Demon Child

by Patti Larsen

  That had to be a bad sign.

  When Mom reached out with her power and summoned him to his statue, Dad appeared right away, his presence flooding the effigy almost immediately.

  But he wasn’t alone. As he manifested, so did another demon right beside him.

  Mom and I exchanged a look as Dad held tight to the other demon’s hand. He was shorter, more rotund, looked older than my father, with a bare head and a very large nose. He looked slightly wavery, as if he hadn’t come across completely, and I realized that was exactly the case. Without a statue to form into, this new demon was only on our plane by his hold on my dad.

  “Miriam, Sydlynn,” Dad said, “I’d like you to meet my old friend, Master Magus Theridialis, Demon Lord of the Third Plane.”

  Wow. Third Plane. Dad was Seventh of the sixty-six, so that was pretty impressive. But a Third Plane magus… Dad had dug deep for an answer.

  “Haralthazar, you’ve been holding out on all of us.” Theridialis winked at both Mom and I, though I wasn’t creeped out like I thought I’d be. He was adorable, almost like someone’s portly grandfather, and had a smile that warmed me up and made me feel comfortable with him. “What a gorgeous family you’ve made for yourself.”

  Mom curtsied. “We are honored to have you in our home.”

  He waved her off. “My dear, you have no idea how much this old reprobate would love to cross over and have a cup of tea with you. But there are more important matters to be dealt with, I’m told, and my time here is short.” His amber eyes settled on me. “You would be Sydlynn, then? The demon child who refuses to be whole?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s me. Sorry.” I have no idea why I felt the need to apologize.

  Theridialis laughed, a deep and echoing sound that bounced around the basement. “Kids these days,” he said. “Don’t say you’re sorry until you know you’re to blame.”

  “That’s not the advice you gave me.” Sassy was suddenly at my feet, his fur standing on end. He looked incredibly put out.

  “Ah, Sassafras,” the portly demon smiled kindly at my silver Persian. “You look very well, my boy.”

  Sassy hissed at him. “Haralthazar, how dare you bring him here?”

  Dad sighed and rolled his eyes. “If you don’t mind,” he said, “Theridialis is here for Syd.”

  Sassy huffed something cranky under his breath and my mind, so occupied with other things, finally made the connection.

  “You did this to him?” I looked back and forth between Theridialis and Sassy. “You turned him into a cat?”

  The demon nodded slowly, gently. “I did, dear,” he said.

  Wow. The part of me loyal to Sassy wanted to hate him instantly, but the other part of me, the side that needed help, suddenly felt a whole lot better. Dad really pulled out all the stops. If the mage who was able to transform Sassy couldn’t help me, no one could.

  I stooped and gave my friend a gentle stroke before stepping forward. “What do you want me to do?”

  Sassy left with a huff and a snarl while Theridialis watched him go, great sadness in his eyes. He turned back to me. “How is he?”

  Who? Oh, right. Sassy. “He’s fine. I guess. He takes good care of us.” That was very true. “He loves my little sister.”

  Theridialis smiled again. “I miss him still,” he sighed. “Maybe someday…” His eyes returned to the basement stairs then refocused on me. “But enough about that. Let’s have a look at what’s going on with you, shall we?”

  Dad reached out and took my hand with his free one before bringing it in contact with where his fingers met the older demon's. I instantly felt them both in my head. Dad was all big and warm and lovable while Theridialis was curiosity personified, vibrating with so much power I almost jerked free. But he held tight as he and Dad dove deep inside my mind and found the crack keeping my demon from me.

  I followed them and saw it myself. My mind did its best to translate what was happening. All I could see was a fissure, like the beginning of a tear, down the middle of my mind. I stood on one side with my father and Theridialis and my demon crouched on the other.

  Theridialis moved as if to cross the divide and was flung back as his form passed over the crack, a bolt of blue light driving him away from my demon. At first I thought she had done it but she looked as baffled as the rest of us.

  Sydlynn, you must try. Theridialis gestured for me to cross the break. I moved ahead, but the closer I came the more afraid I was and the deeper my need to run away. I made it almost to the fissure, but something was wrong, horribly wrong. I couldn’t cross, wouldn’t. Not ever.

  You must. The demon magus’s voice and power slid me forward without my consent. You must. It is the only way.

  I cried out, fighting and screaming while even my demon began to howl in fear. It was as though she, too were being pulled toward the fissure, driven by the connection that remained between us, into the path of the crack.

  The blue lightning hit us both at the same time and threw me back so hard I instantly fled my mind and came back to the real world.

  I found myself on the floor of the basement, white fire between my eyebrows as pain seared my thoughts, screaming while my mother tried to hold me down.

  I managed to calm now that I was free, the pain easing. I panted for breath, wiping at the sheen of sweat on my face.

  “What the hell was that?” I glared at Theridialis just as I saw Sassy appear at my side, spitting and hissing in fury.

  “Are you trying to kill her?” His rage was impressive coming from a chubby Persian. “This is how you work, isn’t it, Father? Everyone thinks you’re the greatest mage of all time, but they don’t know the truth. You just slam your way through everything and call it mage work.” Sassy vibrated with his anger. Through the retreating pain, it took me a moment to realize what he’d said.

  Theridialis was his dad?

  The demon mage caught his own breath, as did Dad. They obviously suffered some from the backlash my attempt created. Only Mom seemed unaffected, but still very worried.

  “My dear,” Theridialis said, ignoring Sassy, “I’m sorry for pushing you so hard. But I honestly thought that was the only way.”

  “Admitting you’re wrong?” Sassy snorted. “That’s a first.”

  “Not at all,” the demon magus said mildly. “Remember what I said. Only apologize when you know you’ve done something wrong. And I did. I misunderstood and underestimated what’s happening.”

  “What does that mean?” Mom’s hands shook as she stroked my hair. “What’s wrong with our daughter?”

  Theridialis shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with her, not really.” He looked confused and more than a little curious. “In fact, whatever keeps her two sides from connecting is actually trying to protect her.”

  That made no sense. Or did it?

  “You mean I’m in two halves for my own good?” I made it to my feet with Mom’s help. “What caused it?”

  Theridialis shrugged. “Dear, I don’t know. It’s some kind of witch magic, not demon in origin. If you want answers, you have to find out who felt you needed protecting in the first place.”

  I glanced at Mom, but she shook her head, looking as troubled as my father.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Don’t thank him,” Sassy snapped. “He didn’t do anything except almost get you killed.”

  Theridialis was already fading, but he smiled warmly at Sassy as his form wavered and flickered.

  “It’s wonderful to see you well, my son,” he said before flashing out.

  Dad was losing power too. I could see him leaving his statue and could only imagine how much power he used up keeping them both with us for so long.

  “I’ll be back. I love you both.” His voice faded as his body solidified into granite.

  I stepped forward and pressed my hands to his stone chest, feeling the warmth of him already leeching away into the heart of the stone.

  “Bye, Dad,” I said. I tur
ned to Mom. “So, any clue?”

  She shook her head, looking tired and sad. “We’ll figure it out, honey,” she said. “I promise.”

  It was a quiet night at home. Mom decided to wait a day or so before taxing my mind again. I didn’t care either way. Whatever was happening, I knew Theridialis was right about one thing. If I was to be whole, I had to be the one to fix it.

  I curled up on the couch after dinner with my head in Mom’s lap while she sang softly to me. Sassy joined us, as though needing some comfort of his own after seeing his father. I hugged him and kissed him and gave him great scratches for a while before Mom sent me off to bed.

  “I’ll watch you tonight,” she promised.

  “Meira?” My sister wasn’t home. I didn’t feel her.

  “At the Crossman’s,” Mom said. “Just for tonight.”

  A thought hit me, worming its way through my selfishness. “Mom, how’s Sunny?”

  She didn’t say anything, but I could tell from her sad smile something was still up.

  “I’ll be right up,” she said.

  I made it up to my room and into my pj’s, under the covers with Sassy right beside me the whole way.

  I stroked his silver ears as he settled with his chin in his paws.

  “Did you want to talk about it?” As far as I knew, no Hayle witch before me had much from him about his past aside from the fact he was being punished for something.

  “Not really.” Sassy sighed and licked my fingers. “Just be careful around him, Syd,” he said, real concern in his eyes. “My father has his own agenda, believe it. And it has nothing to do with saving you.”

  “Are you sure about that?” I felt no animosity from the demon magus, and Dad trusted him with his family for goodness sakes.

  Sassy’s amber eyes glowed as his anger settled in them. “You have no idea,” he said.

  I knew I was supposed to be on his side. He was my friend. But I hadn’t been doing very well by my friends lately and he was no exception.

  “Could you be a little biased?” I knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment I said it. Sassy lurched to his feet, tail thrashing. “You’ve been gone from home a long time.” I tried to cover my tracks. “Maybe he’s changed.”

  “He hasn’t.” Sassy snarled, his fur rising into full puff. He looked incredibly ridiculous but I didn’t feel like laughing.

  “Sass, I’m sorry.” I reached for him, but he dodged me, thudding heavily to the floor. I watched his silver tail flash behind him as he left me there.

  Way to go, Syd. Alienate everyone, why don’t you? And yet, I knew there had to be more to Sassy’s story than he was willing to admit. Why was he here, in cat form? From what I saw, his father seemed like he was really interested in how Sassy was doing. Though, I admitted to myself he didn’t seem all that concerned if he let his son stay on our plane for over a hundred and fifty years without a retrial.

  I was glad I wasn’t a full demon. The way my life was going, I’d be stuck as a frog. Or a piece of lint. Anything to make sure I couldn’t hurt anyone else.

  Speaking of hurting, now that I was alone, I reached inside and directly addressed my demon.

  We have to work together, I said. I’m willing to stop fighting you if you’ll stop taking me over.

  She growled at me.

  Come on, I said. Best offer.

  She stayed quiet for a moment.

  You never wanted me, she said. Why should I?

  Okay, so she was right. And as much as I tried to convince her and myself things would change, we both knew the truth.

  Until I figured out who did this to me and why, we were stuck, two in one.

  And she was getting stronger.

  ***

  Chapter Twelve

  Somehow I found myself in Chemistry writing a test I knew nothing about and not really caring how I did on it. My usual study partner sat three chairs over, his dark hair falling over his glasses. Simon refused to look at me and when the class finally ended and I handed in the joke that was my exam, he brushed past me like he didn’t know me and left without a word.

  It didn’t hurt, not even a little bit.

  Liar. Not like it mattered. My life was spiraling downward on all levels anyway. Might as well throw the last few shovels full of dirt on my coffin and have done with it.

  Dad returned the night before with very little to add.

  “According to Theridialis, it’s perfectly safe.” Dad didn’t look like he believed his friend at all. “You’re not going to implode or anything. But the two of you need to work this out and work together to discover what is really going on.”

  Mom then took a good hour inside my head to wander around and see what she could find. She finally sighed and sat back from me while I rubbed my temples and tried not to feel too sorry for myself.

  “There’s definitely something blocking your connection,” she said. “I can’t believe I didn’t sense it before. But whoever put it there… Sydlynn, honey, it’s not there to hurt you.”

  I scowled at her and dropped my hands. “You know what they say about good intentions, Mom.”

  She smiled a little. “The power itself feels like family power, as though it came from someone inside the coven.”

  I shuddered, thinking of the Moromonds. But it couldn’t have been them. They showed up long after my aversion to magic kicked in. Like, when I was born.

  “I’ve placed some blocks around your demon for now.” Mom didn’t hear the roar of protest from inside my head, but she saw me wince. “I’m sorry. To both of you. But until we figure this out, it’s best if the two of you don’t fly apart at the worst possible time.”

  My demon’s sulking was never a pleasant experience.

  Why did I go to school the next day? Stupid Chemistry test. Not that I really cared if I passed, which I was almost positive I hadn’t, but if I didn’t go there would be all kinds of unpleasantness involving my mom and the principal. We didn’t need any more disruption.

  I spent another unhappy lunch outside, alone. My choice. I couldn’t stand to sit in the cafeteria and watch my friends smile and laugh and talk to that weasel, Benjamin.

  I was pretty surprised when he sought me out. He caught up with me at my locker before the afternoon bell. I felt him before I spotted him, like a dark oozing shadow settling beside me, leaned against my neighbor’s locker like he owned the place.

  “Hello, Sydlynn,” he said.

  A thrill of something that felt like fear traced down my skin. Why did that seem familiar? My mind was still foggy from my misery and I couldn’t focus. I finally shook my head and went back to my own business without answering.

  “I wish we could just be friends.” He was relentless. Didn’t he get it?

  “Good for you,” I said, slamming my locker door and turning to face him. “But we can’t always have what we wish for, can we?”

  I tried to walk past him like I didn’t care, but he stopped me with one hand on my arm. I jerked out of his grip instantly. No way was I letting this guy touch me.

  “It’s a shame,” he said. “I can be a very valuable friend.” His smile widened. “The others certainly understand that.”

  My demon hissed, long and slow and furious. I was totally with her.

  “They’re idiots,” I snapped, “if they can’t see you’re just a sociopath with an annoying smile.”

  He leaned in very close, so much I could smell the chocolate pudding on his breath.

  “I can also be a very dangerous person to cross.” His clear blue eyes tried to suck me in, but I was too mad for his charm.

  “Don’t threaten me, Benjamin,” I said. “You have no idea the hurt I could do you.”

  He winced, almost like I’d struck a chord. That made no sense. I’d never touched the guy. Not outside my imagination, anyway.

  “We’ll see.” Benjamin took a step back. “Have a nice weekend.”

  He turned and walked away while I prayed a giant hole would open up and swa
llow him.

  No such luck.

  I seethed in that conversation for the rest of the afternoon, playing it over and over in my mind. What could I have said better? Maybe hitting him or using my magic wouldn’t have been so bad? My frustration and hurt was so strong I could barely stand it.

  Then it hit me. One person was the key to all of this. If I could convince Pain—sorry, Mia—that Benjamin wasn’t who she thought he was, maybe the others would finally listen.

  Only trouble was I had nothing on the guy. Nothing but how I felt about him

  That was it. It struck me like a blessed lightning bolt of joyous brilliance from the sky. All I had to do was let her feel how I felt. She had power. I knew that already. Her blocked off abilities were breaking free bit by bit from whatever held her power in check. If I could access that, let her experience the discomfort I felt, I knew I could convince her.

  Trouble was, Mom made me promise not to do anything about Pain’s power. But there was a loophole, a gaping one. I wasn’t trying to keep my friend from using her power or even helping her uncover it. I was simply going to move close enough to her so I could open up my magic and let her in.

  The more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. Not wanting the time to talk myself out of it, I turned around from my usual route and headed for Pain’s house.

  I hesitated at the last minute, hovering at the end of her driveway, right next to the perfect replica of her gingerbread house. What if she wasn’t home? Or if Benjamin was with her? I hadn’t thought this through. It was possible that contact with my magic could make things a whole lot worse for her. She’d only recently gotten out of treatment after the little Cesard worshipping crazy show she put on in front of the whole school, after all. And this sudden turn around, her shift from total Goth Goddess to Miss Prim made me wonder about how stable she actually was.

  Too late. I was spotted. The front door whooshed open and Mrs. Hammond appeared. She waved at me with her usual enthusiasm, pink cheeks flushed.