The Tavern was quiet on that cold winter night. Not a lot of people hang around long after the sun has gone down and the winter ice has consumed the windows with frost and cold. The tavern was made up to resemble an old style Irish pub. They had a stage in the back where live bands would play; not a big stage but room enough for two people and a microphone. A pool table rested near the center of the room and a dartboard hung next to the bathroom doors. The tables were made of solid wood and so were the chairs. Booths lined the far wall with outlets under the tables. Flags of different old Celtic groups hung around the wall and the shelves behind the bar were covered in various different bottles of Scotch and Whiskeys. An old jukebox sat quietly in the far corner of the bar near another door that led to the back of the bar. And an old black payphone sat in one of the corners.

  The bartender stood there behind the bar, idly wiping the sticky counter with an old rag. Katina Teuflisch was the bartender’s name and she has been working at the tavern for some time now. She was a hard working bartender, she knew when some folks had had enough and when to kick out the troublemakers. She kept the place clean, tidy and didn’t take any shit from anyone. She would always give folks a chance to quickly change their ways before tossing them out into the cold. The job didn’t pay much but it was peaceful for her and she enjoyed every moment of it and on cold nights like tonight, when silence hung in the air and draped over everything; it felt like the whole world stood frozen in time. It was calming.

  The air suddenly shifted from the still calmness when the door creaked and a large figure stepped through the door. The man that walked in stood roughly six feet tall. He wore a thick winter coat with heavy boots. He brushed off the fresh snow from his shoulders onto the ground. He had a haggard look upon his face with weary tired eyes scanning the tavern. Katina looked up for a moment and then back down at the counter. She tossed the old rag into a red bucket near her feet. She eyed the wooden bat next to the bucket and looked back up at the stranger.

  “What can I get for you?” She asked politely with a smile as she wiped her hands on her apron. The man walked with purpose over to the bar and sat down. The stool creaked as he rested.

  “Something warm.” He started. “Something that would make the fires of hell rage with envy.” He grumbled. Katina smirked at his comment and took a step back towards the shelf behind her.

  “Whiskey it is.” She said as she turned to face the shelf. She reached up and took an old whiskey bottle down from the second shelf and turned back towards the man. The man smiled back at Katina with a cunning grin. He placed his hands on the counter. They were wrapped in bandages with tiny spots of dried blood on them.

  “Will that be hot enough?” The man asked. “I prefer it hot over the cold.”

  Katina raised an eyebrow at the man as she walked towards the bar. She placed the bottle on the bar and reached for a glass from underneath.

  “If you’d like I can put some pepper in it for you or some cinnamon?” Katina asked as she placed the glass on the counter. The man frowned. “No, no, no spice for me. I just want to taste the fires of hell from this little glass.” He said as he pointed at the glass. “Straight up, please.” The man said politely.

  Katina grabbed the glass and began to pour. “Well I don’t know much about the fires of hell, but this will shake any cold you have from the outside soon enough. Ask my regulars, they’re med students; they outta know.” Katina said as she finished pouring the bottle. The amber liquid swirled and danced in the glass before settling down. The man looked at the glass with a grimace and sighed.

  “No” he said as he gently shoved the glass to the side. “I’m talking about the actual fires of hell.”

  Katina raised her eyebrow and smirked at the man. “Wouldn’t know anything like that.”

  The man tilted his head. “Wouldn’t you?” He asked curiously. “I have heard rumors about this place. Word gets around pretty fast. Strange things happen here.”

  Katina placed her hands on her hips and looked up at the walls around her. “These walls do hold stories, that’s for sure but nothing too crazy. Most of them are pretty mundane.” She said as she looked back at the man.

  “I’m referring to something far more nefarious. Unknown entities from other worlds crawl their way here. Dangerous unnatural things. Pure evil.” The man leans closer towards Katina.

  “Have you seen anything like that around here?” He asked. Katina blinked in confusion. Her eyes darted around.

  “What?” She asked in a confused tone. “Um, buddy this is just a tavern. A bar. We get the usual weirdos and drunks. But nothing out of this world.”

  The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver pendant with a cross in the center.

  “The divines above have led me to this place. Told me in my dreams that a great evil lives here. It has led me to this place and it has led me to you.”

  “Friend, the only great evil here are the prices we charge for alcohol and maybe the rats in the walls.” She reached for the glass and pulled it closer to her. “Perhaps you’ve already had enough for tonight.”

  With her hand still holding the glass the man reached out and grasped her arm. Katina let out a cry as the man pinned down her arm on the bar. The glass wiggled free from her hand and rolled onto the floor; shattering.

  “You filthy liar!” The man growled as he leaned over Katina’s arm; putting more pressure. Katina let out a growl.

  “Take your filthy hands off me.” She yelled out.The man took the silver pendant and jammed it onto Katina’s arm.

  An unholy shriek of pain and anguish crawled its way out of Katina’s mouth as the silver pendant sizzled her skin. Smoke rose above the two and the smell of burnt flesh and ash filled the space between. Katina reeled her head back and her mouth was left agape.

  Tears ran down Katina’s face. She struggled to release herself from the man’s grasp. The man smiled and let go of Katina’s arm. Katina stumbled and dropped behind the bar, clutching her arm. Her jaw was still hanging open but no sound emitted from it; her teeth had sharpened and her eyes had shifted to a yellow hue.

  The man leaped over the bar and landed in front of Katina. “Now there you are, devil.” He said with a chuckle and a satisfying smirk on his face.

  “I am going to send you back to Hell.” The man said as he reached inside his coat and pulled out a silver dagger. Katina looked up at the man with fury in her eyes as she grabbed the red bucket next to her and tossed the water from the bucket at the man. The man covered his face for only a moment as the dirty water splashed on him.

  In the split second Katina reached for the baseball bat that was next to the bucket with lighting speed and thrusted it in an upwards motion between the man’s legs; he let out a wail as he dropped the knife onto the ground and hunched over. Katina swifty rose up, still holding onto the bat, and cracked the bat over the man’s right shoulder; causing him to stumble towards the bar. The man caught himself with a grunt; arms stretched out holding onto the bar with his back towards the shelves. Katina pivoted around him and cracked the bat once more onto the man’s back and the man dropped to the ground. He looked up at Katina and raised his left arm in defense. Katina, gripping the bat tightly, raised it once more and clobbered the man’s hand. Tears ran down the man’s face as he cried out in pain and agony.

  The man weeped on the ground as Katina stood above him. She kicked the knife behind her as she stared the man down with her yellow demon eyes.

  “Mercy…please.” he weakly called out. Katina stared at the man with hatred in her eyes. Suddenly, something came over Katina as she heard the man’s plea. Her posture relaxed, her grip on the bat loosen as she looked down on the weeping man. She took a step back and snatched a deep breath.

  Her eyes changed once more back to her original brown hue from yellow. She took another deep breath and the bat slipped out of her hand and onto the floor with a clank.

  The man took this moment to make an attempt to quickly shuffle away from Katina but every move he made only caused him to cry out in more anguish.

  Katina now looked at the man with pity in her eyes rather than anger. Katina took another deep breath.

  “You need medical attention.” She calmly said. The man looked at her with confusion.

  “What?” He said.

  Katina began to walk towards the man. The man reacted and started to shuffle away from her; whimpering with every movement.

  “Stop that.” Katina said as she stood over the man. The man froze, weakly holding his hands up.

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  “Please…make it quick.” He said. Katina rolled her eyes.

  “Stop that,” Katina said hastily. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She said, “You got at least a broken hand and a broken arm. Heaven knows what damage I did to your back. You’re not fighting anyone anytime soon.” She said as she kneeled next to the man. Katina looked towards the door to the back rooms near the jukebox.

  “I’m going to get you some supplies to help. Wait here.” Katina said as she stood up and leaped over the bar.

  The man was left bewildered and dazed at the sight. “Wait.” He called out. Katina turned and looked back; she could barely see the man from the other side of the bar.

  “Why?” The man asked.

  “Because you are hurt and need help. That’s why. It’s not that hard.” She said as she turned and headed to the backdoor.

  The man slumped down on the ground, confused.

  Moments later he heard a door open and close. Footsteps followed along with a drunken slurred voice.

  “Ooohhh…free booze.” A woman called out. The man attempted to sit himself up but groaned in pain.

  “Shit.” The woman said. The man looked up and saw the face of a young college student. She had short black hair and wore a dirty beanie. Her eyes had bags from a long period of restless sleep and a crooked smile on her face.

  “Ahh..” she started. “Got in a brawl with the bartender, huh.” The woman said as she rested a bottle of liquor on the bar.

  The man said nothing, only nodded. The woman waved her hand. “Ahhh you’ll be alright. Looking at you you got a minor fracture in your wrist, swelling in your shoulder which means it's probably dislocated and a broken arm. Easy fix with modern medicine.” The woman said as she moved the bottle to her lips and took a few sips.

  “Good stuff.” She said with a belch. “Taste of the fires of hell for sure.”

  The backdoors swung open as Katina walked out, carrying some medical supplies. She took one look at the woman leaning over the bar and sighed.

  “I figured you’d have gone home by now, Evelyn.”

  Evelyn spun around, bottle still in her hand. “Ah, you witch. You scared me.” Evelyn said as she leaned back against the bar.

  Katina gave a small smile as she walked towards the bar and placed the medical supplies on the countertop.

  “Again, I figured you have gone home already. Don’t you have an exam tomorrow?”

  Evelyn smiled and placed the bottle on the countertop. “Yeah but I know everything on it, so I’m good. Either you know it by now or you don’t.” Evelyn said as she slipped her hands in her pocket casually.

  Katina eyed the lone bottle on the bar and reached for it. “I guess I’ll add this to your ever growing tab.”

  Evelyn winked towards Katina. “You know I’m good for it.” Katina rolled her eyes and placed the bottle down.

  “Speaking of which” Katina started as she folded her arms. “You weren’t making your bathroom gin special again were you?”

  Evelyn raised her hands up. “Whoa, not me. Not this time. Though when I was in there I did see an unmarked jug near one of the stalls up high. Not my brand. I label things.”

  Katina let out a sigh and grabbed the medical supplies and started to walk around the bar towards the man who at this point managed to sit himself up against the wall, listening to the conversation.

  “I’ll need to check on that later. Right now I have some work to do and you need to get home. Don’t need you passing out in the bathroom again.” Katina said as she approached the man and sat down next to him. Evelyn clapped her hands together with a grin.

  “I’m on it, K” Evelyn said as she pivoted towards the exit door but not before grabbing the bottle from the counter and marched towards the door; leaving with a pip in her step as the door closed shut. Silence hung in the air between Katina and the man who sat next to one another in peace.

  The man looked as he was deep in thought as Katina started to bandage up his arm and wrist.

  “I still don’t get it.” He finally said. Katina finished wrapping up his arm before looking back up at him.

  “About what?”

  “A demon from Hell and here you are running a saloon and bandaging up old me who would have not hesitated in wiping you clean from this earth. Your patrons seem to admire you and you express compassion even to those who do not deserve it; I ask again why?” The man said.

  Katina leaned back and took a deep breath. “You know where demons come from right?” She asked.

  “From Hell.” He said.

  “Yes but before that.” The man shook his head. “Never thought of it.” He admitted.

  “A very long time ago, I was once human as yourself. Little something I doubt the church or your organization or whomever told you this. But demons start off as humans. Ordinary humans with ordinary lives. Upon their death their anger, sadness, and or malice can corrupt their very being. This is made worse when you put them in a room full of other corrupt sad souls.” Katina said as she leaned towards the man and placed her hands on his shoulder and upper arm. “This will hurt by the way.” She said as she twisted the man’s arm and jammed it back into the socket with an audible popping noise. The man let out a groan as pain instantly flooded up and down his arm and suddenly receded like a wave pulling back into the sea. Sweat formed on the man’s forehead.

  “Anyway” she started as she leaned back. “When I was human I was married. I had a wife and we lived happily together on a small island in the Aegean Sea. It was heaven as you would say. Sadly that didn’t last long as soldiers came one day and they raided the island for supplies and women.” Katina said as she looked away. “They took her.” She said in almost a whisper. “She fought them as best as she could but it didn’t help. They had their way and they killed her. I still remember her lifeless body staining the sand and the ocean with her blood.” Katina said as tears started to form in her eyes. Her lips quivered as she said, “I killed them that night. I hunted down what I could and by morning I was dead as well. I died in rage with anger poisoning by blood; my very being.” Katina wiped away her tears. “And that's how I ended up in hell. After whoever knows how long of anger and regret boiling inside I became a demon and I took my pain and my wrath out on others; but for every soul I claimed, every priest I killed it never could satisfy the dark hole inside of me. And yet it yearned to be filled; an unrelenting want that never went away. It’s enough to drive anyone mad.” Katina said as she stood up and reached for a bottle from the shelf and uncorked it. A few swigs of liquor later she wiped her mouth and turned around and sat up on the counter; facing the man.

  “I’m sorry,” The man said. “I can understand what loss can do to one’s own soul. But that still doesn’t explain what turned you around.”

  Katina smiled and she looked down at the bottle. “That is where this gets weird.” She said as she took another sip from the bottle. “So one night, I was running around here on earth as I did. Doing this and that and insert bad evil guy stuff here. When suddenly, a voice came to me and then I was in the back of my own mind; watching my own body move around on its own.”

  “I later found out I was being possessed by a spirit that was asked to come down and see if they could correct me. I didn’t know who it was at first and I argued with them on their ‘lessons’ and ‘teaches’.” Katina said as she made air quotes with her fingers. “I confronted the being sharing my mental space and they appeared to be in a glowing yellow light. They didn’t say much but I understood what they were feeling; the feeling of meeting a long lost friend after so many years. I hated it at the time. It made me feel so small and lonely. And so I lashed out but they didn’t react in a way I was used to; instead they only showed me love and compassion.” Katina said as she took a glass from underneath the bar and started to pour the liquor into the glass.

  “But I later found out it was her. The woman I loved had come back to me; to help me. And she did. In time I learned to put aside my anger and sadness and see the world in a different light. The pain in my heart has healed but the damage is still there. A scar like that will never fully fade but I can damn well try. After all of that she faded away and went back into the heavens. Leaving me here by myself; again.” Katina spoke as she picked up the glass of liquor and took a few gulps. She shook her head and made a sour face.

  “Don’t think I’m allowed into Heaven and I’m certainly not welcomed back in Hell.” Katina placed the glass back onto the counter. “And so I came here, got a job, lay low and I’m trying to help those who I can help. I am still haunted by my past deeds and the pain I inflicted on others but I’m trying to do things differently.”

  The man nodded and started to slowly lift himself up.

  “And give me one reason why I should believe anything that you’ve told me this evening?” The man asked. “As far as I know, you’re just making this up.”

  Katina scoffed. “You think I’d sit here and tell you a story instead of ripping your heart out and eating it?” She said with a faint smile. The man took a step back and held his breath but soon relaxed and smiled back.

  “I should get going now.” He said as he stood. “You are no great evil as I was told.” The man said as he walked past Katina and picked up his silver dagger. As he walked by Katina he stopped and looked at her for a moment.

  “Never did I ever imagine I’d see a demon with tears in their eyes. Sorry again for the trouble. I’ll be on my way.”

  The man walked in silence towards the door. Before exiting the tavern he turned and looked back at Katina. “What was her name?” The man asked. Katina didn’t turn around to face the man. Her head hung low and her eyes were distant. “Callie.” She said. The man nodded and left the tavern; leaving Katina to her thoughts.

  Katina slowly slid herself off the counter and turned around towards the empty tavern. She felt a heavy weight in her chest as she stared down at the lone glass on the counter. The room suddenly felt uncomfortably still. “I need to sleep.” She muttered to herself as she walked towards the exit door.

  As she began to lock the door there suddenly came a knocking. Katina felt her heart stop for a moment and she froze. Her breath started to increase.

  “Katina….” squeaked a voice from the other side. Katina quickly broke out of the mental fog she was in and soon recognized the voice. She sighed and unlocked the door.

  “John, what the hell are you doing here at this hour? The tavern is closed.” She said with authority in her tone.

  John poked his head through the door. He was somewhere in his late twenties with ruffled short back hair and thick glasses. Sweat was pouring down from the side of his head and a foul smell emitted from the outside.

  “Katina, I need your help. I need a place to finish my novel by tonight. My publisher is gonna kill me if I don’t get it to him by tomorrow.” John said anxiously. Katina opened the door and John stumbled in, he was shaking with cold as he was only dressed in a tattered old bathroom and slippers.

  “I just need a few hours. One, two, three maybe four. I gotta get this finished. Please. Please Please.” John spoke in rapid succession. He was carrying a black laptop and charger cable.

  Katina looked at John up and down for a moment. “Have you been mixing caffeine pills with coffee again?” She asked. John looked at her with wide eyes; he chuckled to himself a bit.

  “Don’t be silly. I just need them for tonight.” He said nervously.

  Katina rolled her eyes. “You’re going to start hallucinating again. I can only imagine how long you have been awake for.”

  “Ah, only a few days.” He said as his fingers trembled.

  Katina sighed. “Okay, look, unlike you I need to get some sleep.” John started to whimper and bounced on his feet.

  “But you can still use the tavern. I’ll be in the backroom on the sofa.” Katina said as she closed the door behind John, locking it. John smiled with a twinkle in his eye. He quickly hurried himself over to one of the booths and plugged in his laptop.

  “But” Katina warned. “I don’t want to be woken up by anything. No jukebox, and no free drinks, all right? Do I make myself clear?” Katina said in an authoritative tone. John nodded his head quickly and started logging into his computer.

  “Just got to rewrite a few chapters here and then it will be over.” He said as the keys on his laptop started rapidly clicking away.

  Katina walked to the backdoor and opened them. She looked back at John. “Writers…I’ll never understand their madness.” She said as she walked through the door and closed it behind her.

  The back rooms were another part of the tavern, mostly reserved for private meetings or a quiet place for some to get some rest. There was a patched up old soft couch in the corner with a quilted blanket tucked on top of it; it was old but comfortable. Across from the couch was a small poker table that had a blue velvet top with several chairs around it. And sitting alone in one of the corners was a decorated mirror with strange markings up and down the wooden frame. A long white thin cloth sat next to it, crumpled on the floor. Katina looked around the room as she closed the door. Her eyes start to fill with tears. She wiped away the tears from her face as she walked over to the couch and laid down. As she was adjusting herself she looked towards the mirror and saw her reflection in it.

  Katina’s reflection looked back at her and gave a subtle wink. With lighting fast speed Katina rolled off the couch and hurried over to the mirror. She grabbed the white cloth and fastened it over the mirror.

  “Don’t need any of that bullshit tonight.” She grunted to herself as she backed away from the mirror and settled back down on the couch.

  “Callie”, she whispered as she leaned over and coupled her hands together. “Can you hear me?” Her eyes began to tear up once more. Her hands relaxed and landed in her lap.

  “No, of course not.” She said as she wiped her eyes with her hand.

  After a moment Katina curled back onto the couch and drifted off to sleep. As she lay there on the old couch dreaming of memories of the past, she did not notice that something disturbed the quilted blanket above her to unfold itself and carefully draped over her as she slept.