Sterek Stories - A Collection - I

Summoning a demon - part 2

Companion

De'rek is running across the Eternal Plains of Damnation when he feels the familiar pull. He has just enough time to mutter a heartfelt "fuck" before he crosses the veil and finds himself... "Oh for Hell's sake, not again."

Sitting on the bed right next to the cardboard farce of a summoning circle is the same boy as last time. He is pressed up against the wall and seems severely more spooked than the first time he'd summoned De'rek. "Oh my god," he stammers, eyes frantically searching the paper in his hands. "You're a... you're not... I must have done something wrong, but I'd swear I did everything just like last time."

De'rek turns his head. Circle of white chalk on cardboard. Check. Cheap plastic tea lights on batteries. Check. Lanky student dressed in joggers and a university tee. Check. Smell of Cheetos and spunk clogging his nose. Check. Just like last time.

He didn't tell a damned soul about what happened last time. When Eric'ha asked if his little trip had been worth it to spill wine all over her fancy new carpet, he'd answered it was someone who wanted to get revenge on an ex. You'd be surprised to know how many people summon a demon to get back at an ex. They ask the craziest things of De'rek, from destroying someone's property up to - but not limited to - murder. He never kills, not intentionally at least, he is not a hitman for hire. The summoner may want to pay the price, which is decades of personal servitude to De'rek, yet the demon isn't. He likes his peace and quiet, he doesn't need a whole slew of lesser demons at his beck and call. Isaac is an exception, a fairly recent one. You just don't hurt kids. That's a big no in De'rek's book. There's a special place in Hell for those people; Isaac's father would be able to give you a review by now. One star at the most, probably. One out of ten, would not recommend.

Meanwhile, the boy is slowly gliding into a state of panic. He is simultaneously frozen in place, as far away from De'rek as he can manage in the small space, and almost vibrating with frantic movement. It's quite something. His head keeps snapping up and down between De'rek and the paper in his hand. The same paper he used last time, with the humiliating low level summoning spell that makes De'rek always feel like the butt end of a joke. Which was precisely the intention, no doubt about it. Current case in point.

"Whadda ya want?" he slurs past the large fangs of this form. It sounds more like a threatening growl and the boy reacts accordingly. He jumps up and flattens himself against the wall, desperately watching his only exit: the door behind the demon he summoned. He doesn't even register bumping his head on the bookshelf above his bed. A superhero figurine falls off the far end, landing on the bed with a soft thump.
De'rek can't have him leaving. His work here is not done yet, his purpose not yet fulfilled. He can't go back to his own dimension without. So he wills the canines in his jaw back to a more manageable size and tries again. "What do you want?"

The boy's head snaps back to him with such speed that De'rek almost fears it'll break his neck. Which would make him free to go, but...
He repeats his question again, slower and less growly.

The hands that were clutched against the boy's chest slowly lower and he leans in minutely to peer at De'rek. "It's you, isn't it? This whole grotesque monster thing, that's you."

The demon growls.

A nervous chuckle escapes the boy. "Ah, yes, as touchy as last time. It definitely is you." He sags down on the bed in a heap, his adrenaline filled nervous system too tense to make his legs relax properly. "So you have different appearances, okay. I can work with that." He nods vigorously. "Gotta say, I liked the other shape better, even sans the eyebrows. You had opposable thumbs then. Dude, that's gotta be a huge downside of being a," he gestures up and down over the demon's shape, "whatever freak of nature thing this is!"
De'rek's snarl doesn't do much to stop him. "Yeah, yeah, don't call you dude. You said it the last time. Still not able to pronounce your real name, big guy. Because, damn, you're huge! You barely fit in the summoning circle."
The demon looks down at his clawed paws that press up against the chalked lines. He is actually bigger than this, the circle restricts his size a good deal. In his full size he would take up the whole bed, at least.
"I keep thinking I have to tell you not to chew on the furniture. Would a rolled up newspaper work on you? Do I have to get a spray bottle? Dude, is this what a Hell Hound looks like? Because, I gotta say, it's like nothing I imagined and at the same time it is. Pure nightmare fodder, that's what you are!"