by Amanda Churi
Pure Hell.
Fifteen
Call to Honor
I will always be judged by my origin—by the reason I was placed on Earth and because of what my life should have been used for… Someone to bring chaos by birth—to stand by their mother and watch the world drown in blood and fire.
I had bested her. Any who thought they knew what I was, a demon destined for havoc and eternal damnation, would be proven wrong as well.
Even if I had to force it upon them.
Their cuffs were like butter, the hands that they tried to use to control me nothing more than the paws of a stuffed animal. My gums were ripped open, a row of sharp teeth appearing in front of my normal ones. Blood raced down my chin, my ears, my skull, my hands—everything burning as my demons within raced to position themselves. My hair began to crackle, my limbs trembling as the air around me became warm and arid, filled with the light of my Essence and the smell of fresh, corrupted blood.
The personnel screamed in horror as I tore free of them, racing towards the queen. She did not seem to be threatened, calmly taking a step back so that she stood on the edge of the stage, her narrowed gaze evaluating my every move. The onlookers below cried out with dread, pushing and shoving as they frantically backed away from the stage to give us ample room.
The three traitors of the Encryption kneeled there, staring at me in awe as I dove over them like an animal, baring my claws in the direction of the queen. I locked my body into a ball as my depth perception cranked up, somersaulting across the stage and using my momentum to close the gap between the queen and me. I sprang to my feet when I was within reach, positioning myself on the tips of my toes and hovering so close that my nose nearly touched hers.
No one moved, including me. The blood ran down my chest, soaking into my torn shirt as a vicious growl reverberated in my throat, daring the queen to try anything.
She smiled as if trying to taunt me. “Are you going to battle me, demon?” she pressed smugly, the spare personnel racing away from the lesser prey and surrounding me so that I could see just how much the odds were stacked against me.
“I don’t know what kind of funhouse you are running here,” I snarled threateningly, “but if you touch one hair on their head, I will kill you.”
Her smirk intensified. She snapped her fingers, a single personnel breaking free from the formation and racing over to Mabel, who could not move. I kept track of their every movement through the corner of my smoldering eyes, watching as the man stroked her long brown hair before sharply plucking a single strand.
The queen chuckled madly. A spurt of blood shot from my mouth at her ballsy face, my body immediately taking action. I sunk my claws into her shoulders, hooking her under her skin and shoving her backward off of the stage so that we tumbled down the steps and into the common area.
Cries of horror arose around us as we rolled across the ground, the queen grunting painfully as I dug my weaponry deeper into her flawless skin. Our fall ended with the queen’s back heftily slamming into the vibrant floors of code, my massive strength cracking the tiles around us. Somehow, though, her endurance fought my own, and she was not broken by the enhanced, dangerous state that my body had resorted to.
She stared at me, her teeth bared in hatred as the blue gem on her forehead began to glow a bright green. I hardly had time to notice before a burst of green light was expelled from the jewel, exploding against my chest and blasting me off of her with such power that my claws ripped open her skin, taking pieces with me as my spine slammed against the metal frame of the stage a dozen feet back.
She lay on the ground, moaning as her blood stained the skin around her shoulders and soaked into her white dress. Her body convulsing painfully, she managed to rise to her feet, staring at me with flaring teal eyes. An animal-like snarl rose from her throat as she advanced towards me, the blue jewel on her head beginning to pulse with a dark, emerald hue.
My own snarl countered hers. My back ached, and my skin crawled from the strong blow taken to the chest, but now, energy of any sorts only seemed to strengthen me. I could hear so many sounds and see so many things at once that I did not know how I possibly processed my surroundings accurately.
“N-not what I expected,” the queen panted hoarsely as she closed in. “I have never seen a demon like yourself.”
“Because I’m not a normal demon!” I snapped in defiance. “I don’t want to fight you, but I won’t let you hurt us!”
“A demon thinking of someone other than itself,” she mused darkly.
“You obviously don’t even know what I am!” I countered as I took a step forward to meet the rising challenge. “I will always fight for good! I’m not trying to destroy this world; I want to save it! Restore it! Can’t you give me a chance to prove that?”
The queen spat in disgust, stopping a foot from where I squared her off. “Why give you a chance when you just attacked me? You obviously are not trying to protect this world if you would fight the mastermind behind the revolution itself!”
I hissed furiously, my sharpened ears aggressively folding out like a fan as I stretched my claws, prepared to have another go. “I’m warning you! Let us go!”
The queen snickered, her gem flickering intensely as she gathered power within her skull once more. “Make me, you sadistic little fuck.”
“ENOUGH!”
A wave of intense, scalding heat rushed over my skin as agonizing screams flooded the air at inconceivable volumes. I gasped with alarm, the blast being so powerful that it stopped the queen and I in our tracks, throwing us to the floor on our hands and knees.
I felt my dark side dying down as my attention veered from the anger rampant in my blood. I looked over my shoulder, my broad eyes shifting to and fro, trying to understand what happened.
Many personnel lie on the stage behind me, squirming and screaming at the top of their lungs as they tried to extinguish the massive, ravenous blood-red flames melting their skin. The air steamed with horrendous heat, thousands of large, popping embers flying through the air and creating a cyclone of fire.
Mabel stood at the center of this disorder, her appearance altered to such a point that I would not have recognized her had I not known the circumstances.
Her hair was a swathe of red-orange flames, burning off of her scalp and circling around her. Multi-colored sparks shot out from each pore of her skin, making her glow and illuminate the area around her with the aura of life and death. The fire seemed to dance around her in a Celtic fashion, embers and strands of fire swirling around her palms and through her fingers as she controlled their every movement, and her pupils had gone from a beautiful crimson to a harsh, raging blue fire. She held no mercy; her only desire was to draw blood.
My friends were unharmed, Seek, Flye, and Kaitlyn included. All that they could do was stare at Mabel with dumbfoundment, shaking their heads and falling prey to their trembling bodies as they observed just what this small, broken, and very powerful girl had turned into.
Through the raining flames and the hazy atmosphere, the queen kneeled, frozen in time as her eyes reflected the beautiful, yet terrifying, presence before her.
“Will you just listen to us?!” Mabel screamed, snapping her teeth as her flames grew in response to her anger. “We don’t want to fight you; we want to stand with you! And if you can’t accept that, release us, or I will release you! Do you understand me?!”
The queen didn’t respond.
Upon seeing that she had nothing to say, Mabel collected herself, closing her eyes and straightening her back so that she stood as tall as she could. She exhaled slowly, releasing all of the tension and fury within. Upon making it clear that she had calmed down, her horrific display was no longer needed, and her element acknowledged her wishes.
Magically, all flames within the vicinity took their leave, those possessing Mabel included. The afflicted personnel gasped in relief as the fire fled their bodies, but the effects of Mabel’s display were not reversed; they conti
nued to heave for air, semi-conscious and struggling to fight for the lives that their widespread third-degree burns threatened to take away.
“Mabel… How did you do that?” Griffin wondered incredulously, his jaw hardly attached to his face. He looked at me next. “How did either of you?”
Mabel sighed reluctantly, though she did not face him. She did not have an answer, and quite frankly, neither did I. Much like Mabel’s powers had faded, mine did too. My razor-like teeth retreated back into my sliced gums, the torn bands of skin closing over them to hide the weapons from sight. My claws retracted, and my senses lost a bit of their strength, my ears folding in and my reasoning returning as my demons became dormant yet again. I could not say that I was at ease, though—they were starting to come forth in such violent displays that I felt unhinged, wondering what such a change meant for myself and my destiny.
The queen did not speak. Ignoring her battered body, she rose, walking forward so that she stood beside me at the base of the steps, though her focus was directed at Mabel and no one else. She swallowed heavily as she stared down the child, ashamed and distraught. She didn’t even seem to be an adult at that point; her face resembled a child who had just lost everything. The spectators remained silent as well, keeping their distance and waiting for something to happen.
“I…” The queen tried to speak, but again, her voice scampered away from her. Baffled, she lowered her head. “I apologize…”
Seek rose from the platform, her body gradually regaining its glow. Kaitlyn and Flye weakly got to their feet beside her; Flye glared at me in fascination, her expression identical to that of last night.
“See…?” Seek urged lightly, trying to catch her queen’s attention. “We were not at fault; we need them if we are to win.”
The queen sighed tiredly. “I know…” she grumbled. She looked over her shoulder and into her crowd of subjects. “Someone fetch the medics!” she called assertively, referencing the fried personnel around her. The queen’s gaze settled on Kaitlyn next, who straightened her posture upon being recognized. “Bring them to the conference room. May as well bring yourselves too.”
“Yes ma’am,” Kaitlyn replied in an uneven voice.
The queen nodded stiffly. Without saying another word, she turned around and headed off in the direction of a tunnel leading out of the dome in the far distance, several people rushing to aid her and inspect her wounds.
“She could have uncuffed us first,” Flye mumbled in disgust, giving the wrists behind her back a frustrated tug.
“I-I’ve got it,” Griffin said, lumbering over to one of the roasted personnel, bending down and searching their belt. “Uhm, I don’t see any keys.”
“You use their thumbs,” Kaitlyn told him gruffly. “Press it against the cuff, and it will unlock itself.”
“Hey!” Sybil cried, the abandoned sack in the corner of the stage bulging. “Someone get me out of here!”
“I’m coming!” Laelia cried, racing across the stage, not caring about those who littered the floor, unfazed if she stepped on and/or kicked them. Her body language was wild as she bent down, hastily untying the sack before Sybil flew up into the air, diving into Laelia’s chest as the two became locked in a tight embrace. I knew that we put Laelia in charge of watching over Sybil, but the way the two took to each other was nothing other than creepy.
Griffin warily looked on at the reunion as he held the semi-intact thumb of a personnel to the last of the cuffs. He stared at Laelia, hurt consuming his eyes as he forced himself to look away.
As the three ex-traitors reveled in their freed wrists, I cautiously made my way over to Mabel, curiosity threatening to burst through the seams of my skin. I knew that she was unique when I first laid eyes on her, but she still surprised me to this very day. Her old connection to Maeve was shining through in a way I never could have imagined; it was almost like the concealed, most powerful sections of our bodies were deciding to come forth without reason.
“Mabel…” I whispered, lightly grabbing her by the wrist and turning her towards me. “Are you alright? What’s going on?”
She seemed amused by my question, though a strong undercurrent of desperation and helplessness masked her expression. “I could ask you the same thing,” she responded quietly. “I’ve… Never seen you like that…”
“Neither have I,” I rounded gently, taking an urgent step towards her to close the distance between us. I don’t know why, but the longer I stared at her crimson eyes, the more frightened I felt. At any moment, any, her light could fade, and she could be ripped away from me. “Please… Tell me what’s happening.”
“Eero,” she rasped, shaking her head lightly, “I don’t know any more than you do. Let’s just say, though… I think we’re in for the ride of our lives.”
“We all are,” Kaitlyn interrupted, approaching us as the medics of the Encryption, dressed in silver robes and carrying large trays of medicine, began to flood the stage, inspecting their injured allies. “Come on, we need to be getting to the conference room.”
Kaitlyn rested a hand delicately on Mabel’s back, lightly urging her down the steps. My fingers traveled from Mabel’s wrist to her hand, holding her as tightly as I could. I didn’t want to let her stray from me for a minute in the event that she disappeared.
Seek and Flye followed us, while Kaitlyn took the lead, Laelia sticking close behind with Sybil perched on her shoulder. Griffin hung back, shoving his hand in his trousers and hunching forward in defeat, all while his eyes bore into Laelia’s darkening hair. She had seemed so unreachable shortly ago, but Sybil brought life back to her, which only made Griffin feel all the more useless. A demonized rat could bring his best friend happiness, and he couldn’t.
We did not speak as we walked through the parted crowd of rebels, approaching the same tunnel that the queen had taken. Their eyes were no longer angry or vengeful, now frightened and anxious. Mabel tightened her hand around mine when she realized that most of the eyes in the crowd were upon the two of us. Of course; we were the freak shows here.
But then again… The queen seemed to possess some unique abilities of her own, as did Seek, but that didn’t make sense; Calla’s treachery was supposed to have sealed the fate of supernaturals. How did that work?
We walked through a large archway, the scene changing immediately from bright and hopeful to dark and foreboding. We entered a hallway formed by layers of sedimentary rock. A black tile ceiling ran above us; where the grout between each should have been, there was a current of white electricity instead. Its gentle hue illuminated the path slightly, and the black, semi-transparent tiles had a light sparkle to them; letting my eyes wander and stare off into the distance, I could see twinkles of greens, blues, reds, and purples igniting inside of the strange tiles before dying a millisecond later.
The environment placed me in a trance, and before I realized it, Kaitlyn brought us to a halt, turning to face a large metal door in the stone wall.
“I’ve got it,” Seek said, her body shimmering with hope. She rested her emaciated hand on the surface, a swipe of blue sprinting across the door and under her skin. The doors quickly pulled apart, sucked into the walls as a new room was revealed.
“Go on,” Kaitlyn encouraged, making sure that each of us passed into the room before they did. As soon as the three Encryptors were inside, the slabs of iron slammed together, denying us the opportunity to escape.
The ceiling was the same here as in the hallway, as were the floor and walls. The room was very large; a humongous silver table rested in the center with slick, futuristic silver chairs surrounding it. Holograms rose up from the surface of the table as a 3D projection, presenting the layout of a land I did not recognize—a single landmass with a large rift surrounding the entire civilization, four congregations of buildings circling a large, daunting fortress at the heart of the table. I took the hologram to be in real time; there were projected aircraft flying over the expanse of the table, along with several particles slowl
y moving about on the surface that had a name tagged to them.
Frames were mounted on the rock walls, the pictures within changing every few seconds; some showed people, others showed weapons and scenery—barren landscapes and underground tunnels, while here and there, I caught a glimpse of a land filled with green and sunshine. A lively ball of white light levitated above the table, casting its rays over the hologram and throughout the room just as a sun would.
“Whoa…” Mabel and I gawked in unison.
Kaitlyn chuckled. “An appropriate reaction.”
“Look at this!” Sybil squeaked in excitement, flying off of Laelia’s shoulder and landing on the center of the table. The hologram buzzed as the flow of data was interrupted, Sybil laughing without a care and racing across the battle plans as she tried to catch the people wandering the streets below.
“Sybil!” Laelia scolded her.
“It’s ok,” Seek giggled, amused by her carefree nature. “She’s not doing any harm.” She motioned towards the empty seats with the swing of an arm. “Come. We’ll sit and wait for the others to arrive. It shouldn’t be long.”
All seven of us sat on one side of the table; I suppose that the Encryptors knew that none of them were off of the hook, especially after I attacked their queen. Seek took the first seat, and the rest of us filed down after that: Mabel, me, Kaitlyn, Griffin, Laelia, and then Flye. She definitely did not seem too happy about being last in the lineup, but I could tell that Seek and Kaitlyn made it intentional. They held themselves higher than their troublesome ally, and they wanted to make it clear that there was no reason she should have been amongst them in the first place.
We had not been seated for more than a few seconds before the door we entered through opened once more, and several people entered.
I’ll tell you what, I thought Calla and Kevin were the weirdest things I had ever seen when I first laid eyes on them. These things, and I say things for a reason, did not even compare.