He rose slowly onto his elbows, groaning at the stiffness in his muscles. The man-monster—or demon, if Cooper wanted to stick to the lore his mind had created before he’d passed out—was crouched on his haunches next to him. Like a gargoyle, or maybe one of the flying monkeys fromThe Wizard of Oz. He was staring at Cooper, unblinking, likeCooperwas the strange sight in this room. His clothes were a loose brown matching set of pants and long-sleeved shirt that reminded Cooper of something a cult member would be given.
“You don’t speak much, do you?” the demon asked, his tone making it unclear whether he felt any which way about that. He wasn’t wearing shoes, Cooper noted.
Cooper shook his head, looking around the room to see if there were any other imaginary surprises. “How long was I out?”
Instead of answering, the demon shuffled closer, and Cooper held his breath, frozen there on his elbows, his legs sprawled out in front of him. He knew this demon wasn’t real, but he couldn’t help the feeling—the little raised hairs on the back of his neck—that said a predator was in his apartment and that he could pounce at any moment.
“Yes, lovely eyes,” the demon murmured, peering closely at Cooper’s face. “And so clever to cover them,” he said, indicating Cooper’s glasses. He held up two taloned fingers, bending them into claws. “So no one can poke them out?”
“Actually…” Cooper cleared his throat. The demon had never answered his question, but judging by the light coming through his window, Cooper hadn’t been out for too long. He just felt kind of…wrecked for some reason. A side effect of breaking with reality, perhaps? “I need my glasses to see.”
The demon lowered his clawed fingers. “To see what?”
“Um, everything?”
“Can you see under my skin?” the demon asked, leaning back on his haunches and sounding completely delighted by the idea. “To my very bones?”
What in the actual fuck was Cooper’s brain coming up with right now?
He gave a nervous laugh. “No, not to your bones. Just…what everyone else sees.”
“That’s silly. No two people see exactly the same thing.” The little demon sighed. “You’re not very wise. And not very strong,” he added, indicating Cooper’s position on the floor. “What need do you even have for a demon?”
“Um…none? I didn’t mean to summon one.”
And as soon as I get the right medication, you’ll be right back where you came from, Cooper didn’t add. He didn’t think the imaginary demon would appreciate it.
“Mm.” The demon’s lips pulled into a mischievous smirk. “I tricked you a bit, didn’t I?” He tilted his chin at Cooper’s desk and the computers there. “Being summoned into the machine was very strange. So many ones and zeros.”
Cooper huffed out a laugh. Now that he wasn’t holding his breath, he realized the demon smelled good, like a mellower, sweeter version of campfire smoke. His hallucination had an olfactory component too, apparently.
His brain had really gone all out.
“Do you have a name?” he asked. He supposed he could just make one up, but that seemed kind of rude, even if the demon was imaginary.
“All creatures have a name.”
Cooper laughed again. “Yeah, but what’s yours?”
“Most call me Chaos.”
It wasn’t a straightforward answer. “Because it’s your name?” Cooper prodded.
“My name is…” The demon bit at his lip, in a way that made it seem like he was trying not to smile. “Beelzebub.” At whatever he saw on Cooper’s face, he stopped hiding the smile and cackled delightedly. “No, silly,” he said between chortles. “Did you really think I’m the devil? That was a joke. It’s Bracchus. That’s my name.”
“Which do you prefer? Chaos or Bracchus?”
The demon shrugged, his cackles dying down. “Try either. Or both. Or neither.”
“How helpful.”
The demon’s eyes gleamed, and he shuffled even closer. His clawed foot was touching Cooper’s hip now, and his smoky scent was making Cooper a little dizzy. Cooper didn’t close his eyes though. He didn’t even dare blink.
He’d stick with calling him Chaos for now. It seemed…fitting, somehow.
“What do they callyou, computer human?” Chaos asked in a low murmur.
“Cooper. Or Coop,” Cooper told him, giving him the nickname most of his family used.
