Page 32 of I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend

“How could you know that?” I wanted to look at him, but I didn’t. I kept my eyes on the ground and avoided potentially having the hood fall from my face.

“Relax, you’re fine,” he spoke calmly and kept moving forward.

I could have rebutted, but he was right. When I checked the creatures around us, those strange beings who looked as different from each other as the human who walked among them, they weren't looking at me. They looked right over the small and unthreatening visitor to the large demon next to her. I clutched the hood tight around my face and risked looking at him.

Metice no longer looked like the gentler version of himself. His horns were sprouting from his head, bigger than I had ever seen. They twisted up into spiral points above his head and glowed a soft red. The angles of his face had sharpened, and his cheekbones rose into high ridges. His eyes glowed with a purple hue. His body expanded, and it was like with each step forward he got larger.

I stumbled after looking at him and almost fell on my face. Metice’s hand wrapped around my arm and kept me upright.

“Watch it.” he said, eyes forward, not missing a step.

I struggled to regain my footing and keep up with him. Again, no one looked at me. He had their attention, not me. I could tell they were terrified of him. Good. Maybe it meant they wouldn’t bother us. We could get in and out no problem.

At least, I hoped that's what it meant.

The market looked like an OSHA report waiting to happen. The open storefronts were like broken boxes stacked into dangerous towers. Each structure looked like with one strong breeze, it would fall over, and yet these demonic beings big and small went in and out of the buildings with no problem. They were scaling the sides of them, flying in and out through windows, and hopping from the top floors down to the ground with no issue.

I looked around and kept an eye on the ones I could see, the demons who steered clear of us. Some were large and threatening, while others were small and kind of cute. There was one in particular that ran up to me. It was blue all over, with huge cartoonish eyes, and it reminded me of something like a cross between a sheepdog and a baby alligator. It whimpered at my feet and wagged his tail in front of me.

“It's kind of cute.” I leaned down to get a better look, but Metice grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. “What is it?”

“It's called a denati. Yes, it’s cute, but it’s also annoying. The moment you give that thing any type of attention, it will never leave you alone. Don't touch it.”

“I wasn't going to touch it. Do I look like the type of girl who walks into hell touching demons?” I didn’t have to look at him to know the smug smile was spreading across his face. “Forget I said it.”

After a few more minutes of walking over broken pavement, around bins of trash, and avoiding clusters of ugly demons, Metice came to a stop in front of a shop with tattered green drapes hanging in front of the door.

“Stay here.” He pointed to the space next to the door where a raggedy little stool sat. “I’ll be right back.”

“What?” I looked where he pointed. “What do you mean stay here? You can’t expect me to stay out here alone.”

“It will only be a minute,” he answered. “You’ll survive.”

“I can’t stay here by myself.” I looked around. “What if something happens? One of these things might try to snatch me up.”

“Has anyone even looked at you this entire time? Just stay put, and you will be fine.”

“Why can’t I come?” I grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. “I’m serious. Why?”

“The owner is weird about new people.” He shrugged.

“What kind of person runs a store and gets weird about having new people come in?” I stomped my foot. “That makes no sense!”

“Not a person.” He tapped the side of my head with his finger. “Remember, you’re not home anymore. Stop using traits of humanity to talk about demons. Things don’t work the same here.”

“Fine. Just…” I looked around and found the area we were in was actually pretty empty. “Hurry up.”

“So proud of you, brave girl.” He patted my head like I was an obedient pet, and I wanted to punch him in the side, but I knew it would hurt my hand if I did.

At first, it was fine. I waited patiently for him to return, and though he said he would be in and out, it took longer than I would have liked. And then, as I stood there waiting for this brooding demon man to return to my side and protect me from any unwanted threats, something appeared. If I were on Earth, I would have thought it was just a little old lady, someone who probably skipped too many visits to their chiropractor. She was hunched over, with long grey threads of hair hanging in front of her face and wide eyes that were sunken into her skull. She stood across the path and watched me intently. So much for being hidden.

When it looked like she might approach me, I abandoned the sense that told me to stay put, and I moved. Yes, I knew I shouldn't have done it. It was the one avoidable thing that happens in all those stories. It was how the main character ended up in danger, but the last thing I wanted was that woman touching me or realizing there was an unaccompanied human in her world. I moved to the side of the building, just far enough that I was out of her line of sight, but close enough that when Metice came out of the store, he would be able to find me.

And of course, just as I felt mildly comfortable again, a crowd of demons came out of nowhere. They grunted and cheered as they marched by me, and while I tried to stick close to the building to get out of their way, I got swept up into the crowd and pushed further and further away from the storefront. I fought to get back to my position, but then a huge wall of a demon who smelled like a mixture of chocolate chip cookies and broccoli lifted me from the ground. He tossed me in the air like a beach ball at a rave, and his cheers muffled out the sound of my own screams.

“Put me down!” I yelled, but the crowd wasn’t concerned with my pleas. I had no idea what they were celebrating, but I didn't want to be a part of it. A few minutes later, the big demon dropped me. I stumbled forward and pressed my back against the wall of another haphazardly built building. I had no idea where I was.

“Fuck.” I scanned the area. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! How do I get back?”

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