Short Stories

Demon or Angel?

A demon was something out of a nightmare or a scary story. People don't actually believe that you can summon one. Every year about one person get enough "courage"  to summon a demon. No one expects a real demon to appear. And it's never pretty when they realize they summoned an actual demon. It's never the same person. The demon never hears from his patients again.

Rules of being a demon. Everyone you are summoned, you must help them, but at a cost. For example, to save another's life, you, in return, give or promise something. He never took anything innocent from a person with sins.

The demon also knee his limits. He's cruel and merciless. He always gets exactly what he wants. When the next time the demon got summoned, what he saw was unexpected.

"Are you an angel?" A small voice entered his ears.

The little girl couldn't have been more than five-years-old, brown eyes staring wide eyed at the demon is childish delight. Clasping her hands, she jumped up and down, her curly blonde hair bouncing. "You are an angel!"

"I,uh, look-" the demon stammered.

She cut him off. "Momma said to prat every night and angels will help me. Daddy isn't nice to me anymore and do I did as Momma said and look! Here you are."

The demon stared at the door, sweat beading down his forehead, not for the first time, wishing he was a normal man. The little girl couldn't have been the one to summon him. He could see the sins festering in someone's skin through the door.

It hit him.

The girl was an offering. There were many things the demon traded in and none of them good. His soul got an extra ten years of life. A heart for endless fortune. A child was not one of those things. He was a demon with standards.

In hell, there are a lot of demons who take the children offerings, but he wasn't one.

"I'm not an angel." The demon admitted. "I'm someone better."

She tilted her head. "How?"

"I solve problems and today, I'll solve your for free."

The little girl's smile faltered. "What problems?"

The demon narrowed his eyes. "Those who hurt you, they sinned."

The little girl nodded as if she understood. She glanced uneasily at the door. The demon looked also, at the sin festering in the skin behind it. The demon caught in to why she's uneasy.

"Little one, is the person behind the door, your father?" The demon asked.

The little girl jumped as if startled. Her big brown eyes teared up. She nodded, sniffling. "Daddy says I'm bad luck and I don't deserve to live. He hits me. I don't know why, but I know it's bad things to do and say. I told someone and he almost killed me. He left me in this room. He said he wanted to put me where I belonged." She was sobbing now. "It prayed like Momma told me to and then you came."

The demon thought about the situation. He knew his powers and their limits. He couldn't take out all the sins festering within the man behind the door. He had come down to two choices.

He could take as much sins as his powers would allow or he could kill the man and let the little girl live in peace.  The girl crying in front of him, gave him the answer.

"Smuretedød." He whispered. A man screamed as his soul was ripped from his body. The little girl free somber as she realized it was her father.

"You're safe now." The demon whispered to her, feeling himself start to fade. "Perdilade Kiesis."

The little girl met his eyes. "How can I be safe?" She whispered. "I'm the only one left."

The demon cocked his head, confused. The little girl's eyes grew glassy as his spell began to work. "Momma and Daddy left me." And that's when he understood, but it was too late as her eyes cleared and she looked confused.

The demon was gone before she could ask where she was.

'Smuretedød' means Death in demonic language.

'Perdilade Kiesis' means Memory Loss in demonic language.

Don't worry if you can't pronounce it. It's made up.