by Cece Rose
I feel a tingle ripple through me and switch to my second sight, watching the ripple of Aunt Silvia’s magic rush from me to the demon. As it rolls over him he shudders, as if the magic causes him discomfort. The magic in the air fades and I release my second sight, turning back to Silvia.
“Did it work?” I ask.
She gestures to the demon, and I look down at him curiously.
He glances up at me and opens his mouth just slightly as if to meow again, but what comes out instead leaves me speechless. “You dumb fucking bitch of a witch. How dare you trap me in this ridiculous feline form and then get me fucking stuck here! I am four thousand years old, and never have I dealt with such an incompetent pain in the ass as you. You will give me a job to do right now, and then you will be lucky if I don’t slaughter you on the spot as soon as I’m free!”
“What is he saying?” Aunt Silvia asks, as I turn away from the demon in horror. He’d lost all his devilish composure along with his human form, that’s for sure.
“You can’t hear him?”
She shakes her head. “I made it so only you could understand him. All anyone else will hear are normal cat noises.”
“Good. None of it’s pretty. He can’t just turn around and kill me after performing the task I give him, right?” I ask, hoping she’ll know the answer.
“So long as you include him going back hell as part of your conditions, he won’t be able to kill you. Nobody lets demons loose anymore these days, not with the punishment so severe. So as long as you do that, you should be fine.”
I’d like to believe she believes what she’s saying, but I can read the doubt on her face. Maybe she’s worried about my bad luck?
“Hello, bitchy-witch? Are you listening to me? I’m fucking hungry, and I want you to fix me this instant,” the demon’s voice complains from the floor.
“Shut up,” I snap at him, which only increases the level of bitching.
“You dare speak to me this way? I have levelled entire cities, enslaved and killed many witches far greater than you, and you speak to me without fear? How is one so weak so foolish?”
“You got trapped in a cat’s body with a spell I learnt when I was thirteen, and you think you’re in a position to insult me?” I ask the demon smugly.
“I am Solas, commander of more legions of Hell than you are years old, I have—”
“Yeah, I get the idea.” I wave him off, earning a hiss from the furious, demonic feline.
“You really shouldn’t poke the bear,” Aunt Silvia warns me.
“Probably not. It’s a good thing he’s a cat for now, isn’t it?” I laugh at my own joke.
“You stupid waste of oxygen. I will skin you alive. I will burn your corpse beyond recognition—”
“I liked it better when you couldn’t talk.”
“I’d like you better as just a head on a spike, but we don’t always get what we want, do we?” he whines. I know I shouldn’t, but I laugh. He looks at me curiously, titling his head as if looking at me from a different angle will somehow make something clearer.
“What the hell am I going to do? I can’t have Lizzy over whilst this thing is cursing me constantly,” I muse, looking over to Aunt Silvia pleadingly.
“Do not look at me, young lady!” she waggles her finger in my face. “I am too old and too smart to be harbouring a demon in my home. Speaking of, I have someone coming over for a reading in half an hour, and I can’t have them asking questions about your furry companion. I hate to do this, dear, but you must leave before they arrive.”
“It’s okay, I completely understand,” I sigh, already standing. “I just need to figure out something to do with this thing. I don’t even know how far away I can get from him. He said he’s stuck with me till he’s fulfilled his debt, but what does that even mean?” I groan.
“You should be able to command him to stay somewhere, if you can find somewhere to leave him. But, Kayla dear, do be careful of whom you trust. This isn’t something you’d want the rest of the world to know. I would hesitate to tell any other witches. You know their first duty is to their coven.”
“I understand, and I promise to be careful.” I step forward, leaning down to hug her again.
“Be careful around Solas, dear. He can be quite charming when he wants to be, but demons always have an ulterior motive,” she whispers in my ear. I pull away, nodding at her to let her know I’d heard her, and that I would be careful. Although, I wouldn’t exactly describe Solas as charming. He’s anything but.
“Thank you for all your help,” I say as I head to the door.
“Anytime, dear. Stay safe.” She gives a pointed look at the demon.
I look down at Solas. “Are you coming?”
He only yowls in answer, stalking towards me unhappily, the tension in his feline form clear with every step he takes. I wonder if being trapped in the cat’s body is physically uncomfortable or painful for him?
I let myself out, the demon slipping out quickly through the gap before I shut the door behind us. Chewing my bottom lip nervously, I look around, noticing that the streets somehow look even busier than they did earlier. I groan. This bad luck thing really freaking sucks. Shaking my head, I try to focus on the problem at hand. I’m only able to deal with one thing at a time, and right now I have to figure out where to leave the demon until tomorrow.
Who can I trust to babysit a demon?
Ten
Cats & Dogs
“What are you doing here?” Darren asks me as he opens the front door of his home. He'd opened the second I'd knocked, so I figure he probably heard me coming—shifter senses must be pretty handy for stuff like that.
“Is that really the way to greet your friend?” I ask, forcing myself to smile brightly at Darren. I rock on my heels as I feel his eyes roam over me, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. I hadn't put any makeup on today, nor had I dressed particularly fancy. I groan internally. Why do I even care about that? It's not like I'm here to seduce him. Those days were long over. I try to bury the little nagging feeling in my gut away. I’m not going to address why I would even follow that thought path. Nope. Not today, Satan.
“You never come over, not anymore anyway. What's wrong?” he asks. “Is that a cat?” he questions again, before I can answer his first one. He’s looking down sceptically at Solas, as if only now just noticing his presence beside me.
“What else would it be?” I ask nervously, fiddling with a strand of my blonde hair as I look between the two of them.
“I have no idea, but it doesn't smell like a cat,” he answers honestly, stepping aside so that I can enter the house.
He lives outside of London, choosing to commute in and out every day in order to stay living on his pack's lands. Probably does it to avoid the cramped city life too. The home itself is situated in a place disguised as a holiday lodge park. One that happens to be always completely booked out, except for pack visitors in the spare cabins, anyway. The wooden lodges are surrounded by a thick woodland area that stretches out further than I'd care to walk across. At least, not in these shoes. I can't help but think all the open space must be worth the commute. Not that I could ever sell my place, my ancestors would turn in their graves. Stupid witch tendencies to hold onto everything that comes into the family. Ugly jewellery, houses, books, my inherited house was filled with things that probably belong in a museum.
I walk in slowly, knowing how creaky the floorboards are by the front door from memory. He gives me a knowing look, and I shrug, heading through to the open plan living area.
I'm surprised to see everything is exactly how it was the last time I was here two years ago. Dark brown leather sofas, the low rise, oak coffee table, even the impossibly large TV on the wall. The fire is burning on the far right-hand side of the living area, and it warms up the feel of the room, as well as the actual temperature. I notice one thing that's different, however, three photos sit on top of the fireplace now instead of two. I wander in the general direction,
wanting to take a closer look at them to see what the newest addition is.
Ahem. The sound of Darren clearing his throat makes me pause and turn around to face him. “What are you doing here, Kayla?” he asks me again, more demanding this time. He clearly isn’t buying that I’d dropped by just to say hello.
“I need you to do me a favour,” I begin hesitantly, unsure how this is going to go down, but knowing he's the only one I could trust to come to for help. Aunt Silvia was right, I can’t trust a witch with this, not even Lizzy. There’s a reason I hadn’t told her what Solas really was earlier, and I need to trust both my gut, and Silvia’s advice. She’s always been great at nudging me in the right direction. Darren gestures for me to continue. “I need you to watch my...cat. Just for one night. It would really help me out.”
“Whatever that thing is, it isn't a cat. Can you not just shut it in a room or something?” he asks.
“It won't shut up.”
Right on cue, Solas leaps onto the sofa, and turns to face me. “You seriously can't be leaving me here with a mutt? Really? It's almost as if you want to enrage me. Stupid, stupid, little witch.”
“I know it's pretty noisy, but can't you just ignore the meowing?” Darren asks me, his face is scrunched in confusion as he stares at Solas, as if trying to figure out what hell is up.
“Please can you just watch him?” I ask. “I wouldn’t have come all the way over here if I could shut him in a room or something. He needs eyes watching him at all times really.”
“If you tell me what he really is, I’ll watch him.” Darren crosses his arms over his chest, and I can see that he's being deadly serious. He won't watch the damn thing unless I explain everything. I just hope he will keep his word when he knows the truth. I know that I can trust him not to say anything to anyone else, but whether I’ll be able to talk him into babysitting the demon is another matter.
“You may want to sit down,” I offer lamely.
“Don't tell him anything!” Solas hisses.
“Shut it, furball.” I turn to glare at him. He huffs indignantly, before stalking off towards the open plan kitchen area. I know he's hungry, but I'm not sure how he's intending to open the cupboards while stuck as a cat.
“I'm fine standing,” Darren says firmly. I hear some clanging about in the kitchen, but Darren seems to ignore it, keeping his eyes focused on me.
I sigh, trying to figure out the best way to word it, before giving up and just blurting it all out like word vomit. There's no right or good way to explain this mess anyway. “The cat isn’t a cat, you’re right about that. He’s actually a demon called Solas. He owes me a favour, and he's stuck in cat form until he can repay it. I'm the only one who can understand him, and he's constantly bitching at me to figure out a way to set him free. It's exhausting, and I have Lizzy coming over later, and she can't know about any of this. This cannot go beyond this room, Darren. I'm trusting you here. The witches in my coven would go ape-shit if they knew about any of this. Aunt Silvia said not to trust any other witches, and she couldn’t watch him for me. I’m worried if Lizzy spends too much time around him, she’ll realise the truth.” I breathe deeply, every breath feeling sharp and painful as I wait for him to shout at me or throw me out, or something.
“Is the demon likely to be harmful while stuck in the cat form?” he asks, and I shake my head. He's as powerless as any common household cat right now. “I'll watch him then.”
“What?” I question disbelievingly.
“I said I'll watch him for you. Isn't that what you came here to ask me to do?” He raises a dark russet brown eyebrow at me curiously.
“Well…yeah, but I didn't expect you to say yes.”
He steps closer to me, placing his hands on the sides of my arms gently. “You can always come to me for help, Kayla. I will never turn you away, regardless of anything that happened between us.”
I look up at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, before quickly pulling away and out of his grip. He lets me go easily.
“Thank you,” I mumble, trying my best not to look at him.
A loud crash coming from the kitchen area pulls our attention out of the tense moment. Saved by the demon, who'd have ever thought that could happen?
“What is it doing in my kitchen?” he asks, looking only a little alarmed, as he moves quickly towards the noise. I follow after him cautiously.
Solas is sitting on the kitchen counter, the contents of an open cupboard scattered across it. He's munching on a packet of tortilla chips that have been slashed right open.
“What the hell are you doing?” My eyes shoot wide as I watch the demon crunch through another few before answering.
“Eating. It's not like you were planning to feed me. This stupid form requires sustenance. It is very inconvenient. All I want to do is eat and sleep, how monotonous is that? Boredom is the worst kind of torture I can think of, and I live in hell,” Solas snaps.
“What's he saying? And why the hell is he making such a mess on my kitchen counter?”
“He's bitching because I didn't feed him, and he's making the mess also because I didn't feed him, sorry,” I say, cringing.
“Demons eat?”
“Well, this one clearly does.”
“You owe me tortilla chips, and whatever else he eats,” Darren informs me. I roll my eyes.
“I know you ate my pasta from the fridge at work last week, I owe you nothing,” I counter.
“You have no evidence of that.”
“You spilt some of the pasta sauce on your shirt,” I inform him, and he grins at me.
“That could have been anyone’s stolen pasta sauce. If it makes you feel better, the pasta I ate, which of course wasn’t yours, was delicious,” he says playfully.
“Are you two going to start fucking? Not that I intend to leave if you are, at least that would be slightly more entertaining than watching you fall over and make an idiot of yourself constantly,” Solas asks, around a mouthful of tortilla chips. Apparently a cat meowing while eating isn’t a pretty sight.
“We’re not. Why would you even say that?” I ask, feeling the worry lines creasing my forehead as my brow furrows at his words.
The demon rolls his eyes, and the movement looks eerily creepy coming from a cat. “It’s obvious you both want to do it. Why not just take your clothes off? I might find that I like you better without them.”
I gape at Solas. He really didn’t just say that, right?
“What did he just say to you?” Darren asks, and I whirl back to face him.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. Probably too quickly.
“Well, he obviously said something,” he replies, not at all convinced by my terrible attempt at lying. I desperately try and think of a lie, a smart cover up to save us from the awkwardness. “Kayla?” he prompts.
“He called us dumb.” Brilliant work, Kayla. You really sold the lie that time. I look down at the floor and mentally plead with it to open up and swallow me whole. Why do I have to be such a bad liar? My grandma always loved that about me. She said it was one of my best qualities, but damn if it doesn’t get me into trouble.
“Sure,” Darren says sarcastically. “Whatever you say, Kayla.”
“He knows you’re lying. Quick, take your clothes off and distract him,” Solas quips.
“I wonder if there are people out there that make fur hats out of cats?” I muse aloud, side-eying the demon. Darren smirks at my words.
“You know, I think I may know a guy,” Darren says, not skipping a beat.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Solas objects, seething at me.
“Try me,” I mutter. The demon is grating on my nerves more and more. I know I should probably listen to Aunt Silvia and try not to piss off the demon, lest it attempt revenge when it’s back at full power, but I just can’t seem to help myself. Why just poke the bear when you can push it right off the cliff?
“Should I leave you two alone to argue? Hearing just one side of the conversation is confus
ing,” Darren interjects lightly, amusement playing in his eyes.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m done arguing with the furball now. I need to get going, but thank you so much for helping me. You don’t realise how much you’re saving my ass right now,” I reply, starting to move towards the front door.
“I’m glad you felt like you could come to me. I’ll call you if I have any problems with the hell-cat, if that’s okay?” he asks, following me to the door.
“Sounds perfect. I’ll probably call you to check in, but take care of yourself.” I go to open the door and let myself out, when I’m surprised by Darren taking my hold of my hand. I look at him curiously, and he pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around me in a tight, but quick hug. He steps back awkwardly after, looking like he took himself by surprise as well as me. “What was that for?” I ask, blinking up at him in confusion.
He scratches his head. “You just looked like you needed one. Stay safe, Kayla,” he says, leaning around me to open the door. I walk out, barely resisting the urge to look over my shoulder as I leave.
Eleven
Death, Wine, & Magic
“I brought wine.” Are the sweetest words you can hear from your bestie when they arrive at your house. I watch as she puts her bag down onto the kitchen counter, and pulls out three different bottles. “I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for, so I grabbed us some options. We can drink the ones we didn’t pick first when we’re too drunk to taste them.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agree, grinning at her.
“Okay so we have three fabulous options ahead of us. Option one is a white wine with a name that I cannot pronounce, selected purely for its alcohol percentage.” She holds up the bottle in question, dramatically flourishing her hand over it before putting it down and grabbing the next. “Option two is a smooth red selected because of the fancy, yellow, half-price sticker that you can see decorating it here.” She taps the sticker with her finger, drawing my attention to it. “Finally, we have a dirt cheap rose, that probably tastes like a flowery shampoo. What’ll it be?” she asks, placing the last bottle back on the table from her little display.