Copyright © 2019 James Russell Stoakes. All rights reserved.
https://JamesStoakes.com
The dreams that Jarred had that night were amazingly vivid. The screams of horror still filled his ears as he woke, and it made him smile.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” a woman’s voice said from the end of the bed. “A really good mood, if the tent in your sheets is an indicator.”
Jarred looked to the side, “Um, Jenny?” he asked, confused, and not sure if that was her name. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he sat up and slid to the edge of the bed. He did not try to hide his nudity, and Jenny enjoyed the view. The fog of just waking up was clearing from his head, “How did you get in here?” he asked.
“I’ve got my ways,” she said impishly.
“So you’re not a reporter, you’re a thief?” Jarred said without concern. He stood in front of her and waited for an answer.
“No, well only when I have to be,” she said slowly. “Guess again? Nice shape by the way,” she said, pointing at his crotch.
“Promises, promises,” she tittered and stood in front of him. She carefully stroked him once. “In your current condition, you couldn’t hurt me,” she said emphatically.
Jarred’s answer was swift. He viciously backhanded her across the face. He expected her small frame to be thrown to the bed by the force of the blow, but she just stood there and grinned. He attempted to hit her again, but she caught his wrist in mid-swing and held it tight.
“I told you. You cannot hurt me in your current condition,” she said and squeezed his wrist to the point of causing Jarred pain to emphasize her point. She let go of his wrist and sat back down.
Jarred tried to possess her and get her out of his home, but nothing happened. Jenny stared back at him unaffected.
“That will not work on me,” she said with a grin. “I have no soul for you to possess.”
“What?” Jarred blurted out truly confused now.
“Go take out your frustrations on your pet downstairs and come back,” Jenny said. “I’ll make coffee while I wait.”
“She knows about Emma,” Jarred thought, “and she’s not upset about it.” Jarred considered what she said and he needed a “pick-me-up” so he padded over to the basement door, unlocked it, and headed down. Jenny could hear Emma’s panicked groan before he could close the door. She laughed and went about making coffee in the unfamiliar kitchen.
The coffee was made, and Jenny was quietly watching Jarred grind away on Emma. “She really was no fun after a bit,” Jenny thought. “She has no stamina,” Jenny stated aloud, causing Jarred and Emma to notice her watching. Emma began to struggle with the new set of eyes on her, new worries entered her mind. “Hurry up, coffee is done,” she prodded, knowing that Emma’s new discomfort would help push him over the edge. It did, and he quickly finished. He left Emma hanging from the ropes because he thought he may want seconds this morning.
Jenny poured a cup of coffee for each of them. “Black and bitter, just the way you like it,” she purred.
Jarred sat there, naked, and sipped the hot brew. He couldn’t figure out Jenny. She just grinned at him and sipped from her cup and waited for him to speak. “What’s your deal?” he finally asked, not really sure what to ask.
Jenny set her cup down. “I’m a demon,” she said as she topped her cup off with more coffee.
“A demon,” he repeated skeptically.
“Yup,” she said and picked her cup back up. “I’m here to help you,” she added before taking another sip of her coffee.
Jarred stared at her in disbelief, but he couldn’t possess her, and she was incredibly strong. “Help me with what, assuming I believe you?” he asked, getting irritated.
“Help you unleash your potential,” she said cryptically enjoying his discomfort.
“And what is my full potential?” Jarred asked mockingly.
“You’re the son of the Devil and demon spawn,” Jenny said. “I’d say, pretty much, the sky’s the limit.”
Jarred laughed. “My father died when I was young,” he said. How could I be the son of the Devil? I lived in an orphanage for most of my life.”
“Until you burned it down,” Jenny agreed energetically.
“I can still hear them,” Jarred said wistfully. “The flames trapped several of the other children on the upper floor.” He grinned. “It was wonderful!”
“Spoken like the true demon spawn you are. You were sent to earth to be a plague on the evil in humanity,” Jenny informed him, “but something happened during the transition, and you forgot who you are.”
Jarred still wasn’t buying her story, and looked at her cynically.
Jenny sighed. “How do you explain your ability to possess someone, even if it is pathetically weak. For that matter, what is your earliest memory?” she asked.
He thought for a bit and sipped his coffee, he didn’t have an explanation for his ability. “The oldest memory I have is being taken to the orphanage. I was twelve at the time. They said it was because of the accident that I blocked out all other memories. I hated that place, too many rules. I never could fit in.” The memory caused a deep scowl to form on his face.
“I don’t know anything about an accident, but the timing is right for when you were sent here,” Jenny asserted. “You were sent to find evil people and expedite their trip to hell, and if you killed a few innocents along the way, that would be okay too.”
“I’m supposed to be killing people?” Jarred asked incredulously.
“Discretely,” Jenny emphasized.“You have a quota to fill before you can go home. You’ve killed twenty-two in the last sixteen years, but only one went towards your quota. So you are at negative twenty-one. Nice Job!””
Jarred had been holding back on killing so many for so long. He was discrete and usually had others do the actual killing, but that was only because he feared incarceration.
“What you have told me would explain a lot to me,” Jarred said. “One thing, though. You said I could not hurt you in my current condition. I originally thought you were referring to my arousal. Now I’m not so sure. What were you referring too?” he asked.
Jenny laughed. “I can see how you might interpret that situation that way!” she said. “What I meant was in the weakened, pathetic condition you are in now.” She grinned and waited for his reaction.
“So something happened to me that made me weak? What took so long for ‘dad’ to notice, and how do we fix it?” Jarred asked, accepting her premise.
His reaction surprised Jenny, “I might be making headway with him,” she thought. “Time flows differently in Hell,” she explained.
“Sixteen years?!” Jarred exclaimed. “How long is that in Hell?”
“An eternity if you are sent there for punishment. It’s only a few hours if you live there,” she supposed.
“Only a few hours,” he repeated as he considered the information.
“As to how we fix it,” Jenny smiled and teased him as she held a ring out in the palm of her hand but out of his reach. “I was given this talisman and told it would fix your physical impairments and remind you of who you are.”
Jarred held his hand out. “Put it in my hand,” he said.
Jenny stared at him. He sat there, motionless with his hand extended, and stared back at her. “Fine,” she said relenting and depositing the ring into his hand. “I’m just trying to have some fun. You hogged Emma all to yourself earlier.”
As soon as Jenny dropped the leather-wrapped ring into Jarred’s hand, he could feel a warmth radiating from it. He rolled it around in his palm and stared intently at it for a few moments.
“Just put it on!” Jenny burst out, unable to contain herself any longer.
Jarred scowled at her and slid the ring on. Immediately, the ring began to get warmer and warmer, and just when he wasn’t sure he could take it anymore, it melted into his skin and disappeared. As the ring sank into his skin, the heat dissipated in his finger, but a lesser warmth spread through his body.
He sat there and wondered as the warmth dissipated. “Did anything change?” he asked Jenny. He didn’t feel any different.
“I don’t see any difference,” Jenny said as she looked him over.
Jarred stood and moved to Jenny. He backhanded her again as he had done before. This time, though, she flew from the chair and slid across the kitchen floor. She slammed into the refrigerator before coming to a rest.
She looked up at him and grinned wickedly, “Something changed,” she said.
“I still don’t remember who I am,” Jarred said. “You told me it would remind me of who I am.”
“Maybe it takes time,” Jenny said, lifting herself up off of the floor. “You should be able to do a lot more than possess someone for a few seconds,” she said. “You should experiment on your tired pet. You won’t have to break her now. You should be able to compel her to do your bidding, or better yet, kill her so one of the demons I have standing by can possess her.”
“Emma’s body, possessed by a demon loyal to me,” he said. “Do all demons enjoy pain?” he asked as he reached out and pinched her arm hard.
“We do,” she said sexily before bending down and biting his hand ferociously. “Giving and receiving,” she said as she pulled away with blood on her lips. They both watched as the bite healed quickly. “That works,” she said. “It looks like you are immortal again.”
“Please make him let me go!” Emma pleaded with Jenny.
Jenny moved closer and grabbed one of Emma’s nipples and squeezed hard, eliciting a squeal from her. “I can understand why he so enjoys you,” Jenny said to Emma. “Your voice hits just the right pitch when you are terrified.”
“You’re both sick!” Emma sobbed. “Just kill me and get it over with!” she shrieked.
“As you wish,” Jenny said and moved out of the way.
“What? Wait!” Emma said as Jarred advanced on her.
“Too late to change your mind, Emma,” Jarred said, grasping her throat in his hand. He was amazed at how easy he could choke her with his newfound strength. “I’m going to enjoy desecrating your corpse,” he teased as the light in her eyes went out. Jarred released her throat and looked to Jenny, who was watching Emma’s face and grinning. Jarred looked back to Emma and was shocked to see her looking back at him. There was something different about her, though, she stood straight and looked confident with a wild look in her eye.
“Welcome to earth, Tina,” Jenny happily said.
Tina smiled, “He looks ready to party, get this crap off of me so we can get started.”