The Aleksander I knew was always in a positive mood. He never worried too much and did everything he could to overcome the problems he was facing - that, or he admitted to being too lazy and even laughed about it later. He didn't get mad easily and was usually the first guy to calm someone down or cheer them up when needed. He added humor to everything and laughed at his own jokes.

People came to Sasha kind of like moths are attracted to flame, but I was always the first person he would come to. It was occasionally difficult to understand, because we were so different in many ways. I needed people to come and talk to me first before there was any chance of friendship. Sometimes I cried when I failed at things. And I wondered each time, why did he leave the company of his friends, why did he stop everything he was doing just to come and sit beside me, to put his arm around my shoulders and tell some stupid joke to cheer me up. Why did he climb in though my window in the middle of the night when I was stuck at home with chickenpox. We were both covered in spots the following day. Why did he let me win half the video games we were playing, each time stopping my protests with a simple kiss.

I eventually stopped asking these questions, because I'd realized the answers were obvious. They were a part of my life, and I began to take them for granted.

Now I felt like I'd been ripped apart. It was impossible to get used to.

. .. ... .... .. .... ... .. .

I got up on shaky legs and waited until a minute passed, but nothing else happened. I nearly believed I'd just experienced one especially realistic daydream, except it had been too real for comfort. And there was no way I could deny being here, on Saaremaa. No matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise, my senses screamed at me how this was all happening now and for real. The creature that had looked like Sasha could not have been my imagination.

I knew I had to do something, but how do you call your family and tell them the Devil teleported you back home? After what happened to Sasha, they'd think I was beginning to lose my mind as well.

I looked back at the house. Demon-Sasha had told me more than a few strange things, and the words still echoed in my confused mind. If anything he'd said had been true, then there could be someone else out there that knows about it. I wandered towards the building, weighing my options, but it wasn't long before I found myself entering without knocking, as I'd always done. The front door wasn't locked. 

The inside of the house was familiar and foreign at the same time; without Sasha, it was no longer what it used to be.

"Hello!" I called out hesitantly, passing the hallway that led me into the kitchen. "Is anybody home?"

My voice was was greeted by silence. But after a short moment my ears registered soft footsteps. Sasha's mother's face appeared in the doorway across the kitchen, her expression surprised, similarly to my own. The woman's eyes were too red next to her pale skin, her previously pretty long hair was now greasy and messy, as if she'd just stepped out of bed. She quickly tried to comb through them with her fingers as she came forward.

"Katrin, what are you doing here?" She'd never asked me that question before. The place had sort of become my second home over the years. It felt so strange now.

"Funny," I mumbled, more to myself, "I'd like to know that as well. I think... maybe it was Sasha who brought me."

I wasn't really expecting her to react to my words, although her bursting into tears wasn't that unexpected either. But her words were what got me by surprise.

"Would you mind listening to something crazy?" she asked between tears. "Please. I need to get it out of me."

I could only nod. Without words she led me into the living room and we both sat down on the couch. It took her a moment, but once she began speaking, I felt cold shivers run up my spine.

"Aleksander never left. He is no longer alive.. but he is not dead either."

I gulped, pushing away my growing fear. "I know," I said then, almost in a whisper. "I saw him. Just now. Outside."

The woman looked at me with eyes full of gratitude for not calling her crazy, but also full of regrets. "You saw him..." She teared up again. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault." And she cried. I tried to calm her, asking her why she would say that. Minutes passed until she was finally able to take a few deep breaths. Then she told me her story.

. .. ... .... .. .... ... .. .

Years ago, her classmate had brought her together with a young man who then quickly set his sights on her. The man's name was Aivar, and although he'd seemed like a nice guy, it had taken weeks of persuasion until she'd agreed to go out on a date. This was soon followed by second, then a third date. It wasn't too long after when both realized there was no denying the chemistry between them. After university, they moved into a small city apartment where they planned their future together.

From early on, Aivar had made it clear he wanted a child. Being unsure whether they can afford to have a baby yet, she'd at first refused. But having been blinded by love, it hadn't taken long for her to change her mind. A few months later, she was pregnant.

By then she'd begun to notice there was something strange about the man she'd fallen for. He was almost like obsessed with the child. He spoke about how special the baby was, as if he'd already planned the child's future. He'd once even said that someone needs to look after the kid when he is not around anymore, which in the young mother's opinion was a very strange thing to say. But she was in love and didn't think too much of it.

On the day Aleksander was born, Aivar was not present at the hospital. He came home several days later with a bad hangover and heavy alcohol stench. When seeing his son for the first time, he refused to even touch him. But there had been this unfamiliar spark in his eye - relief, happiness.

The confused young mother demanded an explanation, but Aivar's answers were curt. He ran about the apartment and too late did she realize that the man she loved had packed his belongings, ready to leave. Through tears she asked him one last time what was going on. What Aivar told her then had been far too insane to believe.

A child from a woman who truly loved him was the price Aivar had to pay to save his own skin from a hellish fate. The boy was supposed to be but a shell, to carry out the rebirth of a great Marquis of Hell. The child would be nothing but a demon and now that he'd been born, Aivar's role was finally over. He wanted to get far away, to never have any business with the woman or the child again.

And so Aivar left, never telling anyone where he would go, or how to find him. 

The young mother was heartbroken. But she didn't believe the man's crazy talk, and gave her son all the love she had left in her. With time, Aleksander helped her forget the pain, giving the woman new energy to stand up and keep going.

And her son grew up to be the kindest, the most pure-hearted person she'd ever known.

. .. ... .... .. .... ... .. .

I took a moment to process her story. Even if there were a couple of things that sort of began to make sense now, it still made everything a dozen times more crazy. If it were to be true, did it mean Sasha had all this time been a... what? A Marquis of Hell? I also asked it aloud, which made Sasha's mother cast her eyes down. She didn't say anything, but I got it now. She felt betrayed.

I didn't want to sound crazy - even in front of myself -, but what could I do in this situation? The world had taken a turn for insane long ago. I took a deep breath, weighing my next words.

"Maybe he didn't know," I said. "I know... knew Sasha. He was like any other kid. I mean, he was afraid of ghosts living in the attic even when he was ten," I laughed, but the sound came out forced and awkward.

The woman pondered, but still remained silent.

I thought back to the creature that had manifested before me - who'd kissed me and promised to stay with me if I refuse to go with it.

"I saw him," I said again. "He wasn't... I believe he wasn't evil." 

I suddenly remembered the very first time we met all those years ago, when we were looking at the small stones he'd picked. "Those are bad dragon eggs. Demons come from them. But there are more good ones, so we don't have to worry."

It seemed ridiculous to think of that now. We'd stopped collecting stones long ago. Strangely, though, this small piece of memory gave me confidence.

"Aivar said his name," Sasha's mother said abruptly, bringing me back to the living room.

"Whose name?"

"The demon's." She looked up. "Somehow I never forgot it. And now I finally looked the name up." Her voice grew louder. "Marchosias. This name has been known for centuries. And this demon lived in my son all these years! Marchosias... it will haunt me forever!"

She was losing it. I quickly moved closer to calm her down, but it didn't help. I didn't even understand what she was saying anymore, other than occasionally repeating the demon's name.

Before I knew it, a few things had happened. A breeze out of nowhere blew through the rooms, sweeping up papers and pulling curtains. The lights turned on and off while somewhere in another room, a radio began playing, the channels switching so fast they created a kind of creepy tune.

A disembodied nasal voice, one that reminded me of either a child or some cartoon character, spoke to us from no clear direction. 

"Say it once more..."

I wanted to stop the woman, but when she looked up through her teary eyes, she said it anyway.

"Marchosias."

And that's when all hell broke loose.

The space around us suddenly filled with small dark creatures. It was impossible to say where they came from, but they flapped around with their tiny wings chaotically and so close that I yelped and covered my face. Too surprised and scared, I couldn't even get up to flee. I could hear their squeaky screams and mocking laughter, their frantic flying about creating more wind.

Forcing myself to peek up through my fingers, I tried to see what those things were. They looked a bit like bats, but more plumpy and the size of big rats. Their tiny black eyes gleamed, the fixed sneer below their big bat noses showing long sharp fang-like teeth. Their ears were big and pointy.

Yet they were all different. Some were so hairy, it was impossible to see anything other than their round body and wings. A few were completely naked and wrinkled. The colors differed as well - black, dark purple, grey and brown. Bigger and smaller. Some had a tail, either like a lion's or a lizard's. But they all held that same grin and continuously sped towards us, as if trying to attack, changing course right before impact.

Maybe that is why Sasha talked about mice back at the hospital.

Through the squeaking and laughter, I heard words. "You can't call the master by the name!"; "Bad, bad..."; "Marchosias is coming!"; "Things will go bad for you,"; "Ay, ay, ay aah..."; "The girl will taste good!"; "Human flesh! Human flesh!"

All this was too much for one day. I wanted to scream, but the sound that came out only made these creatures laugh more.

And then there was silence. All the laughter and squeaking died down as if by a press of a button, although their wings still made the room buzz. I turned my head and saw the reason.

Aleksander, in his new demonic form, stood before us. He stared at the bat-like creatures with frighteningly cold eyes and I noticed how the smaller beings pulled back, scrambling to get further from the demon. 

"You don't touch these people without an order. Did someone give you one?"

The bats glanced at each other, but didn't dare say anything now. Then one of them slowly inched forward, keeping its head low. "Master Marchosias, but King Paimon wanted to..."

Demon Aleksander's expression turned into one of mild anger. He revealed his teeth, showing off more than one pair of fangs. The bat let out a choking sound as its wings stopped flapping, yet it still floated in the air as if held up by an invisible force. Only its nostrils moved in rhythm of its attempts to breathe.

For a moment I thought he was going to kill this small creature. But then the demon looked away, as if unable to finish the job. His face calmed and the bat fell to the floor with a thud, where it shook its head before crawling back towards the rest of its kind.

I held my breath when Sasha turned to look at us. Whether he was good or evil seemed surprisingly insignificant at that moment; I was scared, and all I wanted was to get away. To go back home. With the real Sasha.

"Go," the demon said, confusing me momentarily, until the bats once again took to their frantic flying through the rooms. I didn't see where they all went, because they didn't leave through doors or windows. But the next moment, they were all gone, leaving behind only me, Sasha's mother, and him.

The woman brought her knees up on the couch, hugging them to her chest.

"They won't come to bother you again," the demon said before his eyes fixed solely on me. "I made you an offer before. Not long has since passed, but I need to hear your answer."

I slowly shook my head. "But, why?" I asked. "You died, right? What else do you want?"

"Surely this is not a sign of personal anger." He eyed me for a moment, expression unreadable. "I know what you discussed earlier," he said then, addressing us both. "Perhaps I owe an explanation." He took a step closer and I tensed involuntarily. But he stopped by the coffee table, sliding to a seat on the armrest of the chair across from us. The movement was a lot like something the old Sasha would do.

"I'm a Marquis, assigned to reign over a small part of the comparatively large underworld. By now you know my true name." He glanced at his mother. "As per the stories I've heard, it seems that in an argument over my former title, I was fated to burn in Hell's fires. But King Paimon, as he owed me, took it upon himself to arrange my rebirth. It included making use of a desperate mortal, to get a human body that would protect and hide me from enemies for a certain time."

This was getting weirder and weirder by the second.

"Why my son?" Sasha's mother whimpered weakly.

"The choice was coincidental," the demon said. "I might also have to tell you, the son you're mourning was always only me."

"You mean, all this time... you lied to us?" I was afraid to get a confirming answer, but the question just spilled out.

"Lied have I not. The situation is, even I'm still trying to remember my life from before. It takes time to come back. But living as human, I believed myself to be human." He leaned his head back so that he was now staring at the the ceiling. Another Sasha-like gesture. "Even after my human life ended, I refused to listen to my comrades."

After a moment of silence, he straightened back up and looked at us. I couldn't think of anything to say, even though he seemed to wait for a reply. Sasha's mother had pressed her face in her knees and I could only hear her faint sobbing. It was almost like she had zoned out completely.

"The morning star wishes to welcome me back," the demon suddenly said. He leaned forward, with his hands on the armrest between his legs, and looked down. "Katrin," he said in a darker tone, "I don't want to go back." A pause. "Tell me now, do you agree to share that eternity with me?"

My hands were shaking.

This was Aleksander, and I would've given anything to have him back. But at the same time he was no longer the Aleksander I used to know. I took a shaky breath.

"I think... I still have things I need to do here. In this life. And my parents..."

He nodded before I could finish. Contrary to my fears, he didn't seem angry. In fact, he was still rather unreadable. Yet I had the feeling he was... not okay with it. There was a certain sadness about him.

He stood and walked before me. "I respect your answer, Katrin. But one last question. Would you agree to consider it?"

I wasn't sure if he meant his next question or if I ever wanted to go with him. I carefully thought about my answer.

"You're not the same anymore."

He tilted his head slightly to the side. "I see. But would you elaborate?"

I looked up into the unrealistically dark eyes. One thing came to mind. One thing I missed above all else. "You were always happy," I said quietly. "You smiled."

"In this case, I offer you a deal."

I looked at him in surprise as he leaned down to my level. "I will leave you your life. I'll watch over it and make sure you live every second you're given. But once it's over, I'll come back for you. And then I'll watch over you for the rest of time."

Despite his demonic appearance - his desaturated skin, the horns and spikes covering his shoulders -, when I looked into his eyes at this moment, all I could see was Sasha. It was him, I couldn't find it in me to doubt this anymore. My own eyes began brimming with tears.

"And you?"

He touched my cheek, lightly and gently. "Until then, I will learn to smile again."

I don't think I was capable of making a rational decision right then. I looked into his eyes until I could no longer see through my tears, until I leaned forward and into his cold embrace. I cried and cried, confused and scared and happy. All the tears I'd kept in me these last days had nothing to hold them back anymore, because I finally had Sasha's shoulder to cry on. Right then I didn't even care what to tell my parents, my friends, my coworkers, I didn't care how I was getting back to Tallinn. I was with Sasha again, maybe for only this short moment, maybe for the eternity. And it was all that mattered.

I guess this was enough to make a deal with the devil.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The end!

Since this was a short story, perhaps the ending was a bit rushed? I'm not sure, so let me know what you think. By the way, translating this ending scene, my eyes got a bit watery for some reason. Do you get that sometimes while writing? Dustbunnies trying to invade your eyes like that...

Energumenus was a story that (I think) was sparked in my mind when I first saw the music video for Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace. I can't be sure since it was so long ago, but I know that video started one of my many story ideas. I tend to think it was this one.

Also, this story was greatly inspired by my keen interest in demonology. I hope the books and articles I've read paid off at least to some degree in writing Energumenus :)

So yeah. Thank you to all who read this story to the end! Hugs to you peeps!