Way Down We Go

Chapter 3

"That way," Rory pointed, defeated. Asa helped her to the room and set her on the sofa before turning on the light. He settled himself on the chair opposite, and she sat up straight to face him.

Typical. She thought. His black hair almost covered his eyes, his strong jaw covered in just a hint of stubble, and his muscular arms were clearly visible through his tight sweater.

"So...demon?" she asked.

"Yes."

"How...so...where does the...mana thing come in?"

"Well, that's how we survive. Think, spiritual energy, or power. It's like, the essence of a living being."

"So, wait, 'spiritual' energy?" she asked, drawing out quotation marks, "Does that mean you take away their afterlife?"

"Not exactly. They still pass on. It's not as if they need the energy for the afterlife. It's more of a metaphysical concept. You're not dead, so it's not like you need to understand anyway."

"That sounds like a cop-out."

"Well if you want to get into a philosophical discussion equivalent to Descartes' brains in tanks, we can, but I thought you wanted me to explain the current and frankly more pressing situation to you, not the inevitable state of your soul post-mortem."

"Fine. But this essentially means you're a life force leech."

He did not look amused.

"So what was up with the kid and the dad? How did you know about that?"

"Look, there are two different ways for us to 'feed' per say. So, we can either have the person in question enter what is essentially a trance, which is what I was going to do to you. The person doesn't feel it, but it greatly shortens their lifespan and the whole process is a bit much for me. The other way is to trap the mana as it's leaving the person as they die. That boy's essence went to you because you were the closest vessel capable of receiving it. If there isn't a vessel, it just goes on until it finds something to latch onto."

"So you're a vampire...or a vulture."

"I am not a vampire. Those don't exist, anyways."

"Did I hit a nerve?" Rory could see his jaw set. "What, you expect me to be nice after that scene just now?"

Asa grunted.

"So, tell me. What exactly did you see when that kid died? You had to have sensed...something."

She looked away from him, staring at her hands.

"When he started to fade, he, well, it was this sort of blue light, aura, thing, surrounding him. And it left him, and sort of came into me. I freaked out because I knew what it meant, and that's when you showed up."

"What do you mean, exactly, you knew what it meant?" He had an eyebrow raised again.

"Well, what would you assume it meant when that light left him?" she snapped. She stood up, glaring at him. She hated that he was making her talk about this.

"So, you've seen this before?"

"Yes." Rory said icily, "When my grandma died. And then you know, like a stray dog or something here or there. But they're usually like, this smoky yellow color."

"Well, yeah," Asa said, leaning back, looking up at her, "Animals are a bit odd, but that's beside the point. So you've been able to see mana when beings die, and you thought, what, that was normal?"

"No, of course not. I didn't know what to think. When I was a kid I told my parents about my grandma, and they said I just must have seen her spirit 'shining down on me,' or whatever. But they probably didn't believe it. It's not like they're super religious. But it was comforting. It's not like you can say, 'Oh hey, I saw the spirit of my grandmother leave her body,' and have people still look at you as though you're sane, you know? I figured that out when my parents didn't say they'd seen it too. Nobody sees what I see. I tried to look some stuff up in the library but my dad saw the books and took them back. I just gave up on it after that."

"You 'gave up?'"

"What the hell does it matter to you?"

"Well, it's intriguing. Like I said," Asa shrugged. "It's the first time I've seen anything like this. So why didn't you believe me when I first told you what I was when you have first-hand experience in this area?"

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you kidding? There is a serious step between seeing something that could be passed off as, I don't know, a trick of the light, or something spiritual or whatever, and having a man pin you to the ground and say 'Mind if I suck your soul dry like a dementor?'"

"Will you quit with the insults?" He stood up, leaning over her again, but she stood her ground. "I'm not a particular fan of this situation any more than you, but I was only taking back what was mine."

"It was the kid's!" She yelled.

"Supposed to be mine then, damn." He turned away from her, running his fingers through his hair, looking as though he wanted to rip it out.

"Well, I'm not giving it up," she said to his back. "For all intents and purposes, he gave it to me. And if there are others like you around, it seems to be useful protection." She crossed her hands in front of her chest tightly, trying to look stronger on the point than she felt. He slowly turned back to face her, a smirk growing on his face.

"Really? You think you can control all that, little one? Fine. Be my guest. But when it starts to feel like it's going to burn your chest from the inside out, or when you can't handle another demon that catches you in the wrong place, I reckon I'll be there, to give you an easy out."

"What?" She tried to control the tone of the exclamation, but it still came out higher pitched than she'd have liked.

"Oh yeah. See, I'm quite possessive and think I know how this'll play out. Again, humans don't normally hold that much mana. So if you actually manage to control it, then I'll be impressed. Other demons might be, too. But I'll bet you it's already started to hurt you. And if that's the case, I'll bet there'll be the moment when you'll beg me to free you. And I'll be happy to oblige. But," he smiled down at her. "Only when you ask nicely."

And without a backward glance, he strolled out of the room, and out the front door.