training, then we’ll see what you’ve learned.”
After passing the main promenade lined with clothing stores and electronics boutiques, they headed down one of the service tunnels. At the end were the restrooms and a water fountain, but Cordinox headed for the door that insisted: Authorized Personnel Only . They strode through the mall’s skeleton, a series badly illuminated halls that reminded Timothy of the Cordinox’s warehouse. Timothy’s guide led them like he’d been there a hundred times until they went through one more door into an empty storefront.
There wasn’t much light, just what streamed through the cracks in the windows which were taped up with posters advertising something. Plastic tarps covered the built-in counters. Some spare ladders leaned against the wall. There was a lot of dust and a few empty paint cans too. “A good place to train while the others are looking,” Cordinox said.
“If you say so.”
Cordinox hopped onto a counter, perched at the edge when he said, “Can you see them?”
“What?”
“My scales. Unfortunately I’m something of a cliché, a demon with scales and talons. Thankfully I was lucky enough not to be born with a tail or horns. Those would have been very irritating.”
“I see you, a guy in a suit.”
“But there’s so much more,” Cordinox smirked. “For example, right now I can see the shadows that surround you, especially around your hands. I’m guessing that’s how your new soul filters through your body. See, Cipher was a fire demon, but that power manifests differently now it’s inside you. Even if you killed another demon somehow, your tendrils would just get faster and stronger. So concentrate. Look at me. Look at me like you’re searching for something, because you know that there’s something wrong. See the truth of who and what I am. Use more than your human eyes.”
Timothy inhaled, not sure if he had any idea what the demon meant. But if this was real, then he knew he had to learn more about how he’d changed. So he stared, searching through Cordinox’s face, looking for something different. His cheeks and chin were normal. So was his dark hair, short and combed. As he looked at the guy’s neck, maybe for a vampire’s bite marks, there was a glimmer at the eyes. When Timothy spotted that, he saw the red, the shine of crimson light.
“What’d you see?”
“Your eyes.”
“Red, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Easier to see in the dark with. Now try to see the rest.” Timothy concentrated again, but it didn’t work. Instead he had to relax a little. It was like trying to spot a bug from far off. He had to wait for it to fly, to make some motion before he could see it. Cordinox turned, a glance at someone passing the shop, and that’s when Timothy saw him, when he knew a demon sat there, swinging his legs back and forth. Dressed in the same black silk shirt, his hands ended in talons. His skin was dark green and covered in thousands of interlocked scales. Timothy saw that, his eyes a little wide, and Cordinox nodded like he knew the first lesson was complete.
“Now the harder part.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen, “Stay where you are and grab this.”
“With what?”
“Use the shadow stuff you have wrapped around your soul. Reach very, very hard and your soul should know what to do.”
“Reach? That’s what you’re telling me to do?”
“Must you question every one of my instructions?”
“Sorry,” Timothy said, fingertips to the air. With a puffed sigh, he started. He pointed his eyes and concentrated. Then he tried something else, reaching out with a hand. Motionless, he tried to imagine an invisible set of fingers stretching across the empty store, through the dust-clogged air to wrap around the little pen.
Nothing came out.
“Try again.”
With a tight nod, Timothy raised his other hand. He didn’t know if it would help. Still, he kept his fingers still and tried to imagine one of his
After passing the main promenade lined with clothing stores and electronics boutiques, they headed down one of the service tunnels. At the end were the restrooms and a water fountain, but Cordinox headed for the door that insisted: Authorized Personnel Only . They strode through the mall’s skeleton, a series badly illuminated halls that reminded Timothy of the Cordinox’s warehouse. Timothy’s guide led them like he’d been there a hundred times until they went through one more door into an empty storefront.
There wasn’t much light, just what streamed through the cracks in the windows which were taped up with posters advertising something. Plastic tarps covered the built-in counters. Some spare ladders leaned against the wall. There was a lot of dust and a few empty paint cans too. “A good place to train while the others are looking,” Cordinox said.
“If you say so.”
Cordinox hopped onto a counter, perched at the edge when he said, “Can you see them?”
“What?”
“My scales. Unfortunately I’m something of a cliché, a demon with scales and talons. Thankfully I was lucky enough not to be born with a tail or horns. Those would have been very irritating.”
“I see you, a guy in a suit.”
“But there’s so much more,” Cordinox smirked. “For example, right now I can see the shadows that surround you, especially around your hands. I’m guessing that’s how your new soul filters through your body. See, Cipher was a fire demon, but that power manifests differently now it’s inside you. Even if you killed another demon somehow, your tendrils would just get faster and stronger. So concentrate. Look at me. Look at me like you’re searching for something, because you know that there’s something wrong. See the truth of who and what I am. Use more than your human eyes.”
Timothy inhaled, not sure if he had any idea what the demon meant. But if this was real, then he knew he had to learn more about how he’d changed. So he stared, searching through Cordinox’s face, looking for something different. His cheeks and chin were normal. So was his dark hair, short and combed. As he looked at the guy’s neck, maybe for a vampire’s bite marks, there was a glimmer at the eyes. When Timothy spotted that, he saw the red, the shine of crimson light.
“What’d you see?”
“Your eyes.”
“Red, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Easier to see in the dark with. Now try to see the rest.” Timothy concentrated again, but it didn’t work. Instead he had to relax a little. It was like trying to spot a bug from far off. He had to wait for it to fly, to make some motion before he could see it. Cordinox turned, a glance at someone passing the shop, and that’s when Timothy saw him, when he knew a demon sat there, swinging his legs back and forth. Dressed in the same black silk shirt, his hands ended in talons. His skin was dark green and covered in thousands of interlocked scales. Timothy saw that, his eyes a little wide, and Cordinox nodded like he knew the first lesson was complete.
“Now the harder part.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen, “Stay where you are and grab this.”
“With what?”
“Use the shadow stuff you have wrapped around your soul. Reach very, very hard and your soul should know what to do.”
“Reach? That’s what you’re telling me to do?”
“Must you question every one of my instructions?”
“Sorry,” Timothy said, fingertips to the air. With a puffed sigh, he started. He pointed his eyes and concentrated. Then he tried something else, reaching out with a hand. Motionless, he tried to imagine an invisible set of fingers stretching across the empty store, through the dust-clogged air to wrap around the little pen.
Nothing came out.
“Try again.”
With a tight nod, Timothy raised his other hand. He didn’t know if it would help. Still, he kept his fingers still and tried to imagine one of his
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