"I wish I could tell you that this was actually over, but the truth is it's really not that simple."
Their beady eyes stared back at him, urging him to explain;
"You see, demons themselves are deathless creatures; alive, and yet- still very much dead. They are eternally bound to roam the dry places of the earth. That is the first reason why they are drawn to the very essence that gives the human soul life..."
He paused for a second;
"That is why they continually lust after the comfort that human's provides. When a person opens the door to let them in, they hungrily come in and take their places. However, because the human body can only accomodate one will at a time, they subject the spirit of the person under their own will. And seeing that the body is a slave to the will, they're able to take full control over the body, thereby ruling as lord and commander."
He pointed at Catherine's still body on the bed;
"The result was what you just witnessed. Having taken over, the demon relegates the soul of the human to the background, making the human a prisoner in their own body."
It was funny how he kept using the word 'human' as though it were a strange, foreign specie. As if he was not one himself. But none of them took notice of that. They were all completely immersed in the sea of knowledge Alex had so graciously took them to.
"But that's not even the worst part yet. Contrary to what most people believe, the hardest thing to do is not just to get the vile creatures out. No, the hardest part is keeping them out completely."
Their contorted facial expressions told him that he had managed to confuse them even more. Just as he was about to explain, the sharp sound of the curtains sliding came, releasing a flood of light into the dark room. It was Zooey.
Standing at the window, and dressed like some kind of new age shaman, she turned towards the group and flatly said what Alex was trying to say;
"They're going to come back."
The mother gasped in shock, and the father felt his mouth dry up immediately. This was the worst possible bit of news they could actually hear right now.
"Wait...WHAT?" they stuttered in disbelief.
"What she meant to say is they're likely to come back. We were really lucky enough that it was just one this time. They usually come in legions. So, when one is kicked out, he goes wandering around, looking for demons much stronger than them, and brings them back to the host."
To the couple, it felt like the bad news would never end. Their jaws dropped in shock, and they both glanced at their daughter simultaneously. The mother began to panic;
"This can't be happening!" She protested; "No! This can't be! Can't be!!"
The father, being the more level headed one, took a more proactive role;
"So what can we do then?? How do we prevent my daughter----" he glanced at his wife nervously, as if he just remembered that she had also been possessed; "and my wife from getting possessed again?!"
From her bag, Zooey took out a single document, and handed it to him;
"Follow the instructions listed here to the letter. Be sure not to skip over any detail. Because both your wife's and daughter's lives depend on it greatly."
The man received the piece of laminated paper gingerly, as though it were the holy grail. Zooey beckoned on her partner;
"Alex, may I have a word with you outside?"
They both stepped out and closed the door behind them. She led him down the stairs. When they were finally out of earshot, she relayed her thoughts to him;
"I know this started out as a D-level mission, but right now, the tables have turned dramatically. This is now potentially a B-level mission. So, I'm mandated to tell you that you very much have the right to excuse yourself from this, and leave it to more experienced mages."
She added subtly; "That is if that's what you want..."
Alex shut her down immediately;
"Negative. I'm follwing through with this case."
"That's what I thought. It's not that I don't trust you, but protocol demands I ask you this."
"It's all good, I understand. and I'm fully on board. If top management decides to increase the odds of success by increasing the number of personnel assigned to this case, that's completely up to them. But I'm staying. The victim here was someone I used to know..."
Zooey's eyes flashed.
"I did not know that..." she quickly added; "I'm sorry you had to see her like that."
Alex shrugged it off. "That's only one of the reasons I'm taking interest in this mission. The fact is that it turned this matter turned out to be something else entirely. It's not as simple as I thought it would be. My interest has been piqued."
"You're right on that count, this case definitely took a whole new curve from what I orginally thought. I might have to go back to update management on the current development."
"That's cool. I can imagine they'll be waiting to hear some feedback. You do that, I'll stay here with them just in case something comes up."
"Oh, so you're like her knight in shining armor then?" She teased.
"More like Khosa James' worst nightmare."
"If you say so. You still haven't told me how exactly you 'know' this girl Alex..."
He was slightly amused. "Do I sense a little bit of jealousy there Zo? Don't worry, I did not 'upgrade' her."
"Don't try to be coy mister. I was just asking for asking sakes. And you still haven't given me an answer..."
The tone of their conversation had taken on a more familiar tone, reflecting their growth together. Sure, Zooey was still very much assertive, but her banter suggested that she had cultivated a new found respect for him. It was the kind that came from spending time with him, and acknowledging him as a partner.
Their witty banter ended with short good byes, and Zooey headed off back to The Guardians lair while he stayed back as agreed.
As he watched her zoom off in that rickety old car, and with the family still upstairs, Alex settled back in to familiar blanket of solitude. Truly, it had really been a while since he had been alone. But this was a good thing. He could finally submerge himself in his own personal space again, without the external influence of other intruding personalities.
As he entered back into the house, his warm smile disappeared, leaving in its place, the hard calculating eyes, and taut face of a demigod. It was time for business. And at the moment, that business was almost entirely restricted to one entity only.
Like a second heartbeat, its name echoed loudly in his head;
'KHOSA JAMES.'
It was not like Alex considered the demon a threat.
Khosa James might have been a formiddable demon to others, but to him, he was just another annoying bug that needed to be quashed. By now, he was pretty sure the demon knew he was a god. And that bit of knowledge was not something that an untrustworthy should be privy to. Khosa James could come back to this body and expose him by running his mouth with reckless abandon.
Alex simply could not have that.
He simply had to find him and silence him before he could breathe a word. So, Alex took advantage of the alone time, and immediately activated his eye of god in a bid to search out the demon. Thanks to the fact that Khosa James had made the Catherine his home for a time, residue of his soul fluctuations were still lingering all around.
So, Alex assumed he would have no problem finding him.
That was why it came as no small surprise when the search failed to fall through. Alex felt as though he had started a race, and all of a sudden, a huge wall appeared out of nowhere, and he had slammed right into it. Even with his upgraded powers from the crazy sex with Lilith, something still managed to block his search.
More amused than frustrated, Alex decided to pay a visit to someone who could potentially be of help to him.