by P. S. Power
Walking back in carefully, her arms were loaded with prepackaged goodies that Keeley wouldn't have thought would be in Darla's kitchen at all, not after the way she'd made everything from scratch the night before. A box of cellophane wrapped snack cakes got opened one by one and set on a white and blue plate next to the ice cream container. Keeley didn't stare, but doubted she'd be that hungry after polishing off all the ice cream. The stuff was rich, high in fat and sugar, cloying almost, but better than she'd ever had before.
Her stomach still growled. That was annoying. She didn't even feel a little full yet.
Darla pushed a golden curl to the side, as if it hadn't been behaving perfectly, which it had, and kept going, her voice going low and conspiratorial.
“So, how about this. I'll teach you all about demon kind and all you have to do is hang out and maybe do a few favors for me now and again? Think about it? How often do you get to learn secret demon information? No one gets to do that...”
The snort nearly shot half melted frozen dessert through Keeley's nose.
“No.” She frowned at the other girl a little sound exasperated at the obvious game being played.
“Did you think I wasn't paying attention or something? You just said...”
“Yep. I did. You'd be surprised at how many people would have fallen for that though. Good. Keep it in mind. No matter what, you can't make a deal with a demon. Not me, not any of us. We're... well it would be unfair to say we aren't your friends, a lot of us probably will be, but out of the five hundred and twenty of us right now, about a hundred and thirteen would just as soon kill a human as deal with them and if they get their hooks into anyone, even one of us, it doesn't go well.”
It took a few seconds and a few more bites of food to process all the information.
“OK, I guess I can see that. Why so few demons? That's not a lot for a population base is it? I guess with the immortality, or very long lives, that kind of makes some sense, but it still seems low.”
“Well, no one really knows for certain, but the pattern of the world seems to only allow a maximum number of us. Five hundred and thirty-six is the limit we think. There's never been more than that. But we do suffer attrition and most of the kids don't make it long enough to assure survival. That takes about seventy to a hundred and twenty years.” A delicate hand was waved as she reached over and took one of the cream filled chocolate cakes from the plate and bit it nearly in half.
“People try to kill us when we're young, before we can really do a lot to protect ourselves. So baby demons get mentors now. It's not perfect, but it cuts the deaths by about half. It's a good time to be a new demon really. Most still die young, about nine in ten, but it's better than it used to be.”
The spoon scraped the bottom of the paper container, the cream and sugar mixture slightly brown from the dense peanut butter, the scent still lingering. Keeley, without thinking took a snack cake herself. Normally she hated these things, but at the moment it tasted incredible. That was bizarre. Apparently turning back time to fix a floor really was a bigger deal than it seemed. She nearly snorted. Like that didn't seem like a huge thing?
“OK, so those things last night? The fake monk and then the... I have no clue what to call those other things.”
“The monk was just what it seemed, a ghost that couldn't adapt to being dead and not having their imaginary happy land pop into being. The others are more complicated. The shadow... Well, that's a djin. Yes, I get the absurdity of keeping him in a magic bottle, but it really is the best way of doing it. By the way, they don't give wishes. In general they just kill humans that mess with them, which is why I trapped that one. Back in the fifties, it killed two complete families in the area I lived in. I don't let anyone else hunt on my territory, just a rule I have. That includes you too by the way, unless I OK it, just for future reference, if it comes up at all. If you want to kill people either ask or take a road trip.”
Taking a deep breath, she gave Keeley a sidelong look, using only her eyes, a strange thing, because it meant looking away first, the blue eyes fixing her in place the whole time above the white blouse she wore.
“OK, the other thing is a lesser demon. No relation. They're energy beings, created from the thoughts of humans. They believed it into being. Of course, that means, given the whole Christian mythos, that it's about as dark and evil as you can get. Powerful enough though. As you saw.”
Looking down she realized that the tiny cake in her hand was gone with the next bite and her hunger had finally started to subside. Thank goodness for that. Too much more food and she'd probably have popped. Or should have. She didn't really feel physically full yet at all.
“Does that kind of stuff happen often? Ghosts and all that? I've never noticed anything like it before... No... lesser demons either.”
“Yes. A few times a month things show up. Most people just move past them and go on without noticing anything strange, their minds, the human mind, won't let them remember it clearly. A few do, the insane, sometimes the genius. They normally learn not to talk about it though. “Hey I see ghosts and demons” doesn't play nearly as well as you might think. Might as well just sign up for the local UFO meeting or check yourself into a mental ward.”
That... Keeley could see it, she certainly didn't talk about a lot of things she picked up, did she? The few times she'd started to, as a child, her parents had acted strangely. She'd learned to hide what she knew pretty fast and just pretend that when she got things, she was just being smart. Her parents kind of accepted that, since she was decently smart, getting decent grades and all.
Most of the questions were answered pretty well she decided, with only a couple left. Darla sat, learning forward slightly in her chair, eyes suddenly riveted on hers.
“Any... other questions?” She said, her voice sounding odd. Too smooth, like a car salesman from a television show.
“Well... Um, why are you here? I mean, we all have to be somewhere, but if you can change shape and all that, why pretend to be a high school student, and why a cheerleader?”
“Well, the cheer leading part is simple, popularity acts as an amazing shield against scrutiny and it's easier to manipulate others to your own ends when you look good. There are some simple tricks I can show you for that, looking good and manipulating others, before you go back to school Monday. If you want.
“As for the rest, well, I'm here...” she drew the pause out long enough that it was clear she was being dramatic.
“For you.”
Tilting her head Keeley stared for a second, her face looking skeptical.
“For me? Oh, well that makes sense... All the supernatural beings love to hang around with me... Oh..wait, no they don't! Gasp!” She raised an eyebrow delicately, or tried to. She chuckled a bit though, expecting Darla to join in, which she didn't, she did smile prettily though.
“Excuse me? Keeley, look around, they obviously do... You're just now starting to notice them, that's all.”
OK, it was a real point, Keeley had to concede after the last twenty-four hours.
“But why? I mean, I get that I'm a little strange, but demons and ghosts and djins, oh my? It doesn't make a lot of logical sense, does it?”
Darla nodded and looked down as if thinking about something, then, as if she'd come to a conclusion she looked dead into Keeley's eyes.
“OK, normally I'd draw this out and take three to six months to get to the point, but you're strong enough already that things will probably start showing up to try and kill you before then and we can't waste a bunch of time getting you ready... so don't freak out. Remember, this isn't a big deal, alright?”
“Um, sure?”
The deep breath seemed a little forced, another thing meant to set the mood, Keeley realized. Just like the pause.
“Right, just out with it, what are you trying to say. Stop with the phony acting and just tell me already.” It wasn't snappish, but it didn't sound polite either. A little gruff. Before she could apologize f
or her tone the other girl spoke.
“You're a demon Keeley. That's why I'm here. That's why I've been watching you.”
Chapter seven
Keeley looked around the dining room for the hidden cameras. She didn't notice anything, but that didn't mean they weren't there, did it? After a few seconds the hunger struck again and she found herself eating another of the now cloying chocolate treats. It disgusted her just a little that they actually tasted so good right at the moment. Here she'd imagined herself to have something approaching taste, if not style.
Sighing she shook her head.
“Nope, that pushes right past the bounds of even my credulity, and I can believe in a lot of strange things. I remember growing up and distinctly don't recall ever having been a demon while doing so. What's the set up here? Make me believe I'm a “demon” and then have me run all over town acting like a freak? Go have sex with twenty guys at once because there are no consequences to it for a demoness? If so, you picked the wrong girl, because I don't think I have enough money to buy that idea.”
Darla, being more mature than she was, if the whole thing wasn't just a joke, smiled softly at her and finally, when Keeley didn't respond, stuck out her tongue.
“I'm good, but do you think a regular high school girl is really going to be able to even fake a djin or lesser demon like that? You can't be hypnotized, so no fair trying to claim I “clouded your mind” either. You're just one of us and you need to get used to it. I'll give you a minute to come to grips.”
The demon actually looked at the clock on the wall, as if to prompt her to get with the program in an actual minute. It really did feel like there was a deadline. Not a bad trick really, Keeley decided. State a time limit as a hypothetical and then look at a clock? It didn't work as well now though, because she'd caught on.
The blond opened a box of very cheap prepackaged honey buns and started eating one without commenting further, but her eyes stayed glued to Keeley. It was a warm and friendly look, but started to feel strange after about thirty seconds. Like the other girl might just be coming across the table at her when her sweet roll was done. Instead of giving in, Keeley took one of those too, trying to cut the over chocolaty taste inside her mouth.
Between swallows she spoke, not breaking eye contact with the other girl, no matter how uncomfortable it got.
“So, am I supposed to be some, I don't know, dark ages demon that was cursed to forget or something? How is this supposed to work?”
Rolling her eyes Darla held up her index finger.
“Well, the daddy demon meets a human woman,” she made a circle with her other forefinger and thumb, “and they...” The fingers started to move closer together. “You know, I'm almost certain they teach this in school now...”
“Very funny, so you're saying my dad's a demon?” That didn't seem likely. Her dad wasn't exactly father of the year, always a bit cold and distant, but Charles Thomson was simply not a demon. Not unless demons often went into accounting. She was about to mention this when Darla cut her off with a cute grin.
“Obviously not the dad you know. Though really, he seems like an alright guy. I met him about a week ago, at Cortechs, when I was delivering some paperwork. I didn't change for it, because becoming my own grandmother takes a few hours. A bit stiff and a little too into high school cheerleaders, but other than that nice. Of course I was wearing my uniform, so it wasn't totally his fault.” She held out her hands defensively to forestall a beating.
“No, seriously... your real father is a demon and of course, it's not the person you think of as being your dad. Only male demons can have children, you and I, being female, can't. On the good side, no biological clock or maternal instinct either. I've never felt the urge to have more than a puppy myself.”
“Hmmph. OK, so I can go with you there, I've never wanted kids, or really thought about it much, but... How did my mom, I mean, some kind of spell or I don't know invitro-fertilization?”
“Bar. In Cancun Mexico, if the story I heard is right. Not to be a pain Keels... but grow up. Half of all humans sleep around on the other half, that shouldn't be news to you. You collect data on everyone with a touch. We all do. Check the memories you got from your mom and...”
Fudge.
Darla was right, the memories were there. Keeley just didn't want to touch them. Some things were just too uncomfortable to know about. But this time she had to, didn't she? Steeling her will she tried to remember her mom's vacation to Cancun, her father not there, how her mom had been considering leaving him at the time and then met the tall dark stranger in the hotel bar. Carlos.
“Wait, my real dad's Mexican? Or, I guess demon, but, I don't look half Mexican and he really did have that whole swarthy look going on...”
This got a nod.
“Yep. That's dad alright. Back then. Now he looks as white as you or I. Demon kids always look like their mothers. It's pretty handy really, otherwise all those human guys would know the kids weren't theirs, right?”
“Ah...”
It was a lot to take in and there was too much information in the memories by far, Keeley had to shut them off after establishing that the child, her, was indeed not her dad's. Creepy. Her mom knew too. Or at least suspected. Eeep.
“OK, so um, what's next?” Keeley said. Too much was lining up for Darla to just be pranking her.
Or at least too much for a regular high school level prank. It could be a demon prank. But if so, why? Was living for hundreds or thousands of years that boring? It was a real thought. She stared at the girl, something she said, the way she'd said it, finally clicking.
“Wait... “that's dad alright”... Um...”
Big nods came from across the table.
“Indeed Keels, you're my little sister, which is why I got called in to be your mentor. You have an older brother too, Xenses, but he's a complete tool most of the time. If you meet him... well, don't meet him. The best you could get away with there is convincing him that a little torture and rape is in order just because you're family. He'd probably do that, and then kill you anyway. Not one of the nicer members of our little family.”
Darla shrugged and took another roll.
“Anyway, what's first? Well, the very first thing we need to do is get you some protein. What you ate should hold you for a bit. I'm... it was a bit of a dirty trick, me letting you run the goeardes like that, the time manipulator? It really eats a lot of energy. I actually didn't think you'd pull it off, which means you're way stronger magically than I thought. Not showing physically yet too much, but I doubt that will be too far behind. The trick, for now, will be keeping you looking about the same way. It would be really easy for you to suddenly look like a walking skeleton right now.”
The blond jumped up and moved toward the kitchen rapidly.
“Steak OK? I have chicken and some pork chops too, I can make something else though, if you want, I make a really intense sweet and sour chocolate chicken for instance? That will take longer though.”
“Um anything is fine. I'm not that hungry now, thanks.” Her stomach as if having heard her words, growled.
Stupid stomach... keeping her from being polite. She'd have glared at it, but couldn't figure out an angle that wouldn't just look ridiculous for that.
“No problem. Steak then, I can start it now. So, other than food, I think the first thing we need to do is fix your vision. Those coke bottle glasses you have on may win over the geek guys at school, but if they get knocked off you'll be half blind. We can do that after we eat.”
They could?
“We can? I'm not certain I know how to do that just yet, if I'm supposed to have some kind of power...”
Darla laughed.
“Oh ye of little faith in yourself... No, I have a device for that. That's my thing, manipulating energy and matter using machines and devices. Each of us has an area we do better in than others. I don't know what yours will be yet. Possibly data collection. That or eating.” There was a slight hint of t
easing in the words, but no smile to go with it.
God. Keeley had to really hope her secret super power wasn't eating. That would be too lame.
The sounds from the kitchen were fast, closer together than they should be, and when Keeley finally got up to see what was going on it boggled her just a little. The room was pitch black.
“Um, Darla?”
“Oh! Hey, go ahead and step in, it's just a time field.” Her voice came back as a squeak, like a children's cartoon version of Darla, possibly if they made her a rodent.
One step into the dark and the room looked normal. Keeley tried to size it all up.
“Um, why does sound get out of the field but light just stops? That doesn't really make a lot of sense, or, does it? Is it a magic thing?”
