All the pieces are falling into place...

So, everyone is in their starting marks for the final third of the story.  Daughter of Darkness is running much longer than I had originally planned, but I have to admit, I've enjoyed writing the story  immensely.  It's become much darker and way more twisted then I had originally envisioned it, but sometimes a story just takes on a life of it's own, and takes off!  (Just a heads up, it gets even more twisted as we get closer to the final battle.  Especially once Grath and his tentacles make an appearance.  All the characters better watch their asses!)

As I begin to write the climax for this particular story, I am already starting to plan out my next serial with the Accidental Demon Slayers crew. I'm thinking about something a little lighter, and less connected to all the growing mythology that has been coming up.  I'm also wanting to do something with Max and his crew... depending on who survives the final battle, of course.

Let me know what you guys think, and more specifically, if you would like to see more adventures with Max and his Ghost Hunters, either on their own, or as a continued part of the Accidental Demon Slayers cast.

Thank you all for reading!  I hope you have enjoyed reading these stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

Accidental Demon Slayers: Daughter of Darkness pt. 30

Clare stepped out of her room, and found Max still standing in the hallway.  He was leaning against the wall, his head hung low.  For the first time Clare was seeing the real Max.  He was tired. The look on his face, that look of concern and fear suddenly made the man she had only seen as a showman before, seem all to real to her. 

When he spotted her, he stood up, quickly sliding back into his TV host role.  The change was disappointing. 

“So, everything okay?”  Max smiled, brushing his hair out of his face. 

“No.  Nothing is okay.”  Clare took a deep breath.  “I told the rest of my team to head on up here.  They are more equipped to handle stuff like this.” 

“Stuff like this?”  Max cocked his head to the side, and for a second he reminded Clare of a confused dog. 

She filled him in on everything Ashtyn had told her, specifically the mention of Grath, and the attack at Kurt’s office. 

“You think you’re connected?” He looked even more confused. 

“Yes.”  Clare glanced down the hall, making sure that no one else was listening in. 

In the brief break in the conversation, the hallway seemed to fall into a thick, almost eerie quiet.  Even the sound of the AC seemed to fade away.  Then, like a clap of thunder, the hallway was filled with the sound of breaking glass. 

“What the fuck was that?”  Max turned, his eyes wide. 

There was a scream.  The voice was familiar. 

“Rita!”  Clare rushed towards Rita’s door.  She didn’t bother to knock.  Instead she aimed a solid kick at the door jam, sending the door flying opening. 

Rita was sprawled on the floor, shattered glass surrounding her.  She was crawling, trying to reach her and Max, but something was wrapped around her ankle.  It was… it was a hand.  The hand was connected to a long, bony arm that snaked out the window.  The thing’s skin wasn’t normal, though.  It was slick, shiny.  It looked like…

A loud cackling filled the room, as Ujin climbed over the window sill.  Eight arms, one of which was now latched onto Rita, sprung out of his back, and his small, doll body swung loosely as the free arms grabbed onto the window frame.  His face was contorted into a wicked grin, and his eyes were a bright, clean white. 

“Clare, help me!”  Rita was struggling, trying to kick her ankle free, but Ujin’s hand held fast. 

Clare rushed towards the struggling girl, but one of Ujin’s hands shot out, swatting her away, and knocking her into a wall. 

Clare could feel the wind being knocked out of her from the impact, and she fell to her knees.  She could only watch as Max rushed towards the odd, spider/elf hybrid.  He didn’t make it far before the same hand that had batted Clare away with such ease slammed into Max’s chest, sending him flying back into the hallway. 

Ujin’s head turned, looking at her.  “Rita here has places to be.  Don’t worry, our plans require that she be alive and well.  We won’t harm her.”  He cocked his head to the side, his smile stretching wider.  “I promise.” 

The hand that had been wrapped Rita’s leg suddenly snaked up the girl’s body, the arm binding her limbs, the hand wrapping around Rita’s mouth, muffling her screams. 

“Let her go!”  Clare got to her feet, but she couldn’t make a move.  One of Ujin’s free hands slammed into her chest, pinning her against the wall. 

“Do not interfere!” Ujin’s smile quickly turned to a twisted scowl.  “I spare you now because the Nameless require your presence, but do not test me, girl.  You are not essential.” 

His face shifted again, back to that cruel, mocking smile.  “Bye bye!” 

Ujin leapt backwards, falling out of view.  Clare was free now, but she couldn’t move fast enough, and Rita was pulled out the window, away from Clare, away from safety. 

“No!”  Clare rushed to the window, looking out, hoping to see Rita or Ujin. 

They were gone. 

She turned, rushing into the hallway, towards a stunned Max who was just now starting to crawl to his feet. 

“Come on.”  Clare didn’t turn to look at him, knowing that he would follow. 

“Where are we going?”  She could hear the fear in Max’s voice. 

For a moment she almost considered leaving him behind.  He wasn’t prepared for something like this.  She wanted to tell him to stay, to wait for her, but she knew that he would argue with her, and even if he did agree to stay behind, she highly doubted he would actually stay put.  If he was going to be in the park, it was better that he be at her side, where she could protect him, instead of sneaking in and wandering around on his own. 

“Clare, where the hell are we going?”  He caught up to her, his face red.  He was already winded. 

“Back to the park.”  Clare looked at him.  “He’s taking her to the temple.  I know it.”   

Accidental Demon Slayers: Daughter of Darkness pt. 29

Elizabeth watched the three of them rushing out of Kurt’s apartment.  She had been watching them for a while, actually.  Grath had told her to pay close attention to them, and she knew that when Grath spoke, it was best to obey. 

She leaned back in the driver’s seat, smiling.  It was all going just as they had planned.  Things at the park were escalating nicely, and now the rest of the group was going to be herded up there. 

“Your plan is working.”  Even though Grath was not physically with her, no using her as a vassal, she could still talk to him.  “They’ll be there in a couple of hours.” 

“This is not my plan.” His voice floated into her mind.  “This is something far greater.” 

The first time he had spoken to her it had been painful.  Slowly, though, she had become use to the pain.  She actually had to admit that she was starting to enjoy it.  Since her first encounter with Grath, Elizabeth had felt a shift inside of her.  She had never been a warm person.  Hell, she was usually a stone cold bitch, but now… now she felt all that anger and hate was for a reason.  It served a purpose.  It was there to help her do Grath’s bidding. 

She thought back, to the night he had summoned her to the temple.  It had been about a week after she had released the spore carrying his essence into Fantasy Land.  When she had arrived, she had no clue what to expect, but when she had stepped into the temple, her entire world was turned upside down. 

Grath sat in there, on a stone through.  He did not have a vassal, nor did he need one.  The temple had made him flesh and blood.  He was whole, a solid creature.  She had remembered how shocked she was when she had touched him, and felt his warmth.  She had shivered when his long, slick tongue had flicked out of that ghoulish mouth, and ran along her body.  His spit had seemed to melt her clothing, exposing her to him. 

She had, at first, thought that his lack of genitals would have been a problem when it came to sex, but how quickly he had proved her wrong.  She had heard jokes about tentacle demons, and like most people she doubted their existence, but within a few moments Grath had made her a believer. 

Physically she had found Grath repulsive, even terrifying, but not even her fears could have stopped her.  His essence, his very presence, drove her insane.  She wanted him.  She wanted to be with him, to give herself to him fully, and he had taken her violently. 

Her body shivered as she remembered the first time he had used her body.  The act was not an act of love, but of pure, carnal release.  People say that Justice had been perverted.  They had no idea how right they were. 

“Letting your mind wander?”  His voice was low, playful.  “Keep focused Elizabeth.  This task is greater then you or I.” 

“Of course.”  She sat up, ignoring the fire growing between her legs.  “When it’s all over, though…” 

“If you survive it, I will reward my high priestess accordingly.”  His voice was seemed to vibrate through her whole body. 

She did her best to pull herself together.  She could see the taillights in Bobby’s car snap on, and a few moments later, the car pulled onto the road. 

She had a job to do, and she needed to make sure that she did it right.  Grath continued to remind her that this was something greater then either of them, but to her, all that mattered was what Grath wanted. 

She was his high priestess after all, and she took her role very seriously. 

Accidental Demon Slayers: Daughter of Darkness pt. 28

The second Clare got to the hotel her phone started beeping like crazy.  She ignored it, and helped Max get Rita to her room.  The young girl seemed to be getting weaker by the minute, and by the time Max and her put Rita to bed, the poor thing was pitch white and shaking. 

“Should we stay with her?”  Max whispered. 

“I think she’ll be okay.”  Clare smiled, brushing the hair off of Rita’s face.  “You didn’t even realize that you had a sensitive on your team, did you?” 

“A sensitive?”  Max gave her an odd look. 

Clare motioned towards the room door.  She was pretty sure that Rita could have slept through an earthquake at that point, but she didn’t really feel like taking the risk of waking the poor girl up. 

Once they were back in the hallway, Max asked her again what she had meant. 

“A sensitive is someone who is tuned in to supernatural energy.”  Clare leaned against the wall, feeling pretty drained herself.  “Something in that park was getting to Rita.  It was draining her.” 

“I’m on over my head again, aren’t I?” Max shook his head.  “How is it that, until I met you, I never ran into one supernatural being.  Now? I can’t seem to escape them.” 

“I’m kind of a magnet for the weird and creepy.”  Clare laughed. 

“Does that make me ‘weird and creepy’?”  Max stepped closer to her. 

“Maybe.”  She could feel the warmth of his body next to hers. 

As much as she hated to admit it, she was still attracted to Max.  He had his sweet side, for sure, but he was still a typical TV personality.  She could never know what she was getting when it came to him.  Even if he was acting honest sincere, she could never trust that what she was seeing was really him being a normal person, or him putting on a show. 

Clare’s phone went off again. 

“Well, aren’t you popular.”  Max leaned closer.  “Don’t answer it.” 

“I have to.”  Clare slipped away, and headed towards her room.  “I have a business to run.” 

Once Clare was alone she pulled out her phone.  She had almost twenty missed calls from Ashtyn.  She hit redial, and the call went through. 

Ashtyn picked up after the second ring.  “Where have you been?” 

Her voice sounded tense and panicked. 

“I don’t get reception in the park.  What’s up?”  Clare sat down on the edge of the bed. 

Ashtyn rambled on for a bit, filling Clare in on everything that was happening back in Wheaton.  She couldn’t believe that someone had actually staged an attack in the middle of a busy office.  Even worse, she couldn’t believe that so many people had lost their lives.  She was interested to hear about Kurt’s new, manifesting powers, though. 

“There’s something else.”  Ashtyn cleared her throat.  “I’ve been going over this with Bobby and Kurt.  Apparently Elizabeth, and most likely Grath, have gotten their hands on some demon seeds.” 

“Demon seeds?”  The term sounded familiar to Clare, but she couldn’t really recall what it was. 

“Kurt saw it.  It looks like a small, blue orb.”  Ashtyn paused, and Clare could hear her shuffling through papers.  “Apparently, a demon seed can give demonic life to anything.  Living, dead or inanimate.  They aren’t common, but they have been documented.” 

“How do you get a demon seed?” The word inanimate peaked Clare’s interest.  Was it possible that those… things could be responsible for the statues coming to life in the park?  It seemed pretty likely. 

“You grow them. Usually this is done by human sacrifice, and upon death, the victim’s heart will transform into a demon seed.”  Ashtyn’s voice shook.  “This is all speculation, though.  Very little is known about the tribe that practiced this ritual.  So little in fact, that they are actually called the Nameless.” 

Clare froze at the name of the tribe.  She had heard that name before.  Someone had spoken it to her. 

Then she remembered.  It wasn’t someone, but something.  Those creatures in the Tunnel of Love had said something about the Nameless.  They had said that they Nameless wanted them home.  Who was ‘them’? 

“Clare?  You still there?”  Ashtyn’s voice pulled Clare out of her head. 

“Listen, are guys all together?”  Clare could feel her brain starting to formulate a plan. 

“Yeah.” 

“I need you three to come here.”  Clare stood up, searching the nightstand for a card, or something, with the hotel address on it.  “I think whatever is happening with you there, is connected to whatever is going on here.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Not entirely, but it wouldn’t hurt to have you guys out here, anyways.”  Clare found a small piece of stationary with the hotel address on it. 

She read the address off to Ashtyn, and then hung up. 

She knew in her gut that these two issues were connected.  She didn’t know how, but she just knew. 

She just hoped she was doing the right thing by dragging the rest of her team into this mess.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Daughter of Darkness pt. 27

Brittany sat at her computer, still fiddling with the damaged footage from Max’s camera.  She could hear Rico shuffling around behind her, working on the monitors for the security cameras. 

“Do they have any footage from those missing kids?”  Brittany glanced over her shoulder. 

“I think the cops took it.  Not like there was much to see anyways.  Cameras all cut out.”  Rico leaned against the bank of monitors, and it was obvious to Brittany that he was trying to look calm. 

She was calm, at least she thought she was.  Part of her did wonder what Rico thought of the night before, or what he thought it meant.  For her it was an experiment, or at least, an experience.  Physical intimacy was something unknown to her, at least, in human form.  Still, for Rico, it could have meant something completely different. 

An awkward silence fell over the room. 

“So,” Brittany finally spoke up, “why aren’t there any cops here now?  I mean,  you would think they would still be investigating.” 

Best took keep the subject on work, she thought to herself. 

“They were here.  Looked over the whole park.”  He nodded back at the monitors.  “The place isn’t that big, so it didn’t take them very long.  Trust me, I was as surprised as anyone that we got permission to shoot her so soon after.” 

“They were probably hoping that you guys would do their job for them.”  Brittany smirked.  Fantasy Land was out in the boonies, and the nearest town was one of those one stoplight kind of deals. 

She had done her research before coming up here.  Lilac Hills, Illinois, population just over three hundred.  The town still had a general store that worked as a post office, and only a sheriff and two deputies. The town was so small it didn’t even have it’s own Wikipedia entry.  The only reason it got any mention online was because of Fantasy Land, and whatever fame the park had brought to the place was long gone. 

Brittany stood up, stretching.  “You sure the cops got all the footage?”

Rico shrugged.  “We could check.  I doubt we could use anything if we found it.” 

“Doesn’t hurt to look though, does it?”  She gave him a sly smile. 

They both sat down at the bank of monitors, and started their search.  They pulled up the night of the disappearance, and began to fast forward through the footage.  There was mostly nothing, just the empty fairway, and closed rides.  Not even a security guard passed by the cameras.  At times the images on the screens flickered, blanking out for a few seconds, and then they would pop back on, revealing nothing out of the ordinary. 

“You see anything?” Rico glanced at Brittany, and up this close she could see that his eyes were starting to get bloodshot and tired.

Before she could answer she saw something move on the screen.  “Wait, rewind that.  Play it back, but slow it down.” 

As the footage replayed Brittany squinted to make out the form moving across the screen.  The video was grainy and pixilated, but it was obvious that something was running across the fairway.  Rico hit pause. 

“I think I could clean this up.”  Brittany walked back over to her computer and grabbed a flash drive.  “Can you get a screen grab?”   

Rico nodded. 

A few minutes later, Brittany was at work trying to clean up the image.  One of the perks of always being stuck in the office was filling your time.  A few of their cases had required some video clean up, and she had learned the software to help save them all a little money and time.  It didn’t take her long before she was able to remove some of the digital noise from the image. 

“Holy shit.” Her eyes went wide.  “Is that…” 

Rico nodded, his face suddenly pale.  “It’s the fricken mascot running across the fairway.” 

Brittany grabbed her cellphone.  No signal.  Of course there was no signal.  In places like this, during times like this, there was never a signal. 

Her and Rico stood there, silent.  She had seen one of those things in the lake.  She had experienced, first hand, what they were capable of.  Now Rico was seeing it too.  He had to realize that something was very wrong in that park. 

Brittany felt her breath catch in her throat.  She could hear the squealing of door hinges. Both her and Rico turned, looking towards the now cracked open door.  She could see something standing there, hidden in shadows; it’s glassy, fabricated eyes watching her.  Ujin was watching her. 

Rico was the one to move first.  He rushed towards the door, slamming it shut. 

“What the fuck was that?”  He pressed his back against the door. 

As if to answer him, the sound of high pitched giggling came from behind him.  Then the door started to shake, as if whatever was on the other side was throwing itself at the door, trying to get in. 

Brittany rushed to his side, putting her full weight against the door.  Even though Ujin appeared small, he was surprisingly strong. 

Then, almost as soon as it started, it ended.  

“Guess we know what got to those two college kids.”  Brittany glanced at Rico. 

Rico was too terrified to answer her.