Chapter Nine

Silas

Jennifer’s gift had been the boost Silas’s own soul had been needing to help propel the emotions behind his songs. He waved at the girl and her friends who were crowding near the edge of the stage, but as always, he looked for someone to sing to. Someone who needed him.

A slightly older man stood out, not because of the cut of his suit or the flash of silver around his wrist indicating an expensive watch. No, it was the slump of the man’s shoulder’s that called to Silas’s soul, the despair that seemed to hover like a cloud around the person who was like an island in a sea of people. Not even waiting for the man to catch his eye, Silas closed his eyes, focused on that man’s spirit, and sang, just like he did every night.

Three songs, that was all he sang. That was all he did on any night. Many people weren’t aware that the songs of dryads could be as potent as the ones sung by sirens—addictive to the point that the goodness was overshadowed by a mortal’s need to hear more and more and more.

The effect only applied to non-paranormals—paranormals likely heard the song just like they would any other—but for humans whose souls craved goodness and that special something, even if they weren’t aware of it, Silas’s song could be like a drug. However, like anything addictive, in small doses, Silas’s songs healed the spirit, soothed the soul, and relaxed a person’s body as they wound down after a busy work week.

Three songs. No encores. Silas had just disappeared off the back of the stage at the end of the last song, feeling better, both for himself and for what he’d done. His target for the evening, indeed, everyone in the club appeared to be in good spirits, and Silas was thinking about pizza. Branson would’ve left his cash in an envelope at the door.

He was halfway down the corridor, heading for the front door, when he felt the shift in the air as if someone had slapped his soul and then bodily shook him. The demon’s near. Silas wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he could feel it.

The energy was more intense than the week before. More confused. Conflicted. Whereas the previous time Silas had seen the demon, he’d picked up that the being hadn’t even wanted to be in the club, it was as if this time the demon was in two completely different minds about his presence and where he was.

Without thinking, Silas ran towards the front door of the club. A loud roar filled the air and people started screaming, and then they were running through the club, heading for the same door.

Demon rampage?

Why?

Silas understood more about the demon’s duality now, thanks to Dougal, but he couldn’t understand why this particular demon was unleashing his anger on the clubgoers. I just spent all that time helping them feel good, too.

Silas had to help. It was in his nature. Touching the sprig of leaves in his hair for a power boost, he reached the end of the hallway, and instead of dashing outside, he pushed his way back into the club. It was chaos, and Silas worked quickly, helping people stay on their feet, assisting them to find the door, where poor Lucas was swamped trying to help them, too.

I’ve got to calm him down. Somehow Silas knew he was the only one who had a chance of doing it. Above the heads of the frightened clubgoers, he could see the head and chest of the demon, standing in the middle of the empty dance floor, pounding his chest and roaring loud enough to shake the rafters.

He has totally lost the plot. Silas pushed forward, trying to dodge the sensible people who were still attempting to leave.

“Silas, no, you can’t go in there.” A tug on his arm pulled him to a stop. It was Jennifer. Her perky hairdo was in disarray, and someone had ripped the sleeve of her top. “He’s going to eat someone, we’ve got to leave.”

“He won’t hurt me.” Okay, that could be a lie for all Silas knew. If he could get close enough… But Jennifer had a death grip on his arm. Silas spotted the downtrodden man he’d sung for earlier, still sitting on a stool close to the door. “You, sir, excuse me. You, in the suit jacket. Yes, you,” he added when the man looked up. “Would you mind taking care of this sweet lady? She needs help to be escorted outside. If you could perhaps…”

The older man actually brightened, and he stood, tugging at the bottom of his jacket as if he suddenly cared what he looked like. Jennifer was looking at him as if she’d suddenly been handed a huge present. “Of course, young man. I thoroughly enjoyed your singing, by the way. I’m Oliver. Oliver Fordham. Ma’am, if you wouldn’t mind taking my arm. Things are a little chaotic here, don’t you agree?”

There was a demon yelling in the background, people were screaming and pushing at each other as they raced for the door, and yet in that moment, all Silas could see was the way two strangers looked at each other, as if they had found a home. Jennifer took Oliver’s hand, and he held her close, sheltering her body from other people. As they went past Silas, Jennifer turned her head and gave Silas a quick wink. All he could do was smile because he had a feeling Oliver and Jennifer were made for each other.

Meanwhile… there weren’t as many people in the club now, making the demon easier to see. Ducking and dodging around the stragglers all looking to leave, Silas moved closer, and then hopped up on a table. The red-skinned demon with the silver horns was huge and towered above him.

“Hey! I say. Excuse me. Hey.” Silas couldn’t make himself heard over the roars the demon was making.

Just as well I carry my music with me. Sending out his magic, Silas stood on the tabletop, among the scattered furniture, the discarded glasses and the mess left by panicked people, closed his eyes, and simply started to sing.

He sang of love, of contentment, of being happy and relaxed, and when the words failed him, Silas hummed, weaving the vibes of the forest and his special tree into a huge cloud that wafted through the air of the club, calming the demon. He sang, and he sang until the demon stopped roaring, and when Silas allowed the last notes of his final song to drift away, he opened his eyes and saw the demon was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring up at him.

“Hey.” Silas suddenly felt shy. He was used to being the center of attention for groups of people, but having one intense being just staring at him made his cheeks heat. “Are you feeling a bit better now?”

“You sing lovely.” The words were deep, guttural, as if they’d come from the bowels of the earth, and in a sense, Silas reasoned, they probably had.

“Thank you.” Silas jumped off the table, his feet landing lightly on the floor. “Can you tell me why you were so upset? Was it anything I can help you with?”

“He didn’t want to come, and we missed you singing before.”

Silas had to stop and think for a moment, and then he realized the demon was speaking on his own behalf about his human side. “Ah, that’s a shame, when two sides of the same magnificent being can’t work together. Hopefully, my singing helped.” He reached up, touching the leaves his tree had given him. They were slightly crispy around the edges. “I need to get back to my tree now. Will you be all right?”

“Would you take my hand for a moment?”

Surprised, Silas reached out his hand without thinking. There wasn’t a lot of him, although he was stronger than he looked, and in that moment, he assumed the demon wanted a hand up.

But just as their hands were about to touch, the demon’s arm got snatched away. Well, it was the demon who snatched it away, but as Silas watched, he could see it was as if an enormous fight was happening inside of the demon. The face was sweaty and distorting, muscles shifting and shimmering as if two sides were battling for the right to speak or control the body.

“Stay back. Do not touch us.” The voice was different from the demon’s, although coming from the same mouth. The human side.

Silas backed up immediately, both hands raised in the air. “Hey, hey. I totally respect the need for consent. It’s fine. Totally fine. I won’t touch you. If you don’t need anything else, I’ll just go.”

“Stay!”

That was the demon, but as fast as those words were out of the demon’s mouth, the other voice was going, “Go, go, don’t touch us, please.”

“Stay! Stay! Stay!”

“Merihem. Merihem. Merihem.”

Silas had turned to leave, because the last thing he wanted to cause was more harm for the demon he dreamed about, but the human’s voice calling another name had him turning back just in time to see a second demon appear—a very naked demon who grabbed hold of the original demon and was shaking him by the shoulders.

I guess that’s what the expression ’three’s a crowd’ means, Silas thought as he quietly left the demons to sort out their own shit. He wandered outside, stopping just long enough to grab his envelope, which had been left for him on the counter by the door, and started looking for George’s taxicab. As he waited, Silas had to wonder if maybe Wanda was right. As much as he loved to sing, the demon turning up twice in two weeks was more than a coincidence. It had to be. Silas thought about all the lovely people he’d sung to who’d had their night ruined.

That was never my intention. Tears stung his eyes. All I’ve ever wanted was to make people happy.

Silas wasn’t sure that would be possible if the demon kept turning up, although Jennifer and Oliver seemed happy enough. Silas stroked the petals of his lovely new top, and then pulled the leaves from his hair, and tucked them into the mesh. The plants would nurture each other until he got them back into the forest. I hope that demon is all right.