Daemon Tales Ch. 01

Diotus too felt sated and the sensations he felt through Brian was a guilty pleasure. He relived the experience through his memories repeatedly, and every time it felt fresh to him. This was where daemons lost control, immersed in the feelings they never could feel. The trick was to keep one foot, some kind of hold back, to leave an avenue for exit.

"How old is he?" Brian asked looking at the boy's picture by the bed. Kathy raised her head over his shoulders to look at her son.

"He will be six in a few months."

"Where's his father?"

"He's got his life; we have ours." She said simply.

Of all the things he wished for, Brian had always wanted a son but Miranda was never thrilled about the idea. Maybe that was why their marriage fell apart; they both wanted different things.

A mist began to spread through the room making everything hazy. Kathy and Brian both disregarded it as figments of their exhaustion. Only Diotus knew something was wrong and before he could act, he lost his footing and fell into slumber with the humans.

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"Wake Up daemon!" Diotus heard a voice whisper in his ear. Diotus forced Brian's eyes open. He was seated on an armchair facing Kathy's bed, on which she was splayed out unconscious.

A nude man stood before him, hands folded back and a strange look on his face. Diotus recognized him as the man in the bar with the newspaper. "It's funny how I have been stalking this woman for months, waiting for her to meet someone and the night she does, a daemon appears. Must be my luck. Although it doesn't matter, I am curious to know what kind of daemon you are. I haven't seen one after my descension."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Diotus lied.

"There is no need to lie." He brought a blade the size of his arm up to his own chest and ran it over, enjoying the pain it caused. Diotus saw the previous areas where the blade had made its mark. The Blood dripping down his front seemed to energize him. The man might not know what daemon Diotus was, but he sure had an idea what he was. A daemon craving the sight of blood and pain, it could only be a death daemon. The different sub-types did not matter; one thing was sure, Brian would die and if he did not get out of there, he would die along with him.

"No, no, no, don't dream of leaving without watching the main show." The sadistic daemon drove the blade into Brian's stomach. The pain surged through both their souls. The screams and panic kept a hold on Diotus, not allowing him to leave. Tears ran down his face. He left the blade embedded in his stomach, while the daemon enjoyed watching the man squirm against his bonds. Diotus tried to reign in his emotions, but it was overwhelming even for him.

"Don't go anywhere." The man said once Brian moved no more. He disappeared into the other room. Diotus used all his energy to lift Brian's head. He tried to awaken Kathy but to no avail. Brian's soul was slowly slipping away, along with his. It was ironic that when he decided to ascend after centuries of unbridled possession that he would find death instead in his last.

If he was going to die, he thought it better to put his energy to some use. Spikes erupted from Brian's wrists and cut through the bonds. Along with the excruciating pain, Diotus moved beside Kathy. He shook her face trying to wake her up. At the same time, he removed the bonds that held her to the bedpost. She slowly began to arise from her stupor. At first, she smiled at him, but the pale look on his face must have caught her attention.

"Run! Get out of here!" He said to her. That's when she saw the pool of blood at his feet, the binds around her wrist and knew something was terribly wrong. "Get out through the fire exit before he returns."

Her fear paralyzed her from any rational thought. Brian forced her to focus. "Run and don't look back." He continuously repeated until she began to act. Grabbing the bed sheet cover, she got to the window to climb out. Just as she did, she saw a figure enter the room and run towards her. The last thing she saw was Brian tackling the intruder to the ground. She was halfway down the flight of stairs, when she stopped. She couldn't leave Brian to that madman. Someone would help them surely; with that thought in mind, she knocked on windows, trying to wake someone up. Nobody responded. She froze when she saw the figure peeking out her window at her. She frantically began rapping on all the windows. Her gaze shot up once again, to find the man gone.

"Kathy?" At last, when someone opened the window, she was almost startled to death. It was Wendell from apartment 2c. "What's wrong?" He asked her. She got in and shut the window. Half-sobbing, she told him about the intruder.

"Oh my god, I will call the cops." Wendell immediately dialled 911 and gave them the address. He gave her a coat to cover herself properly.

"We have to go up there now. My friend may be seriously hurt." Kathy said knowing how long it would take the cops to get to her neighbourhood.

"I think we should wait for the cops to arrive." Kathy wasn't going to just sit there. She grabbed the baseball bat by the door and walked out the room. Wendell tried to stop her but only got dragged along with her.

They found her door ajar. Silently pushing the door open, she entered with Wendell at her feet.

"I don't think this is a good idea." He whispered. She found nothing out of place and she couldn't see anyone. She checked the bedroom last. When she saw Brian on the floor unmoving, she dropped the bat and ran to his side. She pulled him into her lap. He wasn't breathing.

"Hold on. Help is coming. Just hold on please." Her tears fell on his face.

"I don't think they are. I think I might have called the wrong number. Was it 912 or 913?" She looked up to see Wendell locking the door behind him. His smug grin stated something was wrong.

"You? Why?" It was all she could get out. She knew Wendell for months now; he was a gentleman both at the bar and at home. He couldn't hurt a fly or so she thought.

"It is nothing personal. You just happen to catch my eye." He pulled out a long knife from his back. "My night has already been a disaster. Why don't you be a darling and make it easier?"

She wasn't going to. As quickly as she could she ran to the window.

"That's not going to work twice sweetheart." Wendell laughed. However, Kathy wasn't going for the window. Under her dresser, tapped safely in the back so that her son couldn't reach it, was her father's webley revolver loaded with six shots. She pointed the long barrel at that smug face and let the bullets fly. Wendell moved with inhuman speed, still smiling, jeering at her. The last shot missed him, shot at the roof as he held her wrists tightly.

"You have to be faster than that Kathy." He said to her.

"How fast?" Wendell turned in time to glimpse a hand grab his neck. He released the woman immediately. Kathy fell to the floor. She saw Brian raise the man with one hand and throw him into the opposite wall.

She could not believe what she saw. For a man who wasn't breathing and blood still dripping out of his body, he looked fine, even stronger. The strangest thing she saw was the black mark growing on his back. Before she could figure out what it was, he turned to face her.

"Are you okay?" She nodded absently. "Didn't I tell you to run and don't look back?"

"I couldn't." She said. He helped her up.

Just when she thought it was over, Wendell got up with his knife.

"Didn't I kill you? I felt it; I felt your soul pass away."

"I thought so too." Brian answered. Wendell was shocked but not much as he was angry. With that anger, he ran at Brian with his knife.

Two vines or that's what it looked to Kathy, shot out from Brian's back and wrapped around Wendell. One of the vines, latched onto his chest. Kathy could smell flesh burning. Wendell screamed in agony as the vines released him and withdrew into Brian. He fell to the floor, writhing in pain. He was clawing at his chest, trying to scrape away whatever hurt him, until his body turned stiff in a fetal position. Finally, he stopped breathing.

"Well that takes care of that." Brian said. She took two steps back when his sights fell on her next. He sighed, took the coat to cover his body and left without a word. Kathy just stood there until she heard the sirens.

- - - - - - - - - -

Diotus did not know what was happening. One minute, he had resigned to his fate and the next he was breathing in air for the first time. It was a compelling act to draw in air every second. All the other different sensations he felt were also so new to him. He stumbled through the alley weak from his wounds and actions. At the mouth of the alley, he dropped to the ground, unable to continue. He laid there on a pool of water, when he felt warmth for the first time. His head rose to find the source of the newfound comfort. It was the sun rising over an old structure, across the street. He had never been to this world during the day and he wondered why he didn't.

Long bells rang, calling him across the street, a church.

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