Answering the Call – Part 2
The first leg of Answering the Call was so much fun to write! My wife and I are compulsive readers, and her input helped shape the flow of the story as it went along. I love the mixture of dramatics, mystery, tension, and humor. Jim Butcher manages to pull that off each time he sits down with a new Dresden book, and I’d love nothing more than to produce work comparable to his.
The tricky bit with my writing adult fantasy work is my eventual goals for writing: I’m trying my hardest to be a Young Adult novelist. As such, I don’t swear in my blog, in my writing, or in my social media presence. That’s a bit of a tall order. Speaking for my standard everyday conversation, and my wife’s too, we swear like sailors. It’s a pretty accepted norm in basically every circle I walk in. However, this blog and my growing social media presence are chances for me to write in the style that I will be doing for my career. So, swearing is out. That presented some awkward moments where I had to find a way to express outrage, or intense emotion without the use of an expletive.
Another thing that stinks about a genre so beloved and oft imitated is trying to find an original niche to call your own. Within the next room in my house, I have at least 10 books along this very subject, each by a different author, each with it’s own interpretation of the magical that lies beneath our own world. There’s a lot more I don’t have. So on the one hand, you have to find something instantly identifiable. In this case, everyone and their mother knows it’s a demon on the other end of that phone line. I couldn’t have made that any plainer if I had put in a gigantic glowing neon sign with an arrow pointing at the phone, exclaiming in hot pink and yellow “It’s a Demon, stupid!” Simultaneously, I must take that knowledge and force it down avenues that wouldn’t normally be ventured, or avenues not even ventured at all yet. I can’t possibly have read everything there is to read, especially when it comes to dramatic fantasy, but I’ve got some pretty amazing world building up my sleeve, and I’m excited to put it to paper. I only hope it works out as smoothly in print as it does in my mind. That’s the real trick of writing I suppose; to take an idea in my head and place it in another’s.
With those ideas, concepts, and thoughts in mind, I present to you the next section of…
Answering the Call – Part 2
I, Joseph Brindle, sat in my new office, torn apart phone held to my head, talking to a voice coming from an unplugged desk phone. As far as unnerving nights go, this is by far the second worst of them, which says a lot of rather unpleasant things about the first night on that list. I had just calmly told the unknown voice that I was willing to listen to he/she/it and whatever they had to offer. Not good things Joe. I thought distantly as I tried to gather my wits. Whomever I had the un-pleasure of addressing continued after my assent “Good, good my boy. I was hoping that would be the case. You see, you’re on a rather short list of candidates that we can approach with this offer, so I would’ve hated to have to… ahhh.. terminate our negotiations had you refused.” Why did he feel the compulsion to throw in those dark chuckles, and why hadn’t they become cheesy yet? Each time he laughed, it somehow felt like a violation. My disassembled receiver continued talking “As you may have guessed by our rather unusual mode of discussion, I’m not your average hawker.” Thank you for the understatement, Captain Obvious. I thought laconically, voice continuing “Be that as it may, certain aspects of our proposition require me to meet with you in person. As you’ve agreed to hear my offer, and there is no time like the present, I shall arrive shortly to discuss the terms.” With that, the line became what it should’ve been all along; completely non-functional.
I set the torn apart receiver down gently on my new mahogany desk. I stared at it pretty hard, wondering again what on Earth had compelled me to even answer it, let alone agree to meet with some mysterious, possibly supernatural being. Supernatural. There it was, the elephant in the room. Was that what had just happened? I went to college, I read dozens of publications and research in my field every day. There wasn’t any such thing. Such superstitions were for those lucky enough to have faith in things beyond the mortal world. I had no such luxury, having learned long ago that there aren’t any divine actors, and that sometimes bad things happen for no good reason. Pensive and staring at my desk, the clearing of a throat from directly behind me startled me beyond all reason. I let out a yell, and fell over sideways in my chair as I stared behind me.
The dark chuckle was emitted by a singular entity. Highly androgynous, I couldn’t tell if it was a male or a female I was staring at. It was definitely an it though, as no one I had ever met had deep crimson, almost black, skin. Or a tail! I thought with panicked alarm. No mistaking the lightly thrashing red tail, complete with spade. And the thing was wearing an impeccable suit, charcoal grey and extremely expensive judging by the cuts and cloth. As if to complete the caricature, whomever it was carried a briefcase. All that was missing from the scene was a red plastic trident.
Bending over, smirking hugely, whomever had just spooked me stated in that deep rumble “Good evening Mr. Brindle. I did say there was no time like the present, yes?” I threw the most disgusted look I could muster in the direction of that smug face. It didn’t seem to be dong any good however, so I settled for picking myself up off the ground and righting my chair. “Sit over there” I grunted, waving vaguely at the boxes on the opposite side of my desk “This is going to be extremely unpleasant and I want to be comfy while it happens.” A full laugh from the creature this time, straight out of my deepest and darkest nightmares. No amount of Jinny’s laughter would drown that out anytime soon. Assuming I got to hear anymore of it, of course.
“Right in one, Mr. Brindle. It’s highly doubtful you’ll enjoy any of what I have to say. I am, after all, a demon.” Well, so much for the dramatic reveal. I consoled myself, watching him as my nerves started fraying apart. A demon. An actual demon, sitting across my desk, with a briefcase. I bet it contains a contract, I bet my soul is involved. I’m just an accountant for Heaven’s sake! Oh no. If this schlub was a demon, did that mean Heaven was real too? Talk about a can of worms. “So what do I call you?” I asked as a way to try and give my mind time to catch up.
“I, Mr. Brindle, have been called many things over many years. For the purposes of our conversation however, you may call me Azazel.” In a way, I was disappointed. If you meet a demon, you almost wanted it to be the nastiest one you could find. I was so frazzled that I actually blurted out “I was hoping for Satan.” What possessed me to spew forth that thought?! Good one Joe. Again, the wicked laughter, this time louder and longer, as if the previous entry hadn’t been enough nightmare-fuel for one lifetime. “Good heavens Mr. Brindle, we do think highly of ourselves don’t we?” Azazel seemed to calm down a bit, then continued “No Mr. Brindle, as you will come to learn, it is quite impossible for Satan to take part in the day to day matters of his kind.”
“I guess ruling the Underworld is a full time gig” I offered lamely, overwhelmed by new information on top of everything else. The demon seated on the boxes opposite me gave me a level look, and stated very plainly “Mr. Brindle, Satan doesn’t rule the Underworld anymore than the Earth rules Humanity.” If the gears in my head kept grinding to a screeching halt so much, I might lose a few of them here soon. “What?” I replied stupidly, trying to make sense of the analogy I’d just been handed. “Humans” Azazel spat with what was obviously a long-held irritation “always thinking so very three-dimensionally. Just because the meat-suit you inhabit is so very small, Mr. Brindle, does not make that how the rest of the universe operates.” I was beginning to feel like I was back in my college philosophy course again, my Professor landing on me with all the condescension he could muster. You never want to find yourself on the defensive, especially given the current circumstances and company. “I simply didn’t understand your analogy, Azazel.” I replied with far more confidence than I felt. “which makes it a very poor one, doesn’t it.” Brindle Logic 101: When in doubt, take the offensive. It’s dug me into more than one hole, but it’s also dug me out of a lot more. “Very well then Mr. Brindle” Azazel stated with icy formality “before we continue this evenings work, a brief history lesson. Satan, you wretched cur, has been dead since the dawn of Creation.”
To be continued…
Mystically,
Justin
