Page 122 of Devil Inside

“See? That’s just it. This constant switching around. It’s too much.”

“What would you have us do?”

“I’m trying to figure that out.”

“Well, don’t dwell on it too long.”

“Do you even know what you want out of this relationship?” he asks us.

We can’t help but laugh. Just a bit. “I’m sorry... Did you just sayrelationship?”

“If this is going to work between—”

“Work?”

“—I feel like I need to trust you.”

Trust.The word feels contractual. The laws of man. The resolute expression on his face suggests he’s serious, but we can’t help but sense his nervousness. We smell it. Fear.

“We should lay down some ground rules.”

“Rules,” we repeat, the word flat. It holds no flavor on ourtongue. He invited us here... for this? To tell us what he wants? To give us an ultimatum?

It’s a trap. We feel cornered. Jordan lured us to this public space in hopes of binding us with his so-calledrules. He wants to contain us. Cage us.

We will not be contained.

Here comes the itch.

No body-hopping, he requests. One body. One host. It proves too confusing for Jordan, passing through so many vessels. He needs a familiar face. A voice he can recognize.

A body he can cling to. It puts Jordan at ease, returning to the same receptacle.

“Are you saying I can’t possess other people?”

“I’m serious,” he says. “We need boundaries.”

“Boundaries?”

“It’s just too confusing to keep dealing with different people all the time.”

He doesn’t understand what he’s asking of us. Doesn’t understand the risk. The toll. The pain possession inflicts. If we linger within one host for too long, we lose ourselves.

“The longer I’m in one host’s body,” I explain, “I run the risk of getting stuck.”

“Is being stuck actually so bad?” he asks.

“When you can’t escape it is.” Imprisoned within flesh. A cage of skin and bone.

Is that what Jordan wants? To put us in a cage?

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” he asks.

Because I don’t want to frighten you. Because I’m afraid of what you might say. Because I’m afraid of what you might see. See me. The real me. What’s hidden beneath.

“Because you never asked.”

“This is all pretty new to me... I’m trying to figure out what questions to even ask.”