Demon World

by Balvir Bhullar

  ‘Not here. Get back in there!’ Alexander said agitatedly. He had not meant it to sound like an order. He walked towards Rowanne, and was relieved when she started backing away; well, at least she was heading in the right direction. Lunatic! She really does have a death wish. He kept an ear open in case they had attracted unwanted attention; he’d be fine, but his wild half demon would face the death sentence.

  Rowanne glared at him whilst walking back slowly, not wanting to turn her back to him. She felt the door knob behind her and turned it, opening the door, and once more she was back in Lillian’s bedroom. She went straight to the back wall, and leaned against it, her arms crossed defensively before her. She watched Alexander with hawk eyes - he could in no way sneak up behind her now; but it was cold comfort. She’d probably seen it all now. Ghosts, she could deal with, if Lillian was any example to go by, but demons — she was out of her depth there; as she thought of the Shadow men, and now Alexander.

  Alexander felt like gouging his eyes out just to have something interesting to do, rather than deal with Rowanne. He sat on the bed, he didn’t care now if it made her nervous. They had to leave and soon. And at least if she should attempt to jump out of the window, he could catch her, or...

  Rowanne had the image of herself hurling out of the window flash in her mind: it was like the words painted an image, and she was sure it was Alexander projecting his thoughts. Weird, maybe it’s a side effect of dying — I get superpowers!

  ‘I’m not completely stupid, nor do I have a death wish,’ she said to Alexander, her anger fortifying her in dealing with him; it was better than being scared out of her wits.

  ‘Could have fooled me,’ he said tiredly, rubbing his scalp. He looked at her angrily, ‘We haven’t got time for this, we have to go.’

  ‘I’ve got questions that need to be answered first!’ she said defiantly.

  ‘Rowanne, if you persist in delaying, you may as well sign our death warrants, and that includes Lillian’s. You may not care for my life, but I suspect you do care what happens to her.’

  Rowanne thought carefully, taking into consideration the fact that they were not exactly in the safest place to have a lengthy conversation. ‘You are extremely annoying for a demon. Are all demons like this, or does the accolade solely apply to you?’ she asked earnestly, just to spite him, and smiled as she hit her target. Alexander gave her a glacial look.

  Do not kill her. Do not kill the spiteful human; clearly deficient in manners. Looking at her murderously, he replied grimly, ‘You tell me.’

  Maybe it’s not a good idea to antagonise a demon, thought Rowanne. What the hell was he talking about? she wondered, the smugness leaving her. ‘How would I know? I’m human.’

  She said it as if it were a badge of honour that she wore, something to be proud of, he noted. Oh, how the mighty fall! Alexander looked at her calculatingly, and replied bluntly, ‘Only half, my love. The other side of you is like me,’ he smiled maliciously.

  ‘You complete and utter-’

  ‘Now now, Rowanne, such language does not become a fine human, such as yourself,’ he cut her off before she could finish.

  They heard shouting down below followed by hurried footsteps coming up the stairs.

  ‘Intruder alert! All guards to the Princess’s Room.’

  ‘Fantastic, I knew this would happen. Well done. Care to waste any more time? Perhaps you’d care to explain to the guards exactly what you were doing in this room of all places, in the palace and home of the First Family.’

  There it was again, the same reference - who were the First Family? Princess’s room? she wondered, feeling slow witted. Well, Lillian had told her that she belonged to a royal family. ‘Look, Alexander, you have a lot of explaining to do once we get back. Do not for one moment think that you are going to get away with what you’ve done to me.’ Her eyes were two glacial pools of ice with a fire raging just below the surface.

  Wonderful, thought Alexander. Get into line behind the others. He’d deal with it later. ‘Perfect, as you wish. But can you get up and come here?’ He felt the last of his patience slipping, and held his arms open, looking at her with the very devil in his eye; he was fuming. If she didn’t get up in the next instant...

  Rowanne got up quickly, and not just because of the weird look that had come into his eyes — the guards helped to spur her on. She stood before him just outside the vicinity of his arms. Glaring at him, she asked, ‘What am I supposed to do now?’ She crossed her arms, and refused point blank to step into his.

  Demon help me, I have never met a more stubborn person. ‘Rowanne. Get. Here. Now!’ he said each word slowly and deliberately, his voice threatening her with unmentionable consequences if she continued to stand there woodenly.

  They heard footsteps on the other side of the door, where they came to a stop, and watched as the door handle turned. Rowanne’s heart was in her mouth and perspiration beaded on her forehead. Finding the door to be locked, they started banging on it. ‘Open up, in the name of our Lady of the Morning Star Clan. I repeat, open up now! Or you will face the death penalty without trial!’ the guard’s voice thundered and barked on the other side; it sounded like it belonged to someone who did not suffer fools well.

  I think I’d lose my head as well as my jester’s hat explaining my presence here, thought Rowanne. After all, this was not her world. Slowly the dawning magnitude of where she was began to sink in, instantly sobering her up. No wonder he looks as if he wants to kill me; I’m putting more than my own life at risk, and slapping herself metaphorically in the head at her callous behaviour, she didn’t waste any more time.

  ‘Well, shall we go?’ asked Alexander quietly. Rowanne saw the firestorm rage in his eyes as they changed from sapphire to the darkest green.

  Rowanne stepped forward, needing no further encouragement. Well, almost; there was still that last step between them. She looked him dead in the eyes, but would have preferred to look elsewhere - this was a bit too close for her liking. But in the next instant it went up a notch to an altogether uncomfortable degree.

  Alexander waved his hand, and green fire leapt from it to settle over the door, ensuring that it would not open until after they left. With that problem sorted, he turned the full power of his gaze onto Rowanne; who squirmed beneath his attention.

  ‘I think you will find this more comfortable if you take the last step and put your arms around me,’ he said matter-of-factly. He didn’t want her to misunderstand him in any way: they didn’t have time. A demon greater than himself could come along at any moment and obliterate the door into smithereens; and then slowly torture them.

  Rowanne realised that he was genuine in what he was saying and didn’t have an ulterior motive. She turned off her internal chatter and took the last step. Closing her eyes, she put her arms around Alexander, and locked her hands together behind his back.

  She still had the memory of coming with Lillian to this world: it had been hard, and taken a toil; she’d felt sick. She was not taking any chances this time, and if that meant a slight discomfort, so be it.

  Alexander began to weave his hands and speak in a language that Rowanne could not understand. Bright green fire encircled them both, but most disturbing to Alexander were the violet flames that started to emanate from Rowanne. This unexpected power started to weave itself amongst his magic, and he didn’t like the look of it one single bit; especially, as it started to mix and entwine the power of Rowanne and himself together.

  He looked suspiciously at Rowanne, but she was completely unaware, as her forehead rested lightly on his chest. He could feel her arms locked around his waist as if she were holding on for dear life.

  ‘Have we left yet?’ she asked sarcastically, hearing the soldiers on the other side bashing the door trying to break it open, she continued, ‘What’s taking so long? Lillian would have had us out in a flash,’ her voice rife with irritation. Rowanne felt brave, especially with her eyes shut tight so that she didn’t have to look
at Alexander’s actual expression. She imagined the annoyance that would probably settle over his features, and enjoyed the fact that she could infuriate him. She knew it was childish but he was really easy to rile; besides, she could not count the number of times the shoe had been on the other foot.

  ‘Hold on,’ said Alexander patiently, as he brought the flames into a burning frenzy, the cyclone of fire spinning faster and faster until they were hidden within its core. The fabric of the room began to waver, like a mirage in the desert. One moment they were standing before the bed, and the next, they had vanished into a portal that sealed closed behind them.

  CHAPTER 19

  Rowanne felt the ground beneath her feet fall away; they were rising up. She held tighter to Alexander, not wanting to fall. Oh my God! this is worse than the first time; it had seemed instantaneous then. So why did it feel like it was taking longer this time? She felt each agonizing moment.

  Alexander lowered his arms, putting them around Rowanne, his hands interlocked lightly at her back; this way she’d feel more comfortable, and not have the frightening sensation of feeling as if she were falling. He was used to not having the ground beneath his feet when he travelled this way from Demon World to Earth, but for a human it could be petrifying. He admired the fact that Rowanne was maintaining an outward manner of calm.

  It was a new sensation for him, carrying another being with him. He had travelled alone for so long, being sent wherever his duty took him, and he had not really stayed in one place too long when visiting Earth.

  He revelled in the experience, which surprised him. Slowly the cyclone turned as they began to near their destination. Flashes of light pulsed around them as the fabric of space opened, and they slowly moved towards Earth. Alexander could not really see outside of the cyclone. There was only Rowanne and him, and it almost appeared as if they twirled within, as green and purple light flashed intermittently to play across their faces. He too closed his eyes briefly as they continued to dance their way across space and time. Alexander was close enough to Rowanne to feel her heart rate speed up, and smiled.

  Alexander opened his eyes to find Rowanne and himself surrounded by a beautiful warm light, as if they both burned within the eternal flames. The fire raged around them, but in the heart of it they were still, their image frozen; a woman gently embraced in the arms of a man.

  Slowly the cyclone descended, and in a matter of minutes they landed gently on a path. The fire dissipated, taking the portal with it. Alexander stood straight, supporting most of Rowanne’s weight. He tried to gently extricate his arms from Rowanne, but she stubbornly refused to let him go, clinging to his coat.

  Though he was exasperated, he said gently, ‘Rowanne, we are safe. Open your eyes.’

  Rowanne was embarrassed to find herself holding onto Alexander so tightly. It was like hugging a rock; honestly, there was nothing remotely gentle about the man before her.

  The experience she had was needless to say not a pleasant one, and she was in no hurry to repeat it unless it was with Lillian; it seemed easier with her. Alexander on the other hand, had no concept of personal space.

  She tilted her head up and tentatively looked around, wondering where they’d ended up. The first thing she saw was the aggravated expression on Alexander’s face. He doesn’t look too pleased, she thought, and looked away from him.

  ‘Rowanne!’ said Alexander impatiently.

  She turned her attention back to him, ‘Yes?’

  ‘Would you mind releasing me now?’ He looked at her archly, his eyebrow raised.

  Rowanne released him fast, and stepped back. She willed her face into a dispassionate look.

  Alexander looked out for signs of a meltdown, wondering how she would take this new experience.

  It was Rowanne’s turn to look at him disparagingly. ‘Can’t you censor your thoughts? I’m not some fragile china doll, I don’t break down at every little thing. But mind you, this is new!’ and laughed at the look of surprise that came onto his face. She turned away from him to take in their new surroundings; she knew where they were but she had not seen it in this light before.

  They were in the heart of London, and it was beautiful and slightly mysterious at the same time, not to mention the fact that they were standing on a ghostly road which pulsed with supernatural energy. There were scores of these roads, and they seemed to criss-cross each other, heading into infinite directions. One only had to know the destination, and they’d get there pretty fast, she suspected. How did she know this? She could not answer; it was simply a knowing.

  Rowanne had a sense of déjà vu; she’d seen these roads before. The necklace pulsed beneath her shirt and she kept her back to Alexander, not wanting him to see it. After all, she’d promised that no man would see it, and intended to honour that.

  Rowanne faced Alexander, her eyes sparkling in wonder at discovering that her small world had grown in immeasurable ways that she could never have understood.

  She walked up to Alexander, and asked, ‘What are these purple roads called, and why is it that I’ve never seen or heard of them before?’

  Alexander smiled. He was taken aback that she had actually handled it so well; so far, he added darkly. You could never rest a hundred percent in this woman’s company, he thought unashamedly.

  Feeling bold, he put his hands on her shoulders, and spun her outward, so she could face the roads before her. ‘These are known as pathways in our world; you would most commonly know them as ley lines, but to us, they are infinitely much more than just grids of energy. A human might see a few if they are lucky, but to a demon’s eye, we see all of the paths in their true light. And we can harness their energy to get from point A to B in a flash, if we choose. It depends entirely on the demon who’s using it and their ability to bend the energy to their will. Of course, some journeys take longer than others, and it depends on how far you intend to travel; only within Earth, or the least travelled road - from Earth to Demon World.’ Looking ruefully at her, he continued, ‘Technically, I shouldn’t be telling you all of this; humans are forbidden to have this knowledge!’

  ‘I completely understand. Imagine what we’d be able to do with that kind of power...’

  ‘That is partially a reason. Not that a human could actually have access to these paths, they don’t have the power to harness its energy. And not being able to see them in the first place sort of defeats the purpose,’ said Alexander.

  ‘So, the fact that I am a half demon means that I can use these paths. Fantastic. Goodbye exorbitant rail fares and fuel costs! Ha! Watch me now...’ Rowanne momentarily forgot herself as she did a little happy dance on the road.

  Alexander started to laugh which brought a halt to Rowanne’s momentary lapse of judgment, and her cheeks were red, but not just from dancing... she looked in every direction but his. This just made him laugh harder, and he could not remember the last time he’d felt as light-hearted as he did now.

  Rowanne could not believe that the king of ice had actually melted. Well, I’m glad that at least one of us is finding this amusing. What a fool. I can’t believe, I did that — ME! and in front of him of all people; he probably thinks I’m a complete nutter.

  ‘Certifiable would be the term you’re looking for,’ he said.

  Alexander had by this time sobered up, but there was still a suspicious twitch at the corner of his mouth which Rowanne suspected meant that he could go again at any moment.

  ‘By the way, what were you doing? And if you tell me it’s a primitive form of dance, I will not believe you,’ said Alexander.

  Rowanne feigned nonchalance, and trying to keep a straight face, replied, ‘It’s what us human’s commonly refer to as ‘the glee dance’ or you can call me ‘the smug dancer’. It’s all the rage, not that you’d know anything about it!’ she said haughtily with her head held high.

  Alexander raised an eyebrow, ‘Really? I know dancing. We have the finest dancers on Demon World, and not one of them would be impressed with that
attempt.’ He thought he was being quite polite despite her lack of ability and having no sense of rhythm.

  He was a complete and utter idiot; Rowanne could not believe what she was hearing! She jabbed a finger at his chest in mock anger. ‘Show me your moves, Fred Astaire. You have a lot to say but can you walk the walk?’

  ‘I am in no way going to preen like some kind of peacock. I am more than satisfied with my ability, and do not feel the need to debase myself in order to prove a point.’

  Rowanne laughed wickedly as the smug look dropped from his face, and he glared at her in consternation. ‘It’s okay, you can’t dance, that’s nothing to be ashamed of...’ said Rowanne, relentlessly goading him.

  ‘Don’t push me, Rowanne. I have my limits... you’ve been warned!’ he said menacingly.

  Rowanne looked at him as if he had just grown two heads. ‘Alexander the Great — now there was a man who could dance!’ she said unrepentantly. She waited a heartbeat or two, and watched Alexander’s face harden, and his eyes blazed fervently as their sole attention rested on her.

  Alexander stepped towards her, an unearthly aura blazed around him. ‘You asked for it,’ he said quietly, and quickly closed the distance between them. He pulled her closer, with his right hand resting on her back. Rowanne placed her left hand on his right shoulder. Finally, Alexander clasped her free hand near his left shoulder. He began to twirl with her, around and around, spinning faster and faster, forcing Rowanne to keep pace. And much to his surprise and chagrin, she matched him, and smiled at his dismay upon learning that she could actually dance.

  He slowed down and finally spun her out, keeping a hold of her hand, and then twirled her back in, so that she stood before him, her hand coming to rest on his chest.

  Rowanne breathed heavily, and looked at him, unable to read his expression. A quiet storm brewed in Alexander’s eyes which she didn’t like the look of one single bit, and she stepped back, grateful to him for releasing her - if a tad slowly to her utter mortification.