"Wh-what... are... you?" Lily somehow managed to stutter out the words as its razor-sharp claws dug into her arm, pulling her roughly into an empty alleyway. The monster shoved her forcefully against the wall. She gasped before a huge, scaly hand clamped over her mouth "Not important," it growled, yellow teeth glowing in the moonlight. "Now, are you going to come with me the easy way or the hard way?"
Lily had no idea what this thing wanted from her, but there was no way she was just going to leave and go anywhere with it.
She tried to yell through its hand, but it merely rolled its eyes, throwing her back hard against the wall again. She groaned in pain, tears springing to her eyes. The agony shot through her body, making it unbearable to breathe "Listen, bitch, he told me to bring you in alive. He didn't say I had to bring you in conscious. Come with me now!" It held up a hand, and a large, blurry portal shimmered open right in front of them.
Through it, she saw what looked like a different world entirely: jagged red rocks against a black sky. Screaming and yelling in pain, desperate pleas for help, poured from the emptiness. It terrified her. She started fighting harder, clawing at its skin, drawing dark blood that coated her fingers as she dug her heels into the ground, trying to pull away. Panic seized her. The creature was much stronger than her, and it was only a matter of time.
"Let her go, NOW!" A voice suddenly boomed from the front of the alleyway.
The monster stopped, its head snapping towards the interruption, its grasp still tight on her arms. As it glared at the figure, the newcomer strode closer, hands clenched into fists, and what looked like enormous, white wings stretched out from its back.
"And why would I do that? Get hell out of here!" the monster roared.
Before Lily could even blink, the winged figure flew towards them, tackling the red monster to the ground. Its grip on her arms released, and she crumpled to the alley floor as the winged attacker landed on top of the creature, raining down furious punches to its face. With each sickening hit, Lily heard bones cracking, and black blood welled up from the red monster. It tried to fight back, but it was utterly outmatched.
Lily froze, inching back into the corner of the alley, pressing herself against the cold bricks. Her entire body shook as she watched, eyes wide with horror.
The winged figure's blood-red eyes seemed to glow as it mercilessly beat the red monster. Its pure white wings and clothing were now stained with splatters of black blood. The winged figure stood up, planting a foot firmly on the red monster's head. The creature beneath it coughed up more black blood, a laugh bubbling up from its throat, hysterical and chilling. "Go ahead, kill me!" it croaked. "What my boss wants, he always gets!" Lily trembled from the maniacal laughter.
The winged figure pressed its foot down harder. "Go back to hell. Let your boss know that this human has someone protecting her." Lily squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she heard a sickening crunch. The red monster let out a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the small space before falling silent.
When she reopened her eyes, all she saw was the winged figure. The monstrous portal was gone, along with the red monster. The only remnants were the black blood on the ground and staining the white wings, hands, and clothes of her rescuer.
It walked closer to her, its breath heavy. She quickly stood up, pressing herself into the wall as much as possible. Is it going to kill me now? Lily thought, moving her shaky hands over her eyes, desperate to block out the sight.
"Hey, hey. You're safe now. I've got you," a familiar, gentle voice said. The creature carefully moved her blood-covered hands away from her face. Lily looked up, squinting her eyes, scanning the familiar features.
"Al...exa...nder?" she stuttered, gazing at his beautiful face, now marred by a few splatters of black blood on his cheeks.
He gave her a small, awkward smile. "Umm... surprise," he said, scratching his head. Lily let out a small, breathless laugh. Then, a wave of dizziness washed over her, making her vision swim. Her knees buckled, her body going limp. Before she could hit the cold pavement, strong arms swept around her, pulling her close, and then, only oblivion.
*****
Meanwhile, in another realm...
"Sir, please, he was so strong! I didn't expect her to have protection after all these years!" the red demon, Dominic, pleaded. His battered body lay sprawled before an older demon, a menacing figure with black, curling horns on his head, who sat at a massive desk. His crew of towering demons stood silently around him, their faces grim, their unreadable expressions making their master all the more unpredictable and terrifying.
"Dominic," the older demon said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "I see you didn't complete the job. You know what that means." He snapped his fingers.
Two of his crew members dragged Dominic's weakened body up, carrying him over to a large window. Dominic looked out, and all he could see was an endless, terrifying drop into abyssal darkness. Screams of agony poured from the emptiness below. He dug his claws into the sides of the window frame, begging for mercy, fighting against the strong hold on him.
He looked back at the older demon. "Please, sir, give me another chance! I didn't know someone would be there to help her! I thought she would be weak and alone! Please, give me one more chance! I'll get her!" the older demon simply gave him a bored, cold expression as he stood, walking to stand directly behind Dominic. He took a strong hold on the red demon's arms. Dominic groaned in pain as the older demon pulled back hard on his limbs.
His crew stood impassively beside them.
"You failed me once, Dominic, and you'll have to burn for that," the older demon stated, his voice devoid of emotion. "I don't do second chances." Dominic looked back at him, tears rolling down his cheeks, pleading with his eyes. The older demon gave a hard shove to Dominic's back, forcing him to fall out the window and into the dark abyss below, his screams echoing as he plummeted.
After pushing him out, the older demon turned his back to the window, settling back at his desk. One of his crew members softly closed the window, quieting the room from the dying screams outside. "How weak and pathetic," he scoffed, folding his fingers on top of the desk. He looked up at his crew, a hard expression on his face. "He couldn't get the job done... Go find me someone who can."
(Mia note: oh no who could this mysterious old demon be and what does he want with Lily?)
YOU ARE READING
Miracle
Romance***** Lily has always been a clumsy unlucky person all her life tripping over chords bumping into walls where a normal occurrence for her in her verily normal life but a traffic light falling on her head, was a whole new level of unluckyness who kne...
