by Lola StVil
“Well this is a demon hangout, right?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“So where are the demons?” I reply.
The group takes a second look and from the expressions on their faces, they now understand my alarm.
“Maybe they’re all inside,” Bex suggests.
“Demons don’t do well with limits. They wouldn’t just stick to the bar. They’d have run off the whole neighborhood,” East replies.
“So where are they?” Key asks.
“Let’s go in and find out,” I say to them.
We turn our attention to the red door entrance of Flesh & Fools. There’s a warning carved into the wood.
“This establishment is not reasonable for loss of limbs.”
“Charming,” East says.
We enter the bar carefully, not knowing what to expect. The place looks like it’s been trashed. There are broken bar stools throughout the room, shattered glass and demon blood everywhere.
“What the hell happened?” I ask.
“I’ve never been to a demon bar, maybe this is how they all look,” Key says.
“I have and they don’t look this bad; something went down,” Swoop says.
“Should I ask what you were doing in a demon bar?” I wonder.
“I wouldn’t,” Bex cautions me.
“Swoop, do demon bars have firework displays?” East asks.
“No.”
“Then we better get down on the floor,” East says.
“Huh?”
“GET DOWN!” The half angel, half human yells.
We all hit the floor seconds before a raging ball of fire zooms past us.
“It’s coming from the back room; cover me,” Bex says as he heads towards the direction of the blaze.
“Bex, no! We don’t know how many of them are back there,” I reason.
A second fireball is launched in our direction.
“Okay, but we can’t just sit here,” Bex says.
“Swoop, Key, and I will go around to the back door, that way we can attack from both sides,” I order.
“How do we even know there’s a back door?” East asks.
“There’s always a back door in these kind of places: in case a demon needs to escape a vengeful boyfriend, flesh-stripping Powerballs, bookies...” Swoop says.
“Flesh-stripping Powerballs? Okay, when this is over, you and I really need to talk,” Key says to her twin as we head out to the back door.
We enter a long dark hallway with doors on both sides. Straight ahead, we can hear East and Bex battling. I send Key and Swoop to help the guys while I investigate the rooms. I enter with hands out, ready to Pull any demon that jumps out at me.
There’s no need to Pull any of the demons in the room because they are all dead. There are nine of them spread throughout the room. Each with gaping wounds and blank stares.
I check out the other room across the hall and the same thing. Except this room has six dead demons.
I head to the back of the room, where I could have sworn something moved. I lean in closer on the dead demon. He has the word “Kill” tattooed in big letters on the left side of his face. His wings are still and his eyes are turned up towards the ceiling.
I could’ve sworn I saw movement...
“Pry, you good?” Swoop calls out.
“Yeah. I’m good.”
I head to the front of the bar where the group has killed all but one of the demons that were attacking us. Bex is holding the remaining demon in a headlock.
“This here is Roman. We kept him alive because he seems like a helpful guy. How about it, Roman, you gonna help us out?” Bex says.
“Suck it,” Roman says, filled with venom.
“Roman, you’re a second-rate demon surrounded by Noru. The best you can do is stay alive for another...five minutes. These words you’re speaking now will be the last ones you ever speak. Are you sure you want to go ‘Suck it?’ Personally, I’d go with maybe a Shakespeare quote. You know something from Julius Caesar maybe?” East says.
The demon laughs or at least tries to; the hold Bex has on him makes it hard for the laughter to come out.
“You have no wings; you can weaken us with a force field but you can’t kill us. You’re not Noru. You’re a freaking Quo; you’re the team’s mascot,” Roman informs East.
Without warning, East yanks the demon from Bex and hurls him across the room. Normally Bex would have been able to hold on to Roman but East caught him totally off guard. The demon crashes onto a nearby table but he continues to laugh at the Quo.
Now fully enraged, East places his hands in front of Roman’s face and starts to “hug” him. We watch as the laser lasso emerges from East’s palm and wraps itself around Roman’s head. It starts to drain his energy. While it can’t kill the demon, having the lasso around his head can cause him brain damage and render him useless to us.
East is generally easy going, but having the least amount of power is always a sore subject. And although Quos are more accepted now than they were years ago, many beings still consider them a “lesser” race. It’s a stupid and narrow-minded way of thinking.
“East, stop it; we need him,” Key says.
He pays her no mind. He glares at the demon that is about to lose consciousness.
“It’s okay man, let it go,” Bex pushes.
“YOU DON’T THINK I CAN KILL YOU?” East challenges furiously.
“You have Preschool powers; I’m not afraid of you,” the demon whispers smugly.
“East, get away from him,” I order.
He withdraws the lasso and turns his attention to me. The demon, seeing his chance, uses the last bit of strength he has left and crawls out the window. We all go after him. Roman tries to take flight. Luckily Swoop moves like lightning and casts him down to the ground.
“Don’t leave now, Roman, it’s rude,” Swoop informs him.
He groans as he hits the ground, hard. I bend down on the ground beside him. I focus and begin to raise his fear level. He starts to squirm and cry out.
“What happened here?” I ask him.
“No, please, make it stop!” the demon screams.
I’m not sure what he sees in his mind’s eye but whatever it is, he’s terrified.
“I will stop Binding you, once you talk to me; what happened?” I ask again.
“The new evil has been hunting higher-ranking demons. Taking them out one at a time—please make it stop!” Roman says, too fearful of the visions in his head to go on.
“Why would Malakaro take out his own kind?” Key asks.
“I don’t know but all the high-ranking demons are in hiding. They’ve never seen an evil like this,” Roman says as he starts shaking violently from fear.
“Where is Oden hiding? We need to find him,” I ask.
“I d-don’t k-kn-know,” Roman replies.
I Bind him again. His level of fear is now at the point, where had he been human, he would have gone into cardiac arrest.
“NO PLEASE!” he begs.
“Tell me where Oden is hiding!” I shout.
“I don’t know.”
I go to Bind him even further.
“Wait! Wait! There’s a demon I know; he hangs out with Oden a lot. He could tell you where to find him,” Roman begs.
“What’s his name?”
“ ‘Kill’ or at least that’s what we call him. He was in here before Malakaro sent his team.”
“Does he have a tattoo on his face?” I ask.
“Yes, that’s him,” Roman says, averting his eyes to whatever terror looms in his mind’s eye.
“He’s dead. I saw him in the back room,” I tell the group.
“I guess that means we don’t need Roman anymore,” East says murderously.
I go to Bind him one final time.
“No, no. Kill is alive. He can regenerate.”
Damn it!
I take off like a rocket inside the bar. I head to the back room and kick down the door. Sur
e enough the demon with the face tattoo is gone. But he’s around here somewhere because I’m reading fear nearby.
I head back into the hallway, just in time to see Kill bolt out the back door. I take off after him. He is airborne within seconds. I’m right on his heels. He turns and throws fireballs at me, one after the other. I manage to dodge them but I can’t retaliate. If I kill him, I won’t find Oden.
Kill dives towards the ground and lands. I quickly follow but I lose him when he ducks between a row of townhomes. I scan the area in search of the demon but so far, nothing. Then I hear a bloodcurdling scream coming from one of the homes. I run towards the noise.
A woman is sprawled out at the front door; her blood coats the front steps. I bend down and check her pulse; she has none. I run into the house in search of the coward that killed her. There’s no sign of him on the first floor.
I run to the second floor and carefully open the door nearest me. Standing across the room is Kill with a fresh ball of flame aimed at his latest victim, who sleeps soundly in her crib.
“It will be the very last thing you do,” I warn the demon.
“I doubt that,” he says with a smirk.
Can I get to him before he drops the fireball into her crib?
“You can risk it, if you’re feeling lucky but I wouldn’t” he says, as if hearing my thoughts.
He’s right. I could make it in time to save the baby but I could be wrong. I don’t want to take that risk and Kill knows it.
“Leave the baby alone and I won’t chase you,” I inform him.
“You have no idea what he has in store for you,” Kill replies.
“Who?”
“Malakaro. His evil is different. It’s without reason,” he says with delight.
“You sound like a real fan. Too bad he tried to murder you.”
“We don’t have to be friends for me to appreciate his work. Now, be a good angel and introduce yourself to my friend.”
I turn around just as a Powerball blasts me from behind. I go flying backwards and slam into the wall. My head hit it so hard, it causes cracks to appear and crawl along the wall like a spider. The pain radiates throughout my head and causes my vision to blur.
“No, don’t kill her yet; I want her to watch this,” Kill says to his demon friend.
He then goes over to the crib and sets it on fire.
The baby wakes up and starts screaming. But it’s not the scream of someone being set on fire, which means the flames haven’t gotten to her yet. I try to Bind him but I can’t focus long enough to affect his fear level.
The two demons grab hold of me and pin me against the wall. Before I can raise my hand, Kill grabs my palms and sandwiches them between his. He then summons up one of his powers. Fire springs from his palms. Kill has set my hands on fire.
The scorching blaze eats away at my fingers immediately. I shriek so loud, I don’t recognize my own voice. I shake my hand violently but all that does is allow the flames to grow.
“There’s only one thing that can put out a blaze from me; and trust me you have no chance of getting it,” Kill tells me.
I jerk my body around so violently, I feel my shoulder snap out of place. But that pain is nothing compared to the anguish of my melting fingertips. I drop to the floor of the nursery as if it will somehow save me from suffering; it doesn’t. The demons stand above me, laughing as the smell of burning flesh assaults my nose.
I writhe in pain and moan as the flames spread to my forearms. I am too weak to stop the blaze from eating me alive. In the background the baby continues to cry out.
Just focus long enough to save the baby...
I try, but the blaze isn’t only eating away at my body, it’s filling my mind with terror and making it too hard to focus on my powers. The house is quickly filling up with smoke and flames; the roof above me will soon cave in on me.
Pry, the baby...get the baby...
I can’t think anymore, let alone move. Shutting down. Eyes...blur. Smoke. Everywhere. Pain. Everywhere.
I’m sorry human; I tried to save you...
Demons lean in to watch me die up close. Just as I’m about to close my eyes for the last time, the baby stops crying.
Dear Omnis, please say it’s the smoke that killed her and not the ruthless flames.
The demons head over to the crib to see what’s happening. I force myself to stay awake for a second longer. However, it’s all in vain. The only thing I can make out is a third figure has joined the party.
Kill must have called more demons to come and watch me die.
I can’t keep my eyes open long enough to find out. The pain is finally too much for my mind and body. The last thing I see before I close my eyes are silver wings...
CHAPTER EIGHT: MY FATHER IS MARCUS CANE
I squint and look away as the light streams through the window and hits my face. When
my eyes adjust to the light fully, I look around the room. I’m in the warehouse. One of the rooms has been converted into a makeshift hospital room.
He saved me... Where is he? Is he here? Did he stick around to make sure I was okay? Or did he just drop me off like a sack of potatoes and take off? Did he come with his harem? Or is there one special girl accompanying him? I hope he’s still here...
“Hey, you’re up! How do you feel?” Key says, smiling brightly as she looks down on me.
“Not bad, is Sam okay? Did anyone check on him?” I ask.
“Many times. Bex got him a thousand-piece puzzle and he’s completely taken with it. He’s with Tony and they are doing just fine. Now, are you sure you’re okay? You were burned pretty badly.”
“Yeah I’m good, but my arms are tingling,” I admit as I try to peek outside the door to see if I spot him.
“Yeah, you weren’t burned by normal fire. The only way to put it out was with the blood of the demon who set it,” Swoop tells me.
“As you can see, your skin is back on and everything is just like it was before. But it will tingle for a few days and then fully heal, thank you, Omnis,” Key replies.
I sit up and realize Key also fixed my shoulder. I thank her as I surreptitiously take another peek behind the door. There is no one there.
“Who you looking for?” Swoop asks with a knowing smile.
“No one,” I reply.
“Don’t tease Pry, she’s had a rough few days,” Key says.
“Tease me about what? I wasn’t looking for anyone,” I lie.
“Well, we bought you some fresh clothes while you were knocked out,” Swoop says.
“You know, just in case you wanted to look your best for ‘no one,’” Key says slyly.
The twins exchange a look and burst out laughing.
“C’mon, be serious. There’s something I need to be caught up on,” I remind them.
“Okay, okay. We’re sorry. So what do you want to know?” Key asks.
“Duh, she wants to know if Silver’s still hot; and the answer is—even more so than before,” Swoop replies.
“Really?” I ask.
The twins exchange a knowing glance.
“I mean, whatever,” I say dismissively.
“So here’s what happened. He came into the house filled with flames, took out one of the two demons. But the second one, Kill, got away. Luckily before he fled, Silver was able to injure him and acquire his blood to put out the flames,” Swoop says excitedly.
“And the baby?” I ask.
“He rescued her first. She’s safe and sound with relatives,” Key replies.
“Good, that’s good,” I say simply, while trying to suppress my desire to shout “IS AADEN STILL HERE?”
“You should have seen him when he brought you over to us. He carried you over his shoulders with a grave, desperate look on his face. He knew the girl he loved was clinging to life!” Swoop says as she places the back of her hand over her head and sighs dramatically.
“Can you please make your sister stop acting like she’s in Gone With The Wind?�
� I ask Key with a smile.
“Yes, Swoop is taking it a little too far, but...”
“But what?” I ask.
This time, the twins are more understated in their meaningful glances; they are not sure they should be saying what they are about to say.
“Keyohmi, tell me: What was Aaden like when he brought me over to you guys?” I push.
In reality, I’m sure Key only took a few seconds before she replied, but in my mind she stood there for hours while my heart was in my throat.
“Silver was...he didn’t know if he got to you in time. I could be wrong, but he looked empty.”
“I’m sure he was just worried. We’re all friends, so he wants me to be okay,” I reply, more to myself.
“Pryor, it’s not about what he wanted; it’s about what he needed. And he needed you to be alive. As if his own life depended on it,” Swoop insists.
Dear Omnis, I hope he’s still here...
“Key, thanks so much for healing me,” I tell her, ready to change the topic so the girls can’t see me blush.
“It’s what I do,” she says proudly.
“Swoop, where’s...Randy?” I ask.
“He would have been by your side but he knew his dad would go nuts if he missed school.”
“How long was I knocked out?”
“Nearly four days,” Swoop replies.
“Really? I don’t feel like—wait! Randy went to school by himself? What if—”
“Bring it down. We all enrolled in human school so we could take turns watching over him,” Swoop assures me.
“So the guys are at school with Randy...what about...?” I ask as if I am asking about the weather.
“Aaden?” Swoop asks suggestively.
“Um yeah, him,” I reply.
“He’s outside. He’s been waiting for you to wake up,” Swoop adds.
“Okay, send him in.”
“Try not to set off the sprinkler system with all that heat you two will be generating,” Swoop jokes.
Key playfully grabs her sister and goes to fetch Aaden.
I spring up from the bed and rush over to the makeshift vanity the girls have set up. I’m not as girly as they are; no one is really. But it’s times like these that make me really appreciate the twins and their uncanny sense of fashion.
They have set aside only a small assortment of makeup, but they chose all the best brands. In addition, the soft warm color palette the twins picked goes very well with my skin tone. I quickly apply a layer of rose-colored gloss, mascara, and a hint of blush. I beg my hair to behave as I brush it hurriedly and let it fall down my back. Argh, I wish it wasn’t so damn red!