Chapter Six: Daniel

“The process is dangerous. And it won’t be easy.” Catra spoke. Daniel forced himself to pay attention to her words and not just the way her lips moved as she spoke. He wasn’t sure why he was so mesmerized with her.

Daniel had been in the company of beautiful women before they had never had this effect on him.

“It won’t be painful?” He asked, and a bright smile flashed across her face. He noticed that her bottom teeth were slightly crooked, and she had a thin, small scar on her upper lip.

“You’re changing who you are, fundamentally,” Catra sat down on the bed next to him, “Were you expecting it to be over in an hour?” She pulled a thin silver stick from her purse, and he watched as it grew, lengthening, darkening, and curving into a long wand.

She held it gracefully with one hand and swished it through the air, biting her lower lip as she looked at the space in front of her. Silver and golden sparks trailed after the wand but disappeared quickly as Catra frowned.

“Something wrong?” He had expected her to continue offering him information about the procedure, but she looked slightly nonplussed.

When she spoke, her voice had changed. It was more business-like. No longer seductive and breathy.

“No, I’m just testing the level of magic in the room. I like working with a clean slate.

Anyway, as I was saying, the spell is dangerous, and it is difficult.

It’s like if you were changing your gender- that requires several operations. Well, you’re changing your species. And while demons aren’t too difficult to create, I will have to remove part of your soul in order to make it work. And that isn’t going to be fun for you.”

Daniel nodded, gulping slightly. Catra smiled comfortingly at him, and placed one small hand on his own, patting it lightly.

He clasped her hand then, closing his eyes and inhaling and exhaling deeply. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat. Palpitations. That was what his psychiatrist would say if she was examining him now.

Daniel had suffered from anxiety for a very long time.

His eyes shot open as a question burst into his mind. He scrambled to get his words together, so that he could make sense when he spoke.

“Will I… will I still be able to take human medication once I am a demon? Or will I be cured?” He asked breathlessly, thinking about the antipsychotics and mood stabilizers in his carryon.

Catra looked at him for a long, quiet moment before speaking. “No. You can’t unfortunately. It won’t work. You’ll be able to drink water and eat food like normal. But your body will just burn human medication away.”

Daniel removed his hand from hers and got up, pacing around the room as he considered the situation. He couldn’t imagine not taking his medication.

How could he change who he was, become a demon, and lose the only tools he had to remain sane?

Daniel could hear his breathing accelerate, become erratic, shallow and he went over to the wall closest to him. He leaned against it before he collapsed to the floor.

But in a second, he felt his breathing slow, and felt the fear in his chest subside as Catra came up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

She was whispering under her breath, pushing her hands underneath the collar of his sweatshirt and pressed the tips of her fingers gently against his skin. He shuddered as heat flowed from her fingertips and into his skin.

The heat burned through his body, making its way down every nerve, bouncing off every muscle and tendon, wiggling its way into his flesh. The heat also made it all the way to his brain and burned some of the brain fog that stayed with him permanently as a result of the medication.

He gasped when she let go of him, his breath escaping in a sharp exhale. The room spun around him before coming to an abrupt stop. Then all he could see were Catra’s large, brown eyes. She was smiling up at him, before she stepped away, letting go of him.

“What did you do to me?” Daniel asked, shaking his head as he marveled at the feeling of complete clarity. Not even TMS got rid of the brain fog like this. “Why do I feel so… sane?”

“I sent a clarifying charm through your body. It is something I created a while back for myself. I always keep it on hand, just in case.”

Daniel revealed what had induced his anxiety then.

“I don’t think I can become a demon. I don’t think I can change if it means I can’t keep taking my medication. I won’t make it very far without my medication.”

“What do you take?” Catra asked carefully.

Daniel listed his medication and after a while of consideration Catra nodded.

“I can make you something that will work for you as a demon. It is a combined spell and charm, and you take it every week. I’ll also give you a long-term clarifying charm that should tide you over for the next few months.”

Daniel’s body softened as he relaxed. The witch was truly saving his life.

“What will it cost?” he said as they walked back to the bed. “Name your price,” he continued, pulling his phone out and opening it. He had to take a look at his assets.

“I’ll give you anything you want.” Catra was quiet for a moment, her hands clasped in her lap as she looked down.

Something about the witch had changed since she first stepped into the room.

“We can discuss that later,” she said eventually. “Let’s just get the spell over and done with.”

And with that she stood. She grabbed the wand and with a graceful wave, her trousers, shirt, and shoes were replaced by brown linen robes.

The jewelry she wore also disappeared. She waved the wand again and Daniel watched as the food trolley rolled away on its own. Some of the smaller pieces of furniture in the corners of the room disappeared into the walls, and a large white circle appeared on the floor.

The circle stretched all the way around the bed, closing around both Daniel and Catra.

She came back to him again and sat down next to him.

Daniel went still as Catra took both his hands in hers. She started speaking, but her voice was so low that he had to lean right in.

“There is only one way for me to take a soul that isn’t very painful.” She murmured.

Before kissing him.

Her mouth was full and soft, and her lips were gentle on his. Daniel didn’t stop the groan that escaped him, and couldn’t help it when his dick flexed, hardening.

Catra placed a hand on the back of his head, forcing Daniel closer to her, until they were practically becoming one. The kiss intensified, and Daniel reached for Catra.

Suddenly Daniel was in control and Catra was giving in to him.

His hands went to her waist, and he pulled her onto him, so that she was straddling him. He shivered as soft whimpers escape Catra. The hair on his arms rose and his skin prickled with the pleasure of her weight on him and her lips on his.

But then Catra was pulling away. She stumbled off him and cleared her throat.

“I need to get your soul out some other way,” she said, her voice breathy and raspy and so fucking gorgeous that Daniel wanted to take her right there and then.

“Because it is clear that the normal way won’t work. But this is going to hurt so I am going to knock you out. You can’t be conscious for this. Okay?”

Daniel nodded and before he could look up at Catra again, his head and body grew heavy, and he was falling before he could stop himself.