She leaned close and touched the flower. It detonated, and she breathed the mist. Then immediately she became Eden, and faced him.
He took her in his arms. "This is what I most truly want," he said. "All else is dross." They kissed, and went to the bedroom. Eden was vitally alive and passionate, but Edith realized that she herself was similarly motivated. She loved being luscious. She wanted to be Eden forever. If there were any way, any way at all, even if Hell was the penalty, she desperately wanted it.
"I would go to Hell to be with you," Kent said, echoing her thought. "I mean that literally. I love you, Eden."
"I feel the same."
Mutually sated, they dressed and Edith reverted to herself, as they had agreed. She did feel more objective, less emotional.
Kent shook his head, bemused. "I love Eden, but right now I'd rather be with you. You have a mature judgment."
"Thank you."
Then they got to work. Kent took a piece of chalk and drew a five pointed star on the floor, made with five lines, the pentagram.
Then Edith spoke the words they had agreed on: "Demon of the Forbidden Fruit, show yourself." Because he should be listening. After all, if he had left the fruit for Edith to find, it had to be in the hope that she would like the magic and contact him.
And there he was, standing within the pentagram: muscular, naked, with horns, tail and a huge erect phallus. "You called, madam?"
"Oh, put something on!" she said, taken aback.
"Sorry. I drew from the standard format." Suddenly he was in a business suit.
"Thank you. How many questions do I get?"
"As many as you want, madam. There is no limit."
"But don't you want something?"
"Of course. But that can wait until you are satisfied as to my legitimacy."
Edith didn't trust this. He was too accommodating. But she might as well play the game and see what she could learn. "What is your name? Mine's Edith."
"I am Damon. Damon Demon."
"That's nicely alliterative," she said boldly. "Is it really your name, or do you keep it secret so I won't have power over you?"
Damon laughed. "Where I come from, names are fungible, as are bodies. Any will do for spot identification. No power over me."
"Demons do change their bodies," Kent said. "So maybe they change their names too. I'm Kent, by the way."
Damon smiled. "Hi, Kent."
"You say we have no power over you?" Edith asked. "But you came when I conjured you."
"I was expecting your call," Damon explained.
"But you're in the pentagram, so you can't harm us," Edith said.
Damon laughed again. "The figure is merely the site of the image."
"The image?" Kent asked.
"I am not really here, Kent. This is a hologram. You can readily verify this. Touch my body." Damon extended his hand.
Kent was wary. "But if I do, you could grab me and pull me in."
The demon shook his head. "Not so."
"And of course you would lie about it," Kent said.
Damon shook his head. "You are going to have to trust me, if we are to deal."
"What the—heck," Kent said. He reached out to touch the demon's extended hand. But his hand passed right through Damon's hand.
"As you see," Damon said. "I am not physically here. This is a holo image that facilitates our communication. That is all."
"Then where are you?" Edith asked.
Damon looked at her. "I am in my home realm of Lusion. I can't leave it. Only my projection."
"But we conjured you!"
"You requested my appearance. I obliged," the demon explained patiently. "I cannot come here on my own."
She remained suspicious. "Why not?"
"Because this is the mortal realm, and I am not mortal. I have no soul. So I am not real."
"You look and sound real," Kent said.
Damon looked at him. "You have tried the flowers?"
"Yes, of course."
"Is their magic real?"
Kent paused. "In a manner. But it doesn't last."
"And what we do magically gets undone when the magic fades," Edith said.
"So it seems real but isn't," Damon said. "That plant is native to Lusion, as I am. Do you see the parallel?"
"Oh, my," Edith said.
"I, too, am temporary, in your mortal realm," Damon said. "Our present contact will be broken when the magic of this flower fades."
Edith and Kent exchanged a glance. The demon was making sense. "You planted that fruit for a reason," Edith said to Damon.
"Of course I did. Now we can discuss terms. You want permanent magic, right?" They both nodded. "I want a soul." Both froze.
Damon smiled. "Don't look so shocked. You knew I would want that when you called me. Now we need to bargain for a fair trade."
"According to legend and religion," Kent said, "A soul is invaluable."
"So is magic," Damon said. "But perhaps I should clarify."
"Perhaps you should," Edith said grimly. "Isn't the soul the seat of goodness, decency, compassion, conscience, empathy, and love?"
"No. Folk with souls are not necessarily any more noble than those without. All mortals have souls, but many are evil creatures."
"Then why should we value our souls?" she asked.
"Because they are the seat of reality," Damon said. "You two are real. I am not."
"Do you mean to say that if I lost my soul, I would cease to exist?" Edith asked, appalled.
"Not exactly," Damon said. "I exist."
"But you just said you are not real."
"Exactly. I am not real in the mortal realm, but I do exist in the imaginary realm, Lusion."
"I am having trouble understanding the distinction. Either you exist or you don't."
"That is the fallacy of either-or thinking."
"You can't exist indeterminately!"
"Yes I can. I do. I exist only in Lusion, not in the mortal realm. That's why I want a soul."
"You are imaginary," Kent said. "We are real. But if you get my soul, I'll become imaginary and you'll get real?"
"Exactly."
"Why in heaven would we ever want to do that?" Edith asked. "To commit suicide?"
"No," Damon said. "To transfer to Lusion."
"It doesn't seem like much of a bargain to me," Kent said. "You get life. We get death."
"No. You get a better life. With magic."
"I am not seeing the advantage," Edith said.
"That is why the standard protocol establishes a trial visit before commitment."
"A visit to Lusion?" Kent asked. "To see whether we like it?"
"Exactly," Damon said. "If you don't like it, there is no deal."
"Isn't that like letting the genie out of the bottle?" Edith asked. "And you can't put him in again? How would we get back out?"
"No," Damon said. "You will get a trial visit of a day and night. Twenty four hours, and return automatically at the expiration."
"How can we believe you?" Kent asked. "You'll say anything to trick us into going, and then it will be too late."
Damon sighed. "I know demons have a bad reputation, fostered by lies the religions tell. But you can believe me. Lying is not permitted."
"Why not?" Edith asked.
"Because anyone who goes to Lusion because of a lie will have an agenda of retaliation. That's mischief."
Edith and Kent exchanged another glance. "Say we decide to visit Lusion. That's two of us. What about our situations here?"
"You would need to exchange with two of us," Damon said. "We would borrow your mortal bodies during your absence."
"And do what with them?" Kent asked suspiciously. "Nothing," Damon said. "We would merely assume your lives so that no others knew."
Edith was increasingly curious about the magic realm of Lusion. "You are assuming that if we visit there for a day and night, we will want to move there permanently? And let you keep our bodies and souls?"
"That is my assumption, yes," Damon said.
She looked at Kent. "This is crazy, but I think I want to do it. For a day and night only. A wild gamble, but exciting. You?"
"I'm in," Kent agreed. "What can we lose, but our dull lives?"
"Excellent," Damon said. "I shall summon my girlfriend, Della."
A sultry nude demoness with horns, tail, voluminous red hair, and a huge pair of breasts appeared beside him. "You called, lover?"
"We have a twenty four hour exchange deal. Put something on."
"Sorry." Della became modestly dressed, but still voluptuous.
"Is there a contract to sign in blood, or something?" Kent asked.
"Not at this time," Damon said. "This is a free sample."
"Just like that?" Edith asked. "We can go now?"
"Just like that," Damon agreed. "You will be far better informed when you return."
"Then let's do it," Kent said, taking Edith's hand. Together they stepped into the pentagram, meeting the two demons.
And they were in a nice pavilion, facing a handsome young man and a lovely young woman. "Welcome, honored guests!" the man said.
“You were expecting us?" Edith asked, surprised.
"You are demons?" Kent asked almost at the same time.
"Yes and yes," the girl said.
"We are your host and hostess for your visit, unless you prefer others," the man said. "I am Deron, and this creature is Dulce."
"We are demons," Dulce said. "As are all residents of Lusion. This is by definition, as we have no souls. But we are nice people."
"We watched Damon and Della make contact," Deron said. "So we are familiar with your situation. We will make you comfortable."
"And we certainly hope that you decide to come to Lusion to stay," Dulce said warmly, flashing a brilliant smile at Kent.
Kent was obviously impressed by the smile, buttressed as it was by some cleavage, but he fought back. "What do you stand to gain? Not our souls, as those are already committed, assuming we decide to give them up."
Dulce smiled again. "But you still have them. That lends you special allure. We want to get close to you."
"My soul makes a difference?" Edith asked.
"Yes it does," Deron said. "It is more potent than sex appeal. We all long for souls, and exist for the day when we can recover them and return to mortality."
Edith laughed uneasily. "I have no sex appeal."
"You are mistaken," Deron said. "You now have the power to alter your outer form."
"I suppose I do," Edith agreed. "We can do magic here, regardless of the flower."
"And external forms are meaningless," Deron said.
"We maintain them largely as indications of identity," Dulce said. She shifted to several different forms, including one animal.
"As you can readily do also," Deron said. "But now let us show you around and answer your questions." He reached and took her hand. Dulce did the same with Kent, flashing him another slice of cleavage. Edith concealed her annoyance. It was good to have guides.
The pavilion was in a field of pretty flowers. They walked along a pleasantly winding path to a rippling stream in a quiet forest.
"Someone must spend a lot of time maintaining these premises," Edith said.
"By no means," Deron said. "This is all illusion."
"All illusion!"
"We like to make a good impression," Dulce said. "Illusion is all we have, aside from diversion and companionship."
They emerged from the woods to discover a splendid scene as beautiful as a painting, with snow-capped mountains in the background. In the foreground was a classic castle, girt by turrets and pennants. "This is where you may stay, if you choose," Deron said.
"The cuisine is excellent and plentiful," Dulce said.
"You eat here?" Edith asked. "Why do you need to, if this is all imaginary?"
"We don't need to, physically," Dulce said. "But we enjoy it, and we can't get fat."
"Can't get fat," Edith echoed thoughtfully.
The interior of the castle was like a palace, with bright carpeting, statuary, interior trees, fountains, and spiral escalators.
"We'll show you to your honeymoon suite," Dulce said. "You will want to change so you can enjoy the beach."
"Oh, we're not—"
"It's just the name of the suite," Deron said. "Nothing but the best for our honored guests." Edith and Kent decided not to argue.
The escalator wound up through the ceiling, past layered floors, and into the sky, now circling a tall tower with a panoramic view.
Now Edith saw that the mountains were on one side of the castle, and the ocean beach on the other, with a nice maze garden between.
"Look at that surf!" Kent exclaimed.
"Yes, the waves are continuous," Deron said. "You'll like them. I ride them all the time."
Edith knew nothing about surfing, but could see that Kent was excited. These folk really knew how to turn a young visitor on.
That made her slightly uncomfortable. Their souls evidently made them special, but what about when they lost them? What then?
They reached the Honeymoon Suite. It was at the very pinnacle, about fifty stories up. The extreme height made Edith nervous.
"Try Eden," Kent said. "She's more into adventure."
"She is," Edith said, and changed. "I am," Eden agreed. "I love this."
Then she turned to the others. "This is my other identity. Kent and I need some alone time."
Deron and Dulce literally vanished.
"Things are easy here," Kent said, impressed. "Now that we're alone—" She cut him off with a kiss, and they went on from there. After which ellipsis they admired the lovely suite, donned the bathing suits they found laid out for them, and stepped outside.
Deron and Dulce were waiting at the suite entrance. The four stepped onto the down escalator and spiraled rapidly to the ground.
The beach was sunny and warm, and not at all crowded. "Why so few people here?" Kent asked.
"There are many pleasures," Deron said.
Edith wondered whether that was an evasive answer. But they were already heading into the water. That was pleasure enough for now. She also noticed that all the swimmers and sunbathers were young and beautiful, male and female, just as she herself was. And of course that explained it: if all the people here could assume any forms they wanted, why would any of them be old or ugly?
Kent and Deron quickly took up boards and swam out to where the waves were rising. That left Edith swimming with Dulce.
"You seem pensive," Dulce said. "If swimming is not to your taste, is there anything else you would rather be doing right now?"
"Not really," Edith demurred.
"Because we have an amusement park, thrill rides, shows, skiing, flower gardens, libraries—"
"What I really want is information," Edith said more boldly than she had meant to. "All this is nice, but where's the catch?"
"Everything is as represented," Dulce said. "You are free to do anything you want, without limit, and nothing you don't want."
"You mentioned gourmet cuisine. Who prepares it? Who serves it? Who washes the dishes? Who takes out the garbage? New recruits?"
"You think there's an underclass? There is not. Nobody does those chores. Everything is done by magic. The magic of imagination."
Edith shook her head.
"I have trouble believing that. I could not even imagine a true gourmet dish; I don't know the recipe."
"Then you must meet our head chef. This way." Dulce swam smoothly for the beach. Edith hesitated, glancing nervously back for Kent.
He was on his board, surfing on a huge rolling wave, sliding down its slope as if it were a snowy hill. He looked thrilled. No help there. Edith decided to play along for now. She followed Dulce to the beach, across it, to the castle, and to the kitchen.
In a moment they were before a large smiling man. "You have a complaint about the food or service, Dulce?" he asked jovially.
"Chef, our guest Eden wants to know about the hired help. Who scrubs the pots?"
Chef laughed. "No one scrubs anything!" he said.
"Oh come on now," Edith said, nettled. "Someone has to peel the potatoes, make the salad, dump the garbage, clean the dishes."
"You forget, honored guest, that you are in Lusion," Chef said. "Everything here is imagined. The only challenge is in the quality of the imagination. I was a top chef back in the mortal realm. I know every detail. I make it so by imagining it. When the guests are done, I banish the remnants. My patrons like it because my imagination in this respect is superior to theirs. I love this job!"
Edith was amazed. "No one does any brute-work? It's all fake?"
"It's all imagined," Dulce said. "Just like your body, and mine."
"Including the castle and the environs," Chef said. "All that is real are our assorted immortal spirits. Which is all that counts."
"But it seems so solid!" Edith protested, pinching her own arm.
"We imagine it well," Chef said. "We have a good castle man."
"This takes some getting used to," Edith said.
"It does," Dulce said. "But once you acquire the ability to accept it, it's fine."
"This still bothers me," Edith said. "If it is so great here in Lusion, why does anyone ever want to leave? Like Damon and Della."
"Some of us get tired of the spiritual existence," Dulce said. "We want to be able to make a difference. That requires mortality."
"But as mortals you know you will die!"
"But we die making a difference," Dulce said as she led the way back to the beach.
Edith decided not to argue that case. Some folk did give up their lives for a cause. But she wasn't sure she wanted to, herself.
Kent had finished his surfing and was wading to the beach. He evidently hadn't missed her. "Those waves are the greatest!" he said.
"I'm sure," she agreed. "Let's change for dinner. I want to try their food." To see how real it actually seemed when eaten.
"Sure," he agreed amicably.
"Can we change here?"
"You can," Deron said behind him. "Just will yourself to be in a formal outfit."
Kent focused, and his suit became a tuxedo. "Great!"
So Edith focused, and put herself into a strapless gown only Eden could wear.
He put out his elbow. "Shall we go?"
"We shall."
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