Night Call (Book 2): Demon Dei

by L. J. Hayward

“Treat me like a dunce.”

  Her lips pursed into a deliciously evil smile. “If you wish.”

  Before my mind could get twisted up in that smile, it vanished and she got down to business.

  “Traditionally, demons are defined as subversive spirits with an interest in human affairs. The term demon is derived from the Greek, daimon, and means ‘replete with wisdom’. The Greek daimons weren’t the universally evil beings Christians turned them into. Daimons could be evil or good. In some cultures, demons are merely troublesome, but not evil per se. Their origin stories are just as convoluted. Judaism believes some demons were created by God on the Sabbath eve and he was unable to finish them, that’s why they’re just spirits. Other demons were born of Adam’s unions with female demons and therefore have bodies, while even more demons are created by the deaths of wicked people.” She sipped her water and gave me a significant look. “And that’s just the tip of Judaism. Beyond that, we have Christianity, the many eastern cultures all with their own beliefs and the ancient religions including but not limited to Babylonia, Persia and Egypt. So, Matt, is this a long term interest, or just a passing fancy?”

  In the face of all that, I really hoped it was just a passing fancy. Maybe demonology as a whole was something I could contemplate later, when I wasn’t being hunted by a demon.

  Lila sighed. “You weren’t expecting anything so complex, were you?”

  “To be honest, no. I had kind of hoped it would all be a bit more straightforward than that.”

  “What do you mean, straightforward?”

  “Well, vampires for instance. I mean there is a mountain load of lore out there about them, like the idea they have to sleep in the soil of their home every day, or their aversion to Holy objects and garlic, or that they can’t be seen in mirrors. Some things are true, others are complete codswallop. There are common truths buried beneath all the different beliefs about vampires, common truths that show us the reality behind the myths. I was kind of hoping you could just tell me the common truth behind all the demon propaganda.”

  Lila sat back, head tilted as she studied me. “Vampires?”

  Right about then I began to wonder if Jacob had sent the right person to me. He must have had to source her from outside his little circle of contacts. I’d met a few of the people he had dealings with and they all knew about me and Mercy. They all believed in vampires, werewolves and all manner of supernatural beings. None of them would have looked at me like I had sprouted tentacles out of my nose at the mention of vampires.

  “Do you actually believe in demons?” I asked.

  “Do you believe in vampires?” she countered.

  “I asked first.”

  “No, I don’t believe in demons, because they don’t exist.”

  “Forgive me, but a demonologist who doesn’t believe in demons? How does that work?”

  “I study the literature about demons, looking for connections between various cultural myths and beliefs. Looking for, not so much common truths, but rather the evolution of the demon myth. How western religions adapted their later ideals from earlier beliefs. Judaic demonologies were influenced by the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism and Christianity demonised pagan gods and goddesses as it spread across the European continent. I do admit that the myths and stories have a basis in reality, but it’s a reality closely tied to the development and exploration of the human subconscious. It doesn’t mean that these things actually exist.”

  Thankfully, the food arrived and saved me from having to think of anything to say immediately. An array of dishes was laid out between us. I recognised sashimi (um, yeah, no), tempura (phew) and skewers of mystery meat sizzling away on a hot plate. Two tiny cups of what I guessed to be sake were the last things deposited and then the waiter vanished and my reprieve was over.

  “You believe in vampires?” Lila asked again, using her chopsticks to delicately pick up a piece of raw salmon.

  It was a difficult question to answer. Anyone else, I would have said ‘sure do’ and not worried about the long term repercussions. Let’s face it, me and long term repercussions weren’t exactly bunk mates lately. Got to have long term contact for there to be long term anything. But this was Lila. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to be short term.

  So, I went for the cop-out. “I believe that some people believe in them.”

  That bit of salmon went down with a fascinating little shiver in her throat. “That’s hardly an answer.” But there was a cheeky little quirk to her lips that said she forgave me.

  “You mentioned that the human subconscious is linked to demons, or at least the perception of demons,” I added when she cocked a fine eyebrow. “I’d like to hear more about that.” I picked up a piece of tempura and covered it in sauce.

  Lila took her time with another piece of sashimi, all the while giving me the I-know-you’re-trying-to-distract-me-and-at-the-same-time-suck-up look. I returned it with a politely interested expression. And I was interested. Her mention of the subconscious had caught my attention. For obvious reasons, I was rather keen on the thought of exploring my subconscious. That was where my link to Mercy was embedded, as were my psychic abilities. And if that could help me against this demon, than all the better.

  “My belief,” Lila said, “is that the many incarnations of demons can be derived from the various approaches humans have explored in trying to determine the origin of their subconscious. Ancient Egyptians believed that Ra, their sun god, went each night to the underworld. Here, he entered the anus of Apophis and journeyed through the snake to emerge from its mouth refreshed and victorious against the evils within Apophis. The snake’s intestine is both good—in that it gives life and succour—and evil—for it is there that the wicked are punished. The Egyptians believed that their own life spirit went with Ra on this journey, to also be refreshed. But the spirit’s bizarre experiences return to the sleeper in the forms of dreams and visions. This allusion to an underworld full of strange and mysterious thoughts was their way of rationalising their subconscious.

  “This same pattern can be followed throughout history. For example, the Greeks had Hades, a place that was both symbolic and literal to them. The fact that these places of torture are beneath the ground is significant. Going down into the earth has long been symbolic of the search for one’s subconscious, where all the dark things we don’t like to admit to live. So, when the voice of your darkest desires speaks to you and convinces you do something socially abhorrent, you rationalise it away as being something foreign.”

  I nodded. “The voices in my head made me do it.”

  “Precisely. And thus a demon is born. This strange, driving force has come from somewhere deep inside you, therefore it must come ultimately from deep within the dark places of the earth. Let’s call that place the underworld, Hades, or Hell.”

  “And over the centuries, demon possession has been proven to be schizophrenia or bi-polar or whatever.”

  “Humans have an amazing ability to delude themselves. They construct fantastic stories to make excuses, to try to put logical, practical solutions to problems they can’t solve without admitting their culpability. Hence myths and religions are born.”

  We were quiet for a moment, contemplating that. Lila finished off her sashimi and I considered the plates of untouched food. She spoke a good fight. If I hadn’t nearly bitten the big one last night thanks to a creature of fairy-tale proportions, I would have walked away with a lot to chew over. As it was, I knew better.

  “I’m not saying you’re wrong,” I began.

  “But?”

  “But, isn’t there some evidence out there that demons could be something more than subconscious yearnings? Is it possible that they do exist?”

  Lila sipped her sake. “I’ve investigated hundreds of supposed possession cases. Ninety-eight percent of phenomenon involved in those cases were proven to be caused by things as mundane as rats in the ceiling, subsiding ground or, as you said, mental illness. Some of it was purely
fraudulent. The other two percent… Well, it’s statistically insignificant.”

  “I often find that it’s the insignificant statistics that are the most interesting.”

  “Okay,” she said with a definite challenge in her voice. “Let’s talk insignificant statistics. What makes you believe in demons? And I want the truth.”

  The truth.

  It was like a slap in the face. A bucket of cold water over my head. A gentle but serious kick in the groin. If only Erin was here to see it. And just like that, my head cleared of the fog that had seemed to cloud it since sitting down. Lila was beyond sexy, and intelligent, and while something long term might be nice, I wasn’t here for that. I needed knowledge.

  “Remember, you asked for the truth,” I said and looked at Lila without the distraction of her sensuality.

  For a second there, she looked annoyed. Then it smoothed out and I doubted I’d seen it at all. “I did.”

  “The truth is I was attacked by a demon last night.”

  Lila licked her lips and it wasn’t a seductive thing. It was nervous. “How attacked? Spiritually or physically?”

  “Physically.”

  “You saw it then?”

  “Saw it, felt it, heard it. Shot it too.”

  Eyebrow raised, she murmured, “Shot it. Interesting. Describe it to me.”

  I did so and she nodded along as if was a regular description. Which made me a little more hopeful.

  “You say it looked angelic,” she said when I’d finished. “Why call it a demon then?”

  Since she seemed to have forgotten about my mention of vampires, I said, “It gave me the same heebie-jeebies as all the imps I’ve been encountering lately.”

  “Imps?”

  “Yeah, little demons. About as annoying as a possum in your roof, except they’re more likely to eat your cat than your papaya.”

  Lila sat back and stared at me.

  I chewed down the last of the tempura. “You asked.”

  “I did,” she repeated faintly, then shook herself. When she spoke again, it was with the same confidence as before. “The driving Christian belief about demons is that they’re fallen angels. Once again, how and why they fell is up for debate. Some say they refused to bow down to Adam, or that they lusted after human women, but the prevailing idea is that they fell due to the sin of pride. They discovered free will.”

  There was a bitter twist to her tone that intrigued me. “Responsibility for your own life is a tricky thing. Some people can’t handle it. Free will can be a bitch.”

  “Only to those who have it.”

  I agreed with a nod. “Any ideas about what it was I faced last night?”

  She drained her sake. “By continuing this conversation I am by no means trying to encourage your belief that these creatures are real.”

  “Standard procedure.”

  “There is a growing theory that all the various beings called demons throughout the ages do actually exist. Along with other, traditional mythological animals, such as unicorns, mermaids, faeries and so on. With the increasing talk in scientific areas about different dimensions running alongside each other, some people are suggesting that all the things of myth come from one or more of these other dimensions.

  “Demons can be summoned using magic, religious prayer or ritual. People used to think they were summoned from Hell. Perhaps they were actually being drawn through from their dimension to this one. There are scientists who think that we will be able to observe these other dimensions within the next several decades. And science has generally always been running second to nature. Who’s to say that people who’ve summoned demons in the past haven’t been opening portals between the dimensions?”

  I set down my fork. “Now that is an intriguing idea.”

  “It’s pure speculation.”

  “You’re only saying that because a demon hasn’t tried to blast you with blue lightning. How does one go about summoning a demon?”

  This time I didn’t imagine the annoyance. It narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth, but for a moment only. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly and offered me a small, apologetic smile. “As I said before, magic, prayer or ritual are the most commonly recorded ways. But all agree that you must have a name to summon it by. There are many named demons on record.”

  “And that would hook me an angel type demon?”

  “I don’t know. Possibly. You’re the one claiming that there are also imps. Maybe that’s all you’d get. Then it’s likely you’ll only end up with the spirit of the creature and not the physical being. I would hazard a guess and say that it’s harder to bring a big, solid body through as opposed to a flimsy bit of spirit. That’s what most demons on record have been, a spirit possessing another’s body.”

  There wasn’t much else to say, apart from a short discussion over who paid the bill. We ended up splitting it and left the restaurant. Outside, we let our eyes adjust to the brightness.

  “I don’t know if I was much help to you, Matt.” In sunlight, her hair shimmered with blue highlights.

  “On the contrary, you’ve given me lots of stuff to think about.”

  Those full lips curled upward nicely. “And yet I feel as if I’ve been talking to a brick wall for an hour.”

  “Not the first time someone’s likened me to a brick wall.”

  She put her hand on my arm. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

  “None taken.” Her skin against mine was very, very lovely.

  “I just meant that you’re so firm in your convictions nothing I could say would convince you otherwise.”

  I smiled, a touch bitterly. “Blue lightning. Not as easy to forget as you might think.”

  “I guess so. While I’m not convinced what you experienced last night was truly a demon, I would like to know how you handle it if you encounter it again.” Her hand slid up my arm, her fingers curling around my shoulder. “It might help me to expand my knowledge.”

  “Then you don’t think I’m crazy and projecting my subconscious fears into a being that seems physical to me?” I shifted without thought so we were closer together.

  Her laugh was husky and did interesting things to my chest region. “If you’re crazy, then it’s a charming crazy. I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward.”

  “Of course no–”

  She kissed me. And it wasn’t just a quick, friendly peck on the cheek like she’d greeted me with. Not at all. Her lips were soft but insistent, her tongue a fleeting pressure against my mouth and she tasted like sake. Before I was cognizant enough to realise what was happening, her body was moulded against mine like we were a matched set. Arms slipped around my shoulders.

  Forward?

  Who cared.

  I gave in and kissed her back.

  Chapter 13

  I opened her mouth and really tasted the sake. My hands found her hips and tugged them a little closer. Lila moaned and her fingers tightened around the back of my neck.

  Some indeterminate amount of time later, she broke the kiss. Panting, she leaned back in my arms and stared at me.

  “Well,” I muttered, unable to take my gaze off her lips.

  “Are you busy this afternoon?”

  Was I? Hell, I was having trouble remembering my name.

  “I’m being awfully aggressive,” she said, “but come home with me.”

  “That is awfully aggressive.”

  Lila ran her fingertips down my jaw, smiling at the tickle of the stubble I hadn’t shaved off that morning. Which made me think of Erin and how I’d been more than a little shocked to see her on my couch, to realise she was the reason I hadn’t woken up with my boots on and uncovered. Mercy didn’t think about things like that. If she was the one pouring me into bed, she rarely remembered to actually get me as far as the bed.

  “Too aggressive,” Lila murmured.

  I realised I’d pulled back from her, my hands only lightly resting on her hips. My heart beat a frantic Morse code on my ribs
for ‘Are you mad?’ but I managed to ignore it.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Lila. I like aggressiveness. Perhaps a little too much sometimes.”

  She caught her breath hopefully.

  “But,” I said it as gently as I could, “this is probably too fast.”

  Lila sighed. “I understand. But I will be checking up on your progress with the demon.”

  “I look forward to your check up.”

  She smiled with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. “Be safe.”

  And she walked away.

  When I could pry my gaze off her amazingly displayed legs I looked around only to realise our little, eh, exchange had been witnessed.

  I’d been caught in worse situations in this very mall before. A few voyeurs to a very public display was nothing.

  Somehow, I made it back to my car, thought briefly about going up to the office of Sol Investigations and then just drove home. Spent the whole way remembering Lila’s kiss and alternating between cursing and congratulating myself for resisting her offer of more.

  It’d been a while. A long while. There’d been a couple of near misses in that time, but for whatever reason, both of those times had been tied very closely to circumstance not conducive to the continued wellbeing of my mortal self. I don’t know, maybe it’s something about me. So the offer of good old fashioned sex was a hard one to turn down. And here’s the million dollar question… why did I turn her down?

  Well? Why?

  I could have been wiling away the afternoon in consummate pleasure, learning if all of her skin was as soft as that of her face, if the grey lace bra came with matching knickers. I could have got lost in her. I could have broken the bad run. But no. I mooched around the house grumbling to myself, took a cold shower and shaved. I spent a while kicking the stuffing out of a punching bag. I massaged my left knee—shattered several years ago in a car accident, long story, not good. I cooked a mess of spaghetti and ate too much.

  Finally I was clear headed enough to sit on the back patio, watch the sunset creep up on the water in waves of orange, red and gold and think. Stomach percolating over the load of carbs, my mind made similar motions with what Lila had said.