Page 3 of Hellfire & Tinsel
Another chapter was about a set of demonic twins, and Beau found himself fascinated by their antics and their connection.He found himself aching for something like that. For a closeness with someone that ran so deep they couldn’t stand to be apart.
He wondered if anyone would ever want to keep him close. If anyone would ever consider him such a vital part of their life that they’d never want to leave him.
He flipped the pages, reading about different demons. More about the boss of Hell, who the author called Luc, about a hellhound lovingly dubbed Beasty, and about Hell’s second in command, Zorun.
His favorite was someone named Kassel. He was described as quiet and seemingly disinterested, but also incredibly helpful, reliable, and ‘your guy if you want things done.’
There was something infinitely comforting about that. Like a pair of arms also held out to catch you no matter what.
He lingered for a few moments wondering what Kassel could look like, before shaking his head and moving on.
He read about the narrow hallways and warm chambers and fire. He lost himself in it, allowed it to take him over completely.
Until he stumbled upon something that seemed like a summoning spell. A chant to bring someone to you. A poem designed to call out.
If he could reach them, they’d be something Beau had never had before.
Someone to hear him.
See him.
Feeling the weight of his loneliness tighten around his chest, he ran his fingers over the words and whispered them into the empty space of his living room.
Barely audible.
Not loud enough for someone to hear.
Licking his lips and refusing to call himself stupid for thinking it would work, he tried once again, a bit louder, a bit bolder.
But not enough.
It was still just him in his house. Still complete silence and solitude. He took a deep breath and poured all of his longing into the words.
He just wanted to hear the clock strike midnight with someone there by his side. He didn’t want to see another Christmas arrive with nobody there to wish him a happy one. He wanted one memory, just one moment of someone knowing he existed. He probably needed someone who could get the job done, as the book suggested. So he thought of Kassel’s name.
He tried once again.
“Hear these words, hear my call,
Demon from the underworld,
Come to me, I ask of thee,
To cross over from beyond.”
For a split second he felt like nothing would happen. He expected it, really. Nothing had ever indicated he was right to believe in anything occult. It was just him and his desperation.
But the scent of sulfur intensified.
Beau’s lights flickered.
There was a breeze messing up his hair when all his windows were tightly shut. The book in his hands shook and fell to the floor with a thud, a glimpse of fire flashing before his eyes before the book closed itself. There was a ringing in his ears and a shortness of breath he didn’t really know how to explain.
And then it all got quiet again.
His living room was his living room once more.
Except for the gigantic demon standing next to Beau’s tree, countless eyes blinking down at him, massive arms crossed over a naked chest under a leather jacket. A strong, completely non-human, fully purple chest.
