the first of many times, with a heart full of truth and peace.

“Al’bah, I love you. I just wish I could have brought myself to realize it sooner. I think that I have always loved you, but my pride got in the way.”

Al’bah gasped; she shook her head slightly and shook him, perhaps wondering if he had gone to sleep. “Cain, Cain? Are you awake? Is this real? Are you here, with me?”

A smile crossed his face, and he wondered if the past several weeks were indeed just a dream. And yet, would it matter? His dreams were more real these days, and according to Al’bah, dreams were real. Indeed, it was by dreams he met his one true love.

“I will always be with you, Al’bah. I love you; I always have and always will.”

Al’bah was shocked; she could only look at Cain and weep.

Cain sensed a whisper of her presence within his soul and knew she could feel it.

Her heart at last found the love she had sought for so long.

Perhaps it was the love that they had both sought for so long.

Together they held, kissed, and loved for the first time.

Their kisses and touches brought a sweet intoxication sensation, a pleasant lightheadedness that could only come from a union so transcendent, it defied any explanation of any physical boundaries. It was pure bliss, more like being lost in the waters of life, rather than the fires of lust!

As one, they cried out to God, holding onto each other as if they were the only begotten couple in the world singing their praise, their thanks, and their joy of being one.

Afterward Cain watched Al’bah close her eyes and fall asleep. He slipped into her embrace, wrapping his legs around hers, and tangled his fingers in her hair. He sighed, feeling her body melt into his, holding her safe and sound from the horrors of hell, and of the apathetic cruelty of the world.

Al’bah smiled in her dreams, and she whispered a word that struck a joyous chord in Cain’s heart.

“Mine.”

***

The day passed with higher spirits than any other since Cain and Al’bah arrived. Even the chores were tended to with smiles and good humor.

“It has been perhaps one of the best stays I’ve had here,” Pastor Hughes said over his after-dinner tea. “Shame that I leave in two days.”

“Thank you for coming, Ray,” Amidres’ said. “Give my best regards to the Thompsons.”

“I will.”

“Ray?”

“Yes, Cain?”

“I have one favor to ask of you, if it isn’t too much to ask.”

Pastor Hughes laughed. “I can’t imagine any favor that I could grant, being too much to ask of me.”

“Just a moment.” Cain turned to Al’bah, his face tense but calm. “Al’bah, I love you. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But I do know that I can’t imagine a tomorrow without you beside me…as…as my wife.” Cain started to shake slightly as he went on. “I have nothing to offer you but who I am, my promise of faithfulness, and that I will see this out to the end.”

Al’bah’s face was calm, but her cheeks turned a deep red. “But, Cain, I-I do not know if marriage was not meant for me, for my kind.”

Cain nodded, never breaking eye contact. “Every sentient creature is blessed with free will. To act as they choose to. If the Angels could marry humans, why can’t I marry you?” He spoke quickly to prevent Al’bah from interrupting. “If this is a sin, it is just another one of the countless others that I have to my name. I know that Christ’s salvation does not give me a license to sin, but…I love you. Will you marry me?”

Al’bah crossed her hands over her heart and closed her eyes; her lips parted as if in prayer. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“Yes.”

Cain embraced Al’bah and turned his face to Pastor Hughes, who had an odd look on his face.

“I am not sure how to feel about this favor you ask of me, Cain, but I will perform the ceremony for you.”

Serenna and Amidres’ just looked on. Serenna sighed and said in a high voice, “Aye me! Young love.”

The Wedding

“One day, Cain, you will find the right one. When you do, cherish that moment. You will remember it forever.”

—Holly Archer

The morning ceremony was held on the eastern wall of the house. It was the beginning of a new day and a new life.

Amidres’ chatted with Cain for a moment and handed Cain a beautiful wooden box. “For you two. I had to guess at the sizes.”

Cain opened the box. Inside were two rings. They were made of a beautiful solid piece of wood, expertly carved and inlaid with silver. “You didn’t have to,” Cain said in a hushed voice.

“If you feel that way, when you are able, come back this way. You can buy ‘em for a hundred dollars. I make these all the time, Cain. I just save a few here and there for special occasions.”

***

“Al’bah! Seriously, child! You are the most absentminded person I have ever met!” Serenna playfully scolded Al’bah, as her attention drifted away yet again.

“Sorry! Really! I was just daydreaming.”

Serenna tisked her tongue and went back to the advice she was giving Al’bah, until Ray Hughes cleared his throat.

Pastor Ray Hughes began the ceremony with a long prayer to God, asking His wisdom and guidance. Part for the sake of Cain and Al’bah, and part for his own sake. He had been asked on few occasions to preside over same-sex marriages, which he flat-out refused. But he could not recall any Bible verse that spoke against a human marrying a spiritual creature. Shoot! Even the sons of God once married humans.

The only thing he could think of was that Al’bah and Cain might be unevenly yoked. But even then, as far as he could recall, that dealt with marrying an unbeliever, which Al’bah was not. Whenever she spoke of God, it was always in tones of reverence and awe. Pastor Hughes noticed how Al’bah called God “the Creator,” and she spoke often of her desire to be restored; she would listen to him during his semi-sermons or his long prayers, starstruck, and would ask for advice often.