Sunday 1st November 1992- Ash

1:53 a.m.

"Is it done?" Ash asked a partially materialised, Gammick.

Gammick stepped forward, now fully formed and nodded.

"I want her watched at all times."

Gammick bowed his head and shuffled on the spot. "Why did you reveal yourself to her, Sire?" he rasped.

Ash looked down at the dance floor, at the crowds of people still dancing. If he'd felt human tiredness anymore, he'd have stifled a yawn. Instead he cracked his knuckles; the bones softened and began to meld together. He straightened the fingers out again and they separated with a pop. The confines within the shell of this human body irritated him greatly. He longed to stretch out and unfurl.

"Why not?"

"Well for one thing, she is now expecting you."

Ash smiled. "That's if she remembers."

"But what if she does and she tries not to splinter?"

Ash laughed. Both the lights and the volume of the music dimmed a little. "Oh Gammick, you have so very much to learn still. Firstly, the girl is merely human, and they as a species are entirely incapable of going through their sad little lives without doing something wrong. Trust me, that girl's soul is so fragile, she could forget to thank someone for holding the door open for her and poof," he fluttered his fingers mid-air, "bits off it would fly off."

"But if she is as fragile as you claim, then surely you just need to wait."

Ash twisted his neck almost three hundred fifty degrees; it gave a satisfying, cracking sound.

"I could wait, yes, but isn't it more fun to add a little adventure into the mix? Besides, the more she tries to do right, the bigger the splinters will be when she fails. She will tie herself up in knots to protect herself and her soul."

Gammick tutted. "Could it be that you don't want a repeat of the last time?"

Ash turned slowly away from the dance floor. His eyes boiled with rage and the flesh on his face began undulating, as if a thousand spiders were writhing under the skin. Gammick visibly shrank.

"No," Ash, blasted.

The lights went out and the music ground to a halt. Sparks flew into the smoke-filled atmosphere and screams filled the air. The barn doors were flung open and the crowd began surging out in panic.

Gammick, slunk further into himself, his misshapen head bowed as low as he could manage.

"Surely...," Ash seethed, through clenched teeth, "you should know better than to mention that to me, again."

"Indeed, Sire. It was foolishly insensitive of me."

The demon scrutinized the face of his associate looking for signs of insincerity, which, had he been in a calmer frame of mind, he'd have realised was a fool's errand. The young demon had always been wilfully disobedient but was just about as loyal as associates got in this world.

"Remind me, Gammick, why is it I keep you?"

Gammick took a few seconds to answer. "Because I am bound to you, Sire. And I have never failed you before and do not intend to do so this time."

Ash waved his hand dismissively. "Go find out where they have taken her and tell the others to collect as much information on her as they can. She won't remember anything for a while and that gives us a little time to get prepared."

Gammick nodded and backed away, his fancy dress, vampire cloak swishing across the floor.

The sound of sirens could now be heard in the distance. Ash waved his hand one way and then the next. A lone flame rose up in the centre of the dance floor, swaying in time with the movement of his hands. As Ash began to open his hand, the flame grew. An orange plastic cup, lying on the floor close by, ignited and began to blacken and melt. He splayed his hand further and the single flame became many, the fire spreading out from the centre like ripples in a pool of water. Very soon, most of the barn was ablaze. The attending police and fire services would find little within the skeletal frame of burnt wood.

He took one last look behind him and his eye caught on something white, almost tucked down the back of the sofa. He leaned over and picked it up. It was Becca's neck choker. He fingered the lettered beads and smiled. Experiencing an unfamiliar sense of satisfaction, he opened a portal and walked through it.