Claimed

by K. H. Kate

  I didn't recognize any one of them. Who were those people? Were they demons stuck in Hell? Or were they like me? Was I even alive? I didn't realize I was ignoring their back and forth argument until I caught the end of some words.

  "...The prophecy is real, we've all seen the consequences of ignoring it before. This whole year we've suffered because I stopped them from taking you. The nearby clans are breathing down our necks. You know that! Any moment they will attack and without Darkness's help, we will all die."

  I felt more baffled as time passed. Sacrifice, prophesy, Darkness...Was that a sign my nightmare always wanted to give me but I missed it until now? I wanted to know more but I came to a stop at the look of loss on the girl's face. For some reason, it made me...sad. As if I could feel what she was feeling right at this moment. Tilting my head curiously, I raised my hand just as the girl spoke.

  "So, I'm done."

  I was ripped from that nightmare so quickly that I couldn't detect if I really was back in the reality or still stuck with that strange girl. I didn't even notice that I was breathing heavily on the ground until a voice called me over.

  "Um...excuse me?"

  Human. It was a human.

  "Are you alright?" The man asked nicely before helping me stand on my feet. The moment the human touched me, I jumped a few feet away. I must still be in some kind of a dream if I felt the touch.

  "Stay away!" I screamed at the same time looking around with wild eyes.

  "I'm backing away, see?" The man raised his hands with a small smile. No matter how much the human scared me, I was also curious. If I could feel the human's touch then was that an earth thing? Or did that human had some kind of powers I didn't know about?

  "I am going to call 911." The man started to look for something in his pocket. Even then, I couldn't ignore how his gaze kept straying down. Following him, I noticed what got his attention. There were red spots on my dress. I didn't have time to change before I was ordered to leave and on top of it, I had raised bodies from the graves. As Demos would say, a little blood wouldn't harm anyone. This time I couldn't help the rush of satisfaction that went through me. This was the real me. People were scared of me, not the other way around.

  Besides, I could feel that familiar urge again.

  If not a demon then a human would have to do.

  "I've nowhere to go. Can you help me?" I smiled, rubbing his chin softly with the back of my hand. As soon as I was touching him, he went still. His confused eyes were now watching me with a blank look.

  "You can come to my place."

  My smile widened. "That will be wonderful."

  Having a bath in a bowl other than a pond was something interesting to think about. That kind man had not only helped me with a place in his house and made me a bath, he was also quite amusing to watch. The only thing that dampened my mood was how things were going to be the next time I saw this man.

  No crying over rotten milk.

  Demos's words made me keep still, to not think over again. I was doing the right thing. Sacrifices were needed to make if I was going to be normal again. That woman in my nightmare sure thought so.

  Standing up from the bowl, I changed into the clothes that the man left for me. The mirror in his bed-chamber made me frown. I couldn't even recognize myself. The clothes looked strange on me, especially the pants made me look like the men in Hell. As I searched for more strangeness, my eyes grew bigger in shock. My hair was black when I was in hell but here it was several shades lighter than black, almost like I had auburn hair. My eyes had been red before but now it was brownish. Touching my chin, I dragged it farther down to my throat and it had fresh marks on it.

  Hellhounds bites.

  "Um...Amy, would you like to eat something?" He asked, giving me an awkward glance. I was craving something indeed but...what was I craving again?

  "My name's not Amy, it's Emie...Emeline." I could have slapped myself for that slip of the tongue but one sniff of the human almost had me lose control. He had a distant scent I didn't notice earlier.

  It almost made me want to grab his neck and explore that scent.

  But I had things to do.

  Orders to follow.

  So, gulping down the hunger, I touched his temple instead. "Would you please stand in front of the mirror?"

  He obeyed without a question. Our reflection reminded me of the pool of endless void back in Hell. Where I used to watch the game of the predator and the prey.

  Whoever gets caught first, gets to die.

  It was Demos's rules.

  He only believed in his win.

  "That's more like it." I smiled, raising my hands toward the ceiling. The words came so easily that they should have scared me. "Ek hea kin Hell, aho re ke King Demos."

  As soon as the words were told, the wind started to blow violently and the mirror made a cracking sound. All the while that man stood there without a sound. Suddenly a large black shadow surfaced with the wind only to resurface fully in front of me in a second.

  Demos.

  "My love, you missed me?” I heard the whisper.

  Taking a deep breath, I finally answered the truth. "More than anything in the world."

  One thing about Demos was he only showed his true emotions when we were alone or we had no ears around us. The only way I could tell he felt the same was a fleeting second of fond look on his face before his eyes hardened. We couldn't ignore the man between us, he was here for a reason.

  "It suits me." I heard him breathe out. "That's my girl."

  "Thank you, my King."

  On a cue, we both seized the man's throat, bringing screams of horror into the city.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  "Uh...you're not my lunch."

  "And you are not my little soul."

  The Emie look-alike did a double-take and still couldn't turn down the frown when she didn't recognize me. But then again how could she? When she was out in the world, I was locked in a ready-made hell. Thankfully, Zed brushed past me and took a front so that she could see both of us.

  "Lana." He politely uttered, offering her a smile and the girl's eyes sparked up to recognition.

  So, Zed did know her personally.

  "Zedkiel." Her curious eyes searched Zed's. "No offense, but we thought you went back to your clan weeks ago?"

  He nodded respectfully. "Ah yes, I did. But work called again and here I am."

  "It's so good to see you again." Her smile spread before her gaze found mine again. As if Zed now remembered that I never introduced myself, he tipped his head at me.

  "And this is my...friend, Alexei."

  Her eyes widened a little. "I swear I heard this name somewhere..."

  I cut her off with a stiff smile of my own. "I can assure you madam that you haven't heard it from anyone."

  "Oh shit, I didn't even invite you in. Come on, both of you. I'm sorry but Mikhail isn't home. He's out handling a case with Aaron. Before you say anything, it wasn't me." She giggled with a weird twinkle in her eyes, guiding both of us to enter her small cozy house. The whole house was a typical modern style nowadays people used. It made me miss my old one but I shrugged it off.

  "Hey, it's fine. I am not here for Vermon, I am actually here for Zach. Is he here?" Zed asked to which she nodded. Inside the house, I looked for anything that could trigger my shadows to detect danger, however, I didn't find anything. Not until Emie's sister, Lana opened her mouth.

  "Zach! Zedkiel's here!" She yelled out. "Oh no! I'm a terrible host! Sit and wait here, I'll give you something to drink. What would you two like?"

  "Nothing," I answered without bothering to look at her. Zed gave me a warning look before smiling politely at Lana. "Tea will be fine."

  "Got it!" With that, she left.

  I was just about to ask where the person who sent the file was when he shushed me with a strange look. To not my surprise, I too caught the sound Zed was indicating to. After waiting for a few minutes, the stair squeaked as a blue-eyed man came runni
ng from upstairs. The moment he was near, my nose flinched in acknowledgment.

  Hell.

  He smelled like Hell.

  Without warning, my shadows left my body to circle the unknown man in anger. Even my voice wasn't mine when the words were screamed into the room. "What are you doing here, hell creature!"

  The man in question squeaked out a reply. "Fuck! Who is this, Zedkiel!"

  Zed immediately jumped from the sofa, his hands raised to stop me from going for this Zach's throat. "Alexei, leave him, for devil's sake!"

  If he was smart, he'd start delivering the truth. I raised my eyebrows in fake concern. "Oh, but why, master? He is a hell-creature. I thought we don't let them stay on earth or have the rules been changed since I was gone?"

  "AL-Lexei?" Zach choked out. "As in the King of shadows?"

  Right at that moment, Lana walked in with a tray but not before her eyes took into what was happening, to see my hands on Zach's throat and Zed trying to calm me down. It didn't take her seconds to throw a glare at me.

  "Let him go."

  The words were delivered with a slow and precise coldness that matched her mother. And I hated that it reminded me of little soul again. So, I let out a mocking smile.

  "You are letting a hell-creature stay with you illegally. The clans, the Coven will kill you for that, you know that?"

  "I said-" She walked closer to leave the tray on the table. "Let him go."

  Zed tugged my arms again. "Let him go, Lex. I'm warning you for your own good."

  "Why?" I scoffed. "All of them should die anyway. They hid her, they are spreading lies-"

  "He is the one who sent the file." Zed finally whispered, making me step back in shock. This man was the one who told the lies, he saw her first. More of all-

  He was the key to her...

  Silence.

  Only silence welcomed me when none of them had a word to say. I was this close to losing control, Zed was staring at me, Zach was curling and uncurling his fists and Lana was staring at the ceiling while fidgeting in her seat.

  "And why should I believe you?" I broke the cruel silence that was making things much worse than it already was. Soul mates just didn't forget about their other halves.

  It's impossible.

  Zach shook his head wildly. "You have to believe me, man! It's not wise to go there but I was desperate. I kept trying to trespass for a pass from the Demon King. That's when I heard it with my own ears. The palace guards were too busy to keep Emeline, their future Queen safely in a place in Hell where commoners can't go. They said they'll suck my souls if I try again."

  Souls?

  "I'm sorry, I'm missing something here. Why do you have souls more than one?" I knew some things about being a Reaper as little soul stayed the last few weeks with me when she was one but none of these things Zach said was making much sense.

  "Zach was born human. Until my sister took his soul and they both went to Hell. He returned but he wasn't the same person anymore." Lana spoke for the first time after Zed burst out the truth. Seeing her was like seeing a ghost of Emie and if I started to wonder about that now...no, I had to keep track of my thoughts.

  "Still not helping." I breathed out as politely I could.

  "Lex, you don't need to know everything. We came here for help and we'll get it without bothering them." Zed warned in a low hiss.

  I didn't like the way Lana looked at me then. "No, it's Ok. If we are not minding each other's business then maybe he should answer some of my questions too? Like why he led my sister on, giving her hope that he was on her side, lying to her from the very beginning?"

  I must have reacted because there was a smile on her face now. "Oh, I heard the stories. The prophesy that you knew about but never told her until her end."

  If only you didn't lie...My eyes closed in raw pain. No, I refused to remember those last words. That night couldn't be the end of us.

  "And I will apologize about that once I actually have my sight on her." I gritted out, refusing to give in to the urge to rip her sins out. "Now ask your beloved to tell me how he knows about her."

  Zach's eyes narrowed in warning. "Not her beloved. You want to know about her? Fine. Just never say that fucking word, ok?"

  I had never seen anyone pressed about a single word but for her...yes, I could behave.

  "I promise."

  That must be good enough for him cause he nodded with a sigh. "One minute I was on earth and the next I was in Hell. I tried to escape numerous times but of course, I failed. Until I met some hellhounds who were trying to return to earth. That's where I first heard about the demon's pass."

  He paused, frowning. "There were words going around that if the demon King gave me a pass, after I served him, I would be free. But I ended up learning a few things instead. Like Emeline has amnesia and her brain isn't stable. The demon King kept her in there but when the gate opened, for some reason, he let her go."

  I stayed silent, trying to process what I just learned. I didn't want to believe it but it was true. All of it.

  “I had so many plans regarding her. I wanted to shake her from every lie I ever told her. Then take her out on an herb-date. Sounds lame but she loved making herbal medicine. I could help her even if I don’t know shit about that.”

  Zed was the only one who reacted first. “Alexei…it’s not too late.”

  "I tried to find Emie, you know?" Lana spoke up. "When I got to know about her. I even ended up meeting Hannah."

  "You know Hannah?" I was truly surprised though I didn't miss the way Lana's fists clenched hearing the name.

  "Knew her. Before a hellhound named Sage killed her in cold blood. He was trying to open the gate by killing the last remaining Reapers. She got into the crossfire."

  There was a moment of uncomfortable silence after she finished talking. Zed here knew I kicked Hannah out the moment she failed to bring back Emie. I could see him nitpicking my reaction, trying to find guilt in them. Truth be told, I felt remorse only a few times in my life. But now, now I was closing to feel that. If I didn't kick her out of New Orleans, would she still be alive? What if my actions were the only thing that was ruining those lives?

  Lana opened her mouth to say something but suddenly stopped. Almost as if what she had to say would make me not like it. "I also know you loath Keisha but she didn't do anything by her own choice."

  "How do you know that!?"That cursed name... "You didn't know her back then."

  "I don't need to. We all did something we are not proud of. But the only important thing is to own up to those mistakes. Tell me, Alexei, don't you feel remorse for what you did to my sister?"

  "Did she?" I snarled, waiting for her silence.

  But she laughed, staring at me with a haunted look. "She paid it with her blood, with her magic. I killed her, I didn't want to. I wanted to know her, understand her but the choice was taken away from me."

  "Still not the same-"

  "You think I don't know that? Mikhail and Zach both were threatened, I almost lost them. I know what you mean but it doesn't hurt to have a little decency."

  Zach smiled at whatever she meant, forcing me to feel that strange pain in my heart again. What was that feeling? Was it...longing? I used to look at her the same way. Like I couldn't breathe any longer if she ever left me. And now Demos was standing between me and my little soul.

  But not for long.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  "Bring her."

  It was happening more than often. To get stuck between the voices and those unknown people. Not completely unknown, something inside me screamed. What if it was memories of my human life? Some demons were once human before they died.

  I looked around but like always everything happened too fast for me to catch on. But one thing I could not forget was the look on my lookalike's face. Pure hatred and hopelessness shrewd her face as the man around her cut open his own palm.

  What were they doing exactly?

  "Do you, Emeline Sullivan, the daugh
ter of the clan leader, Conrad Sullivan, agree to break your pledge to the Red clan willingly?"

  Any previous emotion bubbling over the girl's face washed away. "Yes."

  I watched the girl snatch the knife from the man with a curious wonder. For a second, I wondered if I should try to touch anyone again. But before I could do that, the girl looked at the man like she couldn't wait to throw the knife at him.

  "In birth, in life, and in death. Now I, Emeline Deshayes, willingly break the pledge to honor and be loyal to my afterlife."

  Something happened then. Even I could feel the change in the air as everyone rushed to nod at the man. The girl still kept her emotion in check with barely a flinch that felt like only I noticed.

  The man chided the girl where the woman spoke up with tremble in her bones. "Let go, Conrad. She's a child."

  The girl looked at the woman for a second, making that hatred drop from her face. It couldn't be mistaken that the girl adored that woman. Then why did the woman was letting this happen to her?

  I watched them argue but the girl didn't even get a chance. The man with them was quick enough to open a book that forced the girl to let out a scoff. Everywhere I looked, I only heard the chants of numerous people. Witches...there was no doubt now. So, not a human then, a witch? How would that make sense with me being a demon?

  "Do you, the clan leader's daughter Emeline Sullivan, take this grave's owner, the darkest soul, also known as the King of Shadows, Darkness, as your lawfully wedded husband?"

  "I do."

  No!

  Something like panic gripped my heart. A vision of the girl bleeding on her knees nearly brought me to my own knees. The girl was going to die, by God, she really was. And I had no choice but to have a front-row seat to witness that.

  "It's OK, you're OK." The voice close to me let out a sigh. A very familiar voice. How many times the same voice had comforted me when I was feeling down? Just how many times was I going to let him break his true character to take care of me?

  The answer was going to make me double over in tears.