The screech of the front door announced Leif's arrival. He dropped his backpack against the leg of a chair, causing it to wobble.
"I'm home!"
In the living room, his mother, Sarah, was on her knees, trying to untangle the vacuum cleaner cord from the legs of the coffee table.
"Hi, honey!" she said, without looking up. "Smells good, right? The lasagna is almost ready. Can you go upstairs and tell Lillith to come down and set the table?"
"Yeah, sure."
Leif took the stairs two at a time.
Lillith's door was slightly ajar. He didn't bother to knock; he simply pushed it open.
The room was nearly dark, even though it was still daytime.
She was sitting on the bed, staring out the window, completely zoned out.
The sound made her turn. She sprang to her feet, almost like a soldier. "Master, welcome."
Leif didn't even flinch. "Mom says come down for dinner."
The way he said it, so sharp and cold, made Lillith swallow. Rage welled up in her chest, but she choked it down.
She nodded and followed him in silence.
...
Later, the bright moonlight had replaced the sun. The streetlights hummed as Leif walked along the sidewalk, Lillith walking silently beside him.
"Hey," Leif said suddenly, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets.
"Yes, Master?"
"I need money. A lot. Can you get it?"
She cocked her head, like a curious bird. "Of course. I can... persuade some rich people. Make them see things. They'll sign anything, they'll give me their passwords. It's easy."
Leif wrinkled his nose. "Manipulate them? One by one? What a waste of time. Can't you, I don't know, show up inside a bank vault and walk out with a couple of bags?"
Lillith shrunk, "That... I can't do that, Master."
Leif snorted and rolled his eyes, "Great. And you call yourself a demon? Pathetic."
He quickened his pace, leaving her behind.
"Forget it," he snapped over his shoulder, "I guess, as always, I'll have to figure it out myself."
Lillith subtly huffed. "Not even Lucifer himself can do that..." she muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" Leif asked, even though he'd heard her perfectly.
She jumped, fear flashing in her eyes, but she instantly replaced it with a mask of submission.
She stopped and gave him a strange, subservient smile, "That you're getting tired, Master. Do you want me to rest?"
As she said this, she made as if to throw herself onto the ground.
Leif felt a chill: "Go to hell! I don't want people mistaking me for a pervert!"
They continued in silence, but the quiet night did not last.
A scream tore through the air. "WHY CAN'T YOU BE NORMAL?! JUST ONCE!"
Leif frowned, followed the sound, and found the commotion was coming from Carrie's house.
A second later, the response, shrill and fanatical, "SIN! YOU WERE BORN OF SIN AND YOU LIVE IN SIN! EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH IS SIN!"
Leif and Lillith looked at each other and, by mutual understanding, stopped.
In the upstairs window, two shadows were cast against the curtain. One, large and gesticulating. The other, small, hunched over.
The argument grew even louder, turning into a chaos of overlapping shouts, and suddenly, a dull crash shook the house.
Something heavy had hit a wall.
A genuine smile appeared on Lillith's face, "Oh, that sounds so good," she whispered.
"..."
Leif said nothing, just stared at the window.
It was then that the living room lights began to flicker.
Not like an electrical fault, but erratically, violently.
Carrie's scream became even more wrenching: "I'm sick of it! I'M SICK OF YOU! I HATE YOU!"
CRACK
The window glass didn't break: it exploded outwards. A sharp fragment shot out and landed with a tinkle at Leif's feet.
"Do you feel it?" Lillith murmured, her voice vibrating with pleasure, "She's... about to overflow. It's delicious."
Leif knew it was Carrie's power about to spiral out of control.
Boom
Just then, the front door burst open.
It slammed against the frame with a boom that echoed down the street.
Carrie shot out, stumbling onto the porch. Her hair was a mess and her face was red, covered in tears. Her wild eyes swept past Leif and Lillith, but she didn't see them.
She simply ran.
She crossed the lawn and dashed into the street, disappearing into the darkness.
Her mother, Margaret, was clutching the door frame, trembling with rage. She was screaming at the fleeing figure: "You can't escape Him! Demon! You'll burn for this! YOU'LL BURN!"
Leif watched the dark street where Carrie had disappeared before turning his gaze toward the screaming woman.
He tilted his head. "How much energy could you pull from her?"
Lillith blinked, looking first at Margaret and then in the direction Carrie had fled. "Master? Do you mean the girl... or the mother?"
Leif didn't even look at her. His eyes were fixed on Margaret. "Which one is still screaming?"
A slow smile spread across Lillith's face. Greed shone in her eyes. "Ah. From her. Oh, yes. The harvest will be... substantial."
Leif nodded. "Handle it."
"It will be a pleasure, Master."
As the words left her mouth, Leif turned and began walking calmly in the direction Carrie had taken.
Behind him, the temperature plummeted.
An unnatural cold, like a crypt, seized the sidewalk. The oak trees lining the street rustled without wind, their branches shaking violently.
Lillith's figure seemed to blur for a second, dissolving into a shadow that slid toward the woman who was still screaming on the porch.
...
Leif ran, his footsteps echoing on the dark street.
He knew where to look. He rounded the corner toward the abandoned warehouse and heard her before he saw her: a muffled cry coming from inside.
The place reeked of rust and mold.
The pale moonlight filtered through the holes in the ceiling, illuminating swirls of dust in the air.
He found her curled up in the darkest corner. Her messy hair hid her face, but her shoulders shook with every sob.
He slowed down, softening his steps. "Carrie?"
She flinched so violently she hit the wall.
She raised her head. Her eyes were wide with panic, and her face was covered in tears and dirt.
Leif slowly crouched down, maintaining his distance so as not to scare her further. "Hey, easy. It's me, Leif."
Carrie bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. "She... she never stops," she whispered, her voice broken.
"Always... always saying I'm sin. That I'm a monster. I-I'm so sick of... Woooo..."
She couldn't finish as the emotion completely broke her, and she buried her head in her knees again, crying inconsolably.
Leif moved closer and knelt down beside her. He hesitated for a second before placing a hand on her shoulder.
She was trembling.
"You are not a monster, Carrie."
"You're just a little different from everyone else and that scares her. Every person has something unique, and that has never been a mistake."
She looked up, her red, swollen eyes searching for his in the gloom. There was a trace of faint hope in them. "R-really? Are you... are you different... too?"
A small smile played on Leif's lips. He leaned in a little closer to her, lowering his voice to an understanding whisper.
"More than you can imagine."
________
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