TRIAL AND ERROR | short stories + snippets

The Demon of You

The flames of the candles flinched, then settled.

Arjun kept his eyes shut, still chanting the summoning spell, though he felt the new presence in his bedroom, dark but not entirely unfamiliar. The air had grown heavy at the blink of an eye, as if thunder was approaching, though the sky outside was cloudless and cornflower blue. Still, he had to finish the spell to ensure the protective magic came into effect.

Unfortunately, he was cut off by Dimitar's scoff from the bed. "Are you having a laugh? Are you actually just winding me up, Arjun?"

Arjun snapped his eyes open, defensive spells and attack hexes ready on his tongue to battle whatever it was he had summoned instead of the demon he'd been going for, only for his mind to go blank. His posture slumped.

The being at the centre of the sigil was, undoubtedly, a demon—so much was made clear by the horns prodding between dreadlocks and the slitted pupils. The skin that had once been a cool shade of brown now had a red overtone, black eyes had turned amber, and there was a gauntness about him.

All that said, there was no mistaking the face that smirked at Arjun from within the ring of candles.

"Teddy?"

The demon grimaced. "I go by Eodore now. Teddy's not really... Servant of Hell-esque."

He didn't get the chance to reply.

"Of all the demons in Hell, you decided to summon your ex-boyfriend?"

Arjun shoved his stare from Teddy to Dimitar. "I didn't decide," he snapped. "I didn't even know he was there."

That was not entirely honest. People in their line of work were rarely pure of soul enough not to require a pit-stop in purgatory for a few centuries. As much as Arjun believed that he was on the right side of the fight, a fight was still a fight, and sometimes it was questionable whether the ends justified the means.

Knowing Teddy, Arjun was not at all surprised that he chose to work for them rather than, well, get tortured.

"You're still in love with him!" Dimitar's whole face was scrunched into a glower. The pale skin grew grey with his anger.

"I'm not in love with him. He's been dead for three years."

Only gaining more fuel, Dimitar sprang off the bed, gesturing wildly in Teddy's direction. "And his ghost has been a third in this relationship the whole time."

"Demon," Teddy corrected, "not ghost. That's actually quite offensive."

"Next time, just split up with me over coffee. There's no need to stage all this."

Before Arjun could protest, Dimitar had seized the black umbrella that would protect him from the sun and stormed out of the bedroom. He stomped down the stairs and banged the front door shut behind him.

The house shook, glass quivering somewhere downstairs, and two of the summoning candles fell over.

Arjun rushed to blow them out and pick them up before they singed the wood floor. It broke the circle, but he had never finished the part of the summoning spell that would have caged the demon to the sigil, so it hardly made a difference. Besides, as rocky as their relationship may have been, it wasn't like Teddy wanted to kill him.

Hopefully.

It would be easier to pick off the spilt wax from the floor once it hardened. Arjun left it there as he picked up the candles and chalk and returned them to their drawer, casting Teddy a glare as he passed. "Thanks for that."