Ch 11: Of Daemons Part II

"Alright ladies, stop staring like he's fresh meat." Sophie says hands on her hips and legs apart. "Make some room!

It's all I can do not to stare at the camel toe that is proudly defined by her tight underwear. Yet everywhere I look, other camels are showing their toes as well. Everywhere.

The scantily clad sisters part at Sophie's command, making an aisle towards the hearth. A fire roars and crackles there like an agitated lion. There is a highchair waiting for me.

I make my way to the chair, feeling dozens of pairs of eyes all over my body. I almost make it to the chair when a hand swats my behind, making me jump.

These ladies are really too bold! They behave like I'm a prize bull in a room full of sows.

I take the seat and clear my throat, putting on an air of authority and confidence. I can't show any more weakness or else I have a bad feeling that things will get out of control.

<Grace, let's put on a show.>

<I hear you. Let's see if they don't get too scared.> she says, uttering a dark chuckle.

I lean forward, an ominous glint coming into my eyes. Grace deepens the shadows in the room by creating a filter over the fireplace. Some of the sisters giggle and huddle together. Others cling to each other, nervous.

When I speak, my voice is changed to a malevolent tone. "Of Daemons." I say, my voice rolling like thunder and hissing like a pit of vipers. It is a bit theatrical. Believe it or not, demons don't normally sound like comic book villains. "Sit, little girls and I will tell you of a reign of terror that will chill your blood and make you tremble down to your lost souls."

The sisters all get comfortable on couches and chairs, or on bean bags on the floor. Their eyes are rapt with attention, eagerly awaiting my words.

I lean back in my chair, meanwhile, Grace changes the appearance of the common room. It becomes a dark throne room. Sconces burn with a green, eldritch glow. The high, arched ceiling are home to fluttering things with huge black wings, mean red eyes and glistening fangs.

Pillars of stone line the hall, each of them carved into the shapes of people, their bodies twisted in torment. Blood flow from their blackened eye sockets. Their mouths are frozen agape in silent screams.

On the air hangs a tenebrous fog, creating an infernal aura. The women cluster close together, not trusting the shapes that move at the edges of the room.

I smile down at them, also transformed. I have dark, curving horns and a cape. Floating above my head is a broken, flame-red crown. My teeth are sharp and my eyes blaze with hellfire.

"You all have been taught about demon-kind. They were human once, seduced by The Watchers into offering their free agency in order to attain godlike power."

"In the height of their power, they served The Watchers and ruled over their domains with terrifying brutality. In the center of each garden is the pillar, a temple made of remains, waste and bile. It is a mockery of everything beautiful and pure. A blasphemous blight in the face of Almighty God."

"In those days, few could stand against the might of the demonic armies. When they marched, devastation and woe would follow in their wake." I grin in my demon lord form. "Of course, you know all of this through your textbooks. Yet how would you react if you saw a real demon?"

<Leon, are you sure? This may be too much for them.> Grace says.

<I'm counting on it.> I say. <People like Sophie need to learn that there is nothing glorious about demons. They are and always will be, pure evil.>

<Even King Solomon wouldn't completely agree with that, Leon.>

<I know. It's one of the few things we really disagreed on. Now just do it!>

Grace sighs. <Fine, but don't come crying to me when you realize this was a horrible idea.>

<Yeah, yeah.>

<So, what demon do you want to become?>

<The Pillar of Wrath is always intense. Let's do a lower tier one.> I say.

Grace brings up a profile of a man on a screen. I read the name. <How appropriate.> I say. <Make me into Anger Walker.>

I never met this particular demon, but reading his profile description briefly, I discover that while not very imaginative, he embodied the word 'wrath' in every sense of the word.

<Here goes.> Grace says.

I begin to change. My cape and royal raiment transform into Puritan style clothing. A black Bible forms in my hand, the cross turned upside down and instead of gold inscriptions, it is blood red and glowing with dark power.

My features are now hard and stern, I stand as straight as an arrow, one hand placed behind me. My posture is absolutely impeccable.

My eyes become black as night. Dark hair hangs on either side of my face. On top of my head is a wide brimmed hat which hides my face when I tip my head down.

I sense the sister's trepidation and their growing nervousness. The aura of my nefarious power weighs heavy on them.

Finally, one breaks the silence. "Um, Apollyon?" a sister says in a timid voice.

My head snaps up, the hollow hatred of my black eyes making my audience flinch and gasp. "Behold, the power of a demon knight!" I say. "Rage Shroud."

The Bible flips open, a red mist pouring forth from it, quickly sweeping over the women. They scream and try to run but it already too late.

Their cries of fear are replaced with roars of rage. One moment they are sitting next to each other, simply watching me. The next, they are tearing at themselves and each other. Minor infractions and small insults from their pasts become great oceans of simmering fury. Nothing will appease them but to tear the offender to shreds, even if that person is themselves.

Limbs get torn off; throats are ripped open with teeth. Rib cages are crushed, necks are twisted on their shoulders. Bones shatter, blood sprays and soon the whole room is bathed in gore. The women do not stop fighting and killing until every one of them is dead. Nothing more than heaps of dismembered flesh at my feet.

The screaming and cries of enraged pain stops. Only silence exists in the once black throne room. The red fog retracts yet the Bible stays open. The blood becomes blackish green in the glow of the torches.

I raise my hand out to the bodies, the Bible flips to a new page and this time, it glows with a dark red light, washing over the carnage. "Bloodthrall."

The bodies of the once beautiful and desirable sisters now stitch and mesh back together into gory undead. They scream in agony, clawing at themselves and swiping at whatever is nearest to them. Their blind rage is only kept at bay by my will.

<Grace, I think that's enough.> I say.

<Good. This makes me sick.> she says.

The illusion dissipates. The throne room disappears, and we return to being in the common room. The sisters are restored to their normal selves as if nothing had happened.

Most of them burst into tears and hug themselves, becoming nothing more than moaning balls of terror on the ground. Some rock back and forth, their eyes open wide, reliving what they had just experienced. Even if it was an illusion, it seemed very real to them.

Only Sophie and a few others remained still, on their knees with their heads hanging down on their chests. They seemed completely stunned by their harrowing ordeal.

"So." I say, standing up from the highchair, hands on my hips. "Did you enjoy meeting a demon?"

Only a few acknowledge me. The rest are still too traumatized to respond.

"Perhaps you are wanting to forget this ever happened?"

This made them pay more attention. Sisters threw themselves at my feet, their tears wetting my pant legs and shoes.

"Please, please! Make it all go away!" many cry.

Sophie and the others still remain still. This worries me a little bit.

"I will make you forget what you saw and what you experienced, but I will leave the terror. Whenever you think lightly of demons, your heart will remember. Do you understand?" I say.

"Yes, yes!" they cry. "Please, just make us forget!"

<Grace. Give them a sensory wipe.> I say.

<On it. Ugh. They are such ugly criers.> she says.

A pulse goes out from me and sweeps over the entire room. The crying stops all at once. And for a moment, the girls simply look at each other and themselves, wondering what in the world they had been in hysterics about.

I wag a finger at them. "Now, it is way past your bedtime, young ladies! Off you go!"

They all obey, well, except for Sophie and the others who didn't react much to the illusion dispel. They did look confused like everyone else, however.

Once everyone is gone, I make my way over to her and help her to her feet. The other women follow her lead. She seems to be their senior or mentor, if I had to guess.

"Thanks." Sophie says, wobbly on her feet. These illusions cause a lot of stress on a person. Even though they are standing or sitting still, their brains don't know the difference.

"Go get some sleep. I hope this was everything and more of what you were hoping for." I say.

She gives me a tired smile. "Yeah, it was, I think."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean, you made us forget all the important parts." She says, her tone a little miffed.

I blink at her. "You want to remember all that?"

She realizes what she is saying and gives her head a furious shake. "No, no! That's not what I meant, it's just weird having a hole in your memory, you know?"

"Uh, right. Well, it could be worse." I say, trying to ease the tension.

"Yeah." She says, not sounding entirely convinced. "Well, we should go. Come on sisters."

Her posse follows Sophie out of the common room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

<Lilith's right.> Grace says. <She is an odd one.>

<Yeah, well, there is no crime in being a little odd.> I say. <Though I still think it's a good idea to track her. want see what her locations were before this meeting.>

<Yeah, but maybe later.> Grace says. <You're getting a call.>

Without warning or permission, Grace connects me to the radio wave.

"Hello?" I say as a caller screen comes up in my vision. It's Sylwia!

"Hey, Leon. It's Sylwia. Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." I say.

I can tell she is smiling as she continues, not nearly as shy as she was before. "So, how about you take me out on that date?"

I sigh inwardly. Goodness, since when did my life become this full of female attention? Oh, well. Might as well see where this goes.