Violet

Chapter 55: The Downing's

I grabbed the first magazine or badly stapled papers if one would call it. The page was all white except for the title which read, "They Were Here before Us." The second book read, Temptations of a Soul. The third book read, Rings."

I opened the first page of They Were Here Before Us. The first two pages were full of pictures with bad quality images. I had to squint my eyes to look at them. I still couldn't make out most of them. Every picture looked like it had a deformed animal hiding behind something. The black and white colors didn't make it any easier to see, so I ignored the images and read the introduction, which was very short. It was by Carl Downing.

"They were here first. They lived here before any of us. Inhuman, not like us. Creatures who were once a structured civilization but soon turned on each other when the darkness spread."

Like I said, It was short. I turned the next page where a picture of two silver horns rested above the next text.

"Some say demons, some say devils. Truth is, we are not sure. None can truly say, for it is forbidden to befriend a human. Like humans, the ones beyond us have the temptation.

I turned the next page. No images, just a few words.

"Sacrifices. Human eyes and demon eyes meet for the first time. Destruction, lust, money, and power."

The next page was a picture of this badly drawn creature with two horns, scaly arms and legs, a huge belly, and a mouth with sharp teeth. In its hand was a naked human being. The creature looked like it was going to eat the human. I turned the next page to see that the creature was bigger and more muscular and that this time it was in the air flying with wings.

I turned to the last page which read, "We can not play their game."

I put the book down. My heart was beating as if I had watched something really intense. I wasn't sure about what I had just read, so I continued to the next book. Temptations of a Soul. It was by the same author. This caught my attention even more and I wish he could have left a bio of himself.

"A king cursed his most loyal friends and not to mention his own family just to have more power. He wanted to reach the limits and he was willing to do whatever it took. This king was named Dasdamon, leader of the demons after killing off his mother and sparing his father for but so long. When realizing how desperate and weak the humans were, he made a book."

I turned the next page.

"A book. THE Book. The Book of Temptation."

I turned the next page.

"Still alive, never dead. When good and evil mixes, none will rest. As humans, the good are mixed with the bad which results in more killing. There are good demons and bad demons, sacrificed or killed by Dasdamon mixed together, in words of lies. Humans will listen and they will obey when power is given to them.

I turned the final page.

"How can we stop the war with our own souls?"

I quickly grabbed the last book, Rings. This one wasn't written by Carl. It was written by a woman named Lauren Downing.

"Rings. Three silver rings were kept by the best of the kings. The rings kept balance. The rings brought happiness. The rings had the power given from their unknown creators. What happens when the rings fall into the wrong hands?"

I turned the next page and saw a picture of three silver rings. They were very lumpy looking and thicker than a bowl.

"In the beginning, they only knew good-"

I turned the next page, expecting to find more answers, but what came next shocked me. Scribbled over and over in black ink were the words, "Demons are here. Demons will kill me. World end. Run, hide, we are not safe. Can't stop them."

That wasn't the scariest part, though. At the bottom of the page, written in dry blood were the words: Dasdamon.

I put down the books to let it all soak in. It did not make sense to me. Were these authors related? Why did they write this? Were they warnings? What did they know? Were they alive? Then something else hit me. Had I read all of these in the right order? I mean, did Lauren write first then Carl? I quickly got a sheet of paper, then wrote down all the things she had said, then what he said. I then read it in an order that made more sense to me.

"Rings. Three silver rings were kept by the best of the kings. The rings kept balance. The rings brought happiness. The rings had the power given from their unknown creators. What happens when the rings fall into the wrong hands?"

"In the beginning, they only knew good-"

"Demons are here. Demons will kill me. World end. Run, hide, we are not safe."

"Dasdamon."

"They were here first. They lived here before any of us. Inhuman, not like us. Creatures who were once a structured civilization but soon turned on each other when the darkness spread."

"Some say demons, some say devils. Truth is, we are not sure. None can truly say, for it is forbidden to befriend a human. Demons have temptations too."

"Sacrifices. Human eyes and demon eyes meet for the first time. Destruction, lust, money, and power."

"We can not play their game."

"A king cursed his most loyal friends and not to mention his own family just to have more power. He wanted to reach the limits and he was willing to do whatever it took. This king was named Dasdamon, leader of the demons after killing off his mother and sparing his father for but so long. When realizing how desperate and weak the humans were, he made a book."

"A book. THE Book. The Book of Temptation."

"Still alive, never dead. When good and evil mixes, none will rest. As humans, the good are mixed with the bad which results in more killing. There are good demons and bad demons, sacrificed or killed by Dasdamon mixed together, in words of lies. Humans will listen and they will obey when power is given to them.

"How can we stop the war with our own souls?"

I looked at my watch. It was almost nine. I had about fifteen more minutes to get this straight. Most of this related to my father. The lust, the temptation, the evil, the wanting for more power. That part made sense to me. What I didn't understand was this stuff about demons. Was he being controlled by a demon named Dasdamon? If so, what were these rings and how could get them?

I needed more information. I picked up the books and my papers then placed them on my bed. Putting on my jacket I headed outside to water the plants. While I was watering them, my father walked out of the house. He walked towards me while holding something in his hand. I couldn't see it at first, but the closer he got I made out the object. It was a crowbar. Before I could react, he hit me on the head with it. Darkness surrounded me now.

The last words I heard were. "No rings, no demons, just the book."