Chapter 16 by Zeebop

Who Is It?

A Demon

A shape appeared from the smoke. Like a chameleon changing the color of its skin. As if she had always been there, and, Lois supposed, she had been.

Dark horns curled back from a noble head, like the bust of Nefertiti. Dark hair curling down over bare shoulders. Small breasts contained by a strange garment, two strips of dark cloth that passed over her tits, meeting down just above the crotch, a long wisp of a skirt hanging down over the toilet, leaving the long legs bare.

Skin like fresh blood on parchment, smooth and lean with no fat at all. Steel and whalebone, Lois Lane's father would have called it. And those eyes...pure white with no pupil or iris, sitting in dark pits. The lips were set together in a Mona Lisa smile. Slim red fingers picked up the cigarette and brought it to her dark lips. No lipstick, Lois noticed. Just naturally dark, slightly purple. The demon inhaled.

"A bad habit," smoke curled up from her mouth and both nostrils. "Did you ever...?"

"Never," Lois said. "Nasty habit."

"A pity," the demon said. "Everyone should sometimes enjoy my...petty vices."

The reporter could feel the hair standing up on the back of her neck. She was suddenly acutely aware of her vulnerability.

"Who are you?" Lois asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Call me Blaze," the demon said. "You took something from me."

The bottle. Lois inhaled deeply. "I was looking for some lost women..."

Blaze gestured with the cigarette. "They found a sudden opportunity to travel abroad. They'll be back in Metropolis in a few days, with fresh tans and enough money to cover the rest of the semester."

"What do you get out of it?" Lois challenged.

The smile flickered. "I like to watch. Tonight...I would like to watch you."