Demon World

by Balvir Bhullar

  ‘No, you keep it,’ he said, when she tried to hand it back to him. She crumpled it tight in her fist.

  ‘Well, I’ll go now?’ he made it sound like a question. Rowanne nodded her head, and he walked back to the door and opened it.

  Suddenly, Alexander felt hands on his back, and he was pushed with such force that he was propelled out of the apartment, and only came to a stop as he collided with a wall. On his way out, he heard Rowanne’s piercing scream just before the door slammed shut behind him.

  Alexander quickly got up and beat his fist against the door to get her attention. ‘Rowanne, open up!’ he shouted, ignoring the pain in his knuckles as he continued to pound the door uselessly; he was not even making a dent, and this worried him exceedingly since he could pretty much punch through a brick wall, should the need arise.

  CHAPTER 14

  Rowanne screamed as she watched Alexander thrown out of her apartment head first and sickeningly collide with the wall opposite, before her front door shut of its own accord.

  The sky had darkened, and lightning lashed intermittently, the rain formed a solid barrier outside her windows as it pounded down. She could hear the loud boom of the thunder like a gunshot to her heart.

  Suddenly the power gave out, but just before it did, every door in her apartment slammed shut. She screamed, her heart almost giving out in fright. She blindly ran in the direction of the hallway and managed to reach the front door, and began pounding it with her fists, uncaring that her hands started to bleed.

  The pain was nothing compared to how frightened she had felt at watching Alexander’s body slam into the wall with a thud. Rowanne wondered if he was conscious. He would definitely need medical treatment, and it didn’t help that they were caught up in some kind of supernatural event.

  Most situations had a reasonable explanation as to why they happened; but this was not one of those, her panicked mind could not find the explanation behind it. She continued screaming for Alexander, as pathetic as it may sound to him, she thought.

  ‘Alexander! Alexander, are you ok?’ she shouted, hoping in vain that he could hear her.

  ‘Hold on, Rowanne. I’m going to try and force my way in, stand back!’ he shouted from the other side of the door.

  Oh my God, thought Rowanne. I can’t believe he’s already up and trying to save me after the knock he’s just taken. She felt relieved that perhaps she had misjudged how hard he had actually hit the wall. I’m just glad that big oaf has a thick head, literally!

  Alexander paused in his pounding, Is she really going to insult me, again?! She must not need my help that bad, she seems to be doing fine mentally! he thought, disgusted.

  Pull yourself together, thought Rowanne. This was no time for her to lose her head, so she ceased with the useless banging, and instead started to follow the hallway to the kitchen by feeling her way along in the pitch black.

  Rowanne stopped and slapped her forehead, realising how stupid she’d been — it was the twenty-first century for heaven’s sake. She had a mobile. I’m saved, she thought, in mini triumph. She slid it out of her pocket and fiddled about with it as she tried to remember which button turned the blasted torch on.

  Damn it! She’d never had any reason to use it before, and after various failed attempts, found the right one. Ow! she had ended up shining the torch in her eyes. Great, now she had light spots dancing in front of her eyes, temporarily blinding herself, as well as losing whatever minuscule night vision she’d had to begin with!

  She waited a few moments for her vision to return to normal, and in the meantime could hear Alexander progress from uselessly pounding the door to the equally futile act of trying to kick it in. Come on, seriously! Her front door was made of a strong wood, it could not be broken into that easily.

  She turned the beam in the direction of the kitchen, and started to shuffle towards the draws.

  ‘Don’t worry, Rowanne. I’ll find a way in, hold on!’ She heard Alexander’s inane shouting.

  ‘Uh-huh, whatever you say,’ muttered Rowanne under her breath, rolling her eyes heavenward.

  Alexander was nervous because he had not heard anything for a few minutes after that small yelp. He hoped she was alright, and had not done something stupid to make the situation worse. There was only so much a demon could take.

  Rowanne rummaged around in her drawer and managed to prick her finger on a fork. ‘Damn it!’ However, she continued and managed to find a hammer in the bottom cupboard. ‘Yes! this should do nicely,’ and made her way back through the hallway to the front door.

  Rowanne looked at the lock and raised the hammer, and shouted for Alexander to step back, before finally bringing it down in one go and smashing the metal pieces into smithereens with her sheer force.

  Alexander heard something break on the other side, thereby completely missing what Rowanne had just said, and instead thought about charging the door using his supernatural energy. His eyes bled to green and a steel grey colour encased them, as magic and strength combined. He took a few steps back, and went charging in...

  Rowanne had just managed to open the door, and was pleased with her work, when she saw Alexander hurtling towards her. ‘What the hell?’ she closed her eyes, and placed her hands uselessly in front of her body to protect herself from the impact, there was no way to avoid the inevitable.

  Alexander was going too fast to stop in time, and instead, as he charged at Rowanne, who was petrified at the sight of him, he decided to change tactics. The unstoppable momentum carried him forward, and he effortlessly scooped her into his arms as they knocked into the sofa and fell, rolling on the floor, thankfully avoiding getting cut into pieces by her glass coffee table.

  The magic finally ceased as Alexander rolled one last time and came to a stop with Rowanne on top of him. He looked up to check if she had been hurt in the maelstrom, and was met with contempt. What is this? I wasn’t expecting a thank you, but what’s that look for?

  ‘Do you mind letting me go, now?’ she pounded on his chest in frustration.

  Alexander realised that he still had his arms around her, and released her so that she rolled off him and landed on the floor. He permitted himself a slightly gleeful smile before getting up.

  Rowanne managed to quickly get to a sitting position, and looking up she saw his hand extended down towards her, but she just glared at him and slapped it away hard. I hope that hurt! she thought.

  She got up in an undignified manner, much to Alexander’s amusement, who had sat down on the edge of her sofa to watch the spectacle.

  Rowanne stepped towards him, not exactly towering over him, but at least she was in control of herself. ‘What do you think you were doing?’ she asked him furiously.

  Alexander got up suddenly, angry at her grating tone. His nerves felt raw every time he was around her; he felt emotionally exhausted. Suddenly, he was the one towering over her as he looked down at her.

  Rowanne refused to step back and give him the satisfaction, and chose instead to stand her ground, ready to have it out with him.

  ‘I was trying to break the door down when I heard you screaming. I thought perhaps we had both missed the person who’d broken in, and that they had pushed me out, and then attacked you.’

  ‘I was doing perfectly well on my own,’ and she flourished her hands in an animated manner towards the door, which lay on its side with the now useless missing lock.

  Rowanne was pleased to see Alexander look at a loss for words, as he stared transfixed at the door.

  Looking at Rowanne with astonishment and open admiration, he asked brusquely, ‘How on earth did you manage that? I was kicking that door in for quite some time, but it didn’t budge an inch!’ He started to see Rowanne in a new light.

  It was obvious that she was changing rapidly: within the past week alone, he had noticed the changes to her body that had begun the night he had saved her, thereby unwittingly making her part demon. I wonder what other powers she’ll acquire... he thought, deep i
n contemplation.

  Rowanne broke him out of his trance, ‘Demon World to Alexander, hello?’ she waved her hands in front of his face to get his attention.

  ‘Stop that, it’s very annoying,’ he said as he grabbed both her hands, encasing them in his own. ‘What did you just say?’ he could have sworn that she had just mentioned Demon World...

  ‘I said,’ and ripping her hands from his grasp, she continued, ‘it doesn’t matter. I was trying to tell you how I opened the door, and saved us!’

  ‘Really?’ Alexander asked drolly, one eyebrow raised in disbelief, and gesturing with his hand, he said, ‘Please carry on. I can’t wait to hear.’

  Rowanne felt a little light headed, but managed to make it to the sofa and sat down.

  Alexander swivelled around and sat opposite, waiting for her. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate him helping her to sit. He was worried that she might have gotten a concussion. It was an effort sometimes to not help someone when they were clearly in need of it.

  Rowanne rubbed her eyes, and wondered, when the lights had come back on. She had been wondering why she could suddenly see everything clearly.

  ‘I managed to find a hammer, and the lock they say is history!’ this elicited a small smile from Alexander, who thought she had a terrible sense of humour.

  ‘You must really work out...’ said Alexander teasingly, trying to get a rise out of her.

  ‘Pardon?’ asked Rowanne, who was clearly at a loss as to what he was referring to.

  ‘You smashed that lock as if it was made out of clay rather than reinforced metal... What type of workout do you do? You can probably put the men to shame,’ he laughed heartily.

  ‘Shut up!’ said Rowanne, annoyed at his clearly sexist remark. But from his expression, she knew he did not mean it. And he did look good when he smiled; it softened some of his harsh features, especially as he constantly scowled at her.

  Half the time she could not help but feel responsible for something she had not done when she was in Alexander’s company. She felt guilty as if she should apologize, but for what? Maybe he has that effect on anyone that he comes into contact with, she thought. He was a bit of a hopeless case.

  Looks weren’t everything, especially with a personality like his, and it was a mystery as to how anybody could stay sane in his company. He was glowering at her again with those blazing sapphire eyes. This is exactly what I mean, she thought, exasperated with him.

  Alexander did not value her scrutiny of him, and felt exactly the same way about her; I can’t relax around you, either. When had he ever asked her to apologise? Though, she should; for the numerous occasions when she had unwittingly insulted him!

  He admitted that at times he felt a burning anger buried deep within him at the injustice of last Thursday. He could be forgiven for his callous behaviour towards her, now and again. I lost my immortality for demons sake! I didn’t ask for a reward, but rewarded I was - in the form of a punishment! He looked heavenward, Thank you, God, he silently screamed in his mind.

  Outside lightning struck the living room windows, lashing at them in a futile attempt to get to the wayward son, who dared to defy heaven with his impertinence; or so it seemed to Alexander, as he wearily tried to leash his unbound emotions.

  Rowanne studied him quietly; he seemed like a man who was broken and lost as a myriad of emotions passed over his face. I wonder what he’s thinking about... What’s happened in his past to cast a shadow over his future?

  She often got the feeling that he hid behind a mask, that there was more to Alexander than he wanted people to know.

  Alexander settled himself, and wondered as to how he should approach the topic of what had just occurred, but he needn’t have worried, as Rowanne beat him to it.

  ‘Listen, Alexander, I need to tell you something, and it’s going to sound strange... You’ll probably want to have me locked up!’

  Alexander just looked at her, feeling slightly on edge, but wisely stayed quiet as he let her initiate it.

  Rowanne breathed in deeply, letting the air out slowly, knowing she probably looked like a right fool. Here goes, she thought, taking the plunge. ‘I didn’t push you out the door...’

  ‘I never assumed you did. That was one hell of a shove, though. And looking at you it’s hard to imagine,’ said Alexander, and smiled contemptuously.

  ‘What do you mean by that remark? I’d have no trouble tossing you out of here right now, if I felt so inclined.’ Rowanne felt affronted by his poor estimation of her abilities, maybe it was not solely limited to her, perhaps he had that opinion of women in general.

  ‘You’re getting ahead of yourself there,’ he said, angry at that sweeping statement of him. Had he not just a few seconds ago praised her strength. Humans! They could be exceedingly infuriating, And now, I’m going to be a chauvinist; especially the women!

  The women in Demon World were also quick in making assumptions on opinions that he neither proclaimed or held. And in that respect, Rowanne was no exception, she was equally as cutting. He had an idea that was extremely amusing: Rowanne could easily have passed for a native of his world.

  Rowanne held up her hands as a sign to put this little misunderstanding (generally on his part) behind them.

  Alexander agreed to the first part, but was in discord with her as to the latter.

  ‘Something... pushed you, and before you ask, no, I didn’t see who or what it was. I felt this incredible force push past me and knock you off your feet,’ said Rowanne.

  So far so good, thought Rowanne, even if he was looking at her sceptically. I can’t blame him, really. If it were me, I’d probably wait for the person to talk about ghosts and goblins next, before politely asking them to leave, and magnanimously directing them to their nearest health centre.

  How generous indeed, thought Alexander. I am glad that the shoe is on the other foot. I’ll ‘help’ you alright...

  She didn’t like the gleeful look that had suddenly come into Alexander’s eye. I swear he’s just read my mind... and as she thought this, his response was to smile wickedly at her. Nice smile... Stop that, focus Rowanne! she thought sternly.

  Really? thought Alexander. I can have some fun with this...

  ‘I should probably save you the trouble, and have myself certified now. Why, you might ask, because you’re going to love the second part!’

  Alexander just motioned for her to carry on, completely fascinated with her story.

  ‘Just before the lights went out in the apartment, every single door in here slammed shut of its own accord. There, what do you have to say to that?’ asked Rowanne, challenging him to come up with a rational explanation.

  ‘I would say... that you are a deeply troubled woman, who has had a moment of psychosis,’ he said solemnly.

  ‘Shut up, you jerk,’ said Rowanne, and, grabbing a pillow, she threw it at his thick head, but it was a futile attempt as he just batted it away.

  ‘I actually agree with you,’ he said, his mood now serious.

  This actually made it worse for Rowanne as it was a confirmation: everything that had just happened was real. She was not imagining it. She felt her eyes go watery, and quickly walked away from him to stand before the window. She looked out at the city that was now warmly lit in the evening as the rain lightly tapped the windows.

  Rowanne stiffened as she felt Alexander come up behind her. He offered her a tissue which she gratefully accepted. She dabbed at her eyes, embarrassed to be caught out like this - it was becoming a bad habit. I am not weak, she thought.

  Alexander leaned on the window next to her, and, looking out at the drenched city, he said casually, ‘I have always thought that it takes great strength to live your emotions openly, instead of hiding behind false masks like everybody else.’

  Rowanne leaned into Alexander, who didn’t move away, but instead put his arm around her in support and comfort. Silently they stood there watching the world pass them by as the rain gently soothed their minds.

>   Rowanne felt slightly self conscious; she did not want to give Alexander a false impression of how she felt about him, and, straightening up, she went back to the sofa.

  To her dismay, Alexander sat down next to her, too close for her liking.

  Alexander was oblivious of her discomfort, and turning to her he asked, ‘What is the plan? Do you want to stay here tonight?’ He looked at her seriously, his sapphire eyes waiting patiently.

  Rowanne was caught off guard, wrapped up in her own emotions. ‘I beg your pardon? What are you implying?’ Her cheeks were inflamed, coloured to the darkest rose: anything could set her off, especially anger. She hated the fact that she had no control over it.

  Alexander looked at her bewildered, ‘What do you think I am insinuating here, Rowanne?’ he asked her sharply.

  He scooted closer to hear her out, and unthinkingly brushed his leg against her knee which caused her to shoot off the sofa like she had sat on a pin.

  Idiot! He’d done that on purpose, she was sure of it. She stood her ground and crossed her arms, glaring at him.

  ‘Rowanne, are you feeling ok? What is it that I am supposed to have done this time? Please, do me the courtesy of explaining so that I may have a chance of defending myself.’

  ‘Look, maybe I gave you the wrong impression just now... But I don’t think of you in that way,’ she said.

  Alexander took half a millisecond to process what all this was about, and found it highly amusing. It really was time to have fun... It was always nice to live up to people’s expectations of him.

  Alexander stood up suddenly, and looked at Rowanne questioningly. ‘What ‘impression’ is that, Rowanne?’ he accentuated her name, and took a step toward her. ‘In what way, do you think of me?’ he asked, smiling roguishly. ‘I have only come here to help a friend, I hope you understand that,’ he said solemnly. A hooded look came into his eyes, unnerving her. He took another step, saying piously, ‘Friends sometimes need someone to lean on...’

  Rowanne got the impression that he was playing with her. Oh! I’ve definitely walked into this one, she thought resignedly.