Not What It Seems

A few days had passed, and my Master wasn’t closer to finding a spell to remove the demon called Vudu from the mirror. At the same time, I haven’t found any spells to banish Vudu from this world. I was stuck. In addition, whenever I returned home, he would call out to me. Everything he did was to gain my attention. Eventually, he explained it was because he mainly needed me around because he had spent a long time alone and without anyone to talk to.

I spent most of my time trying to ignore him, though frequently I would get him to stop yelling at me whenever I just entered the room. I would read while he talked incessantly. He liked to hear his voice. So, he would talk while I was in the room, but I wouldn’t pay much attention to what he was saying.

Today on the other hand, he knew I wasn’t listening, and was not happy. Which lead to where I was. Sitting and glaring at my book while I tried to find the spell I was looking for. Vudu wouldn’t shut is trap and constantly was increasing his volume to get my attention.

“Firefly.” He called. “Come on, I know you’re listening to me. Let’s just talk for once. I’m tired of being the only one who contributes to the conversation. Firefly… Get your nose out of that book and look at me.”

It kept going. And I was getting more and more angry over the sound of his voice. In addition, his nickname for me was a truly getting to me. Why did he have to call me a firefly? That was a little derogatory.

“Firefly.” He drew out the word.

I slammed my book closed and stood up. My glare turned to the mirror and our eyes met. He smiled at me, glad that I gave him the attention he desired. I stomped over to the mirror and lifted it off the wall.

“Listen, demon!” I shouted at him. “You need to shut your mouth and let me do my research before I throw this mirror out the window. Understand?!”

He leaned against the edge of the mirror and rested his head against his knuckles. He continued to smile at me. “Right… Listen little Firefly, I know you aren’t going to do anything to me because of one thing. You’re curious about me, and this mirror. You said you were drawn to it. Well, that was all because of me.”

“Stop calling me that!” I screamed as I threw the mirror on the ground. It bounced once then slid to the wall. The glass remained intact.

“Wow, you are really tense.” He stated as if nothing had happened. “You need to relax a bit more.”

My hands gripped in fists that turned white with anger. Why did he have to torment me like this? I knew why, he was a demon, it was his job to make non-demons miserable. I let out sigh and walked over to where the mirror landed. Reaching down, I grabbed the frame of the mirror and picked it up.

“I’m asking you nicely,” I stated once I could see him properly. “Please stop taunting me and let me work.”

His smile faltered. “Look, Firefly, I will say I enjoy teasing you, but I do enjoy at least talking to you. It’s a nice change from the many lonely years I spent in here. No one has ever been able to see me before. I’m just happy to have someone to talk to.”

I stared at him for a bit. “Then why do you degrade me with that nickname?”

“Firefly isn’t meant to be a degrading name.” He explained. “I call you that because you said you can only use light magic. So, Firefly, because you provide a little light in this dark world.”

That almost sounded kind of him. “So, you were truly doing all of this just to have a real conversation with me?”

I took the mirror with me as I sat down on the chair I was reading in earlier. Holding the decoration out on my knees, I kept it so I could see him clearly and he gave me a smirk. He let out a small chuckle and leaned against the glass again.

“Holding the conversation completely on my own isn’t as fun as you may think it.” He explained. “I do enjoy my own voice. But the mirror does distort sound a bit, so I got tired of it a long time ago.”

“What do you see in there?” I asked. “Is it connected to other mirror so you can see other places? How big is it?”

“Slow down a bit.” He said as he glanced back at me. “I can only see out of this mirror. It’s its own space and it’s large. I never have tried to see how far it’s gone. I prefer to stay close to the mirror because I like to at least see outside my prison.”

“And you don’t know how or why you got in there?” I asked for clarification.

“Correct.” He stated. “I was sent in here while my back was turned. I never found out who did it, and why. I’ve been meaning to ask, Zeriah, your name. Is it because of a certain mage?”

“You figured that out,” I signed. “Yes, Lady Zaria saved my life as an infant, and so, the teachers named me after her.”

“Your teachers named you?” He held back a laugh.

I shrugged. “Well, before that, I didn’t have a name. I was left at the Academy. I don’t know my birth parents, and so I live there all my life.”

His chuckles silenced. “That’s a bit of a difficult background. Even most demons know their parents. But it’s not the same way as you non-demons.”

“Would you explain it a bit more for me?” I asked, truly curious as parts of demon life that were unknown to my world.

As he shifted to a sitting position, I noticed the mirror on his side shifted too so I could still see him. “Well, there’s the original demons, and the created demons. The original demons are the group of angels that chose to follow Xegon after the war with Romos. They are the most powerful of the demons, under Xegon himself. If you ever meet a Nephilim, those are usually their kids. They are called the Fallen Angels.

“Me and plenty other demons below them, are the created demons. There are a few ways for us to be created. Either a living offering to Xegon is made. That person becomes a demon. People who give their soul to Xegon, their body is changed to a demon. There is a third option, but it so rarely happens that we often ignore it. Last time it happened was over a thousand years ago.” He said while leaning back onto what seemed like a wall.

His eyebrow lifted as he looked at the newly formed wall. “That’s new.”

“How did you become a demon?” I asked.

He thought for a bit. “I don’t know. A created demon forgets their past life. They have no memories of how they became a demon or why. Though I like to imagine that I was probably a sacrifice to Xegon and was thrown in a volcano.”

“That certainly is creative.” I stated. “You said you had parents?”

“In a way,” He went on. “When a demon is newly created, they are left with parent demons who teach them the way of life demons live. We even have siblings.” He chuckled. “I have a brother who was taught by the same parent demons I had. So, that’s how we have siblings.”

“This is a lot more than I expected with demon life.” I admitted. “You have a full culture. We don’t learn this in…”

“Church?” Vudu finished my sentence. “Romos’s church teaches what he wants you to learn. He doesn’t want you to learn about demon culture or life because he’s trying to make sure that his children return home to him. Learning about demon life can pull his children away from him.”

“That does make sense.” I agreed as I yawned.

He watched me for a bit. “You should get some sleep, Firefly. It’s getting late, and we can continue this conversation another time.”

I nodded. “Alright, goodnight, Vudu.”

I noticed his eyebrows went up when I used his name. I stood up and place the mirror back on the wall. As I turned to walk to my bed and sleep, I heard him shift to a standing position.

He called back to me. “Enjoy your nightmares, Firefly.”

I paused and looked back at him with a confused expression.

“Isn’t that what you non-demons say?” He asked with a shrug.

“No,” I drew out. “We say sweet dreams.”

He gagged. “Ew.”

“Or, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

He returned a confused look. “Why? They tickle.”

I simply rolled my eyes in response and made my way to my bed for a needed night’s sleep.