Demon's Blood

Death at my Hand

I lunge across the table and grab Koa's arm. I slide into the seat next to him and whisper in his ear.

"That is the demon from before, she is disguised."

His eyes widen in shock and he pulls me closer.

"What? How is that possible? You shot her like twenty times in the head alone."

"For a 'demon slayer' you don't know very much about demons."

He grimaces and looks at his hands. I see a dull glow around his neck and notice the strained veins beneath his skin. A thought crosses my mind and I get up, dashing around the small room. I search beneath the seats and in the luggage racks.

I find very few things, save a knife and a pistol. I give the pistol to Koa and we both hide our weapons in our clothing. I hear a hand on the latch of the door and bolt back to my seat, colliding into Koa and making him groan in pain. Her sultry voice echoes through the chamber as my heart races.

What does she have planned for us?

"Hope that was long enough, because we are close to our destination and I have some things for you."

She brings her hands out from behind her back and in them are fresh clothes. I smile and nod, rising and grabbing an outfit from her arms. I dash to the bathroom and lock the door behind me. I gaze at myself in the mirror as I hear the lock in the adjoining bathroom click.

I let out a long breath and will the nausea in my stomach to fade. I grasp the hem of my shirt in my fingers and drag it over my head. I unhook my bra and replace it with the one the woman gave me. When I am done, I feel better and I walk out of the bathroom. I rap on the door of the room Koa is in and whisper his name. I hear a strangled noise and panic surges through me.

"Koa are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"It doesn't sound like it."

He pauses for a moment before responding.

"Just go, I will be out in a second."

"It's the mark isn't it?"

"Just go."

I step away from the door and stride back to my seat. The woman smiles, and I realize how false she looks. When she speaks, I can hear the rising lust for blood in her voice.

"So, he is your boyfriend?"

My lips part and close about three times before I answer.

"I guess."

The plane lurches and carries us with it, my stomach crashing into the table. The woman narrows her eyes and addresses me.

"Sorry, I guess we are landing."

I cross a seat belt over my midriff and hear the bathroom door slide open. Koa stumbles out and crosses the room towards us, taking a seat next to us and strapping himself in. His voice is cut up as the plane lurches again.

"A bit of minor turbulence?"

I laugh and respond.

"No we're landing."

His face falls and I gulp.

"Oh."

The wheels of the plane hit the asphalt and I glare out of the window, shaking in the seat. The plane skids to a stop and we unbuckle, standing up. The woman wraps her slender fingers around our arms and hurries us out of the plane. Our feet clank against the metal stairs leading down to the concrete and I gaze at our surroundings.

Seconds later, I am plunged into the air. A scream rips open my throat and I stare around me in confusion. In just a few moments, my back is hitting metal and I am pushing myself to standing. Koa and I have been dropped into a solid metal room, like the training hall in cities before. Koa yells above the roaring of the departing plane above us.

"What just happened?"

I yell back.

"I don't know, I think we were dropped through the floor."

A female's laughter echoes through the chamber as the roaring retreats. Her lilting voice drills into my head and mixes my thoughts in confusion.

"You have nowhere to run now!"

A hand slams into my neck and my back hits metal. I struggle against her fingers and hear her scream as a bullet lodges into her spine. I see Koa over her shoulder with his gun raised. I reach for the knife in my pocket, but before I can wrap my fingers around the hilt my wrist explodes in pain.

My vision begins to fade and I am dropped to the ground. A foot in my stomach sends me skidding across the floor. Then her hands are on Koa's neck and they are on the ground, rolling from side to side. I hear my blood pulsing in my ears and I suck in the air around me.

I wrench the knife from underneath my clothes and rush towards the two of them. I can already smell blood. The demon begins to morph as she pins Koa on the ground, straddling his writhing body. She throws her head back and cackles, her hair floating in silver streaks behind her.

He coughs and aims at her head. She knocks the pistol from his fingers and gets off him. He scrambles to his feet and stumbles over to where I am now standing. I place a hand on his back and he grunts.

I slide my fingers away and stare at the being in front of us. She is convulsing with laughter. She glares at us, her head tilted to the side. Her sentences are interrupted with giggles as she talks.

"I will make you both die tourturous painful deaths and I will have NO MERCY!"

I grab Koa's hand as she lunges forward. I urge him to run and he glances at me. He follows my lead and we rush at her, our hands joined in a line between us. Shock crosses the demon's face seconds before our fist collides with her face.

Her features contort and discolored blood pours from her nose as she tumbles on the ground. Koa retrieves his gun and clicks a bullet into place, aiming at her head. He fires and she flips backward again, a bullet between her eyes. Adrenaline fills my body and I run forward, my knife outstretched.

I tackle her and jab the knife into the soft flesh above her heart. She screams and it echoes off the walls. She convulses with pain under me and I push down harder. A sickening feeling rushes through me as she sputters.

I continue to press the metal into her skin, and her screams are interrupted with the blood flooding her throat. Her eyes roll back into her head, and her eyelids flutter as death rises within her irises. Her movements slow and then stop.

Another death at my hand.