Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 38

Q nearly screamed when he saw the withered old hag that had once been his mother.  She sat on the far end of the room, perched in an onyx thrown.  She was smiling, cackling.  Surrounding her throne were crystal cages, the only source of light in the entire space.  Aria was in the cage closest to his mother. 

Aria, her body unchanged, looking exactly as he had remembered her.  Not even the passage of time had changed her beautiful face.  She was standing; her arms limp at her side, her eyes a liquid metallic.  She was singing, that same familiar, wordless melody that she had sung to open the gateway to his mother’s world.

Aria’s face flinched, her eyes flickered back to normal for a moment, and then the mirror surface swept over them again.  She had rejoined with her body.  She was no longer trapped in that orb, but instead trapped in an oversized birdcage.

“Q, my darling boy, you finally found me.” His mother’s voice was a bone chilling cackle. “And you brought friends!” 

“Give her back to me!” Q rushed forward, towards his mother.  It was only Max’s arm that made him stop.  “Give me Aria back, you old bitch!” 

“Is that any way to speak to me? After everything you did, leaving me in that pit to die… I shouldn’t be surprised.”  His mother was standing now, walking towards him. 

She moved so quickly that no one could react.  Before Q could other another word he felt his mother’s withered, boney hand wrap around his neck and lift him off his feet. 

“How about I stick you in that cage with her? Leech off your souls at the same time.  Isn’t that romantic?” She tightened her grip.  “Thank you, by the way.  I’ve been hungry for so long, and you just returned her soul to that shell of a body.  I can finally drain her dry.”

There was a loud woosh of wind, and suddenly Q was falling to the ground, his mother’s hand still clutching his throat.  The only difference from the moment before was that the hand was no longer connected to his mother. 

Ashtyn stood next to him, a metallic fan blade in her hand.  Her eyes were sharp slits, and her mouth was a rigid line.

His mother stumbled back, clutching the stump where her hand had once been.  She was howling, screaming. 

No…

She was laughing. 

She stopped, standing up straight, holding up the bloodless stump.  Q watched as the stump warped, and regrew.  In moments she was wiggling her newly formed fingers. 

“Nice try.” She was cackling, her loose jowls jiggling with each violent burst of laughter.

Q stood, flinging the still clutching hand from his throat.  It shattered when it hit the ground.  He glanced at Ashtyn, who looked unfazed by the turn of events.  Had she been expecting this?  Had she known that the battle wouldn’t be this easy? 

“Give us back our friends.” Ashtyn’s voice was a growl. 

“And what? You’ll let me go?” His mother was smirking, revealing rotted and ugly teeth. 

“No, I’ll still kill you, but at least you can die knowing you did the right thing.”

“I don’t think so.” His mother waved her newly formed hand in the air. 

That was when the floor started to move under their feet.  

Eye See You: Randy pt. 10

Janelle was on the news the next day.  Her picture seemed to float about the reporter’s shoulder. 

She looked happy in the picture. 

“A horrible accident…” 

The reporter spoke with sincerity. 

My phone vibrated.  A message. 

A video.

As if possessed my finger moved, hit play. 

Janelle was standing on the EL platform, the same one I road every day. It was empty except for her.  The camera was behind her.  The camera moved forward.  It was moving quickly.  Janelle didn’t have a chance. 

The roar of the train burst out of my phone as Janelle fell out of view. 

She didn’t even scream.  

Pom Pom Angel: Love Rescue pt. 19

She wasn’t lying, not really.  She wasn’t a succubus.  She was a demon.  They were very different things.  A succubus had only one goal, and that was to steal people’s souls through their genitals at the point of orgasm.  Regina had no plans to let things get that far. 

Inwardly she shuddered at the idea of sleeping with Gus. 

It wasn’t that he was bad looking.  He was okay, as far as humans went, but he was still a human.  There was no way a human would ever get the chance to get all up in her hell pit.  A girl had to have standards, and one of hers was that she would never cross mate. 

Angels and humans shared common DNA, since 90% of the angels were originally humans themselves.  Demons, on the other hand, were a whole different species.  If a human died and went to hell, they were a tortured soul, not a demon.  A demon was born, not made.  Her sleeping with Gus would be like a human woman sleeping with a donkey, and outside of a few stage performers in Tijuana, that was usually considered a no go for most people.

“Sorry.”  He was laughing now, nervous little bursts of noise followed by a beer-fueled hiccup.  “I just… I’ve had a very weird day.” 

“Tell me about it.” God, she hoped he wouldn’t. 

“So, tell me a little about yourself.”  He chugged his beer.  She could tell his nerves were still on high alert. 

She had hoped that she hadn’t scared him off with that laugh.  She was still getting use to the whole undercover thing, and when he had asked her if she was planning to steal his soul, she had panicked.

“Regina?” He waved at her. “You okay over there?  You seem a little lost in your own world.”

She snapped back to attention.  What had he asked her?  He wanted to know about her.  Had she already given him a back-story?  Suddenly, she couldn’t remember.  Her brain was getting a little fuzzy. 

After one beer?  She was a demon for crying out loud.  She should be able to drink that entire bar down and barely get a buzz. 

“I don’t…” she stood up, her legs feeling a little weak. “I’ll be right back.” 

She walked back into the bar, and she knew Gus was following her.  Him seeing her throw up would not help her cause, so she turned, placing a hand on his chest. 

“You don’t look so good.” Gus was watching her, concern in his eyes. 

“Just wait for me, okay?” She gave him a weak smile.  “I’ll be right back.” 

She turned, and Gus didn’t follow, but she could feel his eyes watching her. 

What the hell was going with her brain right now? She was barely able to keep a train of thought going, and…

The bathroom was right ahead of her.  She was about to push her way inside when she felt an arm around her shoulder.  She turned to the offending arm. 

The bartender was looking down at her, smiling.  “How about you follow me.”

She couldn’t argue with him. 

She couldn’t speak.

Eye See You: Randy pt. 9

When I came back upstairs Dave handed me my phone back. 

“Kept trying to see if there was anything else going on, maybe a hack or something, but…” 

I already knew he would tell me that there was nothing he could find. 

Why was I so scared?  It didn’t make sense.  My terror didn’t make sense.  All of this was just so silly, and yet my body reacted as if I was… being hunted. 

I put my phone in my room. 

I wanted it away from me. 

I couldn’t stand to look at it.

I tried to spend the rest of the night as if nothing had happened, as if the texts never came. 

My body wouldn’t let me forget though.  The tension never left me.  The urge to flee never seemed to dissipate. 

I didn’t sleep well that night. 

Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 37

Rita had been to some strange places, but the world at the bottom of the stairs took the cake.  The walls and ceiling were rough, sharp pieces of jet black crystal, the light emanating from Aria causing their surfaces to glow a deep purple.  The floor was smoother, but slick, made out of the same material.  With each step Rita feared that she would crack the floor open, but as the walked it remained steady. 

She reached out, her hand grabbing Ashtyn’s.  She glanced at her friend, at the woman she had shared a kiss with only moments before, and she felt less scared.  Ashtyn smiled at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. 

“Are you ready?” Rita’s voice was a whisper. 

“As ready as I ever am in these situations.” Ashtyn laughed. 

“Is your…” Rita tapped her temple, “is she ready?”

“She’s always ready.  I have a warrior princess living in my head. Just try telling her not to fight.”

The group stopped walking.  Rita looked forward, and saw they had reached a set of large, crimson double doors. 

Aria, who had been leading them, turned to the group.  “I can’t go beyond this point.  Inside there is my… my physical self, and once I pass through these doors, I will be joined once again with my body.  Just know that beyond these doors lies the witch’s throne room.  Inside, your battle will begin, and while I hope for your victory, I will not be able to fight with you.” 

Rita could see Q watching Aria, his eyes glistening pools.  His lower lip quivered.  She could see him wanting to speak, but unable to make the words, because every time he opened his mouth a weak sob would escape. 

Rita couldn’t imagine the pain he was feeling, or the pain that Max was feeling.  She glanced over at Ashtyn again. 

She needed to go into that room with no regrets. 

She kissed Ashtyn again, their lips pressed tight.  The kiss lingered, and as it went on Rita could feel a warmth growing inside of her.  Love? Maybe. It was something, a reason to fight, and a reason to get the hell out of the witch bitch’s world, and back into their own. 

“When we get out of here…” Rita broke the kiss, her voice breathy.  “When we get out of here, I’m taking you on a date.  A real one.  A date free of demons and witches and all the shit that always seems to get in the way.”

Ashtyn smiled. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Ashtyn broke away from Rita, and walked towards the doors. 

Aria was watching her, and as Ashtyn reached out, her palms touching the slick surface of the crimson doors, Aria nodded. 

Ashtyn pushed the doors open, Aria vanished, and the remaining members of the group froze.

Their battle had begun.