Scarlet Rain [completed]

Chapter Twenty

My legs were too weak to stand. So Trance threw me over his shoulder, tossed his coat over my body, and took us back to Mateo's shop.

I knew that normal people couldn't see me with the trench coat on, but I was still humiliated. I watched Trance's boots as he took each step. His stride makes him look so confident...and dependable...

Trance pushed open the door and walked over to the counter. I could hear the concern in Mateo's voice.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She's fine. Can we use the back room for a bit?"

"Sure thing."

Mateo let us into the back. I could tell we were in some kind of hallway because of the way their footsteps echoed on the wooden floor. A door opened. Trance set me down on a squishy chair and removed his jacket. The room was dimly lit. No windows. Three couches. A circular rug in the middle. Trance was kneeling on the floor in front of me.

"You okay?"

Mateo butt in.

"I thought you said she was okay!?"

Trance snapped.

"And is that any of your  business? Last time I checked, I was her boyfriend and you don't even know her name. I've known her for a lot longer than you have. I suggest you back off before you regret it."

I put my hand on Trance's shoulder and squeezed it.

"That's enough fighting. I'm fine. There's no need to be flipping out on each other."

I looked over at the anxious Mateo.

"And thanks for the concern. I'm really okay. You don't need to worry about me."

Trance sat down next to me on the couch, holding his coat on his lap. The tension in the room quickly rose higher than Mount Everest. I felt like I was going to choke from the exchange of intense stares. But a knock on the door startled us out of the mental wrestling match.

Another young man poked his head inside. His bright pink hair made me to squint my eyes. It seemed to be glowing despite the lack of light in the room. That's when I noticed he had a matching pair of pink eyes. I scooted closer to Trance. Demon. My suspicions were easily erased when Trance called out to him in a friendly attitude.

"Hey Kyle! How've you been?"

"Pretty good. How're you? And who's the girl?"

"I'm fine. She's my girlfriend."

Trance whispered in my ear.

"You can introduce yourself...but acting cute is out of the question."

I nodded. He's a demon, but I guess Trance trusts Kyle enough to let me stay in the same room as him. The demon held out his hand for a shake. I looked down at his hand. His nails are the same length as a normal person's...

"Do you cut your nails often?"

All three of them dropped their jaws at the same time. Kyle shook, holding back his laughter. Once it subsided, he answered my question.

"I'm a host. Not a demon. Same as Mateo here."

He pointed his thumb at the jeweler. It was my turn for a jaw dropping moment. He had plain, brown eyes. And an average appearance. I would've never guessed. No wonder Trance knows them.

I held out my hand for Kyle, and he took it gladly. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. I saw in the corner of my eye the exact moment when Trance blew a fuse. 

"Keep your filthy mouth off her."

I tried to pull my hand away, but Kyle had a death grip on my wrist. He smiled ear to ear, finding out a . He forced my hand to stroke his cheek. Trance jumped off of the couch and tackled Kyle.

"You fuckin punk!"

I went down with the both of them since Kyle didn't let go. I got a front row seat to the beating that was about to take place. That's when I noticed a blood stain coming from under the carpet. The smell of dried blood curled the hair in my nose. Why didn't I realize this before?

"Hey...Trance...can we just leave? And Kyle...can you let go of my hand? I-"

A long nail scratched the side of my face and stabbed the carpet under my head. It was Mateo this time.

"Why do you want to leave in a hurry? The fun's just about to get started!"

"Trance! They're serial killers!"

Luckily, the demons that were using Kyle and Mateo as hosts weren't around. A two-on-two fight. I called forth the power of the demon residing deep within me. Scarlet filter and long nails came immediately. There was more energy than usual. I could feel it flowing through my veins. The cut on my face sealed up. Mateo staggered backwards.

"Kyle! She's a demon too! We-"

I grabbed his face with one hand and snapped his neck. Normal people would've died, but demons and their hosts hold much more resilience than that. However, there's no such thing as a living being void of pain. Mateo collapsed to the floor grasped tightly onto his neck. I planned to take advantage of this situation and look for his mark, but someone crashed into me from behind. I was sandwiched between Mateo and the person on top of me. What the hell!? A hand pulled me out of the meat pile.

"Surrender or she'll die!"

Kyle held his sharp talon near my neck, threatening to slice it open.

"Oh great! I'm being used as a hostage! I guess I'll start screaming for someone to come save me...you thought!"

I elbowed Kyle in the gut, causing him to curl over. I stabbed him in the lower back with all ten fingers through his shirt. Blood seeped through the white cloth.

"Oops! I missed."

I tried again. This time I aimed for his upper back. Jackpot! One of my fingers pierced his mark. Kyle was screaming like a girl at the top of his lungs.

Trance held up Mateo by the collar of his shirt. Tears streamed down his swollen face. Looks like Trance beat the crap out of him.

"Should I try his back too?"

"I think that'd be a good idea."

He dropped Mateo face first on the floor and crouched down next to him. He stabbed one fingernail into his lower back and walked his other fingers up his back. Each talon received a higher pitched shriek. I loved it.

"Music to my ears."

"Not to mine. I'm just gonna end it now. There's already a ton of blood everywhere."

Trance lifted Mateo's shirt. It was on his lower back, but he missed it by less than an inch.

"Geez. These things have to be so precise!"

Trance thrusted two of his fingers into the brown mark. Mateo wasn't able to scream anymore from the overwhelming amount of pain.

Both guys disappeared from sight. The usual exhaustion took over, leaving me to fall into Trance's arms once again. He stroked my head while trying to avoid getting blood in my hair.

"Five down, two more to go."

Trance's voice sounded more disappointed than usual.