The Witch's Toy ✔

5: saturday with a demon

I just stared at him blankly for what seemed like a whole minute before looking away, sighing in annoyance. "Of course I am," I admitted, "but that doesn't mean I'm just going to let them roam all over the place unrestrained. The world is already suffering as is and doesn't need more added pains." I hesitated, then added, "plus, I feel like I'm to blame for releasing them. It's ultimately my responsibility to find them."

Raphael grinned, then shrugged. "Alright, darling. Whatever you want. I'll just help you kill them."

"Don't talk about death and killing so nonchalantly," I muttered. I tried prying my duvet back from the bed in an attempt to get up, but with Raphael sitting on it, it didn't budge. "Can you please get off my bed? I need to get ready for school."

He shook his head, tilting his head to one side. A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead, stark against the white of his skin. "It's Saturday, darling. No school today."

"But still." I tugged on the duvet, my irritation growing when it still didn't move. "Can you just get up? I don't like lying in bed all day long doing nothing. It's a waste of time. The least I can do is get started on some schoolwork so I don't have to slave away tomorrow finishing them."

"You should sleep more." He tapped his chest. "Your heart still hurts, right?"

"Oh for God's sake, Raphael," I said, gritting my teeth together. "I know you're doing this to annoy me. And just to let you know, I have insomnia, so last night was probably the most amount of sleep I've gotten in years. Now, move."

"No."

I glowered at him. "I thought you weren't able to refuse when I demanded something from you. Didn't you say the pendant controls you?"

"Only when the gold talisman is released from it," he responded, smiling. He was enjoying this. "As I've already mentioned, I'll do all the killing for you so you don't shed a drop of precious blood, darling. And actually, it just so happens that I do love murdering bad little demons. It's one of my hobbies."

"You're sick."

He nodded, considering it for a moment before answering. "I am. When an angel falls from heaven, it's not the most enjoyable thing. You'll keep your immortality and your body — perhaps God spares you from losing your name —, but as a demon, what good you have been doing for quite some time in heaven will most likely be reversed for the worse — twisted into something else. It's a little dark, really. But you shouldn't be surprised; I'm a demon after all."

I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Darling, your mother is a shaman and your grandmother is also one," he said, blinking. "Are you really that surprised? Have you ever heard of the archangel Raphael? The one who performs all manners of healing?"

"My mother is never home, and my grandmother didn't want me to become a shaman," I murmured, averting my eyes. "I've learned over the years to protect myself from demons because they are evil and have impure intentions, but I never really understand them or know exactly what they are. I hardly know anything about you." My fingers picked at the loose threads of my duvet, trying to distract myself.

I had abandoned all efforts to really try and get out of bed. Now, all I wanted to do was lie down, pull my covers over my head, and wait until the sadness that crept at my heart and constricted my throat subsided. I had already accepted that I'd be like this — just a piece of unwanted garbage that didn't know anything about the life that all the generations of my family led.

Even at school, I was the victim of gossip, of betrayals and bad days. It didn't matter if I never did anything to hurt anyone; I was just not liked. I was the witch, the descendant of Hong Kong's famed shaman.