The Way Things Are

~Hey doo doo, hey dee dee, gather round and listen to me. When the sun comes up you've no reason to cry, the demons all run, from that orb in the sky. But before the night, be safe in your home, and invite no strangers in if you are alone.~ Forgotten Children's Rhyme

-Devnik-

I had only had the pleasure of being impaled once before. And that was on a battle field during the Crusades, when a warrior priest named Daniel Fleeting ran me through with a sword blessed by Pope Urban.

Needless to say, landing on a stalagmite after being punched by an emotional teenage half-breed was nowhere near as dignified.

The pain, however, was excruciating. I must have blacked out, because I was now facing down in a sizable pool of my own blood.

I tried to move around the rock. Nothing, it was firmly stuck. I looked up. The beautiful adolescent Aethling was standing in front of me in my poorly lit cave. Tears fell freely from her pale face.

"Are you going to live?" she asked, her voice trembling

I groaned in the affirmative.

"Good..." she paused..."you stole my shadow you bastard," she said finally ... though this time it was barely more than a whisper.

I couldn't help laughing, even though most of my diaphragm had stalagmite through it.

"I didn't do anything to your shadow, little girl." I said with a sneer. "It's what you are ... creatures of the light do not cast shadows." I said between moans of pain.

"Undo it." She said.

"What?"

"UNDO IT!" she screamed. "Change me back, make me human again." She sounded hysterical

I was confused ... she wanted to be human? ... Interesting.

"You're much better off now," I said, while slowly easing off the stalagmite.

Wet sounds of gore echoed off the cave walls. I tried not to look at my destroyed body.

"No, no no no no," she cried. "I was normal, I had life all figured out," she blubbered, tears fell full force down her flushed cheeks.

"You were a prostitute," I said nastily, "That's hardly having life figured out."

"But it was my life," she shrieked, "I climbed my way up from the gutter as an orphan. And I worked for years as a scullery maid til one man offered me ten silver for a night with me. The money was so good that the next day I tried to get into all the brothels in Paris." she was sobbing again, the anger had left her voice.

"I sold my body at fourteen so I could eat ... so don't you tell me what I don't have figured out."

There was a lull in our conversation. The candle had almost burned down. Leaving the cave in a faint orange light. Water droplets pattered down the rock walls. Maria shivered, and clutched her arms to her chest.

With one last effort I pulled myself free of the stalagmite, however, my weak knees promptly deposited me onto the cave floor. I grunted as my back met the ground.

She looked out from behind her tangled blond tresses. "You know, for a demon you're pretty pathetic." she said. She seemed to have gotten over her terror of me. Now she made fun of me like I was her brother.

I liked the terror better

"It took a lot of my powers to awaken you, you little trollop." I said, trying once again to get my footing. I managed it this time. But I leaned against the cave wall to catch my breath.

She looked at me puzzled. "That wound would have killed a man."

I tentatively poked the hole in my stomach. "Yes it would have, but for me, it is merely incredibly painful."

She eyed my wound now. "Will it heal up?" she asked.

"Yes."

"When?"

I sighed. "It would have started immediately if I had all my powers," I said, "in my current state it will probably take all day."

She looked startled. "You mean it's day time?" she said, sounding shocked. "I've been asleep all night!"

I couldn't help but smile at her.

"No dear," I said. "You were asleep for five days."

She looked faint again.

I really couldn't blame her.

-Maria-

I was just a little bit dizzy.

Five days ... but it seemed like just minutes. I glanced down at my hand again.

The blisters had healed.

I was still shocked that I got them from touching a pentagram. Apparently that's something else I can't do.

I looked past my hand to the groaning demon on the floor. He was lying face up, staring at the roof of the cave. His hand was gently resting on the dinner plate sized hole in his stomach.

He suddenly coughed, and spit up a large amount of blood.

"Gross," I said before I could stop myself.

He turned his head slightly so he could make eye contact. His red eyes pulsed with displeasure.

"Oh, I'm sorry mademoiselle, but maybe next time you could not strike me into pointy objects during a perfectly polite conversation," he said.