Demon's Alter-Ego Ch. 18-20

'One of them is going to die tonight,' he said as he closed and locked the bedroom door shut behind us. I watched him scan the room and walk into the bathroom.

'How do you know?'

I heard another door shut and then he came out locking the bathroom door behind him, 'I just do, my sweet.'

'Will they blame me?' I asked as I curled up on the bed.

He sat down next to me. 'I don't think Miguel will. I believe he's finally seeing you the way Carlos sees you. A weapon in their arsenal until you need to be killed.' He stroked my back pulling me farther into sleep.

"Don't you see me that way?" I mumbled out loud.

'Eros, no. You'll probably kill me.'

"I hope not," I murmured even more quietly.

I felt his happiness at my words, 'That makes me relieved.'

I fell into a deep slumber, floating on his calming emotions until I registered a push of power demanding entry from a hunter's death.

CHAPTER 20

Shorn came to me in my dreams. He looked perfect in his blue, almost black, three piece suit. All body parts were in place, nothing moved under his clothes, and no tentacles bulging to snap out of his neck. He walked to me out of a black fog into my white space of possibilities. I felt a trill of fear race along my nerves as he disrupted the peace of the place. I spoke before he reached me.

"Hello."

"How is my protégé?"

I grimaced, "I'm not your protégé"

"Are you sure?" He walked up until we were within each other's breathing space. The smell of ozone emanated from him, wafting in one rush into my nostrils.

"Yes," I said adamantly.

We raised our hands synchronically, mirroring each other as we placed them on each other's cheek. "I will never get tired of this," he said somberly as his red eyes briefly closed.

I watched a spider tumble down the side of his pale gray face and then tracked another as it fell on my hand.

"You would find it to your benefit if you would let me give you the space to learn."

I lifted my face and saw spiders falling from the void above my head. They landed with more gravity on me then I gave them credit for. I wasn't afraid though, Shorn filled me with more fear than these little beings. One clung to my eyelash and I blinked it away.

He continued calmly, "They belong to you now."

I looked at him, spiders dropping dead after they touched his body.

"I would have never let you get this exhausted. I placed more faith in Oldavai than he earned." His hand trailed from my cheek, down my neck, shoulder, and arm until he clenched my own in his. I gazed at our entwined hands as he spoke, "Time to wake up."

I looked up. His mouth opened wide, teeth sharp points, and dead spiders poured out.

I screeched and instinctively jolted up in bed, a grip on my hand stopped me from going anywhere. My ears filled with scratchy scrambling noises, so different from the quiet of my dream. A golden glow pulsed in the dark, illuminating arachnids so their shadows loomed large as they fell from the ceiling. I didn't know where to look first, but my mind was filled with Iloum's magic and it was so obvious with all the spiders slowly filling the room.

A hand squeezed mine and I turned my head to see Shorn standing on the left of the bed, his grip clenched unapologetically tight in mine. It kept me focused on him, as much as Oldavai's golden glow did where it illuminated one side of his body like the sun. My heart rate beat a rapid uneven thump as I watched his thin lips curl in a feral smile.

His eyes bleed a steady stream and he was not at all put together as the demon he showed me in my dream. He looked like a business man who had been working all night. Mussed hair, vest still over a dress shirt, the two top buttons undone and sleeves rolled up. Gorgeous in a very bad for you way, as his blood soaked collar blatantly indicated. I hastily got to my knees on the mattress, all the while registering the pounding at the door. Miguel was shouting for Gan to let him in from the opposite side.

My head swiveled to the darkest part of the room and I saw Gan staring from the shadows in shock at us. He hastily got down on one knee and bowed his head slightly, his eyes never leaving Shorn. "My liege," he guttered.

Shorn completely ignored the fealty as his other hand turned my face to him, "Oldavai can only hold them off for so long before you overrun this whole house in nightmares. Undeniably powerful he is, but not infallible, already he is unable to stop the leaking into the broken ones downstairs. Their pitiful cries tempt me in a way that I have not known since I was young." He cocked his head and closed into my breathing space again, his mouth touching the edges of my ear. This time brimstone filled my sense of smell. "Would you like me to put them out of their misery? Or were you planning on draining them yourself?"

I breathed out in horror, "No." Already I could feel the thinnest streams of magic flowing into me.

"Then let me help you pull this nightmare back into your psyche."

I nodded quickly, not having any time for doubts.

"Follow me."

He jerked our hands and I immediately soared out of body, tethered by a shimmering blue line. I looked down at us and saw him holding perfectly still. Soon his spirit distorted around him and a huge ghost like being superimposed itself through him. It stood on all fours and was taller than my kneeling figure on the bed with wings settled on its spiked back. A thin tail covered in barbs swished back and forth through the bed and floor. Movement around his head diverted my gaze from that deadly tip and I watched mesmerized as thin tentacles snapped back and forth. They twined around everything, his thick neck, down formidable forelegs, circling around his chest, and one reached out to twine around my arm, growing longer until it was almost to my shoulder.

I choked on my fear and heard Gan give a similar sound. I wondered if he could see the same being I did as he had hastily flattened himself on the floor, unconcerned with the tiny beings crawling all over him. Quickly he disappeared into the shadows.

Shorn opened his maw and Darkness flowed out from his throat like fog. I had double vision as I saw two realities fight themselves, one, darkness, the other, a fiery gold. In the physical world a circle became visible from spiders scurrying to get away from Shorn.

Oldavai intruded on my paralysis, 'Dove, call them to you. They seek your safety.'

Was he serious?! Call them to me? I shuddered.

'Do something now!'

Right. Totally serious.

So, I opened my spirit wide, searching for and instinctively finding a song that came out of the depths of Iloum's magic, calling them in. They came in a wave, avoiding Shorn if they could, dying if they couldn't. I watched as they merged and crawled over my body, looking like an unnerving single entity. They followed that tether that grew directly from my spirit until I could feel all the little nightmares covering me. Another hard jerk had me flying back into my physical body and I would have collapsed backwards had Shorn's arms not caught me to keep me from cracking my head.

My breath was a harsh sound in a suddenly quiet room. Not even thumps on the bedroom door could be heard. I peeked over to where I felt Gan and found him back with us and still staring, stunned.

Oldavai let out a sigh, "Gan, go take care of your hunter. He's at the door again and unreasonably agitated."

I giggled. Oldavai thought Miguel was being unreasonable. I felt Shorn's gaze on me as I giggled again.

"Gan, leave us," Shorn ordered and that demon's signature vibration diminished instantly.

I yawned, suddenly more exhausted than before. In seconds, Shorn crawled onto the bed and propped himself against the wall. My yelp came out strained as I felt the steel of his arms encircle my waist and haul me between his legs. Shorn's knuckles immediately rolled over the back of my neck.

Unable to relax, I remained upright and stared wide eyed at Oldavai. I could feel the tension radiating out of him like electric shocks cascading back and forth along my body. The golden glow from his body was the only light in the room. It wavered in intensity in response to his emotion.

I made a humming noise debating my next move.

Oldavai spoke quickly into my mind, 'If your going to do something stupid I'd like to know beforehand.'

Right again. If Shorn was as out of sorts as his looks indicated then he probably had zero patience. An image of Oldavai being strangled on Shorn's office door flashed through my mind.

A gravelly voice interrupted my deliberation, "Dove, put your head down and sleep. I'll keep your exasperating hunters safe from you." Shorn's hand gently pushed my head down into the hollow of his shoulder. "If you don't, I will take you where Oldavai cannot go and then who will be there to sooth your sensibilities? Certainly not me."

I took a deep breath at his words, thankful that I filled my senses with the smell of a brewing storm and not brimstone. Shorn's hand continued to massage my shoulders and neck, easing the knots. I relaxed inch by inch into his embrace.

'At least his eyes stopped bleeding,' Oldavai told me, as I watched his light get closer to the bed.

'That's good,' I replied sleepily. Before I could process it, my eyes had closed and not even the angry voices of Shorn and Oldavai arguing in demon language could keep me awake.

I woke up to find myself sprawled over Shorn. My face was turned into his chest and our legs entwined. His breath came in a slow, steady huff, warming the top of my hair. I wriggled my hand out from under his arm to wipe the grit out of my eyes. When my vision cleared I could see Oldavai sitting on an uncomfortable, worn out chair with a makeshift milk crate ottoman elevating his feet. His golden eyes slitted opened as if he could feel me looking at him.

There was the weight of a dozen conversations coming from him, but he said nothing. He just stared, none of his emotions coming through to me. I inhaled through my nose, still not smelling sulfur. Behind me I felt Shorn move his hand until it was gently gripping the back of my neck, his fingers kneading tension out of muscles yet again.

The demon underneath me spoke first, "Until you are better trained you should not push yourself so far past exhaustion." He squeezed me in a sort of warning hug, which had me holding my breath until he spoke again, "I need to get to the office." His Darkness swallowed him and I thumped onto the bed from the lack of a body beneath me.

Oldavai sighed heavily with relief, "That went better than predicted."

I sniffed, "You mean he didn't kill you?"

Oldavai stood up and stretched, his muscles straining the blue fabric of the t-shirt he was still wearing. "Absolutely." He spun around, his golden hair flaring around his face, "Gan, I know you're here."

"Of course he is," I replied.

Gan appeared as his Chinese self, mouth agape, "You were sleeping on Shorn!"

Oldavai scoffed, "It's not my fault you thought I was talking about myself when I said she's never alone. I'm just astonished he didn't suck you into his Darkness for watching him all night," Oldavai spoke at the same time I did as he moved towards me. "I know he was angry with us both."

"Is he really your liege?" I asked as I swung my feet off the bed and grabbed Oldavai's outstretched hand.

Gan made a strange stuttering noise.

"We'll be out momentarily. Feel free to update Miguel with whatever you think is in your best interest..." he turned to look at him and said mockingly, "as a subject of Shorn's."

Gan snorted. "That would be nothing," he said adamantly.

"As you say," Oldavai replied as he moved me towards the connecting bathroom.

Oldavai checked the lock on the other door that swung into the adjoining bedroom as I wearily splashed water on my face. I rubbed the towel aggressively to dry myself and then looked at his reflection in the mirror, "I can't believe you called him. Was I really that hard to wake up?"

Oldavai stared at me, "I didn't even try. I was too busy trying to turn your terrors into some other emotion to take the time. I couldn't change them all, so I summoned Shorn in desperation."

I placed the towel on the counter and blushed in shame, "I'm sorry. I know it's a risk for you."

His golden eyes flashed brightly, but I couldn't read the meaning behind that intensity. He continued, "I suppose this is on us both. I'm the one who pushed you to take on Shauna and then the others immediately after. Had I thought this through I would've remembered Iloum. It could have been worse I suppose, you might have burned down the house instead."

I stared back in horror at the reflection of the shining demon behind me and bit my bottom lip, "I'll make better choices when it comes to my health."

Oldavai laughed as he nudged me over with his hip and splashed water on his own face. "I doubt it."

I watched him slowly turn into the Latino version of himself as we cleaned up. Once we stood in front of the bedroom door I took a deep breath before walking out. As predicted, Miguel was waiting for us.

His muscled folded arms and glare were all anger. "You want to tell me what happened last night and why Gan refused to help me get to you? If we can't rely on you when we need you, why are you here?"

My brow furrowed, "I can only do so much. I was depleted and couldn't help even if you had woken me up."

The man grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him, "Give us some space, Oldavai."

Oldavai could only smile evilly at Miguel when stretched my hand out to keep him from moving forward.

Miguel leaned down when I turned my head back to him and spoke directly into my ear, "I know he was scared. He carried me in the shadows to force me away from your room."

"There's always a bigger, badder demon, Miguel. You know that," I whispered back.

He looked steadily at me, "Are you telling me it's Oldavai... or some other demon."

Not going there. I was lucky Gan kept him away. I looked to the beds on my right, "Let me get them out of here." It was my fault they were farther in the mire than when I went to sleep. I could feel them crying out in their nightmares. None of the other hunters had any idea what happened and with luck they wouldn't ever find out.

The lies inside were tearing me apart.

Miguel moved to grab the chair leaning on the wall, "One dead, two to wake, two to wound. Don't know where that power went." He cracked his knuckles, "I felt three demons here last night. Did Ezra stop by?"

I side eyed him. Still not going there. "Ask Gan."

"Too many secrets won't make you any friends, Dove." He snapped the metal chair down and patted the cushion for me to sit on.

That was true, but I pushed it away and focused on my job. Oldavai leaned over my shoulder, his short black hair falling into his eyes, "I want you to wake them up by tonight if you can."

I nodded abruptly, I wanted them out too.