Blood Prize (Bloody Dance #1)

by A Muse

  Sighing I pushed off the wall walking towards Rai. What did she think she was doing? It was like this girl couldn’t wait to die. No, she was just a teenager. She didn’t know what it meant for her life to be in true danger. Even as we went after the other demons, she had been protected. This wasn’t that kind of battle. There would be no standing on the side lines and watching.

  I grabbed the chest plate that Rai was adjusting around herself. She paused looking up at me. I glared down at her. I tried to give her the same look that Shu would have been giving her right now if he was here. The mark was probably missed by a mile but still she got the point.

  “How did that get there,” she gave a nervous laugh. Looking around as if someone was actually going to answer her. I watched as the other mages stepped away from us. They were more than likely moving away from me. They wouldn’t want the taint of a demon to touch them or whatever nonsense they teach here.

  “Rai . . .” I started and she shook her head wildly. Brown hair was tossed around her face.

  “If you’re going after Kenji I should be there.” Her voice held a whine to it. Reaching out I pushed my fingers through her hair. She was a strong girl, such a brave child. Rai was a child though, only fourteen. She had her whole life ahead of her. There was no need for her to so recklessly throw it away.

  “I know you want this. I know how important this is for you. I understand the burning need inside of you. I have that same need inside of me, Rai. I lost my family in the worse kind of way. I watched them die in front of my face. Even worse it was at a time when demons were just in the Bible or on TV. So I know, believe me I know.”

  I knew how much this meant to her. I knew what it was like to be driven by one thought. How the want and need to end the person that took everyone from you could be. I knew the desire that fueled her fire. I also knew that it was pointless. I have come across Ban so many times and each time he could have killed me again. Kenji wasn’t Ban and Rai wasn’t me. Kenji would kill her just for shits and giggles.

  “I can’t stay here knowing that everyone else is out there. He killed my family. He has been the monster in the dark all my life. My grandfather promised to ever let him get away. My father . . . my mother . . .” Rai choked and I stroked her hair. “He killed my mom.”

  I pulled her closer to me. I wanted to give in. I wanted to tell her to come with us. That once she killed Kenji the hurt inside of her would go away. That would all be a lie though. I couldn’t lie to Rai. Not when her life depended on me being honest. She didn’t need pretty words right now. She needed the cold harsh truth.

  The the truth was she would be slaughtered if she went out there. Rai would just be in the way of everyone else. She couldn’t take out an C-Classed demon with her skill set right now. There was no way she could kill Kenji. If . . . when Ban showed up it would just be worse. This wasn’t a battle that she wanted.

  “Look around Rai, what do you see?” I asked her. She pulled back from me so that she could look around the room.

  “Mages ready to fight to kill two demons.” I looked around the room as well.

  “I see men and women who are saying their final peace. Over half of them won’t come back here. They will die in this battle. Do you want to know why no one is laughing, joking, smiling. Because before they came here they said goodbye to the people they loved. They told them to go on if they didn’t make it back.

  Shu should have done the same with you. He always believed he was coming home though. I believed it for him. Because I wanted him to always come home. This isn’t a game, Rai. You don’t get extra lives. You can’t hit the continue button when your health points run out. You only have this life. You have to protect it, guard it, treasure it for all time.”

  Rai opened her mouth to speak, but I held my head up halting her words. Leaning down I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you so much, Rai. You have been like an annoying little sister to me since Amy brought you into this world. I know you’re going to be upset. I know that you will hate me. I just want you to know that I love you. That my actions are because of that love. Please find it in your heart to forgive me one day.”

  Touching the center of her forehead with my black flame she dropped but I caught her before she could hit the floor. She would sleep for the rest of the day and when she woke up win or lose this battle would be over. I scooped her up into my arms so I could put her in her bed.

  “Zero,” Soji called to me as he walked into the room.

  “Rai will sit this one out,” I told him and he looked down at the sleeping girl. His eyes followed mine as he nodded his head. He wouldn’t fight me on this. There was nothing to fight over. I carried Rai to the room she was given. My fingers pushed the hair out of her face as she rested in her bed. When she woke up, I hope I would be able to tell her it was over. That Kenji was dead. That the battle was won.

  Pressing a kiss to her forehead I moved away from Rai. Now it was time to join the others. We were working under the pretense that Kenji would come for Soji. Ban wanted Soji, he needed him. Kenji wanted to please Ban so he would get the white mage for him. At least that was how this plan was supposed to work.

  Coming into the courtyard I stood beside Soji and Fang. All of those who were a part of this mission had gathered. Rhett looked down at his men from his high place on the stairs. The pretension asshole was going to make some kind of speech. His type always had to.

  “Brothers!” His booming voice carried throughout the yard. “Sister, friends!” They all bowed to him slightly. Fang and I seemed to be the only people here unwilling to bend our backs for this idiot. “We are gathered here for a mission. Not just any mission but the most important one we have ever taken on.”

  He was laying it on thick. Looking around I could tell that all of his followers were buying what he was selling. He paced the stairs his hands behind his back as he was decked out in his armor. He looked the part of someone important. I hated to be the one to tell him he wasn’t.

  “We will stop the Blood Demon Kenji and in term the Great Demon Lord Ban from bringing hell to earth.” There were cheers in the cheer. I could see the smile on Rhett's lips. His people pumping his ego more. “For too long we have been suffering from the infection known as demon kind.”

  That was a bit rude. I didn’t think of myself as an infection. I had all my shots and everything. “For too long they have fed on us, treating as if we are nothing more than cattle.” That was because to demons they were. I’m sure lots of demons would want nothing more than to stick a barcode on human asses and take them to the slaughter house when the time was right.

  “Earth is ours by birth right. God made us in his image, not them.” He hasn’t been reading the Bible correctly. Demons were just fallen angels. That meant God made us as well. Which God would he be speaking of in the first place. Nowadays there was so many. “We cannot allow the demon scum to take it from us.”

  The men and women standing with us started to beat on the chest plates they wore. Whichever weapon they held slapped against the armor making a rhythmic beat. There was no less than two hundred individuals in the courtyard.

  They already held and kiss their families. Already told them what to do if they didn’t come home. They prayed to their God and they made peace with whatever held them here. Was this really the time to listen to empty words from an idiot leader. Or was this the time to be alone, to collect yourself. To ask if death was what you were truly ready for.

  I’ve learned no one is ever ready for death. Still he walks beside you, he sits with you, he eats across the table from you. Death, the bastard he is lies, on top of you. He crushes you on a daily basis. Most of us are just too dumb, too blind to ever notice. Death isn’t a stranger. He’s an old friend that watches your every move, he’s an enemy waiting to strike.

  “Today is the start of our greatness. Today Kenji dies by our hands. Today the Gods wins.” Rhett finished and there were roars of his people. I shook my head. If this was what it took, I s
uppose it was needed. It was just said that all of those words meant nothing.

  They all bowed their heads praying to Gods that didn’t give two shits if they lived or died. Once they were finished, we all got into vans. The field that this was going to happen on was a little over five hours away. Out in the middle of nowhere where no innocents would be hurt.

  I yawned as I sat in the grass. We were waiting for Kenji to show himself. I had my doubts that he would come here. The time was drawing near. Only two days left until the big showdown. Ban would want all of his tools before it was showtime.

  “I feel honored,” it had been two hours but that voice was unmistakably Kenji. Jumping to my feet I could see the Blood Demon. He stood on the other side of the invisible line Rhett seem to have drawn. I was at the front of the line with Fang, Soji, Rhett, and Able. The rest of this small army was behind us.

  “Even Ban’s beloved Natsu came to greet me. I feel so special. I leave gifts for others everywhere I go. No one has ever gone something so nice for little old me.”

  “Probably because you’re an asshole,” I spoke up and Kenji frowned as he looked over at me. I could feel my fangs pushing down. This was it then. The moment we have been waiting for. I owed him a death. For Shu and his family. For Rai would couldn’t be here. I owed Kenji blood as I took my pound of flesh.

  “Ban won’t be here to save you this time,” Kenji said and my black flames surrounded my hands.

  “Funny, I was thinking the same thing. I rushed towards Kenji. Lesser demons popping up over the field to engage the other. I reached him, and he ducked as I swung at him. I followed up with a kick landing it to his ribs.

  He took the kick grabbing my shirt and punching me in the face. I could feel pain explode behind my eyes, and could taste blood. I flicked my tongue out tasting my blood. Hurting me just enraged me. Just made me more sure I wanted to take Kenji out.

  He backed away from me his blood snakes wrapping around his arms. He moved his hand sending them out towards me. I ducked, rolling out of the way so that I could get close to him again. I stabbed my hand out my nails grew to their demon length. Kenji grabbed my arm twisting it behind me.

  “What’s the matter, Natsu?” The way he said the name Natsu was bitter, it was mocking. Nothing like the way Ban said it. I hissed at him as he stood behind me. His hand reached around my front as he groped me. “Can’t get it up. I thought this was how you liked it.” Maybe with Ban, Kenji wasn’t Ban.

  I slammed my head back into him, and he released me. Laughing as I punched him in the face again, and again. He kicked me in the stomach, and I stumbled back away from him. His face was a bloody mess, but that was just how I wanted it. He was still laughing though, and that annoyed me.

  “I don’t to get it up. Ban gets plenty hard for the both of us.” I mocked him. I knew that he wanted Ban. I also knew that Ban wasn’t the type to play bottom for anyone. Doing a quick scan of the field, it was an all out war.

  Humans fought against demons. The roar of the battle was deafening, the thrill of it strangely fulfilling. I found Soji handling his own against three lesser demons. His blade of light cut through them like a hot knife would butter.

  Fang was standing still as the fallen men rose to attacked. I was glad I made Rai stay back for this battle. It was hell here. The cries of the dying were haunting, Rai didn’t need to be haunted by these things so early in life.

  “When I give the white mage to Ban he will reward me.” I laughed at Kenji’s words. He was working so hard for his reward. How was it that Kenji could want Ban so badly and not be a blip on his radar. All I wanted was to kill the Great Demon and he confesses his love to me every chance he gets.

  “You’re pathetic.” I hissed at him as his eyes narrowed to glare at me. His expression changed into a smile. All the while we were still throwing kicks and punches at each other. The battering adding anger to our attacks as each word was spat at each other.

  “You should have been there, Natsu.” I rolled my eyes at that name. “You should have heard her screams. If only you tasted her blood.” He licked his lips as if he could still take it. I didn’t need to know who the ‘her’ was. He was talking about Amy of course.

  Anger boiled inside of me. I could feel my rage pressing against me. My powers flared, the black flame engulfed my body. Walking forward I watched as the lesser demons that were close burned. They turned to dust just by touching my aura.

  I held up my palm towards Kenji. The flames that had surrounded my body started to move towards my hand. This would be the final blow for him. The faces of the people I loved passed in front of my eyes. The people that Kenji had taken from me gave me strength. All of my power, my strength was going to a single point in my body.

  My palm felt as if it was on fire; the raw power burned my hand as if I was holding coal. I could feel a drain on myself as if my very life force was going into this attack. I would kill him, I told myself that again. For Shu and his family, I would kill him, for Kaleb my friend, my first, and dearest friend I would end generations of pain with the death of this demon.

  “Die,” I whispered, and released the blast of pure raw dark energy at Kenji. Thousands of tiny cuts formed on my palm as the energy released in a big black ball of light. It shot from my palm at the speed of a bullet going across the field killing the grass, and denting the ground as the massive ball of dark energy passed by. Human, demon, everything that was in its past was turned to ash.

  Kenji laughed standing there as if the power coming towards him was no threat. His hands were held out. I frowned when the energy reached him, but he was actually stopping the blast. I could see smoke at his palms as it pushed him backward.

  Giving the blast more energy, I wasn’t even sure where this power was coming from. Wasn’t sure where I was finding this strength. Maybe it was them feeding me. Maybe it was everyone that Kenji had killed in the past energy and life going into me.

  We all wanted one thing. We all wanted the same thing.“Die!” I yelled releasing the last bit of strength that was inside of me. The blast overtook Kenji, I could hear him screaming, but I couldn’t see him through the black light that I had released. Falling to my knees, Soji rushed over to me.

  “Zero!” Soji yelled as he reached me. I was panting as I tried to regain myself. My body was weak after that attack. I felt lightheaded. I needed blood, sleep, and who knows what else. Still Soji pressed his lips to mine and I felt like tomorrow was going to be okay. It was over, I did it. I could return to Rai and tell her Kenji was dead.

  Struggling to my feet with Soji’s help I heard laughed. I tried to push Soji behind me, but huge snakes made of blood wrapped around him. The black light finally faded and I could see Kenji in his demon form.

  He had the head of a human with a mouth full of pointed teeth though he still looked like himself. His body was that of a snake’s with six set of arms. He was massive, as his body coiled around Soji. I could see the pain in Soji’s eyes. I watched as he mouthed the words ‘Help me’ before he went limp.

  “Soji!” I yelled and tried to rush forward, but someone grabbed me stopping me from moving. I turned around to weak to fight against the hold on me. “Ban,” I whispered when I saw him then darkness came.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Sitting in the back of a club I watched the woman on stage. I came here for the last three days to see her. The way she moved was enchanting. She danced across the stage with a grace few people had. Men gathered in this club every night just to see her.

  I wanted her, only it wasn’t her body that I wanted. What I wanted from her was the sweet liquid that rested in her veins that lured me to this place. The fog of hunger was lingering over me. It wasn’t as dense as it normally was. Maybe that was why I didn’t take her. I was doing my best to fight back the urge.

  Yesterday she had worn a bright, happy smile as she dance in a white tutu. It had been a happy song that played as she pranced around the stage. Today she wore a much darker expression. The black
tutu that she wore spoke of the darker character she was portraying.

  “Why are you here, Natsu?” I turned to see Ban at the table with me. He picked up a glass of wine that he must have brought with him. I watched as he took a drink before lowering the glass back to the table. His eyes shifted from me to the stage.

  “What do you want?” It had been nearly thirty years since I last saw Ban. We had been in some cave to get out of the downpour. Now he found me again. I could feel his hand on my thigh. His fingers pushed up my leg as I swallowed down the pleasure he brought.

  “I missed you.” He leaned over to whisper this in my head. His fingers skillfully unbuttoned my pants. Ban pressed his hand down inside. I gasped bending forward towards the table. Why was he doing this here? There were so many people around anyone could catch us.

  “I will slaughter you one day,” I whispered to him as his fingers squeezed around my prick. A moan parted my lips as he started to stroke me. His fingers moved along my length causing me pleasure that only this man ever brought me.

  “Say you missed me too, Natsu.” His lips were at my ear as he nipped at me. I shook my head clenching my jaw together so my voice didn’t betray me. He only laughed softly his fingers moving faster along my length.

  “Ban,” I hissed out his head my head resting on the table. I could feel his lips pressing against my neck. His fingers felt amazing as he continued to move them along me. I wanted to tell him to stop. Wanted to scream at him for doing something like this here.

  I couldn’t find my words. Ban grabbed my arm. He pulled me over onto his lap. I could feel the bulge in his pants as he kept stroking me. Everyone in this place was still looking at the stage. None of them was paying Ban and I any attention.

  “Is she the reason? Is that why you’ve come here for the last three nights.” His voice was low as he spoke in my ear. There was a pause as his fingers unwrapped from around me. He made a fuss with our clothes. Soon I could feel him pulling my pants down further. His cock pressed against my hold.