"This is the place?" Baxter asked when both of us now were standing across the The Ten Bells, a pub where I promised to meet Draco Krauss.
"Yeah. This is it"
Few cars already passed by but we were still hadn't crossed the road yet, indulging ourselves in the unspoken feelings and words as our eyes were darted at a door that had fairy lights around it as if it was baiting for anyone to get in.
"Nick?" I called his name, turning my head towards him.
He looked at me instantly with the look in his eyes that I couldn't explain what it was. But I could tell that he was scared, just like what I was feeling, yet he still stood here beside me.
Sighing, I asked him an important question. "What are you doing here?"
"I'll go with you"
"You don't have to, you know that right?"
He nodded.
"But I still want to"
"Why are you troubling yourself, Nick?"
He didn't answer me but I felt his fingers instead, climbing on the palm of my hand until they took their place in between mine, holding tight.
"Because you have me," He responded with his voice that was so soothing to hear at this heart-racing moment of my life. "I won't leave you alone, we can do this together"
I stared at his sincerity as it was feeding my nervousness; so calm, so kind.
Baxter didn't stop me from doing this even though I knew he was just as worried as my two best friends. He didn't encourage me to do it either, considering he was a Christian too, like Chae and Jennifer. He had some knowledge about his religion and everything that evolved around it including those unseen things. He knew the danger of them as well.
But he still let me chose; what decision to make, what was the best for myself and for Chae, what I was confident of achieving, until I felt like Baxter was the only one who heard me without the need for me to speak up.
He understood my needs and he supported them, even though they were risky, I knew exactly what he was doing here, holding my hand. He just wanted to be there for me, just in case things went wrong during the process.
Nick wanted to at least be there to help, to do anything he could, which was what I supposed to do for Chae when she was alone in my apartment, when she needed me.
"I don't know how I can repay you, Nick" I showed my biggest gratitude to him, thinking that I wouldn't have felt better if it wasn't because of the emotional support he had been giving me since Chae's death.
"You can actually" He smiled as his pure looking eyes began to sparkle with tears.
"Tell me"
"Make it count" He answered. "Do your very best for Chae, that's all I want"
I reciprocated his smile, giving him few nods as my promise to him, and to myself too. I had gone this far, my true love for Chae had gone this far.
So there was no reason for me not to make it count.
I finally took my steps and crossed the road with Nick's hand gripping mine after I noticed what time it was; 9:55p.m.
Pushing the door, I dragged Baxter into the pub with me while my eyes were looking for the man who would be the medium between me and the demon, acting like he was an agent that would connect the seller and the buyer.
That could be the concept of how selling and buying process would be carried out.
In the nervousness I contained, I was actually relieved to see Draco Krauss, sitting on the same bar stool as yesterday. He really did wait for me like he said he would and didn't run away with my money. He wouldn't be here if he was a scammer, right?
"Is it okay if I bring a friend?"
That was the first sentence I said as soon as I reached him, causing Draco tu put his drink down on the counter and turning his body towards us.
"Detectives" He greeted with just a little smile at only one corner of his mouth.
The way he used plural word for that was telling me that he could hear Nick's soul too. He already knew who was the man I brought with me.
"Taking a friend with you is even better" Draco answered my question shortly after. "Do you guys want to drink first?"
"I'm about to sell my soul to a freaking demon," I sat myself on the stool, sighing. "I don't think I can drink or eat anything" I spoke. "What about you, Nick?"
Baxter pressed his lips tight, shaking his head in disapproval.
"Good choice, I don't recommend you to drink anything either"
I noticed that he wasn't having tequila since his drink looked like a beer. He was probably nervous as well since he told me yesterday about how dangerous this thing was. Well, I would love to see what kind of threat he was talking about, if the danger was real.
Or he just looked for a reason to overcharge me with the payment. He could have said the same thing to every customer he had before.
"So, when can we start the process?"
We left the pub once Draco finished his glass and we just followed the way. He said the place was just 10 minutes away from the bar so we agreed to follow him by foot.
The roads were getting quiet every second since it was late already, except for people who went out to get drunk or just hang out at bars and clubs. Most of the shop lots were already closed too, creating this creepy vibe around as we continued the walk.
Draco made another turn that diverted us from the main road completely, taking a back alley that was full of rats running along, and I didn't even want to start with the smell.
It was right for me to assume if there were rubbish bags that weren't collected for weeks in here.
Nick didn't let go of my hand ever since we left the pub and I could feel his grip tightened, probably sensing the danger that we might need to face; muggers.
He even put his other hand at the other side of his body and I knew he kept a quick distance from the holster of his gun, just in case. I could tell that just by his gestures.
Draco Krauss took out a set of keys when we reached a red door with big cross painted on it. My heartbeat gone even faster when he opened the door and I saw 3 men inside, sitting on the floor in the dark with circular formation while theirs hands rested on their laps as candles were the only lights present around them.
Those men gave a look at us, turning their heads and I saw those faded red lights in their eyes. I nudged Nick softly to make sure he looked at them too, since I didn't want to start seeing things just because I was nervous and surrounded by a creepy place setting.
Those men got up in unison and began to walk towards us as we stood by the door. Nick pulled me back in an instant, positioning himself in front of me as those men were walking out with their eyes darted at mine.
"Please come in" Draco let out his voice after minutes of not talking to any of us since we got out from the pub.
He closed the door behind us, turning all lights on to make the room as bright as possible. And finally, I felt like I could breathe without hurting my chest when the room wasn't just lighted up by those candles.
But the candles were no longer burning and I didn't see any of those guys put them out either.
"What's with their eyes?" I broke the silence as soon as we were signalled by Draco to sit on the floor, probably just like those men before us.
"What?" Draco frowned while his hands were moving, grabbing new red candles that were still nicely wrapped off the cabinet.
"Their eyes were red" I responded, looking at Nick beside me. "You saw them too, right?"
Nick shook his head. "I saw them but not their red eyes"
"What?" It was me who had a frown now when I finally realised that I actually did see things that weren't there. "I swear their eyes were red!"
"Detectives" Draco called, placing 3 candles on a tray before he came to where Baxter and I were sitting. "Those men you saw aren't just ordinary men" He sat with us, taking the existing candles out from the circle before pushing the tray in. "They are devil worshippers who agreed to share their bodies with the devils they chose"
"What?" I muttered in disbelief.
"Those eyes you saw weren't theirs" Draco continued while his hands were arranging the new candles. "They are the devil's"
"Share body for what?" Baxter joined in with the same confusion like I had.
"Immortality" Draco answered. "You need to allow the devil uses your body as his host in return so he can enter our world whenever he wants"
"People actually want to live forever?" I began to criticise the greed that could consume human beings until they wanted to be immortal, which wasn't work well in the law of life itself. "That would be boring!"
"If I were you, Lisa" Draco brought his eyes on me. "I wouldn't worry about that" He said. "I would worry why I'm the only one who saw the devil's eyes"
This man just scared me with his sentences. So I asked him again.
"Do you know why?"
"Of course I do," He chuckled, wandering his hands on his jacket and pants that looked like he couldn't find what he was looking for. "The devil or demon, or satan, or whatever names you want to call it, will only show his eyes when he feels threatened, so he can scare you instead" Draco answered. "What baffles me is why they are scared of you, Lisa?"
I shrugged.
If those eyes were the devil's self defence mechanism, I also wondered why they felt threatened by me. I literally did nothing, I was just standing by the door to pave them the way out.
"Is that normal?" Nick gave out his question. "I mean, the devils would most likely hide their real form, right?"
"Yes, you are right Detective Baxter" Draco replied to him, which gave Nick a surprise about how the man knew his name. "But it's not normal for the devils to fear humans, that's not their nature" He explained. "The more they show you their true selves, the more they want you to get scared, which must be some reasons for that"
"I wonder why" I sighed.
"Some people only need to hear voices, whispers, and they are already scared enough" Draco looked at me. "Some need to see shadows of people, or figures in the dark, only then they would get scared" He continued. "Some people might need extra effort to scare, especially someone like you, Lisa"
Well, I guessed Baxter's saying about I wasn't a believer was true after all.