The Demon Chain: Pt. 02

Get up, fool!

She didn’t know how much time had passed. There was a duty to perform. She needed the ward, needed it now more than ever. This was her one chance to make it back and retrieve it. There was no telling how long the demon would sleep. It knew what her plan was, just as she knew its own.

If she allowed it to take her again, to continue to feed, the dreams she’d had would be reality. The pleasure she’d felt as it killed, as it devoured that life, would be the fate of far more than one Reacher. If it continued to feed, that fate would be everyone’s, and Succubi would use her body to make it happen.

Jalissa fumbled on her pants and boots, tied them, slung her pack on her shoulder, and laced her tunic as she walked from the room. She quickly checked her clothes, shuddered at the remains of the gray dust she saw there, and continued to brush it away as she made her way down the steps. Moving as quickly as she could without drawing attention, she navigated the streets back to Taymen’s shop.

The bruiser made a grab for her as she entered but she flinched away. He looked confused but allowed her to pass. She dinged the bell on the counter and shifted uneasily on her feet. From her hidden pocket, she extracted her purse and took out the payment as she waited, setting it on the counter. She tapped one of the coins against the wood impatiently.

In the dark recesses of her mind, the demon awoke. She could feel its weariness, its reluctance to disturb its slumber, but it also knew what she was about, and it did not want it to happen. The ward wouldn’t keep it trapped forever, Jalissa knew, but it bought time. The thing was impatient. It had spent centuries waiting and now its freedom was close. It was tired of waiting.

It was sluggish, though. Whatever consuming life did to it, it was not an easy thing to draw it in and do… whatever it did. Jalissa suspected that it was because it was still weak. As it fed, it would likely not need the rest. Taymen finally emerged from the back room, carrying the warded necklace in his hand.

“Fine little piece,” he said, holding it up.

Jalissa pushed the coins across the counter and held out her hand for it, doing her best to mask her anxiousness.

No… trinket…

Her hand pulled back from the necklace by a fraction. Jalissa froze and willed her hand to move forward, to take it.

No… trinket…

Her hand wouldn’t move. Taymen put the necklace into her hand. The metal of the coin touched her palm. Jalissa felt a flash of fury from the demon as it retreated. A fraction of a second later, the feeling vanished as the thing went back to sleep.

Oblivious to the battle she’d just fought inside her own head, Taymen only nodded at the necklace and said, “It will look good on you. Sure I can’t interest you in anything else?”

Jalissa shook her head and draped the chain over her neck. She slid the coin into the front of her tunic, where it rested between her breasts, against her skin. The demon did not stir.

“That’s all I need today,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Sure. Sure. If you come across anything good out there, you know where to find me.”

“I do.”

She hefted her pack and turned to go, then stopped. She turned back.

“Taymen. If I don’t see you again, you’ve been good to me. Fair.”

“Fair’s about the best a poor peddler like me can hope for,” he said, grinning.

Jalissa said no more as she walked out of the shop. She swatted at the bruiser’s beefy hand as it made to give her a parting grope, earning a look of disappointment from the man.

Believe me. You’ll be thankful that you didn’t fuck me.

***