by Bea Biddle
Karen ran through the doors into her apartment. She felt so much better after that walk. Colin was still at work. Good, no need to explain where she had been. If he bothered asking that was. Locking the door behind her she stripped out of her clothes immediately. The cold air on her skin felt amazing, just what she needed. Lumbering to the bathroom she looked in the mirror. She instantly wished she hadn't, looking back at her was a mess, dark circles under her eyes, puffy red cheeks, pillow creases on her face, tangled hair in desperate need of a brush. No wonder Cef had had that horrible expression of disgust on his face when he had seen her.
Cef. She ground her teeth when he popped into her mind, on the way home she had blocked out the encounter, but now there was no denying his presence in her brain. She hadn't meant to yell at him, she was just surprised to see him, the words fell out on their own. After all this time of wishing she would run into him, why did he have to show up when she looked like that? She had wanted to talk to him, preferably a lot more calmly, but she had wanted to look pretty and amazing when doing it. Not like she had just tumbled out of bed. Or a coffin.
She rested her forehead against the mirror with a groan, watching it fog over with her breath. What must Cef think? She slept in Sylvester's fucking coffin. Did he think they had sex? Would he care? Why the hell would he care? she hissed at herself, Don't flatter yourself, he wouldn't care at all. She turned on the shower. She still hadn't fixed the shower curtain and the reminder of why it was broken gave her another damn wave of guilt. So much guilt lately. She groaned.
The front door opened then slammed shut, instantly giving her something else to worry about. "Karen, are you home?"
Colin. She couldn't face Colin. Not now. She jumped into the shower even though the water hadn't turned warm yet. She swallowed the shriek that got caught in her throat. "In the shower," she answered him halfheartedly.
"Mind if I join you?" Colin asked when he walked into the bathroom.
Oh no, no no no, Karen though, I'll vomit if he touches me. The very thought of his hands on her body made her feel physically sick. She was too hungover for physical contact, and the last thing she wanted him to see was the state she was in. With her back to him, she shook her head. "I'm just- Colin, I need to just get done, get dressed and go, I'm late as it is." She was lying, if she was lucky he wouldn't notice.
Colin snaked his arm into the shower anyway and started rubbing her back. "Come on Kare-bear, just a little quickie," he purred. ”I'm home early for once.”
Karen pressed herself against the cold wall, trying to get away from him. "Colin no, I really just need to go." Why does he choose now to get intimate? Karen growled to herself, He's had all fucking week, why now?
"Karen, babe," he purred with a chuckle as he stripped down quickly. He then got in anyway and pressed himself up against her. "It's only a diner, you can be late. It won't take me long, I promise. Just let me put it in, you always end up liking it once it's in."
"Fuck, Colin, you're such a pig sometimes," Karen blurted out and pushed him off her. "Just get out, please."
Colin snorted in surprise. ”I'm a pig now?” he demanded, turning from her with an angry grunt. He staggered out of the shower, whipping a towel around himself, stomping into the kitchen. ”You're a fucking diner waitress, and suddenly you think you're better than me?” he yelled.
"Better than-? No, I just- I just want to shower alone," Karen mumbled, letting her head fall against the tiled wall in defeat.
"Have a fucking shower then," he yelled, "I don't want to fuck you anyway."
Karen had no clue what to respond to that, she was in complete shock. His temper had never risen that fast, that was ridiculously out of character for him. The bedroom door slammed shut after him. And Karen was left alone, in the running water, wondering what the hell just happened.
Nine.
Karen didn't see Colin the next couple of days. He was up and gone before she came home in the morning and didn't come home before she had to leave in the evenings. She didn't even see him in passing anymore. It was hard to admit it to herself, but a part of her didn't miss him the least. No, not a part of her, most of her preferred it this way. She hated that she felt that. She really would have to have that talk with him at some point, this couldn't continue.
Stumbling to work that evening, Karen tucked her jacket closer around her, trying to guard off the cold. Winter was coming, the sharp chill in the air was unmistakable. It was raining when she had left the apartment, but only lightly. Unfortunately, it had picked up in strength once she was halfway and she was soaked through. The people walking past her, somewhat safe under their umbrellas and raincoats, barely noticed her. She started running as the sky lit up and the first crack of thunder rolled overhead. Great. Just what she needed.
The familiar bell rang out when she burst through the diner door. She was beginning to love that sound. Closing the door after herself, she took a deep breath and fought the urge to shake the water off her like a dog.
"You look like a drowned rat," Sylvester greeted her.
Karen huffed out a short laugh and succumbed to shaking her head, wet hair slapped her in the face. She felt very much like a drowned rat. "Good evening to you, too." She wiped her eyes one last time, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. Then she saw the state of the diner, and her smile faded. It was in ruins. Destroyed. Torn apart completely. Sylvester stood in the middle of the room, casually sipping on his glass of blood. He looked misplaced, his impeccable appearance surrounded by pure and utter wreckage. All furniture had been broken and thrown around, bits and pieces were scattered on the floor, legs broken, tables cracked, utensils and plates were everywhere, glasses and jugs and serving trays, everything smashed into shards. The light flickered, the lamps had been knocked around.
Karen walked into the mess, pushing a broken glass away with her foot. She could see into the kitchen, the doors were torn off the hinges. Pete's normally tidy place had been turned upside down, pots and pans scattered across the floor, cupboards and drawers wrecked, even the huge beast of a stove, that was hardly ever used, had been torn from the wall, leaving wires and sockets buzzing and spluttering with electricity. And what was worse, there was meat dumped everywhere, spoiled, rotting meat and broken bottles of blood. The stench made Karen want to gag.
"Pete's not here," Sylvester said when he saw her eying the destroyed kitchen, "He's off sulking somewhere, he doesn't like it when anyone touches his kitchen." He stepped up beside her, looking through the same doors. "They were thorough, not a room in this place untouched. My coffin has been turned to kindling." He ran a hand through his silvery blonde hair and sighed as he shook his head, making his way back to what was left of the counter.
"What the fuck happened?" Karen finally managed to get some words out.
Sylvester shrugged as he refilled his glass. "I had-" He turned to her and leaned on the surface behind him, waving it off as if it was obvious. "-sleeping arrangements elsewhere."
"Of course, you had," Karen mumbled. She picked up one of the stools from the floor, the padding had been shredded, the legs bent, but it was probably the sturdiest thing left. She dusted it off and sat down with a sigh, eying the mess in front of her. "What do we do now?"
"We wait.”
"For what?"
"What in the name of the Great Goddess happened in here!?" Alyssa shrieked before she had even fully materialized in the middle of the room. Karen jerked with the shock of her arrival, she really had to get used to that. Alyssa marched through the mess, forcing it out of the way before her, and walked into her office. Craning her neck from her position on the stool, Karen could see that Alyssa's office was also in a state of destruction. Alyssa came out, her normally pleasant smiling face screwed up in immense anger. Karen barely recognized her, she seemed older, lines framing her mouth and her eyes dark and threatening. Alyssa stared both Sylvester and Karen down. Karen was sure she saw fire flicker in her eyes for a moment, she was expecting her to yell at th
em, but instead, she turned and marched down the basement.
Sylvester followed, Karen didn't want to but scurried behind him anyway. He hadn't been kidding about the bottles. Pieces of broken glass everywhere and the iron smell of blood filled her nostrils. Blood covered everything, the hard, stone floor had been replaced with a pool of crimson that had splattered up the bare walls. It looked as though someone had slaughtered a herd of elephants.
"I'm going to call for Cef," Alyssa growled, her voice strained, screechy with fury.
Karen took a quick look into Sylvester's chamber. Everything broken, ruined, and indeed, his coffin in pieces. She felt most sorry for Sylvester, she couldn't imagine someone doing this to her home. But he didn't seem to be too bothered, he was his usual self, indifferent and apathetic to the situation. She didn't understand him at all and began to feel the prickle of irritation on the back of her neck.
With hands on her hips, Alyssa surveyed the damage. "Do you know how much money I am going to lose replacing all this food?" she snorted. Talking more to herself than anyone else. "This is just-" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but it didn't work. "This is just the most unbelievable bullshit!" Her face suddenly changed into a look of horror and she quickly ran to the other end of the cellar. Her shoes splattering and squelching through the pool of sticky, drying blood as she made it to the big black door in the corner. Only it wasn't there, the door was on the floor. Alyssa trampled over it and disappeared into the darkness of the room.
This was the room with the rift, Karen knew that. She bit her lip. She had been curious about that room but never dared enter, she barely had enough guts to approach it now that it was wide open. But when Sylvester, who appeared to have no qualms about it, made his way to the door, she hurried along after him, her feet sticking to the floor with every step. Sylvester, of course, waltzed through as if he owned it, so Karen followed suit.
The room was much larger than she had imagined. The same old bare brick walls as the rest of the basement. Only this was an empty room, not lit by candles or lamps or anything. Instead, a dull gray light filtered up from what Karen had originally thought was a carpet, she only realized it wasn't when it moved and rippled like water once Alyssa stepped closer. It made no sound, but Karen could feel it, feel the movements on her skin as the rippling continued. The rift.
She wasn't completely sure what she had expected, maybe a large gaping doorway into blackness, complete with stone Demon statues, or perhaps a large, flashing portal on the wall with lightning and bright lights. She had had weeks to imagine up all sorts of rift possibilities but never had she imagined this kind of mist covered hole in the ground, not a pool of swirling, illuminating, gray fog.
Alyssa swore under her breath. "They were in here, but they haven't attempted to reopen it. Perhaps not Demons?"
Behind Karen, Cef appeared in the hole that used to be a door. "You called for me," he said, a statement, not a question. Karen hadn't seen Alyssa call for him, but she had learned not to ask questions anymore. He walked through, eying up the large gray pool. "Demons," he stated when Alyssa gave him a questioning look. "The place is crawling with their stench. They didn't take much interest in this though." He motioned to the rift before them.
"If they are not interested in the rift, then what are they here for?" Sylvester asked.
"The stones," Cef said.
"Damn Demons. How did they know to look here? How did they know about this place?" Alyssa hissed and stormed out. The door creaked under her as her heels pounded across it.
Karen had to get a better look. She stepped closer to the shimmering gray mist and looked down. Her reflection stared back at her but contorted like a mirror at a funhouse. She fought the urge to make a face but discreetly stuck out her tongue. The reflection followed suit, only a few seconds later. That surprised her, she started moving her arms, bending her waist. But still, the reflection only followed after a few moments. She became so caught up in the reflection she didn't notice Cef walking up behind her. His hot breath on her cold, still wet, neck gave her such a shock that she lost her footing and almost slipped. Her foot grazed the rippling water-like substance before Cef's arms had wrapped themselves around her waist, keeping her upright. The rift changed color where she touched it, quickly spreading, a fierce red now illuminated the room.
"Careful." Cef craned his neck downwards for his mouth to be level with her ear, his low voice made a warmth spread on her skin. Her back pressed into him, he made no move to unwrap his arms and Karen almost didn't want him to. "There's no going back if you fall in," he continued.
Karen swallowed before she could answer, her throat was suddenly very dry. "One could argue I wouldn't be falling if you hadn't scared me."
Cef's arms were still in place, still not moving. But she could feel the muscle tense. "You don't play around the rift, it's dangerous," he barked and spun her around, away from the rift, releasing her. "The Witches could only seal this side of the rift, stopping anyone from coming through from the other side. But you could still go through. You don't want to end up in Hell, do you?"
She needed a moment to compose herself. Scratched her neck and coughed. "I wasn't playing," she tried defending herself. But Cef obviously didn't care about what she had to say, he had already followed Alyssa and Sylvester out of the room. With a last look at the pulsating rift, its color slowly returning to the dull gray, she ran after the others.
Back up in the diner, they found Zac, standing with his head in his hands, and looked at the mess in despair. When he saw them coming, he whipped his hair out of his face and fixated on Alyssa's stern face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he quickly apologized, "I should have been here, I'm so sorry."
Alyssa softened a little and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Zac," she exasperated, "It wasn't you who should have been here." She glared Sylvester.
Sylvester, who was busy refilling his glass once more with his back to her, felt the daggers, but being Sylvester, he shrugged them off before taking a large gulp. He then turned around gracefully, leaning on the counter again. "I have a life outside this place, as well," he explained, "I am not your watchdog. I manage the diner when open, not when closed."
"Yeah, yeah," Alyssa mumbled and rolled her eyes. She had calmed down and was now straightening out her hair, pinning it up on top of her head and dusting off her trench coat.
Karen shifted uncomfortably, her wet shoes squelched when she moved, and her jeans clung to her legs making moving around slightly awkward. "Should I- should I start cleaning up?" she asked, picking up a broken table leg. She had no clue where to start, or even if she could do anything with this mess.
"Oh dear you," Alyssa chuckled and walked over to Karen. She took the leg out of her hand and threw it over her shoulder. She smiled down at Karen while looking her up and down. "Let me just fix that for you." She pressed her hand onto Karen's chest. Her wide smile never fading. Karen almost pushed the hand away, it was hot and pulsated strangely, so hot Karen felt it spread all over her body. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable, like mini electric shocks washing over her skin. It was over quickly, and Alyssa lifted her hand. "Is that better?" she asked.
Karen didn't know what she meant at first, but then she moved her arms. Her shirt was dry. Her jeans were dry. Everything was dry. Even her dumb hair, that she hadn't been able to work into a single hairstyle that evening, was in a neat ponytail. She breathed out, wanting to laugh but couldn't. "That was so cool!” she exclaimed instead, lifting her arms around, patting down her shirt and jeans, reveling in the nice fresh-out-of-the-dryer-feel. ”Fuck,” she breathed, in complete awe.
"I'm glad you like it. Now!" Alyssa turned on her heel. Facing the diner, she rolled up her sleeves and sighed. "I'll take care of this."
Sylvester's cold hand took hold of Karen and pulled her back, pressing her up against the wall. "You need to step back, Karen," he informed her and draped his arm around her shoulder, leaning back on the wall as if he was in fo
r a performance.
He was. Alyssa walked into the middle of the diner, around her furniture was assembling itself, un-breaking the legs, un-cracking the tabletops. Karen pressed herself against Sylvester, the noise was almost unbearable. Chairs scraped against the floor, pots and pans in the kitchen banged together, everything screeched and hammered and slammed. Karen had to put her fingers in her ears and shut her eyes tightly to be able to stand it. And then it was over. Just as quickly as it had begun. And when Karen opened her eyes, the same old diner greeted her. She untangled herself from Sylvester and stepped into the now spotless place.
"That was amazing," she whispered.
"Yes, I do have some tricks up my sleeve." Alyssa nodded at her own handiwork.
"So the meat? The bottles?" Karen asked.
"Yes, well. Those will have to be thrown out and replaced. The meat is spoiled, the blood has been spilled. Only The Witches have the power to influence biological things," Alyssa explained wryly, and added, "Annoyingly. That'll cost me. Cef? Why are Demons tearing apart my diner? I thought you were on top of this situation?"
Cef huffed as he sat down at the counter. "I've been unlucky," he growled. His wet coat dragged on the floor, Alyssa made a move towards him, but he waved her away and shook her head. "No magic, Alyssa." She shrugged at him. He sighed and continued, "I keep catching small traces of them here and there, lingering Demon scent, but I don't know where they are hiding. They'll be waiting for their numbers to increase before revealing themselves. I don't like Demons in my city."
"Your city?" Alyssa scoffed. "I don't like them in my diner.”
Cef grunted in agreement. His fingers massaging his forehead while he sat there in deep thought, mulling it over. Karen followed every stroke with her eyes, unwillingly she was transported back to the night in his apartment. Those fingers had traced over her skin, scorching their way up her arm. His rough fingertips brushed along his black eyebrows. The left one with the scar running through was her favorite. She realized she probably shouldn't have a favorite eyebrow on a man that wasn't her boyfriend, but it was so sharp and dominant and for some reason added a delicious roughness to his sculpted face. His dark eyes landed on her and for a second her breath got caught in her throat. He hadn't shaved since that night in his apartment and his stubble was now a beard. She never liked beards, she had always thought them unhygienic and annoying, something only old men had. But this man, this Demon, sitting there with his dreads tied back in a loose bun and his horns shining in the lamplight, and his wide shoulders, and his deep tan skin, he just pulled it off incredibly well. Karen would even go so far as to say the beard made him just that much more beautiful. In a rugged, warrior kind of way. The man should have been a fucking statue. How she hated the way he was able to take everything she usually found unattractive and then proved just how wrong she had been for ever thinking that. Idiot, she mentally sneered at him, Stupid, beautiful idiot.