Demons
We sat around the table in silence. All of us knew that what Greg had suggested was the best possible option, but none of us knew what to say about it.
I looked to Ruth. She seemed weary. Her silver hair had been pulled back into a loose braid and the lines on her face seemed deeper than they had been only yesterday. Her pale blue eyes did not meet mine from behind her thick spectacles, but instead stared down at her interlocking, bejeweled fingers. Her thoughts were guarded. Beside her, Greg looked like he hadn’t bothered to shave since he rose from his comatose state just a few days ago. His right eye seemed to have developed a permanent twitch and I wondered if he would even survive this meeting, let alone the events that would follow.
Lestat sat at the head of the table, his fingers drumming out a rhythm. He was angry at the situation that he now found himself in and it was taking all of his effort to keep control. Louis stood against the wall behind him. He was a constant presence, here for the sole purpose of protecting his maker and nothing more. I could have read his mind if I wished, but I didn’t want to know what sort of malice might lurk behind that steady gaze.
The silence stretched on uncomfortably. Finally, I pushed my chair back and got to my feet.
“I’ll do it.” I hoped that I had successfully concealed the trepidation in my voice.
“You will not!” Lestat pounded a fist on the table, causing Greg to jump. His pen clattered to the floor. Lestat sprung up and started pacing. “This is ridiculous.”
“It’s the only solution we have,” I said tiredly. “Time is running out. You need a willing Talamascan and I’m volunteering.”
Even I will admit that the plan sounded ludicrous at first. Bloodshed, death, walking corpses and cryopreservation. It all seemed like the plot of a science fiction or fantasy novel. At first, I wondered if Greg had lost his mind, but as he explained himself, I realised just how brilliant it really was.
Greg was the only person ever to survive possession by this demon and he was armed with a better understanding of it than any of us could ever have. He had felt its pleasure at inspiring fear and told us that it would always gain control of a Talamascan if given a chance. He suggested that Lestat drink from one of us to forge a connection and lure it out. An ancient binding spell would then be performed, locking the demon into its new host without any hope of escape.
“Ian, do you understand what you’re suggesting?” Ruth was shaking her head.
“I won’t let you do this!” Lestat closed the gap between us. “We don’t know what it will do when I drink from you. I might not be able to stop!”
I smiled weakly. “If you’re free of it you’d better stop.”
“This is monstrous!”
“Do you have a better idea?” I questioned. “It’s not as if we can ring the Superior General and have him send someone.”
He shot a look at Greg. “I don’t like it. There must be another way.”
Greg looked helpless. “There isn’t another way. It must be one of us or it won’t leave you. It’s blinded by rage. It can feel our terror. It feeds on it.”
I ran a hand over my face. “We can’t force someone else to die for this.”
“I can.” But Lestat was beginning to relent.
“It must be me, Lestat. I’m the only logical choice and I’m here.”
With halting words, Greg had explained the horror of being unable to move or speak while the demon ravaged his human body. All who had been possessed had lived weeks at most, exhausted and bloodied. So, the plan didn’t end with possession. To save me from suffering, I must also die.
“I’ve never been much of a hero,” I said. “And I’m not being a hero now. What do I have to offer? A legacy of empty bottles; pill bottles, liquor bottles and now bottles of blood as well.” I laughed. “I’ve made mistakes which can never be forgiven, I don’t follow orders, I can’t hold onto a romantic relationship and I hurt those I care for. What do I have to lose?”
Ruth reached out a hand to me, but I shook my head. “I’m really being selfish. If I do this, my life will actually stand for something. My name will never be forgotten.”
Even in death, I will strive for glory.
“You know you don’t mean that!’ Ruth cried. “Ian, I should do this. It was my failure that let it escape before!”
Ruth, however, had lived an incredibly full life. She had written the curriculum for most of our demonology courses and had brought a wealth of knowledge to the Order. She had also recently become grandmother to twin boys who brought a proud smile to her lips whenever anyone asked of them. Then there was Greg, our walking encyclopedia. There is nothing that he cannot accomplish once he sets his mind to it. His research skills are invaluable to us and his wife, who is also rising within our ranks, could not be more devoted.
This would be a good end to a poor life. Ruth bowed her head.
“It’s not so bad.” I added. I caught Lestat’s eye. The understanding passed between us. He would end my life as quickly as possible.
“Then we’ll begin,” he said.
I was the last to enter the room. Candles glowed all around me and there a book was open on the desk, its binding blackened by fire. Beside it was a case filled with small glass vials of oils and herbs.
I stepped toward Lestat, my eyes meeting his. My gifts were failing me in these final moments and I knew that he could sense my fear. I was about to invite malevolent being into my mind. I worried that at the moment of my death, a part of my soul would remain trapped with Balas for the rest of time.
I remembered the vision. Balas in the ancient crypt. Scholars scattering before the sight of the decaying corpse as it levered away the sarcophagus lid and scraped closer. Then came the binding spell and the demon breaking free at last from its tomb of bone and dust. Greg had found the simplest of solutions. A marriage of magic and science combined to create the perfect prison. We would embrace the modern age and use cryopreservation. My body would be frozen and remain forever intact and the demon would never escape again.
My eyes closed before I felt his arms around me. I didn’t want to see it coming. His lips were cold against my throat for just a moment before I felt his fangs piece my skin. I flinched involuntarily and tightened my grip in him, but I felt no pain.
As blood flowed, a strange sense of euphoria washed over me. The demon was forgotten. All of the barriers I had built were breaking down and I reveled in the freedom of being vulnerable. I caught a vision of light and darkness; a hundred candles blazing in an ornate room, their number doubled by a procession of gilded mirrors and an infinite night beyond. I could hear music, a piano, but the notes came at a dizzying speed and the earthly scent of flowers, there, creamy chrysanthemum in a crystal vase, dead petals on the floor. Euphoria turned to ecstasy and it filled my body, mind and soul. It was the purest pleasure I had ever experienced.
Abruptly, the visions vanished and I felt a surge of panic. I clung to life with all my soul. In the end, we all want to live.
Then the darkness took me.
Read more in Lestat's journal.
I looked to Ruth. She seemed weary. Her silver hair had been pulled back into a loose braid and the lines on her face seemed deeper than they had been only yesterday. Her pale blue eyes did not meet mine from behind her thick spectacles, but instead stared down at her interlocking, bejeweled fingers. Her thoughts were guarded. Beside her, Greg looked like he hadn’t bothered to shave since he rose from his comatose state just a few days ago. His right eye seemed to have developed a permanent twitch and I wondered if he would even survive this meeting, let alone the events that would follow.
Lestat sat at the head of the table, his fingers drumming out a rhythm. He was angry at the situation that he now found himself in and it was taking all of his effort to keep control. Louis stood against the wall behind him. He was a constant presence, here for the sole purpose of protecting his maker and nothing more. I could have read his mind if I wished, but I didn’t want to know what sort of malice might lurk behind that steady gaze.
The silence stretched on uncomfortably. Finally, I pushed my chair back and got to my feet.
“I’ll do it.” I hoped that I had successfully concealed the trepidation in my voice.
“You will not!” Lestat pounded a fist on the table, causing Greg to jump. His pen clattered to the floor. Lestat sprung up and started pacing. “This is ridiculous.”
“It’s the only solution we have,” I said tiredly. “Time is running out. You need a willing Talamascan and I’m volunteering.”
Even I will admit that the plan sounded ludicrous at first. Bloodshed, death, walking corpses and cryopreservation. It all seemed like the plot of a science fiction or fantasy novel. At first, I wondered if Greg had lost his mind, but as he explained himself, I realised just how brilliant it really was.
Greg was the only person ever to survive possession by this demon and he was armed with a better understanding of it than any of us could ever have. He had felt its pleasure at inspiring fear and told us that it would always gain control of a Talamascan if given a chance. He suggested that Lestat drink from one of us to forge a connection and lure it out. An ancient binding spell would then be performed, locking the demon into its new host without any hope of escape.
“Ian, do you understand what you’re suggesting?” Ruth was shaking her head.
“I won’t let you do this!” Lestat closed the gap between us. “We don’t know what it will do when I drink from you. I might not be able to stop!”
I smiled weakly. “If you’re free of it you’d better stop.”
“This is monstrous!”
“Do you have a better idea?” I questioned. “It’s not as if we can ring the Superior General and have him send someone.”
He shot a look at Greg. “I don’t like it. There must be another way.”
Greg looked helpless. “There isn’t another way. It must be one of us or it won’t leave you. It’s blinded by rage. It can feel our terror. It feeds on it.”
I ran a hand over my face. “We can’t force someone else to die for this.”
“I can.” But Lestat was beginning to relent.
“It must be me, Lestat. I’m the only logical choice and I’m here.”
With halting words, Greg had explained the horror of being unable to move or speak while the demon ravaged his human body. All who had been possessed had lived weeks at most, exhausted and bloodied. So, the plan didn’t end with possession. To save me from suffering, I must also die.
“I’ve never been much of a hero,” I said. “And I’m not being a hero now. What do I have to offer? A legacy of empty bottles; pill bottles, liquor bottles and now bottles of blood as well.” I laughed. “I’ve made mistakes which can never be forgiven, I don’t follow orders, I can’t hold onto a romantic relationship and I hurt those I care for. What do I have to lose?”
Ruth reached out a hand to me, but I shook my head. “I’m really being selfish. If I do this, my life will actually stand for something. My name will never be forgotten.”
Even in death, I will strive for glory.
“You know you don’t mean that!’ Ruth cried. “Ian, I should do this. It was my failure that let it escape before!”
Ruth, however, had lived an incredibly full life. She had written the curriculum for most of our demonology courses and had brought a wealth of knowledge to the Order. She had also recently become grandmother to twin boys who brought a proud smile to her lips whenever anyone asked of them. Then there was Greg, our walking encyclopedia. There is nothing that he cannot accomplish once he sets his mind to it. His research skills are invaluable to us and his wife, who is also rising within our ranks, could not be more devoted.
This would be a good end to a poor life. Ruth bowed her head.
“It’s not so bad.” I added. I caught Lestat’s eye. The understanding passed between us. He would end my life as quickly as possible.
“Then we’ll begin,” he said.
I was the last to enter the room. Candles glowed all around me and there a book was open on the desk, its binding blackened by fire. Beside it was a case filled with small glass vials of oils and herbs.
I stepped toward Lestat, my eyes meeting his. My gifts were failing me in these final moments and I knew that he could sense my fear. I was about to invite malevolent being into my mind. I worried that at the moment of my death, a part of my soul would remain trapped with Balas for the rest of time.
I remembered the vision. Balas in the ancient crypt. Scholars scattering before the sight of the decaying corpse as it levered away the sarcophagus lid and scraped closer. Then came the binding spell and the demon breaking free at last from its tomb of bone and dust. Greg had found the simplest of solutions. A marriage of magic and science combined to create the perfect prison. We would embrace the modern age and use cryopreservation. My body would be frozen and remain forever intact and the demon would never escape again.
My eyes closed before I felt his arms around me. I didn’t want to see it coming. His lips were cold against my throat for just a moment before I felt his fangs piece my skin. I flinched involuntarily and tightened my grip in him, but I felt no pain.
As blood flowed, a strange sense of euphoria washed over me. The demon was forgotten. All of the barriers I had built were breaking down and I reveled in the freedom of being vulnerable. I caught a vision of light and darkness; a hundred candles blazing in an ornate room, their number doubled by a procession of gilded mirrors and an infinite night beyond. I could hear music, a piano, but the notes came at a dizzying speed and the earthly scent of flowers, there, creamy chrysanthemum in a crystal vase, dead petals on the floor. Euphoria turned to ecstasy and it filled my body, mind and soul. It was the purest pleasure I had ever experienced.
Abruptly, the visions vanished and I felt a surge of panic. I clung to life with all my soul. In the end, we all want to live.
Then the darkness took me.
Read more in Lestat's journal.