Fiction: Rent A Demon 1

This August Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Elephant's Child over here. This week's prompts are: Meet, Glimpses, Apples, Taste, Memory, Garden And/or Letters, Year, Marvellous, Ways, Mother, Shadow.  I used all the words though not in their original form. Marvellous to marvelous since spellcheck keeps correcting me without that extra l. I'm not used to writing in British style.

Fiction: Rent A Demon 1
Jackson Blake leaned over the table to get a closer look at the advertisement: Rent A Demon, 500 dollars or trade per day. Contact us by spilling a little blood. Was that a joke? And what demon was dumb enough to advertise in the local paper? And in Serendipity, a town crawling with demons and witches?
    In the back of Fred's Cafe, Jackson sat with a cup of black tea, a turkey sandwich, a slice of apple pie and the day's newspaper. It's nearly 12 o'clock on a Friday. A jingle on the door rang as someone entered. Without looking up from the paper, Jackson took a bite of his sandwich and placed it back on the plate. The taste of the herb mayonnaise reminded him of his grandmother's cooking. Ellie had a million, marvelous ways to make a sandwich using herbs she grew for her sauces. She believed sandwiches were full meals but only because she hated to cook. Memories of sitting in Ellie's kitchen and chomping on sandwiches while she concocted a spell ran through his mind. He had spent most of his life in her kitchen garden so called because it was crowded with potted plants.
    Glimpses of moving shadows on the black and white ceramic floor reminded him he was at the diner not Ellie's kitchen. The glass ring on his left pinky turned from the light blue to a deep maroon which meant he was in trouble or will be in a few minutes. Keeping still, Jackson picked up the cup and took a sip of tea while his eyes made a curious turn around the room.
    The tables were structured in a half circle around the back tables which meant the men were seated to Jackson's left, to his right and in front of him. They were large and tall and looked like they could break rocks with their bare hands. Jackson wished he shared their blessed genes. He was diminutive compared to them and he was shy of six feet by five inches.
      Jackson placed the cup back onto the saucer. None of the men were familiar to him even though Serendipity was a small town and rarely get tourists. Ellie had always said there was a nuance to every individual's appearance if you pay close attention. But she also said demons and witches alike could change their appearance with a simple potion or spell.
    Jackson's dress shirt was suddenly much too thin against the air-conditioned cold of the diner. But his synthetic leather boots kept his feet much too warm. Keeping his head down, Jackson took out some bills from his back jeans pocket and dumped them on the table. With the folded newspaper tucked under his arm and his backpack's strip over one shoulder, he proceeded to the door only to be blocked by one of the men. He was a head taller than Jackson. Jackson had to stretch his neck a bit to look the man in the face. The man's wide jaw shifted a bit as if he was chewing something.
    "Pardon me, sir," said Jackson and he stepped around the man but the man blocked his way again. "Please, I have an appointment to keep. If you'll just step aside." Around him, Jackson heard chairs scraping against the floor. When did the waitresses or anyone else left? He should had paid more attention.
    "Don't you remember me?" the man said. His voice was deep and his yellowish eyes bulged.
    Jackson didn't blink. "Should I?"
    "I'm Ambrus's brother, Ansen."
    "Sorry, did Ambrus lost an arm or a leg?"
    "Leg. You told him you can fix him and now he's a cripple."
    "That's not a nice thing to say. He can still hop about perfectly." Jackson chuckled.
    "You need to pay for what you have done." Ansen was definitely a demon. They were always getting revenge even for minor things.
    If Jackson had his powers, he would have sent this demon and his friends to a volcano he knew was brewing. A witch without powers is like a dead fish in hot water so said Jackson's father. He had never once not have some wisdom for Jackson.
    "Your brother knew the consequence. The lost of his leg was unfortunate but it had to be done or else he would have died." Jackson remembered Ambrus. The curse had infected his leg too deep, it was too late to save it. Though he was a demon like his brother, Ambrus was more accepting of the consequence.
    Ansen leaned down toward Jackson. "He would have been better dead." His breath smelled of beer and something rotten. Jackson stepped back. Ansen stepped forward. Jackson leaned back. "I don't suppose you like me to pay in cash?" He chuckled. Slowly, he reached behind him and dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out the vial. He started to fling it but he was thrown backward. His backpack slipped off his shoulder and dropped away as he fell onto the floor. Pain throbbed through his left hand. The pieces of the shattered vial bit into his palm. Not that it would have helped much since the potion will only stun a demon for five minutes. He dropped the shattered vial. The pieces landed on the fallen newspaper and soaked it with his blood. He stood up. "Okay, Ansen, what the heck do you want?"
    The demon sneered. "I want your power, witch."
    Jackson smiled. "Well, you're too late. It was taken away last month. You can kill me if you want but you're not getting anything from me." He looked around for an escape route but they all involved going through the ten demons.
    "Then I guess I'll have to kill you." Ansen grinned. "Boys, this one's mine." Around them, the other demons snickered and shifted back. Ansen gave Jackson a punch in the stomach and he fell down. Just like demons to play with someone and then kill them. Beside him, the paper suddenly burst into flames, turned to ash where dark smoke appeared and a woman stepped out. With one look at the demons, the woman waved a hand and the demons froze. She peered down at Jackson. "You called?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The woman was tall but smaller than Ansen. She was dressed all in black. The white strip crossing her chest ended in a bulky bag. Her short black hair was tangled up atop her head. Under the florescent light, the crisscross threads covering her entire face shimmered and then faded. Whomever invented the thread curse must had a sick sense of humor as it not only kept a person's face impassive but it also kept them from talking. Jackson didn't care to wonder who this woman pissed off to get such a curse.
    "You called?" The woman didn't speak the words. Her voice was in his head.
    "Maybe. Are you here to help me?" said Jackson.
    "Are you willing to pay me?" Her dark eyes met his. She was looking at him in a sort of lazy way like a cat that had suddenly woke up and was about to pounce or go back to napping.
    While cradling his injured hand, Jackson stood up. "I don't have 500 smackers but I do have things I can trade."
    "List them." The woman looked down at him as she was a few inches taller than Jackson and she wore flats.
    Was she serious? Jackson took a look at the demons frozen in place. What type of demon could froze other demons? He was certain he couldn't trust her and yet he needed her. His hand was throbbing. He pulled out a handkerchief from the front pocket of his jeans and wrapped it around his hand and tied it by pulling one end of the knot with his teeth. "A cat that tells you the future, one day ahead. He's a bit old but—"
    "Pass."
    "Okay. I can get you a crystal ball that will show you what your future children will look like."
    "Next."
    "Oh, for goodness sake. Can we negotiate after you have helped me?" Jackson didn't have time for this.
    "No." The woman's expression had not changed from their deadpan look. She pulled out a chair to face him and sat down with her bag on her lap. There was a sound of glasses clinking.
    "I really cannot think too well while my life is in danger," said Jackson. He rushed to the door and tried it but it was stuck. Maybe he could break a window but the whole place was probably spelled to keep him in.
    "Then you should have thought of that before calling for me." The woman's brushy eyebrows might had rise slightly but it could be his imagination.
    "But I didn't call for you. It was an accident." He looked toward the burned mark on the floor and part of it on the wall where the newspaper had been.
    "Then I will go." She stood up and started to wave her hand but he rushed forward and grabbed her arm. "Wait! Can you unlock the door for me, at least?"
    The woman pulled her arm from his grasp. "That would be part of my service. I cannot do that unless we have a deal."
    Jackson wanted to scold her but he took in a breath and let it out. "Please, help me for now. I'll think of something to pay you. I'm a witch. I can get you things no demons could."
    "You're a witch?" She sat down again with the bag on her lap. "Then why aren't you using your powers to help yourself?"
    That was a good question. "I would if I still have my powers." Jackson didn't add that most of his powers were for healing.
     "Then we have nothing more to talk about. I will go." The woman stood up.
    "Wait! Save me and I can be your healer for a day! And I can even remove your thread curse!" Which wasn't entirely true as Jackson had never removed a thread curse before but he had healed a lot of demons and witches from all types of cursed wounds. Though he still had years to go before he could be a master like Ellie.
    "A month." The woman folded her hands over her bag.
    A month was a long time. What if she was one of those demons who get hurt a lot and needed constant healing? A few hours of healing would drain Jackson and a month would definitely put him in bed for a week. Why did his mother marry a demon? Jackson would never know since she left him when he was a baby. Being a half-breed meant his healing powers would sometimes go wonky because his demon side would interfere at the most unexpected moments. "Three days! Healing requires a lot of energy and it would drain me if I do it too often," said Jackson.
    "Two weeks." The woman clearly didn't care one wit about his concerns.
    "Two weeks? That's almost the same as a whole month. Five days!" Jackson shouldn't yield on this. Ellie had said, at 32, he should be more assertive.
    "12 days." The woman's eyes took on a strange shine though her face remained impassive.
    "12 days? That's almost the sa—" Jackson took a look at Ansen. "Fine! But I get to chose the hours."
    "Deal!" The woman waved her hand and the demons unfroze again. With a few quick moves, she grabbed vials from her bag and sent them flying toward the demons. It caught two demons who blew up and dissipated while the others scattered.
    "Unlock the door!" Jackson shouted.
    "I can't undo a demon's spell! Just try opening the door when a demon dies!" The woman's voice shouted in Jackson's head. He should had known that. Why did he forget?
    Ansen struck the woman and she fell back onto the floor but she flipped onto her feet and shot more potions at Ansen who disappeared and the potions struck the wall. Ansen reappeared behind the woman and wrapped an arm around her neck. She elbowed his chest, he let go and she kicked him. He fell backward. One demon with a missing eye grabbed her by a leg and she slumped to the floor. She struck a dagger in his leg and he screamed before blowing up and dissipating. The dagger began to slip down but she caught it and threw it at another demon and he left the same way. Ansen grabbed her by the arm and threw her toward Jackson. Jackson moved out of the way as the woman slammed against the door. He was slightly ashamed at not catching her but shouldn't she be a better fighter than this?
    The woman once again got to her feet. The dagger was back in her hand. She threw it at the demons and Ansen. In midair, the dagger separated into six daggers and caught four demons who screamed, blew up and dissipated though this time, Jackson could have swore the screams had been longer as if those demons were in excruciating pain. The one remaining demon glanced at Ansen, then at the woman and he vanished. The dagger returned to the woman as one.
    Jackson ran to the door and tried again but it was still struck. Ansen must be the one keeping the door locked. Outside, it was dark and he couldn't make out anything. There was a loud boom behind him.
    Dust clouds started to clear and Ansen threw back chairs and tables as he crawled out from under the pile. He advanced toward the woman and grew larger, tearing his shirt off, as fangs grew and hair started sprouting over his face, chest and arms.
    Ansen ripped the bag from the woman with his claws. It landed on the floor with vials filled with various colored liquids spilling from the opening. She brought out the dagger but Ansen crashed into her and the dagger dropped from her hand. He pressed her to the floor where he clawed at her chest and face. Her screams rung out in Jackson's head while Ansen's growls were barely audible.
    Shoot! Demon or not, Jackson could not let her die. He curled his uninjured right hand. A small gray cloud flickered in his palm. Then it grew and faded away. Shoot! Again, the gray cloud grew in his hand and when it was the size of a baseball, he threw it at Ansen but it faded in midair. With a shake of his hand, Jackson tried again and threw another cloud ball and hit Ansen in the arm. He glared at Jackson but then struck the woman until she stopped moving.
    Jackson created another cloud ball and threw it as Ansen advanced on him. It hit Ansen in the chest. He froze and clutched his chest. His eyes widened and then he fell on his back.
    "I did it!" Jackson laughed.
    Blood was pouring out between Ansen's fingers. He shrunk to his smaller size and moaned like a child.
    "No! That's not what I want. I only meant to stunt him. Stunt! Not this!" Jackson grabbed a fistful of his hair. What have he done? He had never once killed a demon or anyone with his demonic powers. He picked up the shirt Ansen had threw aside and pressed it on the wound. Blood kept on flooding out and soaking the shirt and his hands. "Please, stop." But he didn't have his witchy healing powers.
    "You idiot!" The woman had sat up. Her clothes were shredded with exposed red marks on her skin and her face had thin red lines all over it. "Let him die. You can't leave here if he doesn't."
    "I can't! This isn't what I do." But just as Jackson thought to defend his choice, Ansen stopped moaning. Jackson lifted up the soaked shirt. Blood had stopping gushing out. The wound was slowly sealing up. Jackson couldn't be sure why but it wasn't the first time one side of his powers interfered with the other. He stood up, letting the soaked shirt fell from his hand. Ansen staggered to his feet.
    "Oh my granny." Jackson took a few steps back. "Hey, listen, I just saved you. So you owe me one, don't you think?" He pointed a finger at Ansen.
    Ansen tilted his head. "You tried to kill me and then you changed your mind. I owe you nothing."
    Jackson hated the demon's reasoning but he could not deny it. "Look, you don't want my power. I assured you, it's pretty wonky and who knows, it might just kill you." He wasn't convincing considering all demons all starved for powers no matter how useless or dangerouse they might be.
    "Now that I see what your real power is, I think you know why I would want it. And I think you know how I would get it." Ansen sneered.
    "You would have to kill me," said Jackson. Why oh why did he try to use his demonic powers when he knew it wouldn't have done any good? He should have let Ellie bind his demonic powers even if it would mean binding his witchy powers as well.
    Ansen chuckled and then grew to his hairy side. His hand was around Jackson's neck in an instant. Jackson pulled at the hairy hand but couldn't even budge it a little. He tried to kick but Ansen hardly responded. Jackson turned to the woman. She was standing about looking almost bored. "Well, aren't you going to do something? We have a deal!" That was what he said but it was probably a jumbled of sounds to the woman since he could hardly breath. She shrugged and there might had been a hint of a smile. She threw her dagger at Ansen. It split in two but Ansen dodged them and taking Jackson with him. The dagger merged into one and shot back into the woman's hand. She let out some cursing that Jackson didn't care to decipher.
     Jackson's vision was dimming and he struggled to take in the tiniest of breath. Sounds of breaking glass seemed to be the only thing he was hearing. He tried to clear his view by shaking his head but he couldn't move. Then something hard hit him and then he was enveloped in pink smoke. He slipped between Ansen's hand and hit the floor. "Ou!" He sat up and took in deep breaths. Then he noticed his hands were smaller and his pants was too long. "What happened?" He touched his face. It didn't seem any different aside from a some bumps.
    A few paces from him, the woman was wrestling with Ansen. She was pushing the dagger toward his chest but he threw her off him. She hit a wall where a large framed photographs of the town's mayor shaking hands with some actor crashed on her and knocked her unconscious. Some demon! Now would be a good time to curse his heart out but Jackson couldn't even think of any. "Oh my granny!"
    Ansen returned to his smaller size and grabbed the dagger from the woman's hand. "It's time to end this," he said.
    Jackson got up to run but Ansen was instantly in front of him. Jackson hardly reached up to Ansen's stomach. "Now wait a minute. You do know demons and witches get their powers when they turned 16, right? As you can see I'm not even close to that age. Look at my acne." Jackson had not seen his reflection but he was certainly back to being a kid, probably twelve, judging by the bumps on his face as he had a bad case of acne at that age and his voice was high.
    "You're lying." Ansen gripped Jackson's front shirt and held the dagger up.
    "For my granny's sake, I'm telling you the truth." Jackson wasn't quite certain if de-aging potions did anything but made his body younger but potions were tricky when it comes to the little details.
    Something struck Ansen. A napkin holder bounced against Ansen's leg and fell to the floor. Ansen turned to the woman. "Still alive?"
    The woman raced forward and give Ansen a good kick. He fell to the side, releasing his grip on Jackson and the dagger. When Ansen stood up again, he was his hairy self. He threw the woman across the room. She crushed down sending tables and chairs flying. The woman slowly got to her feet. There was a big gash upon her left temple and blood was oozing from her nose. She wiped it with the back of her hand though her other arm was still bleeding. She picked up a chair and threw it at Ansen who caught it and threw it back at her. She dove to avoid it but Ansen picked up a table and slammed it over her head. The whack reverberated. She fell to the floor, face down, like a marionette with its strings cut. Ansen dropped the mangled table. He turned to Jackson.
    "Now, I believe animals aren't allowed inside diners. You know, for sanitary reasons." Jackson chuckled. He backed away. One glance at the woman and he knew she wouldn't wake to save him. Rent a demon? Ha! He slipped on a vial and fell back hitting his head on the wall. He didn't have time to contemplate the pain. The woman's bag was at his left and her dagger was on his right. The dagger's handle had woven thick and thin lines around it. The wide and gold blade gleamed under the florescent lights.
    "Come on, big guy. Come at me!" Jackson smiled.
    Ansen sprung toward Jackson. While he kept his eyes on Ansen, Jackson reached out with his injured hand toward the woman's bag and pulled out vials after vials and threw them at Ansen. Ansen caught each one and threw them aside. Then Jackson grabbed the dagger and threw it. Ansen caught it, started to throw it but stopped. Blood was dripping down between his fingers as he was holding the blade side. He froze, looked at Jackson, howled and exploded sending a force of air outward and knocked Jackson to his side. He covered his face with his hands. Then there was a clang and then silence. Jackson sat up. Ansen was gone.
    The dagger was on the floor. It must be infused with powerful, ancient magic. One touch of the blade, a demon is a goner. Jackson needed to ask Ellie about it and maybe had her make some potions for him to carry around. One vial wasn't enough. It was a good thing he had good aim even when he was a kid.
    He crawled toward the woman and checked her pulse. Still breathing. He should leave but he wouldn't be a gentleman if he left an unconscious woman by herself, even if she was a demon. And besides, he needed her to turn him back to his older self.