Demon in Salem

by Laura Cabrerizo

  The process was quicker than he thought it would be. He’d put the fear of the devil himself in Jeremy. It helped that the moonlight reflected his own demon visage so well. Samuel ingrained the correlation that if Jeremy came within one hundred feet of Sara, he would feel absolute pain. If Jeremy thought about hurting Sara, he would feel absolute pain. If Jeremy thought about anything to do with Sara, he would feel absolute pain.

  The list went on, but Samuel tried to cover every base. By the time he finished, Jeremy lay on the ground curled into a fetal position and clutching his arm to his chest. He was sobbing and shaking while Samuel watched him with disgust. He considered killing the weasel, but it wasn’t his nature to kill, though he knew he would have to come to terms with the idea if he wanted his full powers back.

  Samuel took Jeremy’s cell phone from his back pocket, crushed it into unusable pieces, and threw it to the ground. Turning, he walked away without a backward glance. He didn’t care if Jeremy made it out alive. At this point, it was up to the other man if he wanted his life to end or not.

  “Samuel.”

  Samuel gave a start as he looked at Sara, leaving his reminiscing behind him. “What?”

  “I asked what you did to him.”

  “We talked. I told him to leave you alone.” He cleared his throat and didn’t look directly at her, instead shifting his eyes towards the windows overlooking the backyard.

  “I don’t believe you.” Sara narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, then sighed. “At least tell me if he’s still alive.”

  “Again, he was when I left him.” Samuel shrugged, looking back at her.

  “And the outlook of him staying that way?”

  Samuel grunted then grinned at her. “Was he a boy scout when he was younger?”

  “What has that got to do with anything?”

  “I figure it would raise his chance of survival exponentially.”

  “Samuel,” she chided.

  “Fine. If Jeremy hasn’t made it out of the nature preserve yet, there is a pack of weres that claim that territory. The full moon is tomorrow, and they will be out running. I’m sure they will find him and take him to a hospital. Probably.”

  Sara stared and raised an eyebrow. “Werewolves are real? And what do you mean probably?”

  “Out in this area? They are either black bears or cougars. Some weres aren’t known for being accommodating of humans that wander into their territories. From what I remember the packs around here played well with humans. Of course, that was over three hundred years ago.” He tried to ignore her stare as he told her about the werwolves. Witches, weres, he was waiting for her to get to the next question he didn’t want to answer.

  “What are you?” Sara blurted. And there it was. He knew he couldn’t avoid this conversation forever. Samuel grimaced and tried to think of what to say so he wouldn't scare her. That was the last thing he wanted. It surprised him how much her opinion of him mattered. He didn’t want to lose her over something as stupid as his origins.

  “I saw your face change in the camera footage.”

  Samuel buried his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. “First of all, know I would never hurt you.” He let his hands drop into his lap as he sat back and watched her through hooded eyes. Her eyebrows rose in response, but she said nothing as she watched him.

  “The closest approximation in the Christian belief system would be a Demon.”

  “Go on.” Sara’s voice was even, but he saw her eye twitch.

  “We aren’t like what you see on those television shows. We aren’t necessarily evil though we are often painted as such. I don’t think I’m evil anyhow. Ok, sometimes I do questionable things, but I always have a reason.” He cleared his throat and stopped speaking when he found himself starting to ramble. So far this wasn’t going well.

  Samuel plucked Chico off the end of the couch and held him, petting the top of his head, hoping the motion would calm his raging emotions. The last thing he needed was for his face to change while he tried to convince Sara he wasn’t dangerous. Well, he was dangerous, but not to her.

  Sara’s eyes softened as the dog snuggled into his embrace. “What kind of Demon are you?”

  “There are the popular types, the succubi and incubi, jinn, goblins and so on. Of course, there are the named ones, the big demons like Abaddon, Mammon, Asmodeus, and etcetera. You don’t want to meet them. Me? I’m more of a one-trick pony.” Sara pursed her lips at the last part, and he could tell he was losing her.

  Samuel sighed. “I don’t know how to explain what I am. I feed off the ambient energy people produce when they feel the emotions of greed, corruption, and contempt. Then I turn around and amplify them to feed the fire and create more.

  “Say someone comes into a vast fortune. If I walk among the lucky person’s relatives and relations, I can feed off the greed and envy they feel for the inheritor and feed it back to them creating a loop that grows stronger and stronger."

  “And what happens to the group? I imagine all that energy would implode at some point.”

  Samuel felt abashed as he replied, “I don’t stay around long enough to find out.”

  “I feel that’s where the evil part comes in.”

  “I can’t help my nature.” He looked at her with sad eyes. Maybe this was why he never stayed with a woman long enough for her to find out his true self. He didn’t want to see Sara look at him with condemnation.

  She was quiet for several minutes, the longest he’d felt since the start of his imprisonment, then she released a deep breath. “I guess it isn’t any different from Wall Street or corporate greed. Not that I’m condoning their actions, but at least you have the reason for it being in your nature. They just do it for money.”

  Samuel perked up, she wasn’t rejecting him, he still had a chance to woo her. “What is Wall Street?”

  “It’s a place in New York where the stock exchange is located. Basically, it is a cesspool of greed and corruption. It kind of sounds like your type of place.”

  “We should go there, I could use a pick me up. I’m still drained from being held captive, and then last night. I didn’t get enough energy from our outing at the mall to refill my stores, and you don’t exactly ooze greed and corruption.”

  “Thank you? I think. Speaking again about last night. What happened to your face?” She watched him with interest, and her posture became more relaxed.

  “I was hoping you would forget about that.”

  “Not easily. When does it change? Can you make it or does it just happen?”

  “So, about New York, how far away is it?”

  “Samuel.” Her eyes narrowed, and she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them with her arms. She looked darling, and he cringed at the thought of her running away from him in terror.

  “Fine. I can change at will. It also happens when I feel a strong emotion or,” he paused and cleared his throat before continuing with slight embarrassment, “when I find release.”

  Sara’s face lit up like a lightbulb. “So that’s why you don’t look at me after, you bury your face in the pillow or my neck.” All he could do was shrug.

  “Can I see?” Now she sounded like a little kid being let in on a great secret. He wanted to say no, but she looked so interested.

  “Will you take me to New York?” Of course, he would let her see even if she said no. He would do anything she asked of him.

  “What is it with you and deals?”

  “Nature of the demon, I guess.” He grinned at her, smiling wide and giving her his charming dimples once again.

  Sara scrunched her nose, thinking, then sighed. “Fine, it’s only a few hours’ drive anyhow. Oh, and you can tell me all about your life on the trip. I’m sure it will help pass the time.” The more she talked, the more her face lit up, and he wondered what he had just gotten himself into. “Now, face!”

  Samuel nodded, placing the dog on the floor and sitting more upright before resting his hands on his knees. “It’s no
t pretty.” Letting out a deep breath, he first let his eyes change. He had seen it happen in mirrors or other reflective surfaces several times.

  The change was near instant, the black that would make up the more significant part of his eyes bled from the center, engulfing the rest of the white. The iris elongated vertically, turning into a cat eye and the color changed from hazel to red, also working from the center out.

  Sara gasped and moved closer. The action surprised him, most people who saw the change ran screaming from the room. Then again, she did have fair warning. Lifting her hand, she brushed the side of his face, running her thumb next to his eye.

  Samuel flinched at first, not knowing what her reaction would be. When he found that she wasn’t pulling away, but rather getting closer for a better look, he turned his face into her palm and looked into her eyes. For the first time, he didn’t see loathing or disgust, fear or horror, but rather compassion and curiosity.

  “And your teeth?”

  He opened his lips, keeping his teeth together while she tilted his face up to see better in the morning sunlight streaming through the living room windows. When she went to brush her thumb over the sharp edges, he pulled away, smiling. “Careful, they are razor sharp.”

  “What do you use them for?”

  “Scare tactics. And eating pretty little things like you.” Samuel lunged at her, and she squealed with laughter, as he pinned her beneath him.

  27. SARA

  Sara shook her head at Samuel’s excitement while she swerved around a slow driver in the left lane. She hated people who drove in the left lane without care, unconcerned about the other drivers behind them. Then again, she also hated driving.

  They were on their way to the big city, top of the car open, fresh, crisp fall air washing over their heads as they drove down the highway. It hadn’t taken long to get everyone packed and a pet-friendly hotel booked in the center of the financial district. Sara believed it would be the best place to stay since Samuel had a fascination with the idea of the area, but if she was going to spend a long weekend in New York, she would also hit up the best of the food world while they were there.

  Taking a deep breath of the smoke-tinged air, she leaned towards Samuel without taking her eyes off the road. “Tell me about your life.”

  He glanced towards her, and she saw another glimmer of the wariness that disappeared after he opened up to her about what he was. “It’s quite a long and rather boring story.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  “Once upon a time, in a land far away, during an unseasonably harsh storm–” he began.

  “Seriously?” Sara cut him off, looking towards him with a raised eyebrow.

  “If you want the origin story, deal with the fluff.” Samuel grinned at her, adjusting his posture lower in the seat and around the dog’s crate on the floor in front of him.

  Chico was sound asleep, nested deep into several blankets to avoid the cold air pouring into the car. Even with the windows up and the heater on, it was still chilly. Sara wanted to take advantage of having the top down for as long as she could since she wouldn’t be able to get as much use out of it in the North as she had in the South.

  Samuel, for his part, looked delicious in the passenger seat. With dark washed jeans, a dark grey V-neck shirt, and a black leather jacket, he looked like he would be at home walking down any New York street. He caught her perusal and winked at her, causing her to blush.

  “Story.” Sara looked back towards the road, turning on her blinker and merging into the right lane so she could set the cruise control.

  “As I was saying before you interrupted me, somewhere in Rome around the year fifty-five BC, a Senator and two Druids performed a ritual on a slave that called me into existence.”

  Sara swerved as she looked at him in shock. “There is no way you’re over two thousand years old.”

  “I look good for my age, right?” Sara saw him reach for the sturdy handle in the car’s door and grab it with a white-knuckled grip even though his tone was light and teasing.

  Sara grunted in reply. “So, what happened to the slave?”

  “One personality goes in, and one personality comes out. The Senator was losing confidence with his peers and wanted to move higher in the rankings. He wanted more wealth, more prestige, and more respect.”

  “And you do that for people?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. The Druids used a binding spell to bind my will to his commands. Lucky for me, they didn’t think past his death. A mob killed the Senator in the aftermath of Julius Caesar’s death. Once free, the Druids that had helped to create me fled in fear of my wrath.”

  “What happened then?” Sara watched him. He wasn’t paying attention to her, instead gazing out the front window with a far-off look.

  “I moved from place to place, court to court, and walked through the highest echelons of society. I amassed a large fortune across several continents. Sometimes I fought for wars; sometimes I fought against wars. One thing always remained the same. No matter how I rose to power or how many friends I made, it never lasted.”

  “Why?” Sara glanced at him.

  “Everyone else grew older, and I didn’t.”

  “Ah. What did you do?”

  Samuel shrugged, looking at her and examining her expression. “The only thing someone can do. I moved. About every ten years, I would move to a different place. Sometimes I would go back after thirty or forty years had passed and claim to be my son or grandson. Other times I would take whatever I had accumulated, add it to my horde, and leave for good. My favorite places to live were Spain and Italy.”

  “How did you end up here?”

  “In Salem or on the continent?”

  “Well, both, actually.” Sara grinned at him, adjusting her body for comfort. They were a little over halfway to their destination. Samuel reached over and stroked the back of her hand resting on the shifter. The delicate touch sent shivers down her spine.

  “I first came to the continent with a man named Cortés.” Samuel smiled when her head snapped around to look at him. “Ah, so you know of him. I’m glad to say I didn’t stay with his people long enough to carry out their grand conquest of the Aztecs. Having known members of the crew before leaving, and the duration of the trip, his men grew suspicious of my good health. I found it prudent to make a hasty retreat.”

  Sara watched him for a minute. She struggled to imagine the life he led. She was a huge fan of time traveler movies and television shows, but she couldn’t fathom what it would be like to live it. Adjusting the heat to its highest setting, as the sun was dipping below the horizon, Sara turned back to the road. “Now you were in America. How did you make it up to Salem?”

  “Over the next one hundred years, I traveled northward staying along the coast. I lived with different indigenous tribes, learning the way of the native people until reaching the colonies. So now we’re somewhere in the early sixteen-hundreds. My powers were growing weak. It turns out the natives weren’t greedy or corrupted enough to produce a lot of energy.

  “The settlers, however, were a trove waiting for me to tap. I spent several decades as a translator and liaison between the tribes and the settlers until I realized my powers were manifesting and causing havoc for the tribes. Having grown fond of them, I stayed as far away as possible, but to my regret, the damage was done.” Samuel rubbed his face, and for the first time, he looked tired. Sara wondered what it cost him to walk back down memory lane.

  “How did you get trapped in my basement?”

  Samuel barked a laugh and sat further into the seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “The infamous Salem witch trials had just ended. The pure malice from the whole event lit the area like a beacon. Many of my kind came to take part in the aftermath. The witches, the real ones, moved to the outskirts of town to practice their magic. They made it through unscathed. All the poor people the settlers murdered during the trials were innocent.

  “Shortly thereafter, a succub
us came to town.” Samuel fidgeted before continuing, “Her name was Morena, and she reveled in causing as much trouble as she could. The Puritans, poor repressed souls that they were, didn’t stand a chance. Even we weren’t safe from the effects of her powers.”

  “So, you were horny?” Sara tried but couldn’t stifle a laugh.

  Samuel didn’t seem to join in her amusement. “Everyone was, though no one recorded the events since the people didn’t want to tarnish their respectable reputations. The witches found out what I was, what several of us were, and used a young maiden to lure me into the forest. I drank from an ale flask she brought with her, and I should have been suspicious that she refused to partake, but I wasn’t thinking with the right head. There was enough sedative to take down a draft horse. When I woke up, I was in the circle, bound and chained.

  “I learned later, through a tedious monologue by the head witch, a woman named Rebecca, they planned to siphon off my energy and add my abilities to their own. Unfortunately for me, they were smart enough to think past their own deaths and cast the spell to continue through their lines from the oldest daughter to the oldest daughter. I could never gain enough energy at one time to free myself.”

  Samuel shifted in his seat and Sara got the odd impression he wasn’t telling her everything.

  “I’ve shared way more history than you were interested in hearing. Tell me about your upbringing.” He smiled, plastering a look of interest on his face, covering the discomfited expression which slipped through before.

  Sara glanced at Samuel before staring back at the road. Talking about her past was unpleasant at best, but he told her about himself, so it was only fair. She took a deep breath before she began. “When I was very young, around three or four years old, my parents were in a horrible car accident. They were on their way home from a friend’s house, and I was with a babysitter. Both of my parents pulled through, but their injuries were severe, and the doctors gave them prescription painkillers to help cope. The painkillers are derived from opium.” Sara watched him as she clarified and saw him wince.