Of Light And Shadows

Beelzebub grumbled, but shuffled away to partner with someone else, as did Asmodeus. Mammon folded his arms across his chest and frowned.

“That’s not fair. Why do you get to partner with her?”

“You and Jia have a pact with one another which makes this lesson far too easy for you.” Lucifer’s smile widened and she didn’t miss the glint in his eye. “You can pair up with Bast.” Mammon spluttered in horror, but Lucifer took Jia’s arm and led her away before he could form any words of protest.

“I can’t summon you to me without using the crest,” she said as he guided her to the front of the room.

“Indulge my curiosity,” he replied. “You need to try with the crest anyway to make sure you know how to use it when you need me. We’ll try it with and without.” She swallowed nervously but let him lead her down the last of the stairs. From her vantage point she could see the whole room.

Some of the others had already managed it and were summoning their partners from various points all around the large space. Bast and Mammon sat sullenly beside one another, refusing to even look at each other. Bell snored peacefully at the back of the room while Bee had paired with Asael. Many others were struggling, their brows furrowed in concentration.

“Are you ready?” Lucifer asked, pulling her attention back to him. She nodded. “Walk to the other side of the room. When you get there close your eyes and think of me. Imagine me standing beside you. When you’re ready, touch the crest and it should work.” She did as he asked, crossing the space to stand by the far wall and turning back to look at him.

He stood with a serene smile, hands clasped behind his back as he waited for her. She closed her eyes and imagined that smile, seeing the red in his eyes and the slope of his cheekbones in perfect clarity. She felt the crest warm around her neck and thought of that beautiful smile beside her instead of standing metres away. After a moment she touched the crest and felt it cool instantly.

“It worked,” she gasped when she opened her eyes and saw him standing very close.

“We need to work on your spatial awareness a little,” he replied as he took a step back. “But other than that it was perfect.”

“I want to try again,” she insisted. He chuckled and walked back to the other side of the room. When he was as far away as he could be she tried again. This time it was instant. Even as she opened her eyes he appeared in front of her, still a little too close but with a wide grin on his face.

“Well done. Do you think you can do it right from the back of the room?” She nodded eagerly. He climbed the steps and stood in the far corner, nodding when he was ready. Once again she thought of him standing beside her. She didn’t even have to touch the crest this time.

“I can’t believe how easy it is,” she breathed, an excited giggle bubbling up in her throat. “I thought I might struggle.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to take it off?”

“It’s fine while I’m here. Nobody will hurt you.” She nodded and unfastened it from around her neck, missing the comforting weight immediately. She dropped it onto his gloved palm, watching as he snapped the fingers of his free hand and it vanished into thin air. “As soon as we’re done I’ll give you it right back.”

“Do you really think I can do it without the crest?”

“It’s theoretically possible but it’s very difficult, especially to summon a more powerful Demon like myself. As a Lotura you’re capable of projecting thoughts. Summoning works in a similar way to your gifts, in that we’re compelled to go to you as long as you have our permission.

"All you should need to do is reach out to me with your mind the way you would when trying to influence somebody in the human world.” He smiled. “Don’t worry if it doesn’t work. It’s difficult to master even for people from this realm.”

He put a distance of eight feet between them before turning back to her.

“Do exactly the same as you did before, but instead of reaching for the crest, imagine touching my shoulder. As long as you concentrate hard enough there’s a small chance it could work.” She nodded and took a breath, ignoring the eyes that had started to focus on them as more of the class became interested in her lesson.

In her mind she saw Lucifer again. It always started with the glorious red of his eyes before the rest of his face came into focus, and then eventually she was able to see him as though her eyes were open and she were looking right at him. It felt strange without the pendant but she reached out with her mind just as she did when exercising her Lotura abilities in the human world, searching for him in that crowded room.

It was noisy at first. The voices of every student bombarded her mind and it took her a moment to shut them out and focus only on the task of searching for him among them. Just as she was convinced she wouldn’t manage it, she felt him. The familiar scent of his spicy cologne and sweet shampoo floated to her, unchanged even after years away from him.

She often recognised the minds of people through their scents. Afterwards she could sense colours. She found the vibrant red among the various shades of blue and green and soft yellow and she knew it was him. Somehow she felt him smile.

Jia reached out, imagining that soft red light drawing close enough that she could touch it. She imagined the feel of fabric under her fingers, how his laugh would sound when she managed it. She saw the pride he’d keep hidden in the depths of his eyes. She reached out and her fingers closed gently around the fabric of a well-tailored suit jacket.

“You did it,” he said, disbelief evident on his face as she opened her eyes. “You did it first time.” More faces had turned to watch them as they saw her summon him without the help of an enchanted trinket. Even Mammon had stopped sulking to watch her intently.

“That should take years to do and you did it in minutes.” A small ridge formed between his brows as his head cocked. “I want to do it again. I’m going far away from you this time, alright? I’m going to leave the room. None of the others will harm you and I’ll be outside in the hall. When the door shuts behind me, try again.”

She nodded and watched as he left the room. The class was murmuring quietly, some of them still focussed on their own summoning, but almost half of them watched her with open curiosity now. When the door clicked shut she forced herself to ignore the class and try again.

It took longer this time. Trying to find him through the wall was hard, but eventually she recognised the soft red glow of his consciousness and drew it towards her. As she reached out something solid caught her and her eyes flew open.

“Louie?” He’d appeared in almost the same spot she was standing, a hand on her back to steady her as they bumped shoulders. When he was satisfied that she wasn’t going to stumble he stepped back again.

“This is very impressive, Jia. Your summoning skills are excellent.” He cocked his head to the side, studying her face for a moment before nodding to himself. “I want to try one more thing and then we’ll call it a day. Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” she grinned. “I’m having a great time.”

“Alright, in that case it’s your turn to walk to the back of the room.” She raised her eyebrows but did as he said. The last few students still summoning abandoned their practice to watch her ascend the stairs. When she reached the back and turned to face him he met her eyes across the room.

“I’m going to call you to me now,” he said. “Just to see if it can be done.” She frowned. It was impossible to summon somebody from the human world. “All you need to do is wait for my command and obey.” She nodded and shut her eyes, drowning out the whispers fluttering around the room. For several minutes she heard nothing, and then she felt a tug in her mind.

“Lucifer?” His name was barely a whisper on her lips, inaudible to even those sat closest to her despite their augmented hearing, but somehow he heard it and again she felt the warmth of his smile in her mind.

Come here, Jia. Come to me.

She heard him clearly in her thoughts. She took an involuntary step forwards and felt a hand on her arm. When she opened her eyes an audible gasp skittered across the crowd. She was at the front of the room, directly beside him.

“It worked. It actually worked,” he said faintly. “In all my life I’ve never been able to summon anyone from outside this realm.” His free hand rose to rest on her other arm and he seemed to forget that he was in the middle of a classroom as he gazed down at her. “Jia, you have Demon blood in your veins.”

“Whoa now,” Mammon said, standing up. “We can’t make assumptions. It might just be a fluke because you’re the Demon Prince. If she has Demon blood she should be able to summon us and we should be able to summon her. We’ve gotta test this first.”

“Allow me,” Asmodeus said, rising beside Mammon. “I don’t know you very well and I have no pact with you. Summoning you should be impossible for me, and your ability to summon me should be greatly diminished.” He smiled. “Let’s see, shall we?” She turned to Lucifer and he inclined his head, allowing them to continue.

She closed her eyes and searched through the scents and the bright lights floating around in her mind until she founds soft tones of lilies and snow, and then she saw that strange grey-blue of his eyes flickering in her head like a flame. She imagined him stepping up beside her and in a second her hand touched his sleeve.

“Leviathan, try summoning Jia to where Asmodeus was sitting,” Lucifer commanded. Leviathan nodded and met her gaze. She took a breath and shut her eyes, memorising that pink hue.

Once again there was a tug in her mind. She didn’t hear words but she sensed the intention. She wasn’t compelled quite as forcefully to go to him, but she took a step forwards and suddenly she was beside Mammon, looking up at Leviathan where he sat on the bench behind her.

“Would you look at that,” Leviathan grinned. “I was right all along.”