Page 9 of I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend

It stood on two legs, putting its head at least three feet above my own. The thing was a giant, and it looked hungry. As soon as the thought passed through my mind, a snake-like tongue shot out of its mouth and covered every inch of its face in sticky moisture before retreating. How much could devouring me do to satisfy this thing? Yes, I had some meat on my bones, but I couldn’t imagine I’d be anything more than an appetizer before it ran off to consume something more filling.

If there wasn’t a horror movie rule about looking a monster in the eyes already, there should be, because the moment I did, my stomach boiled with regret. Beneath the thick, furrowed unibrow were two menacing, glowing eyes. As if taking my eye-contact as a challenge, the ugly beast growled. Its lips were so thin they were hardly distinguishable from the rest of its face. When those crust covered corners lifted into a crooked smile, I could almost hear a demonic voice taunting me in my head. ‘I got you right where I want you’. I dared to look away, to find a route of escape, and when I did, the damn thing charged at me.

It took two seconds for the sound of its large, hooflike feet pounding against the ground to send a jolt through my body. The fear that froze me in place just moments before became the fuel I needed to move again. Prickles rushed across my limbs as I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could. There was another path I could use to escape the area. I knew damn well I couldn’t fight it off, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to just stand there and let the thing take me out. My only alternative was to try to run away, and what a sad attempt it was. The heat of its touch spread across my skin before I realized what had happened. I’d made it a solid six steps when long, branch-like fingers wrapped around my shoulder and neck and pulled me back.

I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the sharp bite of its uneven teeth ripping through my skin. I just knew it was going to eat me, but it didn’t. My feet left the ground, and wind rushed past my ears as it let me go. I opened my eyes to see the ugly demon getting further away, my arms and legs flailing at my sides. Did this fucker just throw me? I questioned a moment before my ass hit rocks and dirt. My teeth gritted when I felt the sting of flesh pulling from my forearms as I slid across the rocky ground and tried to shield my head from the impact.

Groaning from the pain, I rolled over just in time to watch the ugly thing turn and stomp towards me. It grunted with each step, as if it was a mile-long run. As it neared, I could have sworn the damn thing was actually laughing at me. That’s right, mock the pathetic human prey. If I wasn’t sure I was moments from losing my damn life, I might have come up with something witty to say about its struggle to breathe and disgusting body odor.

I can’t believe this is how I’m going to die. The thought raced through my mind, leaving me dizzy as I watched the monster close in.

There really was nothing else I could do but speculate on the coming moments. In the time it would have taken me to get back to my feet, it would already be on top of me. Funny how thoughts worked faster than action in real time. Though I was confident in my capabilities, I hadn’t quite reached the level of delusion it would take to believe I could outrun a damn demon or fight it off.

Then, my thoughts shifted as I recounted everything that happened, and before long, I was mentally beating myself up about picking up that damn book. I had no business experimenting with the ritual or making fun of something I knew damn well was not to be played with. I could all but hear my grandmother scolding me from the grave. It was with the imagined berating of my family’s matriarch that my luck shifted.

I watched as the demon, who was just a few feet from me, stopped in its tracks. It didn’t take much to realize there was another force at play. Its legs and arms twitched, and the muscles strained across its body, rippling with building pressure as it still tried to reach me. This was the time to run, but my body was hurting from the fall. It didn’t matter. I gritted my teeth, moved to a sitting position, and started scooting away as its face twisted into something painfully unsettling. I almost lost my shit when its eyes bulged from its face.

The consumption of countless books, movies, and TV shows told me it was time to get the hell out of there. Whatever was happening, however mysterious, provided the opening I needed to get up. I stood, taking careful steps back from the demon despite the ache in my limbs. All I needed was a moment, just enough time to tell if it could get me. Nothing happened. If it could have, it would have grabbed me. I didn’t question my luck—I turned and ran.

As my feet pounded against the grass-covered path, I heard its death gargle, like the sound of someone drowning. Yes, common sense told me to keep my head forward and run, but I couldn’t help it. Never would I talk about the crazy white girl in the horror movies who just had to stop and stare. Curiosity craned my neck back toward the scene.

What I saw made me slide to a halt. It was him, the demon I wanted to believe my mind crafted for momentary pleasure—the one I’d fucked senseless. He held the massive body of the treelike demon over his head like a wrestler in a death match. With gritted teeth, he lifted it higher and turned toward the water.

“Go back to hell,” he seethed with barely-contained fury as he tossed the body away from him.

It splashed into the water, and to my surprise, it sizzled as if the water was acidic. I slapped my hand over my mouth as the massive body quickly dissolved and disappeared beneath the surface. If the smell was terrible before, dissolving it only made it worse. I gagged as a breeze carried the sickly odor over to me.

Demon boy turned around to look at me, and when our eyes met, every moment of the previous night flashed through my mind again. He took a step toward me with an odd look of concern on his face, and I bolted. I got the hell out of there! No, I didn’t thank him for saving my life or for disposing of the demon. If he could do that, who’s to say he wouldn’t turn on me?

All I could think of was getting to my house. Once there, I would be safe. I’d made it back to my car and ignored the questioning gazes from the people still in line for their food. I peeled out of the parking lot, nearly hitting the curb, and had to remind myself that this wasn’t a movie. No plot armor would keep me safe from dying in a car accident. I had to chill, but I was constantly checking the rear-view mirror the entire drive, as if I would spot demon boy flying behind me.

“Get it together, Rayna,” I said to myself as my hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, my knuckles turned white.

Against the stacking odds, I made it home, and as the garage door closed, leaving me in darkness, it hit me. Bitch, you live alone! My dumb ass ran away from a populated area—with witnesses—to the solace of a home so well insulated, my neighbors wouldn’t even hear me if I screamed. Apparently, demons could pop in and out of places at will, so what was stopping them from popping into my hallway just as I stepped inside and dragging me back to hell?

“Brilliant,” I muttered as I stared at the empty passenger seat and once again wished my greatest concern was the sweaty ass drippings left behind by a horrible first date. “All that, and I still didn’t get my damn tacos!”

I pulled my phone from my pocket, relieved that I hadn’t lost it in the commotion. There was no way in hell I would go back for it. A few taps on the screen brought up Keri’s face, blowing kisses at the camera. My thumb hovered over the call button. Did it make any sense to call her? The woman already made it clear she didn’t believe me, and that hadn’t changed. If nothing else, telling her would have her activating the calling tree and initiating some kind of intervention with the rest of our friends, an embarrassment I didn’t need to endure.

If Keri didn’t believe me before, she sure as hell wasn’t going to believe me now. I could almost hear her voice. ‘Sure, Rayna. All that happened, and no one else heard or saw a thing?’ I stared at the phone a moment longer as I ran down through the mental list of people I could possibly call. Everyone I thought of would immediately tell me the same thing: seek help.

Maybe they would think I was pathetic, that I’d been on my own too long and was losing touch with reality. The worst part was, I was wondering myself if maybe I hadn’t made it all up just to give some type of excitement to my life. Had I really summoned a demon? Had I really then fucked said demon for the better part of six hours? And had I really just watched that same demon kill another one and send him to a sizzling underwater grave?

No one else reacted to what happened. No one saw or heard a thing, and it wasn’t like that thing was quiet. Maybe my mind was slipping. What would that mean for the rest of my life? Could I still run a business this way? Leave it to me to consider work before my safety.

Those questions and several others circled in my head until my growling stomach was louder than my worried thoughts. I needed to go inside and eat. All the issues and worries of my fading sanity would have to wait.

After gathering myself, I opened the door to activate the motion sensor lights. My nerves were completely shot. The rush of adrenaline got me home, but the moment I parked the car, I felt my body crashing. What the hell had I just witnessed? Why did no one else come to help me? Had that thing worked some kind of spell? Was that why it was so empty by the pond? My mind raced with questions I couldn’t possibly answer.

All I knew was I had to get in the house. From there, I could figure out what to do next. Carefully, I tiptoed from the car and through the double garage, which suddenly felt way too big, and up to the door into my home. With each step, I paused and waited, as if some demonic alarm would go off and alert them to my location. In my frazzled mind, it seemed logical that sitting in the car apparently made me invisible to them. I made it a foot away from the door and stared at the doorknob. What if it burned to touch it?

“Get the hell over it. It’s not like they booby-trapped the damn thing!” I fussed at myself before grabbing the knob. Yes, I flinched. Yes, I felt silly as hell.

“Alert. Alert. Garage door. Alert. Alert.” The security system scared the hell out of me; I’d forgotten to deactivate it before opening the door. I ran over to the panel and fumbled entering the security pin, only just avoiding a call to the police. No, I didn’t need cops showing up at my house while I was clearly in a paranoid state of mind.

With the door shut and the alarm set, my stomach growled again, and at the same time, the skin on my arm stung. I looked down to realize I was bleeding. I’d scraped my arm worse than I thought when I fell. Dammit, that’s going to leave a scar. The first order was to clean and bandage my wound. I also changed out of my dirt-covered clothing and mourned what was once my favorite pair of skinny jeans.

In fresh clothes and with my wounds cared for, I made a beeline to the kitchen. Threat of demon attacks or not, a girl had to eat. I turned on my lo-fi sounds as I limped around the kitchen—anything to help calm my nerves while I put together a meal of random things that had no business on a plate together.

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