Accidental Demon Slayers: Elves of Darkness pt. 4 of 4

Kurt worked on Shannon and Amy’s wounds, his hands moving quickly over the cuts and scrapes that covered their arms and legs.  Neither girl was seriously hurt, at least physically.  Mentally was a completely different story. 

He could remember when he was first in their shoes, oblivious to the world of the supernatural and all the hellish bullshit that it could throw at a person.  He had seen things that made his blood run cold, but he had pulled himself together, and in the end, had grown stronger because of it. Glancing into Amy’s hazy, unfocused eyes, he wasn’t so sure that she was going to react the same way. 

He snapped his fingers, trying to get her to focus. “Try and stay with us, okay?  When you space out, you can… well, bad things happen if you aren’t paying attention.”

Amy nodded, but he wasn’t sure that she could hear him. 

Shannon, on the other hand, was at full attention.  She was helping Bobby block up the door, sealing any small cracks those little elven bastards could use to crawl inside.  Who knew if those things even needed to go through an open door, though.  For all any of them knew, the elves could walk through walls.  Not for the first time, Kurt cursed himself for leaving all his research materials at the office. 

Chris had broken away from the rest of the group and headed towards the large, picture window that looked out of the parking lot. 

“You see anything out there?” Kurt stood up, stretching. “Any more of those things?”

Chris didn’t answer, his eyes locked on whatever was outside.

“Chris?” Kurt walked closer.  Looking over his shoulder he could see out the window. 

Floating above the parking lot, her long, red cape and green frilly dress fluttering in the winter wind, was something that looked like a little girl.  Her eyes were glowing with a blazing red fire, and a ball of energy was building in her right hand, growing larger by the second.  Slowly she began to lift her arm, the ball of energy rising with the motion as well.

“Shit.” Kurt ran to the couch, grabbing Amy and lifting her to her feet. “Incoming!”

Kurt and Amy dove to the floor just as the ball of energy exploded through the window, ripping away the frame, a chunk of the wall, and most of the right side of Chris’s head.  Blood, bone and brains sprayed the apartment, covering everything in a fine, red mist. 

Chris turned, his body twitching, and his one remaining eye spinning in its socket before collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap. 

“Get Amy out of here!” Bobby was screaming at Shannon.  Then his eyes met Kurt’s and he knew what they had to do. 

“You got enough energy left, old man?” Kurt called out to Doctore.

“Oh, you know I do.”  The old man was starting to form in Kurt’s brain.  “I may look old, but I got the spiritual energy of a teenager.”

“Good.” 

Kurt followed Bobby as he rushed towards the giant hole in their apartment wall. 

-*-

The demon girl had expected to hear screams of terror, maybe moans of pain.  Instead she heard only shouted commands.  Something was not right.  This was not how it was supposed to play out.  They were supposed to cower in fear at her amazing powers.  They were supposed to beg her for their lives, or at least quick deaths.  She had come to this building longing for the sounds of pleading, but instead she got two very angry looking men leaping out of the window at her. 

The men, they didn’t look right.  They didn’t look entirely human.  There was something about their eyes, the building glow inside the irises, or the way they seemed to hover in the air instead of dropping into the snow below. 

She had known that the two were demon slayers.  The old man had told her as much when he had called her up for this task, but now, feeling their auras wash over her, she realized that the old bastard had left out something very important. 

They harbored inner deities. 

“You made a big mistake little girl.” The taller one, with wavy black hair, and burning hazel eyes was glowering at her, speaking through clenched teeth. 

“I…” the words caught in her throat.  These demon slayers were stronger than her.  Much stronger than her.  She could sense that now that their powers were on full display.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t…” 

The other one, the shorter one with thinning brown hair, seemed to swoop around her, coming up behind her. “Sorry won’t bring our neighbors back to life.” As he spoke his voice seemed to double.  There was something else, no, someone else, behind it. 

The voice was familiar, feminine and strong. 

Juktha, thought the girl.  That old fuck had sent her to do battle with Juktha! He knew she didn’t stand a chance, and yet he had still called her up, still sent her out here to… what? Give him a good show? Was she about to be blasted out of existence for his entertainment? 

She wanted to protest, to let the two men that now had her cornered about the old man, about his plans and what he had told her.  She never got the chance. 

The first blast of power came from the tall man floating in front of her.  It hit her hard in the right side, ripping her arm clean off.  She howled, and her body spun around.  She was now facing the other one, Juktha’s host. 

She didn’t even have time to scream as the man’s hand raised, revealing a very large, very sharp battle axe.  The blade swung down in an arc so fast it appeared to be nothing more than a blast of silver light. 

The demon went completely still, her body suspended in the air for a brief moment before the red seam began to appear down her forehead, then her face.  Then, in a massive explosion of blood and gore, her body split in half and plummeted towards the parking lot. 

Before it hit the snow covered pavement the two halves of the demon exploded.  The force was so strong that it sent both Kurt and Bobby flying backwards, landing hard into the packed, wet snow. 

Flames from the explosion flickered, and floated through the air, drifting towards the building, through the gapping hole left in Kurt and Bobby’s apartment. 

By the time both men recovered, the building was already burning.

-*-

When the demon had died, her elves had vanished.  Still, none of the remaining residents had wanted to go back inside. 

They stood in the parking lot, the flashing police lights and the blaring sirens of the fire engines invading their skulls, they watched as the paramedics carried out the mutilated bodies of Chris and Mrs. Whip. 

“She was a bitch, but she didn’t deserve to die like that.” Amy was shaking her head.  “No one deserves to die like that.”

“And Chris…” Shannon glanced at the growing blaze. “I barely knew the guy. He seemed nice enough. To have your head blasted off like that…”  She shuddered.

Kurt and Bobby glanced at Amy and Shannon. Both men wondered how the two women would be changed by this.  Once you get touched by the supernatural  it didn’t let you go easily.  

Bobby leaned against Kurt, his head resting on Kurt’s chest, and Kurt put his arm around him, pulling him close. They watched as their first home together, the place where they had created so many memories, and had started building their lives together, burned.

“Think they can save it?” Bobby glanced up at Kurt, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. 

“I think so.”

They kissed.  It was brief, honest and sad, but the kiss was just the reminder they needed that they still had each other. 

Now they just needed to figure out where they were going to live.

-*-

The old man stood in the crowd of onlookers, watching as the apartment building burned.  Sure, his plan hadn’t gone exactly as he had wanted it, but he would make it work in his favor.  He always did.  The stakes were too high for him to let a little disruption throw him off course. 

He had been looking for so long, and finally he knew that this town was the key to his life’s work, and not even an incompetent demon could get in his way. 

Without anyone noticing the man turned, and walked away. 

Accidental Demon Slayers: Elves of Darkness pt. 3 of 4

Shannon could hear the commotion out in the hallway. She wanted to call out, to make sure that Amy was okay, but the fear building up inside of her seemed to steal away her voice. Slowly, she edged towards the door, the sounds of the struggle outside growing louder. 

What was going on? What was happening to her friend? What had happened to her neighbor? Mrs. Whip was an old bitch, but she didn't deserve to... what? Die? Was she dead?

Just before Shannon's fingers touched the doorknob she heard a shuffling behind her, followed by the faint tinkling of bells. She spun around.

Empty, the apartment was empty. Her heart was racing in her chest, and her breath was coming out in short, harsh bursts.

She heard it again, closer this time, coming from the box of Christmas decorations sitting on the small table that sat outside the kitchenette. Without even realizing it, she was edging towards the box, each step slow, but purposeful. The sounds from the hallway seemed to fade away as her focus zeroed in on the box in front of her. It wasn't until she was barely a foot away from the table that the box shook once. She froze. It shook again, this time more violently, accompanied by that familiar jangling of bells.

"Oh no," she whispered to herself.

Then the box in front of her seemed to explode, showering her with tinsel and ornaments.

-*-

In the hallway Amy was trying to crawl up the stairs, Bobby at her side, his hand holding her arm protectively. He was kicking at the small, elfin creatures that seemed to be pouring out of Mrs. Whip's apartment, their smiling, pointy faces glinting with malicious glee as the lunged at them. Some were able to get a grip on his leg, digging their sharp little nails into the flesh of his calf. One managed sink its pointed teeth into the meat of his thigh. Bobby screamed, reaching down and ripping the invading creature off of him.

He could feel the anger growing inside of him, and with it, Juktha's anger. It seemed to boil, their anger becoming a growing heat in his hands, its power showing through the bright glow now in his eyes. The creature began to struggle, its smile fading as it realized that it had attacked something much stronger than itself.

The heat burned through Bobby's arm, into his hand, where the squirming elf struggled to pry Bobby's tightening fingers. It wasn't working. The elf, struggled and struggled, but the heat soon became too much, and it's porcelain white skin began to bubble and melt. Then, without warning, its little head exploded, splattering Amy and the hallway in a thick, simmering green slime.

"What the fuck..." Amy looked at Bobby, not even attempting to hide her surprise.

"Long story." He grabbed Amy, pushing her up the stairs ahead of him. He hung back watching as the number of elves grew, spilling out of the open door to Mrs. Whip's apartment, and threw the now opened front door.

There were so many of them. Too many. Juktha had dealt with one, but he was out of practice, and so was she. Did they have enough energy to handle all of those things?

The creatures kept their distance, watching him, their beady little eyes tracking his every move. They were going to attack, and soon.

"Kurt, get her into the apartment." Bobby took a step back, but never took his eyes off of the elves. "Now."

Kurt stood at the top of the steps. He took Amy's hand, pulling her towards the door that led into his apartment.

"Come on." He kept his voice soft, low. He could see the panic in her eyes, and he didn't want to make it worse.

He reached the door, knocking hard and rapidly. "Chris, let us in."

The door cracked open, and Chris peaked out. Kurt didn't wait for him to react, and pushed the door open, pulling Amy in behind him. He turned looking at Bobby, begging him to follow. Then they heard the scream coming from downstairs.

"Shannon!" Amy started towards the door, but Kurt stopped her.

"I got this." Bobby shook his head and rushed down the stairs.

Kurt wanted to argue, to follow him out, but he knew it would be useless. Plus, Bobby had ways to defend himself, both with Juktha's power, and the giant battle axe he had brought with him. Amy and Chris had no such protections. All they had was Kurt, and whatever power he and Doctore could muster.

So, Kurt locked the door and turned towards his two current guests.

"Doctore, you ready to do a little healing?" Kurt thought the words, and could instantly feel Doctore agree.

-*-

Shannon stumbled back, feeling claws digging into her ankles, throwing her off balance. The garland and tinsel blinded her, disorienting her. She fell back, her ass hitting the carpet hard. She couldn't see, her hands clutching at the shiny distractions that covered her eyes. She could feel things moving around her, hear their cruel giggles. One of them scratched her hand, and she could feel the warm blood dripping from the now open wound. Another bit her, and she howled.

Then she felt the garland slipping around her neck. She moved as quickly as she could, her hands sliding up and under the piney rope. Just as she had expected, it went tight. She tried to pull back, to free her throat, but those things, those... those fucking elves, were too strong, and too many. The pulled harder, and she could hear them laughing.

Her fingers kept the garland from digging into her neck, but as it grew tighter, she could feel her fingers pressing into the flesh of her neck. She could only hold it off for so long. She struggled, kicking out, feeling her feet connecting with the small bodies. They howled and went flying with each thrash. Finally she was able to get her legs under her, and she pushed herself to her feet, the garland going limp as the small creatures were lifted off the ground.

She pulled the tinsel from her eyes, grabbed the garland, those fucking elves still clutching at both its ends, and swung. First one end smashed into the wall, the elves' bodies exploding on impact, and then the other, the remaining elves doing the same.

The elves scurring around her froze, shocked at their comrades sudden demise. It gave Shannon enough time to move. She rushed into the kitchenette, and grabbed the electric carving knife her mother had given her as a house warming gift. She quickly checked it over. Cordless. Perfect.

One of the creatures lunged at her, and she snatched it out of the air, slammed it down onto the counter, and with a deafening whir, she started up the carver. Quickly she brought the pulsating blade down, the sharp teeth cutting into the elf's squirming torso. It howled, thrashing and scratching at her, but Shannon wasn't letting go. Finally, with a gross slurp the elf's body ripped in half, the momentum of the blade sending it's lower half splattering onto the tile floor.

She turned, blade now covered in thick, green slime, and glared at the foot tall invaders. "You want a fucking piece of me? Come and get it!"

With a high pitched howl the elves started at her, but then, as quickly as their attack had started, it ended. Their small bodies exploded, showering her and her kitchen in their disgusting, fowl green blood.

She glanced up, and standing behind them was her upstairs neighbor, his eyes burning with a fiery glow, his hand outstretched, his palm exposed, his flesh seeming to burn, and yet somehow remain undamaged.

When the elves were dead, their remains dripping from her walls, the glow vanished from her neighbor's eyes, his hand returning to normal. He looked at her, his face now a mask of exhaustion.

"Come on." He took a step back, heading towards the door to her apartment. "It's safer upstairs."

Without a word, she followed him.

-*-

Outside, standing just on the far end of the snow covered parking lot, the demon girl was growing frustrated.

This was not how it was supposed to happen. There were supposed to be more screams, more shouts of pain. Instead her little elves had managed to take out one old woman, and then get turned into a green soupy mess. Something was very wrong in that building, and she realized that if she wanted to get things done, she would have to take care of them herself.

Her eyes scanned the small, two story building. She could sense the remaining life signs of the residents, and they were all focused on one apartment upstairs.

Perfect. She would start there.

With the determination of something much older and much crueler than her appearance would convey, the demon girl started towards the apartment building.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Elves of Darkness pt. 2 of 4

It was as he was walking down the hallway towards his apartment that Kurt got the first rush of an odd feeling.  He couldn’t exactly explain what it was, but it was enough to make him pause.  Something was… off. 

He stood still for a minute, waiting for Doctore to respond, to analyze the wave of darkness that seemed to rush down the hall towards him.

“Got anything?” He thought, remembering not to speak his conversations with Doctore out loud.

“Nothing clear,” the crinkly, old voice responded.  “Just give me a minute.  I’m feeling just a bit out of practice here.”

It had been a while since Kurt had been in the field. Even during the last few cases he had done mostly research, leaving the actual fighting up to the rest of the Demon Slayers. After Felicia’s death, he had pretty much stayed in the office completely.  Kurt was no slouch in the field, and Doctore had his strengths, but the both of them had figured that they could do more helping Ashtyn and Tabitha with their research than they could trying to wield weapons against tentacle demons and murderous witches.

“You okay?” a voice broke Kurt’s concentration.

He turned to see Chris, the guy in the apartment across from the one he shared with Bobby, standing behind him. The building was a four unit, and Kurt and Bobby resided in the top right apartment, while Chris had unit three. Mrs. Whip had apartment two, while two college students, Shannon and Amy, resided in apartment one.

Chris was young, with tired eyes, messy hair and a pair of bulky headphones permanently around his neck. His thin, green hoodie seemed dreadfully inadequate against the growing cold outside, and his jeans were tattered enough to look like an invitation for frost bite.

“Yeah.” Kurt thought quickly, trying to find a reason for his sudden stop in the hallway. “I was just trying to remember if I forgot anything.  You know, holiday season overload can kind of lead to forgetfulness.”

“Got it.” Chris smiled.

“You doing anything special for the holidays?” Unlike Mrs. Whip, Kurt actually enjoyed talking to Chris.

“Probably going to head back to Michigan to see my folks.” Chris shoved his hands in his pockets. “You?”

“Celebrating with a few friends. If you end up sticking around, you should stop over.” Kurt adjusted the groceries that crowded his now tired arms. “Our friends are a little eccentric, but we can be a fun bunch.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Chris smiled, pulling his keys from his pocket. “I should get inside.  Got some mixes to finish up before the party down at the Youth Center.”

They exchanged friendly goodbyes then both headed into their apartments.

Once inside Kurt was greeted by the site of a kitchen table stacked with various weapons, wrapping paper, and bows.  The contrast between the sharp blades and glinting throwing daggers, and the cheery, red and green Christmas paper was almost funny.  That seemed to be what his life had become.  He and Bobby had created a nice life together.  Demons aside, one would could even call it completely normal, except for the random artifacts of their demon hunting. While most couples had bookshelves that were loaded with family albums and favorite authors, theirs also included several giant volumes on demonology, ancient weapons and the occasional Idiots Guide to Exorcism.  It had taken some getting use to, but by now, after how many years together, it felt right. 

Bobby looked up from the table, his eyes narrowed in frustration. “I need help.”

He held up three throwing daggers, tatters of ripped wrapping paper clinging to the onyx blades. Kurt glanced around the table, and could tell that the wrapping struggle was reaching epic proportions.

“Throwing daggers and stars should go in gift bags.  Just pad them with a little tissue paper.” He headed towards the kitchen, quickly putting the groceries down on the counter. 

“What about a machete?” Bobby called out from the table, and Kurt glanced over his shoulder to see Bobby lifting the massive, glinting blade over his head. “Gift bag, or wrapping paper?”

-*-

Mrs. Whip sat in the same, worn out recliner that she always did, her little TV switched on, but muted.  She had a mug in one hand, and the other was clutching the remote.  This was her natural state.  This was how she spent most of her time, and she was fine with that.  She didn’t feel the need to get out and socialize, or make appearances.  Who would care if she did?  If she didn’t give a flying fuck, then why would others?

It didn’t help that, as she grew older, she had found that she completely and totally hated the rest of humanity.  People just pissed her off to no end.  They didn’t even have to do anything more than existing to make her angry. 

She took a sip of her cooling coffee, and for the first time that day, she smiled.  The brew was as bitter as she was, just how she liked it. 

Voices came from the hallway, disrupting her brief moment of pleasure.

“I’m just saying, we should try and do Christmas here.” It was the voice of one of her neighbors.  One of the college girls… Amy.  She was the loud one.  “Why spend all that money on flying back home.  Our families would understand.  I mean, we are being responsible.”

“No way.” Shannon was speaking now. “My parents already think you’re my girlfriend. Spending the holidays together would just feed into that delusion.”

“It’s not my fault your parents are homophobic.”

“They aren’t, though! I think they secretly want me to be dating you.”

Mrs. Whip couldn’t take the inane chattering any longer and pushed out of her chair, rushing towards her front door.  It was bad enough that she had the two faggots and the deadbeat musician upstairs, now she had these two half baked, collegiate sluts across the hall who wouldn’t shut the hell up.  

She threw open her door, her mug poised and ready for attack. 

Shannon was the first to spot her.  “Oh, hey Mrs. Whip.” The girl smiled at her. “Sorry if we were too loud.”

Mrs. Whip just glared, doing her best to give the two women burning death stares. It didn’t seem to work.  They both seemed completely oblivious to her growing anger and radiating hatred.  It threw her off balance, and she froze in place. 

Before she could complete her plan and pitch her still hot coffee in the faces of one of those annoying bitches the girls had already said their goodbyes and headed into their apartment.  It wasn’t until the door closed that Mrs. Whip finally snapped out of her stupor. 

Defeated, Mrs. Whip headed back into her apartment.  She would get those two.  Somehow she would get them.  With their young, fresh skin and perky tits. They were everything she hated about youth.  They were vibrant and pleasant. 

It made her sick. 

She stalked to her kitchen, placing her mug down on the counter.  She needed something stronger to calm her nerves.  Shuffling across the floor she headed towards her freezer, where she kept a bottle of vodka hidden behind her TV dinners. 

As she reached up to open the freezer door, she heard a small tinkling sound, like a small bell.  She stood still, listening closely.  She heard it again.  There were multiple bells this time.  She turned around, and noticed that her front door was slightly ajar. 

Cats. 

Somehow those damn cats that wandered the parking lot had gotten into her apartment.  Those two bimbos probably let them in.

“Fucking half wits,” she mumbled under her breath.  She turned, stomping towards the door. 

Before she had even gone two steps she felt a sharp pain in her right ankle, and then quickly, her left.  Her legs felt weak, unable to support her, and she fell forward, her face making a cracking sound as it smashed into the hard tile floor of the kitchen. 

She howled in pain, rolling onto her back.  She could feel a sticky warmth pooling around her feet, and she sat up slightly.  Something had sliced the tendons right through on both of her ankles.

She tried to scream again, but before she could get the sound out of her mouth, she was swarmed.  Little creatures with pointed ears, long noses and glittering eyes were crawling all over her.  Their small, clawed fingers ripped at her flesh, and their pointed teeth gnawed at the wrinkled folds of her paper thin skin. 

She opened her mouth, tried to call out, but one of the little elven creatures grabbed her tongue and yanked.  She could feel the muscle begin to rip in the back of her throat, blood pouring out and blocking her airway.  Her scream dissolved into a frantic gurgle. 

“Mrs. Whip?” It was Amy.  “Mrs. Whip are you okay? I thought I heard a scream.” The young woman peaked her head through the cracked open front door. 

Mrs. Whip rolled onto her belly, crushing a few of the small creatures under her considerable bulk.  She looked up, and could see the terror in Amy’s eyes. 

Mrs. Whip reached out, her blood slicked hand clutching for the young woman’s aid. “Please, help me.” The words were clear in her mind, but with her tongue dangling by only a few fibers, they came out as nothing more than blood dripping moans.

What were these things? Their visage was so familiar that the word came to her mind almost instantly.  Elves.  She was being ripped apart by elves.

“Mrs. Whip!” Amy shrieked.

One of the little elves had managed to dig its claws into the flesh of the old woman’s neck. 

Too late, she thought to herself, just as the claws sliced through her neck, spilling the last of her blood out onto the floor in a massive geyser which managed to shoot out far enough to drench Amy. 

As the last bits of life left her body she could hear Amy, screaming, slam the door shut. 

-*-

Kurt and Bobby were both sitting at the table, staring down at the massive pile of weapons in front of them when they heard the screams.  Without even thinking they both sprang to their feet. 

They didn’t speak, they just both reached down, grabbing something off the table.  Kurt picked up the machete, its shining blade unsheathed, and Bobby grabbed the battle axe, a bow still affixed to its massive blade.

“I probably should have mentioned this when I came in, but I got a really weird feeling out in the hallway.” Kurt slowly crept towards the front door.

“Would have been nice to have had a heads up.” Bobby followed close behind. 

Bobby reached out, opening the door, and stepped into the hallway first, Kurt right behind him. They glanced from side to side. Chris peaked out of his apartment.

“What the hell is going…” the words died on Chris’s lips when he saw the weapons clutched in his neighbors hands.

“Go to our place, and don’t let anyone in until we get back, okay?”

His eyes still locked on the weapons, Chris nodded and ran across the hall, closing the door to their apartment without any argument. 

The two men inched towards the stairs, both of them trying to keep focused on their surroundings while also reaching into their minds, trying to get any info from their inner deities as they could.  Their concentration was quickly broken, however, when a blood soaked woman stumbled into the stairwell. 

She looked up at them.  The only clean skin on her entire body was the streaks on her cheeks from the tears spilling from her eyes. 

“Help me,” she wailed.