Aoibh's mother was being a worrywart. She rubbed her shoulder where Zhangfu bit her. The spot was already healed, but his smell lingered. Zhangfu meant husband in Chinese and it was what Aoibh always called Dear Ren. Her head ached with anxiety for him. She'd never fought with him before. She extricated herself from her mother's arms and climbed out of bed. She crept down the hall, but Gran seized her before she could reach Zhangfu's room.
"What are you doing?" she said, rubbing her fist in her eye.
Gran whispered, "I'm getting you out of here."
Aoibh jerked back. "No."
"This place is crawling with demons."
"I'm a demon."
"You're a demon blood. These are demons from Hell. Beelzebub is here and those Egyptian monsters."
"I like BoBo, Laoshi, Sutekh and Djehuty."
Gran swept her up into her arms and Aoibh wriggled and kicked. Aoibh hated the cold and screamed as loudly as she could. As soon as they were outside of the Fortress, Gran opened a portal. The landscape changed from barren and gray to endless hills of green. Ireland, though Aoibh didn't know it then. She bit her grandmother and ran in the opposite direction when she dropped her. But she was surrounded by grass and the Fortress was gone.
Gran clapped her with an energy bolt, pinned her to a tree. "Demons are evil. They've tricked you into thinking you're safe with them. Do you want to go to Hell?"
"Zhangfu said he'll take me someday when he's king."
Gran hit her across the face. "Take it back."
Aoibh's red cheek returned to its pink hue before the wound in her heart healed.
"Take it back," Gran said again, slamming Aoibh so hard the bark smashed in.
The little demon blood girl said, "I want to go home."
Gran dragged her kicking and screaming to a river, forced her into the icy water.
"Beg God's forgiveness."
"No."
Down under the water.
"Beg His forgiveness."
"No!"
Gran offered up prayers to Heaven, quoted passages from a Bible that Aoibh knew nothing about. Three inch iron pins were part of Gran's arsenal and she stabbed them into Aoibh's skin.
"Stop!"
Down under the water again. Aoibh lurched for her grandmother, but Gran pushed her under and held her there.
Aoibh's hair was heavy with water and writhed like the living thing it was. "I want to go home!"
"Beg God's forgiveness."
"No!"
YOU ARE READING
The Lamb and the Gray Battle
FantasyEvie has spent the last 575 years on the North American continent, now called America, the Pure and Clean. She smiles, volunteers and makes cakes and pastries for her neighbors, hiding away her demon blood. She wants nothing to do with her estranged...
