Demon Master (Demonsense series Book 2) (19 page)

“Except for me,” Bree said in a small voice. “My energy is compatible with demons.” Sophie gave her a compassionate look and reached over to take her hand.
 
“Honey, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re not secretly some kind of evil person. You don’t have a mean bone in your body.” Bruce snorted, and Sophie shot him a glare and amended, “Well, everybody loses their temper sometimes, but you're never cruel.”

“I honestly don’t think that Bree is compatible with Gelsenim because there’s something wrong with her,” Daniel said, although to Bree’s ears, he might have sounded more certain than he did. “I think it’s something of a fluke, but it may be the key to something important. Anyway, are we all on the same page here? Are we ready to go?”

They all agreed and moved upstairs to Daniel’s workroom. Sophie was in charge of creating a ritual sacred space. She and Bruce were Wiccans, and Sophie primarily invoked the Goddess as she moved around in a circle with fire, water, and an athame, a ritual knife. There was something about sacred space that helped to contain demons. The absolute ideal was to make a sacred space outdoors, but in the rainy Pacific Northwest, that was not always practical. Kevin raised a ward outside the sacred circle. His job was to be the safety net, keeping the demon from leaving the room. Bruce was there primarily to help read Bree at the end of the experiment. He wasn’t as strong a Reader as Daniel, but he’d known Bree longer and was more familiar with her energy. And besides, he had a steadiness, an unflappability that was essential for grounding the rest of them. Sophie had some modest Healer talent to add to Daniel's if anyone got hurt.
 

Once the circle and wards were ready, Kevin raised a second ward between the rest of them and Bree. This allowed Daniel to focus on questioning Gelsenim and forcing him to leave if that became necessary.
 

Bree stood alone in the center, feeling decidedly vulnerable. The others were patient as she took some time to center herself. She kept to a regular meditation practice, as did most powered. It took a great deal of mental focus to pull off magic of any kind, and meditation had the dual purposes of developing that focus and making the practitioner better able to enter a state of mental and emotional calm. Bree was not able to entirely still the nervous unease at the pit of her stomach, but she felt focused enough to begin fairly quickly. Resolutely, she focused her will energy on that wavelength that was possibly Demon Master talent, possibly something else, and intoned, “Gelsenim, I call you! Gelsenim, I command you!”

Bree felt a folding of the energy in the room to one side of her. She was starting to get familiar with the sensation of the doorway between the worlds opening, something she’d never really been able to sense, never tried to sense before. Gelsenim formed quickly before her, coalescing from an orange-red cloud of damp air into his human form. He was taller than she remembered him being before, though she supposed there was no reason for him to be consistent on that score. He had chosen to present himself in what her mind insisted on calling a tweed hunting outfit, though she had certainly never personally seen such a thing. There was a crispness to his form, a definition that had been lacking before, and his eyes were less unnerving than usual. He had managed to make them blue, though with an orange spark to them. And his energy in the room was far less nauseatingly negative than it usually was. He had clearly pulled out all the stops to try to come across as non-threatening as possible. He smiled a roguish smile at her and said, “You rang?”

Almost, she was amused. She firmly reminded herself that she was facing an ancient evil, and replied, “I see you're making an effort to be less offensive. I thank you for it.”

The demon inclined his head. A lock of blond hair fell artfully across his brow as he did so, and he pushed it back with one hand. “I strive to please you, my host.”

“You seem in an awfully good mood,” Bree said suspiciously.
 

Gelsenim shrugged. “I fed well last night, when we were joined. It calms me. It gives me more control.”

“Control of what?”
 

“My essence, what you call my energy. I am learning which parts distress you, and it is easier to hold those parts back when I am well fed.”
 

“How long after you have, ah, fed, can you stay in control?”

“Not for very long.
 
Perhaps two of your days? Three?”

Bree’s heart sank. She’d had some kind of hope that feeding the demon by allowing it possession time would calm it far longer than that. She supposed she’d had a half-formed vision of infrequent donations, something like giving blood, that might keep demons quiescent. She certainly couldn’t feature allowing herself to be possessed by a demon every two or three days. If she was a Demon Master, she wouldn’t stay sane and in control long at that rate.
 

As she was reflecting on all this, Daniel spoke. He was standing across from her so they could signal each other easily. “Do you suppose a longer possession time would hold you longer?”

The demon moved slightly so he could see Daniel if he turned his head. His expression changed, in a very human-like manner, to one of caution. “A possession usually lasts days or weeks. It appeases the hunger for perhaps two days for every four or five days of possession time. With this host, with Bree, I am more satisfied. I don’t know yet how much a longer possession time would hold me with her.” He turned back to Bree. “But I would very much like to try and see,” he concluded.
 

There was an almost sexual overtone to his tone and look, and the energy in the room shifted, making Bree decidedly uneasy. “I'm willing to let you try. That’s why we’re here today. But I need to protect myself as well. I need to make sure I’m not harmed by the possession. Keep in mind that you have some influence over what happens here. If you stay cooperative like you were last night, I’ll be more willing to allow you in again. But I can’t allow you to stay melded with me for long this time. I’m not sure yet how long I can go until I do sustain some harm from it.”

“I don’t think it will harm you,” Gelsenim replied. He took a step closer, and a look of longing came over his face. Bree regarded him steadily, forcing herself to really tune in to what she was seeing and feeling.
 

As she took careful inventory, she discovered that while Gelsenim in his human form was less overtly upsetting, there was also something disturbing in deliberately allowing him access to her most intimate thoughts and feelings, which he appeared able to tap into during the possession. Then a wry thought hit her. This must be how Daniel felt about allowing her to read him, especially the deep reads.
Hoist with your own petard,
she told herself.
Just get on with it.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she told Gelsenim. “Go ahead and meld with me.” She deliberately chose not to use the words ‘possess me.’ It probably didn’t matter what words she used, but it made her feel marginally better.

 
It happened more slowly this time than it had in the past. It was the first time she’d allowed it when she wasn’t in the middle of a battle situation, and perhaps the demon felt the lack of urgency in her request. His form wavered, went back into the orangish mist he had arrived in, then moved toward her, entering her with a tingling sensation.
I am here, my host,
Gelsenim’s voice whispered in her mind.
 

"Just give me a minute to see how that feels," she replied. She felt almost hot, not like a fever exactly, more like the feeling she got when she’d been out in the sun for awhile. A kind of solar powered feeling. It was energizing. She felt good, ready for action. She focused on vision next. She’d heard possession described as being a bit like being on hallucinogens, that there was a richness to one’s perceptions that was pleasurable. She looked across at Daniel. The clouds outside had parted, and he was standing in a patch of sunlight coming in through the window. She could see the brown highlights in his black hair, the gold tips to his eyelashes as the sunlight struck them. His skin seemed to glow a little. In this light, his eyes were a deep, dark brown, not black. Her glance moved down his body, taking in how his chest and biceps filled out his shirt. He was basically a slender guy, but he'd been a rower since he was a teenager, and he had nice upper body definition. She knew he went out most mornings on Lake Union, even in the rain, in a solo shell.
 

You appreciate his form,
Gelsenim said in her mind. He managed a fairly neutral tone, but Bree knew Daniel wasn’t his favorite person right now.

Yeah, I do,
she conceded.
But the question is, am I appreciating it more than usual?
She turned to look at Sophie to try to form a basis for comparison.
 

Sophie’s long, wavy hair was hanging free to her waist. Her round face held an intent, focused expression, her caramel colored eyes were fixed on Bree. Certain details leapt out as she regarded her friend, details she didn’t think she would normally key into. For one thing, she didn’t often dwell on Sophie’s generous breasts, and they seemed to be rather front and center in her perception. That had to be the influence of the demon. Gelsenim seemed to hear her thoughts.
Well, they are nice breasts,
he said unapologetically.
 

She turned to face Bruce. The auburn undertone to his hair and beard was vibrant, and she was particularly tuned into his physical bulk. He was built like her husband Seth had been.
 

Finally, she looked at Kevin. As expected, he looked a little tense and worried, but she found the blue of his eyes behind his glasses to be a particularly beautiful shade. And she’d never quite noticed before what nicely shaped lips he had. Yep, she had to conclude she was more tuned into the sensual world in some way. She hadn’t noticed that during the previous possessions, she’d been too busy trying to avoid getting killed.
 

“Well?” Daniel prompted.

“I’m just getting a feel for any differences in my perceptions,” Bree replied, turning back to face him.
 

“And?”

“I’m seeing details I usually wouldn’t, but it’s not all that distracting.” Or maybe it is, she thought as her gaze narrowed in on his mouth. She had a burning desire to go to him and bite his full lower lip.
Are you making me want to do that?
she asked Gelsenim.

I don’t think so, my host.
 

“Why don’t you try a little casting and see how your abilities are affected?” Daniel suggested. “I think that would be a good test since casting isn’t usually your strongest ability.”

Before the last few months, Bree would not have considered herself a Caster at all. She’d tested as having some low level ability at school, but she’d never tried to develop it. Under Daniel’s tutelage, that had been changing. Unfortunately, all he’d been teaching her so far had been offensive and defensive spells. “One of you is going to have to come into the wards for me to try that out.”
 

“That had better be me,” Daniel said. Kevin nodded and raised his hands, and made a subtle motion, as if he were turning doorknobs. Bree felt a shift in the inner ward, and Daniel stepped through. Bree considered her options. What offensive spell would affect him but not really hurt him if it was more powerful than usual? She waved her right hand across her body, casting the dizziness spell without specifically asking for Gelsenim’s help.
 

To her dismay, Daniel spun hard and bounced off the ward, then down onto the floor face first so fast that he didn’t have time to brace himself well for the fall. Without thinking, she bent over him and put a hand on his shoulder. He jerked away from her touch as quickly as he could. There was a red mark on the side of his forehead and on his cheek where he’d hit the floor.
 

“Don’t touch me,” he commanded, an edge of panic to his voice. Lord, she’d forgotten. His Demonsense must be on full alert. Touching him when she was possessed would be highly unpleasant for him. At least there probably was no real risk of Gelsenim trying to jump bodies. He clearly preferred possessing Bree over possessing Daniel.
 

“Sorry!” she said. “I don’t think I focused the spell right.”

“Oh, I think you did the spell just fine,” he answered ruefully, climbing slowly back to his feet. “There was just more power to it than you’re used to.”

“I didn’t ask for Gelsenim’s help. I just tried to do the spell as I normally would.”

“Well, that’s mighty interesting,” Bruce mused. “Looks like there’s an automatic upgrade to your powers when you’re possessed. I guess that’s pretty much how I thought it worked, that powered get a big lift in their abilities when they’re possessed.”

“I guess I thought it took a more specific focus to call on that,” Bree admitted.
 
“When I was possessed before, I asked Gelsenim for help.”

The large one is right,
Gelsenim put in.
Your abilities are naturally greater when we are together. But you are right as well. If we communicate, we can help one another in specific ways.

The ‘large one’ has a name. His name is Bruce,
Bree chided, then told the others what Gelsenim had said

“I guess that’s the best of both worlds,” Sophie said reluctantly. It was clear from her tone that she wasn’t thrilled to learn there were some definite pros to being possessed.
 
She and Kevin had been the hardest to persuade that this particular experiment should go forward.

“Ask him how he’s feeling,” Daniel suggested.
 

Well? How are you feeling?
Bree asked the demon.

I feel no hunger. I feel clarity. I think you would say ‘My mind is clear.’ It is extremely difficult to focus energy when the hunger is so strong.
 

“He says he doesn’t feel any hunger and that helps him feel clear and able to focus energy.”

“And how is that different than what it feels like for him during other possessions?” Daniel inquired.