The Demon
Inside
Hell’s Creatures: Book One
By: Katerina Degratte
Editor: Ayesha Abdul Ghaffar - [email protected]
Cover Designer: FrinaArt at selfpubbookcovers.com
In dedication to Phoebe.
Someone who inspired me to write again. To enjoy life to its full extent again.
Prologue
High above the clouds, away from the ruin of mankind, exists an ancient city of angels. They are known for their pristine beauty and blessed kindness that knows no bounds. Angels are benevolent beings who exude the highest level of purity and grace.
Another world exists deep beneath the human world. It is said to be a place of horror, the dreaded underworld, full of havoc causing creatures. Demons. They feast on the weak and leave bloody trails of vast destruction wherever they may go. Inherently evil, these demons are born to inflict depravities against all other beings.
The angels cast out the demons, making the two natural born enemies. On rare occasions, an angel may try to change the demon’s ways by doing what they do best; trying to help them. This is noted to always create a wretched broken angel torn-off wings, or a death-bound demon. The tales never end well, as the species are mortal adversaries created to destroy each other.
Chapter 1
The silver moon casts shadows on a man as pale as the glow of twilight on the now crimson floor. Wincing, he slides down the wall to his knees with a sickening splat into the shallow puddle of viscera that encircles him in a pool at the base of his hunched and broken body. A light above flickers for a moment then extinguishes. Fractured glass glitters among the aftermath of what the man has yet to realize he has committed. The man’s gaze is unsteady, focusing on what appears to be tattered and shredded carpet. The crimson-soaked mats are partially buried under masses of flesh, resembling pizza sauce bubbling up from under a cheesy veneer. Flies buzz in and out of the man’s perception. Just beyond his gaze, the man sees a lump of flesh that a moment ago appeared as only a torn carpet remnant. It is the lifeless head of a screaming child, severed from its body and cast aside to rest among the carnage. Across the room he sees the rest of the child’s body, cradled in futility by its weeping mother.
The man vomits into the slop. Spitting, he cannot decide whether his reaction is from the scene or the sorrow he feels. His skin breaks out into a cold sweat. Tears well in the man’s blue eyes and burn before falling from his face. He studies the woman, transfixed but unaware of what more he can do, what more he can begin to make right when so much is so wrong. “I’m so sorry—I’m so sorry-I...” The tears choke his words into half-hearted platitudes. “Kill me,” the woman softly coos while staring at her son’s limp corpse. “Kill me, if there was ever mercy in you, you would do it, and not leave me as I am. How can you take my son, my life, and leave me here so miserable with nothing left but this.” She splashes blood from the corpse into the man’s face and spits at him.
The man walks towards her, half limping. He brushes the hair from her face, as she whispers again, “Kill me.” In a moment she is gone, erased from existence. The only mercy he had left to give her. As the tears cascade from his eyes, the corpse transforms into lilies made of stained glass, the blood and vomit in a moment becomes a field of autumn leaves.
Chapter 2
He staggers into the dimly lit room; the door slams behind him rattling the windowpanes. The room is well-kept and polished, looking barely lived in, hardwood floors still pristine. It’s not like he spent most of his nights there, anyway, given his reputation. He runs his fingers through his inky black hair, nearly tearing through it with his force. “What the hell do you think you were doing?” he howls, seeming to talk to someone despite being the only visible one there. “I told you not to do this anymore!” He grabs a bottle from a nearby shelf, needing to feel the burn of it rushing down his throat, wanting to forget the scene now forever imprinted in his mind. Cheap whiskey will have to do.
“I was bored,” another voice echoes back at him. The words come out of his own lips, but of a much more wicked different tone. His lips twist into a deranged smile.
Back to his former self, he lets out a humorless laugh. “Bored? You destroyed two innocent lives!” He screams, outraged, stifling a bout of queasiness at the thought of the headless child. He quickly tries to erase the image with more of the burning liquor. It would never be enough.
“Innocent?” His maniacal laugh echoes around the room. “Humans aren’t innocent, they’re selfish, using each other for their own gain. As a means to an end. They only care about themselves.”
The silent moments stretch for far too long as he weighs his answer.
“That’s not your place to judge. There’s only so many times I can just wipe them from existence. It becomes more excruciating, more painful each time, with the darkness taking over me more each day. The power of the light is fading,” his voice softens, barely legible at the end.
“Then give into the darkness. It’s where you belong. The humans have wronged you for so many years as is. Let go of that pathetic fleeting light you have; it’s only holding you back from your true potential. Our true potential.”
“No!” He shakes his head screaming, his shifting eyes once again returning to their blue hues. “That’s not who I am!”
“The dead body you erased from existence says otherwise.”
“I can pretend it didn’t happen. There’s no evidence.” Denial couldn’t it make it one bit better.
“Can you really, Gabriel? Can you so easily forget every single innocent life you rip from this realm?” The words shake him.
The door bursts open, causing the man to jump up, tearing him away from his argument with...himself. He didn’t need to entertain that bastard, anyway.
The intruder, who breezes in without a worry, stands tall in his black crisp power suit, which is well-fitted on his lean frame. His blackish-blue hair combed off slightly to the side, along with a harsh glare, makes him appear as the perfect lawyer. A guy that never lost the fight, or so the man hoped. Dark, bitter eyes contrasted with his pale complexion, can scare anyone shitless with a mere glance. Darkness radiates off of him in waves.
The man’s glaring, blue eyes meet the dark ones of the older gentleman unaffected by their dark demur. “What do you want, father?” The words come out as harsh as snow on a cold winter day. He takes another excruciating lengthened chug of alcohol. It was one thing after another. His eyes search for a way out, anywhere but here. His father would get far too much enjoyment out of knowing what had happened.
He responds with a twisted smirk. “What, can’t a father check up on his son to say hi?” He half circles around him like a vulture stalking their next meal. “You are my only child, Gabriel.” He feigns innocence, something he could never pull off in his lifetime. Or anytime, for that matter.
Gabriel straightens his posture, making him appear as tall as his father. Cocking his head to the side, the bitter words are released, “No, not when the said father is you.” A harsh glare is on his face as he continues to stare down the man who never showed him any kindness, nor love. The emotionally neglectful father.
“It’s nice to see my son has my wits about him even though he refuses to embrace his true nature,” the father growls through gritted teeth, continuing the raging war with his son. If looks could kill, they would have both combusted into flames the moment he walked through that door. “But I heard that wasn’t the case tonight,” his father beamed, the words sing songy, chipper even.
He ignores the offhand comment. “You mean I refuse to embrace your half of me. Mother wasn’t a demon
,” the son seethes. The grip on the bottle intensifies.
The father laughs, wicked and vile. “Why do you even care what she thinks, son? Your mother would hate what you are! Why do you think she left all those years ago?” he cocks an eyebrow, a smug look on his deviously handsome face. “She doesn’t love you!”
The words of insult seem to twist something inside of Gabriel. He struggles to hold on to his composure as his eyes go from their beautiful sea color to bloodiest of red in flashes. His hands curl into tight fists, one rupturing the whiskey bottle, sending amber shards scattering across the once spotless carpet. His voice comes out in an unrecognizable rage-filled tremor. “You tried to destroy her so she couldn’t stay!” His body shakes with dangerous convulsion. “You’re the monster that pushed her away!” he accused. Staring at his father’s form, years of horrific memories flash through his mind.
That adds more flames to the father’s maniacal glee, as he gives a wicked smile. “She was the one to seduce me, take my powers, and nine months later leave you on my doorstep! The wretched whore! I should have left you out there to die, but I didn’t, and you want to know why?” He probes, chiseling a way through Gabriel’s hardened armor.
“Stop with your damn mind games and tell me already. I know you’re dying to say it,” the son seethes, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He wishes he’d been left for dead, instead of being stuck with this destiny.
“So, I could have a victor. Someone to continue my legacy.” His eyes change to fade to a shocking crimson, as he seems to indulge in what he perceives as the glory of it. “You and I could destroy the world together, Gabriel! Think of it, people would scream into the night seeing our forms, and all the cries of the innocent would feed our strength!” His fists curl in anticipation of what Gabriel knew was his greatest and only fantasy. “You’re a powerful weapon! Tonight, you once again proved you have it in you, he’s dying to be completely let out of his cage.”
“No, I’m just a kid, trying to get by.” His eyes are full on red now, as his body continues to shake in the want of transition; his skin begs to tear open, to reveal the monster. “It won’t happen again.”
“You say that, yet that’s the second time in the past month. You’re so close to being ready! Gabriel you can’t run from this forever, the darkness only consumes.” The father laughs, revealing pointed teeth. “You would have to be stupid to think it’s not effecting you now as your eyes flash, your body shakes; it’s merely a matter of time before you fully transform and embrace it. When that time comes, you’ll love it, feed from it and thrive from taking the souls of the innocent.” He frowns, disgusted. “Unlike how you ended things tonight by just erasing their existence. Very disappointing, but at least you’re getting closer.”
As if he cared about whether he disappointed his father. He grew up constantly hearing that. A Father’s Day card he’d drawn at the age of 6﹘thrown it in the fireplace. A published poem in high school - only a disappointment that it wasn’t killing off half of his class. “That day will cease to exist,” Gabriel states, voice firm. “I will not change just because you want to take the souls of the innocent again.” His stance is determined as he struggles to force his eyes back to their ocean blues.
“Oh, son, you may wish for that to cease with your stupid acts of kindness, but it won’t. It’ll happen with such a force that not even those god damn angels could stop it!” He smiles in cruel triumph. “I’ll finally be at my full power once again after almost twenty-two goddamn years! We’ll overtake them, kill their kind and torture them, before we reign our power on mankind. They’ll all be our slaves, as we’ll finally be able to claim what’s rightfully ours!” He’s lost in the dream of his could be glory.
His son looks up at him with utter disappointment, his eyes calm after a lengthy struggle. “I don’t care about your cruel, dreaded, evil ambitions! You only want me so you can become what you once were, a monster I’m unwilling to help! I won’t take innocent lives of those who only try to help!” His voice filled with quiet sadness, not wanting to see a world such as that.
“Soon you’ll come to the age of where you won’t be able to control it, and then finally my many years of waiting will be rewarded!” The father grits, hysterical with laughter.
“I won’t let it happen,” Gabriel states in a voice laced with venom. “Find someone else to corrupt with your twisted ambitions!” he sneers, as he seems to gain more control over his visual form.
“We’ll see about that. It’s only a matter of time.” The father retreats, the never falling twisted smile resting upon his lips.
“When hell freezes over!” Gabriel yells out to his father.
“Oh, it will, on this earth!” he replies from the hallway.
“Why did he have to come just to terrorize me in my home?” the boy mumbles, running his hands through his short brown strands. His face is showing a look of ever drowning sadness, about to tumble down. “Well, at least it’s just you and me, whiskey.” He aims to drink away his pain, but grunts in dissatisfaction seeing the shards on the floor. “I guess I’m going out after all.”
His eyes flash red for the slightest second, the demon in him longing to run free as his father wanted. He had indeed transformed to the first stages in the moments of raging anger, but that didn’t mean he would allow it to take him over if he could help it. Even after what happened tonight. He couldn’t allow his grip of control to slip. The chaos that would ensue would be horrendous.
xxXxx
The scene is ended, the river back to its once calm waters. I look up toward my teacher, guide, mentor, friend, mother—confusion showcased on my face. She brought me out here away from the others to show me something, as she typically does, and today’s vision just happened to feature demons. Demons that had the power to destroy everything if things went off.
He is a cursed soul, if he even has one, with his killing. Being pushed to go to the evil side by his demanding father, which will only result in the deadliest of wars between our kind and theirs. A bloodbath that no one will be able to walk away from. Unless something is done soon, disposal of him is likely.
Pushing a long, stray golden curl behind my ear, I pull together the gall to ask. “So, what was today’s purpose?”
It was rather devastating to watch the poor wretched half wit. His mother left him, his father’s a dick, and he only had a few months left. Ending with his misery, and an unhealthy drinking habit.
Theresa, my teacher, my mother, looks toward me. She wears a ghost of a smile upon her lips. Her long brown curls hanging down in such a way to frame her face perfectly. There’s a faraway look in her green-blue eyes, as if deep in thought. “You’re going to help him.
Chapter 3
I look at her dumbfounded, wondering if my ears could have possibly heard that right. It had to be some sort of mistake. Why bother helping a demon? They were intolerable, the very scum of the earth, and would be impossible to change. History has shown that; it was simple angel knowledge. Not to mention that he’s killed and wiped two innocent humans from existence. Two I knew about, who knew how many countless other victims there were. This was a fucking suicide mission! What did I do to warrant that?
Deciding to be safe, I ask, “Excuse me? What did you want me to do? For a moment it sounded like you were trying to tell me to aid a demon that’s killed people.” Polite, yet getting my point across. I wasn’t looking to be added to the ever-growing assassination list.
The small smile on her face dissipates into a thin cross line. Her arms are folded over her chest. Which is the sign that this is exactly what she intended, and I just crossed her. Shit, I feel my stance falter slightly.
Taking a shaky breath, I suck it up and apologize. I owed her that, at the very least, after everything. “I’m sorry, please further explain your intentions for me.” I could at least hear it out before flipping the can.
“Aura, as we both know, if he turns toward the dark, his father’s powers will return and Gabri
el will become stronger than ever.” Which would cause the desecration of our world, as he wouldn’t stop until every last one of us are dead. Then he would go onto the further destruction of the human world, where they would become rulers over the humans.” She starts off naming the inevitable doom, consequently sending shivers down my spine as I envision it.
Demon’s whipping humans into slave labor, the streets painted in angel blood. Or would he pit the already selfish species against each other, watch them self-destruct? Not that it would be tough. “So, we must find a way to expel the demon from the boy’s body to prevent the inevitable from happening,” she urges. Why risk it?
I breathe in. “What if that happens, anyway? Shouldn’t we be preparing for the worst outcome either way? Expelling the demon from him doesn’t ensure a happy ending.” The words come out in a jumbled rush. Surely, she must see the needs of many versus the one, she must put our needs before his. But selflessness was a part of the memorized spiel.
“And why would you ask me to do it? I’m not the strongest,” my voice squeezed into an unintentional squeak. “There must be others for the job.” My eyes plead out to her. I didn’t want to go back to that wretched earth, around those selfish human’s; safety here was significantly better. Okay — so maybe not completely selfless.
She profusely shakes her head at hearing my words. “The others mustn’t know. I’ve been hiding this from them, for if they knew they would slaughter him.” Her voice raises an octave at what she revealed. Placing her hands on my shoulders in comfort and in desperation, she continues. “Please, daughter. He needs guidance.”
“If he needs so much guidance, why doesn’t he just see a therapist like every other human in need of help?” I bite my tongue at how catty that sounds, with instant regret at having snapped at mother. She wasn’t my mother by blood, but she’d helped me escape some dark claws of the human world and has been there for me since. Some things went far deeper than blood.
The Demon Inside (Hell's Creatures Book 1) Page 1