DEMIS (A Clash With Lightning)

22

The basement was more terrifying than one would have expected. It was cold, dark, wet, and there were prison cells lining the walls, each containing different people trapped inside. The people didn't call for help or even acknowledge her presence. They lay on the wet floors of their cells, completely devoid of any emotion. It was as if they had accepted their fates and had no hope of escaping.

Pity, mixed with a sense of revulsion, formed in the pit of her stomach. She turned toward Empusa, who slouched limply in the arms of the humans carrying her. "Why are these people locked down here?"

"They broke free from the hold of the lotus fruit," she responded weakly. "And I wasn't willing to give up their souls."

"So you've just had them locked down here, slowly eating away at their souls?" Rose couldn't believe it. "This is beyond evil."

"You act as if you're above torture," Empusa scoffed. "You act as if you're so kind and innocent, but look at how you've been treating me. You're just as sick and twisted as your mother."

Rose stopped in her tracks. "I am treating you like this because you are the sick and twisted one. I will always be violent toward evil monsters. Being like my mother has nothing to do with it."

"We all have to eat," Empusa hissed. "It's not my fault that my diet consists of human souls. Blame the gods, not me."

Rose was way ahead of her on that. She blamed the gods for everything that was wrong with the world. That didn't mean she was going to give the vampire a free pass.

"You should have never been created," Rose spoke coldly. "That is the fault of the gods, but you continuing to exist is yours."

Empusa didn't respond as Rose made her way to the back of the oversized basement. She put her hand over her mouth and gasped upon seeing her friends, all unconscious and seemingly brutally beaten. She looked at Jasmine, lying in the bed. She was asleep, but her eyebrows were furrowed as if she were in pain.

"How did you take all three of them down?" Rose was in disbelief. Her friends were strong, and Empusa was not a huge physical threat. That was why she kept people hypnotized with the fruit, so she could harvest their essence without them noticing. It would be too easy for people to fight back otherwise.

"They were so drunk that it wasn't even a challenge," Empusa responded. "They didn't even realize what was happening."

Rose let her hand grow and crushed the metal bars between her fingers. She crouched next to her friends, examining them for any serious injuries. She sighed in relief once she knew they were okay.

She stood up and faced Empusa's hideous face once more. "Now the armor."

"I can't give it to you," Empusa hissed. "Even if I wanted to."

"I am not asking," Rose threatened.

"You must have mercy and understanding," she pleaded. "If I tell you, I'll be killed."

"If you don't tell me, you'll be killed," Rose crossed her arms.

Empusa cursed under her breath. "If I tell you, then you must promise I'll be spared if you come out of this war victorious."

Rose thought for a moment. "Fine, but you must also leave this island. If I find out you're trying to harvest any more human souls, I will find you and kill you."

Rose had no intention of keeping this promise. She would never allow a creature like this to continue living. She planned to kill her as soon as she had the armor secured.

"Of course," Empusa smiled.

"Out with it, then," Rose urged, feeling nervous. They had already wasted too much time here.