Chapter 3: Tangible Results

Ryan was hunched over the kitchen sink washing dishes when Nahash appeared again, that same cold haze and the stench of sulfur alerting him to her imminent manifestation. A feeling of instinctual dread washed over him as he sensed her presence behind him, as if his mind rejected her on some subconscious level, an aberration whose very existence defied the laws of nature.

One of the plates that he was washing slipped out of his grasp and broke, the crack of the ceramic making him jump out of his skin, and he spun around to greet her with his hands still covered in soap suds.

“I have returned,” Nahash said in that oddly musical voice.

“H-hi,” he muttered weakly, looking up at the enormous demon as she towered over him. Her ample bosom was at eye-level, and it was a struggle to keep his gaze off them, but the last thing he wanted to do was offend her. For all he knew, she could rip his soul right out of his body.

“My master, Prince Orobas, has instructed me on how we must proceed. Treat my words as you would his. Heed me, and your contract with him shall be completed.”

At this point, Ryan just wanted this nonsense to be over with as soon as possible. As much as he needed the help, he was feeling increasingly like he had done something very wrong. Maybe that was his immortal soul speaking, or perhaps it was just common sense. The implications of demons being real raised many theological and existential questions, but he dared not think about them too deeply. If he did, the possibilities might overwhelm him. One thing at a time...

“Fire away,” he replied, and she cocked her head at him curiously. “Continue,” he clarified.

“I have the power to see into the hearts of men,” she began. “My master sees past, present, and future flowing before him with great clarity. You need only state what position you seek, I will sense if that is your true desire, then my master will plot the course of action most likely to see your request realized.”

“Hang on,” Ryan protested as he dried his hands on a nearby dishcloth. “You’re going to have to elaborate a little on how all of this works. Why do you need to see into my heart to know what I want? Can’t I just tell you? If Orobas can see into the future, then why does he need my input at all? Can’t he just see what I’m going to decide in advance?”

She planted her hands on her wide hips, an oddly human gesture coming from such an alien creature, and he felt his cheeks redden as he sensed that he was about to be chastised.

“This ignorance of magick must be rectified if we are to continue,” she complained. “You understand nothing of our ways, and thus your uninformed requests are made all the more difficult to fulfill.”

“Is this going to take long?” he sighed, tossing the rag aside. “Should I sit down?”

She gestured to the kitchen table, and Ryan pulled up a chair. Nahash was so large that none of his furniture would have supported her if he had offered her a seat, so she stood on her cloven hooves as she began her lecture.

“Time is not linear, and the future is not set in stone. Our actions in the present influence and change its course. Imagine a winding river flowing before you, splitting into channels and creeks, infinite possibilities that stretch out as far as the eye can see. Each of those possibilities is a choice that might be made, an action that might be taken to change the course of history. But, in order for a path to be chosen, there must be conviction. You must decide upon which path to take and entertain no doubts. Unless you are confident in your decisions, then my master’s powers will not be reliable.”

“I think I understand, though that’s a hell of a lot less effective than I’d hoped,” he grumbled. “Will Orobas at least be able to see if an interview will go successfully, or whether I’ll be hired or not?”

“That depends on you,” she replied. “His prescience reaches only as far as your decisions do, but the advantages that it confers are beyond anything in mortal experience.”

“And, what’s this about you seeing into my heart?” he added as he raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I don’t remember requesting that. Why is it necessary? Doesn’t Orobas trust me to know what I want?”

She scrutinized him with her amber eyes, those horizontal pupils burning into him, and he wondered if she was using her powers right now.

“You are brash,” she began, her ovine ears flicking with what might be disapproval. “You act without thought. My master was wise to see that quality in you and to assign me as your familiar. Some of your requests were vague and ill-thought-out,” she chided, the way that she shifted her stance to loom over him making the soft parts of her voluptuous figure quiver distractingly. “In the future, you should be clearer when you ask a demon to make you happy or to turn your life around. You are very fortunate that my master is loyal to his charges and does not deceive, or your happiness might have taken the form of being transformed into a crawling beast, your mind made simple enough to be satisfied by eating and rutting.”

Ryan’s blood ran cold at the prospect. He had taken such care to formulate his request, yet in the heat of the moment, it had come out less concise than he had intended. Excitement and fear had gotten the better of him. If he had chosen to summon one of the other demons that he had considered besides Orobas, he might be a rat right now, crawling through the building in search of insects to eat and wiring to chew.

“So, you’re here to make sure that I don’t mess up any future requests?” Ryan asked. He had to admit, he was a little embarrassed at the thought that they didn’t think he could be trusted to articulate himself.

“In part,” she replied as she stood up straight again, those twisting horns brushing the ceiling. “I will also supervise you in your efforts and relay to you the instructions and premonitions of my master.”

Ryan leaned on the table, resting his head in his hands as he took it all in. Nahash watched him curiously as she waited for a response. The demon was completely out of place in his kitchen, surrounded by mundane appliances, her presence doing nothing to help him think.

“Alright,” he began once he had collected his thoughts. “So, you want me to think about what kind of job I want? Can it be anything I like? What if I asked you to make me an astronaut or a professional golfer?”

“That was not stipulated in the contract,” she replied, narrowing her eyes. “You asked for enjoyable work that would pay enough to allow you to live within your means. I advise you to keep your requests humble and grounded. Time is short, and the more reasonable your requests, the more expedient the results.”

“Okay, okay, I wasn’t really serious. So, I need to look for work, and I don’t have a car. That means I need something in the city that’s close enough for me to reach via public transportation.”

“Unless you require my assistance, I will take my leave of you and return to my master’s side,” Nahash continued. “He will inform me when you have found a suitable position.”

“Hang on!” Ryan sputtered. “Aren’t you going to help me? Doesn’t Orobas have some ability that will let me know where to look or which job I’m going to like?”

“As I explained, his prescience extends only as far into the future as your decisions do. When your mind is made up, I shall return.”

She faded from reality again, disappearing before his very eyes like a mirage, shimmering as if her corporeal form had been but a haze of heat on a sun-beaten road. Ryan leaned on his hand and loosed an exasperated sigh. He was starting to question why he even needed the help of these demons if he had to job hunt on his own. Who knew if there were even positions available right now? Would Orobas even be able to fulfill his end of the deal if Ryan couldn’t find anything? Oh well, better get started. The longer he took, the less time the demons would have to take care of the finer details.

Ryan leaned back in his office chair, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. His eyes were red and itchy from staring at his computer monitor for too long. It was three in the morning, and he had been scouring job listing sites for hours. He could blame the economy or his own overspecialization in white-collar work, but there wasn’t a single job close enough that he could reach it by bus or subway that he was remotely suited to. He had moved here specifically to take advantage of a position that had been offered to him right out of college, and the commute had not been a concern, as he lived within a ten-minute bus ride of the damned office complex.

The best positions that he could find on such short notice were an opening on the city garbage collection route and an internship at an auto dealer, but those wouldn’t bring in nearly enough to afford the absurd rent on his apartment. Besides, Orobas had agreed to find him a job that paid well and that he enjoyed – he wasn’t about to accept a job as a garbage truck driver. No disrespect to the city workers – without them, trash would be piling up on the streets – but it wasn’t what he had in mind for a fulfilling career. He leaned his head on his keyboard, cursing his bad luck. It was hopeless...

The temperature in the apartment suddenly plummeted, that now familiar smell of sulfur rising to his nose as vapors swirled in the air. Nahash was back, her oppressive presence bearing down on him as she was birthed from the shadows in the corner of the room, her sheer size and mass no less alarming to him now than when he had first laid eyes on her.

“I didn’t find anything yet,” he complained, trying not to sound too rattled by her sudden appearance. “What are you doing back so soon?”

“You must increase the range of your search,” she replied, her eyes seeming to glow like hot coals in the dark. “Look farther afield for the positions that you seek.”

“But, I don’t have a car,” Ryan replied incredulously. “How the hell am I supposed to get there if I can’t take public transport?”

“You shall have what you require,” she said in that musical tone, the floorboards creaking as she strode towards him. “Take this.” She reached out a hand, opening four fingers that were tipped with claws, their black color contrasting with her pale skin. They looked more like hooves than nails. A slip of paper materialized in her palm, Ryan watching with fascination as it was borne from an orange flame, as if footage of it being burned to ash was being played back in reverse. He reached out to take it, his fingers brushing her claws. He could feel their rough texture, and his digits didn’t pass through her like they would a ghost. She had a physical form that he could interact with. Interesting...

He held up the slip of paper and saw that there was an address written on it in looping, calligraphic text.

“Go to this place,” Nahash explained, the glow of his monitor reflecting off her ashen complexion in the gloom. “Set out by the stroke of seven tomorrow morning. Walk briskly, but do not hurry. Buy a coffee and a donut on your way, and whatever happens, do not argue with her. Leave promptly. You will be accosted by a drunken vagrant – be generous with him and treat him as you would a friend, but see him on his way. Sleep tonight, for you will need the rest.”

“What?” he stammered, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What’s going to happen? Where are you sending me?”

“Heed my instructions, and you will see your problem solved,” she said as her voice faded and her body slowly lost its definition. Like salt dissolving in water, she seemed to dissipate, and was gone. Ryan was left holding the piece of paper as he stared at the empty space where she had been standing but moments ago.

He read it again, then entered the address into his browser, the map website showing him a mall that was within walking distance of his apartment. What on Earth could he find at a mall that would help his job search? She hadn’t been willing to provide any more information, so he didn’t have much of a choice other than to do as she instructed and hope for some tangible results.

After shutting down his computer, he headed to bed as instructed, that demonic smell still lingering in the air. To be honest, he had been glad to be so occupied with a project. Anything to keep his head off that pillow. He had found that his nights were lonely and restless without Becky’s warm body to keep him company. Like a puppy that won’t sleep at night without a clock placed under a pillow to simulate its mother’s heartbeat, he missed the presence of another person terribly. The lack of simple comforts like the hypnotic breathing of a partner or the warm contact of their skin had left him with a kind of insomnia.

He would have to do his best – there was no helping it right now.

Ryan left the stairwell of his apartment building and stepped out onto the street, finding the sidewalk still wet from the previous night’s rain. He zipped up his jacket and buried his hands in his pockets. It had just gone seven, and the morning air was pleasantly cool. It was a brisk autumn day, and the city was just starting to wake up, cars beginning to clog the roads as its inhabitants made their way to work. The sidewalks were still relatively clear, so he set off in the direction of the mall, crunching fallen leaves underfoot as he walked beneath the rows of colorful trees.

He went over Nahash’s instructions in his head as he threaded past the other pedestrians, trying to make some sense of what she had told him. Who was he supposed to avoid arguing with, and what was going to happen when he reached his destination? She had been so vague and yet oddly specific at the same time. Orobas must have foreseen something and told her to relay to him only what information he needed.

He could go for a coffee and a donut, though. A macchiato might be a good start to what was apparently going to be a busy day, and he’d sell his soul to the demons before he turned down a cruller. There was only one coffee shop on the route that took him to the mall, and after a short walk, he arrived outside. A little bell above the door rang as he pushed it open, and he took up a place in a short line, waiting patiently for his turn at the counter. There weren’t many people here yet, but it would be bustling before long. The smell of fresh coffee wafted over to him, soothing and familiar. He wasn’t much of a morning person, so caffeine was his crutch when he had to wake up early to catch the bus.

Would he miss whatever unspoken deadline Orobas had set if he took too long? No, Nahash had told him not to hurry. He had to trust that everything would work out the way that had been foreseen.

When his turn came, he stepped up to the counter, and his stomach knotted as he saw Becky standing behind the register. Her dark hair was tied back in a bun, and she was wearing green overalls with the company logo emblazoned on her breast. Of course. She worked as a barista at this chain. Her shift didn’t usually begin until after he had already set off for work, so he had never encountered her on the job before. Her eyes widened as she recognized him, then narrowed. Ryan had been radio silent since they had broken up – he hadn’t contacted her in over a month.

“Hey ... Becky...”

“Ryan,” she answered dismissively.

“I’ll have a ... uh ... a macchiato and a cruller.”

Her eyes flashed with fury, and she spun her head around to make sure that her manager wasn’t in earshot before leaning over the counter to whisper angrily to him.

“That’s all you’ve got to say to me?” she hissed. “You don’t speak to me for a month, and then you show up here asking for coffee?”

“Well, you work at a coffee shop,” he replied apologetically with a gesture to her overalls. She fumed, her expression suggesting that she wanted to vault over the counter and lay into him, but it wasn’t worth her job. “Besides, you made your feelings pretty clear. Why would I care what you had to say about it after you stormed out?”

“Three years, and you don’t even try to contact me? You don’t reply to my messages on social media, you never answer your phone! A real man wouldn’t just let me go like that without a fight.”

“Why on Earth would I want to get back together with you after what you did?” he scoffed.

“Hey, I broke up with you,” she spat.

“Yeah, if you consider getting caught sleeping around breaking up with someone.”

She was about ready to go off on another rant, no doubt full of expletives and derogatory statements about his manhood and his financial situation, but Ryan remembered what Nahash had told him.

Whatever happens, do not argue with her.

This was it – this was what she had been talking about. The vague and cryptic instructions that had been relayed to him were already falling into place. It was like struggling with a puzzle before finally understanding how it fit together – that click of realization when you got your head around the problem.

“You’re such a pussy Ryan, you didn’t even-”

He held up a hand to cut her off, and her face contorted with rage.

“A macchiato and a cruller, please.”

“How dare you,” she began, but he silenced her again with another wave of his hand.

“I have places to be, Becky. Don’t make me talk to your manager.”

She slunk off to fetch his order and returned after a minute, sliding the paper bag across the counter begrudgingly, then slamming his coffee down on the polished wood. She shot him a dirty look, then rang him up, foisting the crumpled receipt into his waiting hand.

“Enjoy your beverage, sir,” she spat with that same venom she had shown him in their apartment. Ryan turned and left without another word, feeling her eyes burning holes into his back as he stepped out onto the street. He set off towards the mall again, a spring in his step as he sipped his coffee, the cool wind blowing his hair and rustling his paper bag. He had to admit that it had felt pretty good to shut Becky down like that. Had she cheated on him for attention, then? As some kind of punishment for him failing to keep her entertained? Oh, what did it matter? He wouldn’t be able to forgive her either way. There was still a knot in his stomach when he thought about her, like someone was twisting a hot knife in his gut, but he already felt a little better. It was nice to be outside again, feeling the breeze on his face and the crisp air in his lungs, getting some exercise rather than sitting in front of a screen and trying to block reality from his mind.

The hot coffee warmed his belly, and he fished inside the bag for his donut as he walked, taking a bite of the twisted dough before sucking the sweet glaze from his fingers. As Nahash had instructed, his pace was brisk, but he wasn’t hurrying. The city was coming to life all around him, traffic crawling to a standstill as cars blocked the road, bicyclists weaving between them in their mad dash to make it to work on time. Pedestrians carrying briefcases and umbrellas emerged from subway stairwells, crowds of them milling about like ants clad in overcoats, the bustle and cacophony oddly soothing to him.

He walked for another ten minutes or so, dropping his empty styrofoam cup and the paper bag into a trash can once he had finished his breakfast, the smells of exhaust fumes and the sounds of angry motorists doing little to dampen his mood. He knew that something good was going to happen today, something positive. It was an odd and welcome feeling to be assured that luck would be on your side.

As he rounded a street corner and the mall came into view, he felt a tug on his pants leg. He stumbled, turning around to see what had grabbed him. There was a homeless man lying prone on the street, clad in tattered wool clothing and sporting fingerless gloves, his weather-beaten face obscured behind a wiry beard. He stank of booze, and he was clearly drunk. Ryan shook him off in annoyance as the man propped himself up against the wall of the building behind him, sitting upright. He took off his moth-eaten beanie and held it out like a collection plate, revealing hair that was long and matted.

“Hey, fella,” he slurred drunkenly. “Can ya spare a penny for ... for the poor?”

Ryan brushed himself off and turned to leave, but paused when he remembered what Nahash had said. You will be accosted by a drunken vagrant. Be generous with him, and treat him as you would a friend, but see him on his way. She had been right about Becky at the coffee shop – there was no reason to doubt her now. He opened his coat and started to fish inside one of the inner pockets for his wallet, the homeless man waiting expectantly as Ryan produced a twenty-dollar bill. The demon had advised him to be generous, and it wasn’t as if twenty bucks was going to prevent him from losing his apartment if he didn’t find a job in time.

Ryan handed it to him, and the vagrant held the bill up to the light. When he was satisfied that it was real, he struggled to his feet, reaching out to embrace his new benefactor. Ryan grimaced as the filthy stranger hugged him tightly, the smell of body odor and alcohol washing over him, but he endured it. Treat him as you would a friend, that’s what Nahash had said. He gave the man a tentative pat on the back through his layers of heavy coats, trying to reassure him.