And the dark flowing stream laughed back to his beam,
And the lark soared singing aloft in the blue.
While no phantom of night but a form of delight
My arms outspread for my darling boy,
And the one I love best, on my wild throbbing breast
Hid his thousand treasures with a cry of joy.
It’s not difficult to move a music demon to emotion when good music is performed, which was why it was noteworthy that Lyric had experienced a musical epiphany hearing Shivaun’s slightly changed version of an ancient Irish tune. Her voice was as sweet and pure as a choir boy’s. He was sure that, had she lived her life as a human, she would have been mother to a line of fine Irish tenors.
When she finished the song, Shivaun appeared to shake herself out of a trance.
She looked at Lyric, who stared silently. “That bad?”
His eyes flashed a millisecond before he grinned and shook his head. “It was… wonderful. Do it again.”
“No.” She laughed for a second, but then grew quiet. “What does it mean? Did you somehow…?”
Instead of finishing that sentence she ran through a list of explanations and scenarios in her head while Lyric was doing the same.
He sat down next to her. “What if we sort of, ah, comingled?”
“Meanin’ what? Exactly?”
“I’m just speculating. I don’t know any more than you do. But what if our coupling resulted in me getting a little of you…”
“And me getting’ a little bit of you.” Her eyes widened. “I’m a music demon?”
He barked out a laugh. “You’re not a music demon. No. But you might be a musical demon.”
“Good to see your sense of humor has no’ escaped you. And if ‘tis true, what you’re speculatin’, what did you take from me?”
“What did I receive from you?” he corrected. “I took nothing. At least not deliberately or knowingly.”
“Semantics. Answer the question.”
“I don’t know. Do I seem different?”
She stared good and long. “No. No, you do no’.”
“Well, I feel different.”
“You do?” He nodded. She made a motion with her hand. “Go on. Do no’ force me to pull it out of you.”
“Nothing as dramatic as what I just witnessed. But things just feel different. I can’t explain.”
“Try.”
“Can’t.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So what does this mean for me? That, if I’m on a rundown for The Order, I’d better no’ move my head too fast or every instrument nearby will begin askin’ for attention?”
He couldn’t help smiling at the picture.
She slapped at his shoulder. “Stop it. ‘Tis no’ funny. Ye gave me this. You can take it away.”
“No. I can’t. Because I have no idea how the transfer occurred. But it’s not a disease – being able to play music. It’s a gift. A wondrous thing.”
“Maybe. If you’re controlling when, what, where, how, and in front of whom. But not if things just suddenly get excited and start jumpin’ around because you moved too fast for ‘em.”
“We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”
With a huff, she said, “We need to ‘figure it out’ before I’m called into work.”
“Okay,” he said amiably.
“And no more surprises.”
“Hey. I’m a victim, too.”
“Victim. How’s that?”
“Maybe this means we’re bound to each other. Forever.”
“Bound to each other? Forever?” she repeated. “And you’d find that a hardship would you? One that would make ye a victim?” Her voice grew higher and more strained.
His face softened. He dropped the teasing tone and the register of his voice so that it was low, soothing, and reassuring and leaned in so that she’d know he was being sincere. “I’d find it the greatest joy and privilege imaginable. There’s only one thing in creation better than music. And that is you.”
Shivaun decided the gift of detecting lies was her favorite upgrade. Because she knew the demon meant what he said. In the blink of an eye, she decided that was close enough to love. Total self-sacrifice might not even be a reasonable aspiration. Certainly, the demon’s vow was better than most people would ever get from a fellow traveler.
And maybe he’d been changed as well. She crawled into his lap and initiated the most satisfying kind of long, deep kiss.
“Is this a commitment?” he asked when she pulled back.
“’Tis perhaps a bridge to commitment.”
“I’ll take it.” He smiled.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Who Do You Love
The demon and his girlfriend knocked on the door a little after six. Both of them were secretly pleased when Doo’s expression said he was glad to see them.