by Suzy Shearer
“Er…thanks Krisk.”
As I walked out the door and glanced back, he was jumping up and down on the day bed, one very happy demon. I have no idea why I did that but I felt sorry for Krisk. Maybe he was my link to the immortal world and Dorian.
Well, I now had an immortal living with me. It just wasn’t the one I was hoping for. Instead, it was the Jar Jar Binks of the demon world.
I worked the rest of the day and then around five packed things away. I went into the kitchen wondering what to eat when I thought I would see how Krisk had settled in. I knocked on the door of the garage before entering. Krisk was sitting on the daybed. He had two cats and a kitten curled up on his knees and he was crooning to them.
“Hello Ellie. Look!”
He pointed to the cats, his face glowing.
“Hi Krisk. Where did they come from?”
“Me not know, but they came to visit. I give them plenty cuddles and they like me.”
“Well, remember someone probably owns them, so they have to go back to their home when they have finished their visit.”
“Yes Ellie, I will make sure they goes home.”
I left him caring for the cats and went back inside grinning. How funny it was to see a demon cuddling a cat or two. Even more funny was the fact the cats seemed to like him. I wondered where they had come from.
When I got up the next morning, Krisk came visiting. He was followed by cats—about nine or ten of them.
“Krisk, where are these cats coming from?”
“They is just visiting, except these two.” He pointed to a well-aged moggy and a younger cat with one ear missing.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes Ellie, I be asking them.”
Okay, I decided not to go there.
“Ellie, what cats be eating?”
“They eat cat food, it comes in cans and in boxes.”
“If Krisk give Ellie money, will you buy food for my cats? Can I keep them?”
I just looked bewildered, a demon was now having pets. This was really odd.
“Um…okay Krisk. But you can’t keep ones that already have a home.”
“No Ellie. They knows they is only coming for visit.”
He handed over some money.
“You didn’t steal this or anything like that, did you Krisk?”
He looked shocked. “No Missus! I has real money.”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll get you some cat food.”
“Ellie.” He looked down at the ground and squirmed a little. “Can you buy M&Ms too?”
I laughed. “Of course, Krisk. I’ll get you a few packets.”
“Thank you!”
He grinned and walked back outside, the cats following him, twining around his legs as he walked. I figured I may as well go to the shops and buy the things for Krisk, I needed food for myself, too, so I drove to the supermarket.
Krisk had given me more than enough money, so I got him enough cat food for a month and plenty of M&Ms. The sales assistant made some comment about me having a sweet tooth as she scanned all the lolly packets. I wondered what she would think if I told her who they were really for. I got everything loaded into the car and drove back home.
When I call Krisk to come and collect the food, the cats came as well and another demon.
“Ellie, this is Botis. He is being my friend and come to play with my cats.”
“Oh. Um…hello, Botis.”
“Hello, Missus,” he replied shyly. “You is very nice.”
“Oh, thank you.”
The two demons made short work of the unpacking, and they carried in my shopping as well. They wandered back to the garage and I could hear Krisk telling Botis all about M&Ms.
My life was going from strange to really weird in just a week.
Chapter Fourteen
Over the next five weeks, I had demons popping in at all times through the day. They would ask permission to visit Krisk then go out into the garage. The cat collection had grown. It seemed every stray in the neighbourhood had discovered Krisk. For some very strange reason, cats and demons had this odd attraction for each other.
I had told Krisk he could only keep ten cats, but I have a sneaky suspicion that some of the ones he told me were visiting were actually permanent houseguests.
I also told him that his demon visitors did not have to come and ask me permission but he whispered to me that I was famous in demon circles and they liked to be able to brag to other demons that they had met me.
Now that he was living here, many other demons were brave enough to admit they liked him, didn’t like killing things and liked the fact I had saved his life.
I was learning some of their names. Botis came often, as did a tiny demon only thirty centimetres high called Orniax. One demon called Zagan came and when I mentioned he was taller than Krisk, I was told “he” was a “she.” Mind you, I could not tell the difference, but I guess as long as male demons could, that was all that mattered.
The next three weeks passed in a kind of blur, Krisk and his friends “popped” in a few times a day, followed by their retinue of cats. I had an old cat flap in the back door, left over from years ago when I owned one, and some of Krisk’s kittens would come visiting as well.
One day I heard a very loud “pop,” I was surprised because the “pops” tended to be related to size. I figured it must be a very large demon. I got up and walked into the kitchen only to bump into Maleos’s chest. I rocked back as he caught me.
“Woo! Hi there.”
“Maleos! Hi, what are you doing here?” He kissed my cheeks and set me steadily on my feet.
“Just wanted to see how you are. I’d have called in sooner but I’ve been working for one of the Gods and only now have the chance to come and see you.”
“Oh. I’m okay, keeping busy.”
We walked into the kitchen.
“Do you want a coffee or something?”
“Coffee’s good.”
I started fiddling with the pod machine when there was a smaller pop and Botis appeared.
“Ellie, Krisk wants to know if you—”
He saw Maleos and quickly “popped” out. Maleos looked at me in shock.
“Um…er…”
“Don’t tell me! You’ve made friends with another demon.”
“Er…sort of.” I wasn’t game enough to say I was sort of the “pin-up” girl for the demon world.
Krisk came through the back door, followed by a few dozen cats.
He stood in front of Maleos, arms akimbo. “You is not hurting Ellie, mister!”
Maleos looked at him in wonder, the cats curling around his legs.
Maleos bristled. “Demon! No, I am visiting her.”
I could see there may be a problem so I stepped between them.
“This is neutral territory as far as I am concerned. There is to be no bloodshed on either side. Got that, Maleos?”
He nodded and looked at Krisk. Krisk was bristling.
“Okay.” He nodded to me. “You big’uns, you be hurting Missus Ellie. She be crying much. I not be allowed to hurt you but Ellie’s demon friends can.”
Maleos held his hands up. “No, I won’t hurt her.”
Fortunately, he saw the funny side of things, and he was trying hard not to laugh. I have to admit seeing a tiny half-metre demon standing up to a 6’7” muscular Daemon was rather funny to see.
He tried to reassure Krisk. “I came to make sure she was okay.”
“Humph.” Krisk looked him up and down. “Okay, me go.” He looked at me pointedly. “You call if you need me, Ellie.”
Keeping a serious expression on my face, I replied, “Thank you, Krisk. I will.”
With that, he turned on his heels and walked out, trying for dignified but failing when the cats almost tripped him over trying to catch his tail.
Maleos looked at me in confusion. “What was that?”
“Well. Krisk is kind of living in my garage. His friends kind of visit a lot. O
h, and demons and cats love each other.”
Maleos looked at me, shook his head, and then roared with laughter.
“Only you! Oh Ellie, only you could befriend a host of demons.”
“Well it wasn’t as if I planned it. They just keep turning up. Apparently I am something of a heroine to some of them and they like to brag to some of the others that they have met me.”
He was finding it difficult to get his laughter under control. He kept looking over at me then laughing each time.
“It’s not funny, Maleos!”
“I’m sorry, Ellie, I truly am, but you have to admit, this isn’t your run-of-the mill house guest.”
I grinned back at him, then sobered.
“How is Dorian?”
“Not good. He made so much racket, the Gods made him an offer he couldn’t refuse—shut up or be sent to sleep. He chose sleep.”
“I wish I could,” I whispered, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall again.
“Ellie, I am sorry about what happened. I honestly think Dike, Horkos, and Dikaiosyne thought you would choose Dorian, they really didn’t believe a mortal could be so moral.”
“I had no choice, Maleos,” I pleaded. “I had to choose what was right.”
“I know, and I support and understand. So does Dorian. I’m just sorry and angry that they didn’t see your ethics and honesty before they gave you that ridiculous choice.”
“Well at least I had a few days of knowing someone loved me completely. The whole thing sucks big time. It’s been two months and it still hurts so bad when I think of him. When Dorian gets woken, tell him…tell him I could have so easily loved him.”
I felt tears begin to run down my face again.
“Oh fuck, tell him I did, I do, almost.”
Maleos hugged me, and he lifted my face.
“I will. If there is any way to get this mess sorted, Ellie, I promise you I will try. I know Anteros is furious. He is the God of Requited Love and his mother is Aphrodite. Her parents are Zeus and Dion. She has not returned yet from wherever she went, but I know when she does, Anteros will be at her door.”
“I won’t be holding my breath, Maleos, your Gods don’t seem to play fair.”
“That’s true, they do meddle, but who knows?”
“I know. They don’t really care, Maleos, who they hurt.”
He gave me another hug.
“Just call my name if you need help, although with your little demons on hand, I think you’ll be safe.” He kissed my cheeks and stepped back. “I’ll visit again soon, just to make sure you are okay. I’m your friend and I want you to be happy.”
I nodded my thanks. He smiled at me then disappeared.
I thought I had been holding up pretty well until Maleos’s visit, now I felt as horrid as I did when I returned from Mount Olympus. I walked back into the workroom. The wall hanging was all finished except for a couple of hours’ handwork, then I just needed to pack it up and deliver it. Figured I would finish it tomorrow then take it to Adrian the next day.
Chapter Fifteen
I packed the finished wall hanging into my car, then wandered out to the garage. When I knocked on the door, Botis came over. He had a sleepy cat on his shoulder and a tiny kitten in his hands.
“Hello, Missus Ellie. Look!”
He held out the little kitten for me to admire.
“That’s a pretty kitten, Botis, but where is its mother? “
He shrugged his shoulder. “Here.”
The cat blinked at me and went back to sleep. Seems like she was happy to hand the baby-sitting over to the demon. I walked in and saw a couple more tiny kittens been cared for. I was still finding it hard to get my head around murderous horrid demons with these cat-loving gentle ones.
“Krisk, I am going out to deliver my work. Do you need any more cat food? I still have money left over.”
Krisk stood carefully so as not to wake the two kittens who had curled up on the daybed alongside him.
“Thank you, Ellie. Maybe a few more biscuits and cans, they is very hungry.”
I grinned. I knew he was feeding half the neighbourhood cats as well as the strays that had adopted the demons.
“I should be back in about an hour or so, then you can unload the car.”
“Good, Ellie. Just call my name and I will hear you no matter where I am.”
I waved to the rest, there were about eleven little demons playing or nursing cats. I wondered what Dorian would have thought of it all, then got angry at myself for thinking about him.
The drive to the factory was uneventful. I had rung a few days before to let Adrian know I would be dropping the piece off so he should have my cheque ready as well. I had a few bills that needed paying. The cheque would mean I could relax for the next twelve months as far as my monthly expenses were concerned. That should keep the water and phone companies happy. I had solar electricity and usually got a payment from them for the extra I generated. I had a small steady income from fabric royalties from my previous range, the royalties from this range would ensure I was never short of cash for bills.
Adrian greeted me in the foyer and we walked to the main showroom. A few of the higher echelon were on hand to see the piece, and I had my fingers crossed that they would like it. We all shook hands and then together, Adrian and I unwrapped the work and hung it on the rods he had ready. He raised it up onto the wall and we all stood back and looked. I have to admit, it looked great.
I had made three panels of increasing size, each one representing part of the sea. So, the first was the beach with the sand, driftwood, tiny ripples of water leading to the second, which was the surf and waves. The third was the water and depths with fish, seaweed, and rocks on the bottom. There were embellishments that hung loose and moved in the air representing seaweed and grasses on the shore. Other embellishments represented shells, driftwood, and the like.
“This is magnificent, Ms. Walters.”
“Please, call me Ellie, and thank you very much.”
A couple of them walked up to the piece and inspected all the embellishments. They seemed to genuinely like it and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ve also drawn up patterns for a few quilts using the fabric. I only have one made so far but I’ve taken photos so you get the general idea.”
I opened my portfolio and showed them the patterns, designs, and the photos of the finished quilt. It was based on a storm at sea, with the lighter fabrics toward the top then graduating down to the darks at the bottom. I had done a few nine patch blocks on the top from the blues and on the right-hand side with an eight-pointed star in the bright yellow so that it looked like sky and the sun.
“This is excellent, Ellie. We intended to release the fabric line the end of the month after next, so these will be put in the ad campaign as well as the wall hanging. When do you expect to have the other quilts finished using the materials? It is ten weeks till the campaign starts.”
“I have the remaining two cut out so I should have them finished well before the time of your release. One is using star blocks that give the impression of going in circles and the other is based on a simple nine patch. You have the patterns here and I will e-mail the photos over to Adrian as I go, then drop the finish quilts in a couple of weeks. That should give you time for you to do the photography.”
I looked over at Adrian and he nodded his agreement. He seemed rather distracted, maybe it was because his bosses were here.
“Ah, that’s great. We couldn’t ask for better. I have arranged for the Accounts department to forward your payment to your bank. Actually, it should be there today or tomorrow. I think Adrian has the payment slip.”
Adrian said he did and would give it to me. He was looking rather pale and certainly not his usual self. I wondered if he were feeling sick.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
Yipee! Money in my account, that always makes me feel good. I had decided to accept royalties on the fabrics themselves,
as they were being sold worldwide. I had done the same last time and it worked out much better than a lump sum payment. With two fabric lines my income stream would start looking rather healthy.
The bigwigs all shook my hand, congratulating me and gushing somewhat. I took it all in. Hell, it is good for the ego to be told you are wonderful. When they left, Adrian asked me to go into his office where he had my paperwork. I handed over the portfolio to him and followed him.
He opened his office door for me and I walked in. I heard the door slam behind me but took no notice.
Suddenly, he pushed me in the back and I fell against his desk. I turned around to ask what the hell was going on and got the shock of my life.
He had a pair of large scissors raised above his head!
“What the fuck, Adrian? What are you doing?”
He jabbed them at me, stabbing me in the top of my arm.
I screamed, loud!
He started stabbing me, thrusting the scissors in and out. I was trying to get away, screaming at the top of my lungs, trying to fight him off. He had a glazed look on his face and was drooling. I tried to wrestle the scissors but I was starting to feel weak and he was much stronger than I was.
He had stabbed me about four times in the arm and the shoulder. I knew if I didn’t get away soon he would kill me. I couldn’t understand what was happening. I was screaming for all I was worth.
I tried to drop down to the floor, thinking I could crawl away but it only gave him the chance to rip into my back. This was not good. If the next stab didn’t hit something vital then the one after surely would.
I tried to grab one of his legs—actually, I bit it hard, really hard.
He didn’t even flinch. He grabbed one of my arms and pulled me to my feet, throwing me onto the desk. The scissors rose again and fell down—into my thigh, into my arm, and then finally he caught my stomach, the scissors twisting and tearing as he pulled them out.
This was the end.
I was screaming the place down, but no one was coming, it must have been the sound of the machinery blocking my screams out. I knew it was over for me. I was bleeding from so many places, I hurt so much. My stomach felt like my insides were pouring out. Adrian was still plunging the scissors in and out, in and out.
