Darina Grotto - Unlimited

It was morning. The alarm clock went off. Victoria needed to get ready for work. She was lying in bed with arms round each other, be happy with every inhale. She didn’t want completely to get out of the warm bed, she didn’t want his arms to let her go.

‘Leaving so soon?’ the demon asked half asleep, squeezing Vic in his arms, pressing her to himself.

‘I have to.’

‘Why? I’ve got everything you need. Quit this job.’

Victoria smiled. Kharon made an attractive offer she could hardly refuse.

‘I love my job. Plus, in some time you’re gonna leave me and I have nothing: neither job nor money. It’s no good look. But I really don’t wanna leave your gentle arms… I’d take them along.’

‘No problem!’

Kharon pulled off the blanket, jumped out of the bed and came up to the girl very close. There was a mad smile shining on his face, cutting through the quiet whisper.

‘See you in the evening, love!’

There was silence then. There were many black and grey halls and corridors. She had blind spot about what was happening. There was fear again but not so powerful as Vic thought that she knew what happening. Certainly, she didn’t like to be between two worlds but what could she do?

‘Kharon!’ she called.

Sound of her voice surprised her more than the situation did in whole. She felt like her mouth was full of soap bubbles and the sound was in the line with it. Certainly, the demon couldn’t hear her.

The darkness was coming closer, the girl was perturbed intently gurgled the demon’s name.

No surprised that Kharon couldn’t hear her. He was smiling at Gregory sitting in his office. He was very intimate with Abrael who had shared his knowledge how to seduce men. It was very easy. Being in Victoria’s body Kharon had doubts for a second. Were the responsibilities separated correctly between demons of lust? Kharon didn’t see any difficulties in flirting and playing with men to seduce them that made him sum up that succubi had been very lucky. Incubi had to do their best to seduce a woman. But what could Kharon know about injustice? Nothing. Lucifer couldn’t be unjust if he had ordered like that then it had to be like that.

Kharon took his Lord orders implicitly. He was an incubus and happy with it. He could have missed the possibilities to have fun with a human.

No matter how he tried to find out Gregory couldn’t understand what was going on with her. Instead of modest, shy girl with blush on her cheeks, at least the queen was sitting in front of him. She was powerful and narcissistic, knowing her own worth. You couldn’t say that her subordinate’s changes weren’t to Gregory’s liking, but he already got used to modest Vic.

True Victoria was walking among the shadows, kept on intently calling for the demon, subconsciously demanding from him of getting back her body. Kharon didn’t still hear her. He didn’t want to hear her. He was having fun and as other demons, he liked filths and mischiefs.

Vic stopped frozen. All her body was covered with the goose bumps. There was a black fog in that middle world. It lay over her skin, pinching her, enveloping her eyes. Dampness. Dankness. Chill.

The girl was knocking about to find that very thread which would connect her with the demon or someone else alive. Suddenly she stopped and closed her eyes. She stretched out her hand with the palm up. Her point and middle fingers were oblong and strained in such way like if there were some loads hanging on. The big finger was aside. The ring and little fingers bent in hook-like shape. There was something hot, burning forming on her palm. Her hands were shivering because of the power they discharged. Her lips whispered:

‘Spiritus inferior, loco, protinus. Spiritus inferior, loco, momentaneus. Spiritus inferior fatis huc te poscentibus affers’

Victoria repeated many times the small text demanding of something. In some time a small sickly spirit appeared. It was dark with scared eyes in a shape of half bald dog. It looked asides. Victoria kept her eyes still closed but she stopped saying the spell. She was smiling. The witch knew better than the spirit that it was there, and it came for her calling. The spirit was silent, numbly looked down.

‘I need my body!’ Vic said straight.

‘There’s a demon inside…’

‘I know.’ Vic interrupted him.

‘He’s more powerful and his position is higher.’

‘I need my body!’ Victoria repeated. ‘Now. Arrange it!’

The spirit didn’t dare contradict the getting angry witch and just disappeared. Victoria opened her eyes and all her self-confidence was gone. But this time she clearly remembered saying the spell in a different language which she knew nothing of, appearing of the essence in the shape of a dog which she could see through the closed eyes and she remembered the fact that the creature hadn’t disputed with her but just disappeared to carry out her order, emitting fear.

Bright light. Warmth. It was her waited-for-long body. Victoria found herself in the mirror in the lift coming down. She touched the surface and very quickly understood that she was behind the mirror and the woman in the lift cabin was her body with the incubus inside.

‘Kharon,’ she whispered.

The demon turned and saw the lost soul behind the mirror.

‘Just a second, love…’

Warmer. Hot. Cosy and comfortable. It was her habitual body. Vic opened her eyes. Yes, it was her body definitely. The demon released it. Kharon stood near her. The girl looked at the watch – it was soon after 6 pm.

‘Jesus, Kharon…’ she was terrified. ‘You’ve been performing in my body the whole day! What’ve you done then?’

‘Nothing special, love. You wanted to take me along. I agreed to this risky venture.’

‘Risky venture?’ Vic got surprised.

‘You know how it’s difficult to be in a different body and not to eat out its energy?’

‘You’re gonna say you haven’t devoured not a single particle of my energy?’ Victoria looked suspiciously at the man and grinned, seeing his slyly eyes.

‘Just a single. Maybe a little bit more.’

‘I’d like you to get it by means of other way.’

‘What an audacious invitation! I’m accepting it with pleasure! But at first, we’re gonna visit your granny, right, love?’

‘How did you… Ah, yes, you’ve been in my body the whole day. By the way about it. I’ve got couple of questions!’ Vic frowned.

‘I’m not surprised.’

‘I didn’t mean to surprise you. I,’ she started stuttering, ‘when I was… well… when you threw me out of my body.’

‘Threw you out?’ Kharon couldn’t help but smile.

‘Just wait a second, don’t interrupt!’ Vic squeaked.

‘Sure, Sunshine.’

‘In shorts, when I was there where I’m not supposed to be, between my world in yours, I did something.’

‘What?’ The man raised his brows. ‘How to understand you?’

‘I spoke an unknown language.’

‘Do you remember it?’ it was Kharon’s turn to frown.

‘Shouldn’t I?’

‘What else was there?’ the demon changed the subject.

‘I know for sure I called a spirit to help me to get rid of you… to throw you out of my body. And… I know, it sounds funny, but it’s true! The spirit came out! And it numbly went to charge my order. Don’t laugh at me, Kharon! I’m not crazy.’

‘I won’t,’ he said softly, ‘I won’t. So, you think you called for spirit to help you?’

‘Yes!’ Victoria was serious.

Kharon was serious too as he had never been before, but he tried to pretend to be ok. Of course, he was confused a bit with that Vic managed to keep her memories about her activities and in thoughts he was getting ready to answer the girl because pull of questions was going to happen.

‘It was a dream. Maybe an oblivion,’ the demon blurted out more understanding why Victoria had appeared in the mirror.

‘What a dream, Kharon?!’ the girl was shocked. ‘Do you really suppose me to be insane? Do you really think that I’m incapable of distinguishing reality and dream?

‘No, love. You too often put on the mask of a mentally deficient person. It doesn’t suit you. Stop it. The second, human child, I’d like you to show more respect for me. I remind you that you had deal with Lucifer and that’s why I’m here. I have no intensions to listen to your ungrounded claims. Actually, to file claims to a demon is a nonsense. I’m telling you that your state for that moment was just a dream. As far as I know people can call not only for spirits in unknown language in their dreams. I understand and accept your nervous state but, please, take the fact into account who you’re speaking with.’

Victoria felt fear which she had long since forgotten. For a long time Kharon hadn’t changed his intonation towards her, he had been always kind and polite as well as delicate and tolerant. Generally, he was like a gentleman. The girl had had time even to forget that he was a demon. Whatever had come over him during the dialog that the sound of his voice got covered with dryness and darkness, that his look got gloomy and his hands became cold. Vic didn’t understand.

‘Kharon, I…’ Vic took a step back, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t really mean to insult you…’

‘Insult?’ the demon smirked. ‘To insult a demon? Do you know, love, what I like about you most of all? No one can be angry with you for a long time. Even if he or she wants to, you’ll fix it!’

‘I’m sorry,’ the girl glanced down. ‘I do really believe that it wasn’t dream! How can it be explained then?’

‘Impossible!’ Kharon grabbed the girl. ‘I’ll prove that we’re speaking about oblivion!’

‘How?’

‘Confirm these: the spirit, help, language? Is that right?’

‘Yes, that is.’

‘You remember it as you remember yourself all your life?’

‘Yes.’

‘Ok then. Call the spirit now.’ Kharon folded his arms. ‘Come on, love, say the spell and make it come out. Now.’

Victoria was silent. Suddenly she became ashamed and awkward feeling caught her. If Kharon was right then how stupid and awkwardly she would look like after she said the spell, waiting for someone to appear.

The girl shook her head. Kharon started slowly calming down as he understood that he sounded more convincing than her.

‘Why do you refuse? It’s the best way to check if it was a dream. Say the spell.’ The demon’s voice insisted.

‘Spiritus inferior,’ Victoria whispered.

‘Keep on’ the demon said.

‘Loco, protinus.’ Vic looked at his amber eyes. ‘Spiritus inferior, loco, momentaneus. Spiritus inferior fatis huc te poscentibus affers.’

‘Where’s the spirit?’ Kharon asked the girl who wasn’t so confident.

‘I… I don’t know.’ Vic looked asides seeking for the creature.

‘Doesn’t it prove that you were in oblivion?’ the demon finally smiled, holding the girl tighter.

None of them noticed the old dog behind them.

With a heavy heart Victoria came into the ward. It was silent. The smell of medicine. The support with the dropping-bottle. A woman lay with closed eyes, the mouth was half-opened. There was no move.

Vic sat on the edge of the bed. The grandma hardly could move her fingers. One leg was totally paralyzed, the second moved somehow. The granny was silent: she couldn’t speak anymore. A half of her face stopped obeying to the brain orders.

Kharon stayed in the doorframe. He was idly interested in looking at what would happen. Victoria’s confusion of feelings and experiences were transferred to him like through some wires. It was just a flurry, the heavy, surprising one of emotions.