Danielle had left with nothing but the clothes on her back, but now that she had returned to the townhouse, she found herself lugging around several suitcases of clothing. When, exactly, Gemory had conjured all these outfits, she hadn't noticed, but they had them now, regardless.
She could have let Gemory carry them, but given the demon's small frame, it would have looked a little odd. Besides, she was a strong girl. No, being a pack mule wasn't the problem.
The problem was, Gemory had been distracted all morning. 'Is she bored of me already?', Dani thought to herself. The idea filled her with dread.
Her father greeted her and took a suitcase from her. “Wow, she's got a lot of stuff, huh?”
“Some of that is mine, she's been taking me shopping.”
“Oh yah? Guess you got lucky to find yourself a rich girl.” Jack Western smiled, then noticed something was off. “Hey, Dani, you ok? You see a bit down.”
“Ah, it's nothing.” Danielle shrugged.
Just then, Gemory came in. “Oh hello Mr. Western. I hope you haven't been starving while we were away?”
“Oh you know, ordered out for some pizza a few times, no big deal.” Jack said.
Gemory got a strange look on her face. “Oh no, that won't do at all. I'll get started on lunch right away!” She charged into the kitchen.
'I'm positive she was taller before', Jack thought to himself. As he watched Danielle bring the suitcases to her room, he knew something was wrong. 'Well, if Dani won't talk...let's see what Miss Gemory has to say.'
Gemory was an odd name, and when he'd looked it up online, he'd immediately found that the girl was named after a demon. That alone was pretty strange, but then he'd found the summoning circle in the attic of the old house. He didn't really believe in such things, but he could do simple math.
Danielle had gone up into the attic to clean it, and later the same day, introduced him to her new fiancee, a girl he'd never heard about before. And when, exactly, had Dani met this girl? She rarely went out, and had been living and working with him nearly every day.
Then there was the fact that Gemory had the name of a demon, and was just a little too perfect to be true. And he was no dummy, that girl had been taller just days before. There was no rational explanation. As a boy, he'd read the Sherlock Holmes stories (along with Perry Mason, the Hardy Boys, Nero Wolfe, and other fictional detectives).
What was it Holmes had always said? When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
With that in mind, he went into the kitchen, to find Gemory preparing ingredients that hadn't been in the kitchen before, and that she hadn't brought with her.
“Gemory, do you have a moment?” Jack leaned against the sink casually.
Gemory paused and looked up at the man. “Oh sure thing, what is it?”
“You're a demon, aren't you?”
Without batting an eye, Gemory replied. “Oh my, has Danielle been telling you about what we do in bed?” She blushed.
Normally, Jack would be a little uneasy about that topic, but he knew she was deflecting. “Nice try. Cards on the table. I'm not a fool. None of that food was in here before, and you didn't bring it with you. You used to be taller, and no, it wasn't heels, since you're wearing a pair now. And as near as I can tell, you didn't exist until the day Dani brought you to meet me. Plus, 'Gemory'? That's not a name anyone would choose for their daughter. It's the name of a devil.”
'Shit!', Gemory thought. She'd been careless. Normally, she would use her powers at this point to convince him otherwise...but then she remembered what Lucifer had revealed. Yes, now that she knew what to look for, there it was. Though not as powerful as the original, Jack bore the Mark of Cain.
And if she hurt Jack, Danielle would never forgive her.
She sighed. “Yes, it's true. I'm not human.”
Jack was surprised at the admission. He'd been hoping she'd laugh and give him some kind of plausible explanation. No such luck. “Damn. I didn't think I'd be right.”
Gemory perched on the stool she'd been using to reach the counter. “So what now? Are you going to call a priest and try to exorcise me?”
“Would that work? I'm not inclined to, unless you're somehow hurting my daughter. Up until today, I thought she was happy. But not so much today.”
Gemory froze. Had she been ignoring Danielle? Fuck, fuck, fuck! She'd had so much on her mind...but now that she thought about it, the girl had seemed out of sorts! “Oh no...”
“Didn't notice that? Well I guess you could be forgiven, since you haven't known her that long. But it does raise the question...how can you really love her? Especially since you missed something like that?” Jack hadn't moved but he seemed to loom over Gemory, and she felt...fear? No! She wasn't afraid of any mortal! Cursed by God or not!
She should transform, and show him her true power!
But she didn't do that, because she -was- afraid. Afraid of losing Danielle. She felt tears forming, and her face stung as they burned. “I know! I know! It's impossible! I can't love her. I can't love anyone! But I do! I do and it's so hard! You have no idea how old I am, Jack...how long I've existed. I was created to love God, and no one else. And when that love died, I had nothing. Nothing but hate!
All the knowledge and power I have, and it's useless! I have no idea what I'm doing!”
Jack noticed a shadow in the hall. Dani was there, but hadn't entered yet. It was an old habit of hers, going back to when he and Nat were having fights all the time.
“No one does, Gemory. That's the thing about love. People have discussed it, debated it, tried to dissect it, made poems about it and sung songs about it, but no one really knows what it is or how it works. One day, you're just doing your thing, trying to get by, and then, it's like a brick to the face.
Suddenly you feel so strongly about someone else you don't know what to do. You care more about them than even yourself. And you keep thinking, is this real? Can this last? What can I do about it?
And the thing that scares you the most is losing that thing, so you second guess yourself. Because it's a castle built out of sand. It's beautiful, but fragile.”
“You're saying...it can't last.” Gemory's face was developing cracks as her tears seared her flesh like acid.
“No, I'm not saying that at all. It sure feels like that should be the case, right? Everything withers and dies. But let me tell you something. The first time I saw that little girl's green eyes and held her in my arms, I knew I would love my daughter until my last breath. Maybe even after. She could come in here, slap me, and tell me she hates me, and that wouldn't change.
Love is about sacrifice, Gemory. I would lay down my life for my little girl. The question you have to ask yourself is, can you do the same?”
Gemory stared at Jack, speechless. Sacrifice? Loss. Loss she knew. Ever since she'd been thrown from Heaven, she hadn't been whole. But sacrifice? What would she give up for Danielle? For Toni?
For Damia?
“I don't know.” She admitted. “I want to marry your daughter. I want to give her half of my kingdom. From my perspective, that's...that's quite a thing. It just isn't done. But is that enough? What could I do?”
“You don't know until you know.” Jack finally moved, and wet a washcloth with the faucet, and crouched down by Gemory. He reached out and wiped her tears away, just as he had done for Dani every time she fell down or scraped her knee. “But I appreciate you being honest with me. Hey, those wounds look kind of bad, are you going to be ok?”
“I'm evil, Jack. I'm not supposed to cry. But...if I can stop crying, I'll heal.” Gemory said.
“I don't think you're evil. Sure, maybe you've done some terrible things. But if you were truly a monster, you wouldn't be crying now. Now, this is what you're going to do. You're going to talk to Dani, figure out what's wrong, and beg her for forgiveness. Own up to your mistakes, and see about making this right. You put a smile on her face again.
You keep her happy, and we won't have this conversation again.” But then he grabbed Gemory by the hair with a firm grip.
The demoness was shocked, as it had been a very long time since anyone had dared to show her such disrespect.
“If you break her heart, I promise you, I -will- find a way to make you suffer. Do you understand that?”
For Gemory, time seemed to slow down. She considered all the different ways she could respond to this affront on her person. This was something Paimon had taught her, it wasn't quite looking into the future, but it allowed one to make the best possible decision.
And there was only one conclusion. Humility. “I understand, Jack.”
“Good.” He let her hair go. “Now git. I'll put this stuff away, and with luck, you can finish lunch later.”
“Thank you.”
He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. “For what it's worth, good luck.”
She gave him a tiny smile and then made her way to Dani's room.
Danielle had retreated from the hallway and was on her bed trying to process what she'd heard when there was a soft knock on her door. “Come in.”
Gemory opened the door and slipped in, closing it behind her. She stood there for a moment. “You heard all of that?” The scars on her face were already healing, but it was obvious she'd been crying.
“Yah, I did.”
Gemory walked up to the the bed and then knelt down at Dani's feet. “I'm sorry, Danielle.”
Danielle sighed. “Come here.” She reached down and picked the smaller girl up, hoisting her onto the bed and into her lap. “This is stupid. I care about you, and you care about me, so why are we both upset?”
“I don't know. But I did something to make you unhappy.” Gemory replied, in a soft voice.
“I should have said something, I guess. This is all so new to me too, you know. I went from not having you in my life to you basically becoming the center of my life. So when you weren't there...I felt lost.”
“What do you want me to do? I'd do anything.” Gemory turned to look up at the mortal girl.
“Well, I can't ask you to stay with me all the time. It's not fair.”
“I don't care about whether it's fair or not. If you ask me to, I'll chain myself to you.”
“Oofta. Now wouldn't that be a sight? Us manacled together everywhere we went? I don't want to be underfoot all the time. Sometimes you got to be the badass bitch demon lord, I get it. But I do want to be a part of your life. Right now I feel like I only get a piece of you, not the whole thing.”
“The whole thing isn't always pretty, Dani. I don't want to show you the worst parts of me.” Gemory admitted.
“Well, you got no choice there. One way or another, we're going to see everything about each other. And have to learn how to accept that. I can't just love some of you. I need to love the whole thing or this will never work.”
“It's going to be hard. For both of us.”
“Yes, it will be. But hey. I think you're worth it. Now kiss me, you little bitch.” Danielle grinned, leaning back onto the bed.
Gemory obliged by straddling her and they began to make out. It didn't manage to progress to sex, instead, they ended up cuddling on the bed, the tiny demon in her lover's arms.
“I like this.” Gemory finally said.
“Yah, me too. I love you, Gem.”
“I love you too, Dani.”
“Gonna have to have you cook lunch soon though. I'm hungry and Dad must be starved.”
Gemory started to sit up, but Dani held her down. “No, not yet. There's one more thing.”
“What's that, Dani?”
“We need to talk about your punishment.” Danielle grinned.
Gemory's eyes got big. “Oh. Well. Yes, I guess we do. What will it be?”
“Well, that one time I was with Ami and Toni, Ami had me put her in my mouth. I want to do that to you.”
Gemory shivered. “How...is that a punishment?”
“Because you'll be completely at my mercy. Come on, tell me you've ever done anything like that before?”
“I...guess you're right.” Gemory admitted.
“Then that's what we're gonna do after lunch. Also...I want to try it myself.” Danielle blushed.
“Oh, well. I'd be happy to make that wish come true.” The demon grinned.
“I mean, I can shrink myself, not sure if I can get that tiny but...I'd be stuck that way.”
“Yes, you would be. Tempting to keep you that way too, but...don't worry. I can fix it. You know...there's other things we can do at that height.”
Danielle couldn't keep a goofy grin off her face. “I bet!”
After Gemory prepared lunch, the three of them ate and didn't discuss the events of that morning, instead filling Jack in on the (heavily abridged) version of the past several days.
As Danielle laughed about some of their misadventures, Jack caught Gemory's eye and winked at her.
She smiled and gave him a thumbs up.