The Vampire's Angel by Damian Serbu

and sensed these tragic longings deep within me that I fight daily. You test them more than ever.”
    “So you do feel the same way?”
    “You know I do.”
    “Xavier, listen to me. Stop shaking. I won’t hurt you.”
    Xavier believed Thomas, his one friend, and the source of his lust, and moved closer. They sat again on the bench, still in intimate proximity but, thankfully, without the sexual tension. “I understand how you feel,” Thomas continued. “I don’t pretend to agree. I don’t live with a fear of some unknown force that dictates arbitrary rules. We’ve talked about our theological differences, but I’ll never force anything on you.”
    Xavier smiled with relief. “Thomas—”
    “Shh. I have one more thing to say, and then we won’t talk about it any more tonight. Keep your mind open. I’m not going anywhere. So relax, be yourself, and don’t change on my account. But remember that I love you. Yes, I said it. I love you and long for you every night. And if you ever change your mind, if ever this church casts you aside, I’ll catch you.”
    Xavier was lost as he listened to Thomas, who clearly continued to seduce him. Xavier was not fooled nor blind. This was a seduction of the heart. But Xavier could never abandon those he served. In fact, the man who threatened to pull him away only confirmed this unending faith in the goodness of people, for at Xavier’s weakest and most vulnerable moment, when a few more words or a swift action might have pulled him away from the church forever, Thomas had stopped.
    They fell into a comfortable silence and Xavier was about to tell Thomas how much his constraint meant when he saw a shadow move in the bushes and he tensed.
    Xavier almost spoke when the figure started toward them with a knife. Before the attacker reached the bench, however, Thomas dashed across the yard and knocked the vagrant to the ground. Xavier rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Impossible. There was no way that Thomas could have covered that distance that fast. Xavier must have seen incorrectly because he was afraid or because he was running after Thomas. His fear must have distorted reality. He stopped where he stood, confused.
    A few feet from him now, Xavier heard the man scream in agony as Thomas hovered over him. Thomas had ripped the knife out of his hand and grabbed the man’s throat. Then he clenched his jaw and scowled. It was a frightening demeanor that Xavier had never seen in Thomas. Xavier stood paralyzed and speechless through the entire scene.
    “You’d attack a priest? In a church? You’re sick. I should kill you and end your misery. It’s too bad that you were ever brought into this world.”
    The man cowered beneath Thomas.
    “Thomas, please.” Xavier hurried forward and placed his hand on Thomas’s shoulder.
    Thomas had broken the intruder’s arm, which hung loosely at his side and at a strange angle. Thomas’s demeanor changed at Xavier’s intervention. He acted almost embarrassed, released the man, and took a step backward, then glanced away from Xavier and mumbled an apology. Xavier knelt next to the man, who was breathing heavily, in obvious pain.
    “If you need food or money, just knock on the door,” Xavier said. The man relaxed a little but crawled away from the priest.
    “Father, forgive me. Oh, God, please let me live. Oh, please.” He scrambled to his feet and stumbled away.
    “You need a doctor. Wait here.” Xavier tried to get him to stay but he ran down the street. On the next block he screamed with fear, clutched his arm, and raced around a corner.
    Thomas stood silently a few feet away. “Is there nothing toward which you don’t hold compassion? He would have killed us.”
    “I hardly think he meant to murder.” He turned to Thomas. “What did you do to him? Why? Your atheism comes with a serious distrust of humanity.”
    “And your faith gives you too much trust.”
    “Would you have killed him?”
    “If he threatened me, yes. If he came