Demon Seer 2

by Kurtis Eckstein

  She shook her head gently. ‘No, love. You aren’t accustomed to your own strength, and might take a human’s head off when you only meant to strike them gently.’

  My eyes widened in surprise, realizing I had only been around other demons thus far. ‘I guess I should be careful around my sister then,’ I considered.

  ‘Very careful,’ she agreed. ‘And as far as him noticing, he won’t know what hit him, and might even think he just passed out, though he will certainly have a headache,’ she mused. ‘I’ll also use the opportunity to quickly scan his thoughts and make sure they don’t know too much.’

  I nodded, noticing that my dad’s blue truck was gone.

  Concerned that Amelia might not even be here, I reached out with my mind as well, not having seen a point to it previously, with Miriam doing it being almost as good as me doing it.

  There was a slight difference though – Miriam couldn’t sense my sister’s presence without her opening up to it, similar to how Miriam hadn’t been able to see into my mind. Instead, she had almost always relied on ‘hearing’ the physical noise my sister made, in order to determine where she was in the house. That should have been Miriam’s first clue that something was up with my sister, but my love was pretty involved in focusing on me and figuring out a way to be with me, rather than worrying about a teenage girl.

  But, unlike Miriam, I could sense my sister’s thoughts, and the moment my consciousness brushed against hers, she grasped ahold of me immediately.

  ‘Michael?!’ she exclaimed. ‘Oh Michael! I was so worried! Are you okay? Miriam said you disappeared!’

  ‘I sort of did,’ I admitted, before switching the subject. ‘But that’s not important right now. I’m okay. I’m safe. Are you home alone?’

  ‘I am. Dad took mom over to her place – she hasn’t left since Friday, and doesn’t have any clothes here.’

  ‘We’re getting ready to visit. There are a couple of men watching the house, but Miriam is going to knock one of them out. Is my window unlocked?’

  ‘I’ll check.’

  As my sister did so, running down the stairs from her room, Miriam left my side to take care of the guy focused on the back of the house. Technically, there was the possibility that we could just make ourselves invisible in his perception, which might work if he was using normal binoculars. But, if they were electronic in any way, like some kind of video camera, then he’d still see us, since technology couldn’t be fooled.

  Alternatively, we could try moving really fast, but that also meant releasing a lot of radiation out of our bodies – the very thing that had tipped the military off in the first place.

  Thus, it was best to do this discreetly, and go at a moderate pace – at least, moderate for a demon. Our bodies could still move much quicker than a human was capable, without the extra propulsion.

  Following Miriam after a moment, and dropping into the woods behind my dad’s house where we had first met, I dashed through the trees and reunited with her near the backyard. Hand-in-hand we zoomed up the short patch of grass and met Amelia just as she was opening the window to my room.

  I was a little shocked to realize that the grass was crunchy underfoot, frozen stiff by the apparently below-freezing temperature. Just as an experiment, I paused as Miriam climbed into the window, taking a deep breath and then letting it out to see the thick freezing condensation that came out like a dragon breathing smoke.

  And yet, I wasn’t even remotely cold, though I had to admit the more neutral temperature wasn’t nearly as comfortable as being in the demon world.

  Huh. It made me wonder what snow would feel like.

  I’d have to save that for another time though.

  Pulling my midnight bony wings firmly against my back, I carefully climbed into the window after Miriam, barely managing to stand up fully before Amelia threw herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around my torso.

  If I had any doubt about my change in height, it was obvious now – my sister’s head barely came up to my chin!

  Still in her embrace, I gently reached underneath her armpits with both hands – Miriam shooting me a warning glance to be careful – and picked my sister up just enough to move out of view from the window. She was literally as light as a feather in my perception.

  My height was definitely the first thing Amelia commented on once I set her back down. “Michael!” she exclaimed, looking up at me, her emerald eyes wide. “You’re so tall!”

  Unexpectedly, a similar pair of green eyes flashed in my vision, hidden in a blinding white light. Miriam saw it too, due to our connection, both of us attempting to not react to the hallucination-like intrusion. But if we had any doubts before, the brief image seemed to confirm that I was only alive because of my sister.

  Or rather, a future version of her.

  In response to Amelia’s comment, I shrugged infinitesimally, not wanting to make any big movements with her arms wrapped around me. “I guess it’s a side-effect.”

  Her face then flushed red as she abruptly pulled away. “A-And kind of naked.”

  “Hey!” I exclaimed. “I’m covered up! I’m basically wearing shorts. You’ve seen me in swimming trunks,” I added.

  Her brow knitted together for a moment as she glanced at my tail wrapped around myself. “I-I guess,” she finally conceded. “It’s just weird, because it’s a part of your body, right? But at least you’re more covered than that other guy.”

  “Gabriel?” I assumed.

  She glanced at Miriam, tilting her head slightly. “I guess?”

  The person in question nodded. “My brother is very large,” she agreed, her crimson eyes darting to me. “He and Ragnarok may very well be the largest of our kind. At least in terms of height. There are some who are more muscular.”

  “Isn’t that the one who attacked you?” Amelia wondered, referring to the second person.

  We had mentioned the name of the main demon, who attacked us just a few days ago, only once. And apparently she remembered, though I didn’t want to focus on anything related to what happened to me.

  Had it really only been a handful of days? Seemed almost like an eternity ago.

  “Doesn’t matter,” I quickly interjected. “I just wanted to check on you to make sure you were doing alright.”

  Amelia nodded. “Yeah, not a lot has happened since Friday.” Her expression turned somber, her voice lowering. “Mom and dad aren’t handling your disappearance very well,” she admitted. “And I was pretty worried too when Miriam said you vanished, but I guess everything turned out alright.” She then abruptly laughed. “I had this really weird dream where I was talking to myself, but that’s about the only eventful thing that’s happened.”

  Miriam and I immediately exchanged a glance.

  “What did you talk about?” I asked hesitantly.

  My sister shrugged. “I don’t know, Michael. It was just a dream.” She sighed. “So, do you want me to fix you breakfast or something? Or do you even eat normal food anymore?”

  I pursed my lips, realizing Miriam hadn’t shared that aspect of our existence. “Perceptive,” I praised, sidestepping the issue a little. “We eat weird stuff, like rocks and such – though I guess usually we absorb radiation for energy.”

  “Rocks?” she repeated in disbelief. She then abruptly looked extra serious. “Sure, I can make you a plate of rocks. Have a preference? Or is the gravel in the driveway fine?”

  I laughed, a sincere chuckle, tugging a smile from Miriam as well. I was pretty sure my love was more amused by my amusement than anything.

  “Nah, I just ate,” I replied, causing my sister to finally grin at her own joke. “Thanks for the offer though. And actually, I’m not sure how long we can stay, or how we’re going to visit again,” I admitted. “We can’t keep knocking people out, and if those men see us here then they’ll never leave our family alone.”

  Her expression dropped.

  Miriam abruptly cut in. “It might take a few weeks, but surely t
he humans will stop watching the house,” she attempted to reassure my sister.

  “A few weeks?” Amelia repeated, looking and sounding pitiful.

  I slowly reached out to pull her into another hug, being careful to not actually squeeze like I would have done as a human. “I’m sorry, sis,” I whispered. “And, you know, once you get your driver’s license, maybe it will be a ton easier. Even if the military does keep watching the house. We can meet at a random park or something.”

  She sighed heavily against my shoulder. “Yeah, but that’s like six months away before I even get my permit.”

  “I know,” I replied, unsure of what else to say. I then took a deep breath. “Besides, it’s probably best if we avoid visiting here too much either way. I guess our radiation doesn’t affect you, but it might affect mom and dad. And I don’t want to get them sick like I was.”

  Amelia only buried her head more against my shoulder, tightening her embrace.

  She knew I was right, of course, but it was difficult for her to accept that we might have trouble visiting for a while. However, unexpectedly, she jerked her upper body away and looked up at me, like she’d been struck by lightning.

  “What?” I gasped in surprise.

  Her brow then instantly furrowed at her own concealed thoughts. “W-What if I told Grayson?” she asked, before quickly continuing in a rush. “He could drive me to see you someplace else, and the military wouldn’t find it too odd – they might think we’re just dating or something.”

  “Umm, no!” I exclaimed. “I don’t even want to think about you and my best friend dating.”

  “Not for real!” she retorted. “And I wouldn’t even suggest it to him. I’m just saying it might be what the military thinks, if they see me leave someplace with him.”

  “They might still follow you,” I countered. “Especially if it’s in the next few weeks.”

  She frowned, before her pleading expression returned. “Michael, I don’t want to go possibly months without seeing you.”

  I took a deep breath. “Me too,” I agreed, only to be struck with an idea myself. “Wait. Amelia, we just spoke to each other a few minutes ago, and I was pretty high up in the sky. We might be able to talk to each other from even further away.” I looked over at Miriam. “How far did you say you could communicate with your family members?” I wondered.

  Miriam was pensive. “Well, roughly fifty miles, I guess. I’ve never tried to measure it, but your sister also isn’t like us.”

  “No,” I agreed. “She’s not. But she’s also not a normal human either. She might not be able to reach out to me, since her range is only like three or four feet, but I can still reach out to her. Possibly from the same distance.”

  Amelia finally pulled away again as she considered that idea, crossing her arms and bringing her index finger up to her chin. “That wouldn’t be so bad. It would almost be like talking on the phone.”

  “Should we try then?” I asked, reaching out to see if the guy in the back was already awake or not. When I sensed his unconscious mind, I glanced at Miriam before Amelia could respond. “Jeez, how hard did you hit the guy?”

  She shrugged. “Not too hard. When humans get hit in the head, sometimes they wake up within a minute or two, and other times it takes a little longer. He should be fine though.”

  “Wait,” Amelia interjected. “You’re going to leave already?”

  Miriam quickly responded. “If we wait until your parents get back, then we might subject them to our radiation. Not to mention, that it’s best if the military doesn’t see us, which means leaving while the guy is still passed out is ideal.” She paused. “We were sort of going to risk all that, for your sake, but if talking from a distance is possible, then that’s the best scenario.”

  Amelia’s expression pained, her green eyes tight, before she nodded somberly.

  I leaned forward a little, offering one last hug, only for her to stand on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around my neck. I carefully placed my hands on her ribs instead of fully hugging her back, to avoid her straining.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too, sis.”

  She unexpectedly sniffled. “And I’m really sorry, dear brother. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ve lost everything and everyone – so I had to do it. But it’s coming – soon – and I don’t know what will happen once it arrives.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck instantly stood on end, Miriam and myself both freezing solid.

  “What?” I gasped, pulling away to look down at her.

  She looked at me in confusion. “What what?”

  “What you just said.”

  “I love you?” she asked, seeming even more confused.

  I just stared at her for a long few seconds, prompting her to glance at Miriam.

  “Umm,” she said hesitantly. “Why are you two looking at me like that?”

  “It’s nothing,” Miriam quickly said, giving me a meaningful look, before shifting her gaze back to Amelia. “Do I get a hug too?” she asked.

  My sister looked at her in surprise, before moving closer. “Oh, yeah, I guess you are kind of my sister-in-law now, right?”

  Miriam grinned while my sister offered an embrace. “Yep, I’d say so. Maybe we can hang out sometime.”

  My sister seemed surprised. “Oh, umm, yeah. That’d be cool.”

  “If you want,” she clarified.

  Amelia pulled away. “No, of course. Sounds like fun. This is just all really new to me, is all.” Unexpectedly, my sister’s hair whitened slightly, her tone changing, becoming more somber. “It’s nice to see you alive and happy,” she whispered. “This moment alone makes it worth it, even if I’ve doomed everyone else.”

  Miriam’s expression froze for a millisecond, before she nodded slowly while my sister’s hair shifted back to its normal brown. My beloved then gently patted her on the shoulder, unsure of what to say verbally, before moving to climb back out of the window.

  We were both concerned about the situation, with me being borderline horrified at what was happening to my sister, but our worry was suddenly interrupted when we sensed the guy waking up. Unfortunately, not getting seen was the most pressing issue at the moment, not that I could do anything to help my sister anyway.

  “Gotta go,” I said urgently, quickly following Miriam out the window. “Love you!”

  “Love you too!” Amelia replied just as urgently, still seeming unaware that her future-self was appearing occasionally.

  ‘Close the window before the soldier sees!’ I added in my thoughts, already dashing into the woods.

  ‘Oh! Sorry!’ my sister replied, quickly doing as I asked. She was silent for a moment then, before speaking up again. ‘Wait, you can still hear me, right? I can still feel you.’

  Miriam and I had already dashed into the sky and taken off into the clouds high above. I focused on my dad’s house far below as I replied. ‘Yep. And we’re pretty high already too.’

  ‘Wow, okay. This isn’t so bad.’

  ‘Nope! Even better than talking on the phone.’

  ‘Much better,’ she agreed. ‘It’s almost like you’re here with me.’

  ‘Good,’ I said simply, beginning to increase the distance, while directing my words solely toward Miriam. ‘What do you think is going to happen?’ I wondered seriously. ‘And what do you think she means by ‘it’s coming’ – doesn’t sound like anything good.’

  ‘No,’ my love agreed, seeming hesitant.

  ‘What is it?’

  She shook her head. ‘Nothing, love. Focus on your sister so she doesn’t get worried. And then, after we see what my brother wants, we can talk about it…but Michael…I’m not sure there is much we can do to undo whatever she’s done. In her timeline, it sounds like we’ve both died, so already we’ve gotten an extra day we wouldn’t have had otherwise.’

  ‘I know,’ I said in resignation. ‘But still…’

  ‘I know, love. I know.�
�

  Even at our current distance, I could still hear my sister’s thoughts when I focused on her. Thus, in order to continue to test my range, Miriam and I kept moving further away, heading in the general direction of Gabriel, who was still aimed in our direction from the demon world.

  According to Miriam, it usually took about an hour to traverse the distance, when both Venus and Earth were at their closest, which happened roughly every one-and-a-half Earth years, or almost two-and-a-half Cycles on Venus.

  I also realized that was the reason why the demons visited in groups of ten to twenty every two-and-a-half Cycles, due to the proximity of the two worlds, all of which was information originally provided to me by Jericho.

  ‘Don’t worry about her,’ Miriam chastised automatically, when I thought about the angelic female demon. ‘She’ll survive. And we can even talk to my brother about seeing if he knows whether the rules have changed for everyone, or just an exception made for us. Maybe she can come and find herself a partner finally.’

  ‘Miriam, even when I couldn’t remember you, I still held out for you,’ I replied. I then showed her all my memories again for emphasis, prompting her to only cringe when she was reminded of how handsy Jericho had been. ‘Miriam, I’m yours, and yours alone. But that doesn’t mean I can’t care about her plight. She helped me a lot.’

  ‘Which I appreciate,’ she admitted. ‘So, let me worry about her. You don’t need to be concerned about it.’

  I sighed heavily. ‘Very well. Yes, ma’am,’ I teased in resignation.

  Miriam playfully bumped her hip into mine. ‘That’s mistress to you!’ she teased back.

  ‘Whoa, that just got kinky. You know mistress is usually what humans call the woman who is cheating with a married man, right?’

  She looked at me in shock. ‘I thought it was just the female version of master.’

  ‘Whoa, even more kinky. But I could live with that.’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘My knowledge of your language comes from your friend Riley, so…’

  ‘I…I don’t think I wanted to be reminded of that,’ I admitted, wondering why the person in question put more emphasis on mistress being a female master – something I probably shouldn’t be worrying about too deeply, especially considering I would likely never see her again.