by N. P. Martin
"Hello, Bradley," Jennifer said. "Yes, it’s me."
Bradley stepped bent his knee to bow. The other three guards behind him swiftly bent the knee as well. "Welcome home, Princess."
Jennifer seemed uncomfortable as she shifted her gaze away from the guards. She clearly wasn’t used to such devoted loyalty after thirty years away. "I’m here to see my mother," she said, after first clearing her throat slightly nervously.
"Yes," Bradley said. "She’s expecting you. This way."
I went to walk behind Jennifer, but Bradley stood in my way, projecting his imposing demeanor once more. "Not you, Creed," he growled.
"He’s with me," Jennifer said. "Step aside, Bradley."
The vamp held my gaze for a moment as if he was going to refuse Jennifer’s order, but then he stood aside.
"Thanks, Bradley," I said cheerfully as I smiled at him.
One of the other guards held the door open for us. When we were in the foyer, Jennifer dismissed Bradley, saying she could take it from here.
"But, Miss—"
"That’s an order, Bradley," Jennifer said holding his gaze.
Bradley soon relented, throwing me a dirty look as he went back outside.
"Well," I said. "It didn’t take you long to find your authority again."
Jennifer smiled. "Old habits."
We took the elevator up to the penthouse suite and walked down the carpeted hallway to the front door. Or at least, I did. Jennifer stopped a few feet back from the door. "What is it?" I asked turning back.
Jennifer let out a shuttering breath. "I don’t know if I can do this." She shook her head as she shifted her weight back and forth.
I went and laid my hands on her shoulders. "I’m here with you," I told her. "You’ll be fine. And just to remind you, you’re under no obligation here. You can walk away at any time. It’s not going to be like before, trust me."
She nodded. "I hope you’re right, Creed. If you’re not, I’m gone."
Jennifer walked to the carved wooden door and knocked it twice. Her mother would already be alerted to the fact that we had arrived, of course. But it wasn’t like Angela was going to be waiting for us by the door like some soccer mom waiting for their kid to come home from summer camp. No, she would be inside, sitting patiently, playing things the only way she knew how, which was cool.
I was about to place a friendly hand on Jennifer’s shoulder, but as soon as I raised my arm I lost control of it, and I suddenly felt my hand clamp over one of her sizable breasts instead. Before Jennifer could even register her shock, my other hand grabbed her other breast so that I was now squeezing and kneading both of them at the same time. "Oh shit, I’m—"
My mouth stopped working as I lost control of my entire body.
"Creed!" Jennifer said. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Max!" I shouted telepathically, since I couldn’t speak anymore. "What the fuck are you doing?"
Max didn’t answer me. Instead, he said to Jennifer in my voice, "Your tits are so firm and lovely," as he continued to squeeze them like stress balls. Then to make matters worse, Max pressed his—my!—groin against Jennifer’s ass, and started grinding against her. "Oh yeah, that ass is amazing too. Oh yeah…"
The door opened then, and Angela Crow was standing there. Her delight at seeing her daughter again lasted only a second as she took in what was happening.
If I had control of my body, the blood would have drained from my face. Max continued to grind harder against Jennifer’s ass, as he kept my hands firmly on her breasts. "I want to fuck your daughter until she squeeeeeals, Angela…"
"Oh fuck," I moaned trapped within myself. "You didn’t just say that, you fucking—"
Jennifer twisted and pushed me away, just as Max gave up control of my body. "What is—" Jennifer started to say, but then stopped when she must have realized it wasn’t me groping her.
Able to use my arms again, I held them out in front of me. "I’m sorry, that wasn’t me, that was the demon…"
Jennifer shook her head. "That was really fucking weird, Creed."
"You’re telling me?" I said, a slight laugh escaping me, which I cut short immediately when I remembered Angela was still standing there. "Angela, I’m…" I trailed off when I realized Angela wasn’t listening. Her focus was on her daughter, which I guess was a good thing for me.
"Jennifer?" Angela said in just about the tenderest voice I’ve ever heard her use.
Jennifer turned around to face her. "Mother," she said with much less affection.
Angela continued to look stunned for a moment, before stepping forward and hugging her daughter, gingerly at first, and then tight. Jennifer went slightly stiff as her mother pulled her in, but after a moment she put her arms around her and held on.
At that point, I decided it was time to make my exit. There was no need for me to be there, and besides that, I didn’t think Angela wanted me there.
Even so, as I went to walk away, Angela caught my eye and nodded her thanks. I nodded back and started walking down the hallway. "Max, you fucking cunt, what the fuck was that stunt about?"
Max’s laughter echoed inside my skull. "Just amusing myself," he said.
"You’re lucky Angela didn’t eviscerate me on the spot."
"Now that would have been funny."
"Yeah," I said. "Fucking hilarious."
15
Spitting Blood
Before I made arrangements to travel to the Realm of the Dead, I knew I had to see Leona first. I couldn’t just bugger off to some place I might never come back from without seeing her. I called her and got her to meet me at a bar downtown that fitted the description of my usual haunts, which is to say the bar—called McGuigans—was dark inside, and full of dodgy looking characters. Leona was already there waiting on me as I walked in. "No funny stuff," I said to Max. "Or I swear I’ll banish myself to the Abyss, and you along with me. Even demons don’t escape the Abyss."
"You would never," Max said, slightly shocked that I would even suggest such a terrible thing.
"Try me, asshole."
A whiskey awaited me on the table as I sat down, a much needed one, I have to say.
"How was Babylon?" Leona asked. "Did you find who you were looking for?"
"I did," I said as I downed the whiskey in one, and then signaled to a blonde waitress for another.
"That’s good. I haven’t long finished cleaning up the mess you left behind."
"The mess?" Then it hit me. "Oh yeah, the Beast."
"That fucking thing killed over a dozen people before we could bring it down," Leona said, her blue eyes full of anger.
Max tittered to himself.
"That wasn’t me as you know," I said.
She shook her head and turned away as she drank her orange juice.
"Looks like someone is in the bad books," Max said.
"No thanks to you."
The waitress arrived with my drink. When I asked Leona if she wanted another orange juice, she shook her head, and the waitress left.
Neither of us spoke for another minute, and I wasn’t sure exactly why. Leona looked seriously put out, and I didn’t think it was all down to the Beast and the death and destruction it caused. "What’s wrong?" I asked her eventually.
When she finally looked at me, her eyes seemed tearful, which wasn’t like Leona. She was usually better at keeping her emotions in check. "Am I ever going to see you again, Creed?"
It wasn’t a question I was expecting, to tell the truth. "What? Of—"
"Don’t say of course, Creed. Just don’t."
I frowned at her. "What’s wrong, Leona?"
"I think she’s sad, Creed," Max said in a ridiculous voice. "Whatever will she do without you?" He laughed then, the bastard.
"I did some research on this Realm of the Dead place you’re going to," Leona said. "From what I’ve read, its a one way trip. Once a soul enters into that realm, they automatically get processed. So your soul could end up in the Underworld
as easily as the Celestial Heavens. Or it could get trapped in the Realm of the Dead forever."
Inwardly, I sighed at the fact that, since moving in, Leona now had full access to my libraries. "Technically, that is true," I said, trying not to sound too concerned. "But you’re forgetting I’m a sorcerer. It’s my job to find ways around these things."
"And have you?"
"Of course."
Leona’s eyes narrowed. "You forget I used to be an interrogator. I know when people are lying, and you’re lying. You get a twitch around your eyes when you lie."
"Do I?"
"Yes."
I laughed then, trying to lighten the mood. "Look, you need to trust me on this. I’ll make it back safely."
Leona sighed and shook her head. "Is it going to be like this for the rest of our lives? Always living on the edge, tempting fate, poking monsters?"
I laughed again. "Poking monsters."
"You know what I mean. Sooner or later, one of us is going to come to a horrible end."
"That never bothered you before, being a soldier and all. Warriors are supposed to accept death as an inevitability."
"I know." She shook her head. "But in the army, I had no emotional ties."
"You didn’t have me, you mean?" I said smiling.
"You don’t have to be so smug about it, but yeah. Emotional ties complicate things."
"That they do, but the alternative is worse, I think. Going through life with no one. That’s no way to live. Don’t you agree?"
"I guess."
"You guess?"
"I mean yes, I agree. I’m not as sensitive to these things as you are, Creed."
"You saying I’m a wet blanket?"
She chuckled. "You are."
I shook my head and drew back in mock offense. "It’s not a weakness to have a heart, you know."
"I know," she said. "Truth is, I admire the way you handle your feelings. You don’t run from them."
"I wouldn’t say that."
"You’re about to risk your soul just so you can see your family again. How is that running from your feelings?"
"There’s more to it than that," I told her, before draining the whiskey left in my glass. "Before, I had a choice. Now, I don’t. Not only has my dark passenger put the screws on me, but I also have a feeling my family are in trouble somehow. They need my help. It’s the least I can do."
"Their deaths were not your fault," Leona pointed out. "You’re under no obligation."
"I know that, but I still feel responsible somehow. Maybe it’s just guilt over the fact that I lived and they didn’t." I shrugged and shook my head. "Whatever the case, there’s no getting out of the situation now, even if I wanted to. Max would only kill me and steal my soul anyway, isn’t that right, Max?"
I felt Max take over as he focused on Leona, who drew back away from him when she realized it wasn’t me anymore. "You better believe it, baby," he sneered at her.
Leona shook her head in disgust, refusing even to look Max in the eye. "I’m not talking to you, asshole," she said.
Max laughed to himself. "Playing hard to get. I like it." He reached out and tried to stroke her face. Leona’s reaction was to grab his wrist and twist hard as she brought her other forearm down on his elbow joint, driving Max’s face down onto the table.
"Fuck’s sake, Max!" I shouted helplessly from within. "Piss off now!"
Max started laughing. "Oh, the fun we could have," he said to Leona.
"Max, seriously," I said. "She’ll break my damn arm."
Max relinquished control then, his presence drawing back as he laughed to himself.
"I’m back, Leona," I said. "You can let go now."
"How do I know it’s you?" she asked.
My face was planted flat against the table, making it difficult to speak. "Do I need to bring up the deep sea diving again?"
Leona sniggered, but still kept the lock on for another painful moment before finally letting go. As she did so, the bar owner approached the table. "Everything all right here?" he asked, obviously used to such incidents.
"Fine," I told him as I rubbed my elbow. "Just a misunderstanding."
The bar owner looked at Leona, who nodded at him, which must have been good enough for the bar owner because he walked away.
"That thing better be gone by the time you get back," Leona said, now sitting slightly further away than before. "It fucking creeps me out."
"It creeps you out? Try having it inside you."
She shuttered. "No thanks."
"Max and I have an understanding. Once he gets what he wants, he’s gone. Right, Max?"
"Oh, of course," Max said within me. "Absolutely."
"I’m not really feeling the trust here, Max."
"I don’t really care. I’m under no obligation to make you feel safe and secure, Creed. Quite the opposite, in fact."
I sighed. "Are you saying you will renege on our deal?"
"It was never a deal, Creed. It’s sweet that you thought that, though."
I noticed Leona staring at me then, a slight look of disdain on her face. "You’re talking to it now, aren’t you?"
"Just straightening some things out, that’s all. It can wait."
Leona drank the rest of her orange juice and set the glass on the table. "I gotta go anyway."
I couldn’t hide my disappointment. "You’re going? Where?"
"I have two more cases to handle."
"Really? You seem to be getting into the swing of things."
She shrugged. "As long as I stay busy, that’s all that matters."
When she stood up, I stood up along with her, moving around the table so I could put my arms around her.
"I’ll be back," I told her as I stared into her eyes. "I could never leave you alone."
When we kissed, it felt as if it was the last time we would ever do so. After we’d finished, Leona said, "You better not."
As I went to step away from her, I felt a sudden pain in my belly, as if I’d just been stabbed with a rusty knife. The pain was so intense that I cried out, doubling over as I fell to my knees while clutching my abdomen.
"Creed!" Leona said as she held me up, preventing me from falling onto the floor. "What’s wrong?"
"I…don’t know," I gasped.
I coughed, and blood sprayed from my mouth onto the floor.
"Jesus!" Leona said.
As the coughing continued, more blood came from my mouth. The pain grew so intense that I thought I was going to die right there.
But a few seconds later, the pain died down to a dull ache, and I finally stopped coughing. "Fuck me," I said wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "That fucking hurt."
"What did?" Leona asked. "What’s wrong, Creed?"
Everyone in the bar was looking over at us, and I held a hand up to them. "It’s okay," I said. "Just a coughing fit."
Once I said that, most people went back to what they were doing, no longer interested in the crazy coughing man.
"Are you sick or something, Creed?" Leona asked.
"Not as far as I know."
"Then what? You were coughing up blood, for fuck’s sake."
"I think I can answer that," Max piped up within me. "Remember I told you that human bodies struggled to contain my spirit? Well, your body is struggling, Creed."
I shook my head. "It’s fucking Max," I told Leona. "He’s…slowly killing me."
Leona stood with her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Your situation can’t get any worse, can it?"
"It’s okay," I said still holding my stomach. "I’ll be leaving my body behind when I go to the Realm of the Dead, so Max won’t be in it anymore."
"No," Max said. "I’ll just be merged with your soul instead." He laughed. "The fun will continue."
Inwardly, I sighed. "I can’t wait."
16
A Little Appreciation
I said goodbye to Leona outside the pub as she got into my battered Cadillac. She gave me a final look of pl
aintive concern before driving off, leaving me to stand on the sidewalk in the cold dark, feeling sorry for myself as Max thought it funny to chide me for being such a soppy bastard when it came to Leona. I can’t tell you just how annoying it is to have the voice of another continually chattering and making snide remarks inside your head. It’s like a radio you can’t turn off. Even when Max wasn’t speaking to me directly, he was always making some comment or other about the people I crossed paths with, or the city itself. He even provided running commentaries on the memories he pulled from the depths of my mind, reminding me of those annoying chatterboxes on Youtube who comment on video games as they play them. The bastard never stopped, which I was sure was part of his plan to drive me insane, if my body didn’t fall apart under the pressure beforehand that is. I still had the acrid taste of blood in my mouth, and it felt like a mild acid solution was slowly burning its way through the lining of my stomach.
"Shut up, Max," I said wearily as I began to walk down the street. "Just shut up."
Max ignored me as he carried on commenting on a memory I had of my final confrontation with my father. "This is quite the showdown," Max said. "The only thing missing here is the popcorn."
I sighed as I turned the corner and carried on walking down the next street as a light rain began to fall. Pulling the collar of my trench coat tighter around my neck, I shoved my hands into my coat pockets as the rain got heavier. "When it rains it pours," I muttered to myself.
"What?" Max said distractedly. "I didn’t hear you there. I’m just at the part where your father throws your dog at you. It’s fucking hilarious actually. You take quite the battering, don’t you, Creed? But you still keep coming back from it."