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Mikal lived in a sprawling set of notorious apartment blocks, all geared towards those with minimal income. They were the kind of estate where developers had tried to cram as many people into as small a place as possible. It was also clearly built as cheaply as the lowest tender offered and was now slowly imploding.
Mikal Myne had a pretty standard apartment, and the inspection yielded nothing of any particular interest. It was small, cramped and many of the "facilities" were not working. The man lived a plain existence, with beige and white making up most of his décor, takeaway containers choking up a full bin and a large television. Porn made up most of his watching selection, judging by his DVD collection. Even a search under the couch cushions only revealed stale snacks and crusty tissues.
Nothing really stood out, so she headed home, cracked open a beer and updated her case notes. There was nothing more that she could do for now, so Tessa began the process to summon a demon. First step was to clear her mind for the summoning, focusing only on very precise thoughts. She created a space in her living area, then opened all the windows to get some fresh air in.
Summoning generally ended up with a lot of sulphur around, and she wanted to clear that stench out as soon as she could. It was not a desirable smell, that of rotten eggs permeating the shoe box she called home. She set up her new fire dish, laying her herbs and a sterile boline next to it. Unfortunately, a summoned demon had to be bound to a living witch, which required living blood. Tessa wasn't squeamish, but cutting herself was never fun, and she really disliked the scars it caused on the heels of her hands.
Casting her salt circle, Tessa closed herself in with the fire dish to protect both sides of the thick, grainy line. She dumped carefully measured handfuls of herbs into the dish before lighting it.
The sulphur would go on last as it had a tendency to be a little volatile. Chanting quietly, she started fanning the dish until the smoke plumed forth. While she had never done this spell by herself before, she had studied the constituent parts individually and done it with her mentor many times. With a carefully measured movement, she dug the sharp blade into her hand and dragged it gently across the heel of her hand, just barely enough to release a few drops of blood. Tessa held her hand out, letting her blood fall freely into the waiting herb dish.
Finally, she felt the magick respond to her, rising in plumes around her as the smoke did. Continuing to chant under her breath, Tessa threw in the sulphur last as she said the final binding words of the incantation. Contrary to popular belief, magickal spells did not involve the magickal words shouted aloud. It would be annoying and highly impractical, especially when working in law enforcement. She would be very unpopular with her neighbours too.
'So mote it be!' The smoke billowed forth wildly, cut out most of the light in the room and the spell was complete. Tessa coughed a little as the smoke cleared quickly thanks to the open windows, revealing a hulking form in the middle of her living room. Tessa was careful to take a step forward, while she had been involved with many summonings before, she still got a little worried about her solo efforts.
'Um, hello?' she queried, the form starting to take on some actual shape. Was that a pompadour?
'Why hello there pretty little witch,' came the reply, in a rough masculine voice, something befitting size of man/immortal it came from. Tessa tried not to stare as a face Elvis would envy was revealed, dark eyes, long sideburns and a hint of stubble framing sensuous lips. Just below an impressive pomp were curved black horns on either side of his forehead, the only hint of his true origins. The look came complete with rolled up jeans, black shirt and leather jacket, nothing like any demon Tessa had seen conjured before.
She had to resist the urge to gasp aloud or swoon dramatically, rather tempted to do both. Realising how awkward she was being, Tessa finally shut her gaping mouth and stammered a greeting.
'Oh, uh, hi. My name is Tessa and I will be your witch for today,' she said, hoping her attempt at wit would cover for her rampant staring. The demon nodded.
'Uh huh, and you can call me Lee.'
'Lee? I thought you would have a... well something more demon-ey, like Azrael or something.' Tessa asked, genuinely surprised. Lee snorted with laughter before shaking his head.
'First, that is a rather spicy angel. I do have such a name, but Lee just sounds better and I love me a bit of Jerry Lee,' he added, an infectious smile spreading across his face, making her stomach do little flip flops. This sure was an attractive being, now standing awkwardly in her lounge room, waiting for instruction.
'Well uh, you do know that he shot his bass player?’
‘No, what? When? How?’ Lee peppered her with questions, shocked to the core.
‘Yeah it was like, the seventies. He also beat a bunch of his wives... allegedly.” Tessa explained as Lee panicked. She figured it was time to change the subject. ‘Can I ask you something?' asked Tessa curiously.
'Shoot,' the demon responded. Tessa was struck by how open his face was, and how kind his eyes were.
'Well, I don't imagine there are oodles of rockabilly demons just waiting to be summoned, so how did you manage to come out so perfect?' Tessa blurted out, blushing furiously at the last words. Lee laughed again, with a wicked twinkle in his eye.
'During the summoning, a demon is chosen that best suits the environment that we are going into. We are also given up to date clothes for the time and region. Even language is all sorted out. It is all very convenient and means that we can fit in to the society we land in. Aside from the horns of course. Apparently, they are a metaphysical necessity to ensure that we are never confused with humans. Perfect ay?' Lee gave her a few quiet seconds to get truly awkward over it all before continuing. 'You're not exactly the standard witch either, it’s usually summon, debrief, and get to work. Unless of course, you called me here for another reason.'
A knowing look and the languid inflection in his voice indicted he probably wouldn't object to a summoning for more sensual desires. Tessa coughed nervously, those 'sensual desires' very much playing on her mind right now. She almost felt his caress as he looked at her.
How fickle am I? Tessa thought, reminding herself that Damien had been making her feel this way only days prior.
'Well, we have a case of at least two killings, and it seems like someone is taking their necromantic powers in the act,' Tessa said in a rush, getting all hot and bothered by the entire situation. He nodded abruptly before speaking.
'Ok, crime investigation, got it. That's all well and good, but you are bleeding all over the place, perhaps we should deal with that first before you give me all the details,' he ducked his head at her cut hand and the blood that was now slowly dripping onto the floor. Tessa visibly jumped, having forgotten all about the required wound on her hand. That managed to kill her frisky mood rather quickly.
'Oh right, I better get some...' she trailed off as she spotted the tissue box on her coffee table, grabbing a ball of tissues and stuffing them into her fist. She mopped up the drops of blood on the floor before throwing all of the tissues into the still smouldering fire dish. Even in her own house you couldn't be too careful with blood, if it fell into the hands of someone who held a grudge... well there was a lot of creative and sadistic ways you could use blood in magick.
'Heh, damn spells make a mess. So uh, I need to go man my market stall, do you mind if I leave you here with the case notes to catch up? You can eat or drink whatever you can find.' She said, waiting for his nod before showing him the kitchenette and other areas of her apartment. Lee seemed pretty content, poking around in the fridge then stretching out on her shabby couch with the case folder and TV remote.
She grabbed her bag and supplies before wishing her house demon a good night and jumping in her car, all the while wondering what the protocol was on demon housing arrangements. They weren't really taught that in the internship. Tessa supposed that sleeping on the couch had to be acceptable, and if not, well it wasn't her first scandal. It likely wouldn’t be the last either.