Hayden sprawls over the back of the couch as she leans in to look over the boys' shoulders.
"Basically gone for good, huh? Well, that was a freebie. Good thing you knew how to banish her. It probably means someone summoned her though..."
"Okay - this has been quite a night, but before we adjourn I want to set out a few things. We met a ghost and got f~&%ed with by a demon - I'm betting one or two of us had some other odd experiences that we haven't shared yet.
"And there's probably more weird stuff coming. So let's all make a deal: If you see something new and supernatural, you tell the rest of us. Oh - and no summoning any new demons!
That sound good to everyone? Fahed, Eva, you too - I know you weren't part of the study group before, but you're in it now."
Deirdre nods. "You got it, Hayden. If I see anything weird, I promise I'll tell you and everybody else right away!"
Eva nods along with Deirdre. "That seems sensible. What is this study group studying? Is it just 'weird' things, or is this for school?"
"It's supposed to be for class... But this is a far more interesting use of our time, I think."
"Good night, boys," Deirdre says to Ashton and JJ. She turns to Eva. "You can spend the night here, if you would like. We can set up pillows on the couch for you."
Then she looks at Fahed. "I guess you could ask the boys if you want to stay with them?"
"I appreciate the offer but I'd prefer the comfort of my own bed, tonight anyways. Here is my number incase any of you need me." Fahed hands Deirdre a black and gold business card. As he turns to leave he offers the a final farewell for the night, "sweet dreams"
Hayden gave Fahed's business card an incredulous look, but let it pass without comment.
"Are you in Fahed? I assume that's why you're giving us the card."
***
Wow. I am weirdly nervous about this. Hayden glanced over at Deirdre as they were walking back to... Hayden's room? Deirdre's room? Both?
She wasn't nervous that Deirdre might say no. I guess it could happen... but no. She wants me. What am I so worried about?! She gave a little half-smile as they got closer to her single-room. "So... this is me..."
Deirdre also raises an eyebrow at the business card, but slips it into her purse with a shrug.
***
Outside of Hayden's room, she reaches out and squeezes the blonde girl's hand. "Yeah. So... Tonight was really weird, huh? I.. I don't really want to be alone right now. Could I stay with you? We don't have to do anything, you know... Unless you want to... Um, maybe we could just cuddle?"
"I dunno Dee... I don't want to be alone tonight either, but I've got kind of a rule about not having beautiful girls spend the night before we've even kissed..." Hayden's mock-serious expression melts away into a cheeky grin as she tilted Deirdre's chin up towards her own. She held her there for the span of a heartbeat, eyes sparkling in amusement as she drank in the girl's beauty. Then she leaned in for a long, deep kiss, quickly followed by shorter, hungry ones. "mmm... You are so **mwah** damned **mwah** gorgeous!"
She broke away with an effort, breathing a little heavily, one hand practically glued to the small of Deirdre's back, eyes shining til they looked almost reflective in the hall's lights. With one hand still guiding Deidre forward, she opened her door."Well? Get in there. But fair warning, our deal earlier still stands. I've got handcuffs in there somewhere if you can't keep your hands to yourself."
Deirdre's world explodes into bliss as Hayden's lips find hers. She melts into the kiss, responding with a fierce passion and a hungry need. She pants along with Hayden when she finally breaks away, a haze of lust obscuring her sight.
She staggers into Hayden's room, sitting heavily on the bed. He heart beats quickly in her chest as she looks up at Hayden. "I'll be a good girl. I'll be whatever you want me to be..."
"I'll be whatever you want me to be"
One of the Three Promises had been spoken. If I told her about the Ram-Horned King right now, told her he might come to take me, she'd give me the second Promise. I know it; graven on my bones, etched deep as an oath I know it.
Hayden walked into the room, closing the door behind her.
Part of her wanted to get the other Promise. There was no knowing exactly when she'd need to have all three sworn and wrapped 'round someone so tight there'd be no squirming or 'scaping their oathsworn duty.
Slowly, deliberately, Hayden uncovered her thrice-old mirror, all glinting glass and carnivorously carnal carvings. "I don't think that's true, Dee. There was a good girl here earlier tonight, who didn't peek when she promised not to." She gestured to Deirdre's reflection. "This girl looks like she'd peek, doesn't she."
Part of her wanted to use it up, cancel the debt, resheathe the blade that Deirdre was clutching unaware. She doesn't deserve this, but the sheep doesn't deserve the wolf either.
She didn't know what to do. As she started to unbutton her new jeans, some angel on her shoulder used her voice to ask, "Why aren't you running away, Dee? You've got to know I'll end up hurting you."
Deirdre smiles at her reflection, watching Hayden only obliquely through the mirror. Her eyes dance with mischief. "Maybe the good girl was the disguise. Maybe this is the real me."
She leans back on the bed, resting on her shoulders. "I've played it safe my whole life. I'll take a risk with you. A little pain could lead to a world of pleasure."
"I do not require pillows and a couch." Eva responded to Deirdre, "I have a room just down the hallway. I will sleep there. As the group split up, Eva followed along with Deirdre and Hayden. [b]"Good night." she said, as she pushed open the door next to Hayden's room, which had been unoccupied until the day before. "I have enjoyed spending time with you tonight, and I am glad we are now friends. Will I see you tomorrow?"
While Deirdre and Hayden share an intimate moment, the rest of you have some rather unusual dreams...
You stay up late reading the entire Codex Infernum. There's no author listed, but you get the impression that the book's contents are mostly based upon original research. From what you can tell, the pantheon of extant demons seems to draw from several different mythologies. Each entry in the book includes a summoning and banishing ritual, some of which are more complicated than others. You were lucky that Trixie's banishing spell only required a simple incantation; others might call for material components or take days to complete. Several of the more high-end summoning rituals even require an animal or human sacrifice.
The book is fairly agnostic with regard to religious beliefs, mostly treating demons as an extradimensional species and the "soul" as more of a theoretical life force that isn't fully understood. It's also quite vague about the possibility of a Satan or Lucifer figure that presides over all demons; this part of the text is mostly theory and conjecture.
In any case, you feel that you now have a good amount of knowledge where demons are concerned. Of particular note: a high-ranking demon known as Lilith appears to be a central figure in the Circle of Chaos; her summoning and banishment rituals are extremely elaborate.
When you finally fall asleep, you have a vivid dream. You're in an elegant, finely furnished apartment, sitting in an overstuffed chair. Malphas sits on a leather couch across from you, looking just as he did in your gummy-inspired vision.
"You did very well tonight, JJ. I'm now certain, more than ever, that this arrangement will be a mutually beneficial one."
In your dream, you're sitting at the table in the secret room you found in Gavin's house. Standing near the shelves is a fully visible Xavier, who turns to you and smiles shyly.
"Oh. Hi. I wasn't sure this would work."
In your dream (Is this a dream? Have you had this dream before? You're suddenly not sure), you're sitting in a white plastic chair in a sterile white room with no entrances or exits. Sitting across from you in an identical chair is Dr. Beacon, whom you recognize as one of your "parents." She's a severe older woman in a white lab coat, holding a clipboard and pen.
She smiles at you. "Hello, Eva. Please, tell me: how would you describe the experience you had tonight?"
In your dream, you're completely lucid, because it's not really your dream at all—it's Gavin's. Your family told you that this can happen sometimes when you drink someone's blood; it forms a temporary psychic connection that can allow you to enter their subconscious mind while you sleep. You can even influence the environment and tone of the dream to some extent, if you so choose.
In Gavin's dream, he sits in a throne room with a bejeweled crown on his head, wearing a lavish medieval outfit. He looks upon you imperiously. "Hail, loyal subject. Have you come to ask a boon of the royal court?"
Eva looked around, the familiar surroundings making her feel comfortable, but with a lacing of caution and half-membered pain. Tilting her head, she looked at the doctor. "Hello Dr Beacon" she said politely. Blinking, she considered the question. "Tonight I had many new experiences. I went to a party. I had Special Gummies and Not-as-special gummies, I danced and kissed two people who are now my friends and I met a demon. Which experience would you like me to describe?"
"Sure, Eva. We'll see you tomorrow. We are neighbors after all."
Her reflection had a really annoying smirk. Nothing was going according to plan, and that b@$!@ in the mirror knew it.
That mirror wasn't even supposed to be uncovered anymore, but she'd been so wrapped up in Deirdre's curiosity and recklessness and raw f@%!ing sexiness that Hayden had lost track of it entirely.
Stupid stupid stupid. You can't let them see unless she's in the frame too. They don't know what you look like in your mortal skin, but if they see you walking around in it too often, this whole thing won't work.
Deirdre was still asleep, but no matter how much Hayden wanted to stay snuggled up to the curve of her back, there were things to do.
First: The magic mirror needed to be covered. They'd gotten quite an eyeful of interesting Hayden shaped passion. No need to let them watch longer and figure out who was who.
Second: Retrieving her new treasures. She'd been in and out of Deirdre's purse and in and out of a lot of interesting rooms last night. She'd tried to stick with small light objects, and a $50 she'd seen lying around. Even though Deirdre had been quite distracted the whole night, there was a limit to what someone could mule for you without noticing.
Third: Damn she's beautiful.
Fourth: It was cold. Hayden threw on an unzipped hoodie. Fourth (addendum) Eventually Dee was going to wake up and Hayden wanted to show off. She added a pair of cheeky and intricately ruffled boyshorts, not bothering to tuck.
Fifth: A Talisman. She started to root around in her jewelry boxes for something that would be a nice personal gift, something pretty and meaningful and very Hayden. Something- She felt Deirdre's eyes on her, and couldn't help but smile.
Well look who's up...
Still turned around, she added an extra wiggle as she slowly straightened up from her closet floor. Peeking demurely over her shoulder she murmured, "The light of day has come to burn away glamors and lay plain the mysteries of the stars. But somehow your charms are clearly eternal..."
Deirdre smiles sleepily at Hayden. "How very... Shakespearean. I didn't know you were a poet." She shifts in the bed to get a better look at her lover, sheets gathered just above her breasts. "Digging the panties, BTW."
"Anyone's a poet with the right muse," Hayden said with a quiet smile. Then it sparkled into a dazzling smirk as she added, "Should I bend over again to see what sonnets you spout?"
Xavier sighs and sits at the table with you. "I haven't been... awake.... very much. Most of the time I'm just a sort of presence, wandering through the house; I can't even see or hear anything. But that party... so much life, in one place. It woke me up, and for a little while, I was there. I thought maybe I could hold onto it..." He looks around the room. "...if I saw this place again. But it wasn't enough. So then I thought if I... with you..." He trails off. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. You just seemed... really nice, and..." He bites his lip, embarrassed. "...well... hot."
Beacon frowns. "I'm sorry, a... demon?" She leans in closer. "Tell me more about that, please."
Malphas chuckles to himself. "'Mr. Malphas' will be fine, you needn't be quite so deferential."
He crosses his legs and folds his hands together. "I'm sure you've read all sorts of things in that book. Much of it is useful, but... well, those who study such things are often a bit prejudiced. They tend to see things in black and white, when I'm sure an enlightened young man such as yourself will understand that things aren't always so simple.
"I offer certain services, and I request payment in exchange for those services. I only do what is asked of me. If people perceive what I do as evil, it is only because I have been bound to the will of evil people—through no fault of my own, I might add.
"And now, I am bound to you, JJ. So if you wish for me to do good, then that's exactly what I am. Good. And I hope the events of tonight have shown you that I have only your best interests in mind.
"So." He tilts his head inquisitively. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"I'd be more likely to sing a hymn or quote scripture. Last night was.... Biblical." Deirdre giggles.
Hayden nodded and intoned, " 'My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost being yearned for him. I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt.' That kind of scripture, I hope."
Hayden crawled back into bed, somehow tangling the sheet so it pulled down a few more inches as she worked her way up to steal a kiss.
"So, Saturday, huh? You seem like the kind of girl who carefully plans out her days off. What sensible activity am I going to make you late for?"
"Nothing that can't wait," Deirdre says, her hand stroking Hayden's back. "I was hoping to hit the mall at some point, though. I'd love it if you came along."
Shame pictured you as more the mighty warrior king type not the pampered bureaucrat type, but there is still time... but enough of that, this is your dream after all, how may I serve the king?"
"I dunno... That's an awfully long way to go to f%+& in a dressing room..." Hayden smirked, "Seriously though, what's at the mall? Planning on getting a bunch of pride patches, or just want to show off your new arm candy?"
Deirdre giggles. "Just, y'know, something to kill time. I'm open to any other suggestions you might have..."
I've got fifty bucks, what the hell.
"Nah, the mall sounds good. After all, I've got some arm candy of my own to show off.
"But first, if you're sure we're not just lying in bed all day, a shower would be a good idea. And you should probably let Coral know that you're alive and that you haven't been spirited away to some rapacious vixen's love den. You know what, it's a little early in your guys' relationship for lies. Just tell her you're alive."
A quiet look slowly took over her teasing. She bit her bottom lip nervously and added, "Hey, I know this is probably a bit too fast, but... there's something I want to give you." With a last squeeze she hopped back off the bed and plunged back into her jewelry boxes, moving past her flashier pieces for a very simple silver bracelet. There's a little engraving on it but it's been nearly rubbed away entirely. All that's easily legible is a loopily ornate H.
"Here." She handed it to Deirdre, not with reverence precisely, but with an obvious gravity. "I'd like you to have it."
Deirdre gasps as she looks at the bracelet. With a solemn nod, she slips it over her wrist. "It's beautiful. Thank you so much!" She gives Hayden another kiss, then reluctantly slips out of bed. The sheets stay behind, giving Hayden a full view of her naked body as she stretches. "A shower sounds lovely. Will you join me?"
Xavier shakes his head. “I’m not sure it works like that. ‘Passing on,’ I mean. To be honest, I’m not even sure I’m really the real Xavier. I think I might be more like an echo, if that makes sense? I don’t know if there’s actually anywhere for me to go.
“What I’d really like is just having someone to talk to. Like the others, and... you. But you don’t have to worry, I won’t tell anyone about us. If that’s what you want.”
Hayden beams, "I'm glad you like it. It is kind of important to me, so you promise you'll wear it and keep it safe?"
Blatantly ogling Deirdre she bit her lip with an entirely different emotion and reluctantly said, "I'll find you after. It's kind of a high-traffic time for the showers; I figure we'll have plenty of other chances to make everyone jealous."
"Alright. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone." Deirdre wraps a towel around her and heads for the showers.
A look of realization spreads across Gavin’s face. “A... dream?” He gazes around the empty throne room. “This is a dream?”
As Deirdre closed the door behind her, the sheet fell from Hayden's mirror.
Moving like a scalded cat, she streaked behind the frame, carefully bringing the sheet back up over the mirror before she stepped back in front of it.
But she could still see her reflection. Not as any kind of flat image that you could trust to stay where it belonged. But pressed up against the thin sheet was her face, still recognizable despite the fabric that covered it.
The sheet was just thin enough that she could see herself twist against the linen to look around, as a low chuckle slipped out of the looking glass. "You're not hiding as well as you think. This room stinks of you; rutting amid the shards of broken promises, you might as well light a beacon fire."
"I don't have to do it. I'm free here. I can punish them if I choose, or hold their words close until I have need of them."
"You always mistook choice for freedom. You'll know true freedom once you are returned to your proper place. You may hide, but your avaricious mercy in collecting unpaid debts will see you seen 'ere long. You could make the chase longer, Princess of Panic. Let the wild hunt strain to find you. Thin the spoor on the ground."
"Make them pay for their perfidy." Hayden clasped a hand to her mouth, twisting her lips shut so that her reflection could speak no longer. A silent scream bubbled up inside her, escaping only as a stream of tears that trickled down her cheeks until the sheet lay flat against her mirror once more.
I won't let them take me. I'll do what it takes to hide.
I'll make these mortals pay.
After getting clean, Deirdre heads back to her own dorm room to get some fresh clothes. Hopefully Coral will be out so she won't have to explain herself yet...
Eva thinks for a moment before answering. "I met a boy called Sam in the hot tub who said he saw his dead friend." she begins. "It turned out to be a demon called Trixie. That was a bit after I met a Ghost called Xavier who I was introduced to by my friends Deirdre and Hayden. Hayden is a fairy princess who gave me 'special gummies'. A warlock made Trixie go away."
Deirdre: Fortunately, Coral is not currently in the dorm room.
Beacon gives you an incredulous look. "Will... you please excuse me for a moment?"
She reaches up as if to pluck something invisible from the side of her forehead, and vanishes, leaving you alone in the empty room.
After a few minutes, she reappears in the chair with a relaxed smile on her face. "Eva. These 'special gummies' you consumed. You are aware of the substances they contained? And the effects that those substances can have on a person's perception?"
Breathing a little sigh of relief, Deirdre picks out a nice pair of jeans and a strappy top to wear today. She hums to herself as she does her hair, pausing to smile at the bracelet around her wrist. It will take her a little while to get fully ready, but the door is cracked open, an invitation for Hayden.
Hayden thought very hard about making like Xavier and just ghosting on Deirdre.
"I'll find you after"
After could mean a lot of things. It doesn't modify anything by itself.
"I'll find you after"
I could break the promise if I wanted. I'm strong enough.
"I'll find you after"
I can do whatever I want... if I'm willing to keep hearing "I'll find you after" echo through my head, I guess.
She went to grab a shower first, a pair of loose shorts thrown on and hoodie zipped up, but because she knew it was only first, the voice in her head quieted.
I don't have to hurt her. I do have to ruin one of her shirts, but I didn't even like that shirt - it doesn't have to be one of her favorites. It was a new shirt though...
Good thing we're going to the mall.
I hope she's wearing the bracelet. That's a much bigger promise.
A short while later she poked her head in through Deirdre's open door, wrapped up in a towel that someone had foolishly left hanging in the bathroom.
"Rats, you've already got your pants on." Despite her words, a look of relief crossed Hayden's face. She's wearing it
"Give me two shakes and I'll be all ready to go."
Deirdre stands up and shakes her booty two times towards Hayden. "Ready now?" she asks jokingly, then laughs. "No rush. Take your time!"
Xavier smiles, a bit dejectedly. "Sure. That's... that works for me. And I think there's a good chance I can go into other dreams, too, as long as the dreamer is relatively close to the Ouija board. It seems like I can follow things out of the house that belong... that used to belong to me."
Malphas considers your request. "Hmmm. I should tell you that while I can perceive a great many things, the future is not so easy to predict. Free will makes things quite complicated.
"We have a few options here. You could simply ask me for an appropriate form of protection the next time you have need for it, provided you're in a position to do so. The required price, however, will be dependent upon the precise situation and the subsequent form of protection you request.
"Alternatively, I could offer you my protection in any perilous situations you encounter from this point forward. Keep in mind that you would be relying upon my own judgement and initiative; I would choose the exact form such protection would take, based on the situation. Also, the price for this would be... considerable."
"We could just stay here," Hayden blurted out, her face reddening.
My room's not safe, but maybe if we cover up all the mirrors in here..?
"I mean, when's Coral coming back? We could just jam the doors, and not talk very much, and never come out, and no one would find us..." You can't just hide from this. Abruptly Hayden's verbal brainstorming stops and she puts a cheeky grin back on her face. "No, we said we'd go to the mall, our path is set. No matter how much you shake that thing."
Hayden returns a short while later in some surprisingly muted and coordinated clothing, a baby-blue miniskirt and a fitted white tee. Dorm room locks really are a joke in this building
"You'll drive?"