She received another proposal, as she had begun to call them in her mind. She did not hesitate long before accepting it; even from a distance, she could sense the immense energetic potential of the entity. A demon. She was certain of it. For the first time in her life, she was going to face a demon.
It was no coincidence they had reached out to her specifically. He was the one calling her, summoning her, deliberately seeking a confrontation. The thought amused her. Alice was not a warrior, nor a soldier, and yet her life had become a battle she had never asked for, but had come to love all the same. Unique, wasn’t it?
She had to prepare properly for this meeting. She knew it would be neither easy nor pleasant, but on the other hand, she might not get another opportunity like this anytime soon. If she failed now, her soul would probably never be whole again. This demon would do to her exactly what she had done to others, and that prospect did not appeal to her at all. She liked herself, flaws and shortcomings included, and had no desire to become someone else’s meal.
Beyond the superficial knowledge found in books, she knew next to nothing about demons. What was written in clever tomes bore little resemblance to reality. The same had been true of spirits; she had learned everything through experience, which had been, at times, deeply problematic. Now she regretted not asking Not-a-Doctor about it. He probably would not have told her much, but any information was better than none.
She dressed in comfortable jeans and a fitted black turtleneck, throwing a thin, knee-length coat over it and tying it at the waist. On her feet, she wore flat-soled shoes, vaguely reminiscent of military boots, though with a higher shaft and a more delicate silhouette. She did not take a purse. She wanted to look presentable, but she had no intention of grappling with something that powerful in high heels. Nothing could restrict her movement if she needed to run.
She was confident in her abilities, which did not exclude a rational assessment of the facts. And the facts were simple: she could die. That possibility did not frighten her. She did not particularly love her life, so what difference did it make? She functioned, she did what needed to be done; protecting her was Not-a-Doctor’s responsibility.
She went first to a nearby park, searching for a potential power reserve, but found no one she could draw from. The souls drifting among the trees were weak, lost, and utterly harmless. They were ordinary people, or what little remained of them, and Alice had no intention of annihilating them out of convenience. She had not fallen so low, nor risen so high, as to stop valuing the simple existence of others. She also hoped she would never reach the point where she became a monster, devouring everything within reach.
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From the park, she headed to a nearby cemetery, but only pale shades wandered there as well. She carefully checked whether anything was hiding from her, then moved on toward the old town. Fate, it seemed, had no intention of making things easy for her today.
Just as she began cursing it in her thoughts, she noticed a strange swirl of energy near a street corner. Without hesitation, she turned into a dark side alley, following the flow. Like tracing a thread, she felt herself drawing closer to what she was looking for.
It was just around the corner.
She mentally prepared herself, then leaned out and… saw a small, disabled girl playing with a stick.
The child looked up at her in surprise.
“Upsi, upsi,” the girl said. “Go, go. Shoo.”
Alice stared at the child, puzzled by the power surrounding her. The girl was clearly irritated by her presence and tried to scare her away, which only sharpened Alice’s interest. A disabled child should not possess energy like this.
“Go, go!” the girl shouted. “Shoo! Shoo! He bad! He bad that you here! He says: go!”
Alice frowned and stepped closer, studying the child carefully, searching for any sign of possession, any trace of something that did not belong. But she found nothing. The girl appeared entirely normal.
The energy did not come from her.
It clung to her.
Which was why, at first…
“I’ve been waiting for you, bitch,” the girl snarled, suddenly grabbing Alice by the hair. “Are you finally coming to me so I can play with you, or do I have to come to you myself?”
It was not a human voice. Not even close. The sounds were distorted, the sentences fractured, yet the meaning bypassed Alice’s ears entirely and vibrated directly inside her mind. Along with it came a bitter aftertaste of fear.
Alice tried to tear herself free, but failed. The small body now possessed impossible strength. She had no choice but to remain still and wait.
“I asked you something, Alice,” the entity continued. “Will you come to me? Or should I send another invitation? A gas explosion in your building, perhaps? Or maybe I’ll chew up your dead friend for a snack.”
“If you deem it appropriate, please do,” Alice replied calmly. Fear and anger were luxuries she could not afford. If this thing broke through her shields, the consequences would be catastrophic. “I’ll be at your place this evening. Be a good host and brew me some tea.”
The demon laughed with a dozen overlapping voices, each twisted with pain.
“I’ll boil it in your stomach. How about that?”
Alice pushed her true power deeper, concealing it carefully. This thing could not be allowed to realize how much stronger she was than she appeared. Surprise was her advantage, and she would not squander it.
“Tell me more,” she said evenly. “Your fetishes fascinate me.”
The entity laughed again, hoarse and ugly, and began withdrawing from the child’s body. A moment later, it was gone.
“No die, no die,” the girl said cheerfully, smiling at Alice before running off.
Not die.
Alice exhaled slowly. She did not need reminding of the danger. The weight of what awaited her was already settling heavily on her shoulders, pressing down with quiet, inevitable force.
