But all of a sudden, I wasn’t alone.
My blood ran cold as a second figure manifested beside my reflection. The first thing I noticed was his purple skin.
Purple.
To match his skin tone, he had flowing purple hair, plus a pair of spiralling two-tone horns that jutted from his forehead. He had a long, pointy nose. Small bat wings flapped lazily behind him, and he sported a thin tail that culminated in a devilish spade.
He wasn’t really a man. Because he wasn’t human.
There was no doubt in my mind that I was looking at a demon.
I gawked at the... thing in the mirror.
“Okay, now I know those dickheads laced my booze with some delayed-acting shit,” I grumbled.
Faust scoffed, flicking the tip of his tail.“Oh, please. We both know you’re stone-cold sober. Besides, little Jared wouldn’t know where to buy good hallucinogens if his life depended on it.”
I stared at Faust in the mirror. Our eyes met.
It was weird.
It was fucking weird to see a demon standing beside my reflection, acting like a real, living thing.
“I can read your thoughts, Chase,”Faust chided, though he looked as amused as ever.“I am a real, living thing, whether you like it or not.”
“You’re alive? Does that mean you can die?” I asked from simple curiosity.
His lips pursed into a pout.“We’ve only just met and you’re trying to kill me? I thought you were a protector of the small. Or whatever.”
My eyes widened. Faust must’ve meant when I saved the blue betta last night. Was he conscious during that whole incident?
“Wait, you know about the betta? Where is he?” I asked.
Faust sighed.“He’s possessed by a demon and he’s worried about a fish...”
It wasn’t like I loved being possessed by a freaking demon, but Faust didn’t seem like an immediate threat. He wasn’t forcing me to eat glass or jump off a bridge, so I figured he could wait.
Faust’s image in the mirror disappeared in a puff of purple smoke right before I turned and bolted out of the bathroom.
“Kitchen,”Faust prompted in a sing-song voice.“Like I’ve been saying this whole time.”
I paused, wondering if Faust’s advice was sincere. I risked it. Now that I’d calmed down, I noticed a few items on the counter I’d missed in my initial panic. One was a slice of cake in a plastic container. The other was a handwritten note.
“The cake. Please, eat some. I beg of you,” Faust whined.
I ignored Faust’s plea. Frowning, I reached for the note. It was torn, as if hastily ripped out of a notebook, but the text was clean and tidy, like the author couldn’t help but be precise even in a hurry.
Chase McLeod,
Thanks to your ignorant actions, you are now in grave danger.
If you want to live, find me at The Exorcist’s Temple immediately.
FYI, it’s two blocks behind Dustin’s Donuts.
With great displeasure,
Sagitta Sangkaew
