Page 4 of The Teddy Bear's Prize

Jeff seems like a decent guy, albeit awkward sometimes, but who isn’t? Worst-case scenario, we can be friends. Right?

“Do you want to join me?” I quickly add, “Just for the movie and nothing else.”

“Just the movie,” he nods, a smirk tugging at his lips.

THREE

Tobias

This was never supposedto happen. No one should be able to summon an arch demon, let alone bind one with a simple ritual. It had to have been a stroke of genius or just dumb luck, drawing the circle to bind me right before calling me to the mortal realm. The last person to use those two spells in tandem is still suffering the wrath of their prisoner deep in the demon realm, nearly two hundred years later.

I will make sure my captor screams for an eternity after confining me to this waking nightmare for what feels like months. Unable to speak, unable to move or stretch my powers aside from parlor tricks. I see nothing beyond the dim light of mortal souls dancing before me on my high perch.

I can only imagine the power vacuum my absence has caused, but I have clawed my way up from the dirt once before and I can do it again.

Then I see her and time stops.

Her soul shines like a beacon, casting a glow oneverything that surrounds her. My powers stir, yawning and begging to reach out to touch her. Just a taste.

She must be a witch, and a powerful one at that. Soon I might be free of this torment, if I can convince her to help me.

I unfurl my shadows blindly, testing their limits, trying to get her attention. It would usually be dangerous to attach myself to a witch, I’ve heard stories of them using our arrangements to keep demons under their thumbs as bodyguards or worse.

Their souls could prove powerful allies under the right circumstances, but that would mean we would actually have to trust each other.

I sense lust, anticipation, and frustration. My own emotions mirror the latter as I realize the witch’s light has disappeared from view. I latch on to the nearest source, the mortal man’s shallow emotions aren’t much, but I can feel my powers grow stronger.

The world around me takes shape. Light from the souls bleeding into colors and shadowy figures through my rigid gaze. With enough power, I might have the means to shatter this seal myself. Though I have only survived on the dregs of what few emotions I can reach for so long that I cannot rush this, I could damage this fragile vessel and possibly rend the mortal realm in two.

“Well, Mia, what do you want?” He asks.

Mia.Now, I really see the witch, no longer the brilliant light, though that soul still shines brightly under her porcelain skin. There’s a unique kindness to her brown eyes, though they look worn sharp from pain and heartbreak. I watch her slender fingers tuck a lock of black shoulder-length hair behind her ear, her eyes finding mine for a breath, then darting away.

Mia reaches out and catches me before I fall, holdingme tight to her chest. Her emotions are so strong that I nearly mistake them for my own, my empathy is tied so closely to my powers that it threatens to crush me.

Tighter. I plea, Hold me tighter.

I’m not sure where the impulse comes from, but she squeezes me close, tucking her face into the crook of this form’s neck, and inhales. This vessel dulls most sensations, I can feel the force of her grip, but nothing else. I long to know the comfort of her soft curves.

She continues to carry me around with her through the carnival. I’m addicted to how she seeks me out for comfort, even though she might not know why. I long to return the gesture, not in this vessel but with my own, if she will allow it.

No, I need to control myself, but she gives affection so freely, wanting nothing in return. Her longing coils around me like a leash, tethering me to her.

Before I know it, Mia is securing me in the backseat. Part of me misses her closeness, I can only see her face in the windshield’s reflection for a few fleeting moments at a time, lit by the streetlights overhead. I would give anything to speak to her and ask her for help.

I am here. Look at me.

Even though my powers are only waking up, I get a reaction. Mia’s brown eyes catch my gaze in the rearview mirror for a few moments before she turns in her seat. I can tell she’s staring at me, but it seems like she’s oblivious to my soul within.

Except,there, for a heartbeat, I catch the gleam of her subconscious. She looks like a deer caught in headlights trying to make sense of what she’s seeing before her attention is called away again.

I don’t understand. A witch with a fraction of her power should be able to recognize a trapped soul, so whycan’t she see me? Why has Mia closed herself off from her magic? Perhaps if I can get her alone long enough to break through the barrier limiting her subconscious, then I might communicate with her.

If the mortal man, Jeff, wasn’t doing everything in his power to thwart my plans. The wretch goes so far as to invite himself into her home and almost guilts her into asking him to stay.

The desire stirring in his thoughts is so strong that I don’t need to expend my power to read them. He looks upon Mia as his prey, and she wants nothing to do with him. I can sense her attention split between the movie and my presence, her hands gently squeezing my vessel’s arm.

“I’m gonna go make popcorn,” she stands, releasing my paw, “Do you want any?"

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