Signed In Blood

Chapter 3- My New Reality

            The boy across from me placed an icepack on his burned cheek; he pouted, a string of obscenities muttered under his breath in a feral tongue. I struck a pensive pose, analyzing the situation. Most of all, I was offended. I mean, anyone would be if their parents sold their soul to the devil without a second thought, and continued not to care when a demon repeatedly showed up. However, there wasn't much I could do about the situation at hand, so I instead turned my mind to the future. After all, this would be a difficult arrangement if he truly intends to stay.

"What's your name?" I asked, pulling the demon out of his sulking.

He snorted, "Like I'm going to tell you that, I'm not getting banished again."

"Fine, then what should I call you? Aside from a pain in the ass I mean." I retorted, rolling my eyes. The boy narrowed his hazel hues at the attitude entwined in my tone.

"That was uncalled for. It's not like I want to be here. And call me... Cass." He replied at length, probably taking a moment to consider how close to his real name he was willing to get. Based on the fact that he was banished once, I assumed this was nowhere near his actual name.

I nodded, "Well, Cass, you can't have my soul so please get out." He glowered, looking rather unthreatening for a demon.

"No, I'm not going unless it's with your soul in tow." He spat back. I shrugged, having no intention of killing myself and knowing that was the only way he'd get my soul. Seems like this demon was going to be staying for a long time then.

"Fine," I began, shrugging, "Just don't let the neighbors see you. They'll literally burn the house down." He made a whining noise as I left him, as if protesting my lack of sheer terror. Honestly I was surprised myself, having a malevolent being in my living room should probably be at least a little disconcerting but I didn't really mind at all. If anything, I was exhausted. After all, it wasn't as if I didn't already have enough things to worry about without adding a demon to the list. All this and I still hadn't touched my physics homework.

Walking into the kitchen, my eyes darted to the time displayed digitally on the stove. Dark eyes widening, I realized it was about time for dinner. Had that much time really gone by? Perhaps the clock was wrong, it's not like this would be the first time that has happened. Yes, I decided, that was the only reasonable explanation. Time couldn't have slipped so far past me, I hadn't even been doing anything particularly distracting. Taking a glance at my phone to confirm, my brows furrowed as a perplexed edge entered my expression. It was the same time. How is that possible?

The sound of footsteps drew my attention away from the matter, my eyes meeting once more with a hazel pair. The brilliant hues slipped down to observe my phone before analyzing my expression. He seemed to light up as the pieces clicked together in his head.

"Oh, you're confused about the hour. Well you see, when a demon exposes itself the shock between our separate dimensions warps the time. That's why it's far later than you remember it being." Cass explained, hopping up to sit on the granite countertop across from me. I took a moment to process the new information. As ridiculous as it sounds, that actually made some degree of sense to me.

"If that's the case, why haven't I ever noticed a jump in time before?" I inquired, intrigued.
He laughed, reaching out to grab a stray apple that had been left out nearby. "Aw come on Quinn you're a smart kid, you don't need me to explain something as simple as that." I struck a pensive pose, watching absentmindedly as Cass observed the fruit now in his hands. Just as I thought I was getting on the right idea in my mind, an exaggerated sigh drew my attention back.

"Time only really changes for the one whose soul has been in contact with the revealed demon. For you time seemed to jump but everyone else will go on as normal, not noticing the difference." He stated matter-of-factly. Wow, I guess demons aren't very patient considering he couldn't even wait for me to come to that conclusion myself.

"I don't understand," I began, shaking my head slightly, "Why is it only the affected person realizes the jump?"

Cass began tossing the apple in the air and catching it as it fell, "It's simple really. Humans can't fathom the warping of time. That concept doesn't process in their weak minds and skewed idea of reality. However the one that came into contact with a member from another dimension, their minds are already expanding with the new realities presented before them, thus allowing them to notice the time change." I was slightly offended by his mocking tone when talking about my own species, but in the end I managed to drop it. The human race was after all very stupid, so it's not like he wasn't stating facts.

A long silence passed as I mulled over all the new information. This was all so bizarre, if I mentioned anything to anyone else they'd call me crazy for sure. Hell, even I was questioning my sanity. But despite my reservations, deep down I knew this was real. No matter how crazy things seemed, this was my reality now, I was stuck with a demon following me around until I either kill myself or he runs out of patience. I assume it'll be the latter.

The thud of an apple hitting the linoleum broke the silence. Cass stared down at it with displeasure- precisely the same look I was shooting at him right now. He pointed at it and waggled his finger, as if he were beckoning the fruit to come closer. I would have laughed at the sight had the fruit not complied!

It flew back into the palm of his hand, eliciting a smug grin to spread across the red haired demon's face. I snorted, feigning apathy at the action. Obviously he had some tricks up his sleeve; he was a demon. The laws of nature in this world were most definitely vastly different from the laws of his own.

I continued to ignore him, causing him to whine incessantly about how mean I was for not acknowledging his "cool trick". Who knew that someone who spent their life in the scorching pits of Hell could be so god damn annoying?

"Would you shut up?" I shouted at the hazel eyed boy. He paused before launching into a string of complaints in that guttural language I couldn't understand. My eye twitched in irritation; god help me.