I heard a noise in the next room. 'Magnus,' I heard Runt call.
For a moment, I hesitated, anxious of what it would be like to see him again. But once again he called, 'Magnus,' and I was compelled to go to him.
I opened the door but found it much too small to fit through. I had to stoop and shuffle through sideways, hardly a graceful introduction. Once through, and once again raised to my full height, I looked around and saw Runt by the window. He was shutting it, having just clambered in. He had returned to the form I'd first met him as, the young, muscular, naked man with the tail and horns. This time, though, my cock, impressive as it was, remained limp. Whatever spell he had over me as a human was useless on me as a demon. Not that I didn't find him attractive still, and I was certainly hoping at some point he'd help me break in my new equipment. But now I was in control of my impulses.
In fact, I seemed to have a greater control over all my vices. Sex, hunger, tiredness and even things like greed and anger all seemed like petty human follies now. It was sort of funny how much they mattered to humans, how much they used to matter to me. That wasn't to say I wasn't interested in them anymore. On the contrary, I was keen to explore how fun they could be, no longer too ashamed or guilty to try them. The difference was I wasn't a slave to them. They were under my command.
'Uh, morning,' I said. My voice surprised me. It was deep and bass. Though I spoke at the same volume, it travelled further, seeming louder. I would have to get used to that.
Runt turned to me, and smiled. 'G'morning Magnus,' Runt said. 'How're you liking your new body.'
'God, yes,' I said. I couldn't have been aloof about it if I'd tried. 'But, uh, Magnus?'
'That's your name,' said Runt. 'I'm your new Dad, so I get to name you. Your full name is Magnus Villosus Nothos.'
When he said it, I knew it was true. That was my name. In fact, I couldn't remember what my name used to be.
'It's latin,' Runt explained. 'It means Big Hairy Bastard.'
I scowled. 'Really?'
'Hey, you're lucky. I got stuck with Runt. Here, I brought you breakfast.'
It was then that I realised he was holding a live rat in his hand, dangling it by the tail. It seemed strangely docile about this.
I stared at Runt. 'I'm not eating a live rat.'
'You don't eat it, doofus,' he sighed. 'You're a demon now. You don't need human food. Your food is something different.'
'What?'
'Desire,' he grinned. 'The deeper and darker the better.'
He dropped the rat on the coffee table. At first it tried to scurry away but Runt focused on it and it quickly calmed down.
'You try,' he said.
I walked over, almost knocking over a floor lamp in the process, thanks to my new size. 'What do I do?'
'Nothin' to it. Eventually you'll do it without thinking.'
This left me none the wise, so I just stared at rat and imagined it relaxing, imagined it falling in love with me a bit, just as I had done when I met Runt.
'Nah, don't think so hard about it,' Runt explained. 'Make it effortless.'
I sat down on the couch, feeling it strain under my weight. I sat back, making comfort my priority, the rat was just an afterthought. Slowly, it turned to look at me. Then it crawled across the table and hopped onto my leg.
'Nice!' said Runt. He sounded genuinely proud of me, a fact that made me a little giddy. 'Now try to see it's deepest desire.'
A broad instruction, but I was starting to realise these were not things you could really explain how to do, you just did them. So I looked at the rat and tried to see into its mind.
'It really wants food,' I said.
'Nah,' Runt spat. 'You're not a genie. We don't grant wishes. It needs to be a proper desire.'
'What's the difference?' I asked.
Runt thought for a moment. 'A wish is like for a car or for money. A desire is something that sits in the core of a person. It's something they would do anything for, kill for, die for even. The only reason they don't is because it's something they can never get. Something only a demon can give.'
'That makes demons sound nicer than genies.'
'Yes and no,' Runt chuckled. 'Humans are weak little things. Not all of them can handle getting what they really want. And us demons do like our ironic twists. Keeps the same food coming back.'
I looked back at the rat. I momentarily wondered about the ethics of all this. But, once again, I retreated into my favourite solution. Fuck it.
I refocused my eyes on the rat's head and looked deep into its soul.