Meeting the demon

Amber was normally not someone to go in for spiritual or alternative medicine. Honestly, she thought they were cons. But she'd been so stressed about what to do about her daughter leaving, that her friend's badgering had finally worn her down.

As laughable as it seemed, here she was walking into the premises of a supposed crystal healer.

The woman in the light and airy place was about Amber's age, wearing a flowing dress made of diaphnous cloth. Her green eyes were piercing, so bright as to almost be yellow.

"Welcome, Mrs. Doe," she purred in an accent that was slight and untraceable. Greek, Amber guessed?

"I will be looking after you today," she gestured Amber further in and into a side room. There was a bed in the middle, crystals of various sizes, shapes and colours hanging down, all draped in low, mood lighting.

"My name is Perver," she rolled the last r with a slight French accent, completely unlike her normal speaking voice, "And I will be lightening your troubles today. Please, lie down, talk to me."

Amber had to avoid laughing when she walked in a saw all the gaudy crystals and stones lining the place but, as Perver talked she found herself drawn to her. There was something both friendly, trustworthy and alluring about this dark-haired beauty and so, despite her initial instincts, Amber decided to put her concerns on hold and give it an honest go.

An hour later, she was glad she'd done so. Utterly relaxed and spellbound, she was laid out in a state of complete calm, talking about things she wouldn't even reveal to her closest friends.

As part of the conversation, the state of her marriage came up. She wouldn't dream of talking about that with anyone except James and their bedroom activities were a closely guarded secret. But with Perver, she alluded to James's often degrading treatment of her.

"You know sometimes..." sighed Amber, eyes covered, flat on her back with a large pink crystal lying on her chest "....sometimes, I just wish...."

"Yes?" an interested Perver leaned forward, eyes ablaze.

"I wish he would just respect me more...you know, in bed."

Unseen, Perver leaned back and rolled her eyes, "Hmm mmm," she agreed. She couldn't do much with that wish. She needed something more.