Page 14 of Demon's Obsession

The older man actually brightened, and he stood, tugging at the bottom of his jacket as if he suddenly cared what he looked like. Jennifer was looking at him as if she’d suddenly been handed a huge present. “Of course, young man. I thoroughly enjoyed your singing, by the way. I’m Oliver. Oliver Fordham. Ma’am, if you wouldn’t mind taking my arm. Things are a little chaotic here, don’t you agree?”

There was a demon yelling in the background, people were screaming and pushing at each other as they raced for the door, and yet in that moment, all Silas could see was the way two strangers looked at each other, as if they had found a home. Jennifer took Oliver’s hand, and he held her close, sheltering her body from other people. As they went past Silas, Jennifer turned her head and gave Silas a quick wink. All he could do was smile because he had a feeling Oliver and Jennifer were made for each other.

Meanwhile… there weren’t as many people in the club now, making the demon easier to see. Ducking and dodging around the stragglers all looking to leave, Silas moved closer, and then hopped up on a table. The red-skinned demon with the silver horns was huge and towered above him.

“Hey! I say. Excuse me. Hey.” Silas couldn’t make himself heard over the roars the demon was making.

Just as well I carry my music with me.Sending out his magic, Silas stood on the tabletop, among the scattered furniture, the discarded glasses and the mess left by panicked people, closed his eyes, and simply started to sing.

He sang of love, of contentment, of being happy and relaxed, and when the words failed him, Silas hummed, weaving the vibes of the forest and his special tree into a huge cloud that wafted through the air of the club, calming the demon. He sang, and he sang until the demon stopped roaring, and when Silas allowed the last notes of his final song to drift away, he openedhis eyes and saw the demon was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring up at him.

“Hey.” Silas suddenly felt shy. He was used to being the center of attention for groups of people, but having one intense being just staring at him made his cheeks heat. “Are you feeling a bit better now?”

“You sing lovely.” The words were deep, guttural, as if they’d come from the bowels of the earth, and in a sense, Silas reasoned, they probably had.

“Thank you.” Silas jumped off the table, his feet landing lightly on the floor. “Can you tell me why you were so upset? Was it anything I can help you with?”

“He didn’t want to come, and we missed you singing before.”

Silas had to stop and think for a moment, and then he realized the demon was speaking on his own behalf about his human side. “Ah, that’s a shame, when two sides of the same magnificent being can’t work together. Hopefully, my singing helped.” He reached up, touching the leaves his tree had given him. They were slightly crispy around the edges. “I need to get back to my tree now. Will you be all right?”

“Would you take my hand for a moment?”

Surprised, Silas reached out his hand without thinking. There wasn’t a lot of him, although he was stronger than he looked, and in that moment, he assumed the demon wanted a hand up.

But just as their hands were about to touch, the demon’s arm got snatched away. Well, it was the demon who snatched it away, but as Silas watched, he could see it was as if an enormous fight was happeninginsideof the demon. The face was sweaty and distorting, muscles shifting and shimmering as if two sides were battling for the right to speak or control the body.

“Stay back. Do not touch us.” The voice was different from the demon’s, although coming from the same mouth.The human side.

Silas backed up immediately, both hands raised in the air. “Hey, hey. I totally respect the need for consent. It’s fine. Totally fine. I won’t touch you. If you don’t need anything else, I’ll just go.”

“Stay!”

That was the demon, but as fast as those words were out of the demon’s mouth, the other voice was going, “Go, go, don’t touch us, please.”

“Stay! Stay! Stay!”

“Merihem. Merihem. Merihem.”

Silas had turned to leave, because the last thing he wanted to cause was more harm for the demon he dreamed about, but the human’s voice calling another name had him turning back just in time to see a second demon appear—a very naked demon who grabbed hold of the original demon and was shaking him by the shoulders.

I guess that’s what the expression ’three’s a crowd’ means,Silas thought as he quietly left the demons to sort out their own shit. He wandered outside, stopping just long enough to grab his envelope, which had been left for him on the counter by the door, and started looking for George’s taxicab. As he waited, Silas had to wonder if maybe Wanda was right. As much as he loved to sing, the demon turning up twice in two weeks was more than a coincidence. It had to be. Silas thought about all the lovely people he’d sung to who’d had their night ruined.

That was never my intention.Tears stung his eyes.All I’ve ever wanted was to make people happy.

Silas wasn’t sure that would be possible if the demon kept turning up, although Jennifer and Oliver seemed happy enough. Silas stroked the petals of his lovely new top, and then pulled the leaves from his hair, and tucked them into the mesh. The plants would nurture each other until he got them back into the forest.I hope that demon is all right.

Chapter Ten

Dakata

He was furious, embarrassed, and had a crushing feeling in his chest that made it hard to catch his breath. His vision wavered, and as the destroyed room came back into view, he groaned in dismay at finding a very naked demon sitting on his chest. “Get the fuck off me.”

Merihem rose gracefully, despite his size. He offered him a hand, grinning like a damn fool at him. “Your distress call woke the whole of the demon realm and spoiled my night. So a thank you would be nice.”

Dakata batted the hand away and got up off the dirty floor. “Leave then,” he said in way of thanks, then groaned his frustration recalling just how close he’d gotten to touching Silas—and how much he’d wanted it. “Thank you,” he muttered crossly, remaining utterly conflicted at being restrained.

“Meaning it would sound better, but whatever.” Merihem glanced about and chuckled. “You really did a number on the place. Branson isn’t gonna be happy with you destroying his place.”