*****
My warning buzz went ballistic. I froze.
“Who is this child?” she asked.
Her eyes darted to Perry still hovering by the television. For seconds I said nothing. She sat in silence.
“I’m Perry Chesterfield,” the boy said.
“Hello, Perry,” she replied, “Why are you with this man?”
“I’m being escorted to the Department of Magic.”
“I see. Why?”
“I’m not sure.”
Her eyes moved back to me. “Why, Mister Clarence?”
I swallowed. My demon was gone.
“The Crowd Surfing Spell,” I replied, standing, “The child was used to spread it. At a gathering. He is to be interrogated.”
“Indeed.”
The room fell back into silence. I stared at her, noting again the scruffy clothing and dishevelled appearance. Her demon, on the other hand, remained dressed in the expensive fur coat and sequined dress of the wealthy. Its eyes remained fixed on mine. A permanent smile turned up its lips.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“I came to talk,” she responded.
“What do you want to talk about? Are we going to fight?”
“Is Mister Kingston here?”
“No. He’s…” I hesitated. Lying on a sidewalk with a mind of chaos. “Not here.”
“Then we are not going to fight.”
“Good.”
Her eyes fell to the floor. “You are losing control of your demon. It is a dire situation.”
“I know. So are you.”
“You should be seeking help.”
“I know. So should you.”
A pause. She cleared her throat. Nearby a TV announcer was rattling on about a ‘situation of crisis in the city’. I stepped into the living room and sat across from her. The living room table was between us.
“You’re a good man,” she said at length.
I frowned. “What?”
“You’re a good man, Jet Clarence. I believe it. You want to do what you think is right. Isn’t that true?”
The words struck me like an open hand. Images flew at me; a skeletal head snapping to the side, blood ejecting from behind its ear. Linda Hastings; her eyes staring into nothing as she cleaned silverware. My mother; smiling at me as a meat cleaver descended towards my wrists. Benny; his eyes blazing as he marched forward, the Brent-demon mimicking his actions beside him.
“I’m not sure,” I responded.
“I believe you do.”
“I’m so sorry, Selena.” The words leapt eagerly from my mouth. A flutter blossomed in my stomach. “I’m so sorry. It’s not what we wanted to happen. It’s not what we planned. It just… the chain was set into motion. They needed someone to talk to fall. Why were you there? Why were you at the hotel? I’m sorry.”
“I know you are, Mister Clarence,” she replied evenly.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You had no choice?” Her face hardened. “You have no choice?”
I opened my mouth. Words did not emerge. I closed it again.
“You know you have a choice. And you continue to make it. Daily.”
Envision, reach out, imprint.
“There was nothing I could do,” I said, “Benny, he organised…”
“This is not about Mister Kingston,” she snapped, “this is about you!”
“What do you want from me?!”
“I want you to do what’s right!”
“What's right?!” My voice rose to a scream. The flame exploded. “When does ‘right’ ever come into it?! When does ‘right’ ever matter?! In this place! In this world!”
“Look at yourself, Jet.” Her voice was again level. “Look at the uniform you are wearing. Look at what you’ve become. Is that what the world needs? A man with authority who is so riddled and torn with vengeful demons he cannot reach out and take a bottle of painkillers?”
The words calmed the flame. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to go to a Magical Detention Centre.”
“You want me to go to a Magical Detention Centre,” I whispered, “Is that what you want for me?”
“Do you deserve it?’
“I…” My body was filled with ice water. Between us and beside us the TV murmured its mechanical voice. Light danced on Perry’s face. He paid us no attention. “Yes.”
“Indeed,” she confirmed.
“But is that what you want?” I breathed. “Is that what you want?”
Her demon crooned sorrowfully. A sound of regret and shame. The first signs of emotion appeared on Selena’s face. Doubt.
“I want the law to be followed,” she said. A tongue darted out to moisten lips. “And I want to be cleared of crimes I did not commit.”
“Do you want me to go away, Selena?”
She hesitated. Her eyebrows knitted together. “Is that what you want for me, Jet?”
“No. I want this to be gone. I want this all to be like it never was. I want it to be like it was before.”
Her face transformed. And suddenly a young woman was sitting before me, a tired, tortured young woman. Who did not know where one part of her ended and another started. The demon crooned again.
“So do I,” she said.
My heart thumped. I was burning in a sea of flutters that swore they would never be extinguished. I smiled. From behind came the sounds of approaching footsteps beyond the front door. And for a second I was sure it was Benny.
“Oh no. It’s the Enforcers.”
As her eyes widened the front door opened. Three Enforcers stepped inside.
“Jet Clarence…?”
They saw her.
“Selena Stephania,” one of the men gasped.
And then the demon was shrieking. A bolt was fired and deflected, bursting through the windows and out into the world. Curtains twisted into streamers. Selena sprang to her feet and disappeared behind a wall.
“Get her!” one of the Enforcers shouted.
They moved into action. I watched them and did nothing. Part of me was still smiling. Gloria went streaking forward. She advanced across the room in a blur, dodging a second bolt and using the wall as a springboard. Clawed hands came down and one of the Enforcers developed glistening red lines across his face. He screamed. The other two men scattered, backing away and firing off more frantic bolts. But there was another blurred movement, another scream, and then it had the last man pinned to the ground. It slashed repeatedly at his face.
“Clarence, help!” he shrieked.
I moved to assist. Spirit was drawn up and a bolt smashed square into the back of its head. The dull THUMP reverberated across the apartment. The creature went lurching forward, stumbling into a wall where its body smashed plaster into a crater. A cloud of dust came fluttering down from the ceiling. The creature turned on me, shrieking in betrayal.
“Stay away from me, Gloria.”
It was not intimidated. The blur came directly at me and I attempted to dodge. But before my brain registered the movement the creature was knocking my legs out with one hand and slamming my body into the ground with the other. My chest flared up as I hit the ground.
“Mami! Déjalo en paz! Deja de hacer eso!” I heard Selena yell.
Gloria ignored her and perched over me, teeth bared. My head vibrated with the warning buzz. But then the demon’s snarl faded and was again replaced by a smile. It purred, leaned in, and before I could resist it was kissing me.
“Mami! Por el amor de dios, que estás haciendo?!”
The creature was pulled staggering backwards and there came a loud SMACK as Selena delivered a slap. It squawked at her in annoyance. The two headed for the door. But before exiting Selena gave me a final look. She stood over me with a parade of emotions playing across her face.
“Selena…” I said.
“Goodbye, Jet,” she replied, tongue darting out over her lips. Then she vanished out of the door. The demon lingered a
moment then followed behind her.
All that remained was the mutter of the television and groan of defeated Enforcers. I stood, holding my side, and was not surprised to see Perry still in front of the TV. He had not moved an inch.
“Enjoying the TV?” I asked him.
“No.”
Balance - Book 2 Page 63