Taint

6 - Despite All My Rage

Kai felt something else he'd never felt before, and couldn't put his finger on it right away. It was like bloodlust, or perhaps the yearning he'd experienced when watching his family consume yet another soul, but it was more immediate than that. His stomach grumbled.

"Eww," Kai whined. "This human form is so pathetic. I think I'm hungry."

Hunger. One of the most animalistic of all human traits - one of the true connectors of the species to her chimpanzee cousins. Sure, humans loved to talk a good game about souls and higher levels of existence, but when it came down to it, every one of them would kill each other and fling their shit at the survivors for a tasty treat.

"Guess I should eat, then," Kai muttered, and peered over the edge of the building. Now would have been a very opportune moment for him to have earned his wings. Alas, he remained wingless and once again had to accept yet another failing of his upbringing. "Well, this is embarrassing."

There was no one around to judge him, but he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of his current predicament. He was literally the most powerful being on the planet right now, and could have destroyed the entire city of Vancouver with a single thought, but couldn't figure out how to get himself off this roof. He could jump down, but the massive crater his dense demon body would create might raise a few eyebrows. Parkouring down the side was another option, but there was always the potential of slippage and yet again creating a sizeable dent in the carefully maintained roadwork.

No, his options were limited to this plane of existence. He couldn't yet unleash his formidable demon powers - not when all he needed was a way down and a snack. He looked around for any signs that might help him and his plight.

"Living on my own for not even five minutes, and I'm already more likely to die than I've ever been in my life," Kai muttered. "Pretty embarrassing for the so-called Lord of All."

The roof was utterly boring save for a little shed-like outcropping on the opposite corner. Sure enough, taped next to it was a hastily sketched picture of a stickman standing on a zigzag - a rudimentary arrow pointing towards the lower half of the zigzag. Kai jogged over to the outcropping and snatched the drawing from the wall.

"This is promising," he said. The heat of his demon blood ignited the picture, and yet another pile of ash littered the rooftop. At least this one wasn't banished demon remains. "Okay. This is good. In here is down. Down is where I want to go. So I have to get in here. How do I get in here? Shit. What's the 'reveal' spell? Revel... reveal... REVELARE!"

The outcropping remained unaffected, being neither magically sealed nor demonically activated. This was nothing more than your bog standard, boring as hell, unadorned and straight up boring door.

"Oh! OH!" Kai clapped his hands and hopped around. "I know this one! I know this one! This is a door! Mom read me a story about these once! They're so easy! You use a knob! A knob... okay, find the knob... find the knob... AH!"

Kai used his keen powers of observation and found the silver knob about halfway up the door on the left. The pride he felt was not unlike what Einstein must have felt when he discovered his famous Theory of Relativity.

"Okay, I've got the knob." Kai stared at the doorknob, mentally willing it to do something amazing. "I've got the knob, and now...now...shit. What happens next?"

The knob steadfastly refused to do anything except continue to be a silver, round, and altogether unimpressive knob. Kai reached out and gave the knob a twist.

Click.

"Locked!" Kai's panic shot up a level. "Stymied by a locked knob! Isn't this just perfect? This pathetic, mushy, doughy ball of human flesh is going to just expire right here on this roof because I can't figure out how the hell to open a frigging door!"

The most galling thing about this prospect was what would happen to Kai's demonic soul if his human body were to cease functioning. He wouldn't go through the normal afterlife processes expected of that particular Earth denizen's culture. Oh, no. He'd be delivered directly to his father for a millennium of torture, complete with mockery, servitude, and compulsion to do horrible things to innocent creatures from across the cosmos. The very thought set Kai's blood ablaze, and literal fire erupted in both of his hands.

"Damn, I hate when this happens!" Kai screeched. Screeching was another thing his father had never approved of.

Kai's hands continued to burn, and since he hadn't let go of the knob after trying it that one time, the demonic heat rippling out from deep within melted through the cheap metal in short order. The knob vanished, and the door creaked open.

"Ha!" Kai stared at his hands with his mouth agape. "Who knew panicked rage was so useful?"

Kai stormed through the yawning doorway and, moments later, found himself on the streets below. The damage to the building's interior was extensive as the young demon melted his way downstairs and through emergency exits. The company's management would never explain what the hell happened.

"Okay, city," Kai muttered. As his panic leveled off, his hand fires petered out and died. "Show me the food."

The bright lights of a local eatery shone only a few blocks away. Pictures of hamburgers, something that may or may not have once actually been chicken, and pointy sticks of dead potatoes lured him in.

"Comestibles, here I come," Kai said, and headed for the promise of meat.