Demons and Magic

CHAPTER 5: Stuck With You

He was stunned. They both were. But in the heat of the moment, something clicked inside of him and told him to run.

So, he did.

He bolted out the door and into the bustling street downstairs, his mind racing as he felt the heat rise up to his cheeks. If it was out of fear, embarrassment, or something else, he didn’t know. Nor does he have the time to even think about it.

Wearing nothing but his pajamas and the same thin piece of shirt he wore to breakfast, he darted past people as he ducked and shoved, desperate to run away from Alastair who would no doubt toss him in the middle of the freeway and act like it was an accident.

A couple curses here and there and he even heard someone call 911, but he didn’t bother stopping.

He’s not sure whether he could escape from the agent of Satan if he was locked up in a cell. But telling them that she’s a demon would no doubt land him a room in a mental institution so that’s not really a great option either.

He figured he just has to run until his nonathletic lungs explode.

“Hi,” Alastair greeted as soon as he turned a corner, and he tripped on the hard pavement, his face ashen as they met each other’s gaze.

“Please, don’t kill me.”

People were now looking their way, their eyes landing towards Nathan who was still holding a cross and then to Alastair who was just leaning casually against a wall, her hands stuffed deep inside the pockets of her trousers. The people passing were probably thinking to themselves that this was just another one of those YouTube pranks.

After all, with Alastair’s looks and her ‘cosplay’ outfit that would definitely land her a spot in the franchise of Assassin’s Creed, it was just hard to believe that this isn’t a joke.

“Why’d you swim?” she mocked and laughed at him, holding her hand out for him to take.

Nathan merely glanced at it and then back to her face, determination etched on his gaze as the embarrassment of missing her just this morning washed over him like cold water. He couldn’t believe that he got carried away with her angelic face.

She’s still a demon even if she looks like that. Demons were once angels, too. He should’ve thought about it.

“Take it. I don’t bite,” Alastair said when she saw that he was still stubbornly sitting on the floor, ignoring the looks he was getting from people passing on the street.

“Are you okay?” a kindly old woman asked him as she hesitantly closed the distance between them, her eyes inquisitive as she met Alastair’s.

Nathan wanted to say something, but he isn’t sure how. “I’m fine,” he croaked and forced himself to smile as he got up, pretending that Alastair was never there at all. “It’s alright. I just tripped. Thank you.”

“Oh.” The old woman smiled at them both and nodded. “Okay. Well, have a good day, you two.”

Nathan smiled at her and Alastair nodded, her gaze on her as she crossed the street.

“Afraid you’d sound crazy if you were to tell any of these philistines?”

“They’re not.”

“You should know. Considering you are one,” she said and let her eyes run down the dusty hem of Nathan’s pajamas and on the small rip on his shirt that he didn’t notice until her eyes landed on that spot.

Suddenly, he felt bare. Pathetic next to her.

Nathan’s breath hitched as he started feeling cold, his embarrassment seeping through when he realized just how much attention they were already getting as he stood there looking like a deranged vagrant.

“Embarrassed, human?” Alastair scoffed, her amusement reflected in her stormy gray eyes as she smiled mockingly at him. “Fine, I won’t kill you today. Let’s go to the mall, instead. I heard from Keiffer you could buy human clothes there. I think you need it more than I do. I can see through your shirt.”

She was about to reach for his wrist to drag him towards the direction of one of the bus stops when he suddenly waved the cross to her face again, humiliated about what he was doing but desperate nonetheless.

“Are you mentally deficient? I already told you, that won’t work on me,” Alastair hissed at him as she slapped the cross away, offended that he was still trying to perform exorcism on her.

“If I can’t ward you off with this. I’ll just smack it across your face, then,” he said and grimaced, trying to press the cross to her forehead.

There was a lot of scuffle, a few calls for help, and a whole lot of those other sh*t as Alastair dragged him towards a taxi. By the time they have both settled down, the taxi driver in front of them was already red with laughter, his voice booming through the small car.

“Mall, was it?” he said in between breaths and started driving away.

By the time they reached the closest mall in the area, Alastair paid the driver with a hefty amount of small gold pieces, her smile broad as the man continuously thanked her in evident pleasure.

Nathan was sure that she was not just evil. She was also extremely proud. She was the type of person who would feel so good doing things that can get her compliments and praises. In simpler terms, she’s like a politician.

And not the good type of one.

“Welcome,” a machine said from on top of the glass doors as it slid open, and Alastair took a step back.

“Did the door just talk?” She looked shocked. “Well, hello, door.”

A pregnant woman that was holding a three year old kid by the hand laughed at her as the two of them walked past Nathan and Alastair, her smile wide as she met both their stares.

“You see that?” she said. “People love me.”

Nathan looked skeptical with this, his eyes reflecting his clear distaste with Alastair’s statement. “I think they were just laughing at you ‘cause you looked stupid.”

She replied with a sharp gaze. “Says the one who looks like a walking pile of rags. You look like the dog needs to walk you.”

“I’m offended.”

“Oh, don’t fret. I wasn’t insulting you. It was merely an observation.”

During lunch, Nathan sat on the chair opposite Alastair as they shared an entire platter of pizza, the prospect of going to any of his morning classes long forgotten.

He figured it was already too late and he was in so much mess now that Alastair keeps showing up in front of him every time he tries to escape. He couldn’t possibly bring her to school. She might terrorize all of those kids if she even gets the chance to set foot into that hellhole.

Kids in his school are the type you would love to shove down the toilet if you had a chance. And with the way Alastair’s temper keeps changing, he can’t take that risk.

“So, what are you, really? I mean, if you are a demon just like you said, why would you be granting wishes? Are you sure you’re not a genie?”

Alastair chewed on her food, wiping a stain on the corner of her lips with a serviette, and sighed as though she were to engage herself in a long discussion. “We can’t be your nanny, so the archangels had the brilliant idea of making us your godparents instead. They don’t trust us enough to let us stay here for more than a few minutes on the mortal realm.”

“Well, of course. You’re a demon.”

“We’re angels, too.” She gazed down her plate and pushed her food around with a fork. “Just because we work in the dark, doesn’t mean we don’t serve the light.”

“Ooh. What are you? An electrician?”

Alastair met his gaze. It wasn’t playful this time, though, and it made him feel terrible.

“Sorry.”

“We are nothing but the punishers. Your sins are your own. I mean … what benefit would it be to us if all of you go to hell? That only means more paperwork.”

Nathan bit his lip and nodded, suddenly losing his appetite. “Wait … you do paperwork?”

Alastair rolled her eyes. “Yes. But we still call it papyrus. The old men back home refused to use your new papers and magic quills.”

He just blinked at this, unsure of what to think of it and nodded again. “But if you really aren’t evil like you said, why do people fear you, then?”

“Because we can do something they can’t.”

“Like what?”

“Minding our own business, for one.”

Nathan frowned at her. “Well in case you forgot, you were the one who kept on following me. I was just curious that’s why I kept asking.”

“Oh, and in case you forgot, too, you were the dumbass who summoned me.”

“I didn’t summon you! It was Jackson and his friends.”

“Really? Then, I suppose your blood walked on its own and dropped itself inside the goblet?”

Nathan slammed his fork on the table and the waiter on the other side of the small pizza shack glanced their way. “Listen here, you little sh*t. It was them who forced me to give a drop of my blood. How the hell should I know that a demon would actually come out?” he hissed at her and narrowed his eyes.

Alastair slammed her hand on the table, too, narrowing her own eyes back at him. “Well, then, maybe that would teach you not to mess with ancient relics again. If your friend weren’t such a doofus, he would know that the goblet was owned by some Satanic priestess.”

“Wait, really?”

“That was the same goblet used when I was summoned before.”

“You’ve been summoned before?”

“Didn’t I just say that? You’re thick as a f*cking plank—”

“Is everything alright here?” the manager of the pizza place asked, and they immediately pointed at each other.

“She keeps following me.”

“He’s a gormless idiot.”

They both said in unison and the manager just smiled at them both, motioning for them to calm down with his hands. “Okay, this problem seems to be personal, but ah … would it be possible to turn it down even just a little? There are other customers.”

Alastair frowned and stuck her tongue out at Nathan. Nathan did the same.

“Great. Now, please, enjoy your meal.”

···

“You must be grateful, huh? You’re practically immortal,” Alastair said as they were hailing a taxi so they could get back to his apartment.

Nathan heaved a huge sigh that she feared his lungs would come out of his nose. “What the hell are you on to about now?”

“Nothing. I mean, stupidity lasts forever.”

“You know, didn’t you say you were here to look for Lucifer?”

“Yes,” answered Alastair, and Nathan smiled.

“Great. Now, why don’t you go and look for him, huh? Stop following me so we can both actually have a peaceful life.”

“You moron!” she hissed at him, and he scowled back. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be here looking at your depressing face.”

“And why wouldn’t you have a choice?”

“Because you offered your blood? And unless you die, I will always be tied to you. I can never leave your side.”

“What?”

“You dull creature, I said, I’M STUCK WITH YOU!”