The Devil's Apprentice by Patrick Stewart (polar express read aloud TXT) 📕

Instead, he turned to his laptop and opened the google drive document, hoping to get some work done on his boy wizard story. He’d barely written a sentence when Madeline returned, coffee in hand. She placed the cup on the table, then stood waiting.

“Thanks,” Alex said.

“You… you’ve… changed?”

“I have?” Alex asked innocently. “How?”

“You’re… you look-” Madeline paused, her eyes narrow. She reached for his cheek, her fingers brushed his jawline. Her hand returned to her side as she let out a deep sigh. “What happened to you?” she gushed.

“I gained those twenty pounds,” Alex told her.

“Twenty pounds?” Madeline repeated, before realisation hit, and her eyes widened. “Oh, to sleep with me?”

“It was a joke,” Alex said quickly, though it wasn’t.

“No, no, no,” Madeline said quickly. “I’d be happy to sleep with you. You’re hot! I mean, you’re out of my league. You look so-”

She was babbling, and Alex wondered if it was his “aura”, as Karen had put it. All Demon Hunters had it. Their more presence apparently inflicted the weak humans to lose their minds, to become delirious with passion.

Madeline did look flustered, if not delirious. She’d finally stopped talking. Now she stood silently, her cheeks red, her eyes flickering between her feet and him. Alex knew he could have her, probably right in this cafe right now if he wanted. The thought was tempting. Too tempting.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her slim waist, he breathed in her scent, then kissed her on the neck. Madeline’s back arched as she closed her eyes. Her lips parted and she moaned softly.

It didn’t take much for Alex’s cock to rise. Madeline noticed it too. It would have been hard to ignore, considering its size. She rubbed her hand along the shaft of it.

“Holy fuck…”

“It’s a bit big,” Alex said sheepishly.

“Bit? It’s huge! I don’t know if I can take it...”

“There’s only one way to find out, right?” Alex laughed.

“You’re right,” Madeline whispered.

She got off his lap and stood facing him. There was a hazed look in her eyes as she dropped her skirt down to her ankles. Alex glanced at her purple lace panty. She was about to pull it down when he grabbed her arm.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting naked to take your cock,” she said, her voice distant, her eyes still hazy. “You don’t want?”

Alex did want. But not like this. This wasn’t on account of his newly acquired dazzling looks. The dazed look in her eyes, it was his damned “aura”. A shame because had the aura not interfered, she would probably have slept with him anyway.

Alex let go of her arm. “Another time maybe.”

She stood uncertainly with her skirt resting around her ankles. Alex turned back to his laptop and tried to focus on his writing, hoping his aura would release its grip on her. It did. Her cheeks colouring, she hurriedly pulled her skirt up and melted away.

Letting out a sigh, Alex leaned against the leather backrest. If every girl he approached went fucking goo-goo-ga-ga, it was going to be difficult to ignore his status as a Demon Hunter. And that was the plan, wasn’t it? To pretend like nothing had changed, even though so much had clearly changed.

Was he fooling himself thinking things could go back to normal?

Alex wondered what he would do when Karen came calling, which she would do sooner or later. He doubted he could take her in a fight. If by some miracle he did, would Satani send others after him? What then? He lives the rest of his life in hiding, running from place to place, trying to avoid being captured and… what was the punishment for abandonment? Death?

A grim thought.

Alex took a sip of his coffee. It was lukewarm. Not a great taste. Not a great day. He was about to pack up and leave when he spotted her. Her long curly brown hair came over her shoulders. A pair of thick rectangular-framed glasses rested on her sharp nose as she stared at the screen. She was engrossed in her laptop, typing quite furiously.

Chrissy.

How long had she been sitting there?

Before he knew it, Alex had walked over to her. Not noticing his tall frame looming over her, she continued to type away.

“Hey,” Alex did his customary awkward wave.

Chrissy looked up. Her eyes narrowed as she stared. “Um… hi?”

“It’s me, Alex?”

“Fuck off!”

He hadn’t walked over here with the intention of using his aura, but apparently he didn’t need intention. His aura worked based on whatever he was thinking. Chrissy was cute was what he was thinking. He was also a little envious about how she was able to type away furiously rather than write a sentence every ten minutes only to be deleted later.

Taken aback by her words, he turned slowly. She climbed to her feet and grabbed him by the arm.

“It really is you! What happened to you? You’ve changed so much.”

“Uh, gym,” Alex said sheepishly.

“Gym made you grow taller too?”

Alex didn’t know how to answer that. He’d grown half a foot. The gym didn't do that to you. The question was, why hadn’t more people noticed? Madeline definitely noticed something, but it wasn’t his height. Maybe it was because he was seated.

“How's the writing going?” he nodded at her laptop.

“It’s going well,” Chrissy said, before a frown appeared. “I sent you a story to read. You haven’t replied. Have you not read it?”

“I have read it,” Alex said slowly.

“Oh…” her face fell. “It’s horrible, isn’t it?”

“No not horrible at all…”

“…okay?” Chrissy leaned forward in anticipation. Alex got a whiff of her perfume. Flowery.

“Well… it wasn’t really fantasy,” Alex said, trying to keep his face from