Prints_Birth of The Demon

by A N Martin

  “It’s good you’re awake. You need to leave right away. The Elect will be back very soon and they cannot find you here.”

  “Where am I?” Dominaze asked, still looking away. “I thought they would have taken me.”

  “You’re back in Caba. This is my home, and for your own safety you can’t stay.” The woman waved her hand at Dominaze to get out of bed.

  “I’m not safe?” Dominaze looked around anxiously.

  “We saw your battle with the Elders. You are very lucky to be alive.” The old woman pointed to Dominaze’s chest. “Those wounds would have killed a regular Print.”

  A lump grew in Dominaze’s throat as she remembered the battle.

  “Hemrick. Where is he?” She fought the tears that threatened to flood her eyes.

  “Don’t worry, he’s fine. He’s here too.” She waved her hand at Dominaze again. “Now come along.”

  Dominaze threw the blankets off of her. “Who are you?”

  “You can call me Granny Mink.” She smiled invitingly. “I am head of Caba…because I’m the oldest Manick here and I like to boss people around.” Her smile faded and she leaned in close. “In exchange for my name you must tell me who you are?” Granny Mink eyed Dominaze as if she already had an idea of what the answer was.

  “My name is Dominaze…Pierce,” she mumbled.

  Granny Mink continued to stare at her. “You’re Kyro Pierce’s daughter?”

  Dominaze grew tense at the mention of Kyro’s name. “He’s hardly my father. I was raised in The Keep until I was ready to imprint. My brother, Hemrick, brought me to Domicile for my birthday.”

  She nodded. “You did not know of all the worlds before your brother came for you?”

  Dominaze shook her head.

  “And now you have imprinted as the most powerful Print there is.” Granny Mink nodded to herself. “Oh child.” She stood and paced the room, mumbling to herself.

  “Hemrick told me about Rizor. I’m not like him. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to live. I don’t want to rule over anyone.” Dominaze tried to get up but flinched at the pain beneath her bandages.

  Granny Mink turned and looked at her. It was a moment before she said anything.

  “Of course you don’t. You know so little about the worlds you are now living in. How could you possibly want more than to just survive?” She smiled, but her lips turned down. “But you’re still new and weak. Powerful!” She quickly corrected, “But weak in control.” She looked down. “There’s no one here that can train you, my dear, and it’s not safe for you to stay. You may have escaped last night’s battle, but the Elect are undoubtedly already on their way back. They would find you here and the Manicks would suffer.” Scooping up Surge, she looked back at Dominaze. “I’ve never known of a Print able to give the gift of youth. Not even a Demon Print.” She patted Surge’s small head. “I can’t begin to comprehend all that you will be able to do. If possible, do what you can to never misuse your authority, Miss Dominaze.” Her eyes were begging. “Your authority will affect many.”

  “I will, Granny Mink. I swear,” Dominaze promised.

  Granny Mink smiled and stood. “Then you must turn to the sky to help you.”

  “The sky?” Dominaze reached for Ganny Mink. “Wait, you know of the place in the sky?”

  “Naturally,” she smirked. “By my age, one knows many things, and many secrets. Now, come. We must hurry. I know someone who can take you there.”

  Dominaze would have leaped from the bed, but the pain in her chest made her stiff and awkward.

  Granny Mink pointed to Dominaze’s chest. “Your wounds are healing faster than anything I’ve seen before. Your left lung was punctured in three places.” Granny Mink took Dominaze’s arm and helped her walk. “It’s a miracle they missed your heart, but I can’t help but wonder if you would have survived that as well.”

  Dominaze leaned on Granny Mink as she walked. The rest of her house looked the same as the small bedroom—completely covered from ceiling to floor with overflowing shelves.

  “What is all of this?” Dominaze pointed to an unraveling role of film.

  Granny Mink looked at all her shelves, before turning to her. “An obsession, I guess. A story for another time I’m afraid. If you do survive the Elect and find yourself back in Caba one day I will tell you more of my adventures.”

  Granny Mink paused and became lost in thought. Dominaze watched as she pursed her lips so tightly her sunken cheeks seemed to pinch together. Granny Mink ducked under Dominaze’s arm and disappeared into another room.

  “Stay where you are, child. I need you to have something.”

  Dominaze could hear boards moving and though she tried not to, she could see everything Granny Mink was doing, not with her eyes of course; she could have closed her eyes and seen it all even better. Granny Mink was digging around beneath her floor boards, in a hidden compartment. When she had the boards back in place and a rug safely over the tops of them, she returned, holding a small medallion on a string. She eyed Dominaze and looked back toward the hidden compartment.

  “I have many secrets, but sometimes it’s good to share one or two.” Granny held the medallion toward Dominaze. “It may not look like much, but valuable gifts in our worlds can show up in the oddest of forms. Please keep this with you always. I hope you find it useful someday.” She hung it around Dominaze’s neck like a necklace and let Dominaze hold the medallion. It was odd shaped with small boxed squares sticking out in several places. It looked like a rough, insignificant piece of metal. Granny reached forward and tucked it in beneath Dominaze’s shirt.

  “It’s not something I would go flashing around to others,” she winked. “Come now. You should have left already.” She pulled Dominaze the rest of the way through the house.

  Dominaze knew there was more to the medallion than there seemed, and that the clutter in Granny’s house was more than just an obsession, but Granny Mink was in too much of a hurry to tell her about it now.

  Outside, the air was blistering.

  Dominaze shrank in the heat. “Is it normal for it to be this hot so late in the season?

  “Nothing normal about it, my dear.” Granny Mink struggled under Dominaze’s weight. Dominaze tried to stand on her own a little more.

  “Am I the reason it’s so hot? Did I do something?”

  Granny Mink shrugged. “You’re not the source, but you’re likely the reason.”

  As they approached the large bon fire, Dominaze was surprised to see that it was almost vacant. Normally it was busy with Manicks cooking and cleaning. Today there were only two bodies sitting next to it and one who stood between them.

  “Where is everyone?” Dominaze asked looking around.

  “We Manicks know when to keep our distance.” Granny Mink was very serious. “The fewer witnesses there are of your presence, the better for you and us. The sooner we can get you to the sky, the sooner things will go back to normal here. It may take a little more convincing though. I’m hoping you can help me with that.”

  “Convincing?”

  “Your escort doesn’t want to take you there.” Granny Mink pointed toward the fire.

  Dominaze recognized Brike’s large body sitting hunched over, staring into the fire. He had a bandage wrapped around his head. Dominaze couldn’t help smiling briefly as she recalled knocking him out. His fire markings were red and pulsing and the heat engulfing Caba was definitely coming from him. Dominaze stopped dead in her tracks.

  “I can’t go with Brike. He hates me. He’ll kill me the first chance he gets.” Dominaze shook her head.

  Granny Mink put her arm around her. “He will do no such thing. I’ve seen to that. I sent for him the first day you arrived here.”

  “What? Why?”

  “At the time it was for Hemrick.” Granny Mink shrugged. “I only knew Brike’s friend, Hemrick, by name, but when I heard there was a young man injured by that name, I thought
I better send word for Brike to come ahead of the Travelers.”

  “Granny Mink, if Brike doesn’t want to take me to the sky, there is nothing I can say to change his mind. I’m sure talking to him will only make him hate me more.”

  Granny Mink pursed her wrinkled lips and eyed Dominaze. “My dear child, are you not both seeking the same thing? There is no one better to help you than Brike.”

  “The same thing?” Dominaze shook her head. “I just want the chance to live free from the Elect and show everyone that the Demon Print isn’t bad. Brike wants to fight and kill. He’s dangerous and he’s mean.”

  “Interesting.” Granny Mink smiled.

  “What?”

  Granny Mink nodded toward Brike’s hunched over body. “That’s exactly what Brike said about you. I have a feeling you’re both a little wrong about what each other wants.”

  Dominaze glared at Brike. The first day she had met him, Marinetta Scott had warned her about him. She had told her he had killed innocent Humans. Dominaze was about to argue that Brike was nothing like her, but Hemrick’s past words came back to her. Hemrick had told Dominaze she ought to wear gloves as Brike did to prevent her from hurting those she cared about. She knew Brike must have had a rough past. She wasn’t about to think that he was innocent of murder, but maybe she could try talking to him. After all, she did have to get to the sky. Granny Mink nudged her.

  “If you can’t convince him to take you, you will still need to leave. The sky is your best chance, so I would do your best talking to him.”

  “Fine. I’ll talk.”

  As Granny Mink led her the rest of the way, Dominaze recognized it was Hemrick sitting on the other side of the fire and Kurtike standing between them. Hemrick stood as he saw Dominaze approaching Brike, but Dominze held her hand up so he would stay. Hemrick folded his arms and glared at Brike. Taking a deep breath, Dominaze sat next to him. Brike didn’t move.

  “Nothing you can say will make me want to help you. You’re a Demon and the name is as it is for a reason.” He stared into the fire.

  Dominaze smiled. She suddenly knew she could get him to help her. Her strip vibrated slightly and she felt more powerful. Brike was strong, but she knew he had a weakness. She was willing to bet he didn’t like being told what he couldn’t do. “Well, nothing you can say would ever make me think you could help me.”

  Brike still didn’t move. So, Dominaze continued. “I’d probably die the first day with you. If not by the Elect, then from your own fire.” She threw a pebble into the fire. “So, I’m staying with Hemrick. I’ll be safe with him.”

  Brike laughed sarcastically. “Safe with Hemrick? Weren’t you nearly killed with him? If I hadn’t come and burned the Elders and Elect, forcing them to retreat, both you and Hemrick would have been taken and killed.”

  Dominaze was taken back. She didn’t realize Brike had saved them. She tried to shrug it off.

  “Am I supposed to believe that was by your choice?”

  Brike turned to face Dominaze. The heat from his skin was almost unbearable. “Do I look like someone who takes orders from anyone? I intervened to save Hemrick’s life, not yours. If I had been alone I would have finished what the Elect started. You should have been killed the night you imprinted, but because you’re spoiled you weren’t in the facility to imprint and now the worlds have a Demon Print on the loose. There may be some here who think you’re worth saving and can help us, but Dominaze, you will be the death of us all.”

  “So kill me,” Dominaze hissed at him. “It’s so easy for you to take a life. You have no merciful bone to spare me, so just take off your gloves and watch me burn.”

  It worked. She knew Brike would love nothing more than to prove her wrong. If he thought she was a dangerous killer, he would do all he could to show he wasn’t. He wanted nothing more than to prove they were different than each other. The veins in Brike’s temples bulged with fury. His hands shook and the heat increased. For a moment Dominaze thought he might actually kill her, but then he looked down and covered his head with his hands. He took a few breaths and stood, looking down at her.

  “Director White can decide how you die.” Brike turned and stormed off, taking the intense heat with him. Kurtike and Granny Mink followed after him.

  Hemrick came and sat by Dominaze. “You shouldn’t have said what you did.”

  “Director White is in the sky. Brike’s taking us to the sky, isn’t he? Besides, he thinks the same thing about me.”

  “Dominaze, when you are called an abomination or killer, does it hurt?”

  “Sure, but…”

  “Dominaze,” Hemrick interrupted, “what if you had already accidentally killed people you really cared about? Do you think it would hurt a lot more, maybe even make you believe it?”

  This time Dominaze didn’t respond. Her strip stopped vibrating and the power she felt slipped away. She had used Brike’s weakness to get what she needed and in return she had hurt him in a way she couldn’t understand. Even if she did not like Brike, she knew she had screwed up. Hemrick stood.

  “If you don’t want others to think you’re a killer, don’t make them think they are.” He followed after the others.

  Dominaze sat alone in front of the fire. She wrapped her arms around her bandaged chest. Already the pain seemed to be subsiding. How did this happen? She was supposed to be showing others how good she was and here she was manipulating and attacking them. Granny Mink was probably regretting having her talk to Brike. Standing, she looked to where Brike and the others had gone. She knew she had to try and fix it. As much as she didn’t want to talk to Brike again, she had to. She had to make it better. She dragged her feet forward to follow after the others.

  Hemrick, Kurtike, and Granny Mink stood together as they watched Brike far ahead of them. The heat coming from him was too intense for them to get closer. Dominaze’s head hung low as she joined them.

  “Granny Mink, I’m sorry. I screwed up.”

  Granny Mink looked at Dominaze. Her eyes full of worry, whether it was for what Dominaze was capable of, or for Brike, Dominaze couldn’t tell.

  “The nice thing about making mistakes is that we can learn from them.” Granny Mink looked back to Brike. “And perhaps some mistakes can be repaired. But you really must hurry.”

  “I wasn’t trying to hurt him.” Dominaze shook her head. “All I could focus on was how to make him do what I needed.”

  Granny Mink’s smile grew. “Lesson learned then. Now see what repairs you can make.” She gently placed her hand on Dominaze’s strip. “This time, focus on how you can fix it.” She pointed to the medallion on the necklace she had just given her. “Sometimes trusting someone before they’ve earned it can encourage them to do what’s right.”

  Hemrick put his arm in front of Dominaze. “She can’t go out there. He’s far too hot right now.”

  “I have to.” Dominaze gently pushed Hemrick’s arm aside. “Besides, you said yourself, I too have fire running through me. I’ll be fine.”

  Kurtike grabbed Dominaze’s arm. She waited for his piercing comments that she knew she deserved, but instead he too looked worried. “I understand why you hid your identity from us. I want you to know I believe you can do great things. Be careful, Dommi. We could use your help.”

  “I will.” She smiled at him and then turned to face Brike.

  If she was going to get anywhere near him, she would have to embrace the heat and feel for the fire within her. Closing her eyes, Dominaze felt her surroundings and walked forward. The warmth in the air wrapped itself around her body. It wanted to burn as she breathed it in and out, but she didn’t dare stop. If she stopped, she might second-guess herself. The heat made it hard to feel her surroundings. Everything blurred into one vast flat landscape. The plants seemed to wither in the heat and a few mice were scurrying into their burrows in search of a cool escape. Finally she felt Brike nearby.

  She blinked to see him and the heat bu
rned at her eyes. To her surprise, Brike stood facing her. He stared blankly at her.

  “It’s over two hundred degrees out here.” He folded his arms.

  “I should have grabbed a jacket.” Dominaze narrowed her eyes.

  Brike didn’t react. Instead he turned away from her. Dominaze took a deep breath, reminding herself that she was here to fix her mistake.

  “I came to apologize.”

  “For what?” Brike closed his eyes and raised his face toward the sky. “Everything you said was true.”

  “I should have never said those things. It was wrong. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Great.” She shrugged and turned to leave, satisfied with her feeble effort.

  Brike spoke while still looking up toward the sky, “Granny Mink seems to think we are the same. That we both want the same thing.”

  Dominaze paused and turned back to him. “We don’t.”

  “Oh, I know.” He finally looked at her. “How could we? You know nothing about who you are and why the Elect want you.”

  “It’s because of Rizor, but I’m nothing like him.”

  “Rizor was only one Demon.” Brike shook his head. “He may have been the most feared, but there were Demons before him.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You Demon Prints may be far and few between, but there’s enough of a history to know eventually you all go bad. Demons are aggressive and manipulative.”

  Dominaze didn’t say anything. She waited for Brike to continue.

  “Rizor was the first Demon the Prints trusted. He claimed to be different, that he wanted to do good. All the Elders and Prints believed him and in the beginning that’s what he did. Good deeds. Until one day it wasn’t enough and the Demon came out.”

  Dominaze didn’t want to encourage Brike, but she was curious. “What happened?”

  “Rizor had a disagreement with a Sea Elder and lost his temper. He drowned the Elder in his own water and destroyed an entire under water city doing it. He didn’t stop there. He eliminated every Print who questioned him. Like the Demons before him, Rizor threatened and abused his authority over the elements.”