The Demon's Game (27 page)

“It was a trap; the mugger was supposed to get the
rings and money. How did you escape?” I asked.

She pulled a small, black, plastic object from her
purse and pressed the button on the side. At the top of the rounded plastic,
electricity crackled loudly. “I don’t go anywhere without this.”

The woman was becoming more interesting by the
minute. “Tell me more.”

“No. I’m going to bed. You can take the spare bedroom
if you keep it down in the morning.”

I didn’t like being denied, but she left the room
without giving me time to make demands. She took the rings and the weapon with
her. I searched the two other rooms besides her bedroom to find an empty guest
room and a bathroom. With no hunger in my stomach and a safe bed under me, I
fell asleep easily. I loved chaos, and I realized I would be swimming in it for
as long as I was around Sydney.

*          *          *

I woke to the sun in my face, which immediately put
me in a foul mood. Worse still was that a bird sang cheerily outside my window
so, realizing that I had nothing with which to kill the offending creature, I
left the room.

In the kitchen, I searched the fridge for food. There
was meat sliced thinly in a plastic container, cans of drink, a jar of red
sauce, and spaghetti in a plastic box.
Honestly… humans and their plastic.

Unfortunately, after eating the meat, I was still hungry.
I had seen how a microwave worked, but the spaghetti was no worse cold than
hot, so I ate it out of the container. Then I spent some time working out the
soda can, but finally figured out the trick and was careful not to cough this
time.

Sydney awoke much later, when the sun was high in the
sky, and entered the kitchen in short shorts and a sleeveless, white shirt. She
had much more muscle tone than I had thought, which seemed odd for a woman, but
I didn’t really care.

The woman ignored me, opened the fridge, and stared
blankly into the depths. After a while, I assumed she was sleeping with her
eyes open. Finally, she turned to me. “Are you still hungry?”

“I think I will always be hungry.”

“Grab your coat. We’ll go out for breakfast. You can
learn how a human lives.” I froze on my way to the living room. She nudged me
out of her way to her room. “You’re not exactly subtle,” she explained.

We went to a diner and Sydney helped me order eggs,
bacon, and toast, along with coffee. I actually liked everything except for the
toast. Then we returned to the house and Sydney left me to get some work done.
I decided to try out the shower, which I found fairly enjoyable. After that, I
discovered the television, napped, and then took a walk.

I returned bored. Out of enjoyable options, I was
about to take another shower when I heard the sound of breaking glass. I
followed the commotion into Sydney’s bedroom, where one man was searching her
room and another was crawling through her window.

Both men stopped when I entered. I attacked the first
man before I really knew what I was doing. With no weapon and no magic, I was
out of my depths. Fortunately, I had surprise on my side, and the man was
easily overcome. As I started for the second man, he pulled out a gun. I had
seen these weapons before and knew they killed humans, but I really didn’t
believe one could hurt me. His aim left much to be desired; he missed me twice.
However, as I reached him, he pulled the trigger one last time and I felt pain
like I never had before in my left shoulder.

I managed a few punches before the pain slowed me. I
was unaccustomed to injury, and that gave the men the chance to escape.

*          *          *

Sydney found me on the couch, watching television.
“What happened to your arm?” was the first thing she asked.

I shrugged and instantly regretted it. “Some men
broke in and one shot me before they left.”

“Oh, shit. You need to go to a hospital.”

“Why? I wrapped it.” I had found some strips of cloth
in her closet and fashioned a bandage from them.

“You have to get the bullet out.”

“I already dug it out. Don’t worry about it. You
might want to get a new window, though. Get one that doesn’t break.”

“You could get an infection.”

That was something I hadn’t considered, since I was
used to healing myself with magic. I shrugged my right shoulder only this time.
She sat heavily on the couch next to me instead of across from me.

“I told you that you shouldn’t get involved. Those
weren’t regular burglars.”

“No, I didn’t think so. I assumed they were here for
the rings.”

“It’s worse than that. They were after something
else. I… came across a book… a magic book.” I turned to face her, mindful of my
shoulder but undeniably interested. “Ever since then, people have been trying
to get it.”

“Show it to me.”

“Not a chance.” She walked out before I could push
the issue and took a shower. I really wasn’t concerned with snooping, because I
planned to search the house as soon as she left for the book. Really, I was
only passing her bedroom, but when I heard a familiar voice, I paused. The door
was open a crack; just enough to make out the words.

“I really hope you have a better plan than that,” the
voice said.

“I know how to do my job,” Sydney said, offended.

“Oh, of course you do. That is why I entrusted the book
to you.”

“You gave it to me because you had nobody else.”

“That is far from the case. In fact, quite a few
people would be willing to hold onto it for me. I’m a very nice guy; many
people owe me a favor. I chose you, because you have more at stake than them.
See, if this book gets into the wrong hands, people will die, your father
included.”

“Leave my father out of this.”

“I didn’t heal your father because I wanted you to
hide this book; I healed him because he will prove useful if you fail.”

I opened the door wide to see Sydney and the man who
had offered me the apple on Duran. He grinned at me, cruelly, and vanished.

Yes, Sydney was turning out to be very interesting.

We both sat on the couch and watched the news. Right
between the weather and sports, I said, “I’m a demon.”

“That’s cool. I’m a dragon.”

*          *          *

Over the next few days, Sydney worked during the day
and taught me how to survive on Earth at night. She had the book hidden in a
locked chest in a secret cubby of her closet. With clear warnings not to open
it, she entrusted me to protect it. Obviously, it wasn’t her brightest idea.

For the time being, my interest in what she could
teach me was superior to my curiosity.
If it is a Noquodi book, it might
give me the power I need.
Of course, it could break my deal with Dylan
somehow, and that was a consequence I needed to avoid if at all possible.

The house wasn’t robbed again, but I stayed vigilant.
As the days passed, I got to know way more about Sydney than I ever wanted to.
She took me to places with her, like the grocery store and the book store.
Once, at the grocery store, I found a wallet on the ground and put it in my
pocket, only to turn around and find Sydney giving me the most disappointed
look. No one had ever been disappointed in me before.

“Open the wallet,” she said, surprising me.

I did, and saw first a driver’s license, and then a
photo of three little children. The license was of a middle-aged woman.

Sydney was watching over my shoulder. “You’re going
to steal from a mother and three babies?”

“Why not?” I asked.

“You never had a childhood, so I don’t know how to
explain it. Don’t take anything from the wallet. Go find this woman and give it
to her. You might understand then.”

“I don’t want to.”

“But you will do it anyway.” She walked away, giving
me no room for argument.

I sighed. I wanted money because it would give me
independence, but I wanted the conflict that was Sydney more. I examined the
picture once again, then combed the store for the stranger. It was extremely
difficult, because everyone honestly looked the same to me. I knew this woman
had long, dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, and possibly three children with her.

After searching the entire store three times, I gave
up and assumed she had already left. Then, just as I was about to rejoin
Sydney, I ran right into her.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the woman gasped, even though I was
the one who wasn’t watching where I was going.

“No worries. Here. I found this on the ground.” I was
trying not to scowl, but she looked terribly flustered. Nervousness wasn’t
nearly as alluring as fear or panic.

She stared in wonder at her wallet for a moment
before taking it and looking at me, as if she knew I wasn’t human. “Thank you.
I thought someone had taken it. It’s all the money I have for food this month.”
Her eyes dropped to the floor. “My husband of ten years cheated on me… so I
took our kids and we’ve been living in a motel room.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“I don’t know. You look like someone who doesn’t pity
anyone. I’m so sick of pity.”

“Why would someone pity you? You were wronged and you
left him. At least you were strong enough to leave. Pity is useless.” She
narrowed her eyes at me, which I associated with suspicion. “What?” I asked.

“Oh… nothing… but I need to you do something.”

I help her and she thinks I owe her a favor?

“I’m sure you have a job you’re happy with or
whatever… My sister is a modeling agent. She has enough time for another
client, but she’s waiting for the right one. I don’t know much about bone
structure or skin tone, but your eyes are gorgeous. If you have even a little
interest, call her.” She handed me a small, colorful card.

“Mom!” a little girl called. The woman thanked me
once again and left.

Sydney was suddenly beside me, leaning against my
arm. “So?” she asked.

I held up the card for her to see. “I don’t
understand why she was talking about her sister and my eyes. Is she trying to
mate me with her sister?”

“No. I think she’s trying to get you a job.”

“I don’t want a job.”

“Oh, Zeb, you’ll want this one. All you have to do is
stand there, look hot, and get paid. A lot of models are heavily into drugs and
gambling, and there’re a lot of affairs.”

“You mean…”

“Conflict, chaos, manipulation, sex, deception…”

“I’ll take it.”

*          *          *

Sydney and I were up talking late into the night
after meeting Amber Stryk, my new manager. Sydney apparently had a long day and
fell asleep, so I carried her to her bed, took off her high-heeled boots, and
tucked the blanket around her.

Not seeing a reason to go to my own room, I got in
bed with her.

This was one more thing I regretted, because I was
soon woken by her startled gasps. I opened my eyes to see her sitting up,
panting and sweating from a nightmare.

“What happened?” I asked. I understood nightmares and
the distress they could cause, but I wasn’t prepared for her to turn over, put
her arm across my chest, bury her face against my shoulder, and cuddle into my
side.

“Nothing,” she lied.

The dragon blood in her veins made her run hot and
sweat was very unappealing. I opened my mouth to tell her to get off me… then
stopped. I sighed, closed my eyes, and went back to sleep.

*          *          *

I slept in Sydney’s bed from then on. She used me as
a teddy bear, for I would wake her when her dreams turned violent. The only
excuse I had for putting up with it was because she was teaching me how to live
without my magic. Besides, her bed was more comfortable than mine.

Over the next few years, there were many times when
the opportunity to cause destruction was presented to me… but every time,
Sydney was there, judging me. The worst part was that she would never order me
to be nice. Instead, she expected me to be, and I found myself meeting her
expectations. I realized after some time that this was a mind trick that women
possessed. When Amber once told me that most women wanted a “bad boy,” I knew
it was because they wanted to change him. Sydney was trying to train it out of
me.

To my great dismay, every single time I did as Sydney
expected, things would turn out in my favor. I stopped demanding to see this
mysterious book when my own job became a priority. The money was fine, but it
was for sheer enjoyment that I continued with it.

The first time I actually encountered someone in
need, I found myself driving a heavily pregnant teenager to the hospital and
sitting with her for hours because her parents refused to be there for her. The
second time, when I was in the proximity of a convenience store that was being
held up, I realized the depths of my deal with Dylan.

Sydney never told me about her dreams, but I knew it
had something to do with the dragon in her. Over time, I became more interested
in her past, but she was as unwilling to share as I was, so I got over it. We
were both secretive, we both had hard days, and we both enjoyed having someone
to come home to. And it was a home.

I woke up one morning to find the bed empty and a
note saying that Sydney had an early meeting. She used short words because
English was a difficult language that I was still learning to read. There was
also breakfast laid out on the table for me. When I acknowledged the effort she
put forth that morning, I felt something really odd.

It was a day that I was particularly exhausted after
being poked and prodded for hours. Between makeup and hair, three photo shoots,
and having to go out and meet fans, half my face hurt and the other was numb.
Sydney burst in, marched straight to her room, and started packing. After a few
minutes, I went to the bedroom and sat on the corner of the bed. “What’s going
on?”