Demon Seer

by Kurtis Eckstein

  Not wanting to offend her by suggesting that her sleeping with him wasn’t special, he instead asked her to clarify. “How so, exactly?”

  “Michael…” She looked at him meaningfully, as if the answer should be obvious. “When we were first trying, why do you think you couldn’t advance inside me?”

  He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he honestly had no idea why. She had seemed to fix the problem quickly herself, so he hadn’t put much thought into it. Uncertain of what to say, he just shook his head in response.

  “Michael, that was my first time.”

  Surprised, he turned his head to look at her again, trying to fully register what she was implying. He knew from his first health class as an eleven-year-old that the female anatomy was slightly different for virgins. The first time was often painful for most women because there were certain anatomical parts that had to be punctured…

  His weak human body hadn’t been strong enough to do that, so Miriam had to do it herself in order to make it work out between them. She hadn’t just slept with him last night – she had given him her virginity.

  Feeling stupid at not realizing the obvious, all he could say was, “Oh.”

  She then looked at him curiously, seeing that she had made her point. “Was it your first time too?”

  He nodded to indicate that it was, although he felt like it should have been obvious since he didn’t have a clue what he was supposed to do.

  She smiled briefly, before appearing concerned again. “So, do you believe me now?”

  Michael thought about it for a few more minutes to make sure he wasn’t missing something. He couldn’t deny that it had been her first time, and she had chosen to share it with him, but that didn’t technically mean that her brother was lying. It was possible, although unlikely, that she had taken it this far for the first time to see if the betrayal was worse when she killed her victim.

  However, that didn’t explain all her behavior. She had sincerely tried to convince him that she was a monster – a normal person would have been convinced easily given the steps she took to do so.

  Why then would she do that if what her brother had said was true? Michael had been required to put a lot of effort into getting her to admit she loved him. If that had been her goal all along, then none of her behavior made sense leading up to last night.

  Finally realizing he had been played for a fool, he felt tears well up in his eyes as he apologized. “I’m so sorry Miriam. You really do feel the same way, don’t you? You even gave me your virginity! And I ruined it by accusing you of lying.”

  Miriam’s eyes filled with warmth and she leaned down to kiss him again. “I love you Michael. Please don’t let anyone ever convince you otherwise.” Then after a pause she added. “I really do feel horrible that I hurt you last night, but I’m glad we did do it because I’m not sure you would have believed me otherwise.”

  “Well…” He began, before trailing off.

  “Well what?” She asked concerned.

  “He…your brother…he kind of made it seem like you were taking it a step further each time to see if you could create a stronger sense of betrayal.” Miriam’s face immediately darkened again as she was reminded of the source of all this. Michael tried to quickly move the conversation along. “So, it definitely helped, but what really convinced me is recalling that you tried to make me think you were a monster.” Her frustration vanished briefly as she tilted her head, appearing confused. So, he elaborated. “It’s just that it didn’t make sense you would try so hard to make me fear you if your goal was actually to try to make me trust you.” She nodded in agreement before her dark expression returned.

  After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again, sounding exceptionally pissed. “Michael…”

  “Y-Yes?”

  “I’m just forewarning you now. I might have to kill my brother.”

  He had no idea if she was being serious or not, but he decided to assume she was. “Umm, well, I’d prefer it if we just tried to move on.”

  She looked at him confused again. “You don’t want me to?”

  “Well, it’s just that he’s a big guy – like the biggest I’ve ever seen – and I don’t want you to get hurt.” Michael was then very serious. “I can’t lose you.”

  Miriam scoffed. “Well, don’t let appearances deceive you, because I’m stronger than him.”

  Now Michael was truly shocked. “Y-You are?”

  She nodded triumphantly. “He made a pretty dumb move double-crossing me, even if he did do it thinking he had my best interest in mind.”

  “Wait, what?” Now he was confused again. “He thought he was doing it for you?”

  Miriam sighed, becoming pensive as she considered her next statement. “He probably thinks he was protecting me. He tried really hard convincing me to give you up, so when that failed he apparently took it upon himself to break us apart from your end.”

  Michael still didn’t understand. “But if he doesn’t want us together, then why not just kill me?”

  She gazed at him intently, as if the answer should be obvious. “Because that would kill me.”

  “Oh…” It really was the same for her. She couldn’t live without him just as much as he couldn’t live without her.

  Her face was somber as she continued. “And like I said, he was probably just trying to protect me. He likely perceived this as his last viable option.”

  “Miriam…what is he trying to protect you from?”

  She was silent again for several minutes before responding. “From becoming too attached,” she finally admitted. “This isn’t the first time this has happened – that someone like me has fallen in love with someone like you. There was one demon who became this attached, and when the human died…they were consumed with grief and committed suicide, not being able to continue living. My brother doesn’t want the same fate to happen to me.”

  “Oh…” Michael hadn’t considered what the consequences of his mortality would have on her. He still didn’t know how old she was, but by the sound of it demons must have much longer lifespans than humans.

  Miriam watched him carefully as she continued. “But it’s too late for that. I’m already too attached.”

  Feeling both happy and horrible about her revelation, Michael reached his arms up and wrapped them around her neck, holding her as tightly as possible. Earlier that day he had briefly considered whether Miriam might be a succubus slowly draining his life away, but now he realized that he was the one slowly killing her.

  Because he would die. It might not be for a while, but he would die eventually, dragging her to the grave with him.

  “I’m sorry.” He whispered, feeling ashamed that he was the parasite in this relationship.

  She pulled away with a confused expression on her face again.

  Sighing heavily, he explained himself. “Falling in love with me is basically a death sentence for you – no wonder your people would try to prevent you from being with me.”

  “Oh, no…” She shook her head. “That’s actually not why I was saying we can’t be together.”

  “It’s not?” Now it was his turn to look confused yet again.

  “Well, no…I mean, I guess it is a reason in a way, but it’s not the main problem. The real issue is much bigger than that. That’s why I was gone so long today. After I spoke with my brother, who ironically promised me he would make sure you were safe while I was gone…”

  Michael interrupted her. “Wait, your brother was hanging around to protect me?”

  She nodded slowly. “And technically it sounds like he did keep his promise, minus the bruising on your arm. Although, that might have been unintentional. You really are fragile. I should have also told him not to touch you.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Michael retorted, feeling slightly offended. He knew it was true that he was extremely breakable compared to them, but the way she said it made him feel especially weak.

  She tilted her head to the side at his
reaction. “I mean…you are…” When he sighed in resignation, seeming to accept that fact, she continued. “Anyway, after talking with him, I went back home to speak to my father.” She stopped then, looking away to contemplate her thoughts.

  Surprised, Michael asked. “You went back home? I thought you said it was really far away.”

  She glanced at him from the corner of her eye before responding. “It is really far away, but I can also travel very fast.” She then resumed her pondering.

  Once she had been silent for a few more minutes, he decided to try to get her to continue. “And?” He wondered. “How did it go?”

  She continued to look away. “And…my father wasn’t very happy about this development…”

  “Oh.” Michael stated simply. He wasn’t sure what else to say, but as her expression became more somber, he realized she was holding something back. “Miriam…what is it?”

  She glanced at him again from the corner of her eye, her red eyes glowing faintly, and she sighed heavily before speaking barely above a whisper. “Well, now we have another problem…”

  “Tell me,” he encouraged. She hadn’t told him any of their problems up until this point, but he suspected this was one she could at least share.

  Miriam paused again for a long time before responding. “Others know about you now, more than just my brother and father. And they won’t be as cautious as my brother is. He would never risk killing you when he wasn’t certain of the effect it would have on me, but the others won’t be so considerate. One of them might come for you, to eliminate the problem you’ve caused.” She looked at him then to see his reaction. He tried to maintain a neutral expression as he patiently waited for her to continue. “My brother has begrudgingly agreed to help me protect you, but I don’t know if it will be enough.” As she finished, she continued to watch his face carefully for any signs of what he might be feeling.

  Michael was thankful he didn’t have to drag this out of her, that she was speaking more freely with him even though he suspected it pained her to make him worry. But it would put his life in more danger to keep this from him. Even though he had no way to defend himself, at least he wouldn’t do something stupid if he knew he was being hunted by possibly multiple demons.

  He finally gathered himself enough to respond, seeing that she was expecting him to reply. “Umm, why do they care anyway? Like, why does it matter to the other demons what you do?”

  Her expression was suddenly endearing as she responded in an affectionate tone. “Try another question, love.”

  He honestly had no idea what question to even ask, but he was quickly distracted anyway. The warmth in her voice caused him to tighten his embrace around her neck again, pulling himself up slightly to bridge the small gap between them and pressing his lips against hers. He still couldn’t get over how wonderful she felt against his body. She was so warm, much warmer than a normal person. It felt like her heat radiated into his body, straight to his core.

  She grinned at his unexpected enthusiasm and then glanced down at his shirt. “You know what love? I don’t like you in clothes. I think we should fix that.”

  Surprised, he began stuttering. “B-But, I thought you didn’t want to do it again.”

  Her eyes were taunting as she replied. “Aww, are you saying you can’t resist me if we are skin to skin? I just wanted your clothes off, love. I didn’t say anything about that.”

  “O-Oh, right, umm okay then…”

  Quicker than he could have imagined, she stripped him and was lying on him again in record time. He couldn’t help but be extremely aroused, but the return of her solemn expression caused his thoughts to shift gears. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

  She was looking at his shoulders and chest mournfully. “Does it hurt?” It appeared like she was about to cry.

  He brought his hand to her face to place his palm on her cheek. She leaned into it slightly, briefly closing her eyes. He could feel her warmth radiate throughout his hand and down his arm. Deciding that she would know if he was lying, he answered honestly. “I feel very sore, but it only really hurts if someone touches it.”

  “Oh!” Miriam abruptly lifted herself off him, realizing she was touching virtually all of the bruising on his torso and legs.

  “No!” He didn’t want her to get up. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

  She shook her head before rapidly flipping him around on top of her. “There’s no reason why I should be lying on you if it’s causing you pain. You can lie on me instead.”

  Shivering from the sudden change in temperature, having his back exposed to the open air, he pressed himself against her as much as possible.

  Miriam appeared to notice the reaction. “Cold?” She asked, but she didn’t wait for an answer. “You know, actually, you feel warmer than a normal human.”

  “I’m running a fever,” he explained. “It happens sometimes when humans get sick.”

  She looked at him concerned. “You’re sick?”

  He nodded. “I guess so. It’s probably just the flu or something.”

  “The flu?” She seemed even more confused.

  Michael was surprised she didn’t seem to know what he was talking about. “Yeah, it’s a common reason why people get sick, especially around this time of year. I’ll probably be fine in a few days though. I’ve been making sure to still eat and drink plenty of water.”

  “Where can I learn about this flu?” She asked.

  Sighing, he responded. “Just search for it on the internet.”

  Her brow furrowed even more. “What’s the internet?”

  Michael looked up at her abruptly. “You don’t know what the internet is?”

  She shook her head no. “How long has it existed? It’s been awhile since I was last in the human world.”

  “How long, exactly?” He wondered, suddenly curious to get a hint at her age without seeming rude.

  “Hmm, close to a century.” She said casually.

  Michael abruptly pushed himself up to get a better look at her face. “A century?!” He exclaimed. “As in, a hundred years?!”

  She nodded slowly, suddenly cautious.

  His desire to not be rude had completely vanished now that he realized she was much older than he had even imagined. “M-Miriam…how…old are you?”

  Still cautious, she contemplated her response carefully. “How old do you think I look?” She wondered.

  “Well, certainly not a hundred years old! Maybe eighteen or nineteen at the most!” However, as he looked at her fully, he realized she might be able to pass as a twenty or twenty-one year old. He still couldn’t believe she had already been alive longer than he would ever live, and he suddenly found himself finding it difficult to believe that she had really been a virgin until now. How could she have gone over a hundred years without a partner?

  Miriam’s expression became more reserved than ever as she slowly hinted at her true age. “Try…adding a couple of zeroes to those numbers.”

  Michael’s jaw literally dropped. “Eighteen hundred?! You’ve been alive for eighteen hundred years?!”

  “Shh!” She demanded, and he was suddenly apologetic for speaking so loudly. She clarified. “More like just shy of fifteen hundred years. At least in human terms. As a demon, I probably am close to being eighteen. I haven’t reached full maturity yet. I’m still a few hundred years away from that.”

  “Full maturity?” Michael asked, still stunned.

  “Yes,” she said carefully. “We stop growing around the equivalent of a human in their early twenties. Even my father, who is much older than me, looks no older than my brother.”

  “Oh,” was all he could say. Now that he thought about it, her brother did look like he was about twenty-five. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to see her father around the same age. He suddenly felt a renewed sense of guilt for the attachment Miriam had towards him.

  She had lived hundreds of years, and probably would have lived for another millennium, if not lo
nger, yet she would die within a hundred when he inevitably died. Loving him really was a death sentence for her, and a short one at that. This was no different than a human being told they were terminally ill and only had a few days to live. For her, his short life would be like only a few days.

  Miriam immediately picked up on his suddenly sad expression. “Does my age bother you?” She asked quietly.

  He shook his head vigorously, looking away. “No, just the fact that I’m basically killing you long before your time. I’m like a parasite sucking the life out of you. I’ll be lucky to live another eighty years at the most. You would have lived much longer if you hadn’t of met me.”

  Miriam abruptly grabbed his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. “I love you,” she chastised. Her voice then immediately softened. “Michael, my life has felt meaningless until now. I feel like I’m living for the first time. You’ve given me a sense of purpose, and I’d rather spend eighty years with you than eighty-thousand without you.”

  Michael knew she was telling the truth because he would have felt the same way if the situation was reversed. Granted, he had no idea what it felt like to live fifteen hundred years without a significant other. Why did she have to choose him though? Why not choose a demon who would live just as long as her? He decided to ask.

  “Miriam…why me? Why not love someone like you?”

  “Maybe it’s fate.” She said seriously.

  Michael scoffed. “Does such a thing really exist?”

  “Well, I don’t know, but how else do you explain me sensing you the moment you came into existence? It wasn’t like I happened upon you accidentally. Your life has been a beacon calling out to me for the last eighteen years.”

  Michael wasn’t sure what invisible force was responsible for her knowing about him, or why, but deep down he felt thankful something had drawn her to him. Even just the short two days he had spent with her were worth it to him, and he knew she felt the same.

  After a few minutes of silence, Miriam suddenly began singing quietly in that unfamiliar language he had heard her curse in once. He had no idea what she was saying, but the melody reminded him of a lullaby. Her voice was more beautiful than he could have imagined, sounding as pure as a true angel.