Part 2. Cranberry demon.
By nightfall, the flow of customers had dried up. There was only a strange and cute couple in the store. A guy who dressed as if he was going to be hot in the permafrost, and a girl who was distant and cold. They came out of nowhere three weeks ago. Steve encountered them a couple of times and, looking at them, he did not leave the feeling that they are directly related to the memorable book of a madman and the ball of prediction. He didn't want to ask him directly - after all, they tried to kill him.
When the couple left, Forlie returned. He carried some kind of scroll with him.
- Look at this, huh? - He asked, while pulling out a piece of paper for his brother.
The scroll had a dagger on it, all covered in hooks.
- Also demonic? - pointing at the pattern, Steve asked.
- Yes. This pattern appears if the demon is sharpened inside the object.
- The dagger is clear - for the sake of effect. And in the bush why? - He asked and immediately added. - To give the taste of berries an infernal zest?
- Yeah, and that's all it's called: "The appetite destruction bush," Forlie added. - And seriously, I don't know. Maybe you made a mistake in the ritual. The bush is the most common, there is no magic in it. A circle of chalk, by the way, while the demon is in the bush, is absolutely useless.
He nodded in the far corner, where the pot was neatly standing, Steve didn't even notice it.
- And what do we do?
- Well, you can put it in a circle and break it, it should free the demon, respectively, the bush will fall behind you. Well, either he will be with you all his life.
- And you can't give it to someone else, can you?
- Probably, it is possible, only if you remember everything correctly. The person to whom you will give it should know what he takes, and take it himself. And if your description of the previous owner is correct, this thing will start to talk to you and, most likely, will stretch your strength.
Steve remembered the baldness, blank eyes, and the strong smell of alcohol that belonged to the woe monologue, and he took a dip.
- Let's go break it.
After closing the shop, they went down to the basement. After checking the circle, Steve put up a pot and walked away. His brother gently snuck in the middle of the bush with his garden scissors.
The brothers were expecting flashes, noise, sparks, or even demonic laughter, but nothing happened. Waiting a minute, Forlie cut the bush again - also without any effect. Then he gently pulled out the sheet and only after looking at it, he snapped - the sheet was absolutely normal.
- I'm going to go read some more," he said, and rushed upstairs.
Steve, on the other hand, slowly sank into his own house. The window in his office was open, letting in the noise and smell of the city, and someone was sitting at his desk. The door from behind slammed itself, hitting the back. The uninvited guest's eyes were burning scarlet. The light broke out; Steve usually used a rather dim oil lamp, but it seemed as if several suns were shining through the ceiling at once.
The office was a mess. Artifacts capable of independent movement, complained in the corners as far away from the guest as possible. The rest shuddered from the alien magic that overfilled them.
The guest was relatively humanoid, except for the eyes: matte black, without a single hint of pupils. The demon in it gave out scales on the neck and small triangular teeth in two rows. So they looked at each other for a few minutes.
- Is that what we set you free? - cautiously broke Steve's silence.
- No," said the demon briefly.
The silence came again. The demon put his hands together and thought about something.
- Why did you release her? - Finally he asked and answered himself. - Curiosity and an irrepressible thirst for results do not bring to good.
- We didn't want to do anything wrong," Steve said.
The demon grinned.
- Oh, yes! I'm Balael, Lord of the Bone Rift. I put one of my, uh, concubines in this bush as a punishment. She was supposed to spend some time in this world, um... and... whatever. What matters is that you freed her.
The demon looked a little confused, as if he didn't want to say anything.
- Capture her again, we didn't mind! - Steve said.
- I thought of another punishment for her. And you, too, so you know the price of your actions. She's going to spend her punishment next to you. Until you die.
- I'm not sure I'm going to do that," Steve backed down and stuck his back to the door. - We're a men's company, and the demon won't fit in too well with our duo. By the way, it is in the basement, in a circle of chalk.
- Succubus, she is a succubus. She wasn't affected by chalk circles, garlic, and other laborers," Balael corrected him and raised his hand palm up, where the fire was dancing. - What do you see in the fire?
Steve glanced: the flame was shaking and trying to escape. At first there were several silhouettes in it, but they were gradually replaced by a figure of Forlie.
- He's gonna die," I'm sure the demon said. - Slowly and in terrible agony, in ways you can't even imagine. But you will see enough. So, shall we discuss the deal?
Steve looked into the fire again and figured out what he could do.
- Nothing," Balael read his thoughts. - You can chalk the whole town, put your brother in garlic and marinate in holy water - it won't stop me. Remember everything you've heard about demons and think about the fact that all this is a children's fairy tale compared to reality.
- What do you want? - Steve asked in a hasty manner.
- The Succubus Soliphileset must be with you all the time, within reason. If she escapes or you let her go, your brother dies, but I will give you a long, painful life.
- Will she obey me, not try to escape? - He specified.
The demon took a deep breath. Steve recognized his own in this breath when he had to deal with the ignorant.
- There are simple rituals for controlling Succubus, available even to you - ask any clergyman. So what's on hand?
Balael extended his right-hand forward. Steve frowned and clenched his teeth and shook her. The moment his hand was touched by a demon, his wrist burned with pain, as if it was a calendar iron. There was a small sign on his skin, with a mole.
- That's my seal, if you try to break our contract, it will warn you," the demon said, smiling broadly. - When Soliphileset is moved here, she will be stunned for a while, and I suggest you take advantage of that, otherwise she will run away. She will arrive tomorrow at noon.
At this point, he disappeared as if he hadn't even been there at all. The office was in perfect order, and even the window was closed. The mark, however, remained. Steve came up to his desk on his steady feet and fell into the chair. He felt bad, tired and broken. What happened could not fit in his head.