The Devil In Disguise

CHAPTER 37: The Third Time

"I stand staring at the pool of time,

Sunlight hits, I shield my eyes from the shine,

But time doesn't stop as your heart rate declines,

Though I beg and I plead with the pool of time.

Look at the depths of the pool of time,

Memories swirling in the midst of its eyes,

You see, unlike us, memories don't die,

So in a way, we live on in the pool of time."

— deainlustris

Xander's shout reverberated through my bones as I fell back into his arms, gripping my shoulder in unrelenting agony. Warm liquid seeped through my fingers and I gasped in pain, squeezing my eyes shut. Words were being exchanged above me and I couldn't make out what they were — I tried to concentrate on them and fight the darkness threatening to carry me away.

"— her to me, and you get to live."

"You're a bastard. You're a sick, psychotic bastard and I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Xander set my head down on the sofa and got up in wrathful fury. I tried to stop him, but my tongue was heavy.

"I do still have a gun," he said, laughing mockingly at Xander. I knew that Xander was close to breaking point, but if he tried anything, he'd get shot.

Knowing I had no choice, I struggled out helplessly, "Xander, he'll shoot you. Don't do anything, please," I begged. Seeing the vulnerability in my eyes, his own crackled with protectiveness and he grabbed my hand, looking at him with something I'd describe as more sinister than a murderous look.

"Good boy," he crooned, his laugh a low, menacing rhythm. Xander's grip tightened on mine as if my hand was there to earth him, and for a moment I forgot about the rivulets of blood escaping from my body as I looked up at Xander, standing over me like a guardian angel.

"You're not taking her," Xander stated calmly. I saw his eyes flash. The gun still pointed at Xander, he growled, "Get out of the fucking way, you little sh —"

Xander suddenly swung at him. I cried out but Xander didn't heed my warning; he'd caught him by surprise and he was using it to his advantage. But a gun was involved, for Heaven's sake!

Struggling to sit up, I heaved in pain. Xander threw me a look, his expression suddenly alarmed. "Karissa, don't do that! You'll lose more blood —" he grunted as his arm tried to push away the gun. Meanwhile, he — the devil, I chose to call him then — was standing calmly, his hand holding the gun to Xander's heart effortlessly as if it were a feather. Xander tried to push it elsewhere but the devil was too strong — even when Xander leapt away and tried to attack from elsewhere, the gun would be aimed at his head or his heart again only milliseconds later —

"Don't you dare think that I'm going to make some measly promise that I'm not going to get hurt for you because I can and if I want to, I will!" Xander's words echoed in my head and I felt a numbing wave of fury. No, he bloody wouldn't.

The devil buckled but recovered quickly after Xander ducked the gun and kicked him. Xander threw all caution to the winds and lunged, taking both of them to the ground — I took this as my chance, rolling off the sofa and falling to the floor with a painful thump, crying out because of the wound, but I stifled the sound quickly. I had a high pain tolerance so I gritted my teeth and moved against my body's will, towards Xander, who was on the floor, and the devil, who had him locked there.

The devil was winning, his hands at Xander's throat. The gun lay beside him and I inched towards it, my adrenaline the only thing keeping me from passing out then and there. Plan A: grab the gun and shoot him. Plan B: grab the phone and call the police.

Xander choked, his face red, and struggled, throwing a right hook at the devil, then bringing his left fist to his stomach. The devil didn't seem fazed, though his eyes burned in rage. I knew that he'd lost his patience; usually, the devil won fights quickly but this was quite a struggle. I didn't know why, but the devil hadn't used his gun to silence Xander; that would have made this a lot easier for him. I didn't have time or energy to think about it just then, however — all I could think of was the gun. Before he could grab it, I lunged for it —

A hand gripped my wrist.

Seeing black spots from blood loss, I looked up distractedly and saw the devil's face above me, one hand firmly on Xander's throat and the other on my wrist. Plan B, I thought; but my eyelids were drooping. I couldn't reach the phone which was across the room — the gun, where's the gun — what happened to Xander —

My mind cleared temporarily as Xander grunted, fighting back again. Panting in effort, beads of sweat sliding down my face, I saw the glint of a blade in the devil's hands, Xander struggling beneath him —

In a quick movement, the devil grabbed Xander's head by his hair and smashed it on the floor. Then, he drew his knife across Xander's torso with a flourish, tearing his clothes and his skin, causing blood to come rushing to the surface like volcanoes.

Xander didn't move.

"No, no no no," I moaned in anguish, my energy dissipating by the second. Tear tracks stained my face from before but now more tears followed them as I looked at Xander's unmoving body.

With the last of my energy, my drooping gaze met the devil's. His haunting smile taunted me, and victory was written all over his face, making his cerulean eyes glimmer with a horrifyingly lethal light. As the room became dimmer, I barely noticed the pool of blood I was lying in, and only distantly heard the velvet voice address me,

"You're beautiful when you bleed."

And then I closed my eyes, unable to hold them open any longer, falling into an ocean of deafening silence.

(A/N)

"If he comes for you again, I swear to God I'll kill him."

My, that didn't age well.

Read on.

Don't forget to vote.

-- deainlustris