In Dreams: One Soul

Possession Is 9/10s Of The Law

Harlee POV

'This is highly uncomfortable.'  I bitched at Zeev as he moved my body, trying to find the best position.

"Shut up."  He growled out of my mouth.  "At least our chest doesn't ache anymore."  Having my own mouth move to say words I didn't think to say was probably even more disconcerting than feeling my body dart around without moving it.

'God Zeev, be careful-what are you going to do if you hurt me?'  I complained.

"My healing abilities will take care of it.  Now calm down and shut up.  He's here."  Zeev snarled with my mouth again.  I grumbled at him, but quieted down, trying to ignore the outrageousness of the whole situation.  Zeev sighed with my chest.

"Would you like me to put you to sleep?"  He whispered harshly,  "Backseat driver?" 

Zeev POV

Possession for a Demon or an Angel was similar.  We had to be invited in.  Young men take note: consent is important.

Tricky business deals with Demons though: you have to read the fine print, which is exactly why Harlee was bucking so hard, even though she knew I could do no harm to the body we were now both occupying unless I wanted to inflict damage to myself.

Possession was not the same as those couple of times our two forms had merged, rather this was more my essence-Demons and Angels don't have 'souls'-displacing her own soul temporarily.  Though technically, now that I did have half her soul, her body welcomed the half back happily.  While the other half she still possessed couldn't merge with mine, but got pushed aside, the two halves still pressed tightly together within Harlee's body, easing the uncomfortable ache we'd been enduring all day due to her stubbornness.  I manipulated the light around Harlee's body and held still, silencing her bodily functions-listening for the demon.

'I have to breathe!'  Harlee panicked in the back of my head.

'Shut up!  Not right now you don't, you're being possessed by a Demon-we don't have to breathe!'  I snapped 'Your body will be fine, my 'energies' if you will, are preserving it.'

I felt the blow before I saw it coming and barely got Harlee's body out of the way.  Pure Demon, more powerful Demon than I was expecting.

'You mean you didn't know!'  Harlee shrieked in my head.  I winced

'You're going to get us killed if you don't shut up!'  I snarled back at her.  The Demon struck again and I counted seconds between the next strike.  It was using something like a Scorpion sting, that must take time to retract and reposition for a strike.  Precious seconds meant life or death in battle.  Another strike.  Ah good, I had my timing.  I stepped backwards and repositioned myself to what I assumed was the rear of the Demon and tossed a stone to the side, counting seconds to the strike.  Dean even.  I felt the grin spread across Harlee's face, her mouth wasn't really mean for this fusion of Demon features, but pain and pleasure are so similar, aren't they?

'Excuse me Harlee-this won't do you an lasting damage, I promise.'  I said to her in my head, then shut off her pain receptors before allowing my talons out.  She winced internally regardless, no doubt imagining the pain as the last finger-bones on her hands elongated and sharpened, bursting from the skin and fusing with her nails, curving to resemble something like an eagle's talon in the end.  The leather flesh pattern showed on her hand, fading away on her forearms.  I sniffed.  Not quite as impressive as my True Form's but they would do.

The noise attracted our friend and I jumped back as he struck again.  I scooped up another rock with the side of Harlee's hand and tossed it, this time only a few feet from me, then began to count.  Just as I reached the strike time, I reached out with my talons and gripped the striking tail.  The other Demon did as I anticipated and tried to rip it free, which allowed me to use the talons to crush the hard exoskeleton and slice cleanly through the flesh within.  Blood splattered everywhere, including all over the Demon when he retracted his tail.

'Is that...what he looks like?'  Harlee asked in my head, horrified.  His careful cloaking had been coated in his own blood, and revealed an interesting amalgam of creatures.

"Most of it, yes."  I replied with her own mouth.  The Demon roared and plunged at us again.  I stepped backwards to reposition ourselves behind the creature once more, shaking its blood from Harlee's hands.  "What a mess."  I tsked.

Harlee POV

As Zeev ran once more at the Demon in front of us, I couldn't take any more, but I couldn't shut my eyes either.  I was trapped, a passenger in my own body, helplessly watching as the two Demons tried to tear each other to shreds.  Zeev had shut off my pain receptors, but I still winced as a chunk of flesh was torn from my thigh.

'Oh come on!  Don't damage the goods!'  I screamed at Zeev inside my head.

"It'll heal."  He growled back, his voice mixing with my own on the way out in a creepy overlap.  I wished I could shudder.  He ripped a limb from the Demon, but the damn thing grew it back in no time.

'Do you have a backup plan?'  I shrieked at Zeev, horrified.  Zeev gritted my teeth and grabbed a second limb, snapping it in half.

"I said..."  He snarled as he snapped another limb.  "Shut.  UP!"  A chuckle rolled forth from the Demon.

"Is your host being uncooperative my friend?"  It taunted  "Why don't you let me help you with that?"  Its limbs were healing before our eyes.

"No thanks."  Zeev said derisively.  "I enjoy the spicy ones."  While he was talking he was taking careful note of a clawed hand sneaking towards us.

'Harlee, I have an idea.'  He thought at me quickly.  'But it means that I have to leave you alone for a few minutes-and I've got to let you get captured.  I'm sorry, you'll be fine.'

"Wait..what??"  The scream escaped my lips as the clawed hand grabbed hold of me and squeezed.  Zeev had left my body numb, but I still heard my ribs crack and as they did black shadowy oil poured from my mouth, nose and eyes as Zeev left my body.  I coughed, trying to breathe, but he was making a show of it, and meanwhile, my lungs were filling with blood.

'Hold on Harlee.'  He shot at me through our link.

"At last!"  The Demon hissed, bringing me closer to its face.  I cringed away from it.  I had never seen anything on earth like it.  I coughed and blood splattered across it.  "Wait, only half remains?"  The Demon screamed  "Where's the other half of the soul?"  It turned to search for the black puddle that was supposed to be Zeev, but he was gone.  From my vantage point, I could see Zeev in his transition state hovering over the Demon.  He was going to shift to his True Form and drop right on him.  I watched Zeev's talons extend from the shadowy cloud and winced.  I knew what would happen next.  I turned my face to the side and coughed up more blood.  I was pretty sure that wasn't a good sign.  When the Demon dropped me, I was already losing consciousness, but I still heard the horrifying sound of it being torn to shreds and devoured by Zeev.

Zeev POV

I felt it when Harlee disappeared from our link and my soul fragment panicked.  I shifted quickly back into human Form, looking dispassionately at the remains of the Demon, then flashed to her side to take assessment of the damage.  Much of her torso was crushed, but she was still breathing lightly.  I cradled her head in my lap.

"Hold on for me Harlee, it's been a while since I tried it this way."  I told her and focused on using what little Grace I had left to heal her broken body.

Harley POV

The smell of lasagna woke me.

"What the Hell?"  I snapped, sitting upright in bed.  I gripped my rib cage, nothing wrong with it.  Fresh clothes even.

"Zeev?"  I called softly.  I tried to reach out through our link to him, but hit the barrier.  Was this urgent enough to invoke his True Name?  "Screw it."  I muttered and concentrated on that burning spot on my soul half.

"Wherever you are, you blasted Demon-you get your butt back here right now!"  I snarled.

"Harlee."  Zeev said quietly.  I turned to look at him.  Something in him had changed.  My soul fragment cried out in despair and joy at sensing its other half so close and yet so far.  Despite my anger, I felt my body move on its own, leaping from the bed and into his arms to reduce the distance between us.  But Zeev was stiff, still holding the barrier in place.  He wrapped an arm around me lightly.  "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up-I had a Demon corpse to dispose of."  Zeev told me softly.  I shuddered.

"How am I..ok?'  I asked quietly.  I got a flurry of images from him before he clamped down on the barrier again.

"I healed you."  He sighed.  I hugged him tighter, the barrier made my soul fragment seem so far away.  I looked up at him.

"What's wrong?"  I demanded.  He shook his head.

"Dinner's almost ready."  Zeev said tonelessly, then turned to go into the kitchen, releasing me and making me feel like my soul was being torn in two again.