Mercy

      “Only in our Lord you can find salvation.” A slap lands on Jean’s asscheek and he squirms at the sting. The rosemary’s beads the nun holds in her hand add to the pain and humiliation, as if the situation wasn’t bad enough.       The nun summoned him on a sunny day, when the temperature on Earth nearly resembled the one in Hell. It wasn’t Jean’s first time to be summoned by someone from a church. Priests, nuns, pastors — they all prayed to their God, just to conspire with demons the next minute. So it wasn’t really surprising that he found himself in a monastery’s basement yet again.       What was surprising though, was that the nun didn’t want anything from him apart from talking.       ‘Call me Renee,’ she said in a sweet voice. At that point, Jean was completely intrigued by the nun.       In retrospect, it was quite obvious that it was a trap. ‘Stupid,’ he berated himself as the nun bound him to herself, basically putting him on a leash.       Because of that, going back to Hell is impossible now. He’s stuck here, and Riko surely isn’t happy about it. Or it’s possible that he’s overjoyed to be rid of the nuisance finally. Jean doesn’t know which one is better, and he doesn’t want to find out.       Renee, turns out, is crazy. Well, all the nuns he’s come in contact with so far were, but this one is a different kind of crazy. She uses Jean as some pet project, where she ‘helps a demon turn to the right path.’       At first, it was just talking about God’s love for all beings, that He’s good and merciful yada-yada — Jean had already heard about it all. But then, Renee has turned to some more unconventional methods.       Today it’s binding Jean’s limbs with rope, making it impossible for him to run away. Not that he can on a normal day, the spell forcing him to do whatever Renee requires of him. Just a simple ‘stop’ is enough to end any escape attempt. But the nun loves to add to his helplessness, so restraints are in frequent use, even on his tail.       ‘You look lovely in them, sweet thing,’ she once said, which didn’t fail to make him feel more humiliated.       Lashing out at her isn’t an option as long as the binding is active, the spell punishing him with pain whenever he’s tried to harm her. So he accepted his fate, though he’s not so sure if it was the right decision.       Another smack to Jean’s asscheek jostles him forward, the burning pain spreading through his skin.       ‘Sitting down won’t be comfortable for the next few days,’ Jean notes. But on the other hand, it won’t matter anyway because he’ll spend most of the time on his knees.       Jean grimaces at another slap.       “Focus,” Renee reprimands him. “You should think about His mercy.” Her hand squeezes down on his neck, throwing Jean into panic.       When the demon thinks that he’ll pass out, the pressure around his throat lessens. The blood rushes to his head, making him dizzy as he tries to get as much air to his lungs as he can manage.       “Thank you,” he manages to say.       “Good boy.” Renee’s smile seeps into her words. “You’re learning.”       The praise does strange things to Jean, making him feel warm all over and confusing him about the situation even more.       The thing is, Renee isn’t cruel to him. Sure, her methods involve pain, but it never goes too far. And afterwards, she soothes all the bruises and scrapes, praising him if he managed to meet her expectations. He’s got a big pillow to sleep on, and he doesn’t go hungry, Renee always feeding him until he’s full.       Jean is treated better than ever in his life.       And maybe he doesn’t mind spending the rest of his existence on a leash.