Dave couldn’t keep the accusation out of his voice as he asked “So that is what this is about? You give people a bone that turns them evil, to make real estate for your friends?” The demon stooped down to retrieve the bone from the floor before turning to Dave with a scowl “This is a tool! A dangerous tool, but a tool.” Dave flinched as the demon waved the artifact in his direction to underline his point “Useless to demons, but very powerful in the hands of a human. But it doesn’t influence the wielder. At all. In fact, your friend was quite disappointed when he found out he couldn’t use it to change himself!”
“But he first thing he did was ” Dave pointed towards the window and his mother Linda “this! She basically helped raise him!”
“Yes.” The demon said “And you seem like an intelligent man. Please don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Oedipus and the complex named after him.”
“But…” Dave was at a loss for words. There was no way Jake thought about Linda like that!
“People often surprise you, when they suddenly aquire the power to change the mind of anyone who raises a fuss. And him and her aren’t even related by blood, so that particular hurdle was a lot lower.”
“But…”
“I know learning something like that about a friend is upsetting. Perhaps you can take comfort in the fact that his final use of the bone was to make reparations?”
“Because I told him too.”
“But nobody told him to restore you. He just valued the real you more than sweet loving Mei-Ling.”
“Because she was too clingy.” Dave said bitterly, the memory how desperately Mei-Ling had wanted to be with Jake and her fear of driving him away, squeezing his heart.
“Cus’ y’ w’r s’ frgn ‘ss! ” Jake mumbled, from behind his arms.
“What?!” the echo of the Mei-Lings’ lovesickness, made Jakes question sound sharper than he had planned.
Jake lifted his head slightly but refused to meet Daves eyes “Because you were so frigging nice. You…she kept doing stuff for me, She didn’t try to rip my pants off. She kept trying to be my friend. ”
Dave was about om protest that she had wanted to be much more than just a friend, but in the end he just shook his head angrily. No use going down that particular road. Instead he turned to look Ezekiel again “Ok. So you don’t turn people evil, you just trust that absolute power corrupts absolutely. But why tell me? Aren’t you afraid I will try to stop you?” his voice quavering slightly at the last sentence.
The demon just laughed “Brave words, even if your shaking knees ruin the delivery somewhat. But you can relax, I do not plan to kill you. Or do anything else to you, for that matter ” In a more serious tone he continued “ And I am not worried about you stopping me because – as I mentioned – I only use the term demon to impress upon you the seriousness of this matter. Personally I view myself as a scholar . I have no interest in twirling my mustache and laugh as the world burns in the fires of hell. In fact I have taken quite a few steps to ensure the world remains a pleasant place to live in. Like restricting the bone to change just one person at a time, for instance. And put safeties in place so it will not mess with causality itself. “ Ezekiel let his breath his out in a frustrated hiss “I mean can you imagine? I heard through the grape-vine some guy unearthed an artifact somewhere in south America that can just rewrite all of reality in a two mile radius around it. And then he gave it to some random kid! A kid! Sooner or later, there will be a few square-miles of land where history and the laws of physics have been completely rewritten according to some vague direction like ‘be less boring’.” The demon took a deep calming breath “Please excuse my outburst. This kind of negligence is a bit of a pet-peeve of mine.”
“Yes. Not like you have a shop full of dangerous stuff you hand out without proper instructions” Jake muttered darkly.
“I keep the truly dangerous things under lock and key. Everything in the store has pretty localized effects. Nothing that would force other practitioners of the Hidden Arts to clean up my messes. No ‘Zombie virus but with cat-girls’ for MY customers. ”.
“But why do it in the first place? Why ruin peoples lives.” Dave inquired.
The demon scoffed “Because I can’t read peoples’ minds to impress them by using their names as soon as they enter my shop and predict all their action accurately enough to give them some random item with a custom made enchantment that will end up being exactly what they need, even if it didn’t seem like it in the beginning.
I just give people all the stuff they could ever need to fix what they think is broken in their lives. “
“At the cost of their soul.”
“You said it yourself. You have to be a right fool, not to get a bit suspicious if a self-professed demon offers you free stuff. And it isn’t like their soul is forfeit the moment they take the bone. They have every chance to come out of this with all their problems solved and their soul just slightly singed. I consider it a life lesson.”
As Ezekiel talked Jake slowly got to his feet “You sick fuck!” he spat “This is all a game to you, isn’t it?” Jake looked like he would have loved nothing more than put his hands around the demons throat and squeeze. But he didn’t dare go through with it.
“Language.” The demon admonished “ And if you want to talk about sick games: Did you even care that three of the women last night were married? Did you even notice? Or did you just see some toys you liked and took them? ” “Shut! up!” Jake shouted, taking a threatening step in the demons direction, ” I was drunk! Ok!?”
“That will go a long way, to help these women explain to their husbands why they absconded with you, I am sure ” Ezekiels voice was dripping with sarcasm “Make no mistake. I may have given you a splendid opportunity to ruin your own life and that of others, but it was you who decided to make such liberal use of it.”
“You could have told me.” Jake tried again, but as quick as it had flared up his anger was already turning into the sullen stubbornness that usually signified Jake knew he couldn’t win but was too proud to give up yet.
“Your friend tried to tell you. And you struck any knowledge of the bone from her head, so you would not have to listen.” The demon retorted calmly.
“I want to make a deal.” Daves calm declaration, caused both the man in the top-hat and Jake to look at him in mild surprise as if they had forgotten he was there for a moment.
“Come again?” the twinkle in his eye showed Ezekiel had understood Dave just fine the first time.
Still Dave decided to play along “You call yourself a demon. So let’s make a deal.” He was probably walking right into a trap, but if he didn’t at least try Dave would probably never forgive himself.
Ezekiel ginned and said “Interesting.” the same moment Jake exclaimed “No! You can’t.” earning him an annoyed look from the demon.
“Look Jake. I am just seeing what’s on the table. I am not signing anything in blood yet. ” Dave reassured his friend, before turning his attention back to the demon “So, what can you offer?”
“Wellll. I could give you the bone.” Ezekiel offered. “You would probably do a better job than your friend.”
“But I would still end up with a ‘possess me’-sign on my back sooner or later. ”
“Not necessarily. I am confident you would not need more than a few days to figure out how to work around the limitations of the artifact. So I will have to insist on a favor of equal value, if you want me to part with it for what might be potentially several hundred years.”
If it was just about the time there was always the option of borrowing it just for a week or so. The problem was, Dave did not even know where to start assessing the value of the bone. The demon had been fine just giving it to Jake for free for a week, but Dave had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case for him. Perhaps a series of smaller favors would be the way to go. Like rent payments. But owing unspecified favors to a demon sounded like a pretty bad idea. At the very least he would have to make sure Ezekiel didn’t ask for anything that forced Dave to make excessive use of the bone to succeed.
“Dave?” Jakes voice reminded Dave that he had been silently staring at the bone for what might be several minutes now, trying to figure out how to go about this. “Just thinking.” He assured his friend. As he looked at Jake another thought struck him.
“Can the bone do anything to help him?” he asked the man in the top hat, nodding in Jakes direction. “I am afraid not.” Ezekiel shook his head sadly “It could repair any …damages. And if you are present and awake when some wandering demon stumbles upon him and makes its’ play you could probably stop it, but the fight would cost you. And the vigil would last until one of you dies. Or your soul too, is snuffed out. Which is the point where I would have to collect both of you to ensure, nothing truly malevolent uses you as a beachhead. I can not honestly say it would be a fair deal if that is what you want the wishing-bone for.”
“Take us both?” Dave repeated, while Jake hastily scrambled several steps away as if he was afraid the demon would lunge at him any moment.
Ezekiel gave them a placating smile “I am not going to drag you back in chains to suffer unending torment, if that is what you are afraid off. As I said – the title of demon is only metaphorical. If you are hell bent of sticking it out on your own I will leave. ” he looked to Jake “But that horrible emptiness you are feeling inside. That will stay. You can probably drown it out for a while with booze or women or burying yourself in work. Or better even - all three. And in truly unhealthy amounts. But it will always be waiting for you when you collapse in exhaustion. So in a metaphorical sense you are already in hell. And at some point, maybe a decade or two from now if you are lucky, you will join the host of demons anyway.“
“So I will feel like that, forever?” Jake asked, a desperate tinge in his voice.
“Until something fills the hollow place inside you again. Yes. “ Ezekiel smiled “ But here is the thing. Once it is snuffed out a soul can never be rekindled. “the demon made a dramatic pause, an excited gleam in his azure eyes ”But it can be replaced. Normally only the most powerful demons can possess a man, because the spark resists any attempts to override someones identity. Because possession isn’t so much about stealing the body; it is about subsuming the hosts spark after changing everything about the body, memories and personality of the victim that clashes with the possessors identity. But without a spark, you are…malleable. And unlike the powerful ones, lesser demons have no identity of their own. In fact that is what makes them lesser demons in the first place. All power but no will to channel it. They collect ideas and concepts to build an identity for themselves the way a some crabs collects detritus to build a shell. And they would gladly make your memories and motivations their own if given the chance. It would be you who is in control, instead of the other way around.” The demon was clearly enjoying his lecture “ Of course there are limits. Because, all a lesser demon has -all they are - are the ideas and concepts at it’s core. It will not begrudge you calling the shots but these are the things it will never allow you to change about yourself once the two of you merge. So the crucial part for happiness is finding a demon that does not embody anything truly at odds with who you are. Because knowing you will never be able to overcome what you consider a personal flaw of character can be quite aggravating.”
Daves mind was going a mile a minute thinking through the implication of what he had just heard. So it was Jake who broke the silence “But doing that isn’t free, is it.” It wasn’t really a question, more of a resigned realization. The demon nodded “Collecting suitable demons comes with a considerable investment of time and resources. Seven years of service are traditional, if you want the …what do they call it these days?.... ah yes, the premium-service. Considerable less so if I do not have to part with the pride of my collection.”
Dave didn’t like the sound of that, and going by Jakes hesitant expression neither did he. Dave had a feeling Ezekiel had been honest when he said he had no interest in spreading misery for miserys’ sake. He had come to the conclusion a while ago that the man in the top-hat was less like a demon and more like the fae of old. Bearing gifts that often brought more trouble than they are worth. And while not truly evil, the self-proclaimed demon seemed to have a rather loose understanding of right and wrong. Leaving Jake at the mans mercy for seven years? That didn’t sound like a very good idea. Especially not when Jake had already demonstrated how he handled power.
“What if I wanted something from your collection? ” Dave burst out.
“A minute ago you seemed rather adverse to the idea of sharing your body with anyone else.” Ezekiel said with a bemused smile. “But yes, I would extend the same offer if you lost your soul by any means.”
“No. I mean can I be the one who pays in his stead?” Dave pointed to Jake, prompting his friend to ask “Why?” in disbelief.
“I do not really know” Dave admitted “ You did some REALLY shitty things. But I can’t just abandon a friend, I guess.” Leaving his friend at a loss for words.
