I, Devil (a love story)

Chapter Twelve: Meresin

In order to perform the spell that allowed me into the fairy world, I needed to call upon the four elements of the four corners to open another door. Then, I could leave Wendy and her dream space and she will never notice I was ever there. I just came to briefly borrow some magic, harmlessly. I had no intention of ever interacting with her energies again.

"Hello," said Wendy in the dream. It was directed at me. She seemed to see me. Wendy seemed strangely lucid. She wasn't supposed to be. With the magic I used, she wasn't supposed to detect that I was even there. I used a mix of mirroring spells and camouflage, I should have been undetectable to the mortal perception. Instead of being upset, I was fascinated.

I got what I needed and rescued Johann from the faerie realms. I felt my mission was complete and that was the last of Wendy. Our paths crossed and then they continued on their way. Or so I thought.

Noah survived his attempt on his life. Then, he met Wendy.

I watched their first interaction as some sort of fluke. Coincidences are common, as the world is often a much smaller place than it seems. They lived in the same area, so it wasn't entirely strange that they should run into one another, their stories intersect.

I found myself watching everyday, intensely. I could not stop. I wouldn't listen when a demon came to me with requested data. Even when it was pertinent or required immediate attention, I somehow lost the ability to listen. All other experiments were on hold. Nothing seemed as important.

"My lord," said a familiar yet annoying voice. I was watching. I was watching Noah attempt to communicate something to Wendy. I read his energy and it was a chaotic, tangled mess. I didn't want to be bothered because... because I was already bothered. However, the voice of Ba'al Zebel was hard to ignore. It was a screeching, loud, hum of thousands of insects. He sounded more frantic than usual.

"My lord, I bee-seech thee!" he cried, flapping his many wings and staring at me with large bug eyes.

His mandibles clicked and his dry knees and joints chattered. I wanted to ignore him. I imagined for a moment that I was more invisible than usual. Maybe he would just go away. I attempted to silently communicate to him my displeasure and desire to not be disturbed. This did nothing. The demon lord of the flies was here to speak to more on more than just mundane things or our somewhat routine game of chess.

"It's an emergencyyy!! The Veil has completely collapsed in parts of Shanghai, I've been trying to reach you about your war--" His voice was particularly buzzing and so I immediately silenced him. I knew what he was going to say without him announcing it. I didn't even need to see to it personally. Of course the Veil collapsed in China. There were massive holes all over the east. It was Hell spilling into Earth. They were growing in the west, too. It was also bad in Africa. It was all over everywhere. The Veil was looking more and more like a sponge than a membrane.

"Will you stop? I am watching something," I said as I waved a vaguely arm shaped black tentacle his way, as if to gesture my annoyance at him. The lenses in Ba'al's multi-faceted eyes studied me. He could feel that I was not in the mood and that I could be vaguely threatening. Thus, I felt his energy back away respectfully. Then, the creature turned his attention to what I was studying. Two humans, Noah and Wendy, sitting side by side inside a vehicle. Talking. Then, they began kissing.

"What are you watching?" Ba'al Zebel asked. Even his complex, compound eyes were unable to see something so high vibrational. Ba'al was a demon and was blind to these parts of the universe. He couldn't see the humans exchange such pure emotions.

"Humans," I answered snippily. Of course I was watching humans, what else would I be doing? Demons were such base, basic creatures. They were like cartoons, unable to have the complexity and depths of either angel or human. I watched as the energies of Noah and Wendy mingled. Their bodies were continually kissing.

"Oh... well... uh," Ba'al Zebel fumbled. I knew exactly what he was about to say next and it took everything in me not to implode. "Wh-what about... the Veil?" he asked.

"Nothing, that's what about it," I answered coldly.

"What do you mean?" the demon asked stupidly.

"I mean nothing. I don't care. I don't care if the entire Veil collapses. I don't care. That's my official stance. I order you to tell anyone, be it angel, demon, goddess or human... even if the Lord himself comes down and asks you, Ba'al Zebel about what I—Meresin the fallen angel will do about the collapse of the Veil... I will not come repair it. Especially if Azazel-- if he comes knocking and asking about me. That is my official stance. I will do nothing."

"That's it?" Ba'al asked. "But... why? How? There are giant holes... Hell on earth. Literally legions of demons are spilling out, unabated. The worlds are blended. You can't tell where Earth ends and Hell begins in some places. And in India..." the demon went on, thoughtfully. "We have been repairing things as best we can for some time. It is held up by threads."

I didn't answer for a moment. I was infuriated. I thought he heard me. I thought I made it clear. I will do nothing because I can't do anything. I have been studying it since my release from the Void. I am likely the most informed fallen angel on the subject. However, I knew it was just as useless to explain this to the demon. There was no amount of repairing that would save it-- and Azazel incessantly abusing his time travel ability was only making it that much worse.

"I have spoken," I said. I know the energy behind my words felt listless and solemn, but inwardly I felt bristled and cold. Just what did he want me to do, go to China and begin rebuilding? It was like reconstructing mountains. I alone could not do it by picking up the entirety of my consciousness and moving it across the world to push around some rocks. I dismissed him.

"Yes, my lord," said Ba'al Zebel as he zipped away.

I returned my attention to the humans.

They had stopped kissing and moved their vehicle to a restaurant. Noah and Wendy's energy continued to exchange excitedly and brightly. They talked about all sorts of things, their connection was strong. I had never seen Noah's energy so lit up, like a small town in the holidays. I watched with wrapped interest, pushing any thoughts away that pertained to my brother or the Veil. Those problems were shut away, yipping and biting at my heels. I didn't want to think of them. They were too depressing even for a devil in Hell.

Wendy excused herself from the table. She went alone to the restroom in the restaurant. She held a old, battered cell phone in her hand. I and many of my brothers have problems connecting to technology. It is quite easy to drain the battery of a device for its energy. I did not care to do this, but I desperately wanted to read the message in Wendy's cellphone. Based on her energy and surface thoughts, I could tell it was from someone with whom she once had a romantic connection with. It was easy to read that she was not interested in the energy coming from her cellphone. She didn't want that person, instead, she was attracted to Noah.

"I'm sorry Dave," she wrote into the phone. Her thoughts were surface enough that it was as if she were speaking out loud. "I want to be honest with you. I am seeing someone else, and I really really like them."

I wasn't expecting that. The relationship happened suddenly, right in front of me and I didn't see it coming. That's what is so surprising with humans. I could still read Noah's energy, bright, bubbling and shiny. It was rare to see him that way.

What was more interesting was Wendy's energy.

What I saw was a unique blend of energy. All of it was bright. Her aura was a bloody red and beneath that a ring of gold in folding tetrahedron fractals. I could read her energy as if it were lines of code, a unique ability that not all creatures have. I couldn't help that it caught my eye. She was a unique specimen of a human. I had never seen energy quite like that befo