by YD La Mar
It is a peculiar feeling, but not an unpleasant one. I move my mouth against hers once more for a closer kiss and hear her gasp. What? What is happening?
Her eyes blaze with internal fire as she pulls back and stares into my eyes. What does she see? My hands still cradle her face as I am torn to let go of her just yet. Has she always been this soft?
What is going on in that mind of hers? I get my answer when my little Reese throws a fist into the face I inhabit. Damn if I do not feel the sting of the flesh I wear. I now anger, but for different reasons. This human female has humiliated me yet again and I cannot stand it.
I flash out of the flesh I wear and return to my realm.
REESE
I’m fuming. Absolutely fuming!
I’m on a pseudo date with Josh on my damn couch, in my damn house, of all places. My heart was scared of the impending kiss, but I wanted to face my fear. I wanted to get Bear out of my head and out of my heart.
What happens next makes me want to scratch his fucking eyes out! There was just something different. I don’t know how I know, but I just did.
The kiss was slow, his lips soft, but much more hesitant than I imagined. I mean, Josh seems like the kind of guy who’s been on plenty of dates. The more I started to wonder, the more I started to feel coldness seeping through him. Josh’s hands were too damn cold. When I pulled back and stared into his eyes, I saw it. It was Bear’s eyes in all its flickering, flaming glory. My mind was confused. I felt butterflies in my stomach because Bear was kissing me instead of the other way around. But my heart was also cracking again from the memory of our last encounter where he left me to rot by myself in the hell I called home.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let him in my heart again. How could he do this to me? Why now? Why, when I feel like I am finally ready to try and move on? Must he haunt my heart so? I felt so angry... I felt so broken. My fight or flight kicked in, and I chose to fight.
My fist lands on Josh’s face with the full force of my swing. The throbbing in my knuckles does nothing to ease the ache in my chest.
When Josh turns back around, he shakes his head a few times before bringing his hand up to rub his jaw. His expression doesn’t look hurt at all, just confused, and I don’t blame him. He probably doesn’t even know what just happened.
“Di-did I do something wrong?”
“Yes Josh, you did. You came on way too strong, and I’m just not ready for that. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I’ve had a lovely night but I don’t think this is going to work between us.” Especially when someone else still occupies my heart and I have yet to figure out how to evict his sorry ass. This is for the best.
Josh shakes his head a bit again before he offers an apology as he walks towards my front door.
“Apology accepted. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” That’s all I’ve got in me right now. I shut the door on Josh’s confused face.
I put my forehead against the closed door and sigh. What is it about me? How did I become the chosen one for complication and drama galore? What game of fate did I win to get these cards dealt to me?
My hand comes up to ghost along my lips, the memory of Bear’s kiss as clear as day and still lingering. The first caught me by surprise, the second… tore at my heart. The love I had hungered from him never died, but now it’s become tainted. I’ve become tainted. How can I trust him with my heart after all we’ve been through?
Teardrops fall on my hand in cool drops and I go to wipe them away before any more can escape. Bear’s the kink in the armor I wear. My weakness. How can I still love him like this?
The sound of scratching behind me makes me turn around quickly. What now? My eyes zone in on my bat by the far corner towards the kitchen, but I don’t see anything amiss. It better not be those two little demons again, because I swear I will pummel them into ground beef. I am not in the mood for their crap.
The sound of scratching comes again, and I swear it’s coming from the pillow that’s on the couch. What in the world? I squint my eyes and tilt my head sideways in case it helps, and dear lord, it does. What is this thing?
It looks like it has the body of a Whippet dog, but much thinner. Its hind legs are way too long for its body, making its back hunch abnormally. The neck is abnormally long too, and the head looks to be a mix between a damn raptor and a lizard with spikes going behind it. His skin looks like a cross between a hairless dog and a lizard. What is with today and things popping up in my damn apartment? His front paws/hands are so elongated that it looks like he’s walking on his knuckles. He’s scratching at my pillow like he’s digging for gold. Speaking of gold, there’s a strange golden pattern that goes from his head all the way down his entire back.
He turns to look at me quizzically and his sad excuse for a half tail starts to wag. The longer I look, the longer the thing looks too damn cute for words. It turns back to the pillow and starts digging again. Sometimes his paw swipes through the pillow.
“Hey there. What are you digging for, huh?” He doesn’t hear me or he’s ignoring me because he’s still digging. This has got to be the funniest thing I’ve seen all day. It takes my mind off the horrible date I just had.
“Are you hungry?” Oh, snap!
The thing starts wagging its half-tailed butt so hard he throws himself off the couch, slamming into my short coffee table with a loud thud that makes me wince. I go down to reach for it when it gets itself back up after what seems like half a dozen tries. His brain has got to be scrambled by now with how many hits he takes in his attempts to get back up. Poor uncoordinated thing. It’s so cute.
“Hey, big fella.” Now that I’m on my knees on the floor, the creature's head stands a little over my head and I’m about 5’5” tall. He’s too big to be a whippet, too… deformed looking.
I reach out my hand slowly, palm up, and the thing starts wiggling like a damn hot dog flinging out of control. He can’t seem to keep his raptor head straight when he does it either. It makes him look like he has a little tick and it’s endearing as heck. Awww.
“Are you lost, buddy? Did you lose something?” He lets me pet him. His skin feels just like a lizard’s would, and the sound that comes out of him is beyond bizarre. He sounds like a mini raptor, but there’s a staccato like a damn sheep at the end. I laugh out loud and the thing jumps about 3 feet into the air and lands on his back. My goodness, his coordination sucks. This puppy needs some help.
I grab him and sit us both on the couch as I pet him soothingly to calm his nerves. At least I hope it’s doing that. His little butt starts to wiggle, his hip bones digging into me uncomfortably, as his raptor head settles himself right under my chin. Okay then.
“You know, when I was young, I loved to watch that cartoon about the hunchback guy. You kind of remind me of him. What do you think about the name Quasi, huh?” His little butt wiggles so hard, he’s starting to slide off my legs. I laugh again as I resituate him on the couch near me instead of on me.
“Maybe my luck is looking up after all, Quasi. I was kind of feeling sorry for myself a minute there and feeling pretty...alone.” His little head under my chin tilts up and knocks my head a little. I stifle a laugh and snuggle my face against him.
“I’m glad you decided to come into my life.” Tears start to well up in my eyes again at how true that is.
Though Bear came back into my life for a damn second, I couldn’t feel more alone.
BEHERAA
The moment I flash back into my realm is the moment I unleash my rage. The audacity of that blasted female! The humiliation! These emotions roll into raging storms within me, and I can’t seem to cool it.
Stomping through the different chambers, I seek victims for my anger. Grabbing the closest sprite, I throw him against the wall of the cavern, breaking his body in two. My breaths are heaving as I stare at its little body, slowly starting to crawl back to each other to reconnect. Just my luck that demons in this realm do not die but rather regenerate eter
nally. Blasted hellfires!
Stomping through another chamber, I find some of the lesser demons torturing souls with different contraptions. Some of the sprites nearby have scampered off, leaving this lesser demon before me. My eyes flame over and my body doesn’t feel my own as I grab him by the back of his neck and devour his head in one bite. The crunch of his bones and horns satisfies my anger a tad, but not by much. Ripping his legs from his torso, I devour the rest of his upper body and arms.
The blood that drips down my face starts to cool my ardor. My breathing starts to slow as I stand there and stare at the mess before me. Blast! Now I must find another replacement for the demon I just eliminated.
I turn my head to find some of the sprites peeking around the corner of another cavern entrance.
“You!” The sprites screech and jump, toppling over each other like a pathetic set of bipedal dominos.
“Y-Y-yes, Master?” I can practically hear the clacking of his damn knees hitting each other. Pathetic creatures, the lot of them.
“What demon was stationed here?”
“T-t-the demon of greed, Master.” I bring my head back and roar. These blasted creatures do nothing for me. I must find a replacement for the demon I devoured. These souls will not torture themselves.
“Find me another demon of greed.”
“Yes, Master.” I kick his little tailed rear end to hurry him along and he rolls into the other sprites who await his return.
What does this female do to me? Have I lost my damn mind? With a touch, she has unraveled me yet again. Just thinking about that lesser male Josh touching her makes my eyes explode with hellfire. I regret nothing. Her kiss belongs to me just as it had those years ago.
My mind starts to run with planning. She will not have the upper hand again. It is time I brought Reese where she belongs: On her knees before death. What is human life but such a fleeting thing? She should be thankful that I’ve decided to claim her as mine.
“Bear, you are fucking mine. You’ve been in me and you’re fucking stuck with me. I need you so bad, I’m so fucking horny for you.”
Memories of her sear my mind, scorching every dark corner I’ve buried her in. What is it about this female? What is she doing to me?
“Amoora! Araaz!”
These idiotic sprites tumble over each other as they phase in. How many centuries have we done this, yet their entrance remains the same. I rub my hand down my face in resignation. These are the cards the fates have dealt me. To lord over an army of halfwitted sprites and somewhat useful lesser demons to torture the souls we collect...for all eternity.
I am unable to control the emotion in my voice as I snarl at the cretinous creatures before me. “See to your tasks, as it remains the same. Report to me if there are any changes or if there is anything important I need to be made aware of. Now.”
Araaz ends up kicking Amoora in the face during an attempt to salute and Amoora jumps on his back as they both phase out.
This eternity may just be my downfall as my mind starts to dumb down slowly by hanging around these imbeciles.
REESE
“Quasi, baby. Come on boy, you can share the bed with me.” I pat the bed invitingly and it takes my new demon pup a few tries before he can coordinate all four limbs onto the full mattress. How do I know he’s a demon pup? What are the odds? Two stupid demon minions, a visit from Lord Bear himself, and now Quasi? Yeah, he’s a demon pup, but he’s my demon pup.
Quasi kicks off half of the comforter, his legs getting tangled in it, before he makes himself cozy enough to lie still and that position just happens to be with his raptor head right under my chin. Isn’t it the cutest thing? My gosh. Thank you to whoever sent him my way, because my night is feeling better already.
With Quasi lying on top of my covers, I’m warming up like a burrito in the sun. My eyes start to feel heavy, and I don’t even remember when they drift close.
It only felt like ten minutes had gone by when Quasi let out a raptor screech. Holy guacamole, it sounds like Jurassic Park in my damn bedroom. What the hell is going on? My eyes pop open but I can't move because my demon dog is still lying on top of me with most of his weight, but his head has turned to the foot of the bed. I squirm around a bit, unraveling myself from the burrito blanket, and lean over to see two heads and fingers peeking out of my footboard. What is this? Visit Reese day?
“You guys are lucky I can’t get to my bat right now. Leave me the hell alone. That goes for Bear too. Make sure you send that damn message. I don’t want to see him. He can kiss my ass! Now goodnight! Down, Quasi, now!”
A little whine comes out of Quasi as he sneaks in a small raptor screech toward the two buttheads at the foot of my bed before resituating his head back under my chin. Damn, this day has gone on way too long.
REESE
I was getting bored at work today. It seemed in my zombie state of working the prior day, I overworked to the point of cutting my duties in half for today. I decided to grab a coffee at the employee lounge only to find Josh there, so I aborted the mission before it could even get started.
On my way back, I feel like something is niggling at me. Something is whispering in my ear. I can’t hear what it is, but I feel a need to go a few blocks down to the local coffee shop to try one of their house specials. Since I completed so much work, I don’t think anyone would miss me for an entire hour. I usually take thirty-minute lunches, but, why not? Fuck it. I deserve something and a coffee sounds damn good right about now. At least it will keep me awake if I come back to more paper pushing.
Grabbing my bag from behind the front lobby counter, I wave goodbye to Jessie, who mans her duties with diligence and a smile. This is exactly why she’s perfect for the front desk. She’s a beautiful red-headed woman with an over ample cleavage that she lets peek out of her shirt. It brings us a lot of customers. We don’t talk much besides the usual salutations, but she’s nice enough to be around.
Leaving the glass lobby doors, I take in a deep breath of clean, fresh air. It’s nice today and feels like it’s going to be clear skies for the rest of the time I’ll be at work. It feels a good seventy degrees, just warm enough to loosen my limbs on this walk.
The walk didn’t take long at all since I’m so used to walking a mile to work every day. I’m sure my legs are on muscle memory by now, just mechanically moving me wherever I need to go without even having to feel any strain.
The Coffee-Load is a quaint little store that faces the street perpendicular and about 4 blocks off of my work building. It’s nice to not have to look at where you work while you’re trying to relax for a moment. The front only looks like the size of 3 doorways, but there’s more room going inwards once you enter. There’s a random smattering of small circular tables and chairs right before a short counter where two baristas stand waiting for customers.
The workers are very kind and get my order done very quickly. I’ll have to remember to give them a good review online. This whole place smells like coffee heaven, the mixtures of different types of grinds tickling your olfactory senses. Grabbing my small cup, I turn to find a few more customers have entered and lined up behind me.
I decide to sit at the bar and counter that faces the streetside. Looking out the window and watching the clouds go by, the ground starts to rumble and shake beneath me; the vibration going up my calves. What the hell? We don’t usually get earthquakes here. A murmur goes through the store for a few beats from all the customers when the sound of a loud crash shakes the windows. The loud rattle makes me wince, and my teeth grind.
It sounds kind of like something just got blown up with how much the ground was shaking. This shit only happens in the movies, right? I quickly take a few more sips of the hot coffee I still have in my hands before tossing it in the trash near the door and briskly leave the building to see what’s going on.
Rounding the outer corner of the street, I take a left onto the street that brings me straight back to my work building. The sight before me stops
me in my tracks. I rub my eyes. Look. Rub my eyes again. No. There is no fucking way.
BEHERAA
My anger has lulled somewhat, but not entirely. It has simmered to a low boil. Another human squabble has brought me to the desert lands. These human creatures never fail to amaze me in their appetites for destruction. Because of the sheer amount of souls, my scythe accompanies me today. I am going to have to make sure I have enough lesser demons for the count coming into our realm after this reaping.
My mind flits to Reese and the kiss. From the kiss to Reese’s fist. My anger starts to go up in flames again and my scythe shows no mercy for those around the area. From the guilty to the innocent, my scythe will have its souls.