The Demon Beside Me

Once again, my life changed on a Tuesday. Just like two years ago, it involved a sharp knife, but this time it didn’t involve that knife in my back. When the doorbell rang, Hikari flinched and the knife she was holding went flying right over my shoulder. We shut up, looked toward the living room, then at each other, and then back toward the door as the bell rang again.

My girlfriend’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t expecting to have anyone over tonight.”

“It’s probably Tink,” I said. I could sense the contract bond between the tiny blonde mage and myself when she got within about fifty feet. Hikari’s expression could have curdled milk. I held my hands up. “I didn’t ask her over. Don’t pin this on me.”

Her expression didn’t change. “We’ll continue this discussion later,” she said, picking up the knife and placing it on the kitchen counter with a click. I took a deep breath before following her into the living room and making a beeline for the couch. I had never been able to find a couch quite as comfortable as the one I had lost nearly two years ago, but the one we had bought was close enough. I sat down as Hikari pulled the door open. “Anna and Caleb? What a surprise to see you both! What brings the two of you by tonight? Come on in.”

I looked over toward the door, noted Tink stepping through the doorway with her typical scowl, Caleb looming over her and scowling as well, and a third figure behind them. I hadn’t seen the angel in a couple of months. “I had a visitor,” Tink said, jerking her thumb at the stranger. “I talked to him, he wanted to see Caleb. After he saw Caleb, he wanted to come see the demon.”

“It’s a little late,” Hikari said. “Couldn’t it have waited until tomorrow?”

Tink snorted. “We could hear you as soon as we stepped off the elevator. You need better soundproofing. I bet your neighbors hate you. Evening, demon. How are your ears? Don’t get up or anything.”

I waggled my hand in the air. “Still functioning. Who’s the dapper stranger?”

The stranger stood in the doorway, barely letting it close behind him. A long coat hung to his knees and I could see he was wearing a white shirt with black tie underneath. A dark driver’s cap covered brown curls on his head. Even after I looked at him, he didn’t move, staying preternaturally still. The short brim of his cap seemed to cast a shadow over his face. I couldn’t tell if he had even heard me.

I glanced toward Tink. She was calling me “demon” already. Her scowl deepened and she shook her head slightly. The stranger knew something, but she didn’t know what. I forced myself to relax. If he meant us harm, he’d have to deal with two mages and an angel.

“Can I get anyone a drink?” Hikari asked, transitioning seamlessly into gracious host. I looked to her and her dark eyes fixed on me, narrowed, silently promising that I would pay for their intrusion later. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and looked away.

“Just water,” Caleb said. “Anna will need something stiff. So will Zay.”

“I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself,” Tink snapped.

“So you want something else?”

“No. He’s right. If you have any Guinness, I’ll take one, and so will he.”

I rubbed my nose. “Haven’t seen either of you in weeks and here you are, trying to get me drunk. I missed you guys. So, what’s the story here? Dapper stranger, why don’t you take a seat, too? Want something to drink?”

As I addressed him, he stiffened, then walked to an unoccupied chair and sat down, ramrod straight on the edge of the cushion. His head turned toward me, but his face remained shrouded in shadow, even though there was more than enough light to illuminate his features. “Nothing, thank you.” His voice was mellow and soft.

Hikari turned to the kitchen while Caleb and Tink sat down. I took the moment to check out the changes to my partner since I’d seen her last month. Her golden hair had become long again, but tonight she wore it in a braid that trailed halfway down her back, nearly as long as when I had first met her. A gold ornament shaped like a geometric butterfly held the braid together close to the base of her skull. I assumed the butterfly held all sorts of defensive magic, like her old hairband. She caught my gaze and glared at me. “What?”

“Did Caleb braid your hair for you?”

“As a matter of fact, he did. What’s wrong with that?”

I glanced at the angel. His cheeks were just a little flushed. I snickered. Before either of them could start yelling at me about it, Hikari came back with two bottles and two glasses of water. She handed a bottle to Tink and took a seat on the couch between Caleb and me. “That is a pretty braid,” she said. “I didn’t think most men could do such a good job of it. Lord knows, Zay’s fingers aren’t that nimble.”

I bit back a comment in the name of domestic tranquility and elected to have a drink instead. For a long moment, everyone remained silent, and then at some unspoken signal, our collective attention focused on the stranger. “Well, let’s have it out,” I said. “Who are you, and why do you want to see me? I’m not that special, you know.”

He still didn’t move, but I felt something scream in the back of my mind. Danger. Supernatural power. The aura of power far outstripped anything I’d ever felt. This man wasn’t human, demon, or angel. If he meant us harm, he would certainly be able to carry through. “You are Isaiah Bright, of the demonic House Asmodeus?” His voice was still soft, but now it held a hint of command.

I didn’t even think about denying it. “Yes.”

“You fought House Lucifer to prevent the destruction of the Gates of Purgatory.”

“Yes.”

“You opened the Gates.”

“Yes, with Tink and Caleb.”

“With your blood.”

“My ichor, to be precise.”

“You were the first to touch the Gates with your ichor.”

“Yes. What’s your point here?”

He moved. Before I could react, he dropped to one knee, head bowed and right hand clapped to his chest, his left hand sweeping the hat off his head. “I acknowledge the Gatekeeper. As per the terms of our contract, we swear to your service.”

I leaned forward. “What contract are you talking about? Who are you?”

His head came up and I flinched back. His eyes were dark, empty pits, power drawing me in. I fell forward, tumbling end over end. His voice echoed. “I am-”

A warrior struck, throwing his opponent over the edge-

A man leaned forward, his boot planted firmly on the neck of a struggling enemy-

Dozens knelt in the sand, hands laced behind their heads-

A flag rising with the sunrise, above a hill of bodies-

Someone sat on a throne, a throne covered in blood-

I was the victor, the dominator, triumphant-

“Conquest.”

I gasped for breath and snapped back. His eyes were dark, almost black, but they were actual eyes. Why hadn’t I seen them before? What was he? The power he held was beyond that which any demon could wield. Far beyond that point. “Conquest?” I asked, my throat dry.

“Yes,” he said.

“You don’t have to kneel to me.”

“You freed us.”

“I did?”

His gaze never left me. He didn’t blink. “You freed us from Purgatory by opening the Gates. It has been six hundred and sixty six days since your sacrifice freed us. By the contract struck and bound, I am yours to command.”

I looked around the room. Hikari’s face held nothing but confusion. Caleb and Tink were unreadable. Her scowl could have meant anything. Caleb’s poker face had cost me plenty in the past. I looked back to the man who named himself Conquest. “Anyone want to fill me in here?”

“Beats the hell out of me,” Tink said. “He showed up at my place, asked me the same sorts of questions, named me Third Gatekeeper.”

“He named me Second,” Caleb said.

“In the order that we touched the Gates,” I said. “Isn’t that correct, Conquest?”

“That is correct.” He was still on one knee.

I sighed and leaned toward him. “Look, I don’t have any idea of what you’re talking about. Why don’t you get off the floor, sit down, and start from the beginning?”

He moved to his previous seat and continued to stare at me. “Where would you like me to begin, Gatekeeper?”

“How about you start with who and what you are?”

“I am Conquest, the First Horseman.”

Hikari took a sharp breath. “The First Horseman of the Apocalypse? Does that mean the Tribulation has started?”

“No,” he said. “Not as your belief system states. While some may consider us a portent of the end times, we are simply harbingers of change.”

“But you destroy!” I looked over at Hikari. Her tone was shrill. I heard that note in her voice at least once a day, but this time she wasn’t just angry. She was afraid.

Conquest turned his gaze on her. She recoiled. “Change takes many forms,” he said, his voice even softer than before. “A fixed structure must be destroyed before it can be rebuilt. So it is with us.”

“But-”

I cut her off before she could continue to argue with him. “So, you claim to be the first Horseman?”

A tiny smile appeared on his face. “Do you doubt it?”

“Not after that introduction. However, I thought that the first Horseman was Pestilence. In fact, I thought that the four were Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. I don’t see Conquest in that list. Are you sure you’re not misrepresenting yourself?”

His smile grew. “Pestilence is an unfortunate mistranslation.”

“He’s right,” Caleb said. “Pestilence is apocryphal, but popular culture latched onto it. The actual texts clearly refer to a concept of conquest or victory.”

“I see. So, why are you here? What do you want from me?”

Conquest placed his hands on his knees and returned his gaze to me. “I await the command of the Gatekeeper. I am to conquer in his name. I have no limits.”