Page 16 of A Beginner's Guide to Demonic Possessions
“Great!” Paz burst, and Trent was left wondering how his groan of defeat could possibly be taken as an affirmative noise.
Although Paz did hum, he managed not to talk while he got their body ready, and he did keep the lights low. Once they were dressed and washed up, Paz made his way to the new curtains, throwing them open.
Agh! It burns! It burns! Not sunlight!Trent shouted.
Paz laughed. “That’s vampires, not demons. And I was beginning to wonder if you were even awake in there.”
Coffeeeee. Must have… coffeeeee,Trent mumbled.
“Also not demons—that’s zombies. And you don’t need caffeine. You’re not corporeal,” Paz deadpanned, but Trent felt some amusement from him.
You could let me taste it, though, couldn’t you? My poor body is probably having caffeine withdrawal. Coffee is life,Trent answered.
“It speaks!” Paz shouted. “And in complete sentences!”
Fuck you, Trent mumbled, but he was trying not to laugh.
Paz walked over to grab his wallet and keys by the door, stopping to look in the mirror. “Fine, I’ll get you coffee, but you have to agree to try something new if I do,” Paz said, smirking in the mirror.
Trent did not trust that smirk.Nothing that will make people angry or injure my body, right?he asked suspiciously.
“Correct,” Paz said. “Something fun. I put in for vacation days for a couple days when I checked your sick day bank,” he added.
And then it will be Valentine’s Day. What are your plans for that?Trent asked.
“One day at a time, Eeyore,” Paz replied. “Now let’s go get you some elixir of life. Although I kind of figured you might think that was some other liquid…”
Oh my god, you don’t mean what I think you mean, Trent muttered.
Paz only laughed again, winking at Trent in the mirror. Then they headed out the door.
Paz bypassed the car and started walking. One of the selling points of Trent’s place was that it was close to the downtown area, where there were tons of shops. His town was pretty awesome, often holding street fairs, festivals, and a fun Christmas Bazaar every year. Trent hadn’t really gone to much after the first couple years of living here. He usually met dates outside of town and at some halfway point, like the swanky bar where he’d met that idiot cheater and then been possessed (which actually made the night not a total loss). At any rate, it reminded Trent again that he needed to get out there and live more. His town was awesome, and he’d forgotten about it.
They passed by a gym, and Paz paused to look.
Don’t even think about it,Trent grumbled.I fully admit that maybe I need to get out more and enjoy my town, which is pretty awesome, but I draw the line at joining a gym. I’ll hike and do outdoorsy shit, but running in place is not my style.
Paz shook his head and kept walking, pulling out his phone and putting an earpiece in before responding. “I wouldn’t dream of subjecting you to such an atrocity,” he joked. “No, I recognized someone in there. A lesser demon who I think has been topside for a few decades. I gotta say, your town is positively crawling with demons. First we run into Ari, then I see a lesser demon at the gym, of all places. And I swear I smelled hellhound the other day near your apartment complex.”
Well, most rentals here do allow pets, Trent deadpanned.
Paz snorted a laugh. “I don’t think a hellhound would be covered under a lease though.”
I wonder if it’s always been a demon hotspot here. Maybe that explains the town name?Trent wondered.
“The town name?” Paz asked.
I can’t believe you missed that in all your searching through my life history.Welcome to Paradise Falls, Paz,Trent declared.
Paz snorted again. “Well, to be fair, you don’t work in this town and the bar that night wasn’t here. I’m sure I saw the name but forgot. It is an interesting choice for a town name, though. This place does feel familiar and comfortable. There are some places that have good energy—they sort of call to us. Maybe this place feels that way because there’s so many demons, or maybe it always felt that way and that’s why so many demons come here. Hard to say.”
Ah, the chicken or the egg dilemma, Trent joked.
“Yes. And this place ought to do it,” Paz replied, opening the door to a cute little coffee shop that Trent had visited once or twice when he’d moved in. The place had great coffee and excellent pastries and muffins; he wasn’t sure why he’d never been back.
They must have been in between the morning rush, because the place had only two people in line in front of him and no one sitting at the tables. He supposed it was mainly the early risers who were coming in now, and they weren’t hanging around because they were heading off to work.
Ooohhh, how about a peppermint mocha frappe?Trent asked as Paz perused the menu board.
