I ran panting heavily listening to the screams behind me of the hooded chanters. Others began killing them as well. Every step I took closer to the invisible demon, it seemed to awaken and unravel it more. It continued guiding me, making sure I didn’t divert my path into the depths and darkness of the spiral stairs I now jumped down. I took lunges of four at a time. I could hear Alice taunting me not too far away. If it were just us two, I would be the victor. If there were more, I needed a weapon. The screams and evilness that swept around was like a pooling hot breath down my back. I hit flat ground and landed into the dungeon of a creature that I could not see. It was dark down here and as I jumped into its domain, the screams behind me had stopped.
I looked at the massacre before me. Limbs were outstretched and blood was splattered everywhere. The hooded chanters had lost their hold on the demon after so many of them were killed. Candles that might’ve been lit were broken on the floor. Utter darkness.
I could feel its breathing, hot and dense as I stepped closer. Slowly, I crept towards one of the candle holders. It wasn’t much for a weapon but it was something in the shallow room that held nothing else. I knew Alice was only steps away. The demon wasn’t positioned in one spot. It surrounded the room. It was the room. The very air I breathed was shared with it. I realized then that the presence of this demon that drew me in was more dangerous than anything I had faced before. I had only felt this shadowing power from Haymen. Screams erupted behind me from those who followed Alice down the stairs. Bits of limbs began to rein down the stairs as I stood there very still. Did it not know I was in its room? Was it protecting me? What did it want?
It licked me up the back again, egging me closer into the room, closer towards it. My feet dug into gravel as my back straightened and I knew... I could feel that it was towering above me and around me. A slice went down my chest and I realized it had scratched away part of my shirt to reveal the bottom half of my tattoos. The drops down to my stomach glowed bright blue. Almost blindingly blue. I raised my hands to my eyes trying to block the brightness. And then a red fastened through it, merging with the color of my blue. I looked at that one singular tattoo that glowed brightly on its own and felt the summoning it contained. Power that I had not yet felt or called upon with a demon that had not yet surfaced. As soon as that particular tattoo glowed red the demon around me frenzied and I had the overwhelming sense of familiarity. Of... home. It wasn’t my home but the demon whose tattoo now glowed. This beast recognized that contract and demon. The room swelled with choking power and before I could step away from the ambush of power, it dove into me.
The beast clawed into me, my screams were snuffed by the overwhelming power I was being drowned in. It continued to merge itself within me and into my tiny form. The walls around us began to cave in as I dropped to my knees. The feeling of the creature was like a vortex within me. And then it vanished. I breathed in shakily not sure what happened. What the fuck just happened? I couldn’t feel it inside of me. It didn’t possess or hurt me. I patted myself over to make sure. A large rock from above dropped. The power had shattered the structure of the room and slowly it began to crumble as it still shook from the aftermath. And yet I had never felt so grounded or silent. Coming to my senses in time, I blocked the blade that Alice brought down on me.
I wasn’t quick enough and the blade cut down my arm. She had been aiming for my chest.
“Wait until Master hears about this! It makes so much sense! You’re contracted to her. When he-” Alice began squealing and blood pooled out from her mouth. I could sense a figure behind her doing the harm and before I could react that same power suppressed me. My knees gave way before my sight. Darkness.
Chapter Fifteen- Haymen
Within seconds I had finished off Alice and knocked my beautiful Vi out. She had actually done it. I knew the demon that was being kept there would react and remember the presence of its master. Vi didn’t yet it know but she held the contract to a very special person, who still hasn’t come forth. It only confirmed my suspicions.
There was only one way to come in and out of Aztec and that was by carriage. What most forgot was that I had created Aztec those hundreds of years ago. The angels thought they oversaw and ruled it with their own gargoyles and soldiers who could detect any intruder. I made sure that small loop holes were available to my teleportation and mine only.
I picked up my beautiful Vi and cradled her in my arms. Her shirt had been torn open from where the demon inspected the contract. I teleported her into her cell, neatly tucking her in the corner of the room resting her head on the hard floor. I pushed back part of her matted and blood soaked crimson hair. The demon had finally awoken after so many hundred years of slumber. I’m certain it wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the others and especially Gabe. It awoke as soon as she stepped into Aztec. That demon was purely devoted to protecting its master and I relied on that for her survival in here.
She was the one I have been waiting for. My Queen had finally reappeared and contracted with my sweet, sweet Vi. I brushed my fingers over the droplets of her tattoo. The moment I saw it, I knew and I have patiently waited for things to slowly unravel. Now, I would watch and wait until she would reappear and Vi understood who she truly was.
Chapter Sixteen- Gabe
I went over the statement. Official and sealed from Gretel herself. Haymen had officially found the demon who had killed Luke and went into a very detailed statement with the demon admitting to the murder. Despite all the evidence leading to its legitimacy, I thought otherwise. The snake demon Haymen claimed was his downfall because I had seen Luke take one of the exact same species within my own city. Luke was young but experienced. I had trained him myself on many accounts. It left a lot of doubt in Haymen’s statement. That, and he conveniently gathered it so quickly. The demon was prepared to face the courts and plead guilty. Because he wasn’t protected like Vivian, he would be publicly executed.
By the courts ruling and agreement Vivian was a free woman. Well, in certain terms. I wasn’t convinced that she had no involvement and I intended to follow her for the next thirty days as agreed by Haymen and the court. I would find the truth behind Luke’s death and it somehow centered around Vivian. I just knew it. I owed it to Luke’s family and co-workers; the truth about his horrific death. When his body arrived with wings in a separate bag, his mother wailed. Young were difficult to conceive for angels and like many, one child was all they could birth through hundreds of years trying.
He had done so much for all of us and to be murdered within the Demon Lord’s city was no coincidence. I forbade any of my own angels to come within Haymen’s city until further notice and I urged other cities who were ruled by angels to do the same.
I had avoided confronting Haymen head on for many years. I could ask any of my soldiers to follow her in my stead but I couldn’t trust the treaty. Against the Haymen, only I would stand for a fair fight. I asked my second in command to rule my city while I was gone. This involved us all and although I had many candidates to take my place in Shabeah, I wanted to see this through to the end. Something was happening here, I could just feel it. Luke was the tip of the iceberg. If Haymen was plotting to initiate another war we had to be ready and on the forefront. It was only Haymen who could start a global scale war.
I sat in the carriage on my way to Aztec. I read over the documents that had been sent to me just before I departed the docks. A mass fight broke out in the prisoner’s communal arena. It was the first time that anyone had been able to break through the metal cage but with the amount of impact on either side from both prisoner and guard, a small part shattered and it crumbled from there.
Seven of the prisoners were now dead. No loss, really. Only one survived. Vivian. Of course, I thought. Even another Guardian that was detained in there had died. I remembered Alice’s case well. She was a Guardian of Haymen’s, loyal until she was possessed by a member of the Volv. It was the first time any of us had seen one come out of hiding after the
last war and that was three hundred years ago. That was bad. It meant that the Volv who possessed her was no longer trapped in Alice’s body. It’s why we imprisoned her, so the vile demon wouldn’t be set free. After three hundred years it could easily find its way back to its master.
Almost all of the chanters were dead. They were witches who had been chained and forced to live a life within Aztec to keep whatever unspeakable demon was sleeping. Even I couldn’t find a track record of it, but I knew what I felt which meant that records were being hidden. Gretel was the only one I could trust and she was one of the few who kept an eye on the prison alongside Haymen who represented the demons solely.
I didn’t find it a coincidence that Vivian had been detained in Aztec for less than forty-eight hours and a slaughter like this erupted.
Gretel had been so kind as to send me the sheet, security, and blueprints to Aztec. I pressed a red button on the flat metal sheet and footage of the breakout within the yard projected in front of me in 3D. I swiveled the images from side to side until I could get a perfect positioning on Vivian. All the Guardians and soldiers perfectly filmed and saved the surveillance. What they saw, we had records to as well.
Vivian had been talking to someone in there. I zoomed in on the ugly woman like creature until I noticed the tattoos on her arms which matched that of a Guardian. Alice. The way Vivian had walked out was very intentional and she engaged with Alice almost instantly. I zoomed in further on Alice and her identity came up into a separate side box. Alice Kendrid. Concealed by Haymen’s Guardians Three hundred and two years ago. I frowned at the offenses. Serious, but mostly screamed rogue Guardian who was attacking her own kind. I remembered being briefed on this case. I tapped on the side of the metal sheeting. If it weren’t for a Volv possessing her she would’ve been killed. It was because Haymen wanted to entrap that demon that he requested it to be sent to Aztec. Each generation of Guardians only lasted a maximum of thirty years. On the official records it was because their contract expired with their demons that devoured them whole. I wasn’t entirely convinced. Although Haymen claimed to be transparent about his creations, the Guardians there were a lot I was suspicious of. Especially if the only Volv movement since their uprising in the last war was targeted at one of Haymen’s Guardians.
I zoomed in on the image of Alice and noticed her pinhole pupils and the veins which protruded from her in a grotesque way. The video didn’t have audio and the way her mouth moved I couldn’t read her lips. Vivian flinched but didn’t move. I hummed and reversed the recording watching it again. And then a third. A clean cut began to bleed from her calf. I zoomed in and went over those few seconds again. She had definitely been cut by something. Perhaps the demon I had felt before I left? It had taken an interest in her the moment we walked into Aztec. I zoomed out and watched in suspense as the others began to surround her. The records said that Vivian had made it out alive so I watched on as the seven surrounded her and then attacked.
I had to give her credit. Despite having no access to her demons she was a fluent and smart warrior in her own right. Her body moved of its own accord and in some of her movements I could see the cat demon within her even if not apparent. She had strength and brains which was a rarity; watching her fight was almost... enchanting. I stopped the video as soon as Vivian had broken out of the cage and was no longer visible on the surveillance. What happened to her after that? She was running towards the mouth of Aztec but was later found locked in her room passed out?
When I landed, thicker bars were being applied by the witches. They were chanting and reinforcing the magic that should’ve held out against even excessive force. A part of me suspected that communal arena was designed in hopes that the inmates would kill each other. Some demons were easier to capture than kill and majority of the species in here went within that category. The same hooded figure greeted me at the mouth of Aztec. Before I even reached him, he was already walking towards the stairs not waiting for me to follow. The chanting continued but wasn’t as loud; more than likely because so many had been killed in the outbreak. The copper smell of blood and rubble now seemed engrained in the walls. I squinted down a tunnel where I was certain I could see blood splayed against the wall. My wings glowed bright enough to lead me up the stairs. Although guarded I still expected to feel the demon’s presence like I had last time. I even lowered my guard almost welcoming it to have a taste like it did with Vivian. Nothing. It was as if it had vanished. That worried me. When we stood in front of the door to Vivian’s cell, the hooded scaly chanter opened the door and left. Odd fellow. I creaked it open and looked down at her. She sat against the wall with her knees bent and hands casually covering her stomach.
I wondered then if Guardians actually feared death. I had killed and seen many demons panic for their life. I found only few that did not squirm nor did they beg. I imagine Vivian would be that kind. But the shadows beneath her eyes was the element that gave away she was both not a demon and not entirely unscathed. Despite that, it didn’t prevent her smart mouth barking.
“What do you want? Don’t you have a pretty blonde angel to gang bang or something?” she growled. Her grey eyes didn’t leave mine. I bit back my own comment which could meet hers but wouldn’t be a part of her childish and menacing games. I looked around and could feel the remains of Haymen’s demonic energy. He was always overconfident in himself. Powerful yes, but he had forgotten that I have been around for hundreds of years.
“Has Haymen come to see you?” I asked, ignoring her childish behavior.
“Why would he? I’m just a criminal behind bars. My master would have no need for me.” I scoffed at her choice word, ‘Master’.
“No one is your Master and if you honestly believe that then you are more pathetic than I thought,” I said coolly. I had seen her fight and knew that she was smart. Her eyes screamed of that with intelligence. But that cockiness was overbearing.
“I don’t need to hear that from you, Angel Boy. Shouldn’t you be head hunting whoever killed your boyfriend instead of pestering me? Unless you just want to fall into the same trap that he did with me,” she said arching an eyebrow suggestively. “Now wouldn’t that just be pathetic.”
I clenched my jaw hard, refraining myself from giving her the treatment she deserved. She shifted and covered her stomach tighter. She was hiding a tattoo that further extended down. Her shirt had been shredded into two. I took note of that. Guardian’s tattoos and contracts weren’t usually that exaggerated in size. I could’ve pinned her to a wall and seen it for myself but I reminded myself that I had her for the next thirty days. I would find out the story of her tattoos sooner than later.
“You are free to go, Miss Lair. Of course as agreed you will be supervised by myself for the next thirty days. It would appear that your Master, was able to bring forth some befitting evidence.”
She looked away from me bored and unmoving. “I said you are free,” I repeated to her after the long silence which rolled over into minutes.
“I would rather spend the next thirty days in here than spend it with you tailing me,” she spat. I smiled. Stubborn. I would make sure to drive her insane within the month. She had involvement in Luke’s death. I was certain of it and I would make sure that she slipped up.
“I doubt that you would last another thirty days in here after the footage I’ve seen of you trying to play nice with everyone.”
“Fighting for my life for the next thirty days still sounds more appealing than being stalked by you. Brood over some other mare, elsewhere,” she said. And this time I laughed at her, seeing if a different reaction would appear. She slowly looked in my direction and mumbled. “What do you know, he laughs.”
“More so at the fact that you think you have a choice. I’m done with this,” I said and walked over to her. She jumped onto her legs and tied the tattered bits of her shirt making sure to conceal her tattoos. So that particular one irritated her.
“If you man-handle me I will find a way to squeeze your
large dome head through that window,” she said raising her fists ready to fight. It was pointless without her demons–she was no match for me–but credit to her for trying. She tried to smack my hands away from her but I grabbed one of her legs and pulled her towards me. I flipped her in the air and threw her over my shoulder. She punched me numerous times in spots that should have disabled a man from walking. I dodged each one flipping her this way and that. Much to my annoyance it was like a screaming child and I had dealt with numerous ones of those at home. I was careful to keep my wings stretched away from where she might be able to hit them. They were very sensitive. Much to my surprise she hasn’t yet taken any cheap shots to try and harm those either.
“If you don’t behave yourself I will put you to sleep.” Her motions stopped and I could almost hear her thinking it over. She obviously didn’t like being put to sleep when it wasn’t on her terms. I wondered if she remembered the last time I had to press my lips to hers to put her to sleep. Obviously she did, because she stopped with her tantrums.
“Put me down. I’ll walk myself,” she mumbled. I placed her on her feet and she shoved me away. I gave her an insincere smile which pissed her off even more before she led the way down the stairs. If I could keep her on edge then she was more likely to make a mistake. That, and a part of me truly wanted to put this smart mouth in her place. I had thirty days to piss this demon summoner off and get closer to Haymen’s real objectives. Since this was his favorite pet, I considered that the two would go hand in hand. She looked over at my still smiling face and scoffed.
“What, did someone get laid while he was gone? You seem awfully chipper with my release considering how hell-bent you were on having me locked up and dead,” she seethed. We walked down the stairs in the dark.
The Shadow Minds Journal, #1 Page 14