Page 3 of Possess Us

The room is a sweltering box of heat. The pipe slowly burns away layer after layer of flesh leaving me delirious with dehydration and pain. I can’t be sure if what I see is true. If the voices in my mind are my own. If the whisperings in the shadows are real or in my head.

All I can think about is revenge. Making them pay. The smell of my burning skin makes me sick. The pain is all-consuming.

Perhaps Nate is better at this than I thought.

Wake up. We are bored and want to talk.

‘I am awake.’

Then why are your eyes not open?

I hoped I could sleep through the slow torture of my heated restraints. My friends have other ideas, it seems.

Despite the pain, I open my eyes. Above me is a shadow.

A swirling mass of darkness hovers over me, moving slowly.

Almost thrumming. As a child, my mother said it was nothing but the remnants of sleep.

A nightmare following me into the waking world as my brain catches up with the fact that I am no longer asleep.

‘Just ignore it and it will go. It will fade.’

It did. I would wake up and see all sorts of things. Spiders descending from the ceiling. Long fingers gripping the bedroom door. Shadows with eyes. So, I would close my eyes, ignore them, and they would fade back into my subconscious.

That was until I was put in here. Strange what boredom does to a girl. The shadows came.

And I said hello.

Eventually, the shadows said hello back.

I lie on my back, my hand above me and still chained, and I watch them. My friends. My monsters in the dark.

My demons.

They are the ones bound to Nate, Kai and Tyler. They are just as trapped as I am, forced to serve. Forced to supply power.

It’s the one thing we have in common. All of us are slaves.

They never answer my questions. Not without a riddle or a lie.

But that is what demons do. They lie and deceive.

I have seen them so clearly for months. But I have felt them my whole life.

As a conduit, I have always had one foot in Hell, which is why I think the shadows and monsters have haunted me for my entire life.

I’m a bridge for them. A light in the dark.

One of them purrs and shifts, moving itself down the length of my body. Along my chest. Down to my stomach. Past my legs and tickling my feet.

The other lingers in the far corner, high in the ceiling as always.

But the one which speaks to me comes close, stopping an inch from my face.

Hello, Little Soul.

It’s a deep rumble of a voice. Otherworldly and soul-quivering.

‘Hello, Nightmare,’ I smile. ‘I’ve missed you. Where have you been?’

He and the others haven’t appeared to me in over a month. It’s strange to miss an apparition. In this case, three.

It is all Hallows’ Eve. Of course we came, he whispers back.

‘It’s Halloween?’ I ask. I had no idea.

You are burning again. Your wrist.

‘I am.’

Does it hurt?

‘Yes.’

It sinks closer. Do you like that it hurts? The truth now.

I shrug. ‘Sometimes.’ I glance at my wrist. The skin is blistered. My fingers are as bloodless as I have ever seen. I manage to twitch them, so that’s something, I suppose.

The dark shadow in the corner never speaks and rarely comes close. It slowly lowers and smothers my hand. It’s cold and tingling. A welcome relief from the heat. My eyes close, and I let out a little moan, relishing in the loss of the constant pain.

‘Thank you.’ My head lolls to the side, and my eyes close again. ‘Thank you… that feels so much better.’

The pull of sleep, or unconsciousness perhaps, is strong. I feel myself sinking into the blissful nothingness that often comes when I’m too exhausted and tortured to keep myself awake.

We have an offer for you.

I force my eyes open. Nightmare is right there and is all I can see. The ethereal mist, coiling and swarming. I feel his touch beneath my chin. I blink slowly. It’s taking all I have to stay awake.

‘Deals with demons never end well for the human.’

The Brotherhood would disagree. They enjoy wealth aplenty. Youth. Freedoms you can only dream of.

‘In exchange for their souls.’

Your soul belongs to us and always has. It doesn’t matter what you do. Where you go. How good you are. We have watched you all your life and have decided to keep you long after you are dead. At least this way, you will get something worth having before eternity, and us, claim you.

That does sound intriguing. But I don’t care about money. I don’t care about power.

‘What they have, all their stuff and power…’ I shake my head. ‘I don’t want it.’

He lowers his form so he’s an inch from my face. The three demons who want my soul surround me. They slither all over me.

Tell us, Little Soul. What would you want? Anything your heart could possibly desire, we could give it to you.

‘What do you want in return for whatever I ask? You already have my soul. Or so you would have me believe. What else do I have that you could possibly want?’

They never give anything without taking tenfold in return. I know it better than most.

My thigh tingles as one of their forms glides past me. It sends a pleasant shiver up my spine. It takes another pass. This time between my legs, right against my centre, making my back arch and toes curl. My mouth dries instantly.

You are a conduit for the Brotherhood. You are what connects them to our realm. Our power.

He speaks as though he is accusing me. As though it’s my fault.

‘I never asked for it. I’ll stop if you set me free.’

Is that what you want? To be free? Something so plain and ordinary as to be free?

All I see now is his form. All I feel is their touch, writhing, caressing, claiming all of me.

‘I want revenge,’ I moan, biting my lower lip as these forces move all around me.

That’s more like it. We can give you all the revenge you could dream of.

‘And in return?’

In return, you agree to be ours. Our conduit.

Our access to the mortal world. Just as you have been a conduit for the Brotherhood to steal power from us, let us use you as a gateway so we can leave Hell.

Give yourself over to us fully, Little Soul.

And you will be the vengeful goddess you deserve to be.

My back arches as I feel an intense pressure easing inside me. My legs widen, and I swear, something is fucking me.

Something otherworldly and… big. So incredibly big!

Say yes. The demon purrs.

My eyes close as I moan and writhe. My toes curl, and the pressure and pleasure build quickly.

Say yes, Little Soul. And we will burn your enemies to ash in your name. Your enemies and ours.

Their dark power smothers my entire body.

Say yes, and together, we will make them pay for eternity.

The pleasure builds, and it builds into a beautiful, all-consuming crescendo that has me screaming in pleasure. A single word carries in the cry.

The word that will change everything.

‘YES! YES!’

Open your mouth, Little Soul. And take your demon masters like a good girl.

I part my lips and open wide.

The air around me whips across my body, and a pressure fills my throat and lungs. Their black forms force themselves down my throat.

Everything goes a blinding white.