Demon World

by Balvir Bhullar

  ‘My lady, it is none other than Alexander Black.’ The entity waited a heartbeat to see how Lady Enid would react. However, she seemed to take it in her stride.

  ‘I was wondering why I had not seen young Alexander at Court recently, it’s been a couple of months at least. That at last explains it; volunteering for duties in the Human World. I am personally disgusted at the very idea. How did he cross paths with Rowanne?’

  ‘I believe, my lady, that they met during the demon/human altercation in the case that was presented before you,’ so far so good, thought the entity.

  ‘I think you had better start at the beginning,’ said Lady Enid wearily.

  ‘It happened about a week ago, last Thursday, I think. It’s hard to sometimes follow the passage of time, when you are in another’s body. Sometimes, my consciousness is pushed into a part of her mind where I am trapped. The only time I get to come out of my prison is when Rowanne is in danger. I think her mind grows slightly weaker at these moments, allowing me the chance to take over.’

  ‘You do not consciously try to take over Rowanne’s mind, do you?’

  ‘No!’ The entity looked shocked. The very idea that she would do that to another was abhorrent.

  Lady Enid was satisfied, and had thought as much, but hearing it aloud gave her comfort. ‘Forgive me, if I have offended you. It was not my meaning, I mean intention.’

  The entity laughed at the way Lady Enid had phrased her answer. It was her secret joy, a nod to the past.

  Lady Enid looked baffled, and failed to see what could be so amusing in their present situation.

  The entity continued gravely, ‘What roughly happens is that when her mind fears that the danger is too much for Rowanne, it propels me to the forefront and cushions Rowanne until the danger is passed. Then I reluctantly agree to be pushed back.’

  ‘How do you tolerate it? Do you ever just want to take over completely?’ and seeing the way in which the entity vehemently shook Rowanne’s head, Lady Enid continued, ‘I am sorry. Forgive me, for being so rude. What I meant was, with so little time at your disposal, and never really knowing the next time you will emerge, how do you accomplish anything?’

  ‘My lady, I had to learn great patience in my short existence before it was so ruthlessly cut down. Imagine, if you will, a delicate flower in bloom cut before it could reach maturity.’ The entity paused, Lady Enid had suddenly gone pale. ‘My lady, are you well?’

  Lady Enid clutched her chest as her heart beat wildly. The flood gates had risen dangerously close to the surface, and she felt she might shatter before the end, but courageously she pushed her feelings down. The lake was still once more, though ripples disturbed it now and again... ‘Please, continue.’

  The entity reluctantly let it go, but sensed that her words had caused Lady Enid distress; that had never been her intention. ‘Do you know, you are the only person I can actually communicate with,’ said the entity thoughtfully. ‘As I have said, I only come into being at certain times, and it is extremely difficult to get anything done. I have to be careful, as I do not know whose presence I may be in, and sometimes even I am at a loss to do something if it is at the expense of both of us being revealed.’

  Lady Enid nodded in agreement. ‘How did you get past Demon World security? I’m impressed. I think you must once have been-’ she quickly amended for fear of causing offence, ‘and still are a powerful demon of our world.’ She silently contemplated the entity’s identity. Normal citizens of Demon World would not give off this much power, but the entity had mastery over it, which suggested to Lady Enid that the entity might once have belonged to a powerful family; perhaps to one of the First Families. She had a dawning realisation: I wonder, could it be possible...

  The First Families were some of the most powerful demons in Demon World, and they jealously guarded their power. Often it was difficult to know what they were capable of; these were but a few of the reasons why it was so dangerous to go up against one of them, let alone the whole Court.

  The entity pushed down the panic that had suddenly blossomed in her stomach. Well, in Rowanne’s. I have to proceed cautiously, or none of us will get out of this unscathed. ‘Lady Enid, you know that any demon can possess a human, it is hardly a speciality amongst our kind. However, it does take a lot of power to bypass our security, to pass through Demon World undetected. I could not reveal myself in Driskell’s presence, or he would have detected my spirit in a heartbeat.’ The entity left out the fact that she had revealed herself to Alexander, having decided that could wait for another time; it might create more problems than they needed right now. ‘I need you to let go of any idea you might have of pursuing my former identity.’ Looking at Lady Enid’s indignant expression, she continued guardedly, ‘My lady, I only say this for your safety, as well as that of Rowanne’s, because I fear that once you know the whole truth, it will put all of us in great peril.’ Silently, the entity willed and pleaded for Lady Enid to take it no further.

  ‘Fine. I will not pursue this presently, and that is the only assurance I can honestly give you.’

  ‘That’s good enough for me. Thank you. Let me continue, and perhaps that will help you to understand everything that has led up to the present moment.’ Taking a deep unnecessary breath; more an ingrained habit, since the entity did not really need to breathe, she continued, ‘My second life began last Thursday, when Rowanne died.’

  ‘I beg your pardon, but I’m not sure I heard you correctly, I thought you said she died?’

  ‘You heard correctly. Are you really surprised? Think about it, Rowanne was attacked by Shadows outside of her workplace. Before you ask, I am not certain why they chose this human, it could very well have been a case of her stumbling accidentally upon their notice. They then proceeded to chase her, and I must say this woman has remarkable skills of evasion for a human.’

  Lady Enid was interested in knowing more about this remarkable human. ‘In what sense?’

  ‘For one thing, she evaded the spears thrown at her back by intuitively moving her body. Perhaps, she also has a heightened sense of hearing. And lastly, she is quite fast, for a human. I sensed that the demons had to work hard just to keep up with her. It’s quite baffling really, and if I was not in this predicament I’d want to know precisely what mettle she was made of.’

  ‘I think we have underestimated humans in assuming that they are weaker than us. Perhaps we have become complacent, or maybe she is unique. It’s worth investigating further...’ Lady Enid had a faraway look in her eyes.

  I have been careless, thought the entity uneasily; it had not been her intention to place Rowanne in further danger.

  ‘Please, continue,’ said Lady Enid, with an impartial look.

  What are you thinking? wondered the entity. Lady Enid’s expression could mean anything, or nothing.

  ‘The Shadows had her cornered, and it might have been the end for this human, who knows?’ said the entity.

  ‘That’s true, or perhaps Rowanne would have pulled out a trick or two, and somehow defeated them,’ said Lady Enid laughing, growing fonder of a human of all people, the more she heard of her tale. Rowanne is a brave woman, she thought, much like... Lady Enid smiled, but it cost her dearly.

  ‘I wish that was the case,’ the entity said smiling sadly. ‘However, she thought she had been rescued when a gentleman appeared to come to her aid.’

  ‘What was her reaction?’ Lady Enid began to build a picture in her mind of Rowanne’s character. She thought she knew what the entity might say.

  ‘She was annoyed with the insolence of the man, who just happened to step in-between her and the attackers.’ The entity was uncertain of some parts of the scene that had unfolded, and did not want to create a false impression of the exchange between Rowanne and Alexander, as it could be very dangerous to them. ‘I’ll cut it short for now, time is not on our side,’ and just as Lady Enid was about to object, she continued, ‘I will save the rest for a later, more detailed account, and
we will methodically go through it, you have my word.’ She noted the reluctant acceptance on the part of Lady Enid. ‘Rowanne was oblivious to the fact that she was in a den of demons, for lack of a better term. It appeared from her point of view that Alexander’s attention was diverted, so she threw herself in front of the oncoming spear intended for him,’ which he could have deflected in his sleep, thought the entity. ‘She... passed instantly, her heart stopped at that precise moment.’

  ‘You do not have to continue, if it’s too painful,’ said Lady Enid gently.

  ‘No, I want to. It’s important for the both of us. And it might help Rowanne in the long run, as her mind refuses to accept what happened to her. I also feel that there is magic at work preventing her from remembering. If I can get it all out, then she has a chance at recovering.’

  Closing her eyes, the entity took a deep shuddering breath and plunged into their shared consciousness. She went back to the exact moment again, but this time to relive the parts that she was unable to speak of; that even Rowanne was unaware of…

  It had begun with a purple haze enveloping her. She had come from a palace of pain and darkness. She was cocooned within, feeling trapped, but it was infinitely better than going back. Her life had been saved, or some semblance of it; maybe it was her soul, she didn’t know.

  She had not been able to feel her body. Did she have a body? Maybe she was incorporeal. Panicking, she had looked down to where she imagined her hands to be, but there was nothing. There is nothing more frightening than being aware that you are trapped in your mind: you see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, and for a moment you wonder if you are alive. Can you get back to yourself, to the world? For all intents and purposes you may appear dead, with no signs of life, but silently you scream: ‘I am not gone. I am here. Help me! Can anyone hear me?’ And you wonder if you even have a voice. Your voice like the rest of you is trapped, unable to get out.

  Time had seemed to the entity to pass slowly; a second became a minute, a minute an hour, an hour a year, and then infinity stretched out before her. She had thought that she was in purgatory, and wondered how long she’d have to wait there; what if it was forever? A scream that had steadily been building within her was finally released. She had not been able to stop. Not that it mattered much, for there had been no one to hear her.

  Once more her mind had tried to shut down, but to no avail. She remembered being suddenly snatched from her asylum of hell, and plunged into consciousness. She had not known what world she was in, let alone the year. There had only been darkness at first, and she’d been confused with her surroundings. But she had suddenly been bombarded with so much new information that she had thought her head would split. Momentarily grateful to be free, she had come to the sickening realisation that she had swapped one prison for another; she now shared her awareness with another.

  The entity remembered last Thursday: she had been pulled from a realm, or her world? Some parts were still a little hazy. The purple cocoon she had been enveloped in had given way to an explosive green spark that had shattered her prison and propelled her into Rowanne’s body.

  When Rowanne’s mind, body and spirit were being put back together, somehow the entity too was incorporated as a natural additional part of the new Rowanne. Perhaps it was the demon part of her that had so readily accepted the entity. The body could not distinguish the entity as something foreign to Rowanne, so on a cellular level, or spiritual, who knows? Rowanne became three different combined essences: human, demon and spirit.

  If it was a shock to Rowanne, then she didn’t know. The entity’s mind could not handle everything that had happened to it. The flood of information from her old life, and the pain was unbearable, she could not tolerate it. Her eyes had snapped open, blazing green fire.

  Everything she looked at had exploded, as her demonic power was momentarily unleashed. The entity had seen flashes of her past playing before her eyes, on a loop that wouldn’t stop. Things shattered in the room that she was in, and furniture had been destroyed. However, slowly and painfully she had come back to her senses, and reeled the incredible force back in.

  The information from the past had stopped flooding in as Rowanne’s life story began to unfold to the entity. It had helped to calm her down, and it had also protected Rowanne’s heart from giving out. Sudden trauma and experiencing so much pain could not be good for the body, knew the entity. She viewed Rowanne’s life, and for the next couple of hours she had all the knowledge that the young woman possessed of her life, and at the same time the entity assimilated information about the new world she now inhabited.

  Once Rowanne’s transformation was complete, the entity was at a much calmer stage, and was able to carefully construct an illusion to Rowanne’s mind: that the room was intact. The entity would have liked to reverse the damage that had been caused but lacked the energy to do so. It had all gone into fuelling her rage, and then the last of the transformation had left her drained. Slowly the entity had felt itself being pulled back into Rowanne’s mind to be tucked away in a corner, until it was needed.

  That had been the only time the entity had screamed and shouted out, because it was being trapped once more. It had been futile and in vain, as Rowanne had unconsciously taken back control of her life. It was not a cold place; the entity now resided inside a being who was warm, and somehow familiar.

  Rowanne had awoken to the illusion of a beautiful day, but the entity remembered the lamp smashing, and a surge of power being released as Rowanne had come precariously close to knowing the truth.

  However, Alexander’s magic was strong and had risen to the surface smashing the truth into smithereens, so that all that was left behind were shards. If Rowanne ever attempted to reach for those shards, then her mind would cause her pain, as if she had physically picked them up.

  The entity knew that Alexander had placed barriers in Rowanne’s mind, as much for her safety as his. The problem was that they were destroying Rowanne’s mind. If she had any chance at recovery, then eventually she would have to face her trauma, no matter how painful, in order to overcome it. She sensed that now was not that moment: Rowanne was not ready to face the truth. But eventually, she would have to be forced to deal with it.

  Perhaps, Alexander Black was the key to helping Rowanne, and the entity could also help in some way, being merged as she was with Rowanne’s mind. They would have to take it extremely slow if Rowanne had any chance at becoming a whole person in mind as well as body, and she would have to deal with her new reality.

  Rowanne would have to take a lot on board. It’s not every day that a person realises that the world that they inhabit is infinitely more complex than the microcosm they call their life. Rowanne’s world view must now include other realities, not to mention a whole new world existing alongside Earth; its dark counterpart, one might say.

  The entity snapped back to the present, and suddenly panicked, wondering how long she had spent in her reverie. Lady Enid was looking at her strangely. The entity tried to recall the last point of their conversation. ‘I do not remember much, only that Rowanne went home none the wiser that she left with an intruder in her mind,’ said the entity self-deprecatingly.

  ‘Do not speak of yourself in such a way. From all that you have told me, I have come to the realisation that you are not responsible for what has befallen you,’ said Lady Enid.

  ‘You think me the victim of fate, then?’ asked the entity looking into the past.

  ‘Do not speak to me of fate, I have had my fair share in its dealings. You have only to look at the foundations of our world... Anyway, I believe that we make our own destiny. We choose different paths, whether they be right or wrong. And we are always free to choose again, to create the life we want. It’s never too late.’

  The entity contemplated what Lady Enid had said, and silently laughed and cried at the twists life and death could bring. Was it never truly over?

  It came upon the entity suddenly, as it always did, and took her b
y surprise again; she supposed that by now, she should be used to it. First it began with the light starting to fade, then the picture, as her reality started to fray around the edges. Then, a tremendous force began to reel her in. She was never quite free, but always tethered like a wild caged animal with only the illusion of freedom, until she was forced back into her cage.

  ‘It’s beginning... I feel cold,’ said the entity.

  Rowanne began to shake, and would have fallen out of the chair, had it not been for Lady Enid catching her. Rowanne’s eyes closed. ‘Wake up, my dear. What’s happened to you?’ She started to panic, she needed Rowanne to wake before Driskell’s return. How would she even begin to explain all of this? Driskell’s first question would probably be: ‘Why are you holding her so tenderly?’ Lady Enid splashed some water on Rowanne’s face from a nearby cup. ‘Rowanne?’ she called hesitantly, as she did not know to whom she was addressing.

  Slowly through the thick fog that was her mind, Rowanne clawed back to reality; albeit somewhat unconsciously. ‘What happened to me?’ and found herself being supported by Lady Enid.

  ‘My dear, you seem to have passed out,’ replied Lady Enid, still unable to ascertain whether it was Rowanne or the entity. She continued cautiously, ‘What is the last thing that you can remember?’

  ‘I remember feeling dizzy, and then nothing. I must have fainted.’ Rowanne let Lady Enid help her back into the chair, and gratefully accepted the cup of water that she helped her to drink. Her hands felt shaky, and she had to remind herself how to hold a cup. It was unnerving that she had to relearn a skill that should have been as simple as walking. It was more than the fact that she had fainted, something within her felt off; she did not like it one single bit.

  ‘How do you feel, has the dizziness passed?’ Lady Enid asked anxiously.

  ‘Thank you for your kindness. I feel a bit better. However, I am not the sort of person to have fainting spells. I think it’s down to the long day that I’ve had.’