Blasphemous.
“Do you have any purified water?” I said.
She shrugged.
“In the refrigerator door, but I don’t think the filter’s ever been changed.”
I shook my head and ran water out of the tap. Five minutes later, the kitchen smelled of brewing coffee, or as I like to say, pure bliss.
“Do you even drink this stuff?” I said.
“Of course,” she said. “I’m a succubus, not a barbarian.”
That was arguable.
I looked down at Shadow, who was staring up at me with his leash in his mouth while his tail wagged back and forth.
“I just took you outside a minute ago,” I said, before turning to Sybil. “What does he want now?”
Behind me, Shadow dropped his leash onto the ceramic tiles with a clank.
“It’s hard to tell sometimes, but I’d say he wants to go for a walk.”
“Maybe later,” I said, and Shadow huffed at me.
Carrying our coffees into the living room, Sybil and I sat down, and I had a chance to think through my situation.
“When was the last time John left Ashburn?” I asked.
“He was a hard demon to keep track of, even for me,” she said, shaking her head. “He didn’t say much about his trips, and usually I found out about them after the fact. I think he kept things quiet because he didn’t want Ahriman to find out.”
“I can understand why he’d be afraid of Ahriman,” I said.
She laughed.
“I didn’t say he was afraid of Ahriman. John wasn’t afraid of anyone, even when he should have been. He didn’t want Ahriman to know he could leave town because he didn’t want Ahriman to figure out how to stop him.”
She looked at me with sadness in her eyes.
“I don’t know why John didn’t take his chances out in the real world or back home even. I would have.”
“Maybe he came back because of you,” I said. “You two were a couple, right? I figure the sex must have been amazing at least.”
She grinned at me, then frowned.
“We had our moments,” she said. “You’re not like him, you know? You seem like a good guy—so far, at least. John was strong and ambitious, and he took care of my needs, but no matter how close I thought we were becoming, he never softened. He was a true, old school demon, through and through.”
I started to say something to assure her there were plenty of things to like about her. But I pulled away, remembering what she really was and how she’d ripped out Hillary’s heart and offered it to me like it was a s’more.
Sybil stood up with her coffee in hand.
“You said you woke up in John’s body yesterday morning, and you have no idea what happened to him?”
“Not a clue,” I said. “Ahriman said he’d heal my body—that I’d live and be able to make more music, more songs. But he never said anything about Ashburn or waking up inside the body of his favorite demon enforcer.”
“The basic arrangement for this kind of thing is that a demon, even one as powerful as Ahriman, can’t take your soul without offering something in return that the host has to accept. I bet he went back to basics with you and arranged a classic switch. Your soul—your essence—went into John’s body, and John’s spirit was placed into yours.”
I stood up and walked over to the mantel, examining the stacks of small notebooks piled on top of the shelf above it.
“I got his body and he got mine? Doesn’t seem like a smart trade on his part, since I was dying of cancer. I wonder how Ahriman tricked him into agreeing to that?”
It was Sybil’s turn to shrug.
“I’m not saying Ahriman would have been up-front about everything, but John was savvy. He would have known what he was getting into, and he would have understood the risks. John must have said yes to some kind of deal, just like you did.”
“But why? It’s not like he had a reason for doing me a favor.”
“He didn’t do favors for anyone,” she said, lowering her eyes. “He only did things that benefited him.”
“I’m not sure it makes any difference, but Ahriman said I was here to pay John back—that he was the one I owed.”
She rubbed her chin and her eyes took on a far-away gaze.
“Maybe John wanted you to owe him. I guess that’s possible. Or maybe Ahriman was lying to you about everything, and nothing is at all like it seems. That’s more likely, I think.”
She tilted her head back and downed the last drops of her coffee.
“We could sit here wondering all day about the deal Ahriman and John struck. But let’s worry about you for a moment and how you plan on convincing people that you’re still John. Tell me what you’ve learned so far about what a demon’s body can do.”
“When you left me with those three guys outside the bar—I jumped into one of them when I touched his chest.”
“You possessed him,” she said, correcting me.
“As in demonic possession?”
“Of course,” she said. “What did you think you were? A fuzzy bunny? All demons can do it to humans, to one degree or another. Even though John was only a minor demon, he was particularly good at possession. By the way, don’t ever try that move on me again or with any other demon or supernatural being. It can be done with enough power, but it’s dangerous for both parties. Tell me what else you’ve figured out.”
“I can read people’s faces and their body language almost perfectly now. John must have been very perceptive, just like he was good at possessions.”
She shook her head.
“That’s just you seeing the human world through a demon’s eyes. For us, all humans are slow, and their intentions are transparent. They don’t hide their emotions nearly as well as they think they do. What else?”
“It feels like I’m stronger, sometimes.”
She laughed.
“You’re a lot stronger than you used to be. Much stronger than humans and more powerful than a lot of other demons. You’re also weaker than many of them, too, so don’t get too cocky. Don’t forget that. John was pretty formidable for what he was, but he was still just a small demon with big ambitions.”
She went to the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee before returning to the couch.
“He was here longer than most of us—for centuries at least,” she said. “Way before this place existed as a suburb, when everything around us was wilderness. Even back then, Ahriman used this area to imprison beings with supernatural powers—lesser demons, forgotten gods, fallen angels, and other—creatures. Anything he could steal power from that wasn’t strong enough to escape on its own. The stronger he became, the more powerful beings he could imprison.”
“He said he put his enemies here,” I said. “And creatures that were a danger to the world.”
“Sometimes he has a good sense of humor,” she said with a scowl. “Most of the supernaturals here didn’t even know who Ahriman was before he imprisoned them. Now they all know him.”
“What about you?” I asked. “How’d you end up here?”
“I’d heard rumors about Ahriman—the demon who wanted to become a god—but I never met him. I certainly wasn’t his enemy,” she said, giving a short laugh. “I was in Paris one day, about to dine on some fresh meat, when suddenly he appeared, spoke my true name, and commanded me to follow him back here. I still don’t know how the hell he knew my real name, but I had to obey. There were only a few farms in the area when I showed up, and I remember being hungry a lot because the pickings for food were so slim, especially with John enforcing Ahriman’s commandments.”
“John was Ahriman’s enforcer from the beginning?”
She nodded, staring into her coffee.
“He was always Ahriman’s guy, as far as I know. But after a while, John started treating Ashburn and all of its inhabitants like they belonged to him. Even though he always did Ahriman’s bidding and enforced his rules, John was plotting something big. I didn’t
know what it was, but he wasn’t satisfied playing the lead role in Ahriman’s cage. Like I said, he was a minor demon, but he had major league dreams.”
Sybil stopped drinking, and I could tell from the glint in her eyes that she was thinking something through.
“Any idea why Ahriman would choose me for this?” I asked. “It’s not like I have the best resume for this job.”
“Who were you before all this happened? What was your name?” she said.
“I was David Steele,” I said. “I still am.”
Her eyes opened wide.
“As in, the David Steele, the one who sang the Yeah, Yeah song?”
I nodded, as I had countless other times when answering the same question throughout my life.
“How poetic,” she said as she broke out laughing. “John really hated that song.”
“You mentioned that already,” I said, my face expressionless.
Sybil laughed even harder.
“You can think of yourself as David Steele if it makes you feel better,” she said, wiping tears from her face. “But if I were you, I’d make sure everyone around here keeps thinking you’re John.”
“That’s what Ahriman said.”
“He was right,” she said as her face darkened. “If they knew what I know, they’d rip you to pieces.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke, as her silent threat sunk in. Then she grinned and her body relaxed.
“The truth is, I figured out you were an imposter in less than twenty-four hours,” she said. “And others will too if you don’t start behaving more like John—more like a real demon.”
“I’ll work on it,” I said. “But I’m still a human inside. It’s who I am.”
I felt Shadow’s hot, wet breath on my calf and reached down to pet him.
“First off, try not being so nice to me and Shadow. That’s a good place to start.”
I looked at Shadow, and he looked up at me. I wasn’t sure I could be mean to that face, but I understood Sybil’s point.
“I’ll try,” I said as I rubbed Shadow between his ears. “But what I really want to know is how John used to leave Ashburn.”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here,” she said. “But I figure the best place to look is back at the bookstore. John spent more time there than he did at home.”
We set our empty coffee mugs on the kitchen counter, then walked toward the door to the garage.
I turned around and pointed a finger at Shadow.
“Stay,” I said.
Sybil rolled her eyes, but Shadow sat down and looked up at the ceiling, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
A few seconds later, Sybil and I entered the garage and got in the car, leaving Shadow behind.
“I looked through the store yesterday, but I didn’t find anything.”
“That’s because I wasn’t with you,” she said as I opened the garage door with the remote, backed out of the garage, and pulled away.
As the house grew smaller in my rear-view mirror, Shadow let out a sharp bark from the back seat that made me jerk the wheel and almost drive off the road.
Once my heartbeat settled down, I thought about asking Sybil how Shadow had ended up in the car with us. I thought about chastising him. I thought about turning the car around and taking him home.
In the end, I shook my head and didn’t say a word.
Chapter 18
WE PULLED INTO the parking lot in front of Ancient Pages under the noon-day sun, my mind racing with the hope that Sybil might find something I’d overlooked.
Once inside, Shadow settled on the floor, while Sybil and I went through the small office in the back of the store. At one point, I even checked inside the toilet’s water tank, because I saw a movie once where a gangster hid his money and his cocaine there.
John must not have seen the same movie.
The only thing we found was a lot of dust. Frustrated, we moved to the front of the store and hit the bookshelves. Sybil opened a book and flipped through its pages, then moved on to the next one. She made it through a whole row before giving up and checking the walls.
After an hour of checking the store and a dozen sneezes, I slouched into one of the comfy reading chairs and picked up the copy of “The Serpent and the Rainbow” I’d set aside earlier. I ran my finger along its spine, wondering if it held any secrets that might help me with my Marie situation.
Meanwhile, Sybil returned to the shelves and slammed one of the books into place so hard, it shook the whole store. Then she turned and glared at me.
“Come over here and close your eyes,” she ordered.
“Should I lock the door?”
She laughed, but wasn’t amused.
“Normally, I’d welcome sexual advances from you or John or anyone else for that matter, but right now I want to see if you really have any of John’s muscle memory tucked away in your brain. Close your eyes, relax, and picture yourself leaving Ashburn.”
“That’s all I’ve been thinking about since I got here,” I said as I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of my heart.
It was strong and beating so slowly I was worried it would stop. I ignored my anxiety and focused only on being somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Nothing happened.
I was about to give up when I felt a pull from behind me. I turned around, with my eyes still squeezed shut, and stepped forward, letting my instinct guide the way.
Sybil didn’t say a word, but I sensed her following close behind me as Shadow panted at my feet. After a few more steps, I stopped. It felt like I had arrived somewhere familiar.
“John stood here a lot,” I said with something close to hope in my voice. I opened my eyes and stared at the wall three inches away from my face.
“Then again, I could be wrong.”
Sybil nudged me aside.
“There could be something behind the wall,” she said as she ran the palms of her hands over the drywall. Her hands began to glow, giving off a deep red light, but after a few moments, she shook her head in frustration. She kneeled down and knocked on the carpeted floor, checking for a false floor or a tunnel, but there was nothing there either.
“Sorry for the false lead,” I said, just as she stood up and punched her hand through the wall.
When she pulled it back out, pieces of drywall and white dust flew everywhere. She stepped forward and looked into the hole she’d created.
“See anything?”
“Just the studs,” she said.
I bit my tongue to keep from making the obvious sarcastic comment.
“Looks like you were right the first time,” she said, wiping her hands on the legs of her jeans. “There’s nothing here.”
“We can try some more later,” I said. “I skipped breakfast and it’s already two, and I’m starving. I think I’m going to try next door, if you’re interested.”
“I only eat at night,” she said. “Enjoy your human food if you wish, but eventually you’ll have to give John’s body what it needs to sustain itself, and pad thai isn’t it.”
“I’ll get an order of fresh human hearts if I’m not full after the noodles,” I said.
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” she said as she turned and walked out the door, with Shadow following behind her.
I stuck my head out the door and watched as Sybil and Shadow walked across the parking lot amid the sounds of screeching tires and honking car horns. I didn’t know much about succubi. But they were famous for their ability to seduce humans, and I wondered if her magic was affecting me as well. If the myths were true, she fed on men’s souls the way other women ate chicken wings, but even so, I was still disappointed she was leaving.
That didn’t surprise me because I’d never made the best decisions about women. Plus, the closest I’d ever come to having a girlfriend as hot as Sybil was when I went on three dates in a row with Susie in ninth grade. She was a total goth, and I was a skinny guy with bad skin who’d just started playing the guitar. I remembe
r thinking she was cute but weird enough that I might have a chance with her.
I was mistaken.
Shaking thoughts of Susie and Sybil from my brain, I turned off the lights in the store, made sure the sign on the door said we were closed, and locked up before heading next door.
Chapter 19
THE SMELL OF the food in Bangrak Thai instantly made my stomach growl as I anticipated a bowl of carbilicous drunken noodles. I didn’t know if Sybil had been telling me the truth about what I should be eating now that I was occupying a demon’s body, but I was in the mood for Thai food, not blood.
The restaurant wasn’t huge, with about twenty booths scattered about and a small bar to my right with a flat screen TV mounted above the cash register. Since it was after the lunch rush, the place was mostly empty, with three servers working to get the room ready for dinner later that day. As soon as they saw me, they stopped what they were doing. One of them nodded to the other two and came closer to greet me with her head bowed.
“Will someone be joining you for lunch?” she said in a sweet but trembling voice that did a poor job of hiding her fear.
“I’m on my own today, but maybe you can let Rose know I’m here,” I said.
The server sat me in a booth, handed me a menu, and took my drink order before stepping away.
When I turned back to the table, Rose was sitting across from me, wearing a conservative red dress and a smile that looked perfect on her aged, but pretty face.
“I am pleased to see you again so soon, David,” she said. “I hope you do not mind me joining you.”
I shook my head and raised one eyebrow.
She’d called me David again, but I’d been prepared for it this time, and instead of scaring the shit out of me, hearing my name comforted me.
“I have instructed my cooks to prepare our order immediately,” she said.
“Pretty good trick, especially since I haven’t told you what I want yet.”
She grinned, shaking her head back and forth ever so slightly, as if she were tolerating a young child.
“I am sure you will enjoy your Drunken Noodles. There is a reason it is one of our most popular dishes.”
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