So wait a minute. You go in, you take over this guy’s life and fulfill a wish he had, do all the dirty work he didn’t want to do, and he’s hostile to you about it? He asked for it. It doesn’t soundlike you fucked up his job or his marriage or anything else. Why was he hostile? Sounds like a total dick,Trent seethed.
Paz chuckled, still grabbing random kitchen items and throwing them in the cart. “He wasn’t bad, really. I told you, most people don’t react well to being possessed. They don’t like not being in control, and no one is happy to find out a demon has taken over. It’s a scary thing, and humans don’t react well to fear. You are the first person ever who has stuck around and actually had conversations with me. It’s really… nice,” Paz admitted.
Trent thought possessing people sounded like a pretty lonely job. Everyone you got to know—family, friends, coworkers—disappeared when the possession ended, and if the people inside your head hated you, that had to really suck, too. Trent thought Paz sounded more like a genie than a demon anyway; people wished for things, traced a sigil (or whatever Paz had called it), and then Paz was there to do what they wished for. The demon didn’t seem like the type to fuck up anyone’s life. Trent didn’t get it. Paz seemed… well, really awesome. Nice, and kind, and like he actually wanted to make people’s lives better. It was weird, actually. It didn’t seem very demonic.
Paz turned the cart into the row with dishes. “So what do you think about dinnerware?” he asked. “Any color preferences? And do you prefer earthenware, stoneware, china, ceramic, glass…”
Trent cut him off.I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about. Let’s just assume for the duration that I have no clue. All I know is I gotta be able to microwave it and put it in the dishwasher. And it shouldn’t break easily. Which is why I have plastic stuff, which is just fine.
“Plastic isn’t healthy. Haven’t you read the articles on it?” Paz asked.
Then the demon proceeded to ask Trent’s opinion on every single design and color in the aisle. After Trent’s tenth or soIdon’t careresponse, Paz walked over to the kids’ dinnerware, grabbed some plates with the most annoying cartoon character ever on them, and put them in the cart.
Oh hell no. I’ll take kids’ plates, but not that whiny character. At least go Disney,Trent complained, wishing he could stop and reach in to switch the plates.
Paz stopped short, and Trent sensed surprise from the demon. Paz chuckled though, reaching for the plates to return them to the shelf, then he continued walking down the aisle. “Don’t worry,” he reassured Trent. “I wouldn’t actually let those in the house. But I do need you to help me out at least a little.”
Paz started to turn into the next row, and Trent got a view of a very tall, very dark-skinned, very sexy guy with long black hair and a beard at the opposite end of the aisle. The guy was staring down at something in his hands, but Trent didn’t have time to process what it was before his head was ducked down.
“Fuck,” Paz muttered, backing out of the aisle. He started walking, head still down, which explained how he ended up running into another guy.
“Hey!” the guy yelped as Paz pushed the cart straight into him.
“Oh demons, I’m so sorry,” a flustered Paz muttered, trying to wheel around the guy, but the guy put both his hands on the cart, stopping them.
Paz looked up then. This guy was cute too, but he was giving them the strangest look, probably because of the weird “Oh demons” comment. Still, Trent didn’t think that was enough to stop them. He hoped they weren’t about to get beat up for running into someone in a home goods store. That would be just his luck.
Paz tried to push the cart away again, but the guy only held on tighter, calling out, “Ari?”
“Fuck,” Paz muttered under his breath.
The big, dark-skinned sexy guy appeared from behind them, coming up and putting his arm around the guy holding the cart.
“What’s up, my sexy s’more?” The guy—apparently named Ari—asked.
Then he looked more closely at Paz, who was doing his best tonotmake eye contact.
Paz, what’s going on?Trent asked.
Before Paz could answer, Ari burst out, “Dude! Is that you in there, Pazuzu? Bruh, long time no see!”
Chapter
Seven
CHAOS AND OLD MOVIES
Pazuzu? Why does that name sound familiar? And how did this guy know who you were?Trent asked.
“Uh, no, I’m sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else,” Paz muttered. His face was still looking down at the cart, and he once again tried to pull free of the guy holding onto it.
“He said ‘Oh demons,’ so he’s definitely not human,” cart-holding guy chimed in.
Well, Trent guessed that wasn’t good.
Ari grabbed Paz’s chin, forcing him up to make eye contact. “Bruh, I can totally tell it’s you. What’s up with the shady shit?”
“Are these demon hunters or something? Do we need to do something about them?” Trent asked, only he was utterly shocked to hear his words come out of his mouth. “What the fuck. I’m talking. How am I talking? Paz? Are you still here?” he blurted out, and he couldn’t help the note of panic in his voice.
