Warning: Blood, physical harm, possession, implied child murder.
Svet's father and the woman jumped in unison as boy's body slumped back against his chair with a loud gasp. His screams had stopped, but what came out instead was strained groans and croaks mixing together in an animalistic song. Svet blinked until his eyes watered underneath his talismans, his irises shifting from magenta, to brown, to gold. And Svet thrashed in agony with each passing second, the wood rattling under his weight, the shadows in the room expanding and creating hands and teeth that arched out like spiderwebs.
"Svet!" his father cried out.
A maniacal laugh left the young teen, his teeth sharpening into little points, tears gushing down his cheeks. Then, Svet banged his head back on the table. Again and again, the wood groaning with each impact. Bam! Up. Bam! Up.
"Svet!"
Bam! Blood pooled down from Svet's forehead, vessels bleeding through the white of his eyes. Rows of teeth manifested over his skin and disappeared as quickly as they came. And while an oh-so-sweet giggle ripped past his lips, the woman covered her mouth and began weeping.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
When the strikes to his head became almost bone-shattering, Svet's father rushed forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Svet! Answer me!" his father called.
The boy's body panted and slumped on his chair, his hair pooling over the top of his face, his giggles falling into low, weak chuckles. His fingers twitched and his neck bent at awkward angles like someone was trying each muscle, testing the limits, learning how it felt like to live in mortal flesh. The shadows and teeth retreated under his shoes, and the room became earily silent.
Cautiously, Svet's father stepped backward. He observed the body language- the way the body sat and reacted to touch. And he seemed to calm down once he figured out the woman's son wasn't the one in control.
Svet's father stepped back. "Is there someone in this room with us?"
"Yes," the boy croaked, leg starting to shake impatiently. The voice was strained and cold like someone had their palms closed around his windpipes.
"Who are we speaking with now?" his father asked.
The boy mumbled something unintelligible and the man frowned. He reached into his robes, retrieved a bottled, and doused the body with a clear liquid. A guttural hiss ripped from the teen as he wound back in his chair, steam rising from his skin.
The boy mumbled something unintelligible and the man frowned. He reached into his robes, retrieved a bottled, and doused the body with a clear liquid. A guttural hiss ripped from the teen as he wound back in his chair, steam rising from his skin.
"Who is speaking with us now?" he repeated.
The entity snarled and repeated the name, a title incomprehensile to the human tongue, a curse that would afflict whoever dared speak it aloud. Only the humans within the circle, or trained exorcists, were protected from the pain that would engulf them if they heard the name.
After hearing the name, Svet's father shook his head. "Leave us, demon. We didn't summon you."
After hearing the name, Svet's father shook his head. "Leave us, demon. We didn't summon you."
The demon grinned at the man, revealing his bloodied teeth and swollen gums.
"The burning sensation of inhabiting a body that doesn't welcome me can attest to that, old man. I only came to warn you of an eminant danger," he said, his brows rising playfully.
Frowning, Svet's father glanced to the woman sitting beside them.
"Can't this wait?" Svet's father asked, turning back towards the demon. "I'm a bit occupied at the moment."
"Well, when you're not answering your summons-"
"I'm a busy man, as you can see," he snapped back. "I was just in the middle of aiding this young woman when you oh-so-rudely interrupted."
A roll of the eyes, an annoyed sneer. The demon nodded towards the woman, barely able to keep his head up before biting back at Svet's father, saying, "All talk, old man. This little mystery is a piece of pie and you don't need a little kid to tell you who murdered them. You'd only need to take look at this doll to know it."
Underneath his mask, Svet's father raised his brow. "What do you mean?"
The demon clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You've been getting sloppy."
The demon ripped off one of the restraints with a loud CLANG and dug a claw into the doll's mouth. Svet's father and the woman opened their mouth to protest, but stopped when they saw the demon pull out a strip of folded paper.
Grinning, he waved it around playfully before he tossed the note towards the woman. The edges of the paper sizzled with energy and malice, but she caught it before Svet's father could catch it mid-air. She held the burning edges with trembling fingers.
This is a curse, she thought.
If there was any side effects of touching something given by a demon, she wouldn't have felt it. No- She was too ridden with grief to acknowledge her own pain.
Svet's father stood there with his eyebrows knitted before whipped his head towards the woman. "Ma'am, it may seem rude of me to ask, but do you recognize the handwriting?"
Her voice came out low and defeated. She ran her fingers over the letters, almost like she'd find something if she tried touching it. "I do not."
The man solemnly nodded. "What would you like for us to do, ma'am?"
The woman breathed shakily out of her nose.
"The seance will wait," she said bitterly, her voice trembling. She held firmly to the strength in her tone, gulping down her grief to foster her rage. "... I want to find the bastard who killed my son."
With his teeth flashing in amusement, the entity said, "I would start with that dear brother of yours."
Pure terror crossed the mother's expression like someone dunked her in cold water. "E... xcuse me?"
"Use that little brain of yours, Mildred. If he has enough money for a seance, then surely, he'd have enough to hire an assassin," the demon cooed.
Her hands shook while she held the note, tears pooling down her cheeks. She burst into a fit of sobs and the paper slipped from her fingers. And the demon practically bit down on his cheeks to stop himself from laughing.
"So, what did you deem so important for you to interrupt my work, demon?"
Svet's father opened the alcohol cabinet beside his desk, and he grabbed a glass and a bottle of whiskey. The demon sat behind him on one of the couches in front of his desk.
The demon removed the talismans from his eyes and rubbed the red welts on Svet's skin, dry blood crusted over his eyes. Despite lacking the pain, the demon didn't like the icky sensation every time he blinked. Blood was only pleasant when it was fresh and warm, after all.
Smiling, the demon brushed off his hands and laid back into the chair. "Now, now. Let me get comfortable. This body isn't a day in the park, you know."
"Answer me, or I'll send you off," the man said, opening the bottle with a loud pop.
Even while facing away from him, the demon could tell Svet's father had already lost his patience. The demon pouted childishly, almost mocking the man across from him by swinging his lanky legs.
"I was sent by your pledged ally," he cooed.
Svet's father plopped a circular ice cube into his glass. "I have many allies. You'll have to be specific."
If the demon could roll his eyes any harder, he would. He released a begrudged huff.
"How about the one who's allowing your boy to live?" the demon said lowly. "Is that specific enough, Kane?"
Svet's father, Kane, froze before he could finish pouring himself his drink, his jaw clenching. Very few demons (much less humans) learned his name and lived. Which meant this demon wasn't just a "pledged ally". He worked for one of Kane's bosses.
Kane placed the whiskey bottle down and leaned against the cabinet, facing the demon. "Is the child conscious?"
Folding his arms, the demon sucked in his lips.
"In and out. Bits and pieces. He can't pick up anything concrete or coherent, but your boy is well in-tuned. He makes an admirable medium," the demon said. He smiled sweetly. "I can understand why you'd hidden him for so long."
In a low voice, Svet's father grabbed his glass, saying, "So, what is your message then, demon?"
The entity sighed and slumped in his chair, his magenta eyes moving to the side like someone was whispering into his ear.
"My boss is a little disappointed to hear that you're using this boy for selfish reasons." He counted on his fingers, saying, "Aiding humans, hosting malevolent spirits, providing energy to demons, etcetera, etcetera. This body can't hold much longer the way it's being used. If your boy continues this line of work, he'll die prematurely."
Svet's father's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "I thought you demons didn't care about the length of our lives."
Bringing the glass to his lips, Svet's father watched the teen shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Yeah. We don't. But things have changed," the demon said.
Svet's father paused mid-sip. His eyes narrowed, his body squaring.
"How so?"
"... My master has an heir."
"And?"
"... And we think your boy is our last hope."
Comments (0)
See all