Chapter 5. Meet Up

“Fuck me!” The man’s eyes widened and narrowed with fear on seeing the bullet had no effect. He tilted back on his heels and finally flicked around. “Stay away from me, freak!” he cried out, fleeing from the scene.

Max nervously lowered his eyes to inspect his body. There was no sign of any injury or a scratch. The bullet did not affect him. A shocking look crossed his face as he wondered deep into the situation.

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching. No one can take a bullet like he just did. The whole situation seems like a movie to him. Realizing no one was looking outside, he sighed with relief picked up his sunglasses, and quickly ran to his car.

*****

Driving through his garage he quickly rushed out of his car, slamming the door. He ran into his house and headed straight to his kitchen. Puzzlement has become the order of the night for him and he needed to get to the bottom of the situation. 

Standing by the kitchen cabinet, he took out the kitchen knife and placed it on his soft skin. He shuts his eyes shivering in reaction to the coldness of the steel that ran through his body. Answers aren’t far from him as he braced himself—cutting himself with the sharp knife.

 A shocking look crossed his face as he became puzzled as the knife bent on contact with his skin.

 “What the fuck!” he exclaimed. Feeling determined for answers, he picked another knife and repeated the same thing.

As he was about to take the third knife, a voice came from behind him, saying, “What are you doing?” 

He was startled as he flicked around. Behind him was Jasmine. She was staring at him with a wide-eyed gaze wondering what brought about these actions—trying to hurt himself. She seemed to have been watching him from a far distance until now. 

Max freaked out. He didn’t hear any sound showing that someone was coming.“Stop sneaking up on me like that!” He scowled at her. “You almost gave me a heart attack.” 

 “You need to come with me,” Jasmine demanded. 

“Come with you to where?” Max's eyes widened with curiosity. He’s scared of the latest happening around him since he met Jasmine. There must be some connections somewhere. His mind flashed with thoughts as he thought to himself before blasting out in curiosity. “Wait a minute, how did you get in here?” He’s certain he never leaves any of his doors open. He’s not careless in that.

 “I found my way in,” Jasmine smirked slyly. She focused her gaze on him and queried in a refined voice. “So will you come with me or not?” 

“Where are we going?” he asked. There was a trace of hesitation in his voice. The presence of Jasmine is freaking him out. 

“I want you to meet someone,” Jasmine without hesitation. She stretched her hand towards Max, saying, “Take my hand.”

He was skeptical at first but after much persuasion in a soothing voice, he reluctantly to her hand. Within a twinkling of an eye, they disappeared into a thick white smoke.

Within seconds, they appeared in a castle-like mansion decorated with gold and its floor made of diamond. 

Fear gripped Max as he wondered how they got here within seconds. He was immediately carried away by the decors of the mansion. Its appearance was eye stormy that he couldn’t resist but noticed the diamond floor he was standing on. “Where are we?” he glanced at her. Curiosity filled his face as well as nervousness.

 “This is the place I call home,” Jasmine answered, flashing a winning smile. 

“How in the hell did we get here within a twinkling of an eye?” The more he stares around the wider his eyes become.

“There is a lot you don’t know about me,” Jasmine replied. “But first I want you to meet people so dear to me,” She added.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by dominant footsteps that echoed against the gold walls of the mansion. Max lifted his gaze toward the direction. His eyes were drawn to two men dressed in a fine royal mantle approaching. “Who are there?” he inquired in a soft tiny tone to avoid being heard.

 “They are family,” Jasmine replied with a soft dazzling smile that lit up her face with joy. 

As the men were drawing closer, Max noticed they all had black eyes, similar to his. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed. His thoughts began to fly far and near wondering who they really were and what he too had become. He narrowed his eyes on Jasmine and fired a question that had been of great concern to him. “Where the hell am I?” He started looking around nervously, trying to figure out the answers himself.

“You have nothing to fear,” Jasmine said as she held Max by the hand to calm him down. “They are not here to hurt you,” she added.

Max couldn’t get hold of himself. He thought of running but had no idea which way he could run. As he was making plans to flee, one of the men called Azul spoke up as he approached, interrupting Max’s thoughts. “He must be the one?”  

“Yes Azul,” Jasmine replied, nodding slightly. 

Azul switched his gaze on Max and uttered in a fine tone. “You are welcome.” He stretched his hand toward Max for a handshake, saying, “I am Azul, the demon head.” 

 On hearing him introduce himself as the demon head, fear gripped Max. His heart raced, wanting to explode within. For a moment he froze in fear. Trying to get hold of himself, he glanced at Jasmine, whispering, “What does he mean he is a demon head?” He needed to be sure before making a run. ‘This could be hell,’ his thoughts began to fly sky-high. ‘What in the name of hell am I doing in hell?’

“We are not humans,” Jasmine admitted. “We are demons and have lived for eons.” 

“You fucking kidding me, right?!” Max gaped at her with surprise. He couldn’t believe what he just heard and most importantly, he had sex weeks ago with a demon.

 “I am not kidding,” Jasmine said, trying to calm him down but he drew back on his heels.

“I fucking had sex with a demon?!” He became restless and needed to flee at once but didn’t know how. He felt he was in danger. Nothing walks into hell comes out. “Oh, I am dead! I am dead, am dead…” he cried out in dismay as he slumped to his knees, sobbing like a child.

“What’s wrong with him?” one of the demons known as Zeo walked in, narrowing his gaze on their visitor. He looked concerned for Max. Like every other demon Max had seen, Zeo’s eyes were not any different. The same dark hue eyes like the rest. 

“He will be fine,” Jasmine assured. She helped Max to his feet, consoling him that everything would be all right. 

Max didn’t trust her words but cried out. “Please don’t kill me!” He has been hearing about demons and how cruel they can be to humans. ‘Perhaps, my life is already sealed in the hands of these demons.’

Jasmine placed her hand on his shoulder. She’s doing everything she can to get him to calm down. “No one is going to kill you,” she assured.

 “You are one of us now,” Zeo smiled.

There’s no confidence in Max. The confidence he has for himself is gone. He switched his eyes on Jasmine and asked, “What does he mean by that?” Does it mean I am now a demon?” The more he tries to find answers to what is happening, the more mysterious what they say becomes.

 “Somehow your body absorbs my black crystal and that’s why there has been a constant change in your body,” Jasmine narrates. 

Her narration still does not make sense to him. He needed someone to tell him plainly if he was now a demon or not. Before he could get the chance to ask for clarification, Azul pushed back his unspoken words, saying, “Come with me.” He gestured with his hand. “Let’s show you something,” he added.

Azul led Max to the rooftop. Getting to the rooftop of the castle-like mansion, he pushed Max down from its edge.

 “Why did you do that for?” Jasmine lashed out, furrowing her brows. She couldn’t believe Azul lured Max on the roof just to haul him down.

 “We should show him more of his new him,” said Azul, disappearing into thin air.

Max continued to fall, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. He thought this could be the end of his life. He never pictured himself falling from a building.

Before he could hit the ground, Azul appeared next to him and gripped him. They both disappeared and reappeared on the rooftop.

Max bends to catch his breath. The trauma of what just happened was so much that he couldn’t help but throw up. He wipes his lips and lifts his head toward Azul, yelling, “That was so evil of you! You almost killed me!” 

“You have nothing to fear now. You can manifest any power you wish to,” said Azul. 

Max didn’t seem to be convinced by what Azul said. Instead, he protested and blurted out, “I am getting the hell out of here!” As he turned to leave, Zeo blocked him. A change came on Max’s face. His face contorted with rage. “Do you want to hold me against my will or what?” he gnawed at the bottom of his lips. 

“No, but if you go, you won’t find out the secrets of the power you have now,” Zeo replied. He convinced Max to stay and that there were a few things for him to see.

He leads the way to a temple called the ‘dooms temple,’ located underground in the castle-like mansion. The interiors like the mansion are of gold. As Max walked in, he scanned around admiring the work of art standing on every corner of the temple. 

Zeo made him sit at the front pew as he opened his mouth to speak. “When Jasmine told us she lost her black crystal, we realized it’s the beginning of the new dawn.” 

“New dawn for what?” Curiosity crossed Max’s face as his eyes widened.

“Your newly found power is the key to our freedom,” said Zeo. “This means you are our savior.” 

His words confused Max and none of these were making sense to him. “I still don’t get it,” Max said, expressing mixed feelings. 

Zeo cleared his throat before continuing to narrate further. “After Lucifer was hauled down, we decided not to walk in his paths. We are the only few demons left on earth. With your newly found ability, you can open a pathway for us to unite with the prince of the demons.” 

“Wait a minute!” Max sprang to his feet, glaring at Zeo. “I have no shit to do with all these shits y'all talking about!” 

“You have a lot to do,” Azul cuts in. 

“Like hell, I will!” Max folded his arms across his chest as he continued to glare at them. He narrowed his eyes on Jasmine and continued. “I will be glad if this power will be taken away from me.” He never signed up for any of this. It was just a one-night stand with Jasmine, look what it has resulted. He’s scared like hell, getting involved in hell’s business.

Jasmine slowly sat up and approached Max. “We can’t do that,” she said. She tried to hold Max’s arm but he pulled away from her. She sighed softly and continued in a soothing voice. “This is what we have been waiting for and we can’t throw that away. You bear the mark of a savior and with the black crystal in you, you will take us to paradise by unlocking the pathway for us.”

“My whole life has been a mess and here I am to save demons. This is crazy!” He didn’t want to have anything to do with hell or its spawn. Business with her won’t end well, that he knows for sure.

 “You have the key now in you, please, help us,” Jasmine pleaded. Her voice was calm and soothing. “Will you help us?” She has seen reasons to keep Max on her side. When she confronted him on campus, she was so enraged that she almost blasted him with fire. But her emotions toward him didn’t let her.

Max lowered his head. When he lifted his head, he squeezed out in a quivering voice. “I don’t know, I have to think about this.”

 “There is nothing to think about!” Zeo blurted. He fixed his terrifying dark eyes on Max and continued in a mean tone. “You don’t know the amount of power under your control, now. So you have to make up your mind, right now!” 

He doesn’t want to feel like a bad dude. He just wants to get out of here before one of the demons will unleash his ire on him. He had no option but to give in to their request. “I will help you guys.” He narrowed his angry gaze on Zeo, saying, “I am doing this for Jasmine, not you.” Jasmine’s face lit up with warmth and joy on hearing what Max said. She isn’t surprised he would come through. She glanced at him with a flirtatious smile. “Thanks, Max,” she said.

Azul’s cheeks flushed with excitement. He has been waiting to make known the rituals. He lifted his hands and said aloud, “Prepare for the ritual!” 

“Wait a minute!” A look of puzzlement crossed Max’s face. He focuses his gaze on Azul, feeling lost. “What ritual are you talking about?” 

“The marriage ritual with Jasmine,” Zeo answered for Azul with a fake smile. No one told Max he would be getting married to a demon before pleading with him to accept to help them.

“You must be united with her,” Azul continued from where Zeo stopped. 

“What!” Max gaped at them with a shocking look. This never crossed his mind. “We never talked about marriage.” He’s one of those dudes who don’t want to get married on time. They feel like players and need to live their youthful lives enjoying different ladies. Marrying is like enslaving him to one particular girl.

 “You have no choice,” said Zeo. “You must marry Jasmine and that’s the only way you can be united with us and fulfill your path to lead us to paradise,” he narrated further.

“Oh, hell no!” Max cried out, feeling tricked. His eyes narrowed into slits. ‘Is there any way out of this mess?’ he couldn’t help but ponder.

 “Oh, hell yeah!” Azul grinned. He turned and ordered for the demon’s blade to be brought for him. 

Max’s eyes widened as he stammered with fear. “Er… what’s that blade for?” 

Jasmine swiftly in with a stern reply, “The blade is for your blood. Blood must be spilled” 

“I am out of here!” Max flicked around to run for his dear life. 

Before he could lift a leg to run, Zeo blocked him shoving him backward. His eyes gleamed with horror as he cried for his life. He’s beginning to feel death around him. There’s no coming out of this. The demon’s blade will soon mark him as his blood must be spilled to bind with his new bride. His face now lies in the hands of the demons. The more he squirmed, the more Zeo tightens his grip on him.