Narrator's P.O.V
As they walked, Ariel noticed the woman looking at him out of the corner of her eye several times. The boy unconsciously shrank beside Marcos, holding onto the taller man's arm tightly. He was feeling strange in that place, as if something inside him, a very faint and distant voice, was telling him he shouldn't be there.
"So... Which one of you is going to tell me why the hell there's an incubus in my shop?" Eico asked, surprising them, since neither of them had said anything.
"I actually figured that was it, and I hoped you could help him," Marcos emphasized.
"Can I? Sure I can. I've actually dealt with this kind of parasite a few times in the past. The thing is, I need to know what kind of incubus we're dealing with, and for that, I need the biggest help to come from Ariel himself," she said.
"From me? Wait, how do you know my name if I didn't even tell you?" He was confused.
"My love, didn't Marcos tell you I'm a clairvoyant witch?" She laughed again. "Obviously, I don't know everything about everything, but your energy is so unbalanced that I could feel you the second you turned the corner. Not to mention I can even smell this bastard stuck to you... and he won't stop saying your name. He's calling for you."
"Eico has been a very famous witch in her hometown in Japan since she was just a child. After a few years, she came to Brazil, and I've known her since I came here too," Marcos explained to the curly-haired boy.
"I took care of this one since he was just a baby." She spoke playfully, making them laugh.
"Stop lying. When I arrived in Brazil I was already ten." He muttered.
"And I was already twenty. To me, you were a baby." She shrugged.
The rooms in the back of the shop were spread down a long hallway and separated by doors. There were exactly five rooms: two on the left side, two on the right side, and one that was exactly at the end of the hall. Upon seeing the last door, which was completely black, by the way, Ariel felt a certain despair. It was as if something in his mind was telling him that if he went in there, he would die.
His body began to tremble, but he tried to control himself, even though his legs were betraying him. The boy stopped for a few seconds. He was clutching Marcos's shirt, trying so hard not to freak out. He wanted to freak out, he wanted to scream, he wanted to run out of there, and he didn't even understand the reason for all of it!
"Do you want to know why you felt pain when you heard the chiming of the bells at the door?" The woman's voice caught his attention. The boy just nodded slightly. "Those bells are consecrated, which means if anything evil or malicious hears their chime, it will automatically feel pain. That's why I know Marcos only came here because he needs something. Besides, like I said, I can feel the energy of this parasite from afar."
"Why do you say parasite?" Whether he wanted to or not, he was so curious about that woman that he even forgot his pain and exhaustion.
"Incubi are parasitic demons, especially since they feed on your vital energy during your sleep using something that is wonderful, like sex. It's a parasitic entity because they attach themselves to you and take advantage of your wants and desires just to stay alive, which, to be honest, pisses me off so much!" she scolded.
"And why did he choose me?"
"You were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. These entities wander around, and it's likely he felt your desire for someone and took advantage of it. Who does he turn into when he enters your dreams?" she asked.
"Um... well... I've been dreaming that I'm... you know... with Marcos..." he answered, completely embarrassed.
"Makes a lot of sense." Eico laughed, giving the taller man a knowing wink, who just gave her the middle finger. "He had already told me about you, did you know? You've been Marcos's only topic of conversation for about two ye—"
"Eico, shut up!" he snapped, which made the woman laugh even harder, along with the curly-haired boy.
"I'm glad you two are finally together after so much time. My friend is in love with you, Ariel. And I tell you this as someone who has known this pest for many years: He is going to make you very happy!" she whispered to Ariel, which made him smile widely, after all, he was in love with Marcos too.
Hearing that made him very satisfied!
Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, consequently arriving at that black door. Suddenly, Ariel clearly started hearing a voice in his head telling him not to go in there. He looked around looking for the owner of that voice, because he realized it was really just the three of them there. Even though there were other rooms, the sound came from so close that it could never be someone inside one of them. It sounded like it came directly from his ear, but echoed inside his head as if he were trapped in a completely empty room, with only that sound filling it. The voice spoke angrily and soon began to speak louder, and louder, until it reached the point of literally screaming at the top of its lungs.
"This voice... it's going to make me deaf!" the curly-haired boy murmured, covering his ears, even though it was completely useless. It was inside him.
"The demon knows that from the moment you step into this room, it's a matter of time before I wipe him out," she said, finally turning the doorknob.
Eico opened the door, revealing a room filled with symbols drawn in red paint, which almost completely covered all four walls. There were also candles that looked worn out from burning so much, as well as two tables. The tables were practically the only furniture in the room. One of them was long, almost like a stretcher, and there was a sheet over it, so he was probably going to lie there. The other was more like an auxiliary table, and there were several objects on it, of which he only recognized one well-known by many: a crucifix.
Upon seeing that cross, his entire body shivered, something he didn't understand, after all, he had never been a very religious person. In fact, he didn't believe in many things, and was only there because he knew that, even not believing, what he had suffered during his sleep was not of this world and that was definitely real. Real enough to almost kill him inside a fucking dream!
The woman entered the room without much ceremony, gesturing with her hand for Ariel to lie down. The boy looked around reluctantly. With every new thing he observed, every symbol he saw, he felt a crazy urge slowly growing inside him to run away from there. He shot a pleading look at Marcos, who just smiled simply and caressed his face, pulling him close and holding him in a tight hug. The curly-haired boy felt his body relax with the older man's action, even if only slightly. He trusted Chen and knew that with him there, he would be protected.
"Each of the five rooms represents a different religion and some of their branches. As much as there are many beliefs and religions, none is truly right or wrong. There are entities that correspond to each of them, and each has its own way of dealing with them. This room..." She raised both hands, spinning on her heels to point out and demonstrate the whole place. "This room is the room that corresponds to Christianity, and deals with its counterpart."
"Demons..." Ariel whispered softly, but Eico heard him.
"Exactly. Here I deal with those damn demons. I can't stand those beings, they are the worst kind that exists in the spiritual world," she completed.
"And what are you going to do, Eico?" Marcos asked, somewhat distressed. He was very worried.
"Well... incubi are parasitic demons. They don't usually possess their hosts, because what feeds them is mainly the energy humans release during sex. Sex magic is powerful precisely for this reason, because sex generates energy. A lot of energy. That's why they fuck the ones they host through dreams."
"So that means he just wants to fuck me?" he asked.
"Yes and no. Yes, because that's all he's going to force you to do. And no, because his main intention is to suck out your life force. He will literally suck your life until there's nothing left, so you will wither away until you die." The way she said it was so calm that it left the younger boy completely shocked.
"That's why we need to get rid of him fast. We don't know the strength of this demon, so there's no way to know how long it will take until he consumes you." The apprehension Marcos felt was clear in his voice. He took advantage of the fact that he was already hugging Ariel to kiss his forehead. "Everything is going to be okay, Ari. I'll be here with you, okay?"
"Okay..." He gave a small smile, receiving a quick peck from the taller man. "What do I do?"
"You're going to lie down here." She pointed to the stretcher.
Eico went to the auxiliary table and picked up a small vial from there, beginning to recite something in a low voice as soon as she touched the object. She made the sign of the cross and started to sprinkle the liquid that was inside over where Ariel was going to lie, and it was only then that both understood that what she was speaking must be some kind of prayer and that liquid was holy water.
"You can lie down, pretty boy." She smiled at him.
Even reluctantly, the boy went to the stretcher and lay down on it. Ariel felt a shiver so intense that his entire body bristled. As soon as his head touched the metal of the object, the curly-haired boy felt a strong pressure on the back of his neck, falling unconscious almost immediately. Marcos got startled and was already prepared to go to the younger boy, but the witch interrupted him.
"Don't interfere, Marcos. He's fine, besides, you can't break the circle." She pointed downwards, and only then did the Asian man realize there was a large symbol drawn on the floor.
"Take care of him, Eico... please..." he pleaded, almost in tears.
"I'll be as gentle as possible, but I can't make any guarantees about the demon." She shrugged.
"Do you think it's going to be easy?"
"I don't know. The energy of this parasite is very strong. I've dealt with several types of demons before, but this one is kind of... different..."
Eico ran her hand over the curly-haired boy's body so she could feel the energy of the demon that was obsessing him. Even though she thought all demons were equally despicable beings, she knew there was a hierarchy, and knew there were some that were more powerful than others. She didn't expect it to be anything too crazy, since she had already dealt with several incubi before...
However, Eico was surprised. Her entire body ended up shivering when the woman found herself invaded by a feeling of pure terror...
Even though it was obviously an incubus, something was wrong!
"He's too evil..." she whispered, and in that same instant, a wind blew through the room, blowing out all the candles.
The Asian man, who was only observing the witch's cautious movements, got scared. After all, how the hell was it windy in a closed room?! And besides, the place had begun to get colder and colder, so much so that for a few moments Marcos could swear he saw smoke coming out of his mouth. He looked desperately at Eico, who was looking around as if searching for something, and it was then that he realized that things would get out of hand...
The witch kept her eyes open in a way that she didn't blink once. She was feeling so much despair, fear... it was a feeling of pure and genuine terror. Eico searched incessantly, because she knew there was something very wrong. Instinctively she began to recite a prayer of protection while searching for the owner of all that evil energy that was plaguing the entire environment, suffocating her because it was so physical that she could even smell the stench of rot it emanated. It smelled like death!
"Eico..."
Marcos caught her attention, but his eyes were wide and he stared fixedly at a specific point behind her. The boy slowly pointed behind the witch. She didn't understand, so she decided to turn around, until she finally found him. He was there. The thing was really there with them in its physical form. Two white dots floated in a dark corner, dots that resembled a pair of eyes. As soon as she saw him, Eico felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet, passing through her legs, torso, and when it finally reached her head, her eyes automatically filled with tears so abundantly that they streamed uncontrollably. It was dread.
She was feeling so much dread that her body reacted instantly!