Demons and Diners

Fear and Fire

My legs bounce under the table, more from nerves than impatience, but minutes pass without Phil, and I'm beginning to wonder if he ditched me. I stand, feeling restless, and pace around the edges of the room. The candles are warm against my skin as I examine them again - having been interrupted the last time - and I decide it best not to touch the flames. The room itself is ornate, but not on the same level as the ballrooms, and the simplicity of my clothing does seem to match the room rather well.

I'm just getting to the other side of the room, near a raised platform, when the air is sucked away from me. It takes me a moment to place the feeling, then a pop sounds and the room returns to normal - portal. I spin, searching for the black void, jumping when I notice it's appeared on the wall right behind me.

I jump toward it the moment I recognize the form that stumbles through.

"Phil!" I shout, barely managing to catch him, though we both fall against the wall. "Phil, are you okay?" I'm scanning him, but nothing seems obviously wrong - until I see the blood seeping through his fingers, clutched tightly at his stomach. His head is down, but he grunted when we'd hit the wall, and his breathing is loud enough that I can hear it - still alive. For now. I keep Phil balanced against the wall and fish in my pocket for my phone. Blood smears the screen, and I realize my own hands are covered in it.

"Fuck," I curse, fingers slipping across the screen. I finally manage to pull up the number I'm looking for, and it only rings once before he answers. "PJ, you need to get up here now!" I all but scream it into the phone, then hear it click as he disconnects.

"Phil, Phil, I need you to stay with me, PJ's on the way, he'll know what to do," I ramble, my hand shaking as it drops the phone to lift Phil's chin. His eyes are squeezed shut, fighting the pain, and I can't think of anything to do or say. What if he dies? What if he's dying right now and I can't help him? What am I-

My thoughts cut off abruptly as another portal forms by the door. PJ rushes through it, dragging Wendell behind him, and they reach us in a matter of seconds.

"Peej, please, help him, please tell me you know what to do!" I'm yelling, desperate for someone to do something, but PJ just stares at us both for a moment. His eyes go black, but I don't feel anything in my head. He must be looking into Phil's, I reason. But he stays that way for ten seconds, then twenty, then almost a full minute, and I can't...

"Peej, do something! You can't just stand there, he might be dying and you're just standing there, what the fuck are you doing!" I scream at him, still shaking, and I feel tears pressing against the back of my eyes. My pleas must pull him from his trance, because PJ turns and pops into my head for less than a moment before his eyes turn back to their normal green and he nods at Wendell.

"Dan, you need to come with me. Phil will be fine, he just needs to heal himself. Wendell will stay and make sure things go well, but we should let him get fixed up, okay?" His tone is unnervingly calm, and I'm still in shock, so he leads me away without a fight. Until we hit the other side of the room. Two steps from the door, I freeze.

"No, no, I can't leave him. Not until I know for sure that he's alright." PJ fixes a sympathetic look on me, but it only hardens my resolve.

"I don't think-" PJ barely speaks before I cut him off.

"No, I'm not leaving." I even cross my still-shaking arms, and PJ pinches his brow.

"Fine! Fine," he throws his hands up in defeat, stalking from the room. "Just tell Phil I tried to get you to leave, yeah?" I don't respond, but he slams the door behind him and I'm suddenly worried. Is that what Phil wanted, for me to leave? Why?