Stupid me.
There are two of them, and they just simply enter, one after the other, through some trick door in the wall. Most demons I know are specimens of beauty and perfection. These mutants look like they got the crap beat out of them with a dozen ugly sticks. One is tall, the other stockier. Both have hideously overlarge human features, choppy black hair and strange, bright-yellow eyes. They’re wearing odd, chainmail-like skirts and no shirts, revealing their hairy chests and bulking arms.
I feel their evil before they say a word. Even the air feels dead in their presence. Beside me, Corrine’s breath comes in ragged gasps, and I reach over and grab her hand. It’s shaking.
The taller of the two steps forward and looks at us, and gives what is probably supposed to pass for a smile. My stomach churns as actual drool drips from his cracked lips. He points at each of us in turn and chants in a raspy, sing-songy voice:
“Eenie meenie miney moe… catch a human by the toe… poke and stab her ‘til you blow… teeny, weenie, hiney, ho!”
His fat finger lands on Corrine, and his grin broadens. The other demon stands behind him holding a long silver sword with strange markings on it. It’s an unusual metal, and reminds me of Lucky’s favorite dagger— the one specially designed to kill other demons and demions. Only this one is much, much bigger.
Oh, God… Are they our executioners?
“Today’s your lucky day, lasses. Both of you. We can’t actually kill you until the others have arrived, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun!” He laughs, and the hairs on my neck stand up.
“What do you want?” I demand, trying to make my voice sound unafraid and strong and failing miserably.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll get your turn next. But for now you can just watch. From over there—” He flicks his wrist and sends me flying back against the wall, where I crash with a violent thud before sliding to the floor in a heap. “We need room to operate.”
I feel like every bone in my body is broken again. I lie crumpled on the floor, trying to recover the wind that’s been knocked out of me. The other demon starts laughing. “Yeah… especially if she puts up a fight. I love it when they do that. Let’s keep her unbound while we play. Watch her try and get away!”
The room is spinning, and I blink several times to clear my head. Corrine curls up as much as she can, but the stocky demon reaches out and grabs her wrist.
“No!” I scream. Despite my injuries, I get up and lunge toward them. The taller demon holds up his large palm toward me, and suddenly I’m unable to move… stuck, as if the air has turned to glue.
They both laugh again. Corrine is sitting in the corner with her back pressed to the wall, sobbing. The tall one pulls her to her feet before viciously ripping off her dress.
“No!” I scream again. Only this time no sound comes out. I struggle to move forward, but I can’t. It’s like trying to move through frozen molasses.
The demon throws Corrine’s dress to the side, then rips off her bra. Screaming, she twists away and starts punching him as hard as she can.
They both just laugh with delight.
“Keep it coming… please. It’s more fun this way,” the tall demon says. Then he rips off her underwear, leaving her totally exposed.
I choke on my own terrified screams as she frantically tries to kick, punch, and claw at everything within reach. And I am powerless to help her.
“I haven’t got all day to waste with this one,” the tall demon says to his partner. “We still need to get to the other. Hold her hands above her head and pin her against the wall.”
The other one grunts and sets his sword down, then grabs Corrine’s wrists. She screams and kicks at him, and he whacks her with a wicked backhand across the cheek, splitting her lip and spattering blood against the wall. Her screams become sobs and whimpers.
Furious, I exert every ounce of my energy and strength trying to get to her. But whatever is holding me is much more powerful than I am.
But then the horrifying scene takes an unimaginable turn for the worse. The taller demon unhooks his chainmail, and I can see his naked body underneath. I gasp.
Oh God… he really will kill her!
Corrine looks down and screams with renewed terror, twisting and turning while they laugh in her face.
“Don’t worry, missy,” the shorter one says. He licks the side of her face with his long tongue. “If you lose too much blood or your innies get too mangled, I can do a quick fix and have you ready to go again in no time!”
Then he calls to me over his shoulder, “Can you see okay? Wouldn’t want you to miss the show. I’m sure you’ll want to see what’s in store for you!”
He turns back to Corrine and pins her tight, while his cohort starts running his hands over her body. He roughly grabs her breasts, then he moves his hand down between her legs.
Suddenly, I’m consumed by a fiery anger unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, and every cell in my body is exploding with unprecedented hate and rage. My skin grows so hot, I expect to see flames at any second. Somehow, the invisible glue holding me hostage begins to melt away.
I fly across the room so fast my feet don’t even seem to touch the ground. In a flash, the sword is in my hand, and as the demon holding Corrine turns to look at me, I slice through the air with all my might. His head falls to the floor, and the rest of his body turns to ash.
In one fluid motion I spin around and plunge the sword through the larger demon’s chest. Stunned, he staggers a few steps backwards before falling to his knees. I pull the blade back ready to swing it like a baseball bat at his head when I hear, “No! Wait!”
Corrine’s eyes are wide with fury. She reaches out and grabs the sword from my hand, and with a determined glare she aims and takes a powerful swing.
“Asshole!” she screams, as the demon’s head falls to the ground. Then she kicks the decapitated skulls away and turns to me.
For a moment we stand there in shock. She drops the sword, and we both collapse to the ground, trembling and crying.
“Are you all right… did he hurt you?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
She shakes her head and wipes the blood from her face. “No… I’m okay. I’m okay. Are you hurt at all?”
“No, no… I’m okay.”
But we just killed two enemy demons in their own home. I know that both of us are as far from ‘okay’ as we can possibly be.
Corrine reaches for the tattered remains of her dress. I piece it back together the best I can, and fasten it with a knot around her neck. Fortunately it didn’t rip all the way, so even though the sides are still partially open, at least she’s mostly covered. Better than nothing.
The surge of adrenaline, or whatever it was, has considerably weakened my body, and I’m exhausted. I can’t believe I just killed a living creature. A horrible monster, to be sure— one that wanted to rape my friend to death. And I have zero regrets. But just the idea that I, Liora, exerted my will and domination over another creature so much bigger and stronger than me—it’s practically incomprehensible. I know Lucky has killed plenty of demons in her day, but not me. I’ve never killed anything. But in reality, it didn’t even seem like I was the one doing it. Yes, I wanted to destroy them, but it was almost like some strange force had taken over and turned my thoughts into action. All of a sudden, my will seemed to manifest itself into a power I’ve never felt before. Ever.
What’s happening to me? First warming up in the snow when I was freezing to death. Then bringing Corrine back to life. And now this. Is Lucky somehow breaking through to me? Or is it something else? Could it be what Anastasia said, that being pregnant with the demon twins might possibly have some side-effects? Is that what’s happening? Instead of morning sickness and food cravings, do I have the gift of necromancy and the sword-fighting skills of a supernatural ninja?
I glance at Corrine. She’s obviously traumatized, but holding up okay… at least on the outside. Her hands are trembling,
and her eyes reflect the horror she’s just been through. But all things considered, she’s keeping it together surprisingly well.
All we can do now is sit and wait. At one point I get up to see if I can find the door the demons came through, but I don’t see anything. Just solid earth. Maybe it can only be opened from the outside.
The decapitated heads stare at us, almost mockingly. I wonder why they haven’t turned to ash the way the bodies did. For some reason I can’t bring myself to get up and move them, so I just close my eyes and let the minutes and hours pass. Sometimes Corrine and I make small talk. But mostly we just sit in silence.
Finally, I feel my time drawing to an end. Now, more than ever before, I truly doubt I’ll wake up in the morning.
“I have to go soon,” I whisper to Corrine. “Stay strong. You and Lucky will get out of this somehow. I just know it.”
She’s quiet for several long moments, and I know she can hear the false confidence in my voice. “What do you think will happen to us?” she finally whispers.
I take a deep breath and shake my head as the first fiery tingles come over me. “I honestly have no idea.”
She takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Side-by-side, we sit against the wall and await our fate.
Chapter 26. Lucky
I open my eyes and see Corrine staring at me. Her face looks like it had met the front side of a speeding bus. I glance around and moan.
“Sweet hell, what now?!” It’s dark and smelly here, and I can feel the overwhelming stench of evil in the air. Obviously we’ve left the snow prison, and I know already this new place is worse… much worse.
“Do you want the long version, or do you want the short version?”
I sigh. I’m too exhausted to feel annoyed. “The short version.”
“Some horrible demons took us to a new prison. We’re underground somewhere, and I think they’re waiting for you to arrive before they come back to kill us.”
Great. So demons beat the Light-angels for the honor of killing me. Yay?
“What the hell is that?” I point to the corner.
Corrine bites her lip and glances away. “Liora flew through the air and chopped off his head. And then I did that one over there.” She motions to the other wall. “They were trying to rape me.”
Slowly, I turn and look at her. “Okay. Maybe I need the long version.”
She shrugs and plays with her hair. “It all happened so fast. They had me pinned… Liora was sort of stuck in stasis over there, like she couldn’t really move. Then just when things were about to get really bad, all of a sudden she’s over here and has the guy’s sword and his head is flying off. Then she nailed the other guy, but I finished him off.”
“Are you really trying to tell me that you guys killed two Belith demons by yourselves?” I ask, as I recognize the tell-tale oversized features and yellow eyes.
She shrugs again. “I don’t know what kind of demons they are, but yeah, we killed them. At least, I really hope so. That one over there keeps staring at me…”
I glance back at the dismembered head in the corner, and gather a ball of fire in my hand to disintegrate the loathsome sight. But I’m almost completely sapped of strength, and the fire quickly dies away. I haven’t replenished in days, and whatever Liora did took a real toll on us.
Belith demons. Of all the demons to be captured by, it had to be the Belith—by far the darkest, most hostile, evil, violent-for-the-sake-of-violence demons around. Their tribe is notorious for stirring up trouble, causing mayhem, and constantly pushing the Legionare’s limits. With Thiberoux and the Legionare in such a state of flux, if the Belith are running unchecked, then we’re in a world of trouble.
“They really are bad, aren’t they?” Corrine whispers.
I look at her. “Who?”
She nods toward the corner. “These demons. I mean, it didn’t seem real before. The only demons I knew were you and Kieron, and then Vincent and Demetri. And you guys are all so cool, so, well, good… it made me forget that demons can be like this.”
I give her a scathing look. “You think I’m good? How hard were you hit?”
“I don’t think you’re bad… evil.”
“That just depends on your perception. Trust me, to many people I’m the worst, most evil thing they’ll ever know.” I fondly recall implementing my powers as a Justice Demon, torturing humans who’d broken Natural Law to punish them for their crimes. A job I loved with my whole heart. Nothing comes close. I’ve missed being able to do it lately, and I hope I can get back to it someday soon.
Corrine rests her chin on her hands. “Yeah, but Liora explained it to me—you only punish and torture people who’ve committed horrible crimes and were getting away with it, like murderers and child molesters and rapists and stuff.”
I narrow my eyes. “So?”
“So she also told me how you would hunt down and kill other demons… mostly for fun, but also to keep her safe. That’s not evil, that’s good.”
“That’s me being selfish, you idiot. That’s me making sure my weak human vessel doesn’t get herself killed when she has possession of my body.”
“But you were here earlier. That was you, right? I mean, wasn’t it your powers that helped her do this?”
I shake my head slowly. “No. I had no part in that at all. In fact, I feel so drained, I couldn’t even heal your face right now if I wanted to. Which I don’t.”
She shrugs and looks away. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything more for me. You’ve already helped me enough. Liora saved my life tonight. I don’t know how she did it, but she did. And I’ll be forever grateful, no matter what. And you helped. Even if you don’t remember, you helped. I know it. So thanks.”
Ugh.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Here— look at me.”
She does, and I slowly raise my warm palm to her cheek. I close my eyes and focus. It literally takes the last of my strength, but a few seconds later her face is healed. The swelling and bruising has faded, and the nasty gash above her eye has closed. My arm falls back limply to my side.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that. But thank you,” she whispers.
I look away and quietly lie down. I haven’t even got the energy to respond.
********
I must’ve fallen asleep, because the next thing I know Corrine is shaking me. “Lucky, Lucky wake up… something is happening.”
It takes all my strength just to open my eyes. There must be some sort of enchantment over the cell that’s keeping me weak, like at that witch Anastasia’s house. But even her place wasn’t as bad as it is here. The Belith are both powerful and smart—at least usually. I’m sure they’re taking no chances. But what I can’t fathom is what the hell they want with me? Are they after Abbaton’s bounty? Had they gotten wind of Liora’s possible use to the Light-angels? If so, why am I still alive?
“What’s going on?” I mumble.
She pauses and shakes her head. “I heard weird noises and voices. It sounded like they were getting closer.”
I sit up straighter and rub my eyes. I barely have the strength to hold my head up, let alone fight any demons who may be after me. Without Source Energy to replenish, I don’t know how much longer I can last. Although at this point, I highly doubt that lack of Source will be the reason for my demise.
We sit quietly for a moment without hearing anything, and then—
“Okay, the coast is clear.”
I catch my breath at the sound of his voice. A second later, Vincent and Demetri are standing in front of us.
Corrine gasps and covers her mouth. But all I can do is stare at Vincent. I’m almost afraid to allow myself to believe he’s really here— that I’m not just imagining it.
“Lucky.” He quickly kneels down beside me. I lower my head onto his shoulder and close my eyes, relishing his nearness, his touch, his scent. But even that isn’t enough to ease me out of my lethargy.
I feel somethin
g press against my mouth. “Here… drink,” he whispers urgently.
Immediately I know what it is, and I eagerly chug down the fortified elixir as if it were the sweetest of all life-replenishing nectars. Because it is.
A few seconds later I’ve finished the whole bottle. “More!” I gasp. Already I can feel my life force returning—my muscles awakening.
He gently brushes my hair back from my face. “It’s enough for now. We need to conserve—”
“Hey, are you all right? What happened?” I suppress a groan at Corrine’s puppy dog eyes, as Demetri kneels by her side.
“Liora and I were attacked earlier, but we’re fine,” she says.
“Your dress is all shredded,” he observes. She squirms, trying to pull the torn sides together. Sapies have so much shame about their bodies, it’s pathetic.
“Here—” With one swift movement Demetri clutches the back of his t-shirt, pulls it off over his head, and hands it to her. She just stares at him, dumbfounded, and for once I can’t blame her. There’s nothing quite like a male demion in the flesh, with his smooth skin stretched over perfectly shaped muscles. The delicious sight never gets old, even for me. I can only imagine that Corrine’s ovaries must be singing ‘Hallelujah’ right about now.
“Thanks,” she mumbles and pulls the shirt on over her head.
“You sure you’re okay?” Demetri asks again.
She nods. “Better now. I’ve been sitting here praying you’d find us.” She looks up at him and beams.
“Excuse me, but why are we still here?” I snap impatiently. “Port us out already!”
Vincent takes my hand. “Can’t. This was a one-way-ticket ride for us. This place is naturally fortified against any escape, and even our powers are greatly weakened within these confines.”
“We knew we couldn’t get you out right away,” Demetri adds, “but we both agreed that at least we can be here for you, so you don’t have to be alone. And we wanted to be able to fill you in on what’s going on.”
“Plus, I knew you’d be fading fast without Source Energy.” Vincent gives my hand a little squeeze.