Reign of Ruin

by Bene, Jennifer

  All of the horrors, the memories, the time spent inside Eden and with it had hollowed her out.

  Changed her.

  She didn’t feel human, even as she heard women scream, watched them run ahead of the thing that she didn’t fear anymore, because inside the cold in her chest she couldn’t feel anything. It led her outside, into the sunlight, and she stood there as women streamed past them. Occasionally, she would hear it growl, feel the rumble and the warm spray of blood against her backside.

  There would be no survivors among the monsters who had built Eden. The only monster left would be the one that gently took the burning wood from her hand.

  “What do you want, Danielle?” it asked, its voice more normal, less multifaceted.

  “I want it to burn.”

  “As you wish.” Glass shattered, and there was a whoosh of air behind her as it left her, but she kept her eyes forward. Outside for the first time since they’d ruined her life. Stolen everything. The horizon was almost empty, only fields of grass as far as she could see, marked by the fleeing shapes of other women. They continued to run past her as she walked across the courtyard. An open dirt space where a lone cat walked as if there wasn’t destruction raining down less than a hundred feet away. A parking lot of dusty, abandoned vehicles filled one side in front of the building, but they were ugly to look at, so she turned away and focused on the freedom she was supposed to have — but didn’t.

  She could feel the thing moving through the massive building behind her, like they were tethered together. Connected. It made her eyes sting as she clenched her jaw and watched another too thin woman bolt past her. A short, stone wall bordered the front of the property, a long dirt road leading off into the distance, cut off by the slope of a hill to be picked up again at a different angle. With the hazy blue of the sky hanging above her… it made it all look too pretty, too perfect.

  Danielle walked until she stood by the wall, able to trace her hands over it as she watched a small herd of deer leaping away from some of the running women.

  “You took your vengeance.” It said from behind her, and she heard the scratch of its crafted feet on the dirt as it made itself known.

  “Yes,” she replied, shrugging a shoulder. “Some of it.”

  “Do you want more? There are others. In other places.” It moved closer to her side, and she smelled smoke, saw the dark cloud of it staining the sky as the wind carried it in front of her.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You have all the time you want to decide, Danielle.” It stepped even closer, several feet taller than her with smooth, inky black skin. “I have access to all of my power now. There is no limit to what I will grant you for freeing me.”

  “I think…” I want to die. The thought floated, and she heard it chuckle low.

  “No, Danielle. You will not do that,” it replied, running its dark, clawed hand over her belly as Eden burned at their backs.

  “Will you ever let me go?” she asked, turning to look at it, and it had been right. In the pitch black of what it had for skin, she could see shining dark eyes, a nose, lips. She could see it, but it didn’t make whatever it was any better.

  “No. You gave yourself to me, Danielle.” Its other hand moved to stroke her cheek, the claws shrinking back into its fingertips before they touched her. “That pact cannot be broken.”

  “You could break it,” she whispered, and it didn’t answer. But it was true, she felt it, but she also knew it would never do it. “How long was I in there with you?”

  It let out a soft sound as it brushed her cheek again. “There was no time at all when we were together.”

  Rage flickered, and she shoved its hands away from her. “How long?”

  “Out here? Two days.” It grasped her hips, turning her so she had to face it, and she tilted her head back to meet its eyes as it continued. “But what does it matter?”

  “I guess it doesn’t,” she answered.

  “I will make you happy, Danielle. Would you prefer me to look different?” Its shape blurred as it released her hips, and her eyes hurt so she had to close them to block out the sight of pitch-black skin morphing and fuzzing at the edges. When she finally opened them again… it was Christopher. A perfect copy, down to the dimple that punched into its cheek as a lopsided smile passed over its face. “Like this?”

  “Don’t,” she growled, turning away from the lie.

  “Then show me what you want, Danielle.” It held the side of her face, and she felt that strange flutter in her mind. It was searching her memories, but there was no pain as it finally smiled with Christopher’s face. “Ah.”

  Another blur that made her clench her eyes tight and turn away. “Stop. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does for now, Danielle. Until you can accept me as I truly am, I can create a form you will enjoy more.” She heard nothing for a moment except the roar of the fire and the whisper of the wind, but then she felt it touch her shoulder. “Look.”

  Sighing, she opened her eyes and saw a handsome man in front of her. Dark hair that fell across his forehead, darker eyes, and she felt like she recognized him — but there was no memory connected to it. “Who?” she asked, and it smiled with its beautifully-crafted face.

  “You do not have a name for him, but you have liked him.” It moved closer, pulling her against the hard, muscular chest that was still completely out of proportion. Still too large to be a real man, but not as tall as its other form. It leaned down, brushing a kiss across her lips. “You have touched yourself to this one.”

  “No,” she argued, turning away from the kiss, but it caught her face and she was frozen, muscles locked up as she was forced to accept as it tasted her lips, her mouth. No control over her limbs, even as her body shook with the effort to move.

  “Do not fight me, Danielle. I do not want to hurt you. You have given me so much… My freedom”—it reached between them, running soft, human hands over the gentle round of her belly—“a child.”

  “Don’t,” she growled, trying to ignore it. Trying to forget that the cardinals had called it a blessing with wide eyes, as if they had any idea what their insanity had created. She had no idea what was growing inside her. What made her capable of breaking stone and bone with ease, what let her tear the flesh of the men who had hurt her.

  “Imagine what you will be capable of by the time our child is born,” it whispered against her lips, and she felt the iron-clad grip of its power ease back.

  “Yes, imagine…” she replied, feeling bitter as she looked down at her blood-soaked arms and flexed her hands where the sticky texture of it mounded in the valleys between her fingers.

  “You are already above them, Danielle. Already different, changed.” It trailed kisses down her throat with its false face, continuing to trace gentle caresses over her stomach. “It is why you have accepted me more easily. It is why I could fill you. The child will be powerful on its own, but that power is already a part of you. I am a part of you, and always will be.”

  She wanted to die as she felt the rush of pleasure up her spine, the sudden surge of need as its hand dipped down between her thighs. “Please don’t do this.”

  “Pleasure is one of the few benefits on this plane of existence, Danielle, and you cannot deny me.” It lifted her in its human-looking arms, carrying her through the opening in the wall to the soft green grass on the other side.

  Laying her down gently, it looked down at her with dark eyes, and she could see the echo of the real thing behind the mask. Still, this was more tolerable than the monster that had first stood beside her in the sunlight.

  “See? I knew this would please you.” Moving on top of her, it pushed her thighs apart to settle between them, and she didn’t fight. It was pointless anyway, and it was in a good mood. That meant it probably wouldn’t hurt her — not like she could stop that if it wanted to. “I only want to bring you pleasure right now, Danielle. To thank you.”

  The swell of her belly brushed the carved
abs on the male form above her, and she clenched her eyes tight. She didn’t want to think about it, about how long it had taken for its seed to take root. Two days in the real world, but it had felt like years in the dark. It might have been years of it toying with her, fucking her, wrecking her mind.

  “Your mind is yours again. You know all that was kept from you…” It leaned down to kiss across her collarbone, inching down to capture her nipple in its mouth and suck. Tingles of pleasure zinged through her, drawing a soft whine past her lips before it released the hardening bud. “You know more than before… you are more than before.”

  “I’m still just your toy,” she replied, deadpan, unable to even summon any feelings as she touched its human-looking skin with her blood covered fingers.

  “Not a toy. A possession, a cherished possession.” Another lopsided smile that looked charming on the face it wore, but she fought against the temptation to let go. To let it fool her.

  “You don’t cherish me. You own me like someone used to own those cars over there. I’m just something for you to use until you tire of me, and I look forward to the day you do.” She stretched out on the soft grass, feeling the chill in the air and the warmth of the sun on her skin. All real. More real than the thing on top of her could ever be. “Then you’ll finally let me go.”

  “My darling Danielle…” It chuckled, propping itself up with one arm so it could trace its knuckles across her cheek. “Forever is nothing to one such as me. Time is such a human construct, and as I feed more of my power into you… you will see it. You will understand that you are unique, and you are mine.”

  “I won’t,” she promised herself.

  “You will,” it answered. “And until the day you are finally changed enough to see past this petty humanity, I will show you my gratitude for freeing me by making you happy.”

  “You can’t make me happy,” she growled.

  “I can, and I will. You are mine, Danielle, and always will be. I will simply give you the lie until you are ready.”

  “No!” she screamed, and then she felt a sharp stab behind her eyes, merciless and horrible. Things were shredding, memories collapsing as they rushed past, stealing the air from her lungs as she screamed. Or… she could hear someone screaming, but they sounded far away. An echo. Something distant and not for her to worry about. She wasn’t in pain. She was safe, and she always would be.

  Safe and whole and protected.

  The headache passed, and she opened her eyes to the bright sunlight. She had to blink it away, shading her eyes with her hand as she sat up and turned toward the smell of smoke where a building burned. “Fire,” she whispered, and she felt someone touch her and turned fast, yanking her arm back.

  “No need to worry, darling. Everyone got out safely.” He smiled, reaching over to touch her cheek. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m fine…” she trailed off, confused, because she was naked in a field, and so was he. And his name was—

  “Christopher,” he filled in, laughing. “You really must have been tired. Did you forget my name in your dreams, Danielle?”

  “No,” she answered, smiling as the fog of sleep lifted and she remembered them walking here to rest, to have sex in the shade of the tree. Safe because Christopher was with her, and they were meant to be together. “I’m sorry, I think I just got a little mixed up for a minute.”

  “It will be okay. I am here and I will always keep you safe.” His hand rested on the swell of her belly, and he smiled warmly. “Both of you.”

  The End

  End Note

  Well, lovelies, what did you think of ‘Reign of Ruin’? Did you like it? Hate it? Come by the Dark Haven, or send me a message, if you want to talk about it. I’m sure you’ve got some mixed feelings about our not-a-demon friend… I know I do. Still, the ‘Reign’ world is something I really enjoyed writing in with its corrupt theocracy, post-apocalyptic insanity, and the never-ending options my brain has already imagined inside it. If you think you’d be interested in more, please tell me. I already have a devious idea about a particular angel that I think you might all like to meet.

  Wanna meet him? You’ll have to tell me, lovelies!

  Until then, I thought you might appreciate a little extra about the history of this world, so I’ve written a short story called ‘The Day the Sky Burned.’ It’s from Danielle’s point of view, before she was taken, and I hope it feeds your curiosity about the possibilities here.

  If this becomes a series, this ‘Reign’ world is going to be pretty dark and fucked up, but I’ve got my fingers crossed you’re willing to walk that road with me.

  Enjoy the story, lovelies!

  The Day the Sky Burned

  Six Years Ago

  Tornado sirens were going off, blaring, but no one was running for cover. Instead, people were walking outside, staring up at the orange sky that looked as if it had been blistered. Mottled by strange clouds, almost… warped. Danielle had never thought about the shape of the sky before, not until she’d heard the shouts and stepped outside of work with everyone else to see the sky look wrong.

  “What the fuck is that?” Kennedy asked, hands planted on her hips as she stared upwards like everyone else in the parking lot.

  “I have no idea,” Danielle replied, shaking her head as the clouds shifted, moving like they were pushed by a strong wind… even though their shape never changed. “Could this be some kind of terrorist thing?”

  “If it is, we’re fucked.” Kennedy dug her phone out of her back pocket and squeezed the button on the side. “It’s only 1:15, why the hell does it look like sunset?”

  “Maybe it’s a volcano?” Danielle suggested, and her friend snorted.

  “You watch too many movies. Where the hell is a volcano anywhere near here?” Kennedy looked around at the other people in the parking lot, and Danielle followed her gaze. Everyone was on their cells, including their boss, Carter, and so she pulled hers out too.

  She’d just tapped her mom’s number, when an emergency alert started blaring, and she heard the same emergency siren sound coming out of everyone’s phones around her. A weirdly artificial mimic of the real ones still wailing across the city. The little gray box popped up on her screen, but it was a short, unhelpful message: National Emergency – Unknown Event. Stay inside until further information is available.

  An immediate explosion of conversation happened, more people filtering out of the various stores nearby, and absolutely no one was following the directions of the alert.

  “Screw this,” Carter said, walking over to them. “I’m closing the store. My kid’s at daycare, and I’m not leaving him there for whatever this is. Go home, guys.”

  “Thanks,” Danielle answered, and she grabbed Kennedy to drag her back inside.

  “Wait, I wanted to get pictures!” Kennedy complained, and Danielle rolled her eyes.

  “Take them after we have our purses, idiot. Didn’t you hear Carter? He’s closing the store early.”

  “Fine,” Kennedy groaned, and they hurried inside. Danielle was trying her mom back to back, but she kept getting a Call Failed error. Sighing, she switched to text and tapped out a fast message to say she was going home. The little Delivered confirmation made her breathe a little easier.

  There were no customers in the clothing store and so, as soon as they were inside, Carter shut and locked the doors. “Let’s get our stuff and go.”

  It only took a couple of minutes to turn out all the lights and grab their bags, and then they were standing by the employee parking in the back, watching the sky turn a weird shade of reddish-orange. It looked exactly like sunset, except for the disturbing fact that the sun was high in the sky and still shining brightly through the strange haze.

  “Don’t come in tomorrow unless I call you. I’ll text Bryce and Anne Marie so they know,” Carter called out to them as he walked backwards towards his car. “Be safe!”

  “You too!” Danielle called back, and she turned to see Kennedy t
aking pictures. Smacking her on the arm, she rolled her eyes again. “You’re so fucking weird. Stop taking pictures of this shit. Go home and text me when you get there.”

  “Okay,” Kennedy grumbled and dug her keys out of her purse. “You too. I doubt we’ll have classes tomorrow.”

  “If the sky still looks like that, I’m not going even if they don’t announce it.”

  “Ditto,” Kennedy called over her shoulder as she climbed into her car, and Danielle waved at her as she did the same. The street outside the Westbrook Shopping Center was already packed, and Danielle got in line behind Kennedy’s car.

  Her phone vibrated and she grabbed it. It was her mom, and the text was simple: I’m fine, on my way home. Dad is too. Can you get Mary? Love you.

  Sighing, Danielle inched her car forward and then tapped out a quick: Sure. Love you too.

  Getting Mary would take forever with everyone on the roads at the same time, but Mary didn’t have a car yet, which meant that she’d have to go by the high school and pick her up in the chaos. Switching to her text convo with Mary, she sent her directions: Mom and dad are otw home. omw to you. Go to the pool parking lot off Hebron for pickup.

  People were honking, multiple cars losing their shit as traffic barely moved, and no one wanted to let anyone out of the parking lot. Danielle just groaned and sat back in the seat, shooting another text to her boyfriend, Christopher: Hey baby, have you seen the crazy sky outside? I’m omw to get Mary and heading home. Text me when you get this.

  She inched her car forward, keeping the gap between her and Kennedy’s car tight so some asshole couldn’t cut her off. Switching to one of her phone games to wait out the traffic, she plugged in the charging cable. It might take forever to get Mary, but they’d be home soon, and someone would figure out what the hell was going on.

  * * *

  Five Weeks Later