Chapter Thirty-two
Hamel stared into the demonic eyes of the raisin-like blob in front of his face. This was what he got for asking personal questions. His cat’s power filled his body, ready for fight or flight. His heart raced, muscles tightened. Shit, how much power did one of these things have?
Instead of attacking, the demon floated harmlessly. “I do not understand why you ask that question. You have given me no reason to run or hurt you, Clint. You are a nice transformer so far.”
Yeah, he wondered how long that would last. He resumed walking with the demon. “Then I’m not your enemy. Not really.”
Wilson seemed to ponder that. “I have to agree with you. Perhaps you are the demon king’s enemy, but not mine. Even though he says all of mankind are our enemies.”
“Who is this demon king?”
“He is the most powerful of us. Only he knows how to use the magic our home has.”
“Is he a nice person, too?”
Wilson dropped a few feet to waist height. “I do not wish to answer that, Clint.”
“Okay, by your reaction, I’m thinking he’s a douchebag.”
“I do not know the word—”
“Don’t worry about that one, Wilson.” He laughed. “Does this king have guards or demons that fight?”
“Yes, the King’s Guard is the group who watches over the palace and disciplines the lower classes.”
“Lower classes? What are those?”
“I am of such a class. I work in the palace to do as the king wants.” Again, Wilson floated lower. Did he sound dejected? Hamel needed to listen carefully for Wilson’s slight tone changes. The demon’s feelings were not easy to guess. Wait a second. Demons had feelings? Weren’t they just bad and wanting to kill everyone? Wilson wasn’t what he expected in this realm. Maybe if he had a face, and not only red beady eyes, Hamel could tell more easily.
“Can you do something about how you look?”
“What do you mean? Do you not like how I appear?”
Shit, could he have been any more tactless? “Sorry, Wilson. What I mean is I am used to seeing eyes and a nose and mouth on others. Even our animals have a face.”
“Would you like for me to have a face, Clint?”
“That would be nice, Wilson. Can you do that?”
“How about this?”
Hamel glanced over and saw the biggest bug eyes he’d ever seen. He stumbled to the side. “Maybe a bit smaller. Like mine. See how everything is in proportion to the area?”
“Yes, I do. How about this?”
Hamel was almost afraid to look. He turned and looked into a virtual mirror. “That’s good, Wilson, but maybe not so much like mine. It’s kinda creepy to look into my face every time I talk to you.”
“There. Do you like this?” He’d made his eyes larger, his nose flatter, and his mouth longer.
“That’s perfect. Much better. And don’t forget to move your mouth when you talk.” Wilson’s lips separated then came back together. “And you never really answered the question on speaking our language. Do you know any others?”
“Only one. It is . . .” He seemed to be thinking, though it was hard to tell. “It is some form of Latin.”
“Italian? That’s based on Latin. Spanish, French, Romanian?”
“I remember. It is pig.”
His brows pulled down. “What is pig?”
“The Latin I know. It is pig.”
Hamel had a hard time keeping his laughter under control. “You know pig Latin?”
“Es-yay, I o-day.”
Hamel rolled his eyes. Yes, that was pig Latin, but he’d rather not use something so childish. “That’s a wonderful language, but—”
Wilson stopped and Hamel almost bumped his face into him. The first thing he noticed was the demon had no smell. Interesting.
“Was that sarcasm, Clint? I know the definition of the word, but not sure how it is used.”
“You are correct, Wilson.” Hamel sensed happiness from the demon. Could demons be happy? Seemed strange, but so did this whole thing.
“Pig Latin,” Wilson explained, “is moving the first letter in the word to the end and add ‘ay’ to that letter. For example, your name would be lint-day c-day.”
“I know how it works, Wilson, but how about we stick with English? I speak it faster.”
“I agree, Clint.”
Both fell quiet until more questions came to Hamel’s mind. “Where I’m from, demons supposedly possess human and are evil. Is that true?”
“That requires a long answer. Do you wish to hear the long or the short?”
He didn’t have time for that. “Let’s go with the short answer.”
Wilson appeared to think before replying, “Yes.”
Hamel waited for more and when Wilson didn’t continue, he asked, “Yes, what?”
“The short answer is yes. Demons possess humans and can be evil.”
Hamel wiped a hand over his glistening face. “Okay, let’s go for a medium answer. That doesn’t tell me enough.”
“Medium answer. O-kay. Demons have some power in this realm. We can protect ourselves by manipulating the energy to shock others. Except for the powerful king, we cannot do much.
“In your realm, we have no powers. You cannot even see us as you see me here. If we are to have an effect, we need to have a way to do that. When possessing a body, we have to be stronger than the spirit already attached to it.”
“If you’re not, then you can’t possess the body.”
He nodded vigorously. “You are correct, Clint. But there are still other issues to overcome. Because of how the human brain works, taking control of the body is difficult. It is a learned process. The person’s spirit has been with the body since birth and has learned how to move efficiently. A new spirit coming in has to learn it. That is where your zombies come from. They walk stiffly because the demon inside doesn’t have good control.”
“So zombies are real, too.” Shit. Just what he needed to hear.
“It is what you call zombies in your myths and legends. Demons have learned much since we crossed realms. We don’t let ourselves be known until we have more control over the body.”
“That makes sense. You mentioned more than one issue.”
“Yes. If the spirit voluntarily gives over the body, then we don’t have to push the spirit to the side. It is shared control. We are able to immediately move like before possession. No one would notice a difference.”
Hamel thought of the janitor at the lab. No one would’ve guessed he was possessed. But Walog didn’t have a smell. He thought it was hunter’s block. But perhaps it was from possession. Something to consider later. “Why would anyone voluntarily give their body to a demon?”
“Usually it is trickery or lies the demon uses to persuade the spirit. The promise of what the spirit longs for most. Humans will do much to get what they want.”
“Like transformers who will do anything to protect their mates.”
“I will warn you, Clint. Do not let others know your feelings for the woman. They will use that against you. Strangers are better than lovers.”
“Warning taken. Thank you for telling me, Wilson.” He wondered if he should ask another personal question. What the hell? Only live once. “Wilson, demons are known to be evil to the core. But you don’t seem that way.”
He floated lower. “No, I am not. I know what it feels like to be hurt and I do not wish that upon anyone. I do not want more than what I have. I have no need to feel the power like those who go to your realm. Only evil goes, so you only know the worst of us. Many are like me, but we keep it to ourselves.”
“Ya know, buddy, I’m starting to think your realm needs an attitude adjustment. And I’m just the cat to give it to them.”