Mobley/Sage/
Sage
A Novel
By Toni Mobley
~75k Words
I couldn’t believe it. I still couldn’t believe it. Even as he sat there on the floor of my dorm room staring up at me with those crimson cat-like eyes, his shiny ebony wings splayed out before him, his tail playfully flicking back and forth.
He smiled, exposing sharp canines that glistened in the light from my lamp as it cast an unsettling yellow tint on everything. He leaned forward, resting his taloned hands under his chin.
“Mistress.” A husky, dark voice whispered from between those rose-tinged lips shadowed by the tips of fangs.
I don’t think my eyes could get any wider, my throat any drier, or my heart to beat any faster. I stared at him, dumbfounded, and stricken by an even mixture of horror and delight. It… worked. The book, the summons, it was all real.
Right?
“What do you bid of me,” he asked in a dark and somewhat sultry voice, “mistress.”
He purred that last word, sending chills down my spine.
“I-uh... I don’t... know?” I rubbed my eyes, half expecting him to disappear when I opened them. To my dismay (and as much as I hated to admit it- delight) he still sat there, a puzzled look on his face.
“You don’t know?” He growled; his brow furrowed. “You read from the book, you summoned me here.”
“I didn’t think anything would happen, okay! Like a Ouija board or saying Bloody Mary three times in the bathroom mirror or... or… a Chupacabra?” I started rambling, my mind racing.
“A Chupacabra…” he exhaled angrily.
“I don’t know!” I panicked, but part of me felt better that he at least knew what a Chupacabra was. That means I wasn’t too far off the mark, right?
“I don’t know what you’d want one of those things for, absolutely useless,” he said, obviously annoyed, “so mindless, and messy.”
“What?” I breathed.
I guess it wasn’t that unbelievable. Chupacabra’s. If I could summon a demon with a book from the local library then I suppose anything is possible, really. Not that that made any of this easier to comprehend or accept. I was still going with the idea that perhaps I had mentally snapped, and right now I was locked up in a mental ward somewhere high on medication that was meant to cure me.
Or, maybe I was just tired; I had been studying way too hard lately. In fact, I haven’t really slept well, I couldn’t recall the last time I slept more than five hours in a row. What with work and assignments, I hadn’t exactly been taking care of my physical needs let alone mental. I took a steadying breath, rubbing my eyes.
His wings lifted from the floor with a gentle rustle as he knelt forward, taking my chin in his hand. His head tilted left then right, as he gazed into my eyes. Like a predator studying its prey. I could feel how easy it would be for him to crush my skull, how firmly his hand cupped my chin as his talons dug slightly into my skin. The muscles on his biceps tensed, so well defined under the tight leather tunic he wore. In that moment I realized how reckless I had been. But honestly, who would have ever thought some garish tome sitting in a reject pile at the library could summon forth a demon from hell.
“You have no idea what you’ve done, have you?” He seemed, so human just then, the disappointment on his face, I’ve seen it countless times during finals week.
I shook my head as best I could in his grasp, my eyes locked onto his. The demon glowered, releasing my chin as he leaned back to let his eyes roam around my room. The derelict wooden desk I had picked up from Good Will sat in the far corner by the window, inundated by an unorganized heap of papers, books, and tissues. His expression seemed to become more and more disgusted as he glanced at the rickety wooden frame I used to hang my clothes on, to the pile of shoes by the door.
He groaned.
“So…” I mused, unsure of what to say or what to do now.
I mean, there really isn’t a protocol in place for these sorts of things. There probably was, in the tome, but I certainly didn’t bother reading anything past the first entry on how to summon some monster from the depths of hell.
It’s okay though, you’ve learnt your lesson now, haven’t you?
I glowered at my inner voice. If I could I would flick her away. I was in no mood for ‘I told you so’s’.
“I can’t believe this, I honestly can’t. ME! Of all denizens whose Tome you could have secured, it was of I- Syn, the Usurper, the Undying, the Cowl of Death, I was summoned by some mortal- a lowly cowering girl! Most pathetic human I have ever seen-.”
I didn’t know what came over me, or what compelled me, as I reached out and struck my open palm across his face. He recoiled, stunned, releasing my chin. His eyes as wide as an owl, the crimson iris’ paling before darkening. His mouth opened as he let out a vicious snarl, jumping forward and grasping my neck with his talons.
We hit the wall with a thud, my back aching against the pressure as he held me in place. There was no escaping his ironclad grasp, I was locked in place. His wings enveloped me, smothering me. The air around us thickened, my claustrophobia getting the better of me as I tried to breathe. All I could see was the burning of his crimson eyes, the coal black of his hair and stretched leather of his wings.
He growled, low and vicious- his mouth inches from mine. I could see it, feel it- the rage, deep inside. But I didn’t feel the fear I thought I would, I only felt pride that I had stood up for myself. Stupid, I know. Incredibly stupid thing to feel right now, but my entire life I had never defended myself against anyone, against any of my bullies. And for some reason I had decided the one time I should stand up for myself was against a demon who could snap me in half like a twig.
I can’t believe I was truly this stupid. But it would be over soon, he’d either end my misery with a single twist of his wrist, or my claustrophobia would get the better of me, and I’d pass out.
“You are lucky, child, that I have to call you my mistress,” he spat, “but heed this, the moment that book exchanges hands, your soul is mine.”
I glanced at where the tome was, although I couldn’t see it past him. I knew it sat open to that page, on the floor. My heart beat loudly, a deafening sound that rocked my body with each strangled breath. I opened my mouth, unable to hold back as the anxiety took hold and I felt myself gasping for air.
The only indication of his concern was the tension in his jaw loosening as he removed his claw from my throat, his wings folding as he took a step back to stand by the window. He gazed out longingly, his expression unreadable.
He couldn’t harm me. As badly as he wanted to, he couldn’t. My heart skipped a beat as I tried to grasp the concept. Here before me, in my very room, was a monster. But he couldn’t do to me what all the monsters in the movies and books I had read could do, he couldn’t harm me. The soreness of my back and throat begged to differ.
Okay, finally. He could probably harm me, but he couldn’t kill me.
A series of knocks sounded at the door, an impatient rapping that caused my heart to beat even faster. Someone must have heard all the commotion. I mentally begged whatever guardian angel I had that it wasn’t a prefect, that it was just one of the students next door.
“Shit.” I whispered, jumping off the bed and awkwardly stumbling towards the door.
I undid the latch and opened the door a sliver, letting just enough of the outside light to penetrate the darkness of my room. I only now noticed that the tint of my lamp was extinguished.
“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Matt seethed.
My heart lurched. The prefect for the Ruby Floor was at my door, and boy was he angry. His nostrils were flared, his eyes wide, the muscles barely covered by his jersey bulged.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, trying to hold my weight against the door so he couldn’t glance inside.
“No shit. You might think you are now, but just you wait. You will be in the morning. Get your act together and go to bed. No one has time to deal with your fucking nonsense, freak.” He banged his fist against the door before turning and walking away.
Shaking, I closed the door and locked it, securing the hatch. I took several deep breaths before turning around. It was unfortunate that Matt was my prefect, as he was also my number one bully. It was almost as if he enjoyed the torture he derived from me, it was all some sick game to him.
“You just let him talk to you like that?” The demon asked, scowling.
I looked up into his crimson eyes, they were dark- a writhing mass of undulating shadows. Not only was I disappointing and inconveniencing every human that knew me, I just so happened to be having the same effect on the divine as. Now all I needed was for a Chupacabra to appear and admit its disgust at my inability to be normal.
Ignoring him I crawled into my bed, facing the wall as I pulled the covers up. I heard the rustling of his wings as he paced the room. Although not an unpleasant sound, it was admittedly unsettling. As if I was being stalked by bats in the shadows; raising the hair on my arms.
Glancing over my shoulder I caught him staring me down.
“What?” I grumbled.
“You want to explain what that was about?” He asked, flexing one of his claws.
“Being your mistress and all, surely I owe you no explanation.” His lip twitched slightly. So bold, so unbelievably stupid. “Besides, a slave shouldn’t speak until spoken to.”
Wow, what was wrong with me?
Go ahead, keep poking the bear- demon.
He growled, leaning over me, “I’m not a slave.”
I smirked, “Then maybe your definition of "mistress" must differ from ours.”
He glowered, walking away to stand by the window.
After what seemed to be an eon of silence, just as I hovered at the cusp of that warm lagoon that dragged you deep into the abyss that was an embracing sleep- he spoke.
“What is your first order, mistress?” he ground out that last word.
I sighed, “I want to sleep. Do whatever.”
I almost felt the evil I had unleashed with the uttering of that order. The shadow of him cast on my wall disappeared into a wispy miasma. I glanced behind me, to where he had stood at the window, but he was gone.
“Alright, then…” I murmured, letting the heavy comforting hands of sleep carry me under.
It’ll all be over in the morning, Zoe. You’ll see. This was all a bad dream, or a psychotic break.
*