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M E M O R I E S
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I can smile at the old days,
I was beautiful then.
I remember the time I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.
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“Happy Birthday Jade!”

The birthday candle had been so entrancing that it took her a minute to snap her eyes away and give her father a smile. Jade hadn’t had a warm family birthday in years. When you were a mom there were always things to worry about, even on a day that was supposed to be just for you. Of course she missed her kids being with her, but her sister’s (surprisingly) lovely sons were trying hard to make her feel welcome.

“Blow out the candles, Aunt Jade.” Otium, the stranger of her nephews, commented softly. She had a feeling he’d been watching her, his pale blue eyes glued to her almost since she’d arrived. She smiled at him, hoping to make him like her if she could manage it, and took a deep breath. The candle’s flame shifted and wriggled and just as it was extinguished for her birthday wish, she swore it looked at her. Jade could not explain how a candle’s flame could appear so deliberate and menacing, but she wrote it off to her own nervousness at trying to fit into her new home.

“By the Makers... Thirty years old now?” Algie, her dad, had fretted over everything all day despite his daughter’s insistence that this birthday really wasn’t a big deal. “I remember the day you were born!”

“Aw Dad... come on now.” The teens around them begun to cut the cake the second they were allowed to. She moved to avoid the various bodies, hands and wagging tails in the vicinity. It figured that Halo would have children who were extraordinary. They probably had magic powers or something as well. Jade wiped the thoughts from her mind. She was normal and had normal children. Normal was ok too!

“I’m getting so old!” Algie groaned and moved to his favorite armchair.
“The last nice party I threw for you. Do you remember it? It was your tenth. You looked adorable in your little party dress.” He smiled to himself and set his feet up by the fire. His kitten Fizzy purred contently on his lap.

“I remember Dad.” Jade found her own chair to sit in. Yes, she remembered it well. She also remembered that the day following that birthday was the day she decided to just be normal . The decision had been easy; accepting it to herself had been much harder.

“You threw me a big party. All of your friends came and brought their kids...”

“You were so cute that day.” Algie yawned and Jade noted that her father was aging much better than herself. “Oh and remember later in the night?” He’d started to laugh.

“It’s not funny dad...” Jade’s face dropped. She could never forget that night.

“Oh come on now. Your first summoning? I mean, of course you weren’t ready. Magic was never really your thing. We fixed it up all right in the end!” He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He made sure to give his daughter the most loving look he could. “I know you don’t believe me... and I don’t want to get into a whole thing about it, but having you involved in magic was never a priority. I’ve always loved you just for you.” He held up his hand to stop any rebuttal she could muster. “I’m going to go to bed. The boys sort of do their own thing. Freyr will probably clean up. Alex and Lafe will probably leave soon, they are mostly nocturnal. It’s probably a lot to take in and not what you are used to... but they are all good kids. It’s kind of nice that they are so self sufficient. You’ll adjust to it quickly enough. Accepting others and adapting quickly was always your forte, though I’m not sure you realized it.”

He rose from his chair and crossed to kiss her on the forehead. “I’m grateful to have you here with me, anyway. I really missed you. Happy birthday, baby.”

“Night Dad...” Jade just sighed and watched him leave. He slide closed the doors that separated her from the cake devouring teenage boys. The sounds of their gossiping, joking and squabbling made her feel right at home. As a mother, those were the sounds of her natural environment. She thought of her own children at home and stared at the fire.

“Thirty years...” She spoke softly just to herself and remembered. Something about her father bringing up that old birthday party stuck in her mind. Maybe it was a reminder of how far she’d come, but mostly the memory gave her the chills, something that she could never shake. She hadn’t even thought of that day of her own will in at least ten years and whenever she did it gave her nightmares that left her just feeling weak, emotionally and physically. Jade closed her eyes but her attempts to forget only left her reliving one of her earliest memories.

Jade was wearing her prettiest party dress and even had managed to do her own hair, golden ringlets done up in pigtails. Her mom tied the ribbons for her but she was proud of her efforts anyway. She was ten today and she had big plans!!

“Jade!!” Her father’s voice rang up the stairs towards her. “Come on now! The Jaspers just arrived. Jeremiah has a gift for you!”

“Daaaaa-aaaad!” Jade fussed on her hair in the mirror just a moment and batted her brilliant green eyes. She’s always had a crush on Jeremiah and he knew it. She ran to the door but just as her hand lay on the knob she paused. This party would be fun, but later would be when the real action happened. She would make sure that her family took her seriously for once. Halo wasn’t so great!

The party passed quickly, hours flying by as she played games and ate, gossiped with the girls and was chased and teased by the boys. Even her sister had been nice. She’d been going to school for her magic and so she made Jade’s cake designs move. The icing unicorns pranced and tossed their heads. Jade had been thrilled. When they evening came and the last guests left, she’d been ushered off to bed. That, of course, was when she would set her own plan into motion.

Jade was patient, a talent her sister did not possess, and she waited until the coast was clear to make her move. She slipped on her cloak and withdrew a book from her drawer. The cover was leather, stained with something indistinguishable. She’d taken it from her father’s shelf. Her limited education in Latin let her figure out that it was simply called ‘Summonings’. It seemed perfect at the time. Tucking the book under her arm she slipped from her bedroom and headed towards the basement.

Jade, at her age, had no idea how poor her magical skill really was. Anyone with the ability to use this book correctly would have felt the hungry and dangerous aura it gave off. They would have given it the respect and fear that such a tome deserved. A ten year old magician who would barely cast a spell had no idea what a dangerous item she clutched so close to her heart.

She unlatched the basement door and slipped inside, unaware that even now the forces tied to this tome could sense her innocent life force. Somewhere, scattered through the planes, beings of malice licked their lips in hopes that she would call their name. Jade had already chosen, of course. She was prepared! She’d read the passage over in her head a thousand times before tonight. The golden haired girl didn’t know that it was then she breached the walls, even then the recitation of the passages in her mind had opened the door and let something through. It already had its foot in the door and she had no idea.

Jade’s hood fell back as she drew the circles just as the book showed her. She practiced on paper, burning the evidence when she finished. The little girl was just eager to get it right. She wanted everything to be perfect. If this went off the right way, her father would know she was just as good as her sister!

Jade lit the candles around the room, sucking on her finger when she singed it on a match stick. Maybe it wasn’t normal for most people to have a magical sanctorum in the basement, but for the Mixlins it was necessary. With the lights going and the symbols drawn, she was ready. Jade tiptoed daintily over the chalk markings, still in her Mary Janes and party dress. She sat down on the floor and crossed her legs, setting the book open in her lap.

“The incantation five times and then the hand motions..” She breathed, her heart beating faster. Could she do this?

Her emerald eyes closed. The words had been memorized. Now was as good a time as any.

“Exorior. Exorior. Tribuo munia in vestri vox. Exorior quod exsisto reus volo. Strix. Intentus Liberi formido. Vita combibo. Adveho.”

Even as the first words slipped from her lips the candles’ flames started to dance. There was no wind; it was the basement after all. The words were repeated. Her child’s voice was very deliberate in every word’s pronunciation. Jade didn’t even know what most of the words meant. She recognized something about giving power and she recognized that it had something to do with being a child... or children. Her intention was to summon a being of power, hoping it would give her the magical skills necessary to compete with her sister.

“Exorior. Exorior. Tribuo munia in vestri vox. Exorior quod exsisto reus volo. Strix. Intentus Liberi formido. Vita combibo. Adveho.”

The circle on the floor started to pulse like a heart beat. The flames around the room pulsed in time. The pulsed in time with her own heart beat but Jade was beginning to get frightened. She didn’t notice the coincidence. A blue flame formed above the circle, remaining still while the others around the room danced. Her voice almost faltered as she repeated the incantation two more times.

“Exorior. Exorior. Tribuo munia in vestri vox. Exorior quod exsisto reus volo. Strix. Intentus Liberi formido. Vita combibo. Adveho. Exorior. Exorior. Tribuo munia in vestri vox. Exorior quod exsisto reus volo. Strix. Intentus Liberi formido. Vita combibo. Adveho.”

Jade’s ears now could only hear the deafening sound of her own pounding heart. It seemed to come from the walls and the floor. The still flame in the center of the room twisted until all she could see was a blue, jagged Cheshire grin. With the final incantation the floating grin mouthed the words with her.

“Exorior. Exorior. Tribuo munia in vestri vox. Exorior quod exsisto reus volo. Strix. Intentus Liberi formido. Vita combibo. Adveho!”

Jade yelled, at first the words and then she just screamed. This had been a mistake! Sinister eyes formed above the mouth, narrow and laughing at her. She should have known that she was terrible at magic. She felt her confidence die as thin arms, invisible, reached out and touched her heart. Jade’s body grew cold when she felt an invisible, wicked embrace. Her eyes began to flutter as her energy was sapped away. The little girl crumpled to the ground, too weak to open her eyes. She heard a whispering in her ear, speaking a language she didn’t know. It sounded like a lullaby and even though she was scared beyond belief, it only made her more relaxed.

As if it were a million miles away, Jade heard a slam and a booming male voice. Her eyes cracked and a beautiful rainbow of energy filled the room. The invisible embrace seemed to dissolve away, replaced with warmth that allowed her just enough strength to lift her head. The whispering in her ear continued, slowly drifting away until only a final word echoed in her hearing. It was a word that would scare her for the rest of her life.

“Strix.”

Jade opened her eyes and looked at the fireplace. The noise of her nephews was gone and she yawned, unsure whether she’d just been recounting the memory or whether she’d dozed off. The word still echoed, twenty years later, and sent chills down her spine. She’d been lucky that her father was as powerful as he was on that day so long ago. He said it may have killed her if the ritual had been allowed to complete. Years later he would laugh about it, saying that almost dying at any second was just a danger of the profession. He’d call it ‘cute’ that she tried to impress him. He’d say that if she had a knack for anything it was for trouble, choosing a demon that fed specifically on children without even knowing it. Jade never found it funny. She never found the act to be cute or endearing. That experience changed her life forever.

“Strix.” The woman repeated the word out loud and continued to stare at the fire place. Her sleepy eyes may have tricked her as she saw that grinning Cheshire mouth in the flames. She felt the reaching invisible arms settle on her chest. She was frightened of the memory but she just felt so uncontrollably tired all of a sudden. Why be frightened of a memory? Twenty years…

Her eyes fell shut again, unable to fight the cool grip settling on her beating heart. She was soothed, somehow, until she heard that familiar and disturbing lullaby. Why was this memory so vivid today? Why was it lingering with her?

Jade was content to settle into sleep until she heard it. Her emerald eyes shot open as her ‘memory’ spoke to her. She felt cold lips upon her ear and the arms circling her felt more solid than they ever had before.

“Strix.”

UNDERSTANDING
______________________
You hold the answers deep within your own mind.
Consciously, you've forgotten it.
That's the way the human mind works.
Whenever something is too unpleasant, to shameful for us
to entertain, we reject it.
We erase it from our memories.
But the imprint is always there.
________________________________

It had been three days since Jade had formally bound herself to the demon known as Strix. It had also been three days since she’d seen him. Of course, in those three days she’d been aware of his presence. Sometimes she’d find herself faint or she’d wake up much later in the morning, feeling especially tired for the first several hours of her day. Once or twice she’d seen the demon’s strange smile flickering in a fire or reflected in a pane of glass. She didn’t mind but Jade preferred knowing that the demon was there, seeing his face, to his little games and teases.

She also had not yet done anything with her ‘new’ magical powers. Part of it was that she had no idea where to start, the other part was that the only person she could think of to help her was her father and you generally don’t want to go and tell your dad that you’ve bound your soul to a demon. Sure, her sister had done it, but the point of this was to be better than her sister! Jade found herself, on this fourth day, in the house’s study. It was a room that everyone used, even her nephews, full of books and tomes and artwork. Jade ran her fingers a long the spines of the books, looking for anything that would catch her eye.

There was a whoosh followed by a rustling of feathers and Jade spun her head to catch Strix, because it had to be him, only find nothing behind her. Putting on an annoyed face she crossed her arms across her chest, “Strix, dammit, stop this s**t.”

The air filled with that deranged giggling, mingled with the creepy clacking of the demon’s razor-sharp teeth. The whooshing noise whipped up again and then as if it were nothing (not at all as dramatic as the summoning at Daemonolgie) Strix’s flickering torso hovered in front of his summoner.

“Yes, madam?” Strix clasped his long hands in front of him as if he were a servant, there for her every beck and call. His red eyes glowed deviously.

“Listen, I appreciate that this is working out great for you and everything but you have to either be here, or not be here. I can’t have you popping up all creepy like to tease me or whatever. It’s not fun for me.” Jade matched the red gaze with her own intent green one.

The Strix giggled and bowed his head, “Is that all?”

‘It couldn’t be that easy,’ Jade mused inwardly. “Well... I need help to learn magic. I don’t suppose you could help me?”

Strix swished passed her, observing the books on the shelves. As strange as it was, there seemed to be whole shelves he was forced to avoid. She presumed these were warded or safeguarded in some way against demonic influence. Strix continued to browse and made a noise, that clacking noise again, but it seemed like he was thinking carefully, “It seems to me, Madam Jade, that with blossoming magical abilities one should perhaps… start at the beginning?”

He flicked his hand and a flimsy paperback shot onto the nearby tabletop. The cover depicted a pair of cartoonish children with gigantic smiles. They moved their little arms on the book’s jacket and sparkles swirled around them. In big gold letters it said, ‘Your Powers and You: A Beginners Guide to Magic’.

Jade groaned. Children’s books? Really? But he was right, she was like a child. It was as if she were back to childhood, trying and getting nowhere. This time she could do it right. The woman picked up the book and flipped through it. Despite the childish cover it seemed to have very easy and clear instructions, spells and guidelines. Jade glanced up at Strix who watched her like a pet waiting for a treat.

“Why? Why are you being… nice to me?” Jade found a cushy leather chair and took a seat. “Aren’t you a demon? Or some monstrous thing? Don’t you eat children?”

“I used to eat children.” The Strix giggled, hovering closer to her. “You stopped that rather quickly, or ssshall I say daaaddy did when he stopped your summoning.” Strix’s head turned with a clicking noise before shifting back into the proper orientation. “You’d have been a meal for me, darling little thhhhhing in your party dress and ringletsss.” Strix licked his lips and it sent a shiver down Jade’s spine.

“So my dad interrupted whatever horrible ritual I picked for myself, which would have been a free meal for you ‘cause I had no idea what I was doing.” Strix chattered a laugh. He clearly enjoyed having the details of his dealings to be unclear or even unfair. “So you then got stuck with me? Unable to fully be summoned you were attached to my... what life energy or soul or something?”

“That’s what I like aboooouut you. Very sharp.” Strix glanced around the room as if there were things around them that Jade couldn’t see. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the demon seemed only to be halfway on the mortal plane, or perhaps he was just strange. “Much of my power was lost. You have a very tricky daddy there. He’s rather good. But he didn’t follow through. I suppose he just didn’t know. So you got what remains of me, the rest of me, stuck with you until this contract ends.”

“And that is when you’ve finally leeched enough of my life that you’ll be ... what? More solid? Will you have a body?” Jade flipped through the book and glanced at it, mostly because the clacking of the demon’s teeth really creeped her out.

“We’ll see when it happens.” Strix glanced around and saw an abandoned bird stand. Someone had either owned a large bird or had bought the antique for its decorative aesthetic. Either way, Strix seemed to like it. In another whoosh of feathers a large owl sat upon the stand. Its beak was marked with dark lines that resembled his teeth and the owl’s eyes were blood red. Its tail seemed to be rather long, flowing behind it and resembling the demon’s ‘hair’.

“Huh...” Jade blinked, “I have to say you are much easier on the eyes like this. Can you talk intelligently?”

The beak clacked, not any different than the sound he made as a torso, “Yes. Can you?” Strix burst into giggles. Other than just the sound of it, the owl body seemed to fluff out in amusement.

“Yeah so you are a demon and a jokester.” Jade groaned and rolled her eyes. “Well fine. Thank you for the help but you still didn’t say why you are nice to me... or helpful. Can I even believe that you are? You could be buttering me up to eat me later.”

The owl made a face, as much of a face as it could, and a gagging sound. “Too old to eeeeat. I like you, Madam. You are hmmmm tenacious. Determined. You adapt well... and you are sssssooooo needy.”

“I am not needy!” Jade’s retort was quick and angry.

“You are or you aren’t, either way I am stuck to you. I may as well enjoy you, correct?”

Jade drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. She had no idea what to believe. It was a demon! She was just sitting her talking to it as if it were a person. The thing said it ate babies! Her inner frustration left her with nothing else to say.

“Listen, I’m going to read this. You can stay there or you can explore or something. Being an owl is probably your best bet but I’d stay away from certain parts of the house. I’d just appreciate that if I call, you come, and if I want to be alone then you leave. I know you aren’t my slave or anything. We both seem to need one another, so let’s make it easy. Maybe I’ll ask about you, since you know all about me already, but not right now.” She still wasn’t sure if she could believe him. “Okay?”

Strix somehow had shifted its body and so its head spun completely around to look at her. It ruffled up with another giggle and its beak clacked loudly. “Okay, Madam Jade. I think I’ll stay right here.”

M E T A P L O T
______________________________
All my dreams have fallen down
Crawling around, somebody save me
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She was gorgeous.

She was rich.

Men threw themselves at her feet.

She was wearing a scanty chainmail bikini, fire shooting from her fingertips!




Annnnnd.. then she was awake.

Jade groaned. Something woke her up and it had been a great dream. If not for the complete blackness in her room and the strange noises, she could be enjoying her sleep for once.

Blackness? Her room always had moonlight pouring in. Sometimes it kept her awake.

Jade sat up and heard those strange noises once more. She tried to see what was there but the dark was so deep she may as well have been blind.

“Strix.. stop playing around.” Jade rubbed her eyes and grabbed for her cell phone. It jumped to life in her hand, white backlight pouring across her face. She pointed it into the corner. There was something, a body or something, curled up there. Rocking back and forth. Back and forth.

“Strix.. yeah. You are funny. Come on I was having an awesome dream.” She was groggy and even though the shadowy figure refused to be illuminated, she just assumed it was her own demon. Jade threw her cell back onto the bedside table and flopped back into the bed.

Strix didn’t respond and the noises from the corner got creepier and creepier. It didn’t sound like Strix at all, and if it was one of his jokes it was a new one. To Jade, thinking it was Strix was much more comforting than the alternative.

“Strix?” She stayed on her bed, laying on her back and clenching her eyes closed. As a girl she’d always been a little afraid of the dark and every once in a while, alone at night, that feeling would creep back up on her. The thing, whatever it was, was now making some of the most inhuman noises she’d ever heard.

“Stop it!” Jade sat up and screamed into the corner but all the thing did was rock back and forth just a little more. She covered her ears with her hands, afraid to move from the bed. Where was her demon? Didn’t anyone hear her yell? Maybe her dad would come save her again.

Her brain screamed back at her, ‘You are an adult. Daddy won’t come save you forever.’

“Stop it. Stop it.” The thing was still there. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, though she still couldn’t see into that corner. As quick as she could Jade reached down to grab a shoe. She snatched it as though something else lurked under her bed. Right now she was behaving like a child and she couldn’t help it.

“Please..” She pleaded, almost whimpered. “Please stop.”

The unearthly noises continued. They did not slow nor increase and the rocking of the form continued at an even beat. Suddenly she just couldn’t stand it anymore and threw her shoe at the thing.

And just like that it was gone. No sounds, no visible transformation or teleportation. No smoke or ‘whoosh’ noises. It was just gone.

Jade clutched her blanket tightly around her. The darkness in the room was starting to lighten but she was petrified. She wouldn’t move to get her shoe and she wouldn’t even lay down. Jade dared not roll over and leave her back to that horrible corner of the room. She held her own shoulders until day broke, keeping her eyes open and on that side of the room just in case.

What was that thing? Why was it here? More importantly, where was Strix and why didn’t anyone come to help her?