by Lee Taylor
“Thanks for the drinks,” I quickly added. He guffawed lightly and slung back a shot of the brown liquid, which I assumed was the “yay-grrr” he was talking about, holding up two fingers to Jenny to indicate there was more to come.
“My name in case you didn't hear is Leon: Leon King.” He held out his hand in a friendly gesture. I took a moment, glancing idly at his outstretched trunk of an arm; there was something on his skin, aside from the tan, that seemed to shimmer in the bars dreary lighting. He was decorated with scars of all different sizes and depths. I was momentarily mesmerized by them, taking his hand so that I could take a closer look, which for some reason, he didn’t seem to appreciate, snatching his hand back almost as soon as I gripped his own, nearly dislocating my arm in the process. He took off his hat and scratched at his hair. It was a light straw colour, ruffled and flat. We stared at each other for a moment with nothing of importance to say, so we just casually knocked our drinks back...
I was thinking that it was time for me to move on, until he finally broke the silence between us.
“Well, you going to tell me your name or aren't ya?” Leon asked, apparently growing more agitated. I still couldn't place his accent.
“Si Edwards.”
“Si? What sort of fackin name is Si?” Leon said, sighing enigmatically for emphasis. There was something off about him... His odd mood swings. Either he was Bipolar or it was steroid related. Let’s face it, he fitted the stereotype. In fact now that I considered it, this colossus of a man would definitely be the poster boy. If it was steroids, I was probably going to get hit for not answering his question though...
“Didn’t I see you by the station earlier showin off ya birthday suit?” Leon asked.
Wow he liked to ask questions, and with it a cold feeling crept over me. He wasn’t really giving me a chance to answer before he blundered on with his next inquiry.
“No, you must have me confused—” I drank a mouthful of beer, playing with the bottle anxiously. Something was off with this guy, and my dark passenger could sense it, if only I could have talked with it and found out what it was so uneasy for.
“You are! You’re the big god-damn hero; we're going to be throwing a big parade in your honour.” His sarcastic remark was not lost on me, but I chose not to respond. It seemed to me that he had some deep routed issues with me.
It was a different kind of hostile atmosphere in the bar now. Before everyone looked at me like I had just shot a kitten, but now, now no one was making eye-contact. They were all looking elsewhere... too scared of the roided-out meat-head.
Maybe I was just being paranoid, I mean the last few times I have met people they wanted to beat the ever living daylights out of me. Yeah, maybe it was a good idea to stay on guard; I was still trying to place his accent, as he was mumbling something to Jenny. His posture seemed very dignified for the way he dressed. Not quite as casual as everyone else in the bar, but the way he held himself was very tall and extremely proud. I found myself imitating his pose just so I didn’t look like a complete shrub in comparison.
“Thanks for the beer, Leon; I have to go make a call.” I pushed myself up from the bar, emptying the bottle of its contents. I let the foul-tasting beer slide its way down my gullet. Ugh, I really hated drinking beer on an empty stomach. I struggled not to pull a face.
Leon paused, leaning back into a stance, stepping from his stool. “I thought you didn't have any money for a soddin drink, let alone a telephone.” Leon barked, tilting his head and muttered something too low for even my ears to pick up. I kept walking, hoping that I could make it over to the phone beside the pool table and then slip out the back door as soon as an opportunity arose. Like I said, there was something really off about him, off enough for my dark passenger to feel threatened. I was having a hard enough time to keep a hold of my emotions without the need to kill. Hastily I headed towards the pool table, I could hear an annoyed cluck from him, and I tensed as his annoyed heavy footfalls stomped behind me. I finally reached the payphone, closing my eyes and blindly began to dial a number. A cool breeze washed over the back of my neck, and I could picture his tall, imposing figure standing behind me, sneering, readying to reach out and punch me in the face. Slowly I put the handset back on the receiver, opened my eyes and turned to see what fate had in store for me... It knocked me for six.
Chapter 13
Tessa was at the bar where I had only been a few seconds before, and if that wasn’t strange enough, Leon had disappeared. Maybe he wasn’t following me, but nature was calling him instead... That I could totally relate to.
It looked like, from where I was standing, that Tessa was asking Jenny a few questions, holding her hand up above her head, I assume it was about me. Jenny looked slightly concerned with whatever Tessa was saying. I understood that, too, as I more than most could say that Tessa could be intense at times...
My head literally hurt with the thought of how intense Tessa could be. A feint look of shock spread across Jenny’s cute face, and she scowled shaking her head disapprovingly, and nodded toward me. I beamed a quirky smile; I hadn’t realised how much I had actually missed her. I know that sounds bad, but seriously I was half terrified, and the other half was relieved to see her friendly face. Tessa seemed to light up as she looked over at me, and crossed the bar closing the gap between us. Her warm expression held in place. I looked at her, and could feel my skin begin to tingle as if she were charged with energy.
“So, Ursine, what have you been up to?” Tessa asked, her voice chiming like sleigh bells on Christmas morning.
“Well you know me; I have been a plethora of emotions.” I winked, and to my astonishment she smiled. For a moment I was lost in her lambent glow. Wow, she was beautiful when she smiled. Her entire persona changed, and the warm glow thawed the ice on my layers of cynicism that I felt towards her. God I really had to get my emotions under control before she ripped me a new breathing hole...
Tessa wore a white blouse, simple enough, but with her, and her pale complexion and dark hair she looked like a supermodel. It fit her form completely, extenuating her natural curves and slender physique. I wanted to lose myself as I gazed at her adoringly. I even found myself smiling back at her.
“Yeah, I spoke to Lycaon about it, and I thought that you were experiencing some sort of psychotic break, but he insists that it’s all part of your transition from man to... Thing.” She tucked back a stray strand of her ebony hair, and I caught a whiff of her scent and found myself curling my toes up in my newly acquired shoes. She smelt like wild orchids; my nostril flared, trying to gather all the scent up in one shot... in case I missed any of it or it went away. Great, now I was worried, and I was growing up to be one of those creeps that smelled other people’s hair when they thought that no one was looking. She caught her breath quickly before letting out an angelic chuckle.
“Ursine, I must confess something; I am not at this bar by coincidence. I knew you were here because I could feel it in you when you made the decision...”
What she said was enough to shake me from my loving daydream... I don’t even think sniffing salt could have registered as well as what Tessa had just said.
“What I mean is that... As a-” She leant forward and began to whisper in my ear; she had my full and undivided attention. Her almost ethereal voice glided through me, spearing my body.
“As a demon.” Her hushed tone caressed my ears. “I never felt any emotions. Demons feed off of them, but thanks to your grand gesture to a damsel in distress... I can feel you. When you were scared I felt it. I was actually panicking about my surroundings. I wasn't sure what was going on. Suddenly whilst talking to my master I couldn't speak. He explained it to me. He seemed amused by the whole situation, the irony of a lesser demon that used to live off emotions never to truly experience them... And now, I was having a panic attack; I tried to dispel it with blood magic,” Tessa said, gazing over my shoulder at something out of sight.
“Look, Tessa, I have said I was s
orry, not for saving you... Okay well kind of, as apparently that was the 'wrong thing to do', but if you are experiencing feelings for the first time in your existence, then give them a chance. Not all emotions are that bad.”
She peered at me ruefully. I had been wondering why she was being so... friendly, it was because I was glad to see her, and so she was glad to see me... things are going to get complicated If I can't get my emotions in check. I looked into her almost grey eyes; they were bewildering to look upon. They shimmered in the bar’s dull glow, sparkling from the shine off of the pool table’s lamp. It was like smoke being held in a crystal glass.
“So as I was saying, Ursine, what have you been up to, and why do you have dark sooty smudges on the back of your ears as well as under your chin? You didn't have anything to do with that burnt down structure in the middle of town, did you?” Tessa almost sounded concerned.
I explained to her as best I could, she said a few times how stupid I was. It wasn’t until I mentioned Agent Christian that her face darkened. Apparently Tessa had heard of the Helsing group, and she was definitely not a fan.
“Did you kill him?” Tessa asked, sounding excited at the prospect.
Ohh... Shit... how was I going to tell her that I saved him... Maybe I didn't have to. I told myself over and over, waiting for my symbiotic friend to answer in a growl or a snarl. It was silent.
Tessa eyed me with suspicion. This whole puberty 2.0 was a mood killer. Going through puberty was bad... let's say for arguments sake it was an earthquake, and every now and then I would get a back-breaking aftershock. I was like my aunt when she was pregnant. Every now and then she would just break down into tears for no reason, then she would be angry because she was crying. That was me, a pregnant teenager who literally turned into a beast when he was emotional... Figures.
Tessa poked me in the arm, trying to get my attention. I was lost, sulking over my realisation. So I quickly sucked in a deep cleansing breath and sighed.
“Sorry about that.” I grinned at her, embarrassed for the way I had been acting. She eyed me curiously and an incredulous look of disbelief rained over her stunning face.
“What was that feeling there?” She seemed almost excited at the prospect of a new emotion.
“Um... Embarrassment?” I said scratching my increasingly sore head.
“What are you embarrassed about, Ursine? I already know you like me, you reek of lust.” Tessa said poignantly... I wished right then that a hole would open up in the ground and swallow me in one fell swoop.
“Look there it is again! How funny! What an odd feeling it is!” My lustre was fast disappearing, and all I wanted to do was hide my head in shame... I was caught off guard and unprepared, utterly speechless.
I took a moment avoiding eye contact with the damned Demon, looking around the bar with a flush of red in my cheeks; I tried not to look at her curvaceous figure, anything to stop my adolescent mind from running off on a tangent. I focussed on the pool table and its harsh angular corners, the pool balls scattered around the table atop the blue sheet covering the topside, forcing myself with concentration to visualise something dull, and droll. An idea occurred to me; I decided that telling her the whole truth about Agent Christian. I was probably going to regret it, but it would be enough to stop the humiliation at being caught out as a pervert.
“You what!?” Tessa cried. It didn't take a psychic to realize that she was not impressed. There was no mention of a medal for my heroism. I was beginning to make a habit out of saving things that apparently I shouldn't have. It’s not my fault that I was raised with a conscience.
“Ursine, the Helsing Group has been around for years...” She tutted and rolled her tongue in her cheek before continuing. “They are probably looking at what happened at the Ocean motel... And they are definitely going to be looking for a fall guy that they can blame, and they already have you in their sights. If they can, they will dissect you, especially if they figure out that you are something new and shiny.”
I stared at Tessa, making a picture from what she explained to me, they had apparently come close to capturing other Demons before, but they had simply left the host, wanting to study their weaknesses. At best they knew of their existence and Tessa being bound to a human host made her a prime target. If they learned of her whereabouts as well... the prospect of me on an operating table in a white room with various drips and incisions in me really didn’t appeal to me.
“So...” I gulped, feeling like I had made a bad decision letting the agent who knew of me and what I looked like live.
“Don’t worry; I am not going to leave your side. No matter what, you are too important. Oh, and every time you begin to look like you feel sorry for yourself or you are thinking of doing something stupid or reckless, I am going to slap you. So... no more stupid ideas.”
The thought of me being escorted to bathrooms was a low one; she probably thought I couldn’t go in a urinal standing up.
I didn't even have to go through the torment when I broke my leg as kid, falling out of a tree; my dad had a very stiff upper lip, no words of encouragement or advice, just “get on with it.”
A new sprinkling of paranoia began to creep over me as I considered all of the options. Sifting through the various scents, even the feel of the place was the same as before, a depressing quaint little bar out in the ass-end of nowhere. Ingenious, this place wasn't even a night blossomer, well aside from Jenny the bar maid.
I looked at Tessa, hoping to see a smile or an indication that she was joking about what she had said... There was zip, zero, Zilch. Her gaze and posture was as unyielding as it ever was. It took her a while, but eventually she broke the mood, picking up on my worries about the agents I guess.
“If they were here I would know.”
What was bugging me more now was that the spending all that time with Tessa could be fun if... The impromptu meeting with Tessa had meant more to me than I had initially realised. I wasn’t just happy to see her; I was pleased that it was her that found me.
“Hey... umm, Tessa.” I began to ask a question, feeling extremely bashful. When her expression froze, I could feel something dark and menacing sweep around the table. The air became muggy, and I began to perspire, nervous beads dewing on my forehead. There was a commotion at the bar; the wooden floor rumbled with the sudden movement, stools were getting knocked over onto their sides, raised excited voices calling out. There was a shrill scream from what I only assumed was the barmaid Jenny. A shot rang out hushing the tones of the panicked patrons as they all scrambled for the door. A voice called over the thrum of fear. I recognized his tone almost instantly with its slimy lacquer. It was Agent Christian.
Chapter 14
“Hello again, Ursine. Who would have thought that I would run into you here? Oh, and I see you have some lovely female companionship.”
Tessa's frantic gaze met my own as the figure strolled towards us; his left arm was in a sling being held tightly to his chest, and his other waved a handgun daintily, aiming it on and off in our direction. Fear was bubbling in staccato-bursts through me, reverberating throughout my body like a syringe of liquid-nitrogen to the heart. He smiled seeming smug at catching me off guard.
His form itself wasn't all that imposing; he had bandages covering cuts and bruises on his face, and the gauzing darkened where his blood had dried. A loose overcoat lay atop his shoulders, covering his shirt and pants. I was positive that either I or Tessa could’ve taken Christian without giving him a chance to fire off a round, but the fact that he was being shadowed by three heavily armed men holding assault rifles pointed in our direction, was a bit off putting. They were adorned in what looked like wetsuits, covered with straps of webbing holding an arsenal of equipment. I was intimidated looking at the weapons. Being human I know that they can do, but my dark passenger was edging forward in my mind, and it was giving me grim, mental images of what it wanted to do. It was both disturbing and exciting. When I’m an old man I will probably still be in th
erapy.
Not aware of my deteriorating mental state, Agent Christian pulled up a chair with a wheeze and sat down, placing his gun on the table. His hand clutched the pistol, while its aim wavered.
“Well, Ursine, as I am sure you can imagine, there is an easy way or a hard way.”
The three men shuffled around, their weapons raised; pinning us to where we sat just in case we tried to make a break for it. They did jostle briefly out the line of Christian’s big gloating head so that he wasn't in the way if they needed to take a shot.
“Christian, I will go along quietly as before, let-” I paused, looking at Tessa and frowned. “Sorry, hon, but what's your name, I forgot?” Tessa's sharp-gaze flickered around the room as she took in her surroundings, and seemingly confused blinked at me.
“Tessa,” she said, her voice wavered; and as she looked at me I wasn’t entirely sure if she knew what I was trying to accomplish, but I prayed she kept her mouth quiet enough so that at least one of us could get out and get help.
“Ma'am,” Agent Christian said. “Do you know this gentleman?” A bemused look crossed her face, and she looked over his shoulder, there was still shouting resonating from outside the bar, and by the sound of it some of the patrons were not happy with the way that they had been annexed from their drinking hole. A loud and muffled hiss like someone had stabbed through a tractor tyre could be heard from beyond the door, before a hail of gunshots cracked away in precession. Christian didn’t bother to push for any more answers. He stared at the door, slack-jawed like the rest of us. The uneasy silence tiptoed around the room as Agent Christian began to twitch nervously, and the aroma of his body odour was becoming more and more obvious to me, thanks to my heightened senses. I wrinkled my nose with disgust.
Christian stood from the table, signalling for one of the armed soldiers to investigate. My brain still wasn’t fully grasping the gravity of the situation.