Game of Cards

• Chapter Two: Get To Know Me •

I WOKE UP next to a tree stump in a forest, a girl my age seemed to be shaking me awake. She was quite pretty, prettier than me even, with long locks of thick, blonde curls cascading its way to her bottom, glimmering green eyes and ears like Damien's, with only a pair of hoop earrings.

"Get away from me you demon!" I screamed, kicking her and jumping back. She seemed a little bit hurt from my comment but opened her mouth to speak anyway.

"I am upset to disappoint you, human, but I believe I just saved your life." She let go of me and looked up, toward the surprisingly cloudy skies.

"My brother seems to be angry..." She didn't have a thick accent as Damien did, she was Irish.

"Damien's your brother? There's hardly a similarity between you two." I scoffed, pushing it by me. The girl only smiled and turned to look at me again, pulling me upright. She was practically towering over me.

"My name's Lilith, what about you, human?"

"I would prefer you not to call me 'human', actually." She shrugged her perfect slender shoulders at me. "My name's Jasmine."

We walked out of the forestry, and only then did the cloudiness clear up. Probably calmed down, stupid bloke. 

We walked aimlessly for a while until I decided to break the cycle.

"So, where are you guys from?" 

"Our dad was born and raised in Italy, while our mother was Irish. Not logical, but leads up to a lot. What about you, African?"

"No,  actually." I started, gently pushing away her hand from my braided hair extensions. "My father is from Antananarivo while my mother is from Glasgow. I was brought up in Hackney, though."

"Half- cast, I see."

"I wouldn't put it that brutally." I shut her down before she insulted me further. The word cast was a strong one. She only gave me a tight-lipped smile before turning back to face front and continued walking.

We walked around some twisted trees and old buildings for what felt like forever until Lilith stopped abruptly.

"Do you remember this place?" She asked, with a deadpanned expression on her face.

I looked up to see an old building, rotting away. If you stood close enough, it probably reeked of despair. But, despite its horrid state, I felt a pang of familiarity. 

But as I said, I had no ties to this place, nor did my family. So why on Earth did this have to happen? Maybe, she was pranking me.

"Is this some sort of joke?" I asked, walking toward the rusted gates. I looked behind me, only to realize that Lilith had somewhat disappeared, leaving me to traverse and reconnoiter this place all on my own. I should've gotten to know her better, but what can I say? She's a demon.

The place was almost as expected. Wall ivy curled its way around the building's nooks and crannies and old pipes whistled with the wind. I nearly screamed aloud when I heard a swinging noise, but safely and silently turned to find that the front door was dancing along with the wind also.

I, stupidly, walked into the hallway. It wasn't dark, it was broad daylight, but it did give me the same off feeling of familiarity.

I walked further, and the more I did, the more I could see dark spots forming at the corners of my peripheral vision. I reached for the door handle in front of me, but before I could open the door, a sudden force stopped me.

"Jasmine, I think we've all had a bit too much exploring done, now have we?" I could hear Lilith's voice from behind me. If I wasn't on the brink of collapsing, I'd have jumped and shrieked.

I turned to follow her out of the house and noticed she had shifted. To demon form. Her beautiful blonde curls had turned to blood red, pin straight strands falling way past her calves. Also from her scalp, lay two large horns, just like Damien's, only with several silver hoops dangling from each one. Her eyes were now golden, just like Damien's, again, and a huge pair of wings covered her shoulder blades.

I was probably showing some sort of foreign expression because I saw a small glint of excitement in her eyes before she shifted back to her normal self.

"What was that all about?" I asked her, furrowing my brows.

"I'm a demon, Jasmine. Let me have a little fun in a while, no need to get cross. That's besides the point anyway."

"What do you mean, 'besides the point'?" I was starting to get worried.

"Until we can find a way out of here," What did that mean? I couldn't leave?  "You're going to need to fit in. Go to school, live in a house. You know, the usual."

"But I'm a human, won't I be killed or something?"

"Which is why I called you back."

"I don't understand-"

"To become a demon, you have to fornicate."