My Demon

by Lisa C Hinsley

  Becky boogied up to Alex, fag hanging from the side of her mouth. “Come dance with us,” she begged in a cloud of smoke, and caught Alex’s free arm. She pulled, trying to drag Alex away from the bar.

  “No, I’m fine here,” Alex replied. She drained her bottle, tilting her head gently to maintain her view of Clive.

  “Come on!” Bec tugged on her again.

  Alex released Clive from her sights to offer a smile at Becky. “I’m all danced out for now.” Alex searched the crowd for Clive.

  “Fine, have it your way,” Becky said and shrugged. She returned to the dance floor, her feet already moving in time to the beat.

  Clive had disappeared. Alex peered into the chaotic swarm of dancers before her. Perhaps he’d gone, she thought. Puffed off to someplace else. She ran a finger around the top of her beer bottle. That would be for the best. No demon was a good demon. Then Clive reappeared in the middle of the throng, walking slowly towards her.

  “You’re here,” Alex said. Anesthetized by the alcohol in her system, and pleased for once about the wonderful anonymity a sexy invisible friend offered, she didn’t worry about talking out loud. The club was now fairly full of people. She could be talking to anyone.

  “Of course I’m here. I’ve been waiting for you,” Clive replied. He started to dance in a sexual Latino style, gyrating within millimeters of her body but without actually making contact. Alex shuddered with excitement.

  “Funny, I’ve been dreaming of you,” Alex finally said, and put her bottle on the counter behind her.

  Clive took up a position beside her, even closer than when he was dancing. His breath cooled the perspiration on her neck.

  “You smell … so damn good,” she whispered. His scent surrounded her, blocked out the mix of sweat, perfume, and smoke that filled the club.

  “All for you, my love. All for you.” Clive kissed her on her neck. Alex trembled, tingles racing up and down her body. He placed a hand on her waist, and ran his fingertips in little electric circles over the exposed skin, and a small gasp escaped Alex.

  She liked the fact no one could see Clive. Somehow it made everything much more erotic, and almost impossible to keep ignoring his advances. She had to remain still, so as not to look completely insane. Even the drunken crowd around her would notice if she started petting an invisible lover in public. Clive kissed her slowly on her lips, and she savored his taste before releasing the embrace and presenting her neck to him. His caresses returned there and she slipped an arm around his waist, finding a gap in the fabric of his cat suit and sliding her hand under the cloth. She relished the touch of his skin, as he was extra warm there as well, although not too hot for the sweltering atmosphere of the club.

  The demon’s lips found their way to her ear lobe. He delicately took the skin between his teeth whilst breathing hot air into her ear.

  “Mmm, stop…” she sighed in that voice, the one that said: this feels far too good for me to control myself. She should grab Clive and lead him to the ladies room, give them the opportunity to take the issue further. His roving hands came to a rest underneath the swell of her breasts, his thumbs running along the underside of her bra. She wiggled against the bar, clenching her butt cheeks to try and calm herself. His lips moved from her ear and along the edge of her chin, down the curve of her neck, towards the beginning of her cleavage.

  His kisses were too much. She couldn’t take any more. Alex pulled his head up. “Maybe we should go somewhere,” she murmured. With his face cradled intimately, she kissed his lips.

  “What the fuck!” Clive squealed. He was lifted up and away from her, his features distorted with fear and surprise. Alex stared, not understanding, the beer and tequila thick in her blood. Jeremy stood beside her now. He scowled at Clive then turned to Alex. His expression morphed from anger to disappointment, his eyes dark and unreadable. The demon tried to run, but Jeremy grabbed his collar and pulled him close.

  “What were you doing with my girl?” he asked, his voice low.

  “You can see Clive?” Alex asked. She stumbled away from them, tripping over her own feet. The air around the demon shimmered, the red dulling, the black hair changing to brown, his olive complexion fading to a pasty white. Alex gasped and pointed at him. “What are you doing with that poor guy?” she shrieked as she realized the man struggling hopelessly against Jeremy’s grip wasn’t the demon.

  “No Alex, I think you’ll find the question is what were you doing with this guy.” Jeremy was tall, strong, sober, and extremely upset, and as the man scrabbled ineffectively to get away, Jeremy pulled him close so they stood face to face. “What were you doing with my girl?” Jeremy asked.

  “I dunno, she came onto me!” The guy wasn’t particularly attractive, and Alex grimaced at the thought that she had let him, a complete stranger touch her and kiss her in public. Her stomach rolled, and feeling rather green from shock and booze, Alex turned and sprinted for the ladies loos.

  She got there just in time, and vomited into a toilet. Alex tried to remember what had been going on, but she could only picture Clive. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to possess an imaginary friend, now she was superimposing his image onto other people. Her stomach rolled again as a flashback of the stranger kissing her and sucking on her earlobe played back behind her eyes.

  Finally, she had nothing left to bring up. Alex reached out, her hand shaking, and flushed the toilet. The mirror behind the sinks reflected a grey face, her makeup smeared by tears, or maybe from when she was fondled by the strange guy. Queasy feelings fluttered up from her stomach, and she leant over the sink. She let out a belch, the nausea passing for the moment.

  The door to the ladies room flew open, hard enough to bang on the opposite wall. Becky staggered in. She faced her friend, eyebrows raised, and a not entirely displeased expression on her face. Alex leaned over the sink again, this time turning on the taps. She filled her cupped hands with water, and began to wash her face.

  “Alex! I can’t believe you did that! You’re like the prudest person I know!” Becky came to a rest by the counter, jumping up a little in order to perch her bum on the countertop.

  Alex continued catching water with her hands. She slurped up a mouthful and gargled.

  “Jeremy is so upset,” Becky said. “Me and the girls managed to convince him not to take the bloke outside and beat him up, but then he stormed out shouting how he never wanted to see you again. What the bloody hell made you cheat, and who is that bloke?”

  Alex spat a last mouthful of water into the sink and turned the taps off. “I don’t know who he was Bec. I guess I thought he was someone else.”

  Becky delved into her handbag and fished out a packet of gum. She pushed a piece into Alex’s hand. “Who did you think he was?”

  “Remember what I told you yesterday?” Alex un-wrapped the stick of gum and mashed it between her teeth. The fresh taste of peppermint filled her mouth.

  Becky stared back at Alex, a frown on her face. She should wait, and talk to Becky when she was a little less pickled, Alex thought.

  “What did you tell me yesterday? That was a long time ago, and I’ve had a lot of alcohol since then.”

  “We should discuss this another time,” Alex said. “When we’re sober.”

  “No. Talk to me now, I’ve got to hear this. Besides, Jeremy might come back, and I’m going to need to know what this is all about, and help back your sorry ass up.”

  Alex leaned against the counter, her head lowered so she spoke to the lino on the floor. “I told you about Clive. Remember?” Alex mouthed a prayer, waiting as synapses connected, and the functionality of memory returned to Becky.

  “Oh, yes! I remember now, you’ve gone loco, and you’re seeing this devil.” Becky beamed a wide, drunken smile.

  “Thanks, yes, and I actually have gone crazy, Bec. I imagined the guy in the club was Clive. Oh, and he’s a demon, not a devil.”

  “What’s the difference?” Becky shrugged. “Must be weird having th
e hots for an invisible bloke. Is he really that sexy?”

  Alex dabbed her face dry with a sheet of green paper towel. She peered into the mirror and tried to wipe away the mascara trails scoring her cheeks. “He’s got a certain charm. You know Bec, the thing that makes all the girls like him, or at least they would if they could see him. Do you understand what I mean?”

  Becky thought for a moment and nodded.

  “Well I do have a thing for him,” Alex continued, “and I get how it’s unhealthy. But knowing he doesn’t exist doesn’t make him go away, or make me stop thinking about him.”

  “Sounds like you need to fuck him. Break the illusion. Afterwards he won’t seem so untouchable.” Becky un-wrapped a stick of gum and popped it into her mouth.

  “You’re so uncouth, Bec. How can I—” Alex didn’t want to repeat Becky’s words. “How can I do … that with him, when he’s doesn’t physically exist?”

  Becky slumped up against the wall, and yawned. “If you still don’t get it Alex, don’t ask me. I’m stupid. Go and talk to a doctor if you still need to be told the ins and outs.”

  Becky took a cigarette from her bag, and shoved it between her lips. Her hand was wobbly, and Alex recoiled in horror as the ignited lighter narrowly missed Bec’s long fringe.

  “I reckon you’d be masturbating. Get yourself a dildo, so’s you have something to complete the illusion.” Becky laughed dirtily, clouds of smoke billowing out of her nostrils.

  “You need your mouth washed out Becky Pinto!” Alex exclaimed. “Anyway, I don’t own one of those.” She got a mental image of the one residing at the bottom of her mother’s handbag. She shivered. “How can you say such things?”

  “Easy, it’s the Latino in me. We’re extremely forthright.” Becky jumped off the countertop, and took Alex by the arm. “Come on, let’s go home.”

  Chapter Eight

  Alex woke up with a sore head. The demon sat at the end of her bed reading a copy of Closer. She squinted at him, partly to make sure he was there, partly to make sure someone else wasn’t hiding under his face.

  Clive glanced up and seeing that Alex had woken, dropped the magazine on the floor, and moved his attention to her.

  “Clive, stop staring at me, for God’s sake!” Alex rolled over so she had a view of the wall. She started counting the flowers on the wallpaper, the way she used to when she was little.

  “Hmm.” She heard Clive move, and the sound of rustling pages a few moments later.

  Alex shut her eyes tightly, having lost count of the flowers already. “What is it? Why are you here? To make fun of me for last night?” Alex sat up. She had the type of hangover that made her feel dumb. She couldn’t compete in a battle of wills right now.

  Clive peered over the pages at her. “No. Why, did something happen last night?” He leaned eagerly towards Alex. Creepy.

  “We were all drunk and making fools of ourselves,” Alex replied. “You know, falling over and stuff.”

  “Oh, okay.” Clive smiled winningly. “I came to a conclusion while you were partying the night away. Because of your information slip to Becky, who then informed your mother, I need to bring my plans forward. I feel it necessary to explain more of what’s going on.” Clive stopped grinning, and his serious expression worried Alex.

  “What’s up?” Alex mentally gave her brain a good shake.

  “I need to tell you something, even though you’re not going to believe it, something even weirder than me. And when you do believe, and you will, you won’t like it.”

  Clive ran his fingers up and down the spine of the magazine, as if he was nervous. What on earth would a demon have to worry about?

  “There are stranger things moving amongst you humans than the likes of me.” Clive paused, the tension in the air increased. “Things that like to take over humans, take their place.”

  Alex snatched in a deep breath. “What like steal their body?”

  “Yes. They move in and kill the soul in order to take control of their stolen body.”

  Alex narrowed her eyes. “You’re kidding!” She sat forward. “I’m sorry, I struggle half the time deciding whether you’re real or not. I can’t believe there’s anything else out there.” And yet a chill ran through her. She hugged her knees to her chest. “No I’m not taking the bait on this one, Clive.”

  He shuffled closer, ignoring her disbelief. “I have to give you the sight, Alex. Then you’ll understand. Will you let me give you the sight?”

  “What do you mean, the sight?”

  “I can give you the ability to identify them.”

  “Whatever. Do whatever you need to,” she said. Tomorrow, she had to get herself to the doctor’s, and actually do it this time. The demon fantasy was getting too weird. “Why do you care, anyway?”

  “Remember what I told you before? About the end of the world, the apocalypse?”

  She nodded.

  “It starts with these creatures. You need to be able to see them so you can protect yourself.”

  “Okay, okay. Fine. Give me the sight.” She waved her hands in front of his face making ghostly woo-woo noises.

  Clive sat snugly against her. He placed his hands on either side of her head and muttered some alien words she couldn’t comprehend. A peculiar sensation of energy flowed like warmth from his palms, in through her temples and down over her eyes.

  Blackness followed swiftly.

  Chapter Nine

  Alex woke up expecting to find Clive at the end of her bed. What had he done to her? She frowned as she tried to remember. Slowly, her fingers crept up to the sides of her head, and the words, the sight came back to her. What had he done? As if in answer, a dull ache began behind her forehead, the pain wrapping around the insides of her skull. Alex rubbed her temples thinking about the demon’s last visit. Maybe he’d managed to enter her dream world now.

  Alex swung her legs out of bed, the air blasting an icy breath over her exposed skin, and she shivered. Funny, her mother always kept the house so warm. Alex made her way to the bathroom, dragging her towel on the carpet behind her. Her head felt dumb, and as she locked the door, Alex hoped the shower would wash the fog out of her mind.

  Hot water dowsed her, pinking her cheeks, but still her brain refused to kick in. She stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel, scrubbing frantically at her skin in an effort to encourage something, thought functions, anything. Alex opened the moisturizing cream, rubbing the lotion in using her fingers tips. Lost in the sensation as she massaged in the Nivea, thoughts of the night before returned with the force of a bulldozer.

  “Oh Shit.” She remembered the ugly impostor posing as her demon. Jeremy snatching him off her, how he’d seen. Despite the warm muggy atmosphere in the small room, her body gave a nipple-raising shiver. Alex wrapped up in her towel. She needed to get out, get some fresh air. Think.

  Leaves swirled around her as she walked out into the autumn morning. The bitter wind blustered Alex into walking in a stagger, head down, her coat zipped to the top.

  Crumpled leaves congregated in piles along the curbs and against walls and fences. Alex stepped into them, but with no real urge to crunch them underfoot. She snuggled further into her coat and continued her walk down her street.

  Mr. Duggan approached from the opposite direction. He sent an apologetic look her way before returning his gaze to the pavement. Momentarily baffled at the old man’s guilty expression, Alex remembered he’d ratted on her to her mother. She looked up from leaf watching, in an attempt to catch his eye as he got closer.

  “Hello Mr. Duggan,” she said.

  The old man stopped and leaned heavily on his wooden cane. “Good morning, lass.” A caring smile graced his lips. “How are you today?”

  Alex opened her mouth to apologize for her behavior. Should she say sorry for the unpredictable actions of a demon? It was up to her to control herself in Clive’s presence. And seek help … to go visit the doctor.

  Then, without any warning, a thick b
lue smoke wafted out of Mr. Duggan’s eyes. The old man reached out with a gnarled and liver spotted claw hand, and patted Alex on the arm. She shrank from his touch as the smoke drifted through the air towards her. The wind whipped up around them, fluffing Mr. Duggan’s short white hair. But the blue smoke floated on regardless.

  “Are you okay, dear?”

  Alex snapped her mouth shut, and took a step down the path. “I’m fine, um, I got to go.”

  She searched around for other passers-by. Would they notice it, the smoke? The street was empty.

  “Goodbye, Mr. Duggan.” Alex backed away another pace as the smoke seemed to reach out for her. The tendrils curled and grew, fed by the old man’s rheumy eyes.

  “Goodbye, Alexandra,” he said and lifted his cane.

  He turned from her, taking the source of the blue wisps. The smoke thinned, then disappeared altogether as Mr. Duggan’s cane resumed clacking on the pavement.

  “Holy shit,” Alex whispered.

  There was an entrance to the park almost opposite where she stood. Alex forced her eyes off the old man and bolted for the gate. Not far in, she found a bench, and shrank up against the wood, as if she could hide away from view.

  “What the bloody hell was that?” Alex asked herself. They’d had a conversation in the middle of the night. Clive had talked about giving her some kind of ‘sight’.

  What had he done to her?

  She curled up, holding her head tightly for a few seconds. Was her neighbor a body snatcher? Was this the thing Clive needed her to see?

  Alex took deep breaths and released her head. A couple of young lads whizzed by on bikes. A brown haired boy turned to stare as he flashed past. The image of his face burned into her brain.

  She blinked and the boys were gone, but a picture of the brown haired lad, his eyes leaking as he rode by, stuck in her vision. Tendrils of blue smoke wafted about in the place he had been.

  Another. Not just the old man.