“What do you mean?”
She glanced at the hallway down which Rick had disappeared. “Richard, as you may have gathered, is a drug addict. When he and my host started dating, she picked up his habit. At first, it was just a way to rebel against her parents, but it turned into way more than that. What she didn’t know was that Richard was infected with HIV.”
I winced.
Melanie shook her head. “He didn’t know.” Again she glanced at the hallway. “He’d never been tested. But as you’ve no doubt guessed by now, my host was also infected.”
“HIV isn’t an automatic death sentence these days,” Barbie said, echoing my thoughts.
“No, but her parents would have kicked her out the moment they found out, and she had no means of supporting herself. Not to mention the drug habit, which was only getting worse. The combination of circumstances would have turned it into a death sentence.”
I eyed Melanie skeptically. “So what you’re trying to tell me is that you illegally possessed her, but I should look the other way because you’re an angel of mercy, saving her life?”
“Something like that. She is far better off with me in residence than she was before. And while the transfer might not have been technically legal, both she and my original host were willing participants.”
“Your original host?”
Melanie nodded. “My original host was legal and registered.” Her face twisted into a grimace. “And our relationship was the opposite of love at first sight.”
I’d known other demon/host relationships of that ilk. The hosts did not fare well under those circumstances. Demons just had too much power and were bound to come out on top in any conflict.
“If I’d had to reside in that host for my entire stay on the Mortal Plain … It would have been hell for both of us. So we agreed that we would try to find someone else to host me. Meanwhile, Melanie had decided that her only chance of survival was to find a demon who could manage her disease.” She smiled slightly. “She doesn’t like to admit it, even to herself, but part of the reason this solution appealed to her was that her parents would disapprove so badly. Another teenage rebellion.”
I almost smiled back. I’d gone the opposite direction myself. My parents were devout Spirit Society members, who’d always hoped I’d volunteer to host one of their “Higher Powers,” as they called demons, when I came of age. Instead, I became an exorcist.
The smile faded before it took root. “This story sounds great,” I said, “but you’ve broken a lot of laws.” Possessing an unregistered host was a capital crime, as was changing hosts. The only legal way for a demon to possess a host was through a sanctioned summoning. “Not to mention that it could be total bullshit.”
I watched Melanie’s face closely, searching for a reaction that would give me a hint as to whether she was telling me the truth. I didn’t get one.
“I understand your skepticism,” Melanie said, “and I don’t blame you. But consider that I had many options when you presented yourself at this doorway. If I were the kind of immoral creature you suspect me of being, my choice would not have been to sit down and talk to you. I could have killed you both like that,” she said, snapping her fingers. “The problem is there’s no way for me to prove that I’m telling you the truth. I can produce the results of Melanie’s HIV test, but that would only tell you that she’s ill, not that she’s hosting me of her own free will.”
“No,” Barbie said, “we’d have to hear it directly from Melanie herself to be sure it’s the truth.”
The demon frowned at her. “But you know that’s not possible.”
“Actually,” I said, catching on to Barbie’s train of thought, “it is. All you’d have to do is temporarily move out of Melanie and into Rick. Just long enough for us to have a word with her.”