The Demon Inside Me

by Christopher Nelson

  "Careful not to smudge the lines," she snapped.

  "I'm not that stupid."

  "I wonder."

  "Knock it off and tell me what to do."

  She pointed at the innermost circle. "We work from the inside out. Put a couple of drops on that rune there. This one defines what we're doing, healing magic. The second circle defines the target to be Caleb. Third one is the barrier, keeps the magic within."

  "So I assume I should put the most into this first circle, right?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Brilliant deduction. Don't touch the second one. Those runes define the target and I don't know if your ichor will affect that. And just add a little to the outermost one to keep everything restrained."

  I took my knife and prepared to slash my hand open again, but paused at the look on her face. She was reaching for her side, but there was nothing there to grab. "What's wrong?"

  "I need to borrow a knife."

  "Sure, in the kitchen. What happened to yours?"

  She retrieved a knife identical to mine. "Left it in that damn demon."

  "I take it that whatever you imbued it with didn't help?"

  "Didn't do a thing."

  "I told you it wouldn't work."

  "Shut up and bleed."

  We both cut our hands and dripped blood on two different runes. Just like the circle at the construction site, it started to glow where we bled, the glow spreading clockwise. She studied it for a moment, then walked around, adding a few drops to the second circle at different points. "I want them to all close around the same time," she said. "Third one needs to close fastest, so we'll both add a couple drops to different points. Ready?"

  "Sure." We walked around and dripped at a half dozen points each. "Is it just me, or is my part moving faster than yours?"

  She frowned. "It is. It wasn't at first. That's strange."

  "Will it affect anything?"

  "It shouldn't."

  "It's accelerating." The glow from my ichor was moving faster and faster, nearly done with its part of the innermost circle, while hers was barely over halfway around its portion. I pointed at it, right as it caught up to the point of the circle where her blood was.

  Sparks snapped toward the ceiling and the glow tripled in intensity. I snatched my hand back. My ichor consumed her blood and shot around the remainder of the inner circle within seconds, before either of us could do anything to stop it. The runes along the inner circle glowed green and I could feel magic bursting out from the inside. "What's happening?"

  "I don't know!" Power whipped out at us, throwing her hair back as if wind was blasting from the inside of the circle. "Unrestrained magic. Shit!"

  "What's going to happen?"

  She shook her head. "It'll consume all of the energy in the circle as the effect spreads."

  "The healing effect is going to spread?" I looked at my palm as it tingled. The slash had already closed up. She was staring at her own hand. "But it should be healing him too!"

  "It's radiating outwards! It's supposed to reflect inward and focus on him!"

  The outermost circle snapped closed. My ichor had touched hers and accelerated around the rim, causing that circuit to shine bright green as well. I had to cover my eyes. "Is that going to be a problem?"

  "I don't think it will."

  "No?"

  "Look!"

  Caleb's eyes had opened. Silver light flared and he sat up. The outlines of his wings fluttered, translucent in the glow. He shouted something unintelligible and stiffened. I was outside the circle, but I could still feel the magic roaring within it. Tink swayed back and forth and I rushed around the circle to catch her by the shoulders before she collapsed. "It's more than I can control," she said. "I'm going to have to sever my link and let it run its course. I don't know how long it'll take to consume your ichor, though."

  "What have you done?" Caleb's voice shook my apartment. "What is this?" His wings snapped open, curling in as they struck the barrier. Sparks flew from the contact. His eyes were molten silver at this point and his burned skin was flaking off. No, it wasn't flaking off. He was absorbing it back into himself.

  "This is incredible," Tink said, barely audible over the roaring magic. "This is on par with a grand master. I had no idea this was possible."

  "What have you done, woman? Why have you restrained me?" His voice grew deeper and stronger. My apartment was shaking as if there was an earthquake. His silver gaze focused on me. He had no visible pupils, but the enraged angel's focus was rather evident. "You've betrayed me. Betrayed me to a demon!"

  "No, Caleb!"

  "I knew you were a lost cause. I could feel his tainted influence within you. His touch is upon you, girl. You are lost!"

  "Stop it!"

  The angel drew his sword, a steel hiss. At roughly the same time, Tink's second circle closed, focusing the magic on him. His eyes grew wider and his skin started to glow. The sword burst into blue-white flame. Holy fire. I pulled Tink back a couple of steps. I had just healed her and I had no desire to do so again.

  The angel swung the sword, as best he could in the small circle. The blade scraped against the outer barrier with the sound of a thousand chimes screaming in discordant agony. Tink and I both covered our ears. Caleb swung again. "Stop, Caleb!" she screamed at him.

  "How much longer?" I shouted in her ear.

  "Not a damn clue," she shouted back as he struck again. "I don't know if he can break it or not! What's wrong with him?"

  "Overstimulated from seeing you in my clothes?"

  "This is not the time for jokes!"

  I pointed at Caleb, trying to get his attention. "Calm down, Caleb! We were healing you! You were very badly hurt! But you're getting better!"

  "You've trapped me!" he bellowed. I heard glass shatter in the kitchen. "You're holding me here for him! I can't let him find me!"

  "Who's going to find you?" I shouted back at him.

  He struck at the barrier again. It cracked. I was taken aback. Seeing a crack in the air in the middle of my living room was surreal. "I'll not be your prisoner of your kind, demon!" he roared. I heard car alarms go off outside.

  His babble suddenly clicked. "He's having a war flashback?"

  "Are you kidding me?"

  "What else do you think it could be?"

  He struck at the barrier again and the crack grew. "I'll end your miserable life, demon!"

  "Can't you shut down the spell?"

  "Not a chance! Try another circle!" She lunged for the chalk and started to draw while the angel ranted and hacked at the barrier. Her runes were scribbles and the circle was more like an oval. As soon as she finished, she sliced her hand and dripped all over the rune. I darted to the opposite side and splattered ichor onto it. The glow started to flow around the outer edge of the circle, just as the angel swung another hefty blow into the barrier. I heard glass shattering again, but this time, it wasn't from my kitchen.

  "Watch out!" Tink screamed. The burning sword cut air over my head. The barrier had collapsed and the angel was moving, breaking each of the other circles in turn. The magic winked out, but it had healed him and filled him with energy. I danced backwards. Here I was trying to save the sorry bastard's life, and now he was going to turn my furniture into kindling.

  "Die, hellspawn!" I narrowly avoided becoming a halfblood kebab. The angel sprang over the coffee table and I dove underneath him. His sword plunged through my front door. My security deposit was as good as gone.

  "I'm going to bill you for all this damage," I told Tink as I retreated toward the window. I could blow the wall out and let us escape that way. It'd take the last of my ichor and there was no guarantee we'd survive the fall, but it was our only chance.

  "Me?"

  "You brought him here!" I held my hand up in front of me and whipped my knife across it, letting ichor pool in my palm. "I'm going to have to move, too. Dammit. I liked this place."

  "Wait!" She grabbed my hand and dipped her fingers in the ichor.


  "What are you-"

  She drew a vaguely familiar rune in the air as the angel wrenched his sword free of my door. He roared and charged, aiming to spit us both on the flaming blade. If her plan didn't work, at least we'd die together. I didn't have enough left for hellfire. "I'd like to say this has been fun but-"

  "Shut up, dumbass!" She completed the rune, braced herself on my shoulder, then slammed her bloody hand flat against the rune. A roaring torrent of force flashed from her hand, burning green as it slammed into Caleb.

  The sword dropped from his hands as he flew straight backwards, into my front door, through my front door. Splinters of wood scattered through the hallway. If there had been a door directly across the hall, he probably would have gone through that as well. Instead, he hit a solid wall and she closed her fist. He stood there for a moment, framed perfectly where my door used to be, then fell face down. I heard doors opening up and down the hallway. "Oh, bloody hell," I said.

  "That was a little overkill, wasn't it?" she asked.

  "You sound entirely too cheerful about that."

  "I've wanted to do something like that for months."

  I saw someone peek around the corner into the room, then retreat. Voices echoed from the hall. "They're going to call the cops. Got to stop them."

  "Wait-"

  I absorbed the ichor steaming in the palm of my hand and burned it to send out a strong suggestion for everyone on the floor to return to their rooms and forget anything they had just seen. When I opened my eyes, everything was dark and spotty. The floor was rising quickly, then stopped. I dimly heard a voice shouting something in my ear, then lowered me to lie down.

  "Put your knees up," she commanded.

  "I'll be fine," I mumbled. Tink's face swum in and out of focus. "Just need a little rest. Had worse before. I think."

  "Knock it off. Stay with me here."

  "Can't. Just a few minutes."

  "Isaiah, dammit, don't collapse and leave me to clean up this mess!"

  I smiled. "You can handle it, Anna." Everything blurred and went away.

  Chapter Eight

  I opened my eyes and sat bolt upright, clutching my head. I didn't have a hangover, but the sound of an electric drill was real and all too close. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood. My vision darkened immediately and I sat back down. I hadn't been out too long this time, just an hour according to the clock next to my bed.

  After a minute of squeezing my temples and swearing, I stood up and headed toward the drilling, now joined by the sound of a vacuum cleaner. This much noise this late at night? My neighbors were going to kill me. My head was throbbing. I turned toward the bathroom and paused with my hand on the doorknob. If Tink were in there, she'd kill me. I had barged in on her before, and any good will from saving her life had already been paid off, so at this point, I assumed that death would result.

  Being put out of my misery sounded just fine. I opened the door.

  She looked up over the edge of the bathtub. "You're awake already?"

  I blinked. She wasn't naked. She wasn't even annoyed. "Yes?"

  "We didn't expect you to wake up until morning," she said. "Did the noise wake you up? I told them it'd be too loud. Damn." I stared at her until she looked away. "What are you staring at, demon? Don't piss me off."

  "I had this wonderful dream," I said.

  "Did you?"

  "I dreamed that I saved your life and got to see you naked. Oh, and you called me Isaiah. That was funny."

  "You left out the part where Caleb went berserk and I blasted him through your front door. And the part where you fainted like the pussy you are."

  "I was concentrating on the good parts. What are you doing?"

  She gestured at the tub. "Scrubbing. Your ichor left some disgusting stains. I had to do something about it. I'll be done soon. What are you doing in here, looking for another show? If you are, think again. I'll hurt you."

  "I was just looking for some painkillers," I said. "But now I think I just need a few beers."

  "Feel free to mix them."

  I made a rude gesture at her, then popped a couple of pills and left her to scrub. In the living room, I stopped dead to stare. Caleb was vacuuming while wearing a frilly pink apron, while Becky was standing by my front doorway, hanging a new door. "Caleb, does this look level?" she called over her shoulder to him.

  "It's fine."

  "You didn't even look."

  "I don't need to. How could you hang a door wrong?"

  Becky turned to snap something at him, but caught sight of me first. "Bright! You're awake. How are you?"

  Caleb froze. I held back a laugh and addressed Becky. "Like a behemoth has been tap dancing through my skull. What are you doing here?"

  "Helping a buddy out." She opened and closed the door, then frowned. "This is definitely not level. What do you think? Caleb is useless."

  "I think he has great fashion sense." I looked over at Caleb. His dark face was growing ever darker, but he didn't say a word, just glared. The angel wanted to lash out, it was obvious. It was even more obvious that Tink had him on a leash. What sort of leash, I didn't want to know.

  "Hey, you with me?" Becky waved a hand in front of my face. "Caleb knows he looks pretty. You don't need to stare."

  I blinked and looked back at her. "Sorry. I think I need to sit down."

  Caleb's gaze never left me as I crossed the living room and sagged into my chair. I glanced at the couch. It didn't look like it was any worse for wear after he had bled all over it, but I wasn't going to risk it. If one drop of my ichor touched any of his blood soaked into the cushions, I'd be buying a new couch, coffee table, and carpet, at the very least. I glanced from the couch to him, then back.

  He nodded. "Anna took care of it."

  "Oh, good. I like that couch."

  "That's why she did it."

  She never failed to surprise me. "Thanks for cleaning up."

  His eyes narrowed. "Don't thank me, demon. Anna insisted. Vehemently."

  "Demon?" Both of our gazes flicked to Becky. She revved the drill in her hand a couple of times while eyeing Caleb. "Are you insulting my friend? Do we need to have a chat, big guy?"

  I chuckled and leaned back in the chair. "I guess you didn't tell her too much. Kept your mouth shut this time?"

  He lifted the vacuum into the air, one-handed, and pointed it in my direction. "Are you telling me I have a big mouth? Is that a joke, or are you serious, demon? My patience-"

  "You don't have any patience," Tink snapped. I hadn't even noticed her come out of the bathroom. "That's your problem, Caleb. You're too impatient. He's too cautious. Men. I'd be better off dragging Becky around with me."

  "Don't tempt me, sweetheart."

  I sighed and closed my eyes. "Speaking of that, why did you drag Becky into this, Tink?"

  "Drag her in? She just walked in as if she owned the place! Whistles at me, looks at the mess, slaps Caleb until he wakes up and drags him off. Comes back with a door. I didn't expect the door."

  "Surplus," Becky said. "Look, I come down the hall, find this guy unconscious in the hall right outside your room. Your door is splinters. You're on the floor. Shortcake here is standing over your body, breathing hard, wearing a white dress shirt way too big for her. I thought I had just walked into the middle of a domestic dispute. Like they were married, she was cheating with you, and he caught you in the act."

  "What?" Tink squeaked.

  "I figured I should step in and cool things off before someone got hurt worse. So, I woke up the meathead here and dragged him out. Picked up a surplus door and grabbed some clothes for shortcake there. I even had a nice long chat with him once he stopped sulking."

  I hadn't even noticed that Tink was dressed differently. Becky had picked up some jeans and a t-shirt that actually fit her. I wondered if she had picked up some underwear to go with it. Tink blushed as I stared at her and turned her back on me. I looked back at Becky. "A long chat with Caleb? What exactly
did he tell you?"

  "Denied everything. Says he's not jealous of you."

  "I am not jealous of this demon," Caleb growled.

  Becky jabbed the drill toward him again. "Didn't I tell you-"

  "He is a demon," Tink said. Becky looked over at her, and Tink looked at me and grinned, all traces of the blush gone. "No shit. He's a demon, Becky."

  "Don't do this, Tink," I said.

  "Why not? She wasn't affected by whatever you did, and neither was I," Tink snapped. "Something's strange about that. You saved her life like you saved mine, didn't you? Maybe that made her resistant to your abilities."

  "I don't think that's possible."

  "I think it is," Caleb said. "She's here, isn't she?"

  "You're all talking too seriously about this for it to be a joke," Becky said. She pointed the drill at Tink. "I'd like you to explain what you mean, sweetheart."

  "Don't call me that."

  "Call her Tinkerbell."

  "Not that either." She pointed at me. "He's a demon. Caleb's an angel. I have a contract with the demon. The angel follows me around like a puppy. Oh, and I'm a mage. Am I going too fast for you?"

  "You've got a good imagination," Becky said.

  "Why are you telling her, Tink?" I asked. I wanted to stop her, but I was too exhausted to mount more than a feeble protest. "If I wanted her to know the truth, I would have told her back then. I don't advertise, for my own health."

  Becky pointed the drill at me. "You're talking like this is for real, Bright. This sort of pranking shit is going too far. What do you take me for? Some meathead like Caleb?"

  "Bleed for her, demon," Tink said.

  I sighed and reached for one of the knives still lying on the coffee table. "Fine. Come here and take a look, Becky."

  Tink headed into the kitchen while Becky cautiously approached me, drill held at her side. I held my right hand in the air, palm up, then pricked my finger. Red blood welled up. "Looks normal to me," she said, taking a step back.