In Dreams: One Soul

Summoning Demons

Harlee POV

"Don't forget, if they get you, I'm dead too."  Zeev griped.  He pulled me against his side as our soul fragments throbbed, imagining the agony of feeling the other half dying before death overtook us as well.  I winced.

"That does not seem pleasant."  I stated.  Zeev murmured an agreement.

"And I imagine it will be more excruciating in truth from the feeling of the souls I have absorbed."  Zeev said softly.  I flinched.  Zeev squeezed my shoulder tighter, sensing me about to draw away.  "Not yet, I-we-can't bear it and you know it.  You've got a long shift today."  Zeev commented.  I sighed.  He was right.  He walked me in to the customer service area and checked the clock.  "Two minutes."  He sighed and pulled me against his chest.  I clung to him too.  We'd been together almost non-stop for three days and our soul was already screaming about the impending separation.

"Aww...  Oh my God!  So cute!"  Kayla squealed.

"Time's up."  I sighed, and Zeev reluctantly let go, but wouldn't relinquish my fingers.

"Hello Miss Kayla."  Zeev greeted her and she pretended to swoon.

"Miss Kayla.  Did you hear that?"  She asked me, fanning herself with her hand.  "You don't have any single brothers do you?  Uncles?  A father?"  I felt Zeev's amusement and then contemplation through our link.

"No!"  I shot at them both.  "Trust me Kayla-that is one family you do NOT want to get involved with."  Zeev chuckled slightly.

"Ah, Harlee's probably right about that, and since she's my other half-it's hard to go against her wishes.  She'd most definitely make me suffer for it."  Zeev remarked with amusement.  Everything had a double meaning with him.  "I'll see you lovely ladies later.  Harlee..." He scooped me up into a tight hug like he wanted to pull me into his chest, and I could breathe again for a moment or two.  Then he tipped an invisible hat at us, still holding onto my fingertips and backed away, only releasing my fingers when he was out of reach.  I clutched at my shirt as the ache settled in my chest and heard a squeal behind me.

"How freakin' romantic is that?  Harlee you are so lucky girl!  Where in Hell can I find a man like that?"  Kayla whined.

"Am I?"  I asked with derision as I walked behind the customer service desk.  Where in Hell indeed...

Zeev POV

I paced Harlee's house.  The ache the soul fragment caused continued to build.  I pulled out the ingredients for supper and prepared it in advance, to be put in the oven an hour before her arrival.  Then I decided to make her lunch and surprise her with it.  Sometimes my Demon body's lack of hunger overrode her own instincts, and when it didn't, the ache in her chest distracted her, so she'd end up eating some of those nasty vending machine foods.  I shuddered.  Cheese crackers-what vile things.  I paced through the living room again.  It had only been an hour and our soul was starved to be whole.  I growled and shifted into my Demon form to ease the suffering, then felt Harlee's complaint.

'I'm at work!  You know this affects me too!'  She scolded in my mind.  I could feel her clutching at her head.  Her mind couldn't process the shift in a human body tied to a Demon with half a soul emblazoned with the name of a Demon.  It wanted to follow too, but wasn't entirely capable.  I growled again and shifted back.  This had to be similar to human withdrawal.  I let my mind merge with Harlee's and watched as she spoke to a particularly annoying customer.  She remained outwardly polite, but I could feel her internal rage growing and she unconsciously tapped into mine.  Oh, this should be interesting.  For the Hell of it, I fed her a little of my power to see what would happen next.

Harlee POV

"I demand to speak to your manage!  I thought the customer was always right!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, we cannot process a return without a receipt."  I repeated again.

"Get me a manager, now!"  The woman screamed, pointing a finger in my face and leaning across the counter.  I reached for Zeev unconsciously and felt the power burn through my veins.  He stared dispassionately at the customer through my eyes, but let me remain in control.  I tilted my head to the side a little with a slight smile and let my eyes take on Zeev's natural orange, the pupils elongating.  A slight shadow crept along my skin like smoke.  The woman snatched her finger back and stumbled a step or two away swiftly.

"What, what are you?"  She asked me in horror.

"Why don't you know ma'am?  I'm the manager."  I tapped my badge with an elongated nail.  The badge instantly read 'Manager'.  "How can I help you today?"  The woman snatched up the shirt she was trying to return.

"Ne...never mind... I think I bought this somewhere else."  She stammered and rushed from the customer service area.  Zeev waved my hand and eradicated the security feeds with a chuckle.  Suddenly he was standing behind me.

"Impressive.  A little childish, but enjoyable nonetheless."  He grabbed me around the waist and my body relaxed as my soul stopped crying out for its other half so loudly.

"Kayla is only on break, she'll be back in a few minutes."  I warned him.

"And I'll be gone before she appears."  He answered, still holding me tightly. We breathed deeply, the soul fragments satisfied for the moment with the decrease in distance.

"Hey Harlee!  Did you see that woman?"  Kayla asked, and just like that, Zeev was gone, almost overbalancing me.  I sighed and rubbed my chest.

Zeev POV

I paced the house again, watching the clock.  As Harlee's lunch break approached I watched her movements through our link carefully.  Once she entered the break room restroom I grabbed the lunch I had made her and waited patiently for her to finish what she needed to do.  As soon as the paper towel she was holding was tossed towards the trash I appeared behind her, trapping her against the wall with my hands.  She nuzzled her head into my chest and I gripped her hair.  We both sank to the floor and I transported us behind the building, pulling her onto my lap.  This blasted soul...

"Just might as well stop fighting it."  Harlee muttered into my shirt.  "If the Angels can't fix it, what are we supposed to do?"

"You remember that?"  I grunted.

"It's like a dream, so it took me a while, but yeah."  She looked up at me.  "I get that basically my soul is fused to your Demonic Core or Angelic remains?  I mean they're sorta the same thing, but I still hold the other half, and since you can't devour my half without harming the half fused to you, and can't separate the half fused to you to return it to me, then we're sorta stuck like this.  At least for now.  I haven't given up.  I still want my soul back.  No I NEED it back.  I can't survive... on my own... without it."  Harlee said.  I looked away.

"I made you lunch."  I dropped the bag in her lap.  She squealed happily as she opened the bag and began to chow down.  I shook my head, holding her against my chest, but couldn't hide the burst of pleasure blooming somewhere deep inside me.  Blasted soul fragment, altering my fundamental nature, making her happy was making me...happy...

Harlee POV

Zeev walked me back inside after my lunch break, making Kayla freak out again over 'caring boyfriends' who visited their girlfriends during lunch break, and she almost fainted when she found out he had brought me lunch.

"Seriously, where did you come from?"  She sobbed, clinging to his shoulder.

"You'd never believe me if I told you."  He chuckled.  "See you after work Harlee."  He ruffled my hair.  I growled at him.

"Come early!"  I called after him anyway.

"Well, I'm off for the day!"  Kayla called happily.  "See you later sweetie!"  She waved to me and walked out the doors.  I saw her hurry to catch up to Zeev.  Oh God the interminable flirt.  I rested my head in my hands and zeroed in on Zeev's perspective.

He was looking down at Kayla-damn I keep forgetting how tall he is compared to us.  She was looking up at him pleadingly and he was smiling indulgently down at her.

'Harlee.'  He greeted me in my thoughts.

'What does she want?'  I moaned at him internally.  I was so worried about this girl-she had no idea what trouble she was flirting with, and a slight slip of the tongue meant she could end up with a Demon in possession of her soul over some silly thing...  Zeev chuckled in my mind.  It was not an entirely reassuring sound.

'I am a Demon after all.'  He informed me.

'Don't. You. Dare.'  I growled at him.