by Con Template
“Get off me!” I shrieked, flailing like a fish as he dragged me to the center of the room.
From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the remaining three Demons. They were advancing towards me, thinking that their task was finally done and that they had captured me. None of them had any idea what I had in store for them.
“She’s holding a fire extinguisher!” one of the Demons shouted once he noticed me pointing it at them. “Get it the fuck away from her—!”
It was too late.
I pulled the lever, aimed it at them, and squeezed.
Thwooooosh!
A cloud of white smoke spurted out of the fire extinguisher, heading straight for them. I swept the handle across the room, allowing the cloud of white smoke to blind the Demons. Meanwhile, I bit the hand of the one holding me. He screamed, and I was able to extricate myself from his grasp, whip around, and smack him over the head with the fire extinguisher.
Clunk!
I backed away from his fallen body and immediately felt myself bump into someone in the cloud of smoke. Desperate to maintain my freedom, I wielded the fire extinguisher to the side and I could hear it clunk against someone’s cranium. Once I felt that Demon collapse beside my feet, I kicked him in the face for good measure. I heard running footsteps approaching me and shoved the extinguisher into another one’s balls. As soon as he fell to my feet, clutching onto his family jewels with a pained grunt, I made sure to ruthlessly step on their faces before I began to look for a way out.
Blinded by the white smoke, I finally saw the clearing and ran towards it.
Oh no.
I was close to leaving this section of the train when I saw Red Tie standing at the mechanical doorway. His furious black eyes were fastened on me. He was no longer calm, cool, and collected. He was simply a pissed off Demon who was going to make me pay for causing so much trouble.
Without ceremony, Red Tie charged at me. Just as he was about to pummel into me, another strong missile intercepted the attack. Jumping over a table in time to shield me, Eclipse grabbed Red Tie around the neck with his arms and threw him over the bar counter with unforgiving force.
Crack! Crack! Craaack!
Upon impact with Red Tie’s sliding body, the wooden dividers on the alcohol shelves broke in two, creating a funnel that triggered all the alcohol bottles to fall mercilessly onto Red Tie’s head.
Satisfied when he saw that Red Tie was officially knocked out, Eclipse whipped around to face me. The side of his mouth was bleeding and deepening blue bruises were beginning to form on his face. He looked like he had been in a war zone. He was about to say something when I suddenly saw a Demon lurk behind him with a knife in hand.
“Watch out!”
I roughly pushed Eclipse out of the way. Clutching onto my fire extinguisher, I used all the strength I had to whip the metal cylinder upwards. The cylinder knocked against the Demon with an uppercut so hard that I was sure it broke his jaw. The Demon that was twice my size was knocked out at once, falling to my feet like a sack of potatoes.
Through the fog of dissolving white smoke, I stared stupidly at all the incapacitated Demons. I then averted my gaze back to a shocked Eclipse.
“Did you knock all these guys out?” he asked a second later, even though I suspected he already knew the answer.
I nodded dumbly, my heart racing nonstop.
Eclipse glanced again at the Demon I just knocked out with the fire extinguisher. There was a big, disbelieving smile on his face before he turned back to me, his eyes proud and glowing with amusement.
“You saved me, Teacup.”
“I-I guess.”
He made me sound like a hero, but the truth was that I was ready to pee in my pants. I didn’t feel like a hero—just a human girl who got lucky with her untrained and berserk moves.
Eclipse laughed. “If we weren’t fighting for our lives, I would definitely repay you with my body right now.”
A blush had barely formed on my face when another cold draft started to filter around us.
We let out silent curses, for we knew what these new cold chills meant: new Demons had appeared on the train.
We dreadfully turned towards the direction of the cold breeze.
At the other end of the train, I spotted three dark figures. Even in the distance, I could feel their dark eyes rake over us. Although they had yet to speak, I sensed in the core of my gut that this last group wasn’t one that we could overpower easily, if at all.
Whooooosh.
The one standing in the center raised his hand out, and almost immediately, the white smoke from the fire extinguisher began to disperse into thin air. Once the train began to clear of white smoke, I could hear footsteps behind us.
Eclipse and I turned to the other end of the hall and saw a new group of ten Demons walking in.
Shit.
My Guardian Demon and I exchanged weary looks, acknowledging that the inevitable had occurred. We were truly trapped.
“I think you two have caused enough trouble, don’t you think?” the first of the three dark figures—the one who vacuumed up all the white smoke—spoke authoritatively. Even though his voice was calm, the underlying ire within it was palpable.
He let out a long breath, sticking his hands into his pant pockets. Out of all the Demons, he was the only one who wore a hood. There was an old worldly air that filled his deep and throaty voice. It gave no indication to how old he was or even where he was from. If anything, it only gave the illusion that this particular Demon originated from all parts of the world.
“My associates are very upset. They would like nothing more than for you two to continue to put up a fight so they can put you in your places. With that in mind, I suggest you throw up the white flag and turn yourselves in. We’re in a train and we have more than outnumbered you.” He smirked at us from the distance. “Stop fighting. You both know that one way or another, you’re going to be captured. Better to do it yourself than have my associates forcefully do it for you.”
Left with no choice, Eclipse and I blinked at one another as confirmation that it was too suicidal to continue to put up a fight.
If we wanted to survive, we had to surrender for the time being.
To demonstrate my compliance, I lowered my fire extinguisher and placed it on the ground while Eclipse tugged defenselessly at the ends of the tie around his neck. It was his own silent way of surrendering.
“Smart decision,” the hooded Demon approved. He turned down the hall and motioned for us to follow him. “Now let’s talk.”
“Forgive me, Heavenly Father . . .”
08: Masked Demon
We followed the Demon and eventually returned to the very room we were originally sitting in.
The hooded Demon leader was sitting on a table across from ours, waiting patiently for us. He was dressed in the same black suit as the rest of the Demons and looked to be around the same age. The only difference was that the jacket of his suit had a hoodie attached to it and there were no tattoos on his face. In addition to wearing the hoodie up, he also wore a silver mask that shrouded the upper half of his face. The mask resembled a masquerade mask. Whereas it would look harmless on an actual human, the fact that his crimson red eyes were gazing at us through the mask only made him look more terrifying.
He motioned for us to sit in our previous seats, and with a shove from his Demons, Eclipse and I fell into our respective seats beside our backpacks.
“Yeah, you weren’t so tough when I was handing your ass to you a second ago,” Eclipse taunted Red Tie and his minions.
“Yeah,” I agreed meekly, riding on Eclipse’s brave coattails. Internally, I was scared shitless. However, if Eclipse was going to give them hell, then I was going to be a follower and copy him.
Red Tie and the first set of Demons turned red from embarrassment. When it looked like they were ready to punch Eclipse, the Masked Demon waved a dismissive hand.
“Leave him be,” he stated with amusement.
<
br /> Although they did not look happy, the Demons adhered to the command of their leader. With a respectful bow, they moved away from us and went to stand with their fellow Demons.
Once I felt comfortable with their distance from us, I returned my attention to the Masked Demon. I froze when I did. The Masked Demon folded his arms over his chest and gazed at us in silence. His eyes were studying us—me specifically.
After a lengthy pause, he asked, “Where is your Demon?”
My heart stopped. Beside me, I could vaguely see Eclipse stiffen in shock. He was stunned that this Demon was looking for him in particular and not me. Although he was surprised, Eclipse did not allow this new information to throw him off his game.
“Did you crazy fucks just escape from a mental hospital or something?” he prompted, doing an exceptional job of acting like he was a clueless human boy. “What Demon?”
No one knew that Eclipse was my Demon, and I wasn’t planning on giving him away either. I merely sat in silence, allowing the Demons to believe that I had kept it a secret from Eclipse that Demons existed.
Though he was wearing a mask, I could see the smirk in the Masked Demon’s gaze when he turned to Eclipse. The beating of my heart escalated as the Demon studied Eclipse. It was clear that he was trying to detect if Eclipse was indeed my Demon. After a few haunting seconds of his crimson eyes burning onto Eclipse’s unfazed ones, he averted his gaze with a disappointed sigh.
“The Demon isn’t here,” he announced to the rest on the train. “His scent isn’t here. It’s just these two.”
“What should we do with them?” the Demon with a silver tie, the one standing to his right, asked quietly.
The Masked Demon moved away from his seat at the table and strode over to us.
“I’m sure you met my associates at the inn,” he began, his deep throaty voice sending chills up my spine. He stopped a few inches from our seats and peered down at us. “When I received a message that they had found the most coveted soul of the millennium, I knew I had to make an appearance to greet you myself. Unfortunately, nothing but the dust of my associates greeted me when I got there.” His worldly and sophisticated voice hardened. “The only scent that remains is one of a very powerful Demon—your Guardian Demon, I’m sure.”
“Guardian Demon?” Eclipse faked a flabbergasted voice, clearly trying to remove the attention from me. He could sense my fear and was determined to help ease it, even if that meant bringing the dangerous spotlight onto himself. “You mean like a Guardian Angel? Oh Jesus, you looney tunes really are in another reality.”
The Masked Demon stiffened. He didn’t strike me as the type to be very tolerant, but with Eclipse, his tolerance level seemed to be at another level.
He faced Eclipse, his features seemingly stoic but vaguely amused. “What is your name, boy?”
Eclipse shrugged carelessly. He reclined regally in his seat and said nothing.
I had to give it to Eclipse. Even as a 99% human, he was a total badass.
The Masked Demon smirked at the arrogant behavior Eclipse exhibited. He nodded to himself, looking as though he had accepted Eclipse’s silence as an answer. It was only when his lips curved into a lethal smile that the truth hit me. The Masked Demon was far from being accepting of Eclipse’s rude behavior.
“Should I cut off her finger and have her scream out the answer?”
“Ah!”
In a split second, his right-hand Demon was at my throat, pinning me to the wall with my fingers stretched out on the table. He was holding a dagger over my hand, the blade coined over my index finger.
Jarred out of his regal state, Eclipse flew into a rage that had several of the Demons recoiling in fear.
“If even a drop of her blood comes out, I’m going to rip your fucking heads off!” he roared, his authoritative voice thundering over the expanse of the train.
Eclipse glared at the right-hand Demon, who was still pushing my head against the wall. He clenched his fists, no doubt tempted to reach over and rip the Demon apart. However angry he appeared, Eclipse did not jump over to save me. His strained muscles told me that he feared for my safety too much to be rash. He was aware that the blade would be faster than him.
“I do not doubt that you will do everything in your power to have that threat come to fruition,” the Masked Demon replied in a confident tone, his voice maintaining its calm air. He regarded Eclipse with an expression of pacification. “All you have to do is answer my question and this entire conversation will be as violent-free as can be.”
“Eclipse,” Eclipse finally breathed out, his hard eyes marked on the Masked Demon. “My name is Eclipse.” He eyed the Demon who had me pinned against the wall. “I answered the question. Now get the fuck away from her.”
The Masked Demon laughed, motioning for his right-hand man, who looked ready to lunge across the table and slice Eclipse’s neck apart, to step away from me. Once his Demon released me from his grasp, allowing the breath to return to my chest and the reprieve to reign over Eclipse, the Masked Demon inclined his head at Eclipse. He looked at the Demons surrounding us in amusement.
“You have done a number on my associates here.” He spoke with mirth to Eclipse, but to his Demons, he took a lethal tone. “There are a dozen of you and you cannot overpower one human?”
“He is a very strong human,” one of the assaulted Demons from the first batch spoke before Red Tie added, “Our powers, sir. We lost them and couldn’t use them. This guy here is an insanely good fighter.” They looked at me. “This one runs around like a rabbit and is feistier than she looks. They’re both faster and stronger than we gave them credit for.”
“Where are our powers?” another asked from the crowd. I recognized him as one of the Demons from the second set, the ones who chased me into the dining room of the train.
“This,” the Masked Demon began shrewdly, enlightening us all on the reason behind their weakening powers, “is the Holy Land.” He briefly looked at the maelstrom of blurs swimming against the train. “We do not have powers here. In this place, depending upon your life force, this land could suck out your powers as soon as you are in the perimeter. In my case, it is a slower process, but a process that occurs nonetheless. Needless to say, it appears that while on this train and in this part of town, we are nothing but ‘humans.’”
A collective gasp resonated from the Demons. They exchanged glances of staggered disbelief that such a place could exist. Excluding the Masked Demon and the two Demons standing to either side of him, everyone else was alarmed.
In an effort to assuage the fear pouring from the rest of the Demons, the Demon standing to his left—the one with the purple tie—said, “We will merely wait for the train to pass these grounds. After we pass the Holy Land, our powers will return.”
With a smirk, the Masked Demon nodded after Purple Tie’s words, confirming what he said and effectively allowing a sigh of relief to permeate from the rest of the Demons.
He promptly returned his attention to Eclipse. “If we were in our original state of power, you wouldn’t be able to do half the things you did. Having said that, considering that we’re on an even playing field, I have to say that I’m impressed.” There was a smile in his voice. “You would make a very good soldier if recruited.”
Eclipse cocked a curious brow while my heart went amuck at the thought of this Demon “recruiting” him. I understood now why he displayed such tolerance with Eclipse. It was because he believed Eclipse was a human—and a powerful, loyal, and smart human at that. Owning the soul of such an extraordinary human could only be advantageous to this Demon and his colony.
“Who are you?” Eclipse asked warily, truly interested in knowing the identity of this Masked Demon. Judging by his curiosity, I suspected that Eclipse was trying to turn back the pages of his memories to see if he actually knew this Demon. The frustrated glint in his eyes told me that despite his best efforts, he truly did not know this Demon’s identity.
“You do not
have the honor of knowing,” the Masked Demon responded serenely. “Not yet anyway.”
“Oh right,” Eclipse mocked, returning to his act as an arrogant human. Held hostage or not, Eclipse wasn’t one to display subservience, especially not when he was so used to being the authoritative figure. “A Demon, right?”
An icy smile marked the Masked Demon’s face and his eyes glowed redder. His patience with Eclipse, though tolerable, was wearing thin. “I look forward to having this train bypass the Holy Land so I can show you what a Demon can do, boy.”
“He doesn’t know anything,” I finally spoke up, bringing their full attention to me.
Though Eclipse wasn’t afraid of them, he was still 99% human. This meant that there was a 99% chance he could die in their hands. I didn’t want him pissing them off more than he already had. He was the pivotal piece in helping me find the missing part of my soul. I still had use for him; I couldn’t let him get hurt. Plus, he had been looking out for me this entire time. I felt obligated to do the same for him.
“Don’t hurt him. Just leave him alone.”
“Oh, but I have no intention of hurting him,” the Masked Demon responded. “Or you either.” He edged closer to me, his eyes glowing fiercely. He was thrilled that I was finally taking the initiative and joining in the conversation. “I have no intentions of hurting either of you.” His black leather gloved hand stroked over my quivering cheek. Even through the glove, his hand was ice cold. “Your soul is very precious to me. And as your boyfriend here just demonstrated, his soul has become a very important commodity for me as well. But you see the thing is—”
Bam!
“Augh!”
My head snapped back, once again being pinned to the wall. Pain shot up and down the base of my neck, nearly knocking me out from the impact.