TW: Blood, Belittling, Emotional Manipulation, Shaming

Safely in the Spirit Realm, Cade sprinted for the other side of the roof. In the Spirit Realm, he was a literal house cat, his spirit’s realized true form. It made getting away easy. But then he heard it. Shalek let out another roar and Cade was frozen still. Crap. That roar must use some level of spirit energy. That combined with my current state makes its effect stronger. But I’m strong, too. I can still move. Cade mustered all the strength he had and tried to move. It started as a tremble but eventually he started shakily moving forward. It was painstakingly slow though.

“Come out, come out wherever you are little Cade,” Shalek chimed. He was enjoying this. “Now let’s just see what makes you so weak,” he said low and to himself. He grinned as he licked his lips and licked his claws, tasting Cade’s still warm blood. His eyes flashed red for a second and then returned to their beautiful hazel. “Where are you young Cade? Running away. Aren’t you always running away from people? Your family. Even your friends. You try to reason that you are an introvert. That your ‘social battery has run out.’ But that’s just bullshit and you know it. Truth is, you prefer to be alone. Not because you actually like yourself or anything. I mean, what is there to like? You’re awkward. You’re tiny. And you’re…” Shalek eyes bucked and the most wicked smile spread across his face. “Oh this is too good. You little freak. You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re really into that kind of stuff. How depraved. What do your friends think? What would your family think if they knew how much of a pervert you really were? But that isn’t even the worst thing about you. And yet, here you are. All alone. Again. If they didn’t love you before, if they didn’t really want to be around you before, what do you think will happen when they find out ALL your dirty little secrets? You might as well let me go ahead and kill you now. It would be better if your existence could at least serve some usefulness to somebody.”

Shalek’s words were laced with dark spiritual energy. They seeped into Cade’s mind. He didn’t know when he had stopped walking. But it was true. It was all true. How did he know? How did he know all this stuff about me? No, it’s just some trick. He’s just trying to get in my head. I have to get away from here. I have to go.

“Let’s be honest here Cade,” Shalek stated calmly as he paced back and forth on the rooftop. “You were never really cut out for all this mission work, were you? Hell, I’d wager you don’t even want to really be here. You’d rather just be sitting at home, playing some game, avoiding your mom, and your friends, and really anyone who would want to be close to you. And do you know why that is?” Shalek licked another claw. “It’s because you know deep down you aren’t worth it. You know deep down you don’t deserve love or affection or friendship. I mean, what can you bring to the table? Stale jokes and game references no one will get? Come on, little kitty. Just give up. There is no one coming to save you. I mean, why would they? You’d only bring them down and disappoint them in the long run. You know it. They know it. Hell, even I know it. So why don’t you let me just end this for you? You can die just as you lived, alone and unwanted. It’s what you deserve really. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Shalek’s voice wasn’t angry. It didn’t sound mean or aggressive. As horrible as the things he was saying were, he sounded…sincere. Like he was genuinely trying to do Cade a favor. Cade didn’t know when he had slipped back into the material world. Or when he had canceled his spirit energy. He just sat there, at the other end of the rooftop from Shalek, holding his knees to his chest. When had he started crying?

“How do you know all this stuff?” Cade asked without looking up. “Your blood tells me everything about you. Mix that with the energy I got when I pierced your solar plexus chakra then you became an open book for me. That’s how I know what I’m saying is accurate. And you know it too, don’t you?” Shalek’s voice was calm but he was beaming on the inside. This was his favorite part of the hunt: seeing his prey lose all hope and sink into despair. He was about to boil over with excitement. Finally, he would be a Demon King. No more wallowing around Hell scheming for demons and devils to join him. He would be in control. He would have authority. He could make deals. It was all so close. And it’ll all start with the death of Cade Johnston.