by Amber Cook
Ravana could never say the words out loud, but Adira was something more to him. Where the other Demonic Lords viewed her as an end to the Human Realm, Ravana viewed her as an end to the current leadership. It was him who would put the blade into her hand, and it was he who would wield her as a weapon when the time would come.
Adira twisted to her side, nuzzling her cheek into his cupped hand. Ravana couldn't help the glimmer in his eyes as he stared down at her. She was the beginning to an end.
✽✽✽
Adira's fingers pressed against the sharp blade, and she winced as the flesh on her fingertip split. Darkened blood swelled up, and she brought her fingers to her lips, licking it away. So many years had passed since that night, and yet she could still remember it as if it had happened only days ago.
After then, Adira had kept the trusted dagger by her side. Before, she had never carried a weapon. She had never seen the purpose in doing so, but she quickly learned that she must. It was with this very blade that she killed her first demon and human. And, as the years passed, the edge quickly became stained in blood.
That night had been one of the few nights when she had talked to Ravana outside of the meetings, and it had been the only night she had ever seen Ravana like that. She wasn't even confident if that demon she had talked to had been him. The next day, he had returned to his usual, cocky behavior.
"Adira."
Adira slid the dagger onto her waistline, and she turned to that voice. Drima stood by the door, arms crossed as she watched her. Her curling tendrils of hair lay on her shoulders, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of her daughter. There was a chill in them that never left and a potency that would leave even the bravest of men cowering.
"Are you not going to say 'hello' to your mother?"
"Why would I?"
"Ah, that attitude of yours will get you in trouble one day."
"But that day is not today." She cooed back, and Adira turned towards her. "Why are you here? Come to see if I would leave? Do you and father doubt me that much?"
"It's not him who doubts you, but you'd understand why I have some reservations about you going to the Human Realm." She said, finally entering the room. The door closed behind her, and Adira's eyes followed her every move. This was the first time her mother had set foot in her room after twenty years.
"If it is confirmed that Drystan is a traitor to your father, then investigations will be made to see if anyone else was involved."
"What are you implying?"
"Just that some secrets may come to light. If any supporters are found, your father will have no choice but to execute them."
"You can rest easy, mother. I've had no contact with Drystan." Adira's eyes sharpened as she saw her mother frown. "Or are you disappointed? If that were the case, then you could finally have an opportunity to kill me. At least an opportunity that would keep you alive."
Drima snickered and shook her head. "Do you think I have the time to ponder about killing you? Do you think I have time to care about what you do?"
"No, you only have time to warm father's bed and act like a whore."
Drima's fingers stopped moving, and her eyes widened. Before Adira could even spit out another word, Drima spun on her. Adira threw her hands up in time to protect her face, narrowly dodging the fist aimed towards her nose. She landed on the ground in a thump, and Drima was on top of her, sitting on her abdomen.
Her slit eyes seemed to be shimmering in the pale light, and her tongue licked the corners of her lips. "Adira, I don't think you realize that I don't have to wait. I could kill you any time I want."
Hearing those words made the corners of her lips pull into a mad grin. She couldn't help the laugh that slipped from her lips, which only edged Drima on. "Ha, you think so? Who's life has more worth?"
Drima's eyes narrowed, and she hissed, slamming her hand towards her throat. Adira shied away, barely missing her knuckles.
"Do you think that simple punches will kill me, mother? It will take more than that to decapitate me. Come on; show me that wicked side of you. Show me the reason my father bedded you."
Bone exploded from Drima's clenched fist. Adira's eyes only widened in delight at seeing her face twist in pain. The bone that jutted out from her knuckles' thin flesh was only three inches long, but Drima could command it to grow further. Pain flowed up through her forearms, leaving them numb, but she knew that it would be the only way to kill Adira. Simple means were no longer deadly, not with the twirling, bottomless pit buried in her breasts.
Drima reared her hand backward, going for Adira's face next. She would ram her hand through her skull, hard enough until the jutted and jagged bone would reach the ground beneath. It would bring her no greater satisfaction than to feel Adira's blood against her skin and laugh. She wanted nothing more than to laugh at the creature she had created; to tell the world she wasn't their savior.
A devilish grin filled Adira's face and up to her eyes as Drima sent her fist rushing down towards her. A single droplet of blood had secreted from Drima's torn knuckles. She had been able to suppress most of it, but one drop still rolled down the protruded bone. All Adira needed was one drop of blood to create mayhem. It didn't matter if it were her own or Drima's.
Drima tried to reel backward, but Adira snickered once she realized it. "It's too late." The droplet of blood flung off. Drima snatched her hand away to try and stop any more blood from dripping, but it was no use. She needed to get away from this monster.
A single droplet of blood landed on the ground beside Adira. After registering the new presence, the Orb buried between her breasts began to awaken. It let out a horrid noise as if rusted gears were being forced to work together, and the swirling pit of darkness contorted. The blood on the ground began to thin as if a hidden force acted upon it, and Adira laughed as it began to roll up her forearm, leaving a clean trail.
The thin bead of blood snaked along her skin, finding its way to its one, true destination. It hovered in the air for a few moments before the Orb flashed, consuming it within a heartbeat. A moment later, chaos erupted.
Even though the Orb had consumed only a single droplet of blood, it had awakened the looming beast inside. Adira wasted no time in bitting down into her lip, spitting blood out and onto her chest. It thinned and twisted in the air, becoming like finely fashioned blades. However she commanded it, the blood would listen. Even if it were not her own, she could manipulate it and use it as she pleased.
With the rise of her eyebrow, five blades of finely fashioned blood were sent hurtling at Drima, who had sprung off her stomach. She twisted to miss two of them, but the remaining three kept plummeting forward. A blood-curdling screech tore through the air as one of them buried itself deep into the palm of her hand. The force behind the blow was strong enough to send her hurling backward, pegging her to the wall. The other two rammed into her shoulder blades, twisting until it tore cleanly out the other side.
"I can't lie and say I'm not disappointed." Adira started, slowly beginning to push herself up. "Although I lack your ability to manipulate bone, it seems to be nothing special. Who would have thought that such a weak display of strength would come from such a sought after bloodline?"
Since the day Adira had been created, even before the Orb had been planted into her, she had her father's gift. Some demons could manipulate the elements. Depending on their bloodline and which Pillar they belonged to affected how their Demonic Energy would be manifested. Most demons had some basic form of manipulation of an element, typically being fire, but there were extraordinary cases out there. Kace's bloodline was known for its unique ability to manipulate blood, which they called Blood Arts.
Even if the blood did not flow through their veins, they could call upon it to be consumed and fashioned into weapons. Adira had been just a young girl when she had realized that she also could use Blood Arts. At first, she would use it to pass her time, but she later realized it was a weapon stronger than any sword. All it took was one single
drop of blood to turn the tide.
Drima hissed as she tried to free herself from the daggers of solidified blood, but she could not move. If it weren't for the fact that her hand was still nailed to the wall, it was because her arms were numb. The blades had already sliced cleanly through the nerve endings located in her shoulders, causing her arms and fingers to feel limp. She couldn't move them.
"Where are you going, mother? Why don't you stay a bit longer? It's been so long since you've last come in here." Blood continued to ooze as her words become dampened by it. Drima's eyes only widened as she saw the blood pooling around her chest, thinning and stretching as it waited to be morphed by her. It was like a swirling pit of crimson waiting to tear her apart. "Why don't you stay for a while?" She asked, a curved blade of blood beginning to form.
Drima swallowed deeply, her legs trembling beneath her body, and she wasted no time. "KACE!" She hollered, and Adira spun, eyes darkening.
"Shit." She muttered as the blood twisted by her side. It would only be a matter of time until he was here. She should have acted more quickly. Instead of taking her time and enjoying the moment, she should have sliced that witches tongue off.
"You won't do anything." She heard Drima softly from behind her, and Adira glared at her. "As long as he's around, you'll never be able to do anything. You know that... As long as he's alive, as long as he can find you, you'll never be able to do it."
"Shut up." She snarled, and she hesitated. She could kill her right then and there. The time it would take her to consume her soul would be less than five seconds. Surely Kace wouldn't arrive within that time. But, there was the possibility that he could and, if he did, Adira knew her life would be stolen. Although she did not know if demons were truly capable of 'love,' she knew that Kace harbored an extreme lust towards his beloved. If he saw her consuming her soul, he would not waste another second letting her live. No matter how important she was to his plan.
Adira's fingers curled, and she spun on her heel, biting her lip. Blackened blood continued to spill down Drima, and she smirked at her beneath lowered lashes. "Times ticking."
"Shut up." She snarled again, this time, her words more venomous. Adira walked away from where Drima still hung, arms pinned against the back wall, and she looked outside the window. The blade by her side was all she needed for her journey ahead. There was no point in taking anything else. All she knew was that she needed to get to the First Pillar's Orb before Kace got to her. If she could cross over through the realm, she would at least be able to buy herself some more time.
Adira thumbed open the window, wincing as cold air slammed into her senses. The air outside was unforgiving. Every time she took a breath, her lungs would freeze, aching from the pain. It was so excruciating sometimes that it was almost tempting to stop breathing. Whenever a human had stepped foot into the Demonic Realm, they had died within seconds due to the extreme, frigid conditions. Even for demons, at times, it was unbearable. It was the type of pain that clenched down on your bones until you felt weak in your knees.
She leaned her head out, calculating the jump from her window and into the courtyard. Even if she miscalculated and landed wrongly, her accelerated healing abilities would be able to mend any injury as long as she were in this realm. The only problem would come when she crossed over. Time passed differently in that realm, but she didn't have time to think about that. She would have to deal with whatever injuries she incurred, as long as she could make it out alive.
"Do you think you can escape him?" Drima's voice behind her was more than enough to set her on edge. Adira's eyes narrowed and, without wasting another second, she leaped from the window seal.
The frigid air nipped at her milky skin. The bottom of the tendrils of her grey hair whipped backward, small crystals beginning to form on the ends. As she plummeted downward, she couldn't help but close her eyes as the clear liquid in her eyes began to freeze. Adira threw her hands outward, casting droplets of blood into the air. At first, they crystallized from the frigid temperatures before they thinned and twisted. Adira twisted her body, pulling her knees to her chest to create a ball, and she plummeted into the hardened blood.
A loud, ringing sensation tore through her head as she made contact, rolling off the hardened blood. It had fragmented beneath the force behind her fall but had still held up. The moment Adira's back touched the courtyard, the crystallized blood splattered to the ground, returning to its neutral state.
Her hands shakily reached behind her, feeling for any incisions. Down to the back of her spinal cord, there was a six-inch gash from the force of the fall. When she flexed her feet, she could tell that her ankle had also been completely shattered. Adira opened her eyes in time to see Drima standing by the windowpane, staring down at her. She saw the disappointment on Drima's face as Adira twisted, hoisting herself onto her feet. Time was ticking; she needed to leave.
There were only a handful of ways that one could reach the Human Realm. Designated in some regions of the Demonic Pillars were tears in the Realm. The problem was that these 'tears' were more than a days worth of travel away, but they could allow large quantities of demons through at one time. These 'tears' were ideal when moving armies to the Human Realm. One of the only other ways was by using the Demonic Pillars Orb, but this luxury was only limited to the Demonic Lords that ruled the Pillar.
Luckily for Adira, she knew exactly where the First Pillars Orb resided. She had spent many nights by its side, begging for it to answer her until one day it did.
Her shattered ankle ached as Adira sprinted towards the building that housed the Orb. Just as in all of the other Pillars, the Demonic Orbs were not allowed to be housed in the same area of Demonic Lords. The reason behind this was the fear of the Demonic Pillar's Orbs consuming their masters. Although they looked merely like an ordinary Orb by a glance, something cruel and wicked loomed in each one.
When Adira had first begun the experimentations for implementing the Orbs within herself, she asked Legion why. The Demonic Orbs' origins were demonic. Essentially, by looking at their 'tags,' they were just the same as any other demon. But Legion did not believe that.
He believed that although they were demonic, they did not side with the demons. The Orbs were bloodthirsty creatures that even he could not put a name to. Nobody had ever recorded being able to see the Orbs, or being able to talk to them. Their information on them was limited to nothing more than breadcrumbs, but it was known that the Orbs would kill any demon that neared them.
Legion could only assume the reason behind this was to grow its strength. It did not take a foolish man to make assumptions. For as long as the demons knew, these Orbs had unparalleled strength within them. They were forced into containment, unable to make their own moves or their own actions. The Orbs were not growing in power to protect the demons that belonged to their Pillars, but to slaughter those who had suppressed and used them.
It was not until Adira had come along that the Orbs had spared anyone. To this day, she still did not know the reason why. All she knew was that when she called to them in her hours of need, they would answer. When she would talk to them, they would stay quiet and listen. Although they were described as horrid creatures, she did not view them in such light. Even though they feasted off of her body and life, she did not despise them.
Adira rounded the corner as she stumbled, catching herself before she plummeted to the ground. She glanced down at her ankle to see that it drug limply against the ground. Behind her, she could still hear Drima's voice, but soon there was another. It was a horrible sound like the sky above had split open, and lightning rained down on the world. She wouldn't be surprised if that indeed did end up happening. When Kace was enraged, the impossible became possible.
Adira's hands sprung to her chest, and she continued towards the Pillar's chamber, a fortified structure with demons posted outside of it. Demonic Characters were inscribed on the walls, and talisman hung off the roof, fluttering in the chilling wind. Even when she neare
d the Pillar's chamber, she could feel her own body want to flee. The talisman that danced in the wind was charmed, specially cast to decrease the Orbs Demonic Energy. Her stomach twisted at the enormous power as she neared, and she nearly fell on her knees.
"What are you doing here?" One of the demons shouted, raising a sword at her. Adira shook her head, desperately trying to breathe as the overwhelming power sent her on her knees. She couldn't keep her body upright.
"I need to see the Orbs." She gasped out, and they shook their heads.
"You're not supposed to visit them today."
Adira shot her head up, gritting her teeth. "Are you going to defy Kace's orders? He had me come out here to check on the Orbs."
The demon looked back to his comrade, beginning to budge, but that ended when a thunderous scream filled the air. Adira shuddered at the noise, and she looked over her shoulder to see Kace, eyes fuming with rage as he walked towards her. She could see Drima by his side, fake tears of pain and sorrow streaming down her face. When their eyes met, Drima flashed her a venomous grin.
"Adira!" He billowed, and she shrunk from the venom in his words. Demonic Energy seethed from his frame as he took steps towards her. She could see his intention clear as day on his face. He would really try and kill her this time.
She turned towards the demons, forcing herself up on her limp ankle and stumbling towards them. "Open the doors."
"Don't let her in!"
"Open the doors!" She pleaded, but the two of them only drew their swords. Adira gritted her teeth in frustration. She didn't want to hurt them, but she had no choice.
She dug her canine deeper into her lip, deepening the gash on her bottom one. Thick droplets of blood began to roll down her chin, and they dribbled onto the floor. The pristine characters on the talisman overhead emitted a hellish glow, and Adira's throat bobbed as she realized she was being prohibited. She would not be able to summon her Blood Arts.