Temu Demon
Beeep, Beeeeeeeeeep.
"Lady, get out of the way!" hollered an angry driver who'd gone through the efforts of rolling his window after honking at me for jaywalking.
Not that I gave a shit.
I flipped off the man and continued walking towards Summerville's finest attraction---the cemetery.
The cemetery was the one of the only places in this godforsaken town where people didn't invade my privacy or ask me for a favor.
A magical favor, of course.
You see, I'm an Empath with a part-time job at Eleanor's Elixers over near main street. Everybody and their mom knows that I'm skilled in alchemy which is why I'm bombarded by others to make various sorts of portions. But, nobody knows my true secret.
Empaths like myself are immortal and can channel their magic to sense other people's emotions. In other words, my senses are often overloaded by feelings that aren't mine.
Love, joy, anger, sadness, hatred, malice, lust, embarrassment.
You name it, I've experienced it.
There is no “off” button.
Hence, the excursion to the cemetery.
I've spent the past few hours at Eleanor's, healing customers who came in seeking various potions to treat them. My potions can only control the symptoms but to cure their ailments, like sickle cell cancer, I have to touch the person and channel their sickness into my own body.
Not only does it hurt like a bitch, it also drains my magical energy. The trick is to heal in small doses of magic so that customers don't become suspicious of my non-human capabilities.
Now you can see why I need to be away from other people for a bit after a long day of work.
Walking towards the pedestrian entrance, I push the gates of cemetery open and feel the cool metal penetrate my burgundy velvet gloves. I shiver in my winter jacket as soft snowflakes start to fall from the grey evening sky.
Taking a deep breath, I head towards my usual spot underneath a coniferous tree and take a seat on the worn down bench.
Veronicaaaaaa.
I whip my head around but find no one in the cemetery. Shaking my head, I continue staring aimlessly ahead at the headstones in front of me.
Veronicaaaaaa. Veronicaaa.
Now I know that I'm not imaging a voice. The whispers of a shrill voice calling my name increase quickly and I shoot up on my feet, inspecting my surroundings.
My skin prickles as I sense malice and rage enter my magical aura.
Someone's in the cemetery with me.
Calling on my magic, I reach within my consciousness to direct it through the air to find the source of the emotions.
Tendrils of red illuminate my path to the source and for a moment, I contemplate whether it is wise to follow my magic without my weapons.
Being maimed by an unknown entity is not on my schedule today.
Without dismissing my magic, I speed walk back to the entrance to go towards the main street again. Better to be in public amidst humans with some hiding spots than to be exposed in this cemetery.
Veronicaaaaaa, Veronicaaa, Veronicaa, Veronicaaaaa.
The whispers intensify and that's all it takes for me to make a run for it.
Reaching the gate, I reach my hand out to push the gate open but a shimmering boundary reveals itself and slams me back into the cemetery onto the grass. I grunt as I land awkwardly on my hip and glance around the empty cemetery.
I'm trapped. Shit, fuck, shit. How am I going to get myself out of this?
Hopping to my feet, I run to the back exit and slam my body into the metal gate as a futile attempt to escape this terrible nightmare. I end up sprawled over the dirt covered path, wincing as I glance down at the rip in my bootcut jeans and rise to my feet once more.
What the genuine fuck is going on here?
I haven't encountered another immortal since the last thousand years when my kind, the Empaths, had been brutally tortured and murdered by powerful blood witches.
To my best knowledge, I was the last of my people which meant I had a target attached to my head. Not only can I sense and manipulate emotions, I can also heal other immortals by taking away their pain and bringing it into my body.
Who could have picked up on my energy signature that I've been so careful to mask with my potions?
"Reveal yourself," I shout into the empty cemetery, sending a tendril of my magic in the direction of the emotions whose intensity had increased.
For a moment, the erratic whispers stop and I only hear the occasional car drive by in the faint distance. An eerie chill crawls up my spine as I glance around to see if anyone is there.
No one comes forward for a few moments.
"At last, the Empath has been found," says a malevolent voice behind me and I turn around on my heels but it's too late. A demon stands in front of me in it's full glory---golden horns on its head with black scales lining it's body.
His tail is covered in mini black horns and scales so sharp that they could slit your throat with a single flicker. Even his eyes---if you can call them that---swirl with red embers of rage in a pool of black obsidian.
"Unghh, stop it you Temu demon," I cry out as a wave of dark magic ambushes my mind searching through my past.
He must be looking for the location of other Empaths to see if I am really the last one. Or maybe there's a larger plan going on here and I've been ensnared into a trap.
I fall to my knees as I slam my magic against the dark magic to defend my memories but the demon grabs me by the neck with one of his four arms and begins chanting a spell I don't recognize.
I watch helplessly as I feel my magic drain out of my body into the demon and my memories are sifted through by him.
Just my luck, a siphon demon.
As a final attempt to defend my memories, I imagine a pink elephant by repeating it over and over, causing the demon to roar in anger but it doesn't stop him from taking my magic.
A glowing blue portal appears out of nowhere in front of us as my body goes limp in the demon's hold. My vision blurs as I'm launched into the portal and I give into the darkness.
What's the point of staying awake anymore?
