Aubrey held her watch in the flashlight’s beam to check the time.

“I don’t think my gym excuse is going to work.”

The sun had set and the moon had taken over the sky. The stars appeared in abundance here in the undeveloped world of the demons.

“Well you have a lot of time to think of a new one.”

“The heck am I supposed to say?”

“You have a lot of time. Leave me out of your brainstorm.”

Aubrey sighed. She needed a big lie and she tried to piece one together when her thoughts were interrupted by the shinging of Victor’s sword. He placed his hand on her stomach to stop her and she flinched when he did. She shone the torch in the direction he pointed his sword. A pale woman in a black dress shielded her eyes from the light with her hand. The light reflected off her skin and created the illusion of a white, angelic aura around her.

“Where’s the boy?” Victor asked. The woman lowered her hand, but squinted her eyes against the light until her they adjusted. She looked at him and then looked at Aubrey with a curious tilted head and smile. Victor pulled Aubrey behind him by the wrist.

“Is that your daughter?” she asked in a Victorian accent.

“That doesn’t matter. What did you do with the boy?” He said the words slowly, clearly and sternly.

The woman rolled her eyes and looked back at him. “I’ve just come back from a filling feed. The boy has a lot to give. Are you sure you want to do this now?”

“If it gets you to answer, then sure.”

The woman walked to a tree and leaned against it with crossed arms. Aubrey noticed how the dress clung too tightly to her body to be a fabric. It was just a layer of… black. A layer of black that elegantly wrapped around her slim figure.

“Something’s wrong with the boy. Just earlier today I could slap him to shut him up. Now he’s three times as strong as he was. If I were you, I’d leave him here. We should evacuate the pocket and break the gate. Let him rot in here.”

“Not an option. Whatever’s wrong with him can be controlled.”

“By who? You? You’re going to tame him? Oh, come now. I’ve seen his potential. The light inside him is bright. And that’s just the spark. Imagine what will happen once it’s a flame. We can’t kill him so we must leave him to die.”

“Just tell me exactly where he is. He doesn’t have to die.”

The woman looked at the sky. “It’s surprising that you’ve lived this long with your reckless lifestyle, Victor…”

Aubrey looked at Victor expecting a reaction. She knows his name. As far as she could tell from the little contractions that the mask didn’t hide, there was none.

“You were on the right path,” she continued, “Head straight in the direction you were going. You’ll find a cave. Just go into it.”

“No surprises?”

“None other than the boy. You’ll be fine. If I’m lying, you know how to find me.” She pressed off the tree and walked away. Her movements were fluid, and ghostly slow. The shadows welcomed her pale body and she vanished like a phantom. “Do us all a favour and kill the boy the moment he steps out of line.”

To Aubrey, the few-second-old memory of her was like a dream.

Victor sheathed his sword and ran with Aubrey at his side. She felt excited. Damien was alive. Victor felt confused. He wasn’t as fond of her - Leech - as he once was, but he, others in the pocket and demons far and wide trusted what she said. She was the oldest demon they knew, as young as she looked, and she was the wisest of them all. He wanted to help Damien, but Leech’s words made him believe that it might not be possible.

Victor stopped and skidded on the dirt at the edge of a pit in the ground. Aubrey shone the light into it, but the light couldn’t reach the depths of the hole. There was a two metre drop onto smoothed stone and then steps all the way down. “Are you fine with going down alone?” Victor asked.

“Do I have to?” she asked and looked at him.

“I don’t know exactly how close to Damien I can get before he attacks me. If I go down there, I could take a turn and then get killed. I’d rather have you bring him up while I keep my distance than get surprised. Just bring him up and go back the way we came. I’ll follow from a distance.”

She looked down into the hole. “Fine.” She dropped off the edge with some soil and dead leaves. “But only if I can use your sword.”

“You’re not taking my sword. It’s too heavy.”

“Well I need to take something.”

“For what?”

“Maybe a demon that isn’t Damien jumps out at me. A dagger or knife would even be fine.”

Victor looked at the ground around him. “Here.” He picked up a big rock and handed it to her. “You can deliver a lethal blow to the backs of the head. It’s like using a chair, but with one hand and easier to control.”

Aubrey took the rock and looked at it. You fucking kidding me? She sighed, dropped the rock and walked down the stone steps, hoping that Damien was the only thing waiting for her.

______

Isolation. What have I become that I deserved this? That I put myself into this?

I look down at the steep slope beneath me. No fool would climb a mountain to kill a man, nor would a king send his army. I look up at the sky. The first snow is falling. Soon, the colours of the mountain will be coated in white… I’ve forgotten about the demons and the angels. They seek me too. The humans cannot get me here, but I may be cornering myself to the Ascended.

I turn around and look up at the mountain face. I spread my wings and fly higher up. The demons will falter, but the angels are the best fliers. How high up a mountain must I go to avoid them?

______

I open my eyes to a blinding light. I lean back and squint, hissing and taking a deep whiff of the blood and sweat. The back of my eyes tingle.

“Shit! Sorry!” The beam of light goes up.

I recognise this person’s voice. I open my eyes again and see Aubrey holding a flashlight under her chin. “Aubrey!” I yell and jump forward to hug her, but the chains hold me back. Aubrey looks behind me at the chains and then back at me. My white school shirt is like blood-soaked bandages draping over my shoulders. She looks down at the ground. Her soles barely keep her out of the watery red-brownish puddle.

“I’ll be back. I have something that might help.” She turns around and runs towards the stairs.

I watch her leave and start pulling on the chains.

No…

The cuffs press between the bones in my wrist.

Please…

The wall mountings start to creak.

Don’t leave me!

I groan under the strain. Aubrey stops at the sound of the chains breaking and turns around. I shuffle towards her in the beam of light. She runs to me and catches me just as I fall. Tears in my clothes border my bloody scabs. The rough scabs scrape her skin and clothes as she helps me.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I feel relieved. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I don’t believe it can be anything worse. “How long was I there?” I manage as we go up smooth, dusty stone stairs.

“About five hours,” Aubrey says. I grow colder than I already was at the answer. It felt much longer. I can’t specify how long, but watching a past life like a movie has a scary time warping effect.

We get to the top of the stairs. Aubrey boosts me up and I weakly shuffle onto the edge. If it weren’t for her keeping my feet I would have fallen back down. I lay in the dirt for a bit. The soil is welcome to my wounds after where I’ve been. Aubrey vaults out on her own. “How did you find me?” I ask. What is she even doing out here? Where is here? This is… some kind of dimension we’re in.

I know this.

I just do…

“Long story. I’ll explain another time.” She looks around us as if she thinks we’re being followed. She looks at a mountain in the distance, puts her arm under my shoulder and pretty much carries me. I try my best to walk but I don’t have much control over anything lower than my nose.

After a few minutes of hearing the chains on my hands rattle do I realise what I did. I broke chains and I did it effortlessly. Whatever happened in the past five hours had changed me.

______

Victor silently followed them. He made sure to be far enough for them not to hear the dead leaves breaking under his feet and he moved from tree-to-tree. Damien had a presence energy now. Before, it had just been bursts, but after his last burst there was a permanent, low volume release of energy. Victor had to be more careful. Whatever had arrived in Damien’s body was there to stay. He tried to keep his own presence cloaked to avoid alerting Damien.

There were other demons nearby. Victor could sense them. Fortunately, they weren’t close enough for Damien to sense them, but there wasn’t a guarantee that it would stay that way. All the demons knew where Damien was after his last burst. For all he knew, Damien was being hunted… He started to worry. More demons were coming from all around. The ones that they passed were now following them, honing in. Victor reached behind his head and unsheathed his sword. Damien stopped, and Victor felt the other demons stop as well.

“What’s wrong?” Aubrey asked. Damien got off her and turned in a circle. I can see them… I can see them all. “I think we’re being followed,” he said. Aubrey looked behind them with the flashlight to see if Victor came out. “I think you’re just anxious from everything. C’mon. Your parents are worried.” Aubrey took his hand, but he pulled it away and took a step away from her towards one of the demons. He couldn’t see in the dark, but through some other non-physical eyes he could see the glowing silhouettes of the demons who came for him. Different colours and different brightnesses. Some were weak lights and some bright. Damien looked down at his hands. He was the brightest of them all.

“Damien. It’s nothing. Let’s go. Please. It’s late,” Aubrey said. In the depths of the forest’s darkness, they saw small balls of lights start to shine. Popping up in pairs, the lights surrounded them. “What the hell is that?” Aubrey asked. Damien said nothing. A black sheath of shadows slid over his eyes. There was no nausea, or dissociation, or fading of senses, or tinnitus. The demon was just another part of him now. There was no possession. There was just a transition from human to demon.

Aubrey placed her hand on Damien’s shoulder when she saw the dark essence smoking out of his eyes.

Victor looked around him. He had to get the demons away from Damien, and he had to prioritise. Damien would attack the strongest and most threatening demon. The strongest and most threatening demons could handle themselves. Victor looked for the weakest ones.

The demons from all around started to run. Aubrey looked down at Damien’s hands as a yellow glow consumed it. “Shit,” Aubrey said. She stepped away from him and looked behind them, hoping to see Victor on his way to intervene. The glow around Damien’s hands turned into a blaze that crawled up to his elbows. Damien shot forward with a burst of flame from his palms, letting out a bang. Aubrey fell to the ground and dropped the flashlight. She heard a deep howl of wind chase Damien. A moment later, the balls of flame and light passed over her. The demons were careful not to step on her and in the glows of their own power, Aubrey saw how some of them didn’t even touch the ground. When the stampede passed, she picked up the flashlight and ran for Damien. A hand grabbed her by the arm and pulled her.

“Wrong way,” Victor said, “You’re going to get hurt. Stay far away from this fight. I’ll get you when this is done.” Aubrey nodded and ran in the opposite direction. Behind her, the flashes of fiery light and energy filled the darkness like fireworks. Victor ran towards the battle. The closer he got, the louder the screams became and the more blinding the light. Victor walked the edges of the battle, forcing demons away from Damien and trying to convince them that he would stop if they left him alone. Some were too stubborn or scared to leave. Some trusted Victor’s words. Others knew of his reputation, and even tried to help by convincing other demons to leave with them.

From a safe distance, Aubrey watched as the body of the mob started to flake away in groups at a time. Some of them stayed to watch and some of them felt that the situation would only grow. The final three demons were the silver-haired triplets. For the time, the three were giving Damien trouble, but Damien was only getting more aggressive and he knew that they wouldn’t last. The three were sweating and running out of energy; Damien fought them painlessly and without any tiring.

Victor didn’t want to join the fight. He stayed behind the group. “You need to leave!” he yelled, “The more scared he is, the more powerful he becomes. He’s only fighting out of fear.” They all heard Victor, but refused to step away. Damien’s black eyes locked onto the strongest one, the sister. In the row that they stood in, she was on Damien’s left. She noticed this concern with her. She lowered her hands, put out the energy she held and slowly stepped back. Damien switched to look at a different one. They realised that Victor was right and one by one they stepped away and all three vanished.

Damien dropped to his knees in an instant. The power left him like a plug being pulled. Victor circled around Damien to fetch Aubrey, but he was stopped by the worrying silence of Damien. He turned around. He stood upright in the light of his hands with his body facing Victor. Victor was the only threat in the area now. Not only did he have power, but he had a reputation. Running away wouldn’t save him. Damien started marching towards Victor. He looked like a man who clawed his way back from death in his torn and bloodied clothes.

Victor put his sword away. He didn’t want to kill Damien. Damien leaped into the air and threw both fists upwards. Jets of blue flame shot out from the bottom of his grip like two daggers. He stabbed downwards and struck the dirt when Victor jumped back. He lurched forward and slashed at him, but Victor kept his distance by backstepping and juking and weaving. He ducked under one of the attacks, swivelled behind Damien and struck the palm of his hands at the back of his head.

The flaming daggers went out. Victor thought Damien was unconscious, mid-fall he twisted around and his fiery hands grabbed Victor’s neck. He had fought many demons, but he had never had to tolerate the pain that Damien gave to him. Victor tried punching, kicking and pulling, but nothing he did would break Damien’s grip. He was being burnt alive from the neck up and he couldn’t even scream.

From the back seat of his mind, Damien watched himself kill a man through his own eyes. He had no idea who the man in the mask was, but the demon in control of his body didn’t like him. He wanted to step forward into the light of his own vision and take back the control, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t even feel like he existed anymore. He had no control over his body and no sense of the world. All that he had was his being, but without living. Do I even exist anymore?

Two more hands came into his vision and pulled on his arms. “Damien let go!” echoed in his mind space. Who’s Damien? The name sounded familiar. He didn’t know who it was, but the feeling of familiarity alone pulled him forward.

The black of Damien’s eyes vanished. He looked at Aubrey with confusion and his hands dropped. Victor took the opportunity to slip away. Damien looked all around him. He had no idea what was happening. He went from a conscious sleep to the real world. He had no idea who he was either. With a gap in his being, the demon had a place to fill. Upon seeing Victor, Damien’s eyes turned black again.

Aubrey stepped in front of him and told him to stop. The black vanished again. She realised that she was the only thing stopping him. She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him around, circling him so that he only saw her face, but in his confusion, he was too hesitant to follow her. Damien saw Victor again and his mind fell into insanity as it swung between demon and boy. He was torn between the sight of Victor and the sound of Aubrey’s voice; a compulsive reaction to a threat and a relaxing reaction in the presence of a friend. The blackness flooded Damien’s eyes one more time and the thoughts from two minds merged.

The man is my enemy. The girl is my friend. Why is she stopping me? Why is she helping him? She is a traitor! She has betrayed me!

Damien turned to face Aubrey. His jaw clenched and he breathed through his teeth. His hands caught flame and he slowly walked towards her. “Shit. Damien?! DAMIEN IT’S ME!” she yelled at him, but he didn’t stop.

Damien saw the flashlight trembling in her hands. He watched as she fell to the ground and begged for him to come back. He felt the intentions of the demon and desperately clawed his way to his conscious mind, reaching for anything, trying to feel the will of reclaiming one’s mind.

The black vanished again from his eyes and the flames went out. Damien looked at Aubrey. The confusion still hadn’t left, but it had changed. He knew where he was. He knew what he was. He knew exactly what he was going to do by the urges in his body that forced his will. There were two people nearby, and he had to kill them both. He stared at Aubrey. She wanted to move, but she was caught in his gaze and it was as if the demon was still there, whispering in his ear. But she’s my friend!, Damien thought.

Aubrey tried to stand up. Damien screamed at her and for that instant the blackness flashed over his eyes like a spark of smoke. Damien put his hands over his mouth like he had cursed. He looked at Aubrey with horror in his eyes, but the horror he felt was for himself. He turned and saw Victor. His muscles twitched with all the intended murderous actions of the demon. Damien pressed his palms to his eyes. He heard Aubrey get up from the dirt.

She was about to say something when he turned around and ran into the forest. “Damien!” she yelled. He didn’t respond. She sprinted after him. Damien faced the palm of his hand at the ground behind him and a wall of flame blocked her path. She ran around it, but when she got to the other side, he was gone. The wall of flame lowered and turned into nothing but orange glowing leaves.

Aubrey heard Victor’s footsteps come behind her and slow to a stop. “What the hell just happened?!” she asked.

“I don’t know. I think he’s just confused.”

Aubrey shook her head. She was exhausted, but she needed to be there. Victor could see that she was tired, but there was nothing he could do that wouldn’t risk harming Damien. He had no doubt that Damien could kill anything that attacked him, but he also had no doubt that the thing giving him powers consumed him with each passing second.

Victor walked in the direction that Damien ran, thinking that Aubrey was too tired to run, but she started running and led the way. Victor took the mask off, threw out the sweat, wiped his face with his shirt, put the mask back on and followed her.