“And what’s that?” I said.
Ahriman told me what he wanted, and I laughed until I coughed up more blood—not because what he asked for was funny, but because it wasn’t worth all that much.
In exchange for saving my doomed life, he wanted to write my next set of songs—my comeback album, he called it. That was it. A few songs in exchange for my life.
I thought he was nuts, but he was right about death being close, and I figured either eternal darkness or something much worse was waiting for me on the other side. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, I agreed to his offer. As soon as I said yes, Ahriman closed his eyes, like he was savoring a bite of his favorite food. When he opened them again, I felt better—not cured, but better—healthier for the first time in a while.
“I’m still sick,” I said.
“When you have honored your obligations fully, I will heal you fully,” the demon said. “You have my word.”
“I won’t die from cancer?”
“You have my bond,” he said with a deliberate nod. “You will not die from this cancer or from any other human disease—ever.”
“Then let’s do this,” I said. “My life is in your hands.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than Ahriman crawled up my bed, quicker than any natural being could move, and he lay down on top of my chest. I turned away from his stench, trying not to vomit as he scratched at my torso with his ragged claws.
I looked back in time to see his twisted face unhinge, his jaws opening like a shark preparing to devour its prey. I waited for his attack, but in a blink, he was gone, and I was alone.
That’s what I thought, at least.
It turned out Ahriman was still there, but he’d entered my body and had become a part of me. He was inside me, closer than my own shadow and twice as dark. For lack of a better explanation, and because there was no other way to say it, I had been possessed by a demon.
But it wasn’t anything like what I’d seen in the movies. My head didn’t spin around. I didn’t breathe frosty air from my lungs. And I didn’t float.
“Things are going to be okay,” I said to myself, as I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. “I’ll get through this.”
And after a minute or two, I felt stronger and my head cleared enough for me to think straight.
But my stomach turned to knots as I felt Ahriman forcing me, compelling me to get up and making my legs move without my consent. I slid from the hospital bed, shuffled over to my chair, and picked up my Les Paul. I plugged it in, turned on the amp, slung the strap over my shoulder, and started playing.
My fingers danced and skipped across the fretboard with skill developed from a lifetime of practice. But the chords and the notes weren’t mine. The demon was controlling my hands, and the music they made belonged to him.
Next, my foot started to tap out a beat. But it was the demon’s rhythm, not mine.
Finally, my voice erupted in words and lyrics I’d never heard or even imagined before, but those were his too.
Everything was.
It went that way for nearly two hours, and near dawn I wrote down the music to our first hellish collaboration. I didn’t like the melody or the lyrics, but most of all, I hated that someone was using me to create their own music. It felt unholy.
As much as I despised every moment, the next couple of months were filled with creativity and productivity I hadn’t known since I wrote my one and only hit single. With the demon driving, we came up with song after song in the early morning hours of each night, until a new album started to form from a dozen new tunes.
And to be honest, I didn’t like any of them.
I’d spent my entire life going from job to job, playing crappy clubs at night, trying in my off-hours to recreate that lighting in a bottle I’d once held. And now someone or something else was using the talent I’d built up and earned over the years—bastardizing it to write utter trash I would never have put out under my own name.
I was sure the demon could hear my thoughts about the music, but I openly fantasized and hoped for the songs to fail anyway, even though I knew it would be my name on the album and not his.
All I wanted to do was finish the album, start my new life, and of course make Ahriman pay one day for everything he was making me go through.
I knew he could hear those thoughts, too, but I just didn’t care.
Chapter 6
AHRIMAN SNAPPED his fingers.
“If you are finished with your daydreaming—” he said.
I blinked, as his pointed face came into focus. In his human form, he didn’t have horns, but it was still unnerving as hell sitting across from him.
“Duane told me names were important,” I said. “They give humans the power to command demons. And I used your names—all of them—just like Duane taught me. Why won’t you obey me?”
“Names are the key to controlling beings of power,” he said. “But demons do not share their true names with just anyone. Ahriman and all the other names you used for me—none were my true name. They were only attempts by human beings over the millennia to understand that which their kind was never meant to grasp.”
“They worked before,” I said. “I used them to summon you.”
“You called me,” he said. “But you did not summon me. I came to you of my own free will, John.”
“Stop calling me that. My name is David.”
“Lesson number one,” Ahriman said, before sipping his espresso with a grin. “Your name is John Starling now. His is the body in which you reside, and his is the name by which people in Ashburn will know you. Hence, while you are here, you will be John.”
“You can say that all you want if it makes you happy, but I’m not John, and you can’t make me tell people to call me that.”
“Lesson number two,” he said, ignoring me. “You are here to serve a purpose—to work off your debt—and you will remain in Ashburn until you have done so in full.”
“I already paid you,” I said, unable to keep the tension from my voice. “I kept my end of the deal. I let you write my album. That’s what you said you wanted, and that’s what I gave you.”
“Once again, you did not let me do anything,” he said, fixing me with his dark gaze. “I demanded a price, and you accepted. As such, it was a fair trade. As far as my album is concerned, have you heard that it debuted at the top of the charts? Not a bad showing for my first creative endeavor, wouldn’t you agree?”
“If you’re so happy with it, that’s great,” I said. “So what’s the problem?”
“Your music paid for only part of what you owe.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “What about your end of the bargain? I was supposed to live and to be able to write and play music again.”
“And you will make music again, my boy, if you decide to do so. You could write a song right now if you wanted. No one is stopping you. You could record your new song and sell it, if anyone would buy it, of course. But not as David Steele.”
Ahriman raised his finger, silencing the question I was about to ask.
“You cannot record as David Steele any longer, because as your barista friend mentioned, David Steele is dead. You are no longer he, and he is no longer thee. After all, you cannot be someone who is no longer alive.”
I calmed my breathing and tried to let go of my anger and frustration. It didn’t make any difference to me what some asshole from Hell wanted to call me. I knew who I was, and once I returned to my studio, I could make all the music I wanted, and I could release it under my name. I didn’t look like David Steele anymore, but I was still me, and I knew how to write a killer song. Maybe I’d become a recluse—living in seclusion, so no one would see me. As long as people liked my music, I wouldn’t care.
“You can call me John, if you want,” I said, “but I’m not going to work off some made-up debt to you. I kept my part of the deal, and I don’t owe you anything.”
Ahriman slammed his hand down on the t
able.
“You are so correct!” he said. “You did come through for me, and the album is doing oh so well. Your once-famous name, combined with my natural instinct and talent—it was a match made in—well, not in Heaven. And for that, I truly am grateful. However, the fact remains that you do have an outstanding debt, and you have no choice but to pay it.”
I wanted to say something stupid and non-effectual, but even through my confusion and rage, I knew I had no say in the matter and no real alternatives. It wasn’t like I could take him to Hell’s court and sue him for breach of contract. To help keep my own mouth shut, I forced myself to take a sip of my coffee. The pungent liquid shot past my lips and landed in my churning stomach, but I remained silent.
“Ashburn will be your home for the next ten years,” he said, “during which time you will work for me.”
A decade was a long time. My situation was going from bad to worse.
“I’ll figure a way out of here a lot sooner than that,” I said.
Ahriman tapped the tabletop with one of his knuckles and thought for a few seconds.
“I am not pleased with the way our relationship is unfolding,” he said, stretching his neck violently to one side. “However, never let it be said that I was not fair and honorable in our dealings. I do have a reputation to maintain after all. As such, I will make you an offer only this one time. If you would rather not spend the next ten years in my servitude, I will place you into another body—one that is dying of cancer, to be fair. You will live out your last days as a human, and you will soon be free of this life and of me, forever.”
I hated him, but he’d made his point. A decade above dirt, working for a demon in the suburbs and pretending to be someone else was better than an eternity of darkness and death.
“Why here?” I said, looking for a way to at least improve the course of my fate. “There’s plenty of sin and corruption in big cities.”
“Because this is where I need you,” Ahriman said, as if he were explaining a simple concept to a three-year-old child. “Ashburn is a special place. It is where I relocate supernatural creatures who mean me harm or who are dangerous to humans and their world.”
“There’re more things like you here?” I asked.
“There is nothing like me anywhere,” Ahriman said, with a sneer. “But yes, Ashburn has its fair share of demons, forgotten deities, spirits, and other assorted foul creatures. We’re all different sides of the same coin, really. Did you know the word demon comes from the ancient Greek word, daimon, which meant god or god-like?”
“Fascinating,” I said, not meaning it. “And what exactly do you expect me to do here in this magical land to pay you back?”
Ahriman raised his eyebrows and pulled his head away in mock surprise.
“I see the problem now. You have misunderstood me,” he said with fake enthusiasm. “John sacrificed his body and gave up his life here as my faithful servant—for you. You will work for me, but John is the one to whom your debt is owed.”
“How can I owe a dead man?”
Ahriman picked at something under one of his black fingernails.
“He was one of my best servants, you know—a lesser demon, but faithful and hard working. John played an important role here. He kept the peace and enforced my commandments.”
Now it was my turn to laugh.
“I’ve held a lot of strange jobs in my life. I’ve been a barista, a pet sitter, sold books door-to-door, and even done some private investigating, but I’m no enforcer,” I said, with an exasperated breath. “I don’t even like following rules.”
Ahriman smiled, like he was laughing at a joke I couldn’t hear.
“Do not be so quick to dismiss yourself. I would not have chosen you if I were not certain that you have the skills to succeed here. You will assume John’s identify and his role with no one being the wiser, and you will ensure the supernatural beings of Ashburn continue to obey my commandments.
“They are very simple and based on common sense, really. My first commandment is the most important. No supernatural being leaves Ashburn. Ever. Including you. I have, of course, put in place precautions to ensure compliance from my supernatural guests. Some of them have insisted on testing my boundaries in the past, but none have never succeeded. John made sure of that, which is why no one here liked him very much. It’s also why they will not like you either.”
He held up a finger, silencing me again before I’d had a chance to interrupt.
“Additionally,” he said, “no supernatural creature may kill, annihilate, or in any other way destroy another—which they will try to do on occasion—nor may they harm or kill any member of Ashburn’s human population.”
“Of course,” I said, trying my hardest to make sure Ahriman heard the sarcasm in my voice.
“Lastly, Ashburn’s supernatural community must remain a secret from humans. If you discover anyone breaking this or any of my other laws, you must resolve the situation promptly. Just remember, thou shall not leave; thou shall not kill; and thou shall not tell. Simple.”
I nodded, not because I was agreeing to do what he demanded, but because I wanted him to stop talking.
“There is one last item,” he said. “But it is more of a guideline, and it applies only to you.”
“I can’t wait,” I said, my head throbbing.
“I advise you to smile, be happy, and enjoy your new life. Second to me alone, you are the ruler of this town.”
The pained look on my face must have been obvious, because Ahriman set his glass down, and frowned. His movements were correct and practiced, but I could tell his sympathetic expression was manufactured.
“You do not seem happy,” he said.
He was right. I wasn’t happy. Because working as a demon’s enforcer was very far down on my list of things I wanted to do for the next ten years.
“What if I refuse to work for you? Maybe I can’t leave, but I don’t have to play your game either.”
Ahriman became very still, and all attempt at levity left his face.
“But you do. I am not asking for your cooperation. I am giving you a command.”
“And if I don’t obey?” I said, despite the lump in my throat.
He leaned in close and whispered a word I’d never heard before but which was immediately both intimate and familiar. My brain didn’t know what was going on, but my gut did, and fear spread through my limbs and numbed my fingers.
Ahriman stood straight and adjusted his suit jacket.
“That,” he said, “was your name. Your real name. With it, I could order you to tear out your own heart, and you would do so without hesitation. You will be my enforcer here in Ashburn. You will feel compelled to do so, even when you don’t wish to. And if you work against me in any way, you will die—permanently.”
I remained silent, and Ahriman nodded, satisfied that he’d made his point at last.
He had.
“Do not worry,” he said. “Very soon, the job will become second nature to you. Until that time, I will return to monitor your progress, beginning with next Monday, at which time I expect to find you settled in and performing your duties.”
The conversation was over as far as he was concerned, but I needed more answers.
“How will I make them listen to me?”
Ahriman exhaled loudly.
“Everyone in Ashburn feared and obeyed John. As long as they continue to think you are him, they will be afraid of you and obey you as well.”
“Why were they afraid of him?” I said.
“For many reasons, but mostly because he knew their true names—just as I know yours.”
“What if I can’t stop someone from breaking one of your laws?” I said.
Ahriman’s face grew dark.
“If you fail me, I will take corrective measures,” he said calmly. “And they will not be pleasant. I am capable of inflicting vast amounts of misery over the span of ten years.”
Without another word, Ahriman tur
ned and left me alone in the Moon Dollarz, imagining all the horrible things a demon like him could do to me with nothing but time on his hands.
“I’m still not John,” I whispered to myself.
I downed the last sip of my black coffee, then got up to leave. By the time I made it outside, Ahriman was gone, but a tall brunette with a shapely body wrapped in a tight red dress almost ran into me when I stepped onto the sidewalk.
When she saw my face, she seemed surprised and frightened at the same time.
I started to say something awkward and probably not nearly as funny as I thought it was, but before I could embarrass myself, she stepped in close, gave me a crushing hug, and kissed me.
“I’m so relieved you’re alive,” she said softly in my ear. “I thought he had destroyed you.”
I wasn’t quite ready to thank Ahriman for being his prisoner in suburbia, but as I recovered from the best kiss I’d ever had, I started to think that being stuck in Ashburn might at least have a few perks I hadn’t thought of before.
Then again, I’d been wrong plenty of times in my life, and for some reason, this felt like one of them.
Chapter 7
“WOULD YOU LIKE help opening the store?” the woman said with a smile that made my mouth dry and my pulse race. “Since we’ll be a few minutes early, maybe we can go in the back and have some fun before someone shows up.”
I tried to say something witty, but all I managed was a noise that sounded like something was stuck in my throat. She looked at me with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and I couldn’t blame her.
Thankfully, she gave up and started strolling down the sidewalk, with me doing a double step to catch up with her.
I still didn’t know her name, but I had a feeling she was John’s girlfriend, which technically made her my girlfriend as well—at least as far as she was concerned.
A few steps later, I realized I had another problem. I didn’t know which shop was mine, so each time we approached a storefront, I walked slower and followed her lead.
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