THE MOMENT
"Mum wants you to do the dishes," Freddy said. He considered his duty done with delivering the message; but changed his mind when he noticed her attire. Judging by what she wore, Freddy expected to be asked for a favor. Her bright red dress, that she only wore for her boyfriend, billowed under her while she floated above the bed. She sat upright with her legs tucked under her with her eyes closed. As if confirming his suspicions, Fran's eyes shot open. She held out a hand telling him to 'wait' while she kept reciting the incantation until she reached a stopping point.
Freddy nodded and leaned against the door frame for several droning minutes. Unlike his sister, Freddy never took an interest in Latin. He managed to pick out a few words he was familiar with, but didn't understand most of the chanting. The most important thing he managed to learn was that she was about to ask him for a big favor, something that could earn him big rewards. Finally, she stopped chanting and descended slowly to the bed.
"Sorry, thanks for waiting," Fran apologized immediately. Freddy nodded.
"No problem, so what's up? You look like you're going out. Does mum know you're going out?" Fran smiled at the question. The siblings were two years apart, but thick as thieves. Freddy's question about their mother knowing wasn't meant to try and intimidate or blackmail her. He was always straight forward and genuinely wanted to know how to handle any questions that might come up.
"She gave me permission to go out with 'some friends'," Fran used air quotes. "But she doesn't know about this...," Fran tugged at the red dress. "...you know how she feels about Devon."
"What's in it for me?" Freddy asked.
"Nothing for keeping your mouth shut," Fran grinned. They both knew he wouldn't rat her out. "But I still have to finish getting ready. If you do the dishes for me I'll ask Devon to bring you something cool when he comes to pick me up."
"How cool?" Freddy narrowed his eyes at her.
"Birthday gift cool," Fran replied with a grin. Freddy's birthday wasn't for several months yet, but whatever Devon offered was worthy of being a birthday gift on its own.
"It better be," Freddy turned and left her room without another word. Half an hour later Freddy knocked on Fran's door again.
"Dishes done," he said.
"Thanks, come in," Fran opened the door and invited him in at the same time. She had more makeup on this time and her brown hair was tied back in a braid; she looked ready to go out. "He'll be here any minute," she said.
"Where are you going?" Freddy asked his sister.
"Don't know yet," Fran shrugged. "He said he wanted to take me somewhere special." At her words, a puff of sour, yellow sulfur filled her room. Freddy and Fran backed away from the visible odor and a tall, red-skinned man with ebony horns stepped out of the cloud.
"Hey babe," he grinned at Fran; she dashed forward to hug him once he cleared the cloud. After several quick pecks, the demon turned his attention to Freddy.
"Thanks for taking care of things so we can get out of here faster," Devon stepped forward and gave Freddy a small transparent card. It was the size and thickness of a playing card but seemingly made out of glass.
"What's this?" he asked.
"It's called a node," Devon replied. "You can do almost anything with that, even use it as a phone."
"A phone?" Freddy chuckled. "Maybe you should get one for Fran too so she doesn't have to hover every time she wants to talk to you." Devon smiled and patted Freddy on the shoulder.
"She has one already. The hovering only happens when she calls me at work."