20. A Total Natural
The next day, Metice made Piko a part of our training. The small blue creature looked at me with worried eyes as the demon scooped him up from the ground. He yipped and reached his stubby little arms out for me.
“What are you doing?” I reached for Piko, but Metice pulled him away from me.
“I’m starting the next phase of your training,” he explained. “You have mastered getting to places you can see, but now, we need to extend your reach.”
“Extend my reach?” In the distance were orange mountain tops. “Like over there?”
“Not exactly. I need you to focus on Piko.” He held the creature up to me. “You can feel his energy now, right? With him in view, you can create the thread between you.”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Great.” Metice disappeared, and when he returned, he had a devious grin on his face. Piko wasn’t with him. “Go get Piko.”
“What?” I panicked. For all I knew, some dinosaur looking creature could be having my pet for a snack. “Where did you take him? What did you do to him?”
“That’s for you to figure out. He’s safe, don’t worry. Focus on that energy signature. Once you’ve encountered a new signature, you store it in an internal library you can tap into any time you want. Search your library and find Piko.”
“I-” My mind raced. “How?”
“I can’t tell you that. It’s different for everyone. For me, I visualize a library, but for others, it may not work the same.”
“We couldn’t have practiced that before you took my pet away?” I slapped him on the arm. “Why would you do that?”
“Now, what would motivate you in that scenario?” He rubbed his chin. “You got this. Just focus. Piko is waiting for you.”
I closed my eyes and tried to visualize a library like Metice said, but all I got was a bookstore full of smut. How was I supposed to do this?
“It’s not working,” I huffed. “My library is broken.”
“It has to be something unique to you.” Metice rubbed my shoulders. “I picture a library because I’ve always been a collector of knowledge. Each book on my mental shelf holds not only an energy signature, but all the knowledge I’ve collected about a place, thing, or person. Find something that connects to you on that level.”
“Right, okay.” I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and focused. The first thing that came to mind was my paintings. Each stroke captured the essence of my subject. I mentally painted a picture of Piko in my mind, and soon, I saw the thread between us. I didn’t know where it ended, but I was sure it would take me to him.
When I opened my eyes, I stood on a small hill overlooking a pink pond. Piko sat chewing on a piece of meat Metice left him with, so concerned with the meal, he hardly noticed me.
“See, you did it.” Metice appeared beside me.
“Not that he seems to care.” I pointed at Piko, who tore into the meat happily.
“Now, don’t take it personally. I’m sure he’s happy to see you, but that meat is fantastic,” Metice bragged. “I used a new rub on it, and I think I’ve perfected my blend.”
“Right.” I clapped. “Now what?”
“Now, you do it again.” Metice held his hands up. “This time, you find me.”
I spent the rest of the day chasing Metice’s signature around this new world, each time coming across a place that was more unreal than the last. It was something out of a children’s book, and I loved every moment—so much so that I started making up rhymes for the places we saw.
“Are you going to write them down?” Metice worked on our meal for the night. I was quickly getting used to having a man who cooked, because I, for one, hated doing it!
“What?” I sipped my water. “What do you mean?”
“The little rhymes you’ve been creating. What will you do with them?” He held his finger up. “Rivers run blue, and puffballs scurry. I capture this moment before it’s time to hurry.”
I couldn’t believe he remembered the rhyme but assumed it was just another fact in his mental library. “I hadn’t thought about it. Maybe.”
“Better than the smut you were writing before,” he joked.
“Hilarious.” I rolled my eyes. “I always wanted to be a writer, but painting and other forms of art came more naturally to me. To me, it’s so much easier to tell a story with the stroke of a paintbrush than by stringing a series of words together.”
“Interesting perspective.” Metice watched me. “I’d love to see you paint someday. Peacefully, without worry of danger.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course. That’s why we’re here. Once you can handle your own, you will return to your normal life. No one will mess with you.”
“That’s sounds like wishful thinking,” I laughed. “You and I both know that the life I had before meeting you is long gone. I doubt I could even reclaim my clients now. How long have I been away from Earth?”
“A few weeks.” He nodded. “Might be difficult to explain another extended disappearance.”
“Maybe I will turn my adventures into books. I could do children’s books. At least this way, when I’m home, I can still afford to live.”
“Or,” he started, but kept the thought to himself. “Never mind.”
“What is it?” I poked him. “Tell me now.”
“Maybe you don’t have to go back to Earth,” Metice offered.
“What?” The nervous laugh caught in my throat. The idea of not going home led me to thoughts of where I would be if I didn’t, and those imaginings all involved the demon who sat across from me.
“We’re bonded now. Maybe your life can look different when this is done.”
“You imagine me living in hell with you?” It might have been better to tiptoe around the question, but I chose the more direct option.
“Living in hell? No.” Metice shook his head. “But I imagine you exploring the universe with me. I can’t see you going back to being just another human toiling around on Earth, not after everything you’ve been through.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought of that. This new power would open me up to new worlds.
“You know now, your body will acclimate to just about any world. You can see and experience things even your amazing imagination couldn’t concoct.”
“That’s something to think about.” I stared up at the night sky.
“It’s nothing we have to discuss now. That’s why I said never mind. I know you’re uneasy about this metaphysical marriage between us.” He handed me another bottle of water. “Drink as much as you can. Tomorrow, we’ll go a little further. It’s best if you’re properly hydrated. Eliminates cramping.”
A day later, and we stood in a world that smelled like strawberry bubblegum. There wasn’t much to see. The ground was a great expanse of grey mulch, with yellow fuzz balls covering nearly every inch.
“What is this place?” I frowned. “It smells sweet, but it looks like death.”
“We call it a dekoti.” Metice sighed. “This is dekoti 768. Sad to see it this way now.”
“What’s a dekoti?” The word felt foreign to my mouth, but the meaning settled in my stomach like bad milk.
“A world that was once vibrant with life and is now a shell of itself. Some ecological disaster happened and wiped out everything that once lived here. Funny enough, we’ve classified your Earth as a dekoti world many times, but life keeps finding its way there,” he explained. “You know, there are scholars on other worlds studying your home? They hope to be able to use whatever phenomenon happens there to be able to save and restore worlds like this one.”
“So it’s true, all the theories of what Earth has gone through?” I’d watched enough natured documentaries that spectated about the many ecological disasters our world had survived, but it was something different to have it confirmed.
“Absolutely.” Metice nodded. “It’s a resilient place. I think it will even survive you humans.”
“I always questioned if science was right. I’d love to pretend to be offended by what you said, but humans are the ecological disaster. It’s nice to think there’s a chance it will recover when we’re gone.” I smiled. “Why are we here?”
“You’re right: we should leave. Okay. Take us back to Earth 2.0.” He smiled. “I’m your passenger. I will not change your path, so get it right, and please don’t drop us into a volcano. Stretch your senses and return to where we just were.”
“Seriously?” I scoffed. “You know, mentioning a volcano right now was a terrible idea. If it happens, it’s your fault for putting it in my mind.”
“Same principal, greater distance.” He rubbed my shoulders. “You got this. Don’t think of the distance. It doesn’t matter. In your mind, millions of miles are crossed in a matter of steps. All you need is a clear view of where you’re trying to go.”
“Okay.” I brought to mind our campsite, the firepit and Piko. Even the weird little yellow bush that wasn’t a bush. The bridge slowly formed. I held my hand out to him, and when I felt his palm press against mine, I started my slow skate across the path. When I opened my eyes, I was there.
Metice stood beside me, and Piko jumped into my arms. At least that time, the little guy acted like he missed me. Of course, there was no meat to distract him. He moved to lick my face, then stopped and chose my hand instead.
“First try!” I cheered and jumped around, then started twerking. “Take that. Uh. Uh.”
“Great job.” He backed up and watched me. “You should do that every time. Shake your ass like that. I like it.”
“Oh yeah?” I pointed my ass at him and shook it playfully. “You enjoying the show, big guy?”
He bit his lips like he wanted to do anything but continue our training. “Now, go back to where we just were.”
“Back to the desolate place?” My celebration ended.
“Yes.” he nodded. “Take us back.”
“I…how? I didn’t focus on it.” My mind raced trying to recreate the image of the world, but it felt impossible. “I didn’t get the signature.”
“Try anyway,” he said sternly.
“Okay, I guess.” I closed my eyes and imagined the vast expanse of nothing. When the bridge appeared, it had holes in it, but that was as good as it was going to get. I held my hand out to him, and as soon as I started my skate across, the bridge fell apart.
The connection failed but, lucky for me, we weren’t hanging in a freefall. We landed right back at the campsite, just a few feet to the right.
“See? No signature to follow.” I threw my hands up. “I didn’t know I was supposed to be collecting it while we were there.”
“Here’s another lesson for you: everywhere you go, you must take in the energy, catalog it. You never know when you’ll need to go back.” He smacked my ass. “Don’t worry. It will get easier, like second nature.”
“Okay.” If he wanted me to focus, he was going to have to stop doing that, because I wanted to teleport his ass right to bed again.
Metice took the reins. He transported me to the desolate world, and I popped us back to our campsite. Then, I took us back to the desolate world. From there, he would take me to new worlds, some boring, others outrageous. Once we landed in a new place, he would call out a previous location, and I had minutes to collect what I needed and leave.
He was right. It got easier each time.
“Last test.” Metice grinned after I emptied another bottle of water. “You ready?”
“What do I have to do?”
“Take us to a world you’ve never been.”
I laughed, expecting him to join in, but he stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Wait, you’re serious? What happened to collecting new signatures? How am I supposed to do that?”
“Do you think I’ve had the signature of every place I’ve ever been?” he said with a straight face. “One thing you will learn with this power is that there are places and people whose energy will call out to you. You’ll feel them like soft whispers in your mind. Cling to them, and they get stronger. That is how I’ve been able to see and experience so many places.”
I thought about what he said, and it reminded me of my art. There were things I painted I had no explanations for, faces of people who felt foreign and yet so familiar at the same time. I thought of my art and the image of my recent work came to mind.
There it was the whisper of energy, and I focused on it, held it as tightly as I could until it felt like I’d already been there.
“Okay.” I held my hand out to him. “Let’s hope this works.”
Metice grabbed my hand, and I did it. I felt that thread grow stronger. It stretched into a path, and then I ran across it.
“How did you do this?” Metice asked before I could open my eyes to the scene from my painting. It was exactly how I imagined: rolling hills of ice and hazy skies, specks of grass peeking through the frozen land.
“It’s real?” I sighed, and my breath turned into a chilly cloud in front of my face. “I never imagined this could be real.”
“This is Floushal’s world.” Metice said. “This is where I learned about you. How did you tap into this place?”
“It is?” It looked nothing like the world he told me about. “I thought you said that place was dried up without water.”
“It was when I was there, but it has seasons just like any other world.”
“This is the world I’ve been painting. I didn’t know if it was real or not, but it’s been so vivid in my mind. I figured I could try it out, and if it didn’t work, the worst that would happen is I would end up in my home in front of my easel.”
“This is amazing.” Metice pulled me into him and kissed me. “You are truly amazing, Rayna.”
“It’s really beautiful.” My voice trembled from the cold. “This is unbelievable. I dreamed of this place for weeks before I started painting. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. And now, I’m here. How many of my other works are real?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them are.” Metice wrapped his arms around me and warmed my body.
“To think, I could visit those places and experience those dreams.” The excitement was enough to make me forget about the icy wind that slammed against my body. “This is wild.”
“Let’s get back. We can visit this place again when you’re dressed for it. This dress isn’t enough to protect you from this weather.” He kissed my cheek and moved to my lips.
In a flash, we were back in our tent, and our clothes fell to the floor as we moved to the bed.
Metice paused. His lips lingered on my neck as his weight fell on top of me.
“What’s wrong?” I ran my fingers along his bare back. “Something is taking your mind away from me. Come back.”
“I hate that this has to end,” he admitted. “I don’t want it to.”
“What has to end?”
“Us, here, alone. We can’t stay like this forever.” He kissed me, and I could feel the sorrow on his lips. “Rayna, I’ve waited so long for you. I tried to deny it when I first felt you. I did everything I could to protect you from my world, and it feels selfish now to want to keep you in it with me. The thought of you leaving, of not having these moments with you…it kills me.”
“I feel the same way, and hey, I thought we agreed to continue. Yeah, we have some heavy shit to sort out, but I don’t plan to go anywhere. I’m kind of tied to you now, so it’s not like I can just pack my bags and go.” I grabbed his face and lifted his lips from my neck to look into his eyes. “Can we just have one more good night before we return to hell and face the demons? Then, after that, we’ll figure out how this works.”
“One night, maybe two,” he growled, and this time, he wasn’t so gentle.
It was during our third round, when I rode him like a bull and held on to his horns for stability, that I lost control. Don’t ask me why, but just at that moment, I thought of Keri. I wondered if my friend was okay and then boom! I was gone. No longer riding a demon, but straddled across a coffee table, butt ass naked in front of my friend.
“Rayna?” Keri dropped the bowl of cereal in her lap. “Bitch, what the fuck?”
“Oh shit, Keri?” I slapped my hands over my breast and stuttered. “I - I - I was just….”
“I can imagine what you were just doing.” She tossed me the small blanket from the couch. “Cover yourself. Glad to see you’re alive.”
“Yeah, I, um.” I caught my breath and tried to regulate my emotions. Being moments from the peak of orgasm and then scared out of your fucking mind was mind-boggling.
“I guess your demon boy found you.” She cleaned the spilled cereal from her lap and stuck her tongue out at me. “You two make up?”
“He did, and well…” I wrapped the fleece around me. “Something like that.”
“Okay, don’t leave me sitting here thirsty. Spill the tea. What the hell happened?”
“Well, I was held captive. Nearly died. Metice killed a bunch of demons to protect me and then had to take me to a witch. She healed me but changed me.”
“Changed you?” She perked up. “Changed you how? Did you have to sell her your soul? Are you indebted to her now? Dammit, Earth law isn’t going to help us with this, Rayna.”
“Keri, calm down. I’m okay. It’s a long story, but you know that power I told you about? Well, what she did unlocked it completely, and Metice been training me to use it.” I shrugged.
“Right.” She looked at me. “Do you have to be naked to use it? Or is that just like a nice little bonus?”
“No, I, ugh, I’m actually great at it, but I guess it’s still a little unsteady.” I laughed nervously. “I have to think of a person or place. And this is weird, but we were, well, you know. And-”
“Oh, I know what you were doing.” She lowered her voice. “Was it rotating?”
“Keri!” My face flushed with embarrassment.
“Wait, you thought of me in the middle of that?” She clutched her imaginary pearls. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or concerned. Do you secretly love me? Is this how you confess after all these years?”
“Girl, get over yourself! I just had an errant thought and wondered if you were okay.” That’s when I saw the cast on her leg. “Oh my God, your leg! Shit. Keri, I’m so sorry. I should have raced back here to see how you were.”
“Nah.” She waved off my concern. “I figured with the difference in how time moves there and the fact that you were probably running for your life, it’s been a few days for you. You had enough to worry about. I’m okay. I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“How did I get lucky enough to have such a levelheaded friend?”
“You’re blessed, what can I say?” she laughed. “Now, run your ass in there and grab something to wear, please. I don’t need my man looking at your naked ass when he gets back here.”
An hour later, I was dressed in a jumpsuit that was too loose on my ass and too tight on my tits. Oh, how I envied the girls who had friends who wore the same sizes as them. At least the sneakers she let me borrow fit.
“So, you’re learning your powers, fucking your demon, and enjoying your new life?” Keri gave an approving nod. “Damn, girl. It’s strange to say this, considering the parameters, but I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. It’s all been pretty crazy. I’m still getting used to everything that’s happened.”
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m trying to be. Keri, in order to stay alive, I pretty much had to marry him,” I admitted.
“Marry?” She coughed. “Hold the fucking phone. You married the demon?”
“Yes.” I laughed at her expression. “I mean, it’s not like a marriage here on Earth. It’s deeper and far more complex. My soul is now forever tied to Metice.”
“This from my friend who said she would rather gouge her eyes out than do legal paperwork to get a man out of her life?” Keri clapped her hands and laughed. “I can just imagine your face when you found out!”
“Exactly.” I sighed. “And he wants us to stay together. I mean, so do I, but I can’t get the image of me as a stoic housewife out of my head.”
“Well, at least there’s no paperwork, right?” She scratched her chin with freshly manicured nails as she thought through the logistics of my relationship. “To end it, one of you just has to die. Okay, maybe that’s a bit morbid.”
“But no paperwork.” I laughed and then sobered up. “This isn’t over yet.”
“It isn’t? What do you mean?”
“No. I have a feeling things aren’t settled in hell. Eventually, we’ll have to face that,” I explained. “If we ever want to live without worrying about his enemies coming to hunt us down, we need to deal with it. There’s something else: I think this is all because of Olian.”
“We?” Keri pointed at me. “You said ‘we’!”
“Metice and I.” I inhaled slowly as I waited for my friend’s freak out.
“Oh my God, Rayna, you’re a ‘we’ girl, now!” She laughed. “I know, demons hunting you down, crazy ex-girlfriend, but you said ‘we’! I never thought I’d see the day!”
“Shut up.” I slapped her shoulder.
“No, nope. I got to tell the girls about this.” Keri pulled out her phone and opened the group chat.
“Tell them what, exactly? You’re going to tell them I’m spiritually married to a demon?” I pointed to the phone. “Go ahead, tell them. We’ll see who gets sent to therapy this time.”
“No. I’ll say you flew off to Morocco and met a yummy man and that you’re never coming back!” She laughed. “Those bitches will be so jealous. Hey, you think you can get a pic with him?”
“You need help,” I laughed at her.
“No, what I need are pics!” She cackled. “Those jealous bitches will drown in their envy!”
“Sometimes, I really wonder if you like the rest of our friend group.”
“Of course I do!” She waggled her brows. “I just know how they are, and I love to rub shit in their faces. It brings me joy.”
“Right. Well, I don’t think he’s the picture type.” My laughter stopped as the quick shot of pain stretched from the back of my head. My vision blurred, and I doubled over. “Shit!”
“What’s wrong?” Keri put her hand on my back. “Are you okay? Rayna, what’s going on?”
“I think it’s Metice. He’s in trouble.” I straightened, but my head throbbed.
“You can feel him?” She asked. “Seriously?”
“I told you, this marriage is something else.” I groaned. “Yes, I can feel him, and I think he’s in trouble.”
“Okay, what do you need to do?” She reached for the box that held her little friend.
“Put the gun away, girl.” I slapped her hand. “Besides, you can’t help me. I’m going back to hell.”