Demon's Protégé

"Reading Minds"

"I just got a weird ugly tattoo in my palm, what is this?"

That next morning, Faun walked out of his bedroom, heading straight to his dining area, expecting both Anyone and Pride waiting for him. He had been so used to seeing Anyone around his house, lurking in every area of the place, and he knew that he would see the demons first thing in the morning.

The reason for his prompt question, however, was another thing that he had wanted to figure out right away. His inquisitive nature has always been an inclined character of his so it was not much of a surprise that he would be too curious about the "tattoo" he had somehow acquired without warning. He likes to be in line with everything. Apart from being a control freak, he also has a knack for being completely obsessed with trivial things, small details, that sometimes never really mattered that much, subtle parts that were not necessarily of significance, but he liked the way he knew all the stuff around him. 

From the gust of the wind, the smell of the disinfectant in the air, and to the four-day-old dust, stuck in between his furniture that his hired cleaner must have failed to notice or too lazy to wipe off for that long. He never liked it when things did not meet his standards or when he can't control the perfection of his surroundings. In fact, he was going to find a replacement tomorrow in regards to his furniture. And perhaps, the cleaner too. He was already planning to get rid of it anyway. 

BOTH of them.

Faun quickly plopped down on the lavishly upholstered seat at the dining table, a very long one that was meant for ten people, but he still bought it to maximize the space in his dining hall and he straightly looked across to Pride and Anyone sitting on the other side. Faun raised his palm up, and there it was. A crisp, burnt mark in the shape of number one had been engraved across it, denting the pale skin. 

He had been taking a quick shower just a few moments ago when he felt the painful sting sliced through the middle of his hand and soon saw the mark appearing like craters opening across the lines. The initial assumption was that it had to do something about being a demon's protege. And of course, that was pretty much obvious, as the only logical reason for him to experience such an uncanny scenario must have something to do with Anyone and the new demon.

"This," Faun said pointing towards the unpleasant tattoo on his left hand while staring back at Anyone, as he added shortly, "This must mean something, right? It's a part of the contract, is it?"

Pride and Anyone just exchanged glances. The look on their faces gave nothing away while Faun steadily observed them both with keen eyes. The two demons had been engaged in some sort of conversation when Faun had appeared through the hallway and interrupted them. As he watched the passing look on their faces, Faun leaned on his back, a leg crossed over the other, waiting for an explanation.

"Good morning to you, Faun," Anyone greeted with a fake smile, although he knew that Faun was not the type to ever really indulge in any formal pleasantries, even in social gatherings. He's unapologetically blunt for a reason and smugness had always been his trademark. Pompous but straightforward, something that benefits him sometimes but people don't particularly like him because of that. Anyone had later on observed that most of the people who chose to stick with him were only there for selfish intentions, tolerating Faun's supreme rude attitude in exchange for his superior entitlement. He was a very impatient human, after all. And he might never really change anyway. 

Faun scowled, grunting, and Anyone liked the way he had sent him an annoyed withering look when Anyone did not directly answer his query. 

"I didn't expect you to be this up too early," Anyone added.

Normally the human would idle for a few more hours in his chambers, dozing off despite being woken up by his alarm clock. He usually tries to get some more sleep despite being awake and would only finally leave the bed a few minutes before lunch. He's a lazy person at times and Anyone did not really mind that indolent side of Faun so long as the human did things accordingly to plan. However, today had seemed to be a special one. Faun had chosen to even dress himself up, hair slightly wet but neatly brushed up and he wore a sleek black suit with his crisp white dress shirt tucked underneath his black trousers. He was totally sporting a stylish businessman fashion and was definitely in the right kind of mood to finally discuss more of the terms included in the contract.

Pride smirked as he gave Faun a once-over beside Anyone and also spoke, "So are you interested to talk now?"

The demon looked at him with obvious mockery. Faun gave Pride a  look of complete incredulity from where he sat as he slid his eyes to his and burrowed his brows, then he haughtily said in a condescending voice, "Of course, I am interested. I have already said my intentions last night. I'm not particularly in a rush yet but you have to explain this to me in detail. Now, tell me exactly what this is for, and why do I have to keep an irrelevant tattoo on my palm? I don't like this kind of stuff. Symbols are too childish for me."

Pride snorted back and Anyone just said in a matter-of-fact tone, "It will disappear."

"Disappear?" Faun frowned again. And as soon as he said the word, he felt a ticklish sensation gliding across his hand and when he checked it, just like what had Anyone told him, the number was slowly vanishing from his skin. The shape of one gradually lost its form along with the burnt lines marked on his pale hand and compared to how it had appeared a while ago, Faun felt no pain this time. He stared down to the empty palm, rubbing the spot where the number had just been engraved in it. It was really gone.

"See?" Pride said from the other side of the table, raising a brow with a smile as if to make an obvious point and Faun just sent him a look.

"Right. Very convenient, but still unnecessary if you ask me," Faun replied after a short pause, trying to be undeterred, "So... would that happen again? And what is it for?"

Anyone just shrugged, feigning ignorance, and Pride took the initiative to answer him this time, "For one, it'll happen again, yes. Most likely," the demon said, "The number will only appear like a reminder. And to answer your other question..."

Pride trailed off, taking a moment to send Anyone a fleeting look before he eventually returned his eyes back to Faun who still had kept his eyes focused on him. 

"The mark is for how many souls you've already collected as you carry out your task in the contract. It's your count." Pride ended with a squint of his eyes.

"I see," Faun remarked appreciatively. He took a deep breath with both of his brows raised before he exhaled sharply with a sly smirk on his face. A spark glinted in his eyes as he said, "So since I killed and claimed one soul yesterday, I got one on my palm. And the count will go up every time I did more of the tasks, is that it?"

"Yes, that's pretty much it," Pride nodded back, lips thinned as he went on, "And it will show up a day after you collected a soul. Only for about thirty-three minutes at most. Then it'll disappear just like it did a few seconds ago."

"But it doesn't really require murdering someone with my own hands, right?" Faun probed inquisitively. He wanted to clarify that part as he leaned forward with an intent look on his face, resting both of his elbows on the table and entwining his fingers together before he thoughtfully added, "If I make someone commit a grave sin, their souls will be counted too. That's another way to raise the number, is it?"

Anyone smirked, looking casually pleased, whereas Pride's eyebrows just shot up as he said, "Surprising that you would know that."

Faun scowled again, not trying to hide his annoyance as he grounded out, "Of course, I would know. I scrolled through the damn contract, at least for a short while. I'm not completely that stupid."

"Apparently," Pride inferred as he scoffed sarcastically, chortling back.

Faun ignored the faint mockery in that, and just went on, "So if I make someone commit the sin, it will count. And the number is the count. What else do I have to know?"

"That's about all of it just as what I have told you," Pride confirmed, "But the count would only increase depending on how grave the sin the person would commit. If you kill, that would automatically add to the number. But if you prefer going through the normal hunt, it would need a satisfactory performance."

"So I would just be a performer of devious acts?" Faun snorted.

"No, you're the one who should make someone perform the devious acts. How manipulative can you get?" Pride dared.

Faun chuckled with a shrug of his shoulder, saying, "Who knows?" he humored, "What kind of sin are we even talking about here, anyway? Am I allowed to choose who I will be manipulating?"

"Get anyone you want. Make them sin. Murder, suicide, r**e, a******y, stealing, corruption, terrorism, massacre..." Anyone relayed in a nonchalant voice as he looked at Faun with a blank face, "Something that goes beyond moral grounds. Something that would excite me, for one. And the reward will be all yours."

"Hm."

"Yeah, hm."

"And If I make more numbers I would get to summon more demons, right? You said there's seven of you." Faun asked, directing the question towards Pride this time as he glanced his way.

"Yeah," Pride said jovially, exuding enthusiasm as he beamed back, obviously delighted with where their conversation was finally heading to, "Perhaps, it's about time you learn about the specifics?"

Faun just smirked, saying, "Then go ahead and tell me more about it."

Conceited bastard. Pride thought to himself, looking quite appeased as he went on, "You're a demon's protege, so you must act like one to be one," he told Faun, "The best way to summon more of me is to become like us. So, if you're good at being evil, then it will be just an easy feat for you."

"Being evil, and being like you? That's quite a profession, huh," Faun alluded, "And by the time I have completed all of the qualifications that the contract requires of me, I would gain total immunity from any kind of divine punishment and I will end up just like you, wouldn't I?"

Pride paused for a second. A passing silence settled over them. Then, eventually, with a lazy roll of his eyes, he said, "That's the main aim of the contract. It's for you to become a demon and make Anyone more powerful."

"I like that," Faun smiled mischievously, clicking his tongue, "That certainly sounds enticing. But I can't say I would be able to pull it off, though."

He was only acting humble for vanity's sake. Selfishly saying he "can't pull it off" just to contradict his overbearing confidence driven by his obnoxious superiority complex. And the two demons laughed at how ridiculous those words had sounded coming from him.

"It is tempting and you can definitely pull it off," Anyone interjected after a short while, receding down to faint chuckles.

"Of course I would," Faun agreed with a glance at the demon, grinning back. Then he asked, "And what about the abilities?"

Now that certainly perked Pride's ears up as he sat straight and looked even more engrossed to the conversation. He cleared his throat and took his time to shift over his chair as he looked at the human with glowing green eyes.

"That's another thing that might tempt you more than you think it will."

"Is it superhuman strength?" 

Anyone laughed again, though louder this time, and he almost wanted to lie at Faun about that. Whereas, Pride just kept a smile on his face, biting back a snort.

"Well, that's interesting too," Pride replied calmly, "But this is not fiction. And you're no hero. You're not even a good character. So, by all means, I have to suggest that you must test out your intellectual quality for this ability to make it more effective."

"My IQ? Now, that's a challenge. What is this ability all about then?" Faun crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back.

"Mind reading."

"Mind reading?"

"You will be able to read minds of other humans like you," Anyone cued in for a detailed explanation as he added on, "You can use this special ability to lure the others into giving in to their temptations. Be a demon. Act like us and make these weak mortals sin by getting the most out of their inner thoughts. Isn't that interesting enough? Not even a high-rated demon like me could have that and I know you like it, Faun."

Just judging from the way Faun had almost smiled and forced himself to keep a straight face, Anyone did not even make an invalid guess. He had watched over the human for long enough to know what specifically switches that crazy side of him at best. They really got him good this time, and Anyone was finally starting to feel the anticipation of what could come out of this entire thing later on.

After all, Faun had never been one to run out of surprisingly ingenious acts.

"So..." Pride said with a placated smile on his face, "When will you start collecting?"

Faun thought about it for a moment. He had this wide-eyed look that made him seemed more like a man who was out to get what he wants. He took his time, putting a hand over his jaw and staring past the two demons as he mused.

"I want to test it out first," he said afterward. He flicked his eyes back at Anyone and let out a short chuckle. "I want to see how good this skill is."

"You can do that now," Pride told him, frowning.

"You mean I can read the minds of people even when they're not here or in front of me?"

"Yeah," Pride answered back right away, "You just have to think who it must be. Get a clear picture of them in your head so you need to know the person first, at least their face and their name."

"Well, that's definitely raising the bar higher there," Faun remarked, his crazy eyes showing again. He suddenly stood up, looking so fired up as he paced across the length of his dining table. Anyone and Pride just watched him in silence, eyes gawking at Faun's restless movements.

"So you're testing it out now?" It was Anyone this time who had asked curiously.

"No, I've got a better plan in mind," Faun clarified, shaking his head, still walking back and forth.

"What kind of plan?" Pride fished out, raising a brow at the human.

Faun paused on his tracks and a sinister smile somehow broke out of his face as he glanced back at the two demons on the other side of the table. He seemed to be devising something entirely epic in his head, Anyone observed.

"I'm going to interview some applicants tomorrow," Faun shared after a while, still grinning, "I will use it to learn more of the human psyche."

"What?" Pride deflated, he was actually expecting him to do something fun right away. But that certainly tested his patience as he dreaded the hours until what Faun had been planning in his head could even happen.

"What interview?" Anyone asked as well. Both demons just looked equally displeased.

Faun smirked, somewhat expecting that kind of reaction already. Then he said in a subtle tricky voice, "I'm interviewing people for the position of my new assistant."

"Assistant?" Pride echoed back in a questioning tone, pulling his back and frowning harder.

"I'm opening a clinic of my own," Faun explained away, "Anyone knows about it. It's going to be my front to keep up my act as a goodwill doctor of medicine."

"I didn't realize you were still on with that," Anyone commented from his seat, briefly sighing. But an enthusiastic smile was slowly curving up from his lips.

"Of course I'm still on with that," Faun just grinned devilishly, his sigh sounded more like a scoff than just a puff of loud air, "I'm going to see how far this mind-reading goes. Humans tend to lie all the time. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I'd get my new victim as well."

That still did not excite Pride though, he just scowled and said, "I doubt that."

"Let's see," Anyone nonchalantly said, contrasting Pride's remark. His face unreadable and when Pride shot the demon a look, he saw a confident smirk on Anyone's face. Pride felt confused and frustrated.

"There's one way to find out how this skill really works," Faun told the two demons, his words vague yet self-reassuring as he stopped and sat on the chair again.

"You think so?" Pride dared back, crossing his arms in front of him as he stared head-on at the human. His eyes narrowed at him, looking quite unsure of how this entire plan of Faun would turn out soon.

"You don't have to believe me, I know," Faun said back, meeting Pride's eyes in a challenging gaze. "I'll just have to show you how I'm good at this."

Anyone chuckled and did not say anything. If there was one thing the demon would believe, it would be the insanity of Faun. The human would always have a plan in mind... And perhaps, he might definitely pull it off tomorrow.

"Whatever," Pride commented, sighing heavily with a wave of his hand, dismissing it all and still feeling doubtful as he added, "Just do what you got to do."

"You bet," Faun said with finality. And realizing that he had all things considered and figured, he left the place just like that, leaving Anyone musing about what will happen tomorrow and Pride still scowling out of dissatisfaction.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------to be continued