Why Demons Should Never Bring Things to Life
“What the bleep? Those aren’t my clothes.” A dripping wet Myra, clad only in a towel, stood nervously in front of the counter where she had left her kimono before entering the shower room. And Silversin promised me that there would be a barrier around the entire bathhouse, too, she thought with an indignant frown.
A muffled voice was heard from the other side of the door. “They’re travel clothes I got for you.” It was Lilla. “There’s no way I’m going to let you wear the same clothing you’ve been wearing for almost a week. And this outfit is really cute. I picked it out myself.”
“Are you sure these are appropriate for travel?” Myra asked in a skeptical tone while holding up the outfit. “It’s a long dress. And a big weird leather thingy.”
“The leather goes over the dress,” Lilla replied. “It’s the closest thing to body armor I could find for you, on such short notice.”
“Body armor? Are the Rossetti Mountains that dangerous?”
“Well, not usually. But Sam tells me that you aren’t that quick on your feet. So you might need protection.”
Myra scowled. “Not that quick on my feet? Is that really the phrase he used?”
“Uh, no comment. Hey, do you need some help getting that thing on? I really want to see you in it.”
Myra reached for the door, but froze when her fingers touched the handle. “How do I know that you are actually Lilla? For all I know, you could be Dru, using Lilla’s voice.”
“Don’t worry Myra. Not even Sam could get near this place without a sex change. And besides, I haven’t called you ‘darling’ even once during our entire conversation.”
“Good point,” Myra agreed while opening the door a crack to let Lilla slip inside. “I don’t think Dru would physically be able to do that.”
“Right. Now, let’s see you in that dress,” Lilla grinned.
Sometime later, everyone was gathered into a large courtyard just behind Silversin’s stately home. By then Myra decided that she really did like the outfit that Lilla had picked out. The under-dress was light and easy to move in, and the leather outer was a comfortable fit with beautifully decorated panels that helped cover the skirt.
Myra looked around at her companions. Everyone had on travel clothes, possibly all supplied by Lilla. At that moment Lilla herself was busily preparing a pack of provisions for each person to carry. Meris was sitting on the grass, using his teeth to help adjust one of the many straps on his sleeves. Dru appeared to be stretching, but it looked more like flirtatious posing. Sam was standing under a tree with his arms folded; giving the impression that he had been ready ever since he made his announcement the afternoon before. And Silversin was walking around, handing everyone a silver dowel. When she gave the last one to Myra, the girl looked questionably at the foot long pole. “What is it for?”
Silversin gave her a warm smile. “What ever you want. A walking staff, a silver rope, one of those…um, hard metal hat things. They don’t call me ‘Silversin’ just because of my hair, you know.”
A loud clanking noise drew their attention over to Meris and Dru, who had transformed their dowels into swords and were sparring all over the northeast corner of the court yard.
Myra turned back to her host. “Thank you for giving us those pills. They did a wonderful job to restore my energy, and obviously the others as well.”
Silversin chuckled lightly, “That’s because the pills make you feel like you’ve slept for 2 days straight, that’s about all you needed.”
“Could you give a really large dose to Sam? He could use it.”
“It would take a lot more than sleep to fix his problems.” Silversin looked at said demon, who was now approaching them. “Granted, it probably wouldn’t hurt to keep him out of the way for a while. For as much good as he does, Sam can be a bit of a trouble maker, and it might actually help Dru and Meris grow a bit if he wasn’t always around. Hello Sam, do you need some help working your dowel?”
“Don’t insult me, and stop gossiping about me with the human, the last thing she needs is your influence. I only want to know if it is possible to convert this thing into some sort of pack animal that can carry all the crap your subordinate is forcing us to bring.”
“Hey!” an angry looking Lilla popped up beside them. “Winter clothes are going to be very important once we reach the snowline.”
Her comment was ignored. “Only if you can create a way to do it mechanically.” Silversin stepped closer to him and said in a low voice. “I hope you have not forgotten what happened the last time you brought an inanimate object to life.”
“I?!” Sam managed to look thoroughly offended and slightly embarrassed at the same time. “As I recall that monstrosity was entirely your idea. The only reason I aided you, was because of your relentless pleading for my assistance.”
Silversin, seeing the peril in perusing the conversation, wisely chose not to comment on Sam's accusation. But Myra, who was too intrigued by the story to realize the danger, couldn’t help but say, “Wow, it must have been something really bad, what—”
“Myra!” The tone in Silversin’s voice was desperate and frightened. “I have something very important to show you…” she paused, looking around, “over there!” she said pointing to the southwest corner of the courtyard. And grasping Myra’s arm pulled her over in that direction.
Silversin let out a sigh of relief once they reached the grassy corner. “Whew, that was close. You really shouldn’t push Sam when he’s upset, you know. Bad things happen.”
“Isn’t he always upset?”
“Yes, but didn’t you hear him raise his voice? He only does that when he’s truly angry. Personally, I’m surprised he didn’t kill you after the first word you said.” She tapped her chin in contemplation. “He must really like you.”
Myra made a noise of exasperation, and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. The guy completely hates my guts.” Her eyes drifted toward the demon. “And judging from the way he’s shifting his weight from one foot to the other, I think he heard your comment. So why don’t we just leave it at that. Before he comes over here and tries to kill you.”
The silver haired girl’s eyes grew wide. “Noted. But before I forget,” she reached into a silk satchel that was fastened around her waist, and pulled out a tiny object which she held between her forefinger and thumb. “Have a mint.”
As Silversin quickly retreated over to where the boys were still play-jousting, Myra shrugged and popped the round white mint into her mouth. I didn’t think by breath was that bad. Guess I’ve got to stay away from the fish flavored crackers.
Immediately Myra was blinded by a great white light. When it faded away, she was slowly descending from high in the air, upon a small walled garden. There were two figures in the garden, but she was still too high up to distinguish them. Myra naturally assumed that she was having either, an out-of-body experience, or a vision. And it’s about time, she thought with a nod of her head, I’ve been waiting for one of these for years.
A faint voice was heard, gradually getting louder.
~“…event occurred in my backyard when we were very young. Before Sam ever met Meris or Dru. When I still went by my given name of Tamsin.”
Myra recognized the voice and was not very surprised to find that Silversin was narrating her vision.
Silversin’s voice continued in a soft musical tone, ~“Our parents often visited each other in those days, and Sam and I were usually left alone to play together. On one such occasion, when we were sent to my private garden, and left there…”
Myra was now close enough to the ground that she could see that the two figures were indeed a little boy and girl. The boy was standing under a tree in a stance that was very similar to the one Sam had been using just a little earlier, and the girl who had long silver hair was on her hands and knees doing something with the soft garden soil.
~“I decided that this day would be as good as any to use my newly learned magic skills and make a gift for my best friend. So, after devising a plan, I set about constructing a fruit tree that would bear fruit especially designed to please Sam.”
Myra watched as Tamsin managed to somehow make a trunk and branches and construct them into a tree-looking entity. At some point, Sam had sat down cross legged, and was doing his best not to look interested as he observed Tamsin’s progress.
~“By mid-afternoon I was done with the tree. And it was a beautiful sight to behold.”
Myra had to disagree. It was pretty awful looking. She suspected that a tornado would have better results. However, since it was the child’s first attempt, she wasn’t too critical.
~“But it was only wood. No leaves or fruits donned its branches. And I couldn’t finish it because I was completely drained of energy. That is why I approached Sam and implored him to add the final element to my creation. To give the tree life.”
Myra watched as Tamsin rose from the place she knelt in front of the tree and went over to where Sam was sitting. He appeared indifferent, but she only had to ask him once, before he agreed to help her. He tentatively placed a hand on the trunk of the manufactured tree.
~“Sam confided with me later, that even though he had only ever been taught to absorb life energy, the concept of reversing this process seemed simple and obvious to him. And exciting.”
Now floating right next to the tree, Myra saw the awe in his eyes as Sam watched flowers and leaves practically spring from the tree’s branches. Then, as the petals fell, and round citrus fruits plumped from the blossoms centers, Sam abruptly released his hold and stepped back, staring at his hand in horror.
His voice came out in a high whisper, “W-was that s-supposed to happen? Like that?”
~“It was the first, and last time Sam ever stuttered.”
“Well, yes,” the young girl blushed a bit, “but considering I forgot to add the quick growing part of the spell, no.”
With a look of great unease on his face, Sam turned around and started to walk away.
“Wait!” Tamsin called after him. “At least eat some of the fruit.”
~“For me, the whole situation was actually working out quite well. Since Sam had helped make the fruit grow, I could offer it to him without making it seem so much like a gift (which he was less likely to accept).”
Sam paused, his shoulders dropped, and a small sigh escaped his lips. “Fine, but only because I’m curious.”
He retreated back to the tree and picked a fruit. As he held it in his hand, a noise escaped from its juicy depths. “Ahhh… Thank you, wonderful demon and giver of life, for choosing myself as the first fruit you devour. I am greatly honored.”
Sam immediately dropped the fruit and stepped back, while Tamsin scrambled behind him. “Was that supposed to happen?” he asked in horror.
“Most definitely not!” She squealed.
“Please, most awe inspiring one,” the fruit continued to speak as it rolled over to Sam's feet, “It would give me great pleasure for you to peal off my outer rind and consume of my succulent flesh.”
“It’s scary Sam!” Tamsin hid her face and cried behind him. “Kill it!”
Without hesitation, Sam stomped his foot down on the piece of produce and ground the shattered bits into dirt with his heel. “It was wrong of me to step outside of my chosen calling. It will not happen again,” he whispered.
Going back to the cursed tree, he laid his hand on it one more time. The fruits quickly dried up, then the leaves and branches fell off. In the end all that was left was a twisted trunk of rotting wood. Which Sam promptly set afire.
~“And that is why Sam should never bring objects to life.”
Myra was once more consumed by a flash of white light, and found herself in the same spot as before, looking at Silversin as she approached Meris and Dru. It was as if no time had passed.