I'm flashed to a boat near the lake. That was where I used to go fishing with Dad and I never understood why he often insisted on taking me fishing considering we never caught anything.
"Hi Son," he said from the other side of the boat. He had his back turned, with his attention being mainly on the bob in the water.
"Dad, I need to tell you. Wait?" I said, before taking a few glances. Dad looked younger. Not significantly younger, but just enough that I noticed. I then realised my body was not the same. I was a pint-sized peep-squeak. I looked like a prepubescent boy, ten years old maybe?
"What the hell?" I yelled.
"Don't worry, this is a memory. Anyway I have something I need to tell you. However, these details will be sealed under a demon pact."
"What?"
"Pay attention, you are a demon. Half demon and the seers of the underworld say that what's growing inside is something never seen before. Something God-like, what I need you to know is that I do love you Mikey. I won't show it, and I'm not going to be surprised if you don't believe me. Trust me, being away from you is for your own good."
"Dad, you're not making any sense. Where am I? Why am I remembering this fishing trip now? And wasn't I just at Prom?"
"It'll all make sense, but for now remember that you are the one in control. No matter what, you have the body it wants. You need to understand that what's inside you, that thing is so terrifying that it even scares me. However, by allowing you to handle this on your own I am giving you lots of room to master it yourself and ladies to work with. Your mom is a start but more will come with it. Remember to find love in each of them. The way you foster resentment makes you weak to it, and I know it's kinda corny but the demons really struggle to overcome men in love."
"Dad, how do you know all of this?"
"Experience for one, I went through what you're going to go through. It took a lot to get to where I'm at. Don't worry, I'll help you with it. I'm the one who's going to make sure you encounter Joleen. It's not going to be dumb luck that you are on that bus with her. She's the key, and you will pass the test. Now comes the final exam, I hope you're ready?"
"Final exam, what test, ready for what?"
"So long as you think about what you're fighting for. Then you'll be ready," He reels back his fishing rod then tosses back in the water. "The demon is calling, he's come to take control. Good luck, and remember that It's only most of the town at stake. Then maybe the world."
The memory flashes to white and the environment disappears. I'm brought to a dark room. I felt strange, like I'm not really attached to anything. Like I'm floating in space or mid-air. Above me, every few seconds an electric current flashes across the ceiling. The atmosphere was cold, yet pleasantly familiar. There was an eerie feeling of being watched, I kept desperately glancing around as I wandered around. Yet the room was endless and empty.
Moments pass and it flashes in. It looks away from me. I know it's the demon that lives inside of me and I can immediately tell from the aura that this was how other people viewed me when I walked down the school halls.
"Tell me boy, do you believe in reincarnation?" It asks.
"Not boy, it's Michael," I snapped back at the creature.
It was in its normal form, which was oddly very human-like. No horn or tale, instead greyish white skin and bright white short wavy hair. Its eyes were dark, the same dark I saw from Joleen, the same dark I saw during the rare transference of orders. The same dark I saw in myself sometimes.
No Iris, no white pigment, just universal darkness. The deep darkness of space. Even though I was a decent height, it towered over me. I wasn't close to it, yet I could still tell that it was physically superior.
It wore nothing, its thick flaccid cock dangled between its legs. Its hair felt rather angelic in its nature, the type of hair you would see painted by someone from the renaissance. If not for the more frightening features, it would look like something truly gorgeous to any gender.
"I don't care much what your name is mortal and I don't have any interest in forming a relationship with you."
It looked to the side, it had naturally masculine features. The abs resembled those I had developed after my birthday. Many characteristics of my new body could be found on that entity. It's in that plain of existence that I could see that my form was my old scrawny body. It humbled me.
"I don't understand why you brought me here to ask such a question, given last time we talked you were telling me to enslave the city."
It groaned, then palmed its head. "You know, I really am not in any mood to entertain your constant moaning. The fact I've spent so much time watching your pathetic little life is infuriating. Do you know how long I've lived, who and what I've seen? Your life is but a spec in the longevity and history of mine," It said, raising its voice. Almost yelling at me at that point.
"Fine," I replied, not willing to show any fear. Demon or not, powers or not, I was not backing down to the vile thing. That monster that lived inside me. "Just tell me what ever it is you want to fucking tell me and go away. I will not be doing whatever plan you want me to, and neither will Joleen!" I barked back with a steel resolve
It's immediately tested as he flashes towards me and pins me to the wall. I felt pain even though that was theoretically an imaginary realm.
"Don't get too full of yourself mortal, I can end this trip for the both of us," He said, as I recovered from the slam against the wall.
"How'd he move so fast?" I ask myself. Yet my thoughts resonate with the realm we're in. It echoes, "we're in my mind!" I blurt out.
"Not for long," he said as he tightened his grip around my throat.
I thought about the people I love, what I left behind.
"Agh... Then do it, you really think I'll let you bully me after all this. I never asked for these powers and if it means my girl, Jo, Kace, Mom and the city remain safe. Then so be it!"
Those moments, those amazingly brief moments. I could see reality slipping, my soul leaving my body. I could also see the demon contemplating if killing me and by extension itself was worth it. I supposed in its eyes, I was useless and weak but my convictions had changed. It seemed normally, weak willed mortals would let them have their way. What the demon had not noticed was the way I'd grown with the advent of these powers it gave me. Mikey, the wimp was gone. It wasn't the strength of the muscles that gave me motivation, it was the fact there were people I love outside the space he brought me to.
I may have seduced them and made them mine using his powers. I planned to keep them around without the powers of lust. I had something to fight for, something to stay strong for. All that time I was gathering strength -- internal strength. Something to protect the people I care for who relied on me to do what was right. It didn't matter how outmatched I was, I couldn't and wouldn't let it have its way anymore. The demon realised that its imposing stature and ferocious growl weren't intimidating me. It realised that it's a hard press on my throat and the excruciating pain that came with it didn't make me waver.
It was the first to blink, I had looked into the eye of a demon several times stronger than me, one that had lived several aeons more than me and he blinked first.
"Fine boy, or Michael. I am Luciel," he then let me go before walking back to the other side of the space. "But that's not really the point," he said after turning away from me, dismissively. Trying to salvage its wounded pride.
I smiled, knowing I held all the cards. "Perhaps there's hope for you after all. As such, I am going to tell you a little story, and once you hear it. It will all make sense, well... most of it."
I fixed myself and stood upright, "I would hate for all this to have been for nothing." I added.
"I'll let you have your fun Michael. To begin, we demons are or were formally human. I'm one of the first to have become a demon, at least as far as I can remember. While I may have lived for many many eons, my memory can only store so much so there are difficulties remembering every detail of every single thing that happened in the history of all my existence."
"Is this going to get somewhere?" I said, trying to be snarky.
"I can tell you're trying to be petulant. Just like I could tell your resolve to let me kill you for the good of your family and friends was as strong as iron. I suppose Ellie really did make a man out of you. No matter, to continue with my story; Demonic hell isn't the same hell as you may think, that Dante story has continued to mislead you humans for millennia but I can't blame you. The texts placed here by Alpha can be rather misleading. In any case, Demons are simply those who have lived a life that angered him."
"Him as in, the
him
," I pointed upwards.
"The very same, and when us demons are sentenced to hell we simply live amongst other awful human beings. Unfortunately we can't actually die or more specifically be sent to oblivion, at least not in hell. The hellish aspect of hell are the other awful people who have been banished there. As such, everyone who ends up in hell tries to leave and there are a few ways to do it. Possession used to be quite common but that's been getting harder and harder as your society weeds out the vile people."
"So you're saying, the growth of humanity has done a better job limiting the number of people who can be possessed."
"Quite correct," it said with excitement. "At least you aren't an imbecile," I scoffed at the comment. "Suffice to say that I am not one of your more common types. I am closer to a deity than the rest of the trife that's found in the abyss of eternal damnation. Chosen by Lucifer himself to be his representation of lust, your father and particularly your grandfather's other half's are threatened by me. Davy Clark's demon decided to cuck you as a jab at me. It's why they stay away from you, to protect themselves. They can sense my power and know I can almost certainly send them back to hell."
I was in the middle of asking a question when he raised his long finger to demonstrate that he wasn't done.
"I would have taken over your body at this venue. The plan was to simply invite your mother and have Cyrus transfer my order her then to you since hereditary family members are the only ones who can coerce a half blood like yourself. I needed someone I could implant a seed, a piece of myself if you will. The perfect carrier and no one was better than that black beauty of yours. So loyal, so devoted and so... what is it you'd say? Hot!"
I nod my head with my arms crossed. The demon in just these few moments had answered almost every question I had. For one, how Mom was able to suppress me that first night. The way she literally forced me to watch her sexually assault me. Dad's attitude even if it can be chalked up to absent father syndrome, it didn't explain why he was so unwilling to be in a room with me. It explained Joleen's weird behaviour as well. I couldn't have gotten a better explanation.
"The reason I asked you about reincarnation was because finding her was no accident. I knew her once, and when I was in my prime. As a human like yourself, I met a woman with her... traits and personality if you will."
"Does she remind you of someone you know?"
"Someone I loved and cherished. The wonderfully atrocious things of my life, we did them together but she didn't join me in hell. I assumed that the Alpha had decided that hell with the person you love the most in all of eternity is not hell. It's instead heaven and so he reincarnated her and I only realised it was her on the days she followed us. When I was in her presence I sensed a strong familiarity and as I said before. My mind can only store so much therefore it took some time for me to realise. When I did, I used all the power I could muster to seize control and had a taste of her new succulent body."
"This all sounds great, but here's my question. If you know that Joleen is your long lost love, why then plan to take over the city?"
"Well you must understand that you're the first host that's been able to hold me. Normally when I try, the child dies or randomly deteriorates in health. Miscarriage or what you call sudden infant death syndrome is always the presumed explanation but I believe in truth that none of this was a coincidence. Perhaps this is my rehabilitation, I get to watch you be with her and enjoy her presence."