"I don't understand." Howard frowned. "Why would you do that Vince?"
"I wanted to stay young. I still do."
"So you'll never age, ever?"
"Not unless I look at the picture."
"But what about this business 'the devil will consume you if you tell'?"
Naboo stepped in at this point. "Vince's was being consumed slowly anyway. Everyday he becomes a little less Vince a little more devil."
"What?" both gasped in horror.
Naboo shrugged. "You never asked the consequences Vince."
"But…"
"The devil?" Howard squeaked. "You're becoming the actual devil."
"But…" Vince whispered again. "Naboo. You never said that before. You just said if I told…"
"No point in panicking you." said the shaman, with a quick shrug of the shoulders. "And it doesn't always happen. Often, infected people just become a little more evil every birthday. But you… she must've liked you, well, your form anyway because your process has been greatly accelerated."
"What are you saying?" Vince asked anxiously.
"Vince. You're dying. Fading to non-existence and she, she is consuming you."
"But I…"
"Vince. You're becoming her."
"SHUT UP!" Vince screamed, leaping to his feet. His eyes flashed red.
"I'm just telling you the truth Vince."
"No." Vince's voice cracked, it sounded like nails on a whiteboard. "Shut up tiny shaman!"
"Oh." Naboo said calmly. "It's you."
"Why are you telling him? He can't do anything about it now."
Howard cowered into the sofa and whimpered slightly. Vince looked manic, red eyed, hair up on end and he was oh-so crazed.
"What about the path of true love? We all know true love can conquer anything."
"Ha! I'm not weak to 'true love'. That's an urban myth."
"Oh, really?" Naboo looked totally surprised and a little crestfallen. "So telling him has done…"
"Nothing." Not-Vince cackled mirthlessly. "Oh tiny shaman. You really have no idea. And you!" Not-Vince turned to Howard, who seemed to be trying to disappear into the back of the sofa. "You," he repeated, "Are a useless waste of oxygen. And you know."
Not-Vince lunged at Howard and gripped his head like a vice, forcing him deeper into the back of the sofa hard. He leant in very close, ready to kiss Howard's life away.
"No." Vince's voice came from within his body as he tried to pull his face from Howard "Don't hurt him."
"Stay out of this." the scraping nail voice warned.
"No."
"Then feel this."
Vince's voice cried out with pain as his left hand closed around his neck.
"you're not going to kill Howard." Vince's voice came again as the hand started to tighten it's grip around his throat. Vince choked and his eyes bulged in fear.
Howard's mouth dropped open in shock but as soon as his lips parted, Vince's body lunged forward and he started to kiss him. Howard felt his breath begin to be sucked away. Icy cold pain in his lungs and then. That feeling was gone, and it was just slow and sensuous. His breath returned to his lungs and he kissed back carefully. Suddenly, Vince's body went weak in his arms and crumpled into a heap.
Howard looked up to see Naboo frowning at him.
"You're not supposed to kiss the devil back." Naboo said raising a somewhat bemused, somewhat angry eyebrow. "That's just great. Now you're going to be never-aging too. Close your eyes a minute until the photo of you appears."
"I…" Howard blushed furiously, "I think that was Vince."
"What?"
"I think he out fought her. I think he kissed me in the end."
They both looked down at the crumpled heap of unconscious man on the floor.
"Take him to his room." Naboo ordered. "Stay there until I can work out what's happening."
Apologizes for painfully short chapter!! I will stop neglecting this fic from now on!! I will promise a fully fledged chapter next update - Any preferences on next chapter?? This is about the first time i've ever updated as soon as i finish the chapter! So it's making me anxious! lol.
Sisi...xx
