Demon Singer

by Nichols, Benjamin

  "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what happened. Could my friend and I come into your garden, please?" Lyric felt foolish for making the request sound so formal, but didn't want to jeopardize his chances of healing the infection. The mute - for Lyric was certain that's what he was - looked completely at ease and stepped aside as he replied,

  "If yer able."

  Lyric thanked the man and approached the gate with no small amount of trepidation. As he walked through the gateposts, his tie to Acheron buzzed uncomfortably. Taking a moment to explore it, he realized it was the black stopper reacting enthusiastically to the mute's presence.

  This really hurts, please hurry up. Acheron's thoughts were fainter than ever but carried a strong sense of discomfort with them.

  "Never seen this before, what can I do for you, boy?"

  "Please sir, I have no desire to expose your secret or to harm you. My Aunt Bea," the mute's face registered a faint look of recognition, "was like you. I have an infection that is magical in nature. It's what has led me to seek you out and right now it's what is making it difficult to be on your property."

  "So formal. Bea taught you to respect your elders. How is she?" The old man queried, ignoring the rest of what Lyric said.

  "Sad, I think. I saw her several days ago and she was talking about leaving."

  The old man nodded.

  "Seems to be the way of it. Darkness fallin' on the horizon we ain't equipped to deal with. Best to get out o' the way for a while." He stared intently at Lyric for a long moment. "You're the first adult ever's found me. Easy enough for the youngin's but impossible for the grownups. I sense your demon, but she's not the magic threatening you. You're infected with somethin dark and old. Old as me almost. Surprised your demon friend can hold it off, she must be pretty big stuff to do that. Who exactly are you?"

  "My name is Lyric. I'm a soul singer."

  "You're no soul singer, boy." The old man peered closely at Lyric's face. "You're something altogether different. How were you able to find me? Singers ain't even told about us."

  "I remembered the first time I met aunt Bea. I used my soul song to enhance the memory and relive the feelings that led me to her orchard. The memories were so real it was like I was back there, back then."

  The mute scratched his chin while he ruminated on that.

  "Never heard of such a thing. So the secret companions of the soul singers are demons? Isn't that a conflict of interests?"

  "No, I'm the only one to tie a demon. I don't want to be rude, but this infection is getting more painful the longer I stand here. Can you please help me?"

  "Don't know if I should help you. Still not really sure what you are. Besides. I smell a cure on you, why not use that?"

  Lyric was mystified.

  "I have no idea what you're talking about."

  Now the old man stared at him in open disbelief.

  "You do something I'd always thought impossible, findin' me, that is. You manage to escort a demon onto my property, which I know is impossible. You know what I am, which you shouldn't know. You do all these impossible things and you are trying to tell me you don't know the most magical item in your possession is a cure for almost anything that ails you." He paused as though waiting for a response. Lyric didn't have one so he continued. "You have some of Bea's jam on you don't you?"

  Lyric took off his backpack and pulled out aunt Bea's jam.

  "This is a cure?"

  "Best cure for what ails ya... if you're a charge of Bea's." The old man didn't bother disguising the doubt in his voice.

  Lyric opened the jar of jam and scooped a finger full into his mouth. The taste of Aunt Bea's jam flooded his mind with sunshine, the smell of grass, climbing trees and the sound of cicadas singing with frogs. Immediately he felt a release, as though a weight fell from his stomach. Acheron appeared and he realized he'd actually missed the smell of lilacs.

  "That sucked," the gorgeous demoness said brightly. " 'Bout time, Lover." Grinning she smacked Cadence on the ass. "I even missed you, you sexy tease!" Turning to the old man she sobered up immediately. "Hello, I'm pure evil." Puzzlement creased her brow. "Why did I just say that?"

  " 'Cause you believe it." The old man seemed completely at ease with his guest. "So, you're a demon, huh?"

  "Demoness," Acheron corrected automatically. A graceful sweeping motion along her body with one hand and she was suddenly covered head to toe in scuba gear. Pulling out the mouthpiece, she asked. "What does believing it have to do with saying it? Why would I say it at all?"

  The old man didn't even blink at Acheron's wardrobe change.

  "Don't know, seems to be the way of it though. The kids I protect do the same thing. Don't matter if it's true or not, if they believe it, it gets said. Pretty handy for knowing when they need an ear and when they need somethin' more. Question is, why do you think you're pure evil? Nice suit by the way. "

  "Thanks, the air here hurts my skin. I think I'm evil because I am evil," Acheron shrugged. " Take these two, they hate me with the fire of a thousand suns. And rightly so, I betrayed the Composer and didn't even look back. I am pure evil. I am hate, lust, anger, violence and greed. I am all the worst things in the world wrapped up in a body intended to seduce both men and women. My only worth is to Trytohn as an instrument of destruction and why the hell am I telling you this?!" Acheron put the mouthpiece back. To Lyric's surprise, the old man reached out a hand and put it on her shoulder. The demoness flinched, as though expecting something unpleasant.

  "Let's have some lemonade while we talk." He looked at Lyric. "You all right, now?"

  Lyric nodded, confusion coupled with something in the old man's eyes held his questioning tongue in check.

  "You two can wait here. You'll be safe until your friend gets back."

  "Oh, she's not my..." Lyric broke off his habitual attempt to correct any misunderstanding of his relationship to Acheron at the narrowing of the old man's eyes. Instead, he simply nodded again and watched as the Mute led the demoness away. An odd flutter resonated through their tie. Lyric had no idea what to make of it, it felt different from anything else he'd experienced. Always before the sensations that passed through the tie, whether good or bad, held an edge of danger. For the first time edge was blunted. He recalled before the vampire attack, Acheron had been trying to voice something concerning Aunt Bea. If mutes were to protect the innocent, why did he get the impression that Acheron felt protected by the old man? Mystified, he looked to his own protector.

  Cadence had watched everything in her customarily unobtrusive way. With enviable grace, she folded down to a cross-legged position in the grass. Pulling a small knife from thin air near her left boot, she twirled it through her fingers. Lyric sat next to her, watching the weapon flash in the sunlight, moving faster than his eyes could process. He stared, mesmerized by the way the razor sharp metal passed amidst her fingers as though it were alive and moving independently of her motions, as though her fingers were simply getting out of the way so it could perform its dance.

  Lyric took the opportunity to examine the garden. It was lush, and gorgeous and fragrant and mystifying. An apple tree grew, surrounded by a rose bush. An enormous palm tree was beside a large Douglas fir. Mulberry bushes and butterfly bushes thrived with various species of flowering cactus. A tremendous amount of plant life completely unfamiliar to him grew to sizes ridiculous to the ordinary man.

  Lyric found the odd garden lovely and peaceful. Taking a deep cleansing breath, he sat down cross-legged next to Cadence. His eyes were drawn to the long sleeve on her left arm that disappeared under the short sleeve of her T-shirt. They moved along her neck to her hair, where the violet streak she kept covered ended.

  His thoughts turned to the angry words of Joe, accusing him of not trying to know more about his protector.

  "Cadence, who are you?"

  The knife disappeared back to from wherever she'd summoned it. She sighed and looked at him sadly. He held her gaze, refusing to look away. Finally, she shru
gged.

  "Where were you before you found me?"

  Cadence walked two fingers across an open palm.

  "Walking?"

  She nodded.

  "From where? Where did you start walking?"

  She shrugged again.

  "You don't know where you were?"

  Nod.

  Lyric tried to think of simple yes or no questions that would give him some insight into the purposes of his self-appointed bodyguard.

  "The first time I met you, you saved my life. Were you following me?"

  Cadence shook her head and held her hands up to her eyes as though looking through binoculars.

  "You were looking for me?"

  This time she nodded.

  "Have we met before?"

  She shook her head. No.

  "Then why were you looking for me?"

  Cadence looked at him thoughtfully then pantomimed taking a deep breath in and holding it. Then she pointed at him.

  "You want me to hold my breath?"

  Nod.

  Lyric took a deep breath and held it. Cadence watched him patiently. His lungs were in excellent shape and he was approaching the minute mark before he felt the strain. After two minutes, he started wanting some air. He was about to exhale when Cadence held up both hands in a stopping motion. Lyric continued to hold his breath. He was starving for oxygen and about to exhale anyway but Cadence motioned to keep holding.

  Finally, his body overruled his brain and the air exploded from his lungs. He sucked in oxygen as if he was being paid to do it.

  Cadence was making motions for him to stop breathing.

  "I don't know what you're trying to communicate, but I have to breathe. If I don't I'll die."

  Cadence pointed at him excitedly and put her finger on the tip of her nose.

  "Are you saying you had to look for me or you would die?"

  Cadence smiled sadly, then her eyes slid past his and over his shoulder. The smile left her face and she sighed. Smoothly she rose to her feet. Far less gracefully, Lyric followed suit and turned to see Acheron approaching with the old man. She had given up the wetsuit in favor of a pretty and demure sundress. Lyric stared in shock. He'd grown so accustomed to her scandalous wardrobe choices it was an amazing change. She wasn't being sexy or slutty or a tease. She was simply beautiful. Heart wrenchingly so. For a moment, he forgot what she was and longed to be closer to her, to know her more and just be near her. Perhaps even to-

  WHAT?! Oh HELL no!! He shook himself mentally and gritted his teeth, irrationally angry with her for his confused and conflicting feelings. Clenching his fists, he closed his eyes and forced himself to take deep calming breaths. After he collected himself, he opened his eyes to see all three of them staring at him. He suddenly realized that each of them was astute and observant enough to see his struggle. Shame and humiliation colored his face crimson.

  "Well, that was interesting." Acheron walked over to stand by Cadence instead of her normal position by Lyric. The Singer realized that while Cadence and the old man might guess at his distress, the demoness knew exactly what he felt, and that he blamed her for it. Nowhere to escape his shame he turned stiffly and formally to the old man.

  "I am grateful for your kindness and knowledge, sir. Without you my companion would likely be in dire straits."

  "Glad to know you care about your companion, boy." The old man pushed his hat back in his head and meet Lyric's eye. "I find you petulant and off-putting, but Bea doesn't make many mistakes. I may not trust you, but I trust her to the end. I wish you luck and offer one parting thought to carry with you. Learn to see things as they are, not as you assume them to be. With what that young lady has told me about what lies ahead, you will need that skill to make the right decisions."

  Lyric nodded curtly, still struggling to maintain his composure. Without another word, he left the garden through the gate to the east and headed back to his car, not waiting to see if Acheron and Cadence followed.

  Unable to help himself he turned for one last look at the garden and found himself gazing upon an empty parking lot with weeds growing through the cracks in the asphalt.

  20 THE FALSE PROPHET

  Acheron decided it was time to hunt again. After threatening various creative tortures if Cadence didn't keep Lyric safe, she smoked out.

  Upon reaching the car, they got in and immediately Cadence wrinkled her nose in disgust. Lyric registered the smell of scared dog at the same time and looked in the rear view mirror to see the Keylac sitting in the back.

  "Now what?" Lyric demanded testily

  "Interesting past times you have, Lyric, burning down motels, killing werewolves. Just a few minutes ago, you disappeared completely. There one second, then bloop! completely off the radar. Now how did you manage that?" The Keylac gave him a toothy smile in the rearview mirror.

  Lyric smiled back at the hellion, refusing to answer. The Keylac rolled his eyes in mock exasperation.

  "So much for pleasant conversation, here," he passed a bottle of wine forward over Lyric's shoulder. "Your next payment. It needs to be delivered to a man named Rondeaux in Price, Utah."

  "Utah? That's completely out of my way!" Lyric protested angrily.

  "Hmmmm, perhaps not as much as you think. Regardless, your payments were promised to be small and easy, not convenient. Besides, your car should be running better than ever!"

  "How are we going to find this man?" Lyric asked.

  "You'll need to head to Flagstaff." The Keylac studied his immaculate nails.

  What a douche was all Lyric could think. He throttled his irritation and forced himself to pay attention to the Keylac's instructions.

  "...gentleman by the name of Peter Falspoh. He is your ticket to Rondeaux. Listen to his sales pitch, pretend to be interested, cheer with the crowd, all that fun stuff. He'll take you in a heartbeat. The only requirement for his employer is that you are in good shape and health, and that you are gullible enough to follow him willingly out to the middle of nowhere. He will get you to Rondeaux." The Keylac admired himself in the mirror.

  "Why don't we cut out the waste of gas and time and you just tell me where Rondeaux is?" Lyric suggested impatiently.

  "It doesn't work that way," the Keylac smiled easily. "Even if I wanted to tell you I can't, he's shielded from us. Doesn't even show up on the radar." The Keylac looked pointedly at Lyric in the mirror. "No clue how he does it. Pretty damn impressive..." the Hellion leaned forward between the front seats, throwing an arm around each of them and spoke softly in Lyric's ear. "It's curious, how two unrelated humans who know nothing about each other are able to escape my detection. You wouldn't be trying to make a side deal that might annoy my employer, would you, Lyric?"

  "I'm plenty involved in the deal I'm already stuck in, asshole. Why would I take on more?"

  "Falspoh will get you to Rondeaux. Tell the lovely Acheron I'm almost sorry I missed her." The Keylac vanished in a puff of scared mutt.

  "Maybe from now on you can give me these assignments out in the open air!" Lyric yelled out the window. He turned to look at Cadence. "So.... Flagstaff."

  She shrugged, leaned her seat back and closed her eyes.

  * * *

  Five hours of driving brought them rolling into Flagstaff Arizona. Since Lyric was beginning to suspect the complexity and reach of the Keylac's master was a bit beyond the scope of reason, he decided to do exactly as he was told. Pulling into the first gas station he encountered he asked the attendant about Falspoh. The man looked at him like he was growing a third arm out of his ear and slapped a newspaper on the counter. On the front page was a kindly looking man, with short gray hair and a sharp suit. The headline read: Peter Falspoh to speak tonight in Buffalo Park. Lyric shook his head; this had officially passed creepy and was encroaching on terrifying. Everything that had been drilled into him over the last seven years told him that no hellion, not even Trytohn himself, was omniscient, nor could they read minds and they certainly could not predict the futur
e. He was starting to question these accepted truths. Paying the man for the paper and a couple candy bars, he made his way back to the car.

  Cadence politely declined her candy bar, so he handed her the paper and opened his. She examined the picture carefully while he looked up Buffalo Park on his phone's navigation app. Once located, he pulled back out onto the road and followed his phone's directions to meet this Falspoh character.

  It wasn't long before they were pulling into the beautifully manicured park. Lyric found a spot in the shade, killed the engine and accepted the paper back from Cadence. Forcing his sleep-deprived eyes on the tiny print, he gleaned what he could about Peter Falspoh from the article.

  Apparently, Falspoh allowed himself to be called a prophet of the Goddess Melody. He, of course, would never claim such a title himself, but was "uncomfortable denying spiritual truths given to others by his goddess." Lyric couldn't believe people actually took this guy seriously. The article practically gushed about the man, calling him the most charming combination of mother Theresa, Ghandi and Benny Hinn. He was described as "refreshing, honest, kind, charismatic, generous and possessed of an inner power that draws others to him almost magically". Lyric forced himself to finish the article, not learning a great deal that was useful really, other than Falspoh was calling America to arms, "not to fight men, but to wage a holy war against the enemies of mankind, violence, hate, hunger, disease, ignorance and entitlement." The article finished up with Falspoh's exhortation for Americans to take a stand with him and his goddess and fight for their families and their future."

  Lyric tossed the paper in the back and reclined his seat.

  "We should grab what sleep we can before we meet this guy."

  Cadence got out of the car and sat on the hood. Lyric realized she intended to keep watch while he slept. He considered protesting but fatigue had already conquered the majority of his waking mind and refused to allow him to do anything more than close his eyes and feel grateful for his protector.

  A hand on his shoulder called Lyric back to the world of the waking. Sitting up he rubbed bleary eyes and looked out the windows at a swirling mass of movement in the dusky evening. It took a moment to register what he was seeing. A river of people was eddying around his car, all headed in the same direction. Cadence caught his eye and jerked her head to indicate they should follow. Lyric got out of the car and stretched, watching the crowd as he did so. It was a lively bunch, full of laughter and smiles and childlike enthusiasm. He noticed there weren't many elderly and absolutely no children. That seemed a bit strange to him in such a large gathering. Cadence had come around the car to join him and they followed the flow of people. Lyric felt an arm snake through his and looked down in surprise to see Acheron walking next to him.