Page 79 of Devil Inside

And all the while, her voice, the tremble of it, the firmness, reaches in and pulls us along. Soaring over it all.

The wooden floor of Jordan’s living room rumbles. The boards themselves threaten to snap, each nail holding them down loosening with the vibrations, twisting free.

The room disintegrates in the darkness.

We’ve kept our eyes closed.

They are not our eyes.

I have seen with another’s senses, but now I experience the colors created by the song. Brilliant hues flicker behind our host’s eyelids.

I no longer need this vessel to experience the music. The colors, the colors are everywhere. All around the room. The walls break apart. The bones holding Jordan’s apartment together disintegrate.

The very body I find myself in melts. It happens so suddenly, I can’t help but gasp as I loosen. Unmoor myself. My grip relentson my host’s body—uncorked—and I begin to drift, untethered, as if I am floating, unable to touch the ground.

There is no gravity. Nothing keeping us tied to this flesh.

To this world.

I lift out, unable to hold on. I am flying with the music. With Nina.

With Jordan.

Look. Just look at him. An ink-black light branches out from his body. A spark of darkness. It starts out small, the faintest shadow drawn out from his flesh by the music, much like a cobra seduced by a flute, weaving about the air above his chest. The light expands, tendrils of shadow spreading everywhere, until it fills the room.

A new dawn.

A new day.

I’ve never witnessed anything like this before. Never seen such a dark star. He’s a beacon. Such a bright, blinding light.

Jordan doesn’t see it in himself. Is he aware of what’s inside him? What he’s capable of?You might not be able see it in yourself yet, Jordan, but I do. I’ll show you. Guide you.

He’s brought a little sliver of hell back up to earth. A shard of the abyss is lodged in his chest and here it is, beaming so bright, so dark, calling to me.

Maybe there’s a new dawn waiting for us. What day awaits him and I?

What could we do together?

Hell on earth.What fun that would be.

Our host slowly comes to. We have to find our way back inside. Get our grip again. We need to remain tethered to flesh. Without it, there’s nothing binding us. Anchoring us to this world. We will lose ourselves and I don’t want to lose control. We have to find our flesh.

The song ends. Nina’s voice dissipates. The horns fade. What are we left with but the aftershocks of the song, dissipating throughout our bodies, its lingering aftereffects tingle.

I sense pounding all around. Neighbors bang their fists against the wall, shouting through the floor for us to turn the music down. The anger is everywhere. It makes us laugh.

“How was it?” Jordan asks with a grin.

“Can we do it again?”

“What song’s next?”

hide and seek

Jordan & Lilith

Lilith and I have a new game to play.