The longer I listened to his voice, the more I ached to find him again, to—to do what? To jump on his dick? Demand answers? Rage at him for confusing me?
“Give me the book. Otherwise, you’re going to be a very sorry girl.”
I paused the video. These didn’t seem like the words of a man who had just pulled off one of the world’s most elaborate pranks. He sounded furious, even desperate. I restarted the video, skipping ahead just a few seconds to the moment right before he grabbed my wrist.
There was a frame, a single frame in the blur of motion when he grabbed me, that looked different. I struggled for several moments to pause it at just the right spot, moving the video backward and forward until…
There. A single frame. A frame that should have shown Leon, but it didn’t. Instead, it showed a dark figure with Leon’s face, with golden eyes and sharp grinning teeth.
One slightly blurred frame that felt like a puzzle piece sliding into place.
Monday morning brought clear skies, cold and pale blue overhead as I walked to campus. I was jumpy, constantly looking over my shoulder, as if Leon would sense I knew his secret and get rid of me before I could let it out. I’d saved a screenshot on my phone of that damning frame from the video. I felt as if I’d already stared at it for hours, trying to glean the truth from that haunting picture.
No one would believe me. They would think I faked the video, photoshopped the image. But after staring at that golden-eyed figure, blurry but undeniable, I knew: Leon wasn’t human. Thethingin that photo wasn’t human.
I believed the summoning ritual had worked.
I believed I had summoned a demon.
I believed that demon was Leon.
And I, perhaps every inch the fool he claimed I was, intended to call him out on it.
I kept my cold hands shoved in my jacket pockets so no one would see them shaking. I was riding a bizarre high, somewhere between terror and elation. On the one hand, all my years of seeking the paranormal had come to this; I had video proof of an inhuman, supernatural creature. It was real, it was allreal.
That was exactly the problem.
I had a very real demon coming after me. Any paranormal investigator worth their shit would say not to mess around with the demonic. In my paranoia, I even began Googling the names of local priests.
What was I supposed to do? Exorcise him? Convince a priest that a campus security guard was, in fact, demonic? They’d laugh in my face.
I, somehow, had to make Leon leave, and not by handing over the grimoire. I didn’t know exactly why he wanted it, but that book was likely the only power I had over him. I wasn’t just going to hand it over because he asked. I’d stayed up late the night before, translating even more of its passages, trying to figure out if I had any means of defense. I found punishing spells, said to be useful for “taming the unruly servant.” And I found instructions for a binding circle said to be able to keep a demon contained within it.
But what made the entire situation so much worse, was part of me didn’t want Leon to leave. Part of me was reveling in this, part of me was aching to see what he’d do once he hunted me down. He was playing a game with me, and I knew it. How easily could he have caught me in the church, or in the woods, or as I was sitting alone in my house?
It all made so much more sense—why I was so drawn to him, why I’d been so willing to let him get his hands down my pants, why it seemed like he’d invaded my brain with insatiable lust. He was ademon. The literal embodiment of sin and debauchery.
I was a toy to him now, a little doll in his game. But when he came for me, I was determined to be prepared.
I wasn’t.
I’d made it through classes, unscathed. The sun was setting, a dull orange glow beyond the black silhouettes of the pines, and the campus was emptying. I’d kept a wary eye on Calgary all day, half-expecting to see Leon standing there in his usual spot, guarding the place. But so far, there had been no sign of him.
It wasn’t accurate to say he appeared out of thin air, but it certainly seemed like it. One moment I was walking toward a group of girls headed in the opposite direction, my eyes flickered away for a moment—and Leon was there, walking behind them.
I froze in my tracks. My heart thundered against my ribs, pumping me with adrenaline.Run, run, run.
I stood my ground, folded my arms, and waited. If I was going to confront him, this was as good a place as any. What could he do to me with so many witnesses? He was watching me, pale eyes bright. He wasn’t dressed in his guard uniform, but instead wore a gray knit beanie and black Converse with his casual jeans-and-hoodie ensemble.
“Well, well, well.” He stopped in front of me, smirking, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Were you looking for me, Raelynn?”
“No,” I lied. “I thought you’d take a hint and stay away from me.”
“Aw, so mean.” He pouted. “I told you what you were in for. I told you I’d hunt you down and make you sorry for defying me. It’s been fun watching you looking over your shoulder for the past few hours, but…” He shrugged. “It’s time to get down to business. Where’s the grimoire?”
“Somewhere safe, away from you,” I said. “I’m not giving it to you. You need to leave. Be gone!”
He snorted, tweaking an eyebrow at me. “Begone? Okay, Merlin, are you going to wave your magic wand at me next?” He shook his head, eyes scanning the campus. He was nervous. On the lookout for someone...or something. “What are you going to do, Rae? Are you going to run, add a little excitement to the game?” He was already standing close, well within my personal bubble. But then he reached out, nudging my chin teasingly with his knuckle. “Look at you, so big and brave now.”