Hugh said something about emailing me more resources but it went through one ear and out the other. As we left, Khloe was the one to take the lead, conveying her gratitude on my behalf since I was rendered into a mute ball of anxiety. She practically slapped me out the door to get us moving.
"I need context." Khloe hissed under her breath on the train. "Flowers? Dick in a box?!"
I explained the reason behind Hugh's gifts, relief washing over her face. "I almost thought you were his mistress. Thank god."
Begrudgingly I said. "Do you really want the details on Alor's dick?" It didn't occur to me that the train was still packed and my low voice carried enough that a few eyes widened our way. I cupped a hand over my mouth. The public shouldn't know of Alor. Period.
Khloe laughed nervously. "As a matter of fact, why not wait till we get to your place?" I felt her firm grip on my arms, pulling my hand from my mouth. Her stern gaze was meant only for me. Don't draw more attention to yourself.
Since I felt like I would barely be able to function properly for the rest of my night and days with Alor, we quickly dropped by the grocery store on our way to my apartment. That was another optional place to live...
No. I gripped the amulet at my throat when we entered the front door, plastic bags rustling at our sides. Alor didn't announce his presence. I released a breath and Khloe shut the door before hauling her bags onto the kitchen counter.
She pulled out two chocolate ice creams, gesturing for me to sit on one of the stools.
I was coming to realise that eating restored my sanity and sense of faith. You cannot organise and compartmentalise your problems properly on an empty stomach. Or rather, eating ice cream when things were going out of my control was a welcome distraction.
"Wait," Khloe said. "So the dick in the box isn't some kind of ancient dildo? That would make more sense."
None of this made sense. "It's so stupid."
Though Hugh had explained a lot of Alor's past, I still had questions. Who was Alor's foe? Generally in ancient stories of good and evil—or in this case humans and demons—there were prominent heroic figures. I assumed Alor's foe must have been one.
"Oh! Do you mind if I borrow your leg warmers for Aspen?" Khloe stood up to collect the remaining rubbish from our meal. She was going on the university ski trip next month which lasted for the whole study break.
I nodded, licking what remained of my ice cream. "They're in my closet drawer. Second one."
With that she headed into my bedroom. The cool ice cream washed down my throat and I sighed, satiated.
I stilled. Khloe had gone into my room. I dropped the stick and rushed after her.
I found Khloe rummaging through the wrong drawers in my closet. Thankfully, it was nothing but a mundane scene. "Are you sure you still have them?"
"Yes, you're just looking in the wrong place." I moved to take her spot before my closet. Quickly digging through my set of drawers. I wanted her out of this room as fast as possible.
"You know, for a room that's housing a demon it looks pretty normal—" Khloe's breath caught in her throat, I cut a glance at her. Her eyes trained on a spot in inside the closet, finger trembling as she pointed.
I swivelled to see long sharp fingers emerge from the darkness inside my closet and grip the sliding door. Physical fingers.
Alor had stolen another body. Wonderful.
"You're back just in time." His deep voice reverberated around us.
He could've squeezed past the door but no—with inhuman strength, Alor slammed the door back for no apparent reason but to show off. Khloe shrieked as I tried to back her out the door. My blood pulsed in my ears, but I managed to be calmer than what I was feeling. I tried to wrench the door handle but it wouldn't budge.
Khloe looked horrified. "Jin?"
I baulked. Alor, looking extremely pleased with himself, had stolen another body but I hadn't fully registered the person he stole. As if he and I shared this moment alone, he shot me a wicked smile that said
I know your whereabouts. I know the people you meet.
"What do you think? Do you like my human? Isn't he handsome? " He laughed, strands of dark hair fell into his face. There was an apron hanging from his waist, clad in jeans and sneakers he smelt of fish. Alor must have found Jin at work.
The horror washed away and subsided in my stomach. In a firm voice I asked. "Alor, where did you find Jin?"
He put his hands on his hips. "You're not answering my question. Be honest, what do you think?"
"Right now Alor, I think this is absolutely insane. But..." I had to entertain his question, otherwise this would be like talking to a brick wall and nothing would get through. I scanned his face and torso, the markings now extended down the frame of his chest. Whatever shirt Jin had been wearing, I spotted the remnants of it on the floor. "Not bad."
Alor spread his arms out in a grand gesture, liked he'd emerged from a dark cave and the sun was touching his skin for the first time. There was fevor in his voice. "I feel it. This one's from my bloodline."
I went cold. If Alor was in the body of a relative, he'd be more powerful than before.
Done with his conversational mood, Alor lunged for me. But just as his fingers curled on my arm, he doubled back at our contact with a surprised hissed. It was as if he'd touched a hot stove. I clutched the amulet at my throat, relieved all at once only to hear a scream and see Alor now had Khloe in his grasp.
"No!" I failed to rip her from Alor, and before I knew it he stood in a pose indicating he was in the midst of a summoning, one hand around Khloe's neck, vicious nails pressing in like a promise, and the other held above him as if reaching for the universe.
He spoke in a thousands tongues, a single incantation. Molten eyes a light. I couldn't breathe.
Nothing moved.
Nothing happened.
Alor rushed in tongues again, visibly agitated as he flexed his fingers above him. He stared at the ceiling, almost longingly. With this chance of momentary distraction, Khloe shrugged out of his grip and ran to me, I quickly scanned her for any injuries but other than being shaken she was fine.
It appeared that Alor had miscalculated with whatever he was planning, because the expression on his face was completely foreign. Lost and confused. I didn't think he was aware that we were still in the same room.
"Khloe," I whispered, the door finally opening under my hand. "Go home, you're safer there. I'll call you later."
There was a hesitant glance Alor's way before she looked at me and nodded. Leaving without another word the front door slammed and I felt my muscles ease.
But he's still here.
"This makes no sense." Alor murmured to himself.
Tell me about it.
I payed him no heed and walked past him to grab a few of my sacred water viles stocked in my bedside drawer. I needed to have at least one on me at all times now. The lesson was late but nevertheless learned.
"It seems your new physical body doesn't like you." I said casually.
With one violent motion of his hand, various objects in the room were knocked onto the floor. My lavender vases smashed to pieces. Whatever his power was doing, it wasn't working the same way he'd willed it to before.
Strangely enough, that made Alor angrier.
***
Things took a turn. Over the coming days, Alor refused to get out from his cramped position under my bed. He was like a bug drawn to light with this particular spot. I suspected being near his male energy was somewhat of a comfort. I wasn't entirely sure what was wrong with him, other than the fact that his powers weren't working like usual. If he was still draining my energy, I was unaware of it, his power was that depleted.
For the first time since discovering Alor's existence, I thought things were looking up.
But I came home one day to my kitchen ransacked, a dishevelled Alor sat in the light of my open fridge door consuming raw chicken breast. There was a deep line in his brow as he glared at me, his stomach growling.
"It won't stop!" He chewed through a mouthful of raw meat, exasperated. "My insides."
Surely a Dark Priest would've known how to eat?
"Thats because you're hungry." I sighed, digging through my backpack to fish out my leftover sandwich from university. I chucked it his way, the chicken breast splat on the floor as he caught it.
"Eat this, you'll get sick if you eat raw meat."
This was only the beginning of a steep learning curve. I informed Alor that he could eat a variety of things in my fridge under my supervision, and that he didn't need to crawl under my bed in his downtime. He fought back, saying it was his replenishing place. Or as I would call it, a charging pod. But sometimes things wouldn't compute...
Entering my bedroom late one night, I freaked at the sight of Alor floating behind my curtains. "Alor we went over this. Don't hide under my bed or in the curtains or in my closet! It's weird—and not to mention super creepy—since you have a physical body!"
He sulked. "I'm not used to a human body. I don't know what to do with it!"
I was going to be extra precise with him. "Ok, fine. Let me teach you. Lesson one: humans don't float around on their legs, they walk." I placed one foot in front of the other, demonstrating. "Lesson two: They sit on comfortable things like chairs or sofas when they're not doing anything." I sat on my bed and sniffed the air. "Since when was the last time you've washed?"
