The Demon Behind Me

by Christopher Nelson

  “Don’t make fun of me. I’m not that dumb.”

  “I’m not making fun of you,” I said. “But I’ll show you I’m telling you the truth about being half and half. Let me show you something. Can I turn to face you?”

  “Careful. No fast movement.”

  “Sure.” I slowly shuffled around to face him and held my right hand out. When I transformed one fingertip into a claw, his breathing sharpened, but he didn’t shoot me, which was nice. I pricked my fingertips hard enough to draw blood in two different places. One drop was red blood, and the other was green ichor, steaming away as it reacted with the air. “See? I’m both. I’m living proof of co-existence. Some demons believe we can all live together peacefully. Most demons want to just live their own lives and do their own thing. No one wants to fight.”

  “That’s bullshit.”

  “Why?” I asked. His brow furrowed. “I mean, do I really have a reason to lie to you about this? It wouldn’t have any influence on what you decide to do. You’re a smart kid, aren’t you?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to make fun of me again?”

  I stayed very still. “Not at all. I’m not talking about grades, if that’s what you think. You’re smart enough to know there are a lot of lies flying around, and you’re smart enough to know I’m not lying to you.”

  “Demons lie all the time,” he said, but there wasn’t quite as much conviction in his tone as before.

  “We really don’t,” I said. “If I was going to lie to you, I’d never have shown you my ichor. I’d just tell you to cut me and see me bleed red. That’s the blood test they told you about, right?”

  He frowned and his finger slipped from the trigger to the guard. “So why are you here?” he demanded.

  “My friend Caleb called me to help. He’s an angel, and he’s trying to get a bunch of human and part-angel kids to safety. They’re under attack by the Conclave. Please let me go so I can help him.”

  “Children?” he asked. “Don’t bullshit me. The Conclave wouldn’t attack kids.”

  “I don’t know if they’re going after the kids or the adults, but they’re here and trying to kill my friend. Please let me help them.” I was asking myself as much as him. My demonic side wavered between admiring the kid’s audacity and demanding his blood.

  “What was your name again?” he asked.

  “Isaiah Bright, Marquis of House Asmodeus, Gatekeeper, once Lord of Heaven, ender of the Second Celestial War, and a couple other unimportant minor titles I don’t feel like reading off right now,” I said. “My young friend, I will ask one more time, please let me save the children.”

  “And if I say no? Think you can survive this?” The shotgun twitched ever so slightly.

  “Well, depends on if it’s a slug or pellets. Pellets aren’t going to stop me, though it’ll hurt like hell.”

  “Good thing I don’t have buckshot loaded. So why shouldn’t I shoot you right now? Sounds like you’re pretty important.”

  “Because I’m trying to save kids!” My demonic instincts finally overrode my human side and ignited a tiny flame of hellfire from my oozing palm. His finger jumped back to the trigger and I snuffed the flame before he could twitch any more. “Look, kid, I could have burned you alive by now if I wanted to. I’ve been trying to keep the peace for the past five years. I have a human partner I’d die for, but you never heard that from me if she asks. I have a human family and a demon family. I don’t want this fucking war, I don’t want to hurt you or anyone else, but I’m not going to sit here any longer and let innocent kids die. Shoot me now if you’re going to, or put that thing away. Last chance.”

  I thought he was going to pull the trigger. I could see the muscles in his arm twitch, but then he swung it out of line with my face. “Get out of here. I never saw you. You never saw me.”

  I scrambled to my feet and raced for the back door. “Thanks, kid.”

  The shotgun went off.

  I spun around as dozens of impacts pounded my back. Luckily for me, he wasn’t aiming directly at me, the shotgun wasn’t as heavy a gauge as I had feared, and he had lied about it being a slug. None of the shot got through my thick demonic hide, but it left gouges and scratches. It felt like dozens of giant angry hornets stabbing me, or one mildly pissed off Tink. My instincts ignited a ball of hellfire and I flung it toward him as he pumped the action for another attempt.

  I didn’t sense the magic until it was too late. His eyes were wide open in shock and surprise as his body obeyed other commands. I tried to pull the ball of hellfire off course, but the range was too close. He didn’t scream as the hellfire chewed a ragged hole through his chest. He simply dropped. The shotgun tumbled free from his lifeless hands.

  “You fucking Conclave bastards!” I shouted. “He was a kid! He was just a kid!” Of course, none of them responded, not even a laugh.

  I kicked the back door open, daring any of them to try anything. I had transformed back into my full demonic aspect without conscious thought. Blood and vengeance were on my mind. “Took you long enough,” snapped a voice from my right. I glared down at Tink. “Wait. Are you crying?”

  I wiped steaming tears from my face. “I’m not,” I growled. “Let’s go find Caleb. Now.”

  She pointed toward another house. It might have been nondescript to human eyes, but in my demonic form, I could see angelic faith reinforcing the structure. It almost reminded me of First Rev. “You want to draw fire?” she asked. “There’s still a mage or two out there playing sniper with a rifle. I took the time to draw up a tracking spell. If they shoot at you, I can shoot back.”

  “One moment.” I looked back into the kitchen where the kid’s body lay on the floor. I threw a flash of hellfire inside, willing it to ignite the structure. The least I could do was give him a fitting funeral pyre.

  “The fuck are you doing?” Tink asked.

  My demonic side was still raging. “If they shoot me, make it hurt,” I said and broke into a sprint. I was expecting it, but even then, getting shot was impossible to properly prepare for. One step I was fine, and then I was on the ground with my left shoulder on fire, leaking blood and ichor, but the pain abruptly faded when I heard a shriek of agony in the distance. The glory of vengeance gave me just enough energy to lurch back to my feet.

  “Get up!” Tink was at my side sooner than I expected. “Demon, get your ass inside and in cover! Caleb! Caleb, you son of a bitch, get out here and help me get him safe!”

  I closed my eyes and the next time I opened them, I felt a strong grip on my right arm. Caleb didn’t smile. His swarthy, wide face was simply angry. “I needed your help, not one more person to take care of.”

  “There’s one less mage out there,” I said. “And I didn’t ask to get shot, you know. It sucks.”

  He sighed, pulled my good arm over his shoulders, and walked me to the house, Tink following us with a spell at the ready. As the door closed behind us, I heard a few gasps and shouts. “He’s here to help,” Caleb shouted in response. “Clear a space, I need to set him down.”

  Tink dropped on her knees next to me as Caleb laid me out on the ground. “I didn’t think you’d actually get hit,” she said. “Sorry.”

  “It happens,” I said. “I’m regenerating, but it’s going to keep me down for a few minutes.”

  “I’ll fix that problem,” she said. “Back off, everyone, I need to trace a circle. Can you sit up? I don’t have room to deal with you lying down on the job.”

  I sat up and grunted as I felt a foreign object shift around in my shoulder. Tink traced a circle around me, then poked her finger into the oozing mess coming from my shoulder. “Ouch.”

  “You’re fine, you big baby.” She drew a rune with my ichor on the edge of the circle, then pricked her own finger and let her blood mix with mine. Once the rune touched the circle, a magical glow raced around the outline and I felt a sudden surge of energy as it closed. “There. Regenerate harder.”<
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  It wasn’t a spell I was familiar with, but the effects were obvious. My body was pouring excess resources into the generation of both blood and ichor. I’d pay for it later, though it was a nice way to lose the gut she had pointed out the other day. For now, I pushed my regeneration to its limits. The hole in my shoulder healed from the inside out. The bullet came out much easier than it went in, clinking to the floor. The wounds from the shotgun blast scarred over. I didn’t let them heal perfectly.

  By the time my regeneration was complete, Tink and Caleb were already gone. I let the blood and ichor production boost continue until I felt topped off, then broke the circle with my foot. The kitchen was a disaster with broken glass and blood all over. A sheen of translucent blue purity covered one countertop and I shuddered. I’d have to be careful not to bleed anywhere in here.

  “I counted at least three mages out there,” I heard Tink saying. I stepped into the living room to join her and Caleb. She glanced at me before continuing. “I got one when he shot the demon. Conclave’s always going to operate in pairs when possible. This all depends on if their reinforcements arrive before ours.”

  “And on how skilled their mages are,” I added. She scowled at me. “We can assume they’re not masters, otherwise they would have pulled Caleb’s brains out through his ears before we got here.”

  “Don’t be dense, demon. Conclave ranks aren’t a measurement of power, they’re awarded for skill and knowledge.” Tink shook her head. “That being said, you’re probably right and it’s just two pairs of adepts on the stronger side. Probably why they’re using both guns and magic.”

  “Can an adept control another person’s body?” I asked. “Not in the same sense as possession or suggestion, just forcing them to move.”

  She scowled again and Caleb frowned. “Like I said-“

  “Is it magic an adept is likely to know?”

  “It’s not hard to do,” she said. “Crude movements are easy enough, sure, but I wouldn’t expect an adept to be able to control someone else’s fine motor movements.”

  I nodded. “All right. There’s at least one high skill adept or a master out there. They took control of a civilian with a shotgun and made them take a potshot at me.”

  “Fuck. That’s not a good sign.” Tink paced back and forth. “Caleb, what happened here?”

  The angel had manifested his weapons and was leaning on the point of his sword. “We were preparing to move a group of civilians to a portal. We had two vans, enough to move the kids and the human parents who wanted to cross over with them. We walked out of the house and the mages volley fired at us. They weren’t trying to kill us. Their spells were just strong enough to wound us and kill humans.” The point of his sword dug into the floor. “Ezekiel put himself in the line of fire as I got the survivors back into the house. I wasn’t able to get him back in quickly enough.”

  “They shot at kids?” I asked.

  “They shot at everyone,” Caleb said quietly. “They left one of the kids injured in the middle of the yard just so he would stay out long enough for them to get him.”

  “Is this standard for the Conclave?” I asked. “Or just a couple sick fucks acting on their own?”

  Caleb stood up to his full height. “I couldn’t tell you. I’ve heard worse. I’ve heard better. I don’t know if they have rules of engagement or standard conventions regarding non-combatants, but they’ve violated ours. These mages killed innocents, and I intend to be their instrument of vengeance.”

  Tink and I exchanged looks. “So, now that we’re here, now what?” I asked.

  “Anna, track them down. I’ll go out and kill them. Zay, you stay here in case one tries to sneak in while I’m out there.” Caleb lifted his sword and turned to the window. “We’ll keep doing that until they’re all dead, or we are.”

  “I’m good with this,” I said. “Aside from us possibly dying, it’s a great plan. Can you do it, Tink?”

  She was already drawing a circle on the floor. “You’re going to have to bait them into using magic, Caleb. Demon, you’re going to have to cover me. I need to be able to use your ichor to overcome any wards they have up.”

  “Got it.” I held a hand out to her and let her draw some ichor. Caleb stood still while she worked. “Caleb. How are you holding up?”

  He looked over his shoulder at me. His dark eyes looked darker than ever, sunken and weary. “I’ve been better.” We were friends, but I wasn’t sure just how friendly he felt at this point. After my role in the Second Celestial War, distance had grown between us. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to do something to bridge the gap, but I couldn’t. Hallmark didn’t carry “sorry for the death of thousands” cards.

  Before I could say anything more, he turned back to the window and Tink looked up from her circle. “All set here,” she said. “Go fuck their shit up.”

  Caleb’s wings shot out from his back and he blew through the window in a single beat. We both chuckled. The angel was as subtle as a freight train. I moved toward the window and crouched so I could keep an eye on him without making myself a target. I caught a glimpse of him slowly circling over the house before a streak of light connected with him. “Spell,” I said.

  “No shit.” Tink keyed one of the runes around her circle and I saw an eruption of blue light from somewhere across the street. “I think he’ll figure the tracking out.”

  “He sure did.” Caleb dove like a hawk. Another streak of light shot toward him, but visibly deflected off his shield. He dipped out of sight behind a house and the blue light abruptly vanished. “Score one for the good guys.”

  “They’ll cover against this sort of spell now.” Tink keyed another rune from within her circle. “If they try another shot, it’ll either be amped up enough to kill him, or a distraction from something else.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “Set up a reactive spell to cause interference and resonance with the next spell cast nearby.”

  “And what exactly will a reactive spell do?”

  “It’ll take the next mage out of the fight for a minute or two.” She looked up at me. “Don’t try and cast anything, by the way. I can’t key it specifically.”

  Caleb flew back into sight and I tried to wave at him. He either didn’t see my feeble signal or didn’t care. “Can you signal him to come back in? There’s no reason to risk him being out there now, right?”

  “He’s not going to listen. He’s got a death wish.”

  The matter-of-fact way she said it made me cringe. “I’d rather him not die, all things being equal.”

  “Me either, but we’re not him.” She adjusted a rune and looked toward the window. “We haven’t lived long enough to see all the shit he’s been through. I’m surprised he’s as stable as he is.”

  “Well, he’s an angel, not a human, so his psychology is probably a little different from yours or mine.”

  “I know him better than you do,” she said. “He’s more like either of us than you think, demon. Don’t lump him in with all the other angels.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to stop lumping me in with all the other demons?”

  This time, when she frowned, she seemed confused. “Haven’t I already stopped doing that?”

  Before I could argue the point, she flew backwards, out of her circle and into the wall behind her. The magic circuit on the floor shattered. “Tink!” I shouted. Her spell should have countered anything they threw at us.

  She grunted and waved me off as I knelt at her side. “I’m ok. Just shaken.” She stood up, favoring her left leg and scowling at me. “They’re fucking good. We need to stop assuming they don’t have experience in a real fight like we do.”

  “We?” I asked.

  “Two of them cast spells at about the same time,” she said, ignoring my comment. “One of them ate the resonance from my circle. He won’t be casting anything for a few minutes. The other one hit me hard.”

&
nbsp; “You’re assuming there’s only one left,” I said. “We’ve been assuming there were only two pairs out there to begin with. What if there are more? What if there’s a master or two out there? What if they were baiting our reinforcements in so they could get more of us?”

  Tink’s eyes widened and she looked toward the window. “Caleb.”

  I turned to the window, pushed my wings out, and took to the air. I counted to three before rolling sideways and pushing myself backwards with a sweep of the wings. A streak of light flashed in front of my face. If they had a bit of my blood, ichor, or anything else, they could be much more accurate, not to mention it would give them a direct magic link to simply kill me instantly. Without a direct link, they’d have to work for it.

  Torching the kid’s house had been a very smart move in retrospect. I had to reach Caleb before they got lucky. He was still doing a circuit above me and didn’t seem to notice I was flying toward him. “Caleb!” I shouted as I slipped sideways in another evasive move. I felt warmth on the edge of my left wing as the streak of light narrowly missed.

  Their aim was getting better and my time was running out. I hissed in frustration and shot upwards, barreling around my axis of flight and surging well above Caleb’s altitude. The ground fell away below me. At this height, they’d have a hard time finding me to hit. Caleb continued his air patrol below me. I took a deep breath, tracked his methodical pattern, folded my wings, and dove.

  “Hey, dumbass!” I shouted and had the rare pleasure of seeing Caleb’s shocked face as I slammed into him from above. We fell out of the sky with all the aerodynamics of a pig. “Get inside,” I shouted in his ear. “We might be bait!”

  “Get off me!” Before we reached treetop level, he grabbed a hold of my arm and flung me away. I tumbled and tried to stabilize myself with a beat of my wings. I managed to blunt the impact of my crash, but my left wing snapped on impact, the pain searing through my left arm and side. My wings only existed when I pumped enough ichor to extend flesh and bone from my back, but they still attached to existing pieces of my body. I retracted the wings, reducing but not dismissing the pain.