Sweet like chocolate. Bitter like coffee.

Those were the words the maiden used to describe this power and her addiction to it. With it, she could move the world itself. If she wished it, flames danced at her fingertips, the waters parted for her, the land was her servant, and the wind moved to her whims. Tonight, the maiden gazed at the twin winter moons above her while she danced to the movement of the water she created from the melted snow.

All of a sudden, she stopped and gazed at the twin moons with the waves twirling around her in a way that did not block them from her view. The maiden was entranced with their beauty. One as pure white as the snow and the other the beautiful lavender color of her favorite flower. She could not comprehend why her people feared this power and the moons and all their stars when she thought of how it made her feel.

 “Sweet like chocolate. Bitter like coffee,” she whispered to the moons.

And so the night continued and the maiden danced and moved with the elements in a way that the rest of the world had forgotten. Unaware of the eyes that watched her. The eyes of one fair, yet inhuman. He cloaked himself in magic and between the frosty woodlands, watched the maiden, silent and curious. It had been a long time since he had seen a mage, let alone one with such power. He admitted that he was curious. Even so, he did not make himself known and just stood and watched as the maiden played with power that would surely lead to her demise if one of her own were to discover her.

At the creeping of dawn, both the maiden and her curious observer gazed at the approaching sun with shock. The maiden had danced the night away and the creature of the woodlands had been so entranced by her that he had forgotten himself to her. At its approach, both stared at it with the same entrancement that they held for the moon and for the first time in what must have been centuries, the creature was moved.

So much that he left his hiding place and went to greet the maiden. At first the maiden was shocked, but then she got a good look of him. A tall and slim body. An ageless face. Green tunic and eyes. Golden hair. Brown breeches and boots. And ears that pointed to a tip.

As for the creature, he looked to the maiden and saw that she was beautiful. A rare thing for her kind. She had hair as black as night, eyes as blue as the sea, and skin kissed by the sun. Even dressed in her raggy gray dress and brown traveling boots, she was…enchanting.

The two stood there for what seemed like an eternity as the sun continued its journey into the heavens.

And as the gentle wind blew against their hair, he asked, “Will you come with me?”

The maiden thought of all the power that he had. She thought of her people who barely tolerated her, but would surely kill her if they knew of her nightly escapades. She thought of how there was not a soul in her village that held her trust. Then that earlier thought came creeping to her mind.

Sweet like chocolate. Bitter like coffee.

How could she pass up an opportunity to further be able to control this wondrous ability of hers?

So the maiden took his hand and with a smile, she said, “Yes.”      

“Beautiful Demiana. Kind Demiana. Pure Demiana. Tell me, what is it that you wish for,” asked the young man who, by what seemed magic, appeared on Demiana’s bed.

 Demiana felt fear grip her heart and as her dark green eyes widened, she thought, My mind’s telling me to run, but my feet are rooted to the spot. Not even my voice works.

The young man smiled a smile that did not reach his cold black eyes as he said, “I am here to reward you, naturally.”

 Demiana managed to find the strength to shake her head at the thought that a madman had entered her room.

“Do you not recall a cat?”

An image of the black cat she had saved from a group of boys throwing stones at it rose up in Demiana’s mind.

How on Earth does he know about that? And what’s more, why does he care?

At her confused expression, he chuckled before he turned into a cat before reverting back to a young man, mere moments later.

Finding her voice, she screamed, “Mama! Baba!”

The young man chuckled and said, “If you would like, you’re free to scream louder. They will not come.”

I have to move now! My door is behind me so push back your fear, Demiana, and move!

To distract him, she asked, “Who are you?”

As the man laughed at her question Demiana found that her door could not open, but that was impossible.

How could a door without a lock refuse to open?!

At her shocked expression, the young man said, “For you, I shall answer. I have no name, for I am no beloved of your god, but have been called many things. I am the gin your people speak of with fear in their hearts. The one who leads legions to possess your people’s souls. I am the seducer who guides men and women into sin. I am no fallen nor mortal, but have existed since mankind first dared step onto this ancient land. I am the Prince of Egypt.”

Fear gripped Demiana's heart as she rashly tore the chain that bound her silver cross necklace from her neck, leaving small scratches from the stray chain links. Meanwhile, the man who was not a man advanced so Demiana was soon backed to a wall.

Demiana quickly chanted,

“Our Father who art in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy name

As Kingdom Come-”

She stopped when the man, no demon, nonchalantly took the cross out of her tightly clasped hands as if she were nothing more than a child, leaving a minor burn mark in his palm.

He scoffed, “As if I should be confused with some minor demon. I am the Prince of Egypt. This is but a minor annoyance to me.”

Demiana paled.

The demon only asked, “Gameela, what is it that you wish for?”

Shakily, Demiana answered, “I-I don’t have anything that I wish for.”

The demon laughed until he saw the resolve in Demiana's eyes. His face hardened as he said, “I see. If you change your mind, call my title and I shall appear” before vanishing.

At his departure, Demiana fell to her knees in relief and made the sign of the cross before deciding she was going to think of this as some nightmare because she would never call for him.

Finding her door unlocked, she grabbed her stuff and decided that she would head to Cairo University’s library before getting her hours at El Qasr El Ainy New Educational Hospital done.

***

At the hospital, Demiana sat with her best friend, Salma, on a bench discussing the mundane before Demiana waved bye to her near tardy friend. In these rare moments of tranquility, she liked to think of her dreams of becoming Egypt’s greatest female surgeon. While she enjoyed the peace that her break offered, she saw the hospital staff running towards Salma’s class.

Grabbing a doctor’s arm, she asked, “What happened?”

“One of the medical students has gone mad!”

Worried for her friend's safety, Demiana raced down the white hospital tiles to find Salma’s turban-style hijab loosened so that her hair flew everywhere, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, billions of slashes appeared throughout her body, dyeing it scarlet, and her nails elongated to resemble claws aimed for the cowering students and medical staff.

An image of the demon as he left her room rose up as the words “Prince of Egypt” slipped from her lips. Instantaneously, the room and all its inhabitants froze as the demon stood towering over Demiana. The young woman looked around in shock to see a sort of grayish light descend over everyone and everything except the humanoid demon and herself. Even when she tried waving her hand over a doctor frozen in mid-run, there was no reaction.

“Having fun?”

She thought, This isn’t like earlier. I won’t be afraid!

Momentarily looking to the grayish form of Salma, she screamed, “What did you do to her?!”

“Little Demiana, how quick you are to accuse me. I am not the one inside your friend, but if you find it so troubling, you need only make a wish and it will be as if this never happened.”

As he spoke, Demiana felt her eyes water at thoughts of Salma. Of how they had grown up together in the same apartment complex, of the trials they had overcome together, and of the dreams they had.

God, forgive me for what I am to do, but she doesn’t deserve this.

“I-I w-wish for Salma Fannous to have never been possessed and to never be possessed in the future.”

The demon smirked, “Done. One down.” before disappearing.

Suddenly, the scene shifted back to when Salma was rushing to her class, but this time, Demiana followed her and waited outside Salma’s class.

The next day, Demiana decided to go see Abuna Mikhail since her classes didn’t start until three and if anyone knew how to disperse a demon, she hoped her father of confession would be that person.

Outside, he greeted her as a black cat and continued to follow her as she walked down Ramses street into Nile Corniche. He would not stop pestering her about wishes, but not a soul paid any heed.

Just how can he follow me with this crowd?! And what happened to the natural nosiness of Egyptians?! What’s worse is Zeitoun is in the opposite direction!

Feeling that enough was enough, Demiana retorted, “I will never use those wishes.”

The demon laughed before departing.

With him gone, Demiana finally hailed a taxi and told him to take her to the Church of Saint Mary in Zeitoun.

Walking through the familiar church, she opened the door to Abuna’s office to find him with a young man.

At the sight of him, Demiana was struck by how different he seemed to other young men her age. There was a calmness about him that most young men lacked, but unlike the demon, he had a warmth in his dark eyes.

This young man stated, “There is something evil stalking you.”

English? Is he a foreigner? But he looks like an Egyptian…

Just as Abuna Mikhael was about to rebuke the boy, Demiana asked, “How did you know” in badly accented English.

Abuna’s face paled as he ordered, “Youssef, lock the door. Demiana, what happened?”

Demiana told them everything with tears streaming down her face.  

Youssef asked, “And the demon’s name? What was it?”

Perplexed, Demiana answered, “He didn’t have a name, but referred to himself as the ‘Prince of Egypt.”’

Youssef started nervously pacing as he said, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”

Recognizing it, Demiana said, “That’s Daniel. I think.”

“The point I am making is that this was thousands of years ago, but the prophecy had nothing to do with Egypt. Nobody has ever heard nor seen anything about a demon controlling the principality of Egypt since Pharaonic times!”

Abuna sat down in shock.

In contrast, Youssef said, “Uncle, with your permission, I think it would be best if I stuck by her for a while.”

Abuna answered, “Y-yes. I think that would be best.”

Demiana nodded and said, “If you can keep the demon away, then please accompany me home.”

He nodded and they took a bus off of Faris Gergis street to reach her apartment.

At the entrance, Youssef handed her a knotted cross while telling her, “Put this on and never take it off-Even when you go to sleep or bathe.”

Demiana apprehensively nodded before placing it around her neck and heading inside.

***

Taking a break from reviewing her lecture notes, Demiana thought on the past few days. Of Youssef and her growing feelings for him. And of how different he was from the demon. Speaking of, ever since she began wearing Youssef’s cross, the demon evanesced. Demiana couldn’t remember a time she was this happy.

As she thought, she gripped the knotted cross around her neck so tightly that the cord snapped and the cross fell to the carpet. As she reached for it, an invisible force levitated it and flung it outside her bedroom window.

No!

Sitting on her bed with his legs crossed, the demon smirked, “You didn’t really believe that you had gotten rid of me?”

Before she could call Youssef, Demiana felt her body lose mobility. The demon walked up to her before gripping her chin while saying, “Do you know how kind I have been to you? But, if you so desire, I may easily turn cruel, so little one, I would think twice before trying a trick like that again.”

At his departure, Demiana collapsed onto the floor.

***

Since then, Demiana avoided both Youssef and Salma to protect them. Today, she was supposed to meet Salma to let her copy Demiana’s notes.

A promise is a promise.

After entering the study room, she felt the door lock and was confronted by both Salma and Youssef blocking the only exit.

With hands on hips, Salma yelled, “Why are you avoiding me?!”

“How do you two even know each other?!”

Youssef answered, “She saw me that day I walked you back home.”

Salma glared, “Answer the question.”

Avoiding eye contact, Demiana replied, “I-I’m not-”

“Was it the demon?”

Confused, Salma stared at Demiana’s nod towards Youssef’s direct gaze.

Wide-eyed, Salma asked, “Just what is going on?”

Demiana started up a lie, but Salma held up her hand and said, “Demiana, if you even try lying, our twenty years of friendship is over.”

Nodding, Demiana told the two everything.

Salma stood in shock of Demiana’s explanation while Youssef said, “You need to make a bargain with it.”

Abruptly, Salma snapped out of her shock and simultaneously with Demiana asked, “A bargain?”

“Yes. Although that demon has a high rank, it is still bound by laws. The laws that govern its kind are different than the ones that govern us. It is these laws that keep it from directly snatching Demiana. If you can make the right bargain with it, the demon will disappear from Demiana’s life.”

Salma asked, “How?”

“Abroad, there are certain days where such bargains hold more weight. The closest such day would be Halloween-”

“My cousin’s Halloween party” interrupted Salma.

“What on Earth is Hal-lo-ween,” asked Demiana.

“A foreigner holiday my cousin is celebrating for his foreigner friends.”

Youssef interjected, “That would work perfectly. We’ll draw it out there before making a bargain with it.”

Salma and I nodded and we all went our separate ways after finalizing it.

In the days leading up to the party, Demiana began to spend time with Salma so to not draw the demon’s attention, but still avoided Youssef to safeguard him from the demon’s malice.

One day, while reviewing her lecture notes, he reappeared.

Putting away her notes, Demiana turned and asked, “Why are you here?”

“For the pleasure of your company, gameela.”

In a moment of sudden bravery, Demiana asked, “Why me?! I’ve never done anything deserving this so why me?! And don’t give me that cat excuse!”

The demon's eyes widened as he asked, “Why so brave all of a sudden?”

“Because you’re going to do what you like no matter what I say so it makes no difference if I’m meek or not.”

The demon wistfully answered, “True enough.”

Her words brought him back to a time long forgotten. In a language lyrical, but forgotten by all, save the ancients, he said the words she said to him so long ago.

“To you who believe yourself so above men, for what you have done I curse you! Until the day that one of my people you scorn and play with grants you true kindness so shall you be cursed to walk as a cat until the end of time!”

At her annoyed look from speaking in so foreign a tongue, he thought that this child really did resemble her.

Shaking his head, he asked, “Have you decided on your remaining wishes yet?”

“No, I have not!”

He then left her.

Since that day, the demon reappeared every day in Demiana’s room. And now, there was only a week until Halloween. Feeling that the demon had quieted down, Demiana decided to have a girls’ day with her mother to curb any questions she might have on her behavior.

In the midst of wandering the souk, they ran into Abuna Mikhail and feeling the conversation turn south, she awkwardly left for the bathroom.

Upon her exit, she saw a crowd of people escaping from the direction of Demiana’s mother and priest. With fear in her eyes, Demiana ran to where she left them to find the once peaceful souk dyed red with the blood of her loved ones by a ghoul straight out of some children’s fairytale. Its form resembled a woman, but its hair was matted. Its fingers resembled claws and its teeth were so sharp that they spilled out of its mouth. The only thing that clothed its body was a dirtied white dress resembling a sack. In horror, Demiana watched as it smiled at her before tearing off her mother’s leg and devouring it right before her eyes. Amidst the screams of the souk, Demiana called for the demon and everything froze upon his arrival.

“What is it that you wish for?”

“I-I w-wish-”

“Before you continue, you should be aware that this time you must give me something in return.”

“W-w-what?”

He spread out his arms and replied, “A kiss.”

Repulsed, Demiana yelled, “la’a!”

“Oh? Are the feelings you hold for them so superficial? What is a kiss for their lives?”

As he turned to leave, Demiana yelled, “Wait!”

The demon opened up his arms once more and Demiana reluctantly stepped into them to place a kiss on his cold, hard lips as he closed his arms around her. She froze at the warmth that filled her. It was her first kiss, but instead of feeling like a violation, it was almost...pleasurable. Swiftly, guilt set in.

How?! He isn't even human!

She snapped out of her thoughts when he, with his face inches from hers, whispered, “What is it that you wish for?”

“I wish for the lives of my mother and priest to be returned to them as if they had never been attacked and for them to never be attacked again.”

He whispered in her ear, “Done. One more wish left” before Demiana was brought back to when she was to abandon her loved ones to a ghoul.

After that day, the demon was gone and before she knew it, Halloween arrived. As she put on the finishing touches to her pirate costume, Salma knocked at her door dressed as a fairy.

After going to pick up Youssef, who opted for casual clothes, Salma drove them to her cousin’s villa. At the party, they were interrupted by people who wanted to meet the foreigner or comment on Salma and Demiana’s costumes. Feeling the night get longer, Demiana made some excuse on how the three of them needed fresh air. As they walked to an area free of party-goers, they noticed that they couldn’t even hear a cricket. In realization, the trio stopped and scanned the area.

“Boo” whispered a voice from behind.

Salma and Demiana jumped before turning while Youssef calmly turned around.

Youssef asked, “Why do you have such an interest in a human?”

“Ah. You’re that brat.”

His eyes hardened as he said, “I don’t like your eyes” before flicking his hand so that Youssef lay in a pool of his own blood that stained Demiana and Salma’s shoes a deep crimson. Demiana could only stare in horror.

Salma, in fear of her death, yelled, “You had no right to do that! He was only trying to reason with you!”

The demon deadpanned, “How boring” before flicking his hand so that Salma released a cry of anguish as she joined Youssef. Demiana looked down to see her costume splattered with the blood of her dearest friend.

Amidst the bloodshed, the demon laughed in delight of his victory as Demiana remembered the words the demon had first said to her.

I have no name, for I am no beloved of your god

Demiana stood with courage she did not have and said, “Demon, I wish to make a bargain with you.”

“A bargain?”

“I shall give you a name and in return you shall give back the lives of my friends and never come near nor harm me and my loved ones again.”

“And why should I accept this bargain when I can have you?”

“Because if you take me, I would hate you and that hate would change me, but a name is forever.”

The demon contemplated her answer before saying, “Only if the name pleases me.”

“Ashraf.”

I hated these types of events. There was nothing good about them. All it was were a bunch of high-class snobs looking to make themselves look better in front of other high-class snobs.

Looking at the crowd twirling and dancing, I thought, If this were one of my novels there would be a mysterious gentleman sneaking in here at the last moment after secretly stealing from some of these snobs to give to the poor.

I shook my head at the thought. Novels were just that, novels. The only secrets any of these people were keeping were how many villas their daddies kept. I sighed at the long evening ahead of me and wondered just how I had let my sister talk me into this when I knew she was just going to abandon me as soon as we reached the ballroom.

So I stood like the wallflower I knew myself to be until something caught my eye. A figure disappearing into the hallway.

I thought, How odd? I thought the earl and his lady were known for never letting guests passed the ballroom and outer gardens?

In that moment, I thought of the heroines of my novels. Of stories like Jane Eyre and poems like "The Lady of Shallot." These women did not allow something like fear to stop their curiosity. And sure one discovered that her suitor had a mad-woman for a wife and the other gave up her life, but at least they got to truly live and when had I ever done that?

Besides, what is the worst that could happen?

With that thought and before, I could convince myself otherwise, I carefully inched my way towards the corridor that held the figure that had disappeared. Once I had successfully entered said corridor, I turned left and began to walk. If there was one good thing about these balls, it was the dancing slippers that all respectable ladies had to don. After I had walked quite a distance, I smelled something that had no business being in an earl's estate. It was the smell of lilacs and as I continued down the hall, it only seemed to get stronger. And then I reached the end of the hall, but I could still smell the lilacs, which by this point, were disgustingly sweet, but I had not the faintest clue as to where it had come from.

Then I thought of secret passages like the one that the Princess Isabella used in The Castle of Otranto. I looked to see if there was any cracks on the floor that could lead to a trap door and spotted a strangely placed carpet by the wall that marked the end of the corridor. Removing said carpet, I discovered the secret passage I had been seeking.

I thought, How grand! There really is a hidden passageway in this estate! This smell is starting to annoy me, but now I must know where this leads.

I opened the trapdoor to reveal a stairway that led underground and was lined by torches. After entering the passageway, I closed the trapdoor so I would not get caught and then gathered the skirts of my gown so it would not dirty and made my way down.

At the end of the long stairwell was a door. To my happy surprise, the knob turned when I tried to open the door. I stepped into the room for only a moment, but the door slammed shut behind me leaving me in utter darkness.

I thought, Don't panic. In the novels the ones who panic are always the first to die. Remember, this is an adventure.

I dropped the hand holding my gown and, ignoring property, began to feel around for the door. To my dismay, when I reached for the knob, it would not turn.

I mumbled, "Come now, Lily, it is only a minor setback. Secret passages normally have two entrances so might as well continue forward."

Feeling for the wall, I continued forward into the darkness only to trip over a chain like some ninny. What surprised me is that I had landed on something most unstone like, but rather fleshy.

It was then that I heard a voice, a boy's voice, ask, "Who are you?"

I thought, I can only imagine what my sister and parents would say if they caught me in such an uncompromising position.

The boy reiterated, "I said, 'Who. Are. You?'"

I thought, to hell with property and replied, "Oh, I am terribly sorry. I am Liliana, but might I ask why you are down here?"

He did not sound any older than I was and that was saying something considering that I was a debutante of only fifteen.

He said, "Would you mind getting off of me, first?"

I felt my face heat up and quickly extracted myself from what I assumed to be the boy's lap.

After, I said, "Oh, I am terribly sorry. normally, I am normally not such a ninny,but-"

He interrupted, "I preferred the silence to your chattering."

"Oh, I am-"

He interrupted, "Please spare me the apology. You've already given me two. I have no need of more." 

I was about to apologize again, but felt his glare so settled for a nod, even though, I knew that there was no way he could see me.

An awkward silence developed after this, but it was broken by him saying, "Why are you here?"

I could feel the disdain in his words so replied, "Sir, as humiliating as this situation is, I doubt that it is deserving of your scorn. If you must know, I am only here out of curiosity."

Incredulously, he said, "Curiosity?"

"Yes, I saw a figure turn towards this direction and decided to follow him."

At this, he said, "Uncle Jamie! But this damnable smell! He'll never find me with it! Girl-"

"It's not girl, but Liliana."

"Fine, Liliana, can you find the source of the smell?"

"And how do you suppose I do that? Sir, in case it has not reached your attention, I cannot see a bloody thing in this darkness!"

"Just feel around and you'll find a table. On the table, there will be a vase with a lilac in it. When you break the vase, the smell will disappear."

"How preposterous, a single lilac cannot produce so great a scent."

"Yes, not by itself, but inside that vase, its scent is magnified a hundredfold, now do it quickly."

As I began feeling around for a table on all fours I muttered, "Follow the figure, Lily. It'll be an adventure, Lily. What a load of crock, Lily."

After a good amount of demeaning myself, I found the leg to what felt like a table. I kept one hand on the leg as I slowly inched myself upwards and felt around the base of the table before I felt something vase like. Taking out some of my frustration on the object, I slammed it to the floor and almost instantaneously, the sickly sweet smell of lilacs had dissipated.

After that, everything seemed to happen so fast. A man came in after a while with the torch that I should have snatched before entering allowing me to see the boy's face for the first time. Handsome features, tanned skin with grey eyes and a slender frame wrapped in long brown trousers and an Edwardian club collar shirt. The man who had come in looked to be in his early forties with clean cut black hair that was graying at the edge and a smart suit.

The man asked, "Kid, who's the girl?"

the boy answered, "She's the one who got rid of the smell. I don't think she's involved with them, but we can't leave her here."

The man nodded and I thought, Yes, talk about the strange girl as if she's not even in the room. How bloody fantastic!

The man then picked the chains that were holding the boy and the boy grabbed my hand as we followed the man out through the a door at the opposite end of the room.

If anyone had asked me which path we had taken to exit, I could not have answered. The only thing I was aware of was the boy's hand in mine as we twisted and turned through a complicated maze. At the end, we exited up another stairwell that led to the outer gardens of the earl's estates. The man closed the trap door just as I heard my sister's voice calling for me.

I said, "My sister."

I don't know why, but I felt as if it would be very bad if these two were seen so I hurried towards my sister and before she could turn around the bush that revealed them I turned her around and said, "Margaret, whatever are you doing out here?"

She retorted, "Whatever am I doing here? I should be asking you that! Do you realize the trouble you've caused with your disappearing act?"

Knowing that this was going to be another one of her tirades, I tried to catch one last glimpse of the two, but they were already gone.