"It's a good thing you don't believe in true mates. You're the worst mate ever."
"Oh, darling, don't say such cruel things." He places a hand over his heart, feigning hurt.
"Why am I even trying to get through to you? You don’t listen. You don’t help. You're completely useless."
He recoils, almost as if I'd physically hit him. Did I actually strike a nerve?
In an instant, that odd vulnerable look vanishes, replaced by his usual sly demeanor.
"If you wanted to see me in action, all you had to do was ask," he says.
"Really, just like that?"
"Why not? Come watch the show.” He strides into the cabin without a backward glance, leaving me to wonder what he has planned.
12.Down the Rabbit Hole, Except with Demons
Wynn
Marlow clears a space in front of the fireplace we can’t use. Moving to the wall without missing a beat, he yanks down some of the framed artwork there and slams the back of the frame into his raised knee.
"Hey!" I shout, but he ignores me. Has he given up on playingBreak The Thing with the Other Thingand switched to an easier game,Break Things Indiscriminately?
Marlow tosses the paintings aside, only after the rustic wooden frames. He snaps off pieces, using them to mark out a large square outline with the space inside completely clear.
Then he strips off his shirt.
Toned muscles. Bare skin. The curve of his shoulders catching the light. Heat rushes to my face. Before I can question why he’s tormenting me or peel my eyes away, Marlow mutters something under his breath. Strange glyphs shimmer into existence on his skin, joining the tattoos already there. The new markings are so faint, barely visible. He grimaces but doesn’t seem too surprised. I think he’s low on power.
The strange tattoos vanish from sight. I grip the doorjamb tightly, the wood creaking in protest, as I resist the urge to get a closer look. It's just curiosity, not the surprisingly toned muscles, the smooth skin, or the way those tattoos seem tobelong on his skin, like they're a key part of him. If I run my hands down his chest, would the faint symbols appear again?
He takes the key pendant from around his neck and makes an unlocking motion like he's slotted the key into an invisible door.
The square outline he created with the ruined frame disappears, and a soft purple glow illuminates the blank space that the wood surrounded. The shape of stairs appear there.
He looks up at me uncertainly. "Nothing's going to go wrong. But if it does, go get Iggy."
That's enough to quell some of my curiosity. What could go wrong? I start getting a bad feeling. "Hey, hang on a moment."
Marlow sits down on the floor. A translucent figure passes through him and appears before me. A demon.
The demon stands. The eyes and his mannerisms resemble Marlow, but there's more mass to him and he's taller than me, not to mention those horns. Tiny points that fit naturally on his head, and his tail is long and narrow, whirling around in the space behind him.
Both sides of him are beautiful. I’d like to see him more clearly, but he stays transparent and non-distinct, like a spirit. I can’t pull my eyes away, and just when I think we might spend all night staring at each other, the demon turns and glides down the stairs, disappearing into the purple.
"Wait! What can go wrong?" I call after him.
The spirit demon doesn't answer. He's already gone.
I'm still processing what I just witnessed when I spot something shifting on Marlow's chest. Scrawling script near his clavicle says 'no vacancy' and I watch as the 'no' disappears, leaving only the word 'vacancy'. Wow.
Another tattoo changes, a faded pair of horns above his heart. It darkens, becoming full and vivid. One horn is chipped, a perfect representation of Iggy. Iggy?
A flash of movement catches my attention, and Iggy zips in and rushes over to Marlow.
"What's going on?" He flutters around Marlow's body, letting out a wail of concern. "Oh no, what did you do?"
~
