“you know what we want. ʰ̱̄ᶤ̥̽ᶳ̦̈́ ̂͜ʰ͚̊ᵉ̳͊ᵃ̨̈́ᵈ̢̅ ͖̄ᵒ̛̙ᶰ̤̿ ̯͛ᵃ̢́ ̰̀ᵖ͇̌ˡ̻̽ᵃ͎̾ᵗ̦̈́ᵗ̮́ᵉ̨͋ʳ͎̌ˑ͕̊” singsong, crackling with a dangerous undercurrent of menace and mania accentuated by the clamoring clatter of their teeth against one another. their timbre is lofting, trilling in strident amusement that does not deviate past the curling of their lips — for their eyes are dark and terrible, round as saucers and clinging for dear life to the sockets, laced with varicose veins that tripped across sallow sclera like disease.
their body tips in favor of leaning that bit closer to the demon, nostrils flickering as they inhale liberally and quirk both brows, laughing sunnily. “we can smell everything, you know. fear adds a certain charm to the stench of brimstone that clings to you like smoke-scent. we’ve come to eat the boy. now — won’t you step aside for us? it would be unnecessary to tangle yourself in this affair. we have much we want to chat with leo about.”
their head jitters unnaturally on their neck, canting a bit too far to the left. their throat creaks grotesquely, winding cords of muscle straining for the angle and they smile, smile a hideous slip of a smile.
“͍͠ḽ͠i̺̿t͚͊ť̤l̻̍e̛̳ ̢̈p̨͗i̞̎g̫͆,̦̐ ̢͠l̦̑ḭ͆ť̼t̺̚l͇͑e̳͌ ̙̂p̼̀ĭ͉g̩͆,̹͐ ̘̾l̮̅ė͕t̞́ ̭̒m̭̔e͔̕ ̬͝ī͉n̼̉.̹̓”́ͅ
She was scared, almost as scared as the day she died but she tried to shake it off. This was for Leo, because it was her fault that the fake tattoo had failed and they were here to kill him. She couldn’t let that happen. Sweat coated her palm as she tightened her grip on the machete.
Wait. Wait, not right now.
“No.” Her voice didn’t tremble and she had to give herself a small amount of credit. “There’s no reason to hurt him. Just leave us alone.”
There was no ‘or else in her voice’. She would save that all for the flames she conjured in her hand. That was better than any weapon. A small movement of her head to see where Leo was before she took one step forward. She had to trust Leo and give him time.
When he saw her flames burst, a controlled inferno in her palm that was larger and likely stronger than his, he knew there was a big chance she had their attention. Concealed behind the couch, sitting on the ground–perhaps they did not see him yet.
Quiet as a snake in the desert, he crawled towards the jug.
COME INTO OUR EMBRACE.
THE DARKNESS IS WARM.
S U B M I T .
He shook his head to silence the inky voice echoing within his eardrum and through every crevasse of his mind. Bottle in hand, he rested back against the back side of the couch, opting out of opening the spray bottle to unscrew the entire mouth.
He waited.
