Hi again, so this chapter doesn't feature any sex but I had to set the stage for a few things. As you can probably guess, this story is a departure from the original. Well, in the next chapter, we should arrive somewhere. :) As always, let me know what you think!
-WL
"Can you pass me the hydrangeas, love?" Mary called her husband. She smiled at him and wiped a bead of sweat off of her brow. Joe smiled back and brought the flowering plant to her. The front lawn was a smattering of garden tools, loose dirt, and various plastic potted plants. But the afternoon sun felt nice, so no one seemed to mind the mess.
"A flower for my flower!" He called in a sing-song voice. They both broke out into laughter.
"Hey! Settle down over there!" Angel called from the base of the tree nearby but even she couldn't contain her smile. She held her book in her lap observing the scene in front of her from the shade of the tree; her parents decided the yard needed work and so here they were. It had been most of the morning and almost all afternoon but she had to admit it did look quite nice. It was nearing the end of summer and she didn't have the heart to tell them all their hard work would be for naught in a few weeks. She returned her attention back to The Divine Comedy in her lap. That would certainly still be there by the time autumn came around. She looked at her parents laughing about a shovel and smiled to herself. It had felt like an age had passed since the last time they had all spent time together like this.
It had been a month without Daemon. The first few days Angel had been constantly on edge, looking over her shoulder at every turn. But the fear vanished when every day she woke up and nothing happened. Each night, when she slept still nothing happened. Eventually, the feeling changed to an occasional nagging feeling -- a reminder of their times. After a few weeks that became less and less as well. Something strange had also happened. There was a part of her that missed him. She didn't like the pain, but through it all (even though he was the cause) he was also the only one who understood what was happening. Aaron was the closest of her family to understanding and he had left her. Intellectually, she knew Daemon being gone was a good thing. Why she felt conflicted, she wasn't sure.
After a few weeks, she began to come out of her room more, ate dinner with her family more, and now laughed freely with them. Her parents didn't understand the change but readily welcomed it. The blonde tresses of her hair flowed freely in the breeze and her skin was now imbued with a soft tan. She had forgotten all about the favor she owed -- but he hadn't.
***
Daemon watched her through the small window in the attic while he waited. He had watched her transform over the course of a single month. Her laugh was extraordinary. He realized he had never heard it before and was immediately entranced. For a moment a feeling resembling guilt passed through him but it quickly dissipated and his features hardened. This had also been one of the hardest months of his existence. Unable to touch her, feel her, hurt her. The pact he had made with her worked both ways, every time he got close to her a force would pull him back.
"It'll be worth it in the end." He reminded himself as he massaged his temples.
With nothing but time, he thought back to his mortal life. When things really began to change.
Anita was the one to originally introduce Daemon to Demonic pacts and magic. The two of them learned fast and quickly started experimenting. Anita had always been the driving force when it came to the darker arts and her ambition knew no bounds. So, perhaps the townspeople had been right about them after all. After some time, they began looking into immortality. Anita had figured out a way to do it, Daemon, unfortunately, had to learn the hard way. It involved fusing a human with a demon. It could work under two conditions: One, the soul was severely corrupted and two, the mortal form must die during the transition. They both learned that day, for as clever and conniving as Anita was, she had misread the dark texts. In her aim to live forever, she sacrificed Daemon, not realizing she was actually successfully performing the spell on Daemon.
He learned Anita was willing to kill Daemon to test her theory that day but by the time Daemon knew what was happening she had already pulled the trigger.
In the beginning, he felt nothing, floating in a dark void.
After a moment he recognized the sensation of falling. His body fell into a black sea. The fluid was thick like honey. Anywhere the fluid made contact with his skin, a searing pain would course through his body. It felt as if every cell in his body, every fiber had been lit on fire. He screamed in pain just as his head sank below the surface. Now the fluid seeped into his mouth and lungs. It was all-consuming. The pain eventually slowed and became bearable. Completely surrounded by thick black liquid, he could not see anything. He felt something. A presence. The presence had no form but he was able to sense it. It felt curious. The presence seemed to size him up, deem his corrupted soul worthy enough. He felt it change to one of determination.
The sludge began to move around him quickly as if he was traveling very fast. Before he had a chance to feel disorientated, a bright light appeared and he hurtled towards it. He passed through it and landed back on Earth next to his lifeless body. The liquid oozed off of him as he stood and looked on.
Anita was screaming. Not only out of frustration but also in pain. Her hands were thrown up as she paced the room, they looked burnt down to her elbows. She had realized what she had done, and more importantly what she had not done. In her rage and through her pain she cursed him.
"Maledico tibi! Obsecro te, ne anima tenebrosa in omne tempus libere moveatur!"
