It's the thought that counts... Chapter fifteen

The light from Mayowa's bedroom's rechargeable lamp grew dimmer as it began to loose power, Mayowa laid still on her back staring at the ceiling fan. The ceiling fan had been made sparkling clean by her but the rusted parts still made it look unattractive to her eyes, though this was the least part that caught her attention at the moment. The crack in the ceiling itself which had not been there a while ago took most of her attention but not all of it, she had also been lost in her thoughts as well.

"Hello?" Luci said making his casual sudden appearance beside her.

Startled by Luci, Mayowa yelled out the name, "Jesus Christ!".

Disgust filled Luci's face as he asked, "What has he got to do with me? I don't remember looking like him, or do I?".

"I thought I asked you to stop doing that" she said ignoring his questions.

"You did" Luci replied adjusting his collar, "that doesn't mean I'd do whatever you asked me to".

"I forgot you are a selfish and self-centered being".

"Exactly, you should know your place too" Luci reminded.

"Forget it" she said turning sideways with her back against him.

"Not interested in where I've been?" Luci asked surprised at how casual she had been behaving, usually she would have been more frightened to see him.

"Does it matter?" she asked still not looking at him.

"I guess it doesn't" Luci said staring at her for a brief moment, he could notice that something was different with her, her dark, hopeless and helpless aura had changed from before he left and a new aura of deceit, grief and pain lingered around her, "Maybe I should take my leave then".

"Where are you going to?" Mayowa asked turning around now facing him directly.

"Does it matter?" Luci asked mimicking her tone and voice.

"I didn't mean that, I'm sorry, it's just I needed your help and you didn't answer me" she rose up from her position and sat on the bed crossing her legs in meditation form.

"I was busy with something else" Luci said.

"With what?".

"My affairs as the king of hell" Luci answered.

"Wait you can come and go to hell as you please?"

"Yes and no" he answered.

"You've lost me" she said.

"I can't exactly go and come as I please, going is quite easy but coming back takes a lot of strength from me and that's why I took too long" Luci explained.

"Is that also why you drink those cups of tea of yours?".

"Yes, the human blood replenishes my strength" he grinned "Speaking of which, I'll have some right now" he whisked out his cup from midair and filled it up.

"Now I understand" she said.

"I have to ask though, have you been seeing another demonic creature other than me?" Luci asked taking a sip.

"What do you mean by that?".

"It's just that your aura, your smell, it reeks of someone I know" he answered with a concerned look.

Mayowa hadn't seen that look since the time he told her about that demon and this frightened her more than the first time she saw him, " I haven't seen anyone yet, at least not one I could remember".

"Then have you noticed any thing strange, let's say something unusual happening around you or the people you love?" Luci asked.

"Other than you popping out of thin air or you whisking that out of nowhere?" she shook her head and said, "No".

"You aren't out of danger yet, if his scent is on you then that means he has marked you and that can't be good for you or anyone else close to you" Luci said.

"Don't tell me you are afraid of some demon" she said.

"Oh! I'm not afraid and this is not some demon, he is the realization of grief, deceit and pain. In fact, when I led the revolt against the Almighty, it was his ideas that drew most of the fallen to our side. He is a demon beyond man's own imagination and yet mankind feeds him on a regular basis" Luci said.

"How can you let someone like that exist?" she asked.

"He may be brutal but he does help bring a lot of souls to hell and that's all I need to keep him around" Luci said with a grin on his face, these words turned the atmosphere include Mayowa's aura into a hopelessly dark one, her fear became reignited.

"I thought you were different" she muttered out.

"Well think again dear one" Luci chuckled.

'Knock! Knock! Knock!' Mayowa's door sounded. At the doorway was her mother, on her face was fear and confusion and on her notebook were the words written boldly, "Mayowa! Who are you talking to?".