I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend

7. Detour

“Let me help you,” I fussed as he brushed my hand away. I sat next to him on the leather couch with a towel and a bowl of water.

“I’m fine. I’ll heal,” he groaned after lifting his arm too quickly. It was then I recognized just how badly hurt he was.

“Obviously you’ll heal, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.” I pressed the towel against a bloody wound. “These are going to scar.”

Metice didn’t say anything. Beneath the eerie moon, he watched me clean the blood from his skin. I couldn’t look at him because I was terrified. How could I not be when the demon who was supposed to be protecting me from the rest of hell looked like he was near death? My mothering nature pushed my terrified inner child into a corner. After I finished his left arm, I moved to the other and followed that with his chest, shoulder, and finally, the cut above his eye. I had to change the water in the bowl six times before I was done.

The entire time, he sat there silently watching me. We didn’t talk, not about his wounds or the night before.

I could see him already healing before I finished cleaning the wounds, but I couldn”t stop myself. I felt the need to help him. Metice had to be okay, and there was something in me that pushed me to make sure of it.

It wasn”t until after he fell asleep when I finally found my way back to my room, and for the first night since I landed in hell, I couldn”t sleep at all. All I could think about was, what the hell was possibly strong enough to do that to him? And what if that thing found me? From there, I wondered about the bargain he’d made. What exactly did he have to give up to protect me? How did that exchange leave him in such a terrible condition?

They left him bloodied and beaten. And he’d suffered all that just to make sure I could go home safely. It wasn’t right, and the thought brought on the heady sensation of guilt. Of course, I should feel guilty. Because of a drunken mistake, no matter how indirect, I’d hurt him. Metice was in pain, and it was my fault.

I didn’t want to care as much as I did. I didn”t do it on purpose, but it didn”t change the fact that my actions had ramifications. And the demon, who was mostly an asshole to me at first, had softened. In the days we spent together, over the meals we shared, I realized he wasn’t so terrible.

And as I lay there in bed, surrounded by books, I had to accept something. In the time I spent with Metice, I grew to care about him. I shared so much of myself, it would have been impossible not to feel a developing bond. And though he”d told me very little about him, he listened. He was attentive, and he remembered things about me.

Not to mention the sex. Yes, I was drunker than I ever imagined I could get off a few sips of wine, but I wanted him. It wasn’t just that once. Over the days of talking, of growing closer, my curiosity about him increased. I often found myself watching his lips as he talked, his ass as he walked by, and wondering what it would feel like to have him hold me.

I looked around the room full of things he’s picked out just for me, and I couldn”t help but feel that he cared about me. Yeah, we gave each other shit, and we would continue to do so, but something was happening there, something I”d seen in movies and read in books. There was a connection between us, one I had to sever, because there was no way in hell I was going to fall for a demon. I didn”t want him to be hurt, but I sure as hell wasn’t signing up to spend the rest of eternity with him. I’d picked up that book and put it back the hell down.

There was something else bothering me. Since I admitted my truth to him and told him about my history and psychosis, I had been questioning myself. Why hadn”t I called my therapist the second I saw him standing in my bedroom? Why had I just accepted that this insanity was the truth? For a long time, I wanted to believe that those lives I experienced were real, that I didn”t just make it up in my head because that felt like an easy explanation for what I experienced. When he appeared, he gave me a reason to believe I wasn”t crazy.

Then, I thought about those people, the ones who I came to know and love, the ones I”d been forced to mourn. Maybe they were real. Maybe they were out there, living in another world that I’d somehow accessed. Metice said it—there were magical beings on earth. Could I have inherited that ability from one of them?

Then, there was the fleeting hope that I could somehow find my way back to them. It was insane to think about, but it felt better to have talked about it, even with the one who I partially believed was just another break in my psyche. And now, he was hurt. So what did that mean? Did it mean I was breaking further? Did it mean I would have to mourn the loss of yet another figment of my imagination? Even if I believed the phone would magically work again to contact my therapist, the damn thing was dead because I’d forgotten to charge it. I was on my own, and he was hurting. I had no idea what I was going to do.

The next morning, after getting maybe twenty minutes of sleep, I gave up the effort. Metice still wasn’t awake. I showered, dressed, and waited for him at the table. When he appeared, he had no food. He looked tired, but the wounds that previously covered his body were gone. His eyes were dark and his horns, which he”d had hidden since I got there, were erect on his head.

“Are you okay?” I stood and met him at the bottom of the steps. “How are you feeling?”

“I”m fine. How are you feeling? Did you sleep at all?” He shifted the attention back to me.

“No. I couldn”t.” I scanned his arms and lifted his shirt to check his chest.

“Excuse me?” he said, and I looked up to see his dark eyes on me. “What are you doing?”

“Just wanted to check your wounds. They were pretty bad.” He was right: he’d completely healed, not a mark on him.

“I’m fine. You, however, look terrible.” He grabbed my face and peered into my eyes. “You should have rested. Going without sleep is only going to make this more difficult for you.”

“Like I could sleep while worrying about you. Maybe you shouldn’t come home all bloodied and beaten like that,” I fussed and slapped his hand away. “Besides, this entire experience has been difficult. So there really won’t be much of a change, now will there?”

“Do you think being stubborn is a sport you can win?” he asked, and when I opted to stare out of the window instead of answering him, he continued. “Well, we better get going. We have a long way to go, and I need to make a stop along the way.”

“You mean we can’t just pop over there like you do?” I thought he would be transporting us to wherever he had in mind.

“No. That’s a skill I use mostly when I’m away from this world. To do it here can be considered rude, especially to the person we need to see. When I’m home, I travel like everyone else.”

“Do you at least have wings?” I pointed out the window where I’d seen several flying beings before. “You can fly us over all the other demons?”

“Do you think if I had wings, you wouldn”t know about them by now? Have you ever seen me sprout wings and take flight?” He crossed his arms and waited for a response.

“Your body does a lot of things I don”t understand.” I glanced down at his dick. “And I assumed you didn”t show me all your tricks. Remember, you said I can’t know everything about you.”

“Right.” He followed my eyes. “To answer your question, no, I don”t have wings. Don’t worry, it won”t be too difficult to get where we”re going. We have transport. You don’t have to worry about tiring your fragile human body with walking.

“Transport?” I asked, and Metice turned and headed back up the stairs.

Getting out of his home was a trip. The heavy door led to a long flight of stairs that spiraled about twelve times before we reached the ground. By the time we made it to the lower level where another door waited, I was out of breath.

“You do that every day?” I pointed back at the spiraling staircase.

Metice shook his head and opened the door. “You should work on your stamina… outside of the bedroom.”

The door opened to a view of the lake I’d seen upstairs, and I felt fresh air for the first time in days. It washed over my skin and tickled my nose. Then, I realized the air in hell smelled like warm apple tarts. Where I expected lava, hellfire, and burning souls, there were tall trees, colorful skies, and strange animal sounds. I looked for the source of the squawking but found nothing.

The transportation he mentioned was a carriage, a gothic thing made mostly of what I assumed was iron or some other heavy metal. It had four windows on either side, thick maroon curtains draped across them. In front was an empty driver’s seat, and on each side was a door with handles that looked like claws stolen from a large bird.

Oh, and there weren’t any adorable stallions pulling it. Instead, there were what I dubbed hell horses. What else would you call a horse at least three times the size of a shire horse and coated in a flaming liquid that dripped from their flesh and left scorched marks on the ground beneath them?

“What the hell?” I gawked at the horses and flinched when one turned to look at me with scorching red eyes.

“You know, while you’re here, you should really come up with a new phrase.” Metice laughed and opened the door. “Get in.”

“I never would have imagined you would ride around in something like this.” I winked. “It’s a little girly.”

“You’re calling this girly? This is top of the line!” He flicked the metal frame of the carriage with his finger, and the sharp ping echoed around us.

“It has frilly curtains on the inside!” I pointed at the windows.

“Those frilly curtains can stop a bullet.” Metice looked genuinely offended for a moment before he put on that nonchalant mask again. “Call it what you want, I guess. It’s not my usual ride, but I didn’t want to bring too much suspicion to myself while carrying such precious cargo.”

“Precious cargo?” I placed my hand over my heart and fluttered my lashes. “Is that how you think of me?”

“Get over yourself.” He knocked my hand away from my chest.

I took a step closer to him and then froze as the largest of the three hell horses made a noise like a damn tiger. The sound reached beneath my skin and terrified me. At least they were frightening creatures. Maybe they would be enough to keep any other demons from trying to interfere with our trip.

Once the shock wore off, I got in the carriage. Metice closed the door and jumped in on the other side.

“Um, who’s driving this thing?” I pointed to the front of the ride where the coachman’s seat remained empty.

“They know where they’re going.” He leaned back and shut his eyes. “Just relax and enjoy the ride.”

A moment later, I was holding on for dear life, because those damn horses took off like they’d been fed jet fuel. Here I was, bracing for impact, and he was snoring. There was no chance of me relaxing. Even when I did ease into my seat, one of the horses would make that terrifying sound and scare me back to my senses.

Eventually, I worked up the nerve to peek out of the covered window at the unfamiliar territory we traveled through. Hell was beautiful. There were vast plains, incredible mountain ranges, and natural stone structures everywhere. It felt idyllic, peaceful, and I wondered how it got such a bad rep. Yes, some of the creatures were terrifying, at least the ones I met, but other than that, the world looked perfect.

Metice lived far away from the general population. Traveling from his home was like passing through the countryside. Occasionally, I would see a beast in the distance, too blurry to make out, but I pretended we were just riding past grass grazing cattle. Nothing special about it.

As we neared the more populated areas, the horses slowed, and I could see in more detail. So much for pretending like this was normal. That’s when the fear returned. Above us, creatures with massive, webbed wings flew in targeting circles.

In the distance I saw monsters of all sorts. Some were large, threatening and running on all fours, while others stood bipedal with human-like silhouettes. They were still too blurred by movement for me to make out anything specific. Afraid their eyesight would be better than mine, I lowered the curtain just enough so I could look out with one eye. If they recognized me as human, what would they do to me? I didn”t want them to know I was in the ride with Metice, but there were a few when we passed whose eyes turned towards us, and I felt like they were looking right at me.

Just before we stopped, Metice woke up, like an internal alarm pulled him from his sleep. He stretched his arms and side eyed me.

“You didn’t rest.” He rolled his neck. “I can tell by your energy. You’re exhausted.”

“How could I?” I pointed to the window. “I’m in a new world, and you expect me to sleep on the first outing?”

“We’re here now, so you won’t have a chance for a while. Let’s go.” Metice exited his side and came around to mine to open the door. “Don’t complain to me if you have trouble standing later.”

“What are you doing?” I looked past him to the busy market I could see in the distance behind him. How did he expect me to go in there? There were all sorts of demons walking the streets. “I can’t go in there!”

“I told you I have to make a stop, and you have to come with me. I can”t leave you here,” he insisted. “It’s not safe for you here.”

“Aren’t you afraid someone will see me? Remember, demon enemies trying to attack the human to get back at you?” I pointed over his shoulder. “What if they’re in there?”

“Yeah, I thought of that.” He stepped away and reappeared with a cloak in his hand. It was a heavy and ugly yellow, with brown stains all over the rough fabric.

“You expect me to wear that?” I gagged. “Are you serious?”

“Well, if you want to survive.” He looked over his shoulder. “Or I could just leave you here, and we can take our chances that no one will find you alone, unprotected.”

“That thing smells terrible.” Like hell horse shit, honestly.

“And so do most of the demons in there. We have to hide the fact that you’re human.”

“I can’t believe this.” I held my hand out. “Fine. Give it here.”

Cloaked in the cover of stink, I stepped out of the carriage, and from the moment my foot hit the ground, I felt more vulnerable than I ever had. We were still far from the entrance, but there were a few demons passing us, some flying above our head, all headed to the same place.

“Breathe. It’s going to be okay.” He closed the door behind me. “We’ll be in and out of here in no time.”

“I like that you’re so confident.” My heart raced, the distant sounds from the market already overwhelming. “But the last thing I want to do while wearing this thing is breathe.”

“Let’s go.” Metice led the way.

“You know, I thought it would be a lot hotter here.” A cool breeze brushed across my exposed cheeks, and I pulled the hood down further to hide my face.

“Because you believe the cartoonist depictions of our world.” He stopped and pointed to the distant grass covered hills. “Hell is a masterpiece of beauty. The air is without pollution, the trees are all fruitful. Anyone can live off the land without concern of poison or punishment. You humans don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

“I don’t know about all that, but yeah, every description I’ve heard of hell was a tapestry of literal fire, brimstone, and monsters that will leave you with nightmares. I”ve seen some of the monsters in passing. They didn”t look that bad.”

“That”s because you weren”t up close.” His deep chuckle worried me. “Trust me, some of the beings here, one look in the eye, and you’ll never sleep again. There are places like you’ve described. Every world has its scary bits, but most of the Bane is beautiful and welcoming.”

“You don”t look so bad,” I admitted. Neither did the demonic woman who visited him, but I wasn’t going to say that aloud.

“I guess I”m one of the lucky ones. Think of the ones who visited you on Earth.” He looked back at me. “You just make sure to keep it in your pants. This isn’t the place for horn holding.”

“You ain”t that fine,” I snipped. “And I thought it was a damn dream. I told you that. I”m not about to jump on you in the middle of hell.”

“Oh. I get it. That’s why you’ve been staying away from me.” He slowed until we were side by side then lowered his head to whisper in my ear. “I suppose that type of activity is meant just for Earth. Maybe in your bedroom? Or maybe you prefer the dining room table. I’m pretty sure we busted it up, though.”

“You know, every time I start to think that you might be halfway decent, you open your mouth and prove me wrong.” I shoved him away from me.

“I”m just doing the best I can to make sure you don”t fall in love with me.” He straightened. “You know, I read some of those books of yours. Call it curiosity, but I wanted to know what the draw was. There’s also been an uptick in women who are doing these spells and rituals lately. I mean, we”ve always had the issue, but it”s gotten a lot worse, and now I see why.”

“Do you?”

“It’s those books you read. They’re nothing but porn. Your authors write these stories of monsters coming and fucking the senses out of these women, and you all just gobble it up dreaming of the day it happens to you. The problem is, most of the demons being summoned aren”t the type to want to drive a woman crazy in bed. I mean, they”ll drive you crazy alright, and then after days or even weeks of torture, they”ll probably eat your face.” He looked at me. “You got lucky with me.”

“I’ll have to thank the universe for that. Wait, you read the books?” I couldn’t help myself. I laughed at the thought of this massive demon reading Earth smut. “How many books did it take you to come to that conclusion? It sounds like you read quite a few of them. Don”t tell me you were enjoying them.”

“It”s called scientific research,” he reasoned. “How could I properly assess the situation if I didn’t get an adequate amount of data for the experiment?”

I laughed.” Just tell me how many books you read. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“That”s not important.” He avoided the question.

“Some great researcher you are. You won”t even share your data sources.” I pointed at him. “How do you expect me to trust your findings?”

“The point is, you human women really need to stop being so reckless. There are plenty of men on Earth. Can they really be so bad that you’re all turning to other worlds for the hope of love?”

“What do you think?” I scoffed. “The last guy I went out with left shit stains on my front seat. So yeah, it”s that bad.”

Metice stopped in front of me and turned to look me in the eye, his face tight with the laughter he held back. “He did what?”

“Yeah, literal shit stains on my front seat. So you”ll have to excuse me if I thought maybe a mystical magical man created by a spell would be better than dealing with that ever again.”

Metice’s face looked like it would explode. His cheeks tightened, and his lips were pressed so tightly together, it looked painful.

“You’re going to hurt yourself.” I shook my head at his ridiculous expression. “It”s fine, you can laugh.”

He burst into laughter, and I thought he would hurt himself. The sound brought the attention of three passing wide-faced demons while he doubled over, smacking his knee and holding his sides. Two of them pointed at Metice, grunting in a language I didn’t know, while the other looked at me. I waited for those ice blue eyes to turn away from me. They were slender beings, smaller them me with bodies like standing geckos. If they suspected anything about me, I doubted they’d want to face the demon I traveled with.

When the three continued without engaging, I returned my attention to Metice, who still had the nerve to be laughing. I had a sense he hadn’t laughed that hard probably ever. Glad my misery could bring someone joy.

“I”m sorry, but that”s just too good. I”m going to have to remember that and tell this to the others. You know, one of my guys has been called to your world at least six times! He needs to know this is what he”s up against.”

“Now that you know, maybe you can start an agency leasing out the demon broods for the horny women of Earth,” I joked.

“You know that”s not a half bad idea.” He scratched his chin, as if he really thought the idea was a good one.

“I wasn’t being serious.” I slapped his shoulder. “That’s disgusting.”

“Disgusting? Look, joke or not, it might be a good business venture.” He caught his breath. “The women are already calling the demons there. I could make sure they get a good one. It would do wonders for book sales. Maybe that screenplay of yours can be a part of this.”

“Please. Stop.” I pinched the bridge of my nose in part to stop the budding headache.

“Fine, fine. We’ll talk about it later.” He placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Can we go now?” I wanted to get whatever this was over with so I could take the stink cloak off.

“Yes. When we get in there, stay close to me.” Metice straightened as we got closer to the entrance of the market. “Rembile isn”t a place for a human. It’s barely a place for demons.”

“So why are you bringing me here?” I asked. “If it’s so dangerous, shouldn’t I be waiting for you somewhere else?”

“It”s part of the bargain for the witch who”s going to help us. There is an herb we need. It’s a key ingredient, and it has to be as fresh as possible. Unfortunately, this is the closest place to her den where I can get it. We’ll be in and out; just stay close.”

And just like that, my nerves returned. The closer we got to the entrance, the more my stomach hurt, and the closer I got to him. I was a second from climbing his back and making him carry me when I heard the first sounds of demonic voices. They were making deals, arguing, and there were even sounds of laughter. Honestly, it was like any other market I had ever been to, just with the genuine threat that something might take a bite out of me.

When we reached the gate, we were a couple nearly fused at the hip. Each step he took, I took only slightly quicker because his legs were longer. At first, I thought everyone was looking at me when we crossed under the arch bearing the name of the market. It was like every creature there, both those with two eyes and those with twelve, turned to us. I pulled the stinky cloak closer around me, making sure to shield my face as much as possible. The thought was stronger with each step. I was a human and a market full of demons. How was this my life?

“They’re all looking at me,” I whispered. “This isn’t working.”

“They aren’t looking at you.” His voice was steady, like the steps that carried him forward.

“How could you know that?” I wanted to look at him, but I didn’t. I kept my eyes on the ground and avoided potentially having the hood fall from my face.

“Relax, you’re fine,” he spoke calmly and kept moving forward.

I could have rebutted, but he was right. When I checked the creatures around us, those strange beings who looked as different from each other as the human who walked among them, they weren”t looking at me. They looked right over the small and unthreatening visitor to the large demon next to her. I clutched the hood tight around my face and risked looking at him.

Metice no longer looked like the gentler version of himself. His horns were sprouting from his head, bigger than I had ever seen. They twisted up into spiral points above his head and glowed a soft red. The angles of his face had sharpened, and his cheekbones rose into high ridges. His eyes glowed with a purple hue. His body expanded, and it was like with each step forward he got larger.

I stumbled after looking at him and almost fell on my face. Metice’s hand wrapped around my arm and kept me upright.

“Watch it.” he said, eyes forward, not missing a step.

I struggled to regain my footing and keep up with him. Again, no one looked at me. He had their attention, not me. I could tell they were terrified of him. Good. Maybe it meant they wouldn’t bother us. We could get in and out no problem.

At least, I hoped that”s what it meant.

The market looked like an OSHA report waiting to happen. The open storefronts were like broken boxes stacked into dangerous towers. Each structure looked like with one strong breeze, it would fall over, and yet these demonic beings big and small went in and out of the buildings with no problem. They were scaling the sides of them, flying in and out through windows, and hopping from the top floors down to the ground with no issue.

I looked around and kept an eye on the ones I could see, the demons who steered clear of us. Some were large and threatening, while others were small and kind of cute. There was one in particular that ran up to me. It was blue all over, with huge cartoonish eyes, and it reminded me of something like a cross between a sheepdog and a baby alligator. It whimpered at my feet and wagged his tail in front of me.

“It”s kind of cute.” I leaned down to get a better look, but Metice grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. “What is it?”

“It”s called a denati. Yes, it’s cute, but it’s also annoying. The moment you give that thing any type of attention, it will never leave you alone. Don”t touch it.”

“I wasn”t going to touch it. Do I look like the type of girl who walks into hell touching demons?” I didn’t have to look at him to know the smug smile was spreading across his face. “Forget I said it.”

After a few more minutes of walking over broken pavement, around bins of trash, and avoiding clusters of ugly demons, Metice came to a stop in front of a shop with tattered green drapes hanging in front of the door.

“Stay here.” He pointed to the space next to the door where a raggedy little stool sat. “I’ll be right back.”

“What?” I looked where he pointed. “What do you mean stay here? You can’t expect me to stay out here alone.”

“It will only be a minute,” he answered. “You’ll survive.”

“I can’t stay here by myself.” I looked around. “What if something happens? One of these things might try to snatch me up.”

“Has anyone even looked at you this entire time? Just stay put, and you will be fine.”

“Why can’t I come?” I grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. “I’m serious. Why?”

“The owner is weird about new people.” He shrugged.

“What kind of person runs a store and gets weird about having new people come in?” I stomped my foot. “That makes no sense!”

“Not a person.” He tapped the side of my head with his finger. “Remember, you’re not home anymore. Stop using traits of humanity to talk about demons. Things don’t work the same here.”

“Fine. Just…” I looked around and found the area we were in was actually pretty empty. “Hurry up.”

“So proud of you, brave girl.” He patted my head like I was an obedient pet, and I wanted to punch him in the side, but I knew it would hurt my hand if I did.

At first, it was fine. I waited patiently for him to return, and though he said he would be in and out, it took longer than I would have liked. And then, as I stood there waiting for this brooding demon man to return to my side and protect me from any unwanted threats, something appeared. If I were on Earth, I would have thought it was just a little old lady, someone who probably skipped too many visits to their chiropractor. She was hunched over, with long grey threads of hair hanging in front of her face and wide eyes that were sunken into her skull. She stood across the path and watched me intently. So much for being hidden.

When it looked like she might approach me, I abandoned the sense that told me to stay put, and I moved. Yes, I knew I shouldn”t have done it. It was the one avoidable thing that happens in all those stories. It was how the main character ended up in danger, but the last thing I wanted was that woman touching me or realizing there was an unaccompanied human in her world. I moved to the side of the building, just far enough that I was out of her line of sight, but close enough that when Metice came out of the store, he would be able to find me.

And of course, just as I felt mildly comfortable again, a crowd of demons came out of nowhere. They grunted and cheered as they marched by me, and while I tried to stick close to the building to get out of their way, I got swept up into the crowd and pushed further and further away from the storefront. I fought to get back to my position, but then a huge wall of a demon who smelled like a mixture of chocolate chip cookies and broccoli lifted me from the ground. He tossed me in the air like a beach ball at a rave, and his cheers muffled out the sound of my own screams.

“Put me down!” I yelled, but the crowd wasn’t concerned with my pleas. I had no idea what they were celebrating, but I didn”t want to be a part of it. A few minutes later, the big demon dropped me. I stumbled forward and pressed my back against the wall of another haphazardly built building. I had no idea where I was.

“Fuck.” I scanned the area. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! How do I get back?”

The best thing I could think to do was walk opposite the general direction I knew they carried me, but it didn”t help. The longer I walked, the more lost I became as I realized the place was more a maze than anything. There was no structure to the way the market was built, no grid system to follow. Each turn led to another collection of splitting pathways.

“How the hell does anyone find their way around this place?” I muttered as I pulled the hood down around my face and hoped I still smelled as bad as I did when I first arrived. My nose had adjusted to the smell, so I could no longer tell.

Moving nervously through the twisted streets, I got that gut feeling, the one that said something was watching me. If I didn”t get back to Metice soon enough, I would be in some real trouble. So, I kept stumbling forward, trying my best to remember which way I”d came. Then, I heard the growl: a deep, guttural sound that came from behind me. I turned around to find the goofiest looking beast I could have imagined.

It looked like a miniature zebra, but it had short thick legs, and a belly that hung to the ground. Sharps spikes that matched the pointed teeth in its mouth lined its back. Its face looked smushed, creating a permanent grin. Goofy looking or not, the thing could definitely kill me if given the chance. It wasn’t far from me, but it sniffed the air, and its eyes locked on me. It sneered. Whatever it was, it knew I wasn”t supposed to be there. This thing knew I was human. There was no need to wait for it to attack first—I turned and ran.

I clutched the cloak, making sure it didn”t fall off me. The last thing I needed was something else realizing I was human in a world full of demons. I turned two corners, looking back over my shoulder once, only to find the thing was still coming. I kept running, kept pushing forward. It was big, ugly, but apparently, it wasn”t that fast. Its belly dragged across the ground, slowing it down.

Turning another sharp corner, I skid to a halt, recognizing the little blue demon dog. It ran up to me, frantically sniffed me, then bit the bottom of the cloak. At first, I shooed it away, but then I realized it was pulling me in a specific direction. Knowing I had little time before the overweight demon caught up to me, I followed it.

It led me into a nook just to the left, pushed me back against the wall, then turned and pointed its ass at the entrance. A cloud of rainbow mist shot from its ass and filled the space with the scent of apricots.

“What?” I gawked then slapped my hand over my mouth as the fat demon zebra ran by the opening. The aroma from my little friend’s ass threw it off. It turned in circles, trying to catch my scent again, then took off running in the wrong direction.

Once it was safe, the little blue demon dog bit the bottom of my cloak again and dragged me out of the opening. I didn”t know what to do at first, but it looked at me and pointed his nose to the right of us with a whimper.

“Do you know where he is?” I had to give this thing credit. It was clearly smart and wanted to help me out.

It nodded and whimpered again, jutting its nose in the same direction.

“Please don’t lead me into a worse situation.” I pulled the cloak tighter around me and followed its lead.

A few minutes later, I ran right into the angry demon.

“I told you to stay put. Are you okay?” He grabbed me, pushing the hood aside so he could see my face. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“A hoard of happy demons carried me off and dropped me on my ass,” I explained. “I’m a little embarrassed, but I’m not hurt.”

“Are you sure?” He double-checked my appearance.

“Yes.” I smiled. “Look at you, genuinely concerned about me.”

“I,” he started, but my new little pal whimpered at my feet. He looked down and pointed at it. “What is that?”

“What?” I looked down.

“Why do you have that? I told you not to touch it.”

“I didn’t touch it. It helped me find my way back.” I took a step away from the little blue guy, but he scurried closer to me. “Um…”

“Great,” Metice waved his hand as he fussed and turned to walk away from me, calling back to me over his shoulder. “I’m not feeding it or cleaning up after it. You wanted it, it’s yours. Let’s go.”