3. Soulmate
My inner voice screamed for my body to move. As panic swelled, my legs froze, and my eyes widened. Because what the hell else was I supposed to do? The thing that stood in front of me was nothing like the man I’d almost convinced myself was just an elaborate figment of my imagination. There was nothing human-like about it.
This thing looked like the backside of a bull and smelled like the bird shit I avoided sitting on. It had at least six horns that grew so long, they wrapped around its head in spirals. They reminded me of the wire at the top of a barbed fence and circled his head like a makeshift crown. Instead of flesh, it looked like its skin was the same as the bark that wrapped the trees nearby. Oddly deceptive flowering decorated its arms and chest, as if welcoming its victims. I imagined the thing hiding in the park, waiting for someone to get too close.
The thing was massive. My eyes slowly scanned from the enormous clawed feet, up the branch-like legs, past the bloated torso and heaving chest. And then I focused on its face: the lifeless, soul-crushing face. Its jaw slacked and revealed yellowed pointed teeth as it labored to breathe like an asthmatic being forced on a nature hike. Its eyes glowed red. If I imagined what a demon looked like, this was it. Hellish, murderous, ready to take a life. My life.
This wasn’t the human-like man hunk that fucked me senseless the night before. This thing was ugly, and the longer I looked at it, the more I felt my self-control slip. Terror became my captor. Logic told me to run, but the fear of what this thing could do to me made that impossible.
It stood on two legs, putting its head at least three feet above my own. The thing was a giant, and it looked hungry. As soon as the thought passed through my mind, a snake-like tongue shot out of its mouth and covered every inch of its face in sticky moisture before retreating. How much could devouring me do to satisfy this thing? Yes, I had some meat on my bones, but I couldn’t imagine I’d be anything more than an appetizer before it ran off to consume something more filling.
If there wasn’t a horror movie rule about looking a monster in the eyes already, there should be, because the moment I did, my stomach boiled with regret. Beneath the thick, furrowed unibrow were two menacing, glowing eyes. As if taking my eye-contact as a challenge, the ugly beast growled. Its lips were so thin they were hardly distinguishable from the rest of its face. When those crust covered corners lifted into a crooked smile, I could almost hear a demonic voice taunting me in my head. ‘I got you right where I want you’. I dared to look away, to find a route of escape, and when I did, the damn thing charged at me.
It took two seconds for the sound of its large, hooflike feet pounding against the ground to send a jolt through my body. The fear that froze me in place just moments before became the fuel I needed to move again. Prickles rushed across my limbs as I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could. There was another path I could use to escape the area. I knew damn well I couldn’t fight it off, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to just stand there and let the thing take me out. My only alternative was to try to run away, and what a sad attempt it was. The heat of its touch spread across my skin before I realized what had happened. I’d made it a solid six steps when long, branch-like fingers wrapped around my shoulder and neck and pulled me back.
I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the sharp bite of its uneven teeth ripping through my skin. I just knew it was going to eat me, but it didn’t. My feet left the ground, and wind rushed past my ears as it let me go. I opened my eyes to see the ugly demon getting further away, my arms and legs flailing at my sides. Did this fucker just throw me? I questioned a moment before my ass hit rocks and dirt. My teeth gritted when I felt the sting of flesh pulling from my forearms as I slid across the rocky ground and tried to shield my head from the impact.
Groaning from the pain, I rolled over just in time to watch the ugly thing turn and stomp towards me. It grunted with each step, as if it was a mile-long run. As it neared, I could have sworn the damn thing was actually laughing at me. That’s right, mock the pathetic human prey. If I wasn’t sure I was moments from losing my damn life, I might have come up with something witty to say about its struggle to breathe and disgusting body odor.
I can’t believe this is how I’m going to die. The thought raced through my mind, leaving me dizzy as I watched the monster close in.
There really was nothing else I could do but speculate on the coming moments. In the time it would have taken me to get back to my feet, it would already be on top of me. Funny how thoughts worked faster than action in real time. Though I was confident in my capabilities, I hadn’t quite reached the level of delusion it would take to believe I could outrun a damn demon or fight it off.
Then, my thoughts shifted as I recounted everything that happened, and before long, I was mentally beating myself up about picking up that damn book. I had no business experimenting with the ritual or making fun of something I knew damn well was not to be played with. I could all but hear my grandmother scolding me from the grave. It was with the imagined berating of my family’s matriarch that my luck shifted.
I watched as the demon, who was just a few feet from me, stopped in its tracks. It didn’t take much to realize there was another force at play. Its legs and arms twitched, and the muscles strained across its body, rippling with building pressure as it still tried to reach me. This was the time to run, but my body was hurting from the fall. It didn’t matter. I gritted my teeth, moved to a sitting position, and started scooting away as its face twisted into something painfully unsettling. I almost lost my shit when its eyes bulged from its face.
The consumption of countless books, movies, and TV shows told me it was time to get the hell out of there. Whatever was happening, however mysterious, provided the opening I needed to get up. I stood, taking careful steps back from the demon despite the ache in my limbs. All I needed was a moment, just enough time to tell if it could get me. Nothing happened. If it could have, it would have grabbed me. I didn’t question my luck—I turned and ran.
As my feet pounded against the grass-covered path, I heard its death gargle, like the sound of someone drowning. Yes, common sense told me to keep my head forward and run, but I couldn’t help it. Never would I talk about the crazy white girl in the horror movies who just had to stop and stare. Curiosity craned my neck back toward the scene.
What I saw made me slide to a halt. It was him, the demon I wanted to believe my mind crafted for momentary pleasure—the one I’d fucked senseless. He held the massive body of the treelike demon over his head like a wrestler in a death match. With gritted teeth, he lifted it higher and turned toward the water.
“Go back to hell,” he seethed with barely-contained fury as he tossed the body away from him.
It splashed into the water, and to my surprise, it sizzled as if the water was acidic. I slapped my hand over my mouth as the massive body quickly dissolved and disappeared beneath the surface. If the smell was terrible before, dissolving it only made it worse. I gagged as a breeze carried the sickly odor over to me.
Demon boy turned around to look at me, and when our eyes met, every moment of the previous night flashed through my mind again. He took a step toward me with an odd look of concern on his face, and I bolted. I got the hell out of there! No, I didn’t thank him for saving my life or for disposing of the demon. If he could do that, who’s to say he wouldn’t turn on me?
All I could think of was getting to my house. Once there, I would be safe. I’d made it back to my car and ignored the questioning gazes from the people still in line for their food. I peeled out of the parking lot, nearly hitting the curb, and had to remind myself that this wasn’t a movie. No plot armor would keep me safe from dying in a car accident. I had to chill, but I was constantly checking the rear-view mirror the entire drive, as if I would spot demon boy flying behind me.
“Get it together, Rayna,” I said to myself as my hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, my knuckles turned white.
Against the stacking odds, I made it home, and as the garage door closed, leaving me in darkness, it hit me. Bitch, you live alone! My dumb ass ran away from a populated area—with witnesses—to the solace of a home so well insulated, my neighbors wouldn’t even hear me if I screamed. Apparently, demons could pop in and out of places at will, so what was stopping them from popping into my hallway just as I stepped inside and dragging me back to hell?
“Brilliant,” I muttered as I stared at the empty passenger seat and once again wished my greatest concern was the sweaty ass drippings left behind by a horrible first date. “All that, and I still didn’t get my damn tacos!”
I pulled my phone from my pocket, relieved that I hadn’t lost it in the commotion. There was no way in hell I would go back for it. A few taps on the screen brought up Keri’s face, blowing kisses at the camera. My thumb hovered over the call button. Did it make any sense to call her? The woman already made it clear she didn’t believe me, and that hadn’t changed. If nothing else, telling her would have her activating the calling tree and initiating some kind of intervention with the rest of our friends, an embarrassment I didn’t need to endure.
If Keri didn’t believe me before, she sure as hell wasn’t going to believe me now. I could almost hear her voice. ‘Sure, Rayna. All that happened, and no one else heard or saw a thing?’ I stared at the phone a moment longer as I ran down through the mental list of people I could possibly call. Everyone I thought of would immediately tell me the same thing: seek help.
Maybe they would think I was pathetic, that I’d been on my own too long and was losing touch with reality. The worst part was, I was wondering myself if maybe I hadn’t made it all up just to give some type of excitement to my life. Had I really summoned a demon? Had I really then fucked said demon for the better part of six hours? And had I really just watched that same demon kill another one and send him to a sizzling underwater grave?
No one else reacted to what happened. No one saw or heard a thing, and it wasn’t like that thing was quiet. Maybe my mind was slipping. What would that mean for the rest of my life? Could I still run a business this way? Leave it to me to consider work before my safety.
Those questions and several others circled in my head until my growling stomach was louder than my worried thoughts. I needed to go inside and eat. All the issues and worries of my fading sanity would have to wait.
After gathering myself, I opened the door to activate the motion sensor lights. My nerves were completely shot. The rush of adrenaline got me home, but the moment I parked the car, I felt my body crashing. What the hell had I just witnessed? Why did no one else come to help me? Had that thing worked some kind of spell? Was that why it was so empty by the pond? My mind raced with questions I couldn’t possibly answer.
All I knew was I had to get in the house. From there, I could figure out what to do next. Carefully, I tiptoed from the car and through the double garage, which suddenly felt way too big, and up to the door into my home. With each step, I paused and waited, as if some demonic alarm would go off and alert them to my location. In my frazzled mind, it seemed logical that sitting in the car apparently made me invisible to them. I made it a foot away from the door and stared at the doorknob. What if it burned to touch it?
“Get the hell over it. It’s not like they booby-trapped the damn thing!” I fussed at myself before grabbing the knob. Yes, I flinched. Yes, I felt silly as hell.
“Alert. Alert. Garage door. Alert. Alert.” The security system scared the hell out of me; I’d forgotten to deactivate it before opening the door. I ran over to the panel and fumbled entering the security pin, only just avoiding a call to the police. No, I didn’t need cops showing up at my house while I was clearly in a paranoid state of mind.
With the door shut and the alarm set, my stomach growled again, and at the same time, the skin on my arm stung. I looked down to realize I was bleeding. I’d scraped my arm worse than I thought when I fell. Dammit, that’s going to leave a scar. The first order was to clean and bandage my wound. I also changed out of my dirt-covered clothing and mourned what was once my favorite pair of skinny jeans.
In fresh clothes and with my wounds cared for, I made a beeline to the kitchen. Threat of demon attacks or not, a girl had to eat. I turned on my lo-fi sounds as I limped around the kitchen—anything to help calm my nerves while I put together a meal of random things that had no business on a plate together.
While I worked, the adrenaline that rushed through my veins settled, and then came the rush of pain. Why the hell I thought I could be thrown around by a demon and not be severely injured was beyond me. I popped open the bottle of ibuprofen I kept in the drawer by the sink and tossed three pills into my mouth.
When I finished my chaotic collection, I sat down in front of a plate of leftover chicken, a bowl of sweet pickles, a side of spinach dip, and a bowl of spicy popcorn. I frowned at the collection; something was missing. Then, it hit me. I ran to the fridge and grabbed the leftover crab macaroni from two nights ago. My ass did a little happy dance while I quickly warmed it up, then returned to the meal and prepared to dig in.
“What are you eating?” The deep voice scared me so much, the fork went flying out of my hand. When I looked up, I was no longer alone. Demon boy sat in the chair across from me, crab macaroni on his face.
“Dammit, don’t do that!” I should have been terrified and possibly running for my life, but maybe my hunger made me delusional, because I busted out laughing before quickly slapping my hand over my mouth when I saw the crab meat dangling from the tip of his nose. “My bad.”
“That smells foul.” He picked a napkin from the table to wipe the food from his face. “How can you eat like this?”
“My meal smells no worse than your sizzling demon friend.” I shrugged.
“Well, I wasn’t preparing to eat him.” He finished wiping his face.
“Not something you guys do?” I asked. “Cannibalism?”
“Did it look like we were friends?” He went back to my earlier statement, carefully avoiding the accusation. “I killed him. If we were friends, would I have done that?”
“For all I know, that’s how demons play.” I picked up the piece of chicken and took a bite, quickly following it with a sweet pickle covered in spinach dip.
“You’re no longer questioning my existence?” He frowned at me, and I thought he might actually pout.
“I figure if I’m losing my mind, I might as well steer into the skid.” I got up and headed to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of soda. “Besides, I can talk to you about you being a demon. If I mention it to anyone else, they’ll look at me like I need to be locked away for my safety.”
“Speaking of your safety.” He watched me carefully as I returned to my seat. “What the hell were you doing out there by yourself?”
“Excuse me?” I slammed the drink down and rolled my eyes. “I’m a grown-ass woman and I do what I want. That’s what I was doing out there. Who do you think you are, coming up in my house and questioning me about what I’m doing?”
“It’s not safe,” he spoke in a strained voice, visibly trying to keep his cool. I could already tell I tested his patience, and I wasn’t planning on stopping.
“Well, it’s not like demon attacks have been common in my life. Why would I have thought that a place I visit damn near once a week would suddenly be dangerous just because you popped up in my bedroom?” I narrowed my eyes. “Are you going to lecture me about how I need to stay safe? Is that what’s happening here? Because if it is, let me trade this soda for a glass of wine.”
“I can’t pop up here every time you’re in danger,” he scolded me. “Be more careful.”
“I’m sorry.” I looked over my shoulder, searching for someone who wasn’t there, because he clearly wasn’t talking to me. “Who asked you to? Do you see them here?”
“You did!” he said through tight lips. “Do you not remember the ritual you did under the moon?”
“I said words, you came here. We did what we did, and I sent you on your way. I didn’t call you back up here.” I chewed on the thought for a moment. Had I unknowingly called out to him while running for my life? “Yeah, no. I didn’t do the spell again. You just appeared.”
“I think you’re smart enough to know it’s not as simple as telling me to go away.” He leaned forward on his elbows. “You read those fantasy books; don’t they cover how all this works? It’s not all fiction, obviously, so apply the same logic here.”
“Why the hell can’t it be that simple?” I huffed. “I don’t want you here. Yes, I’ve read a lot of those books, but this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me, so don’t act like I’m supposed to be the expert on getting rid of unwanted demons. Besides, that spell was supposed to bring me a soulmate, a loving, doting man who would kill big bugs and build custom bookshelves for me, not some angry ass demon who thinks he can tell me what to do.”
“That ritual ties us together.” He huffed, clearly annoyed he had to explain himself. “You asked for a soulmate, and you got it. A tie between two souls. I know you weren’t exactly expecting it to work, or expecting it to bring you a demon, but here I am.” He leaned back in his seat and shook his head. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not exactly a well-liked guy where I come from.”
“What does that mean?” Suddenly, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. A tie between two souls and a demon who wasn’t well liked—what the hell had I gotten myself into?
“It means that smelly demon won’t be the last to come after you. They know about you, and they think you’re a weak point for me.”
“So, what? Your enemies are now my enemies?” I could feel the air leaving the room. “There’s some demonic target on my back because we fucked?”
“Not because we fucked, but yes.” He nodded. “Demons have energy signatures, and mine is now intertwined with yours.”
“Oh, well, fuck me.” I flopped back in my seat and placed my hand on my chest to steady my breathing. “This can’t be happening.”
“I did that already. Do you want me to do it again?” He grinned, and his horns grew with the spread of his lips.
“Very funny, demon boy.” I pointed to his forehead. “You can put those away.”
“Do not call me that.” He frowned, and his horns vanished again.
“What? Demon boy? Is that not what you are?” I smirked. “I like it. It fits you just fine.”
“My name is Metice.”
“I’m sorry, did I ask?” I teased him.
“Why are you acting like I’ve done something to you? I didn’t recite a spell that snatched you from your home and dragged you across realms,” he fired back.
“Whatever.” I sipped from the cool drink and then swirled the cup in my hands. The ice clinked against the glass, marking the seconds that passed as we stared at each other.
“That’s what happened, in case you weren’t aware. One moment, I’m enjoying myself in the hellscape watching an interesting performance between two dovetail demons, and the next, I’m here, on… Earth.” He said the word like it left a foul taste in his mouth. “And I have to keep coming here for you until I figure out how to sever this infuriating link between us.”
“I didn’t know the spell would work.” I rolled my eyes, refusing to take any responsibility for his woes. “Like I told you, it was a silly thing I found in a book. I thought it was fiction. And I didn’t specifically call out to you because, until a few seconds ago, I didn’t even know your name. I’m just as put out by all this as you are. Trust me, I had no wishes to be stalked by demons today. If you want to air out your grievances, find the author who put the spell in the book.”
“Why did you do it?” He leaned forward, looking at me as if he could see right through to the truth he felt I would hide from him.
“What?” I frowned and leaned further back in my seat.
“Why did you work the ritual?” he clarified his question. “You didn’t think it would work, so why do it?”
“I was drunk, horny, and thought it would be funny.” I shrugged then played with the food in front of me. “Does there need to be some deeper meaning behind it?”
“Funny?” He grunted. “You thought it would be funny to play with magic?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t believe it, but his stare made me nervous, like I would choke on my words. “Maybe not funny, ha-ha, but more like funny, I don’t have to feel so pathetic after being ghosted by my friends who chose their boyfriends over me. They left me sitting alone in a bar to be hit on by every scuzzy man who stumbled into that place. The shit was depressing. So yeah, I came home, cracked open a bottle of wine, and had a silly little moment to lighten a heavy night. It wasn’t supposed to work!”
“Sounds like you need some better friends.” He watched me with dark eyes, trying to penetrate the invisible wall I frantically built around myself. “That still doesn’t explain why you fucked me.”
“I thought I was dreaming.” I dropped my head on the table, pushing my plate aside. “Remember the horny part? It’s been a long time since I got me a little something something. Hell, the real-world dudes ain’t giving what they’re supposed to be giving. So yeah, in a dream, standing across from a muscular, mostly human-looking man, with an apparently rotating dick, I hopped on it. I’m still trying to figure out how you got your dick to do that.”
“It does a lot of things,” he smirked as his eyes glinted, almost teasing me.
“Oh?” I raised a brow and dropped my eyes but was disappointed to find my target blocked by the edge of the table.
“Eyes up here, please.” He pointed to his face. “Do you realize you’re not dreaming now?”
“Yes.” I looked across the table at him. “I don’t want it to be true because it means you and your demonic buddies won’t go away, but I know this isn’t a dream. If it was, I’d be able to rewrite this moment and not have to deal with any of this.”
“Okay, so you realize you’re awake.” He leaned closer. “So, tell me, Rayna, why are you aroused?”
“What?” My eyes widened, and I squeezed my thighs together to stop whatever he thought was happening. “I am not!”
“There’s no need to be embarrassed or lie about it. I can smell it, your arousal.” He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “I thought you were only attracted to me because you thought it was a dream, but I can feel your heat from over here.”
“I’m not a damn dog. I’m not in heat!” Because I didn’t know what else to do, I started cleaning the table. I hadn’t even finished eating, but his intense glare had me putting things away, anything to avoid his accusing stare.
“Say what you want, but you’re aroused.” He stood from the table, crossed the room, and invaded my space. His horns grew with each step, and I swear, it felt like watching his dick get harder. “Your pulse quickens, your pussy is wet, and I smell it. Your body wants me, Rayna.”
“You’re delusional.” I moved away from him, scooting around the large granite island. “I don’t know what drugs they have in hell, but you need to ease up off them.”
And then I questioned if I was the one on drugs, because he disappeared. One moment, he was walking toward me, the next, he was gone. Good. Let him be gone. I took a deep breath, thinking he might actually leave me alone, but of course, he wouldn’t make it that easy.
I took a step back and felt the warm body of a man—a demon—behind me. His chest pressed against my back as his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I gasped as he placed his lips next to my ear to whisper his next words.
“I’m not delusional. I’m darkness, and if you’re not careful, I’ll devour you.” Warm breath brushed against my neck before his lips met my flesh. His kiss lingered on my pulse point, making my heart race and my legs tremble. “Keep yourself safe—unless you want me to drag you to hell with me.”
Before I could come up with something snappy to say about hell freezing over before I’d allow that to happen, he was gone again. I waited longer than I cared to admit for him to pop back into view. He didn’t. I rounded the island and sat on the stool. Right in my line of sight was the wine rack, the decorative piece holding the bottles of sweet nectar that got me into this mess.
“Shit, I need a drink.”