Page 36 of Beneath My Skin

Hearing her demonic voice filled with melancholy wasn’t how I’d always pictured this meeting. I’d hoped that one day I’d find a way to live without her. Faced with the prospect now, the image in my head didn’t quite match up with reality. I wasn’t sure what to say to her. This was goodbye, I knew. Unless she tried to make a deal to claim my immortal soul. I didn’t know if I would be strong enough to resist her if she came back.

Not sure what to do, I held out my hand for a shake. “It’s nice we can part as friends.”

She eyed it for two seconds before slapping it away. A spark of fire popped into life where our skin touched. “We were never friends, Mariella. We were stuck with each other. There’s a difference.” Still, there was a sparkle in her reptilian eyes.

It made me think I’d grown on her at least a little bit. “I have to know. What…what was this? Between you and me? I mean, how did it happen?”

“I’ll tell you if you promise not to say words like fate or meant to be. Really anything other than an accident.”

“I promise, but I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“My sister Berith and I…we tried to take over Hell. When our plan was foiled, we were banished to Earth and trapped inside two human vessels.”

I pointed to my chest, and she nodded. “What happened?”

“Jacqueline overpowered her vessel within the first five years, and then the human soul died.”

I gulped at the word.

Cer shook her head, eerie white locks wavering in front of her face. “There’s just something about you, Mariella. Something I couldn’t kill.”

“I know you tried,” I accused without rancor. Nothing new.

She nodded. “I did. But you wouldn’t die. I couldn’t stifle the light inside of you. And now, I guess I’m glad. I’ll let you know how it happened when I know. Some things are beyond our control. Beyond even the powers of the Underworld. We met for a reason. You survived for a reason. You’re going to miss me when I’m gone,” she insisted. The know-it-all tone proved she hadn’t lost any of her cockiness.

I smirked. “I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be watching. We’re a part of each other now. You’ll always have a touch of something demonic inside of you.”

“And you’ll always remember when you were human.”

Cer shrugged. “It won’t stop me from trying to take over Hell again. Or killing my sister.”

“Don’t worry about Berith. I’ll kill her for you and we’ll call it even.”

“You would deny me the joy of brutally taking the life of my own sister?”

“You’re damn right.”

Cer gave me a wry grin then squared her shoulders and breathed in deeply. As I watched, hellfire spread from the top of her head down her neck and torso and arms. “It will be good to go home. Not that this hasn’t been fun, but you’re mortal. You couldn’t understand.”

“I thought demons were constantly trying to escape Hell. Eternal damnation and fire and brimstone and all that.”

She waved a hand airily. “It’s misunderstood. We’ll leave it at that. Keep your promise, Mariella. Don’t make me have to come back.”

“What are you going to do now?” I asked her.

“You know, the usual. Prowl the night hungering insatiably for the blood of children.” Her body outline began to waver.

“Are you…wait, what? Tell me you’re joking!”

“Take care of yourself, Mariella. I’ll be watching you.”

“Not going to help me sleep at night!”

I watched her form disintegrate. The last cells and molecules of my guardian demon went up in a cloud of green sparks. The last thing I saw was her eyes floating disembodied in the open air. One closed swiftly in a whisper of movement. A wink?

My eyes closed and I struggled to keep my heart rate in check. When I opened them again, I was back in the room that once housed Jacqueline’s prized possessions. Surrounded by debris. Jacqueline herself nowhere to be seen.

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