The Demon Within (UPDATED 3-9-12)

[♫Moonbane♫]

Prologue

I was woken by a loud crash, and I rolled over, getting out of bed. It was still dark out; maybe midnight. The first thought that came to me was that it was my eighth birthday. In my black pajamas, I slowly made my way downstairs in case someone was making preparations. I was only halfway down the stairwell when I heard a bloodcurdling scream from a few rooms over. I wanted to run back upstairs and cry, but my feet disobeyed me by carrying me forward to the source of the scream.
What I saw paralyzed me where I stood in the open doorway of the kitchen. What I saw, was my mother on the tiled floor in a pool of her own blood, a silent scream of terror frozen on her pale face. “Mother!” I screamed an Irish accent clear in my voice as I sprinted as fast as I could to her body. I slipped in the blood, and I fell right in front of her, and I stared into her brown eyes, and I could swear I thought I saw a red glow.
I screamed again and scrambled backwards, gasping for breath as I stared at my mother’s lifeless body. My hand fumbled around my neck and chest and I found the amulet she gave me the day before. She said to cherish it always, and to remember her through it. I had no idea what she meant at the time, but it was much clearer now. “Ma?” I whimpered, reaching out, hoping she just blacked out, but I knew that wasn’t the case.
Shakily, I stood up and looked around, hugging my amulet to my chest. I slowly walked to the next room, fearing what I thought I would find. I reached out slowly and pushed the door open. It swung open with a loud creak.
I walked into the room, and looked around. It seemed untouched by the chaos that was the kitchen. In the living room, nothing seems to be out of place. But I carefully stepped forward anyway. Looking side to side, I made sure everything was where it should be.
Finally, I got the nerve to call out “Father!” I called for my father. “Brother!” and my brother, too. There was a rustling behind the couch, and I made my way around the table, to see a hand and arm sprawled out and twitching.
Suppressing a scream, I made my way around the couch to see my father, on the ground and blood running from his mouth. “Da, what’s happening?” I choked out, knowing I wouldn’t get an intelligible answer.
I approached my father’s twitching body, and looked him in the eye. What I saw would scar my mind forever. That look of pure terror, coming from your parents, that’s one of the most terrible things you could imagine.
A large knife with rubies embedded in the handle was brought down and ended my father’s life. Screaming, I scrambled backwards and into a table, knocking over a lamp. The person holding the hilt of the knife, to my horror, was my 17 year old brother.
“Well, well, well. This is quite a bother” He said in his smooth, deep voice. “You weren’t supposed to see this” He said, a dark smile tattooed on his face.
“Why would you do such a thing, brother?” I asked, shaking my head as I tried to back further into the table.
“You’re too young to understand” He said as he ripped the knife out of our father’s neck and started approaching me.
“Understand what, brother?” I choked, trying to back into the wall, hoping a hole would appear for me to disappear into.
“Do you know what you are?” my brother asked, twirling the knife in his hands.
“What does it matter? Why did you kill our parents?” I asked, tears burning in the back of my throat.
“For this” He reached into his pocket and took his hand out, revealing a ring. A closer look, I could tell there was something inscribed on the inside. It was in a different language, so I couldn’t read it even If I could have seen it longer, but he stashed it back in his pocket.
“A stupid ring? What’s that to our parents’ lives?!” I asked, trying to back away yet.
“You don’t know what this is, or what you truly are.” He scowled, approaching me.
“What do you mean? I’m a boy!” I said, truly confused.
“But you’re not just a boy” He said, a dark smile on his face “You’re a demon, just like the rest of us.”
That sent me into a shocked silence. I didn’t believe him. “You’re lying…” I choked.
“Why don’t we see for ourselves?” He said, closing the distance between us. He raised the knife, and I shut my eyes. He brought the knife down, and there was a ripping sound. I didn’t feel any pain, so I opened an eye to see my shirt was cut off. “Now, let’s see here” He said, turning me around. With an icy finger, he drew a horizontal line across my back. He ran it over two specific points, and he pinched me there. He drew his arm away from me and to my front to reveal a leathery surface that looked like a wing. “I thought so” He said, that evil smile on his face.
“What is this?” I asked, trying to get away.
“Why, this is one of your wings, little brother!” He said, his eyes glowing a dark red. “Naturally, a leathery feel” He murmured, rubbing the surface of my wing “Seems proportionate” he added, comparing its length to my height.
Meanwhile, I was trying to get away, repulsed by what was happening to me.
“So, what do you say we rid the memory of this night from your pathetic head?” He teased, an evil expression playing across his face. He raised the knife again, and the last thing I remember seeing before plummeting into darkness was that smile. That horrid smile planted on my brother’s face.

[♫Moonbane♫]

I sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and sweating. I let my head drop back down as I shut my eyes. When I’d sleep, that was the only dream I ever had. I’ve been having nightmares ever since that night, and it only seems to get worse each time. I opened my eyes again and saw leaves and branches obscuring my view of the sky. I thought back to that night eleven years ago. It had been the worst day anybody could imagine having, and that was an understatement. When I had woken up the day after, the town was in smoke, fire, ashes, and ruins. It was burnt down, and I had somehow survived. I had to crawl from under fallen boards, and sift through ashes. I had saw it was raining ash, and the town was burnt down. There were still a couple structures on fire actually.
Since then, I was run out of many towns, and when I found another town, they just ran me out as well. I had learned to only trust myself. I had had people betray me, making me think they loved me, just to have them turn their backs on me when I needed them most. Feeling miserable, I stood up and brushed the leaves and grass off of my black skinny jeans and my black hoodie. I didn’t bother with my knee high black boots, since they would get dirty from walking through the woods. I didn’t know where in the world I was, but that didn’t matter anymore. They were all the same to me.
The last town I hit was over two years ago, and that didn’t last long at all. I got a small job at a Hot Topic to get money, and I bought food and clothes soon after. I didn’t feel secure enough, so I didn’t talk to anybody. With a jolt, I realized I hadn’t spoken in over two years. I shrugged it off and looked around. I didn’t know if I could fly, but I was too repulsed by the fact I was a demon to even try. So for now, I stuck with walking. All I knew about where I was that I was somewhere deep in a forest. One useful thing I learned a couple towns from someone I thought I could trust was crafting. From armor to weapons, I was a natural at it. It was a useful skill, and I even managed to make a couple swords and a bow. The annoying part was the arrows. The problem was that I had to make so many to make them last. I had to try and make them stronger so they didn’t break as much. I practiced my bow daily on getting fruit, so I was pretty skilled at that. And I came across enough animals and moving targets to help me train swords and bow. I used swords of course on the bigger animals, and bow on the smaller ones.
I stood up and walked over to a nearby tree. I reached into the hole, and pulled out my two swords. They were made of black steel, and both of them were about as long as I was tall. I reached in again and pulled out straps. I secured the two swords onto my back, crossing for easy access. A few strides away, I reached behind a tree and pulled out a bow and a fully stocked quiver. I threw the quiver over my shoulder on its strap and attached the bow to it. I went into the center of the group of trees and kicked leaves over a spent fire. Next to it, I picked up a bag with a few contents in it including food, water bottles, a skinning knife, a flint, some first aid equipment, and a few precious objects I collected from my house a week after the incident. Fully equipped, I started forward, starting the day’s journey.
Soon, I came to a small clearing and looked up, and judging from the sun, decided it was around 8:00 AM. I looked around, and found an apple tree. I took out my bow and knocked three arrows to save the time. I aimed at the apples hanging, and shot. The arrows met their mark, and fell into another clearing. I re-strapped my bow and headed towards the clearing to where the apples landed. I entered the clearing and headed towards the apples. I plucked the arrows from the ground and retrieved the apples. I put the arrows back in my quiver and put two apples in my bag. I took out a bottle of water and poured a little on the apple, cleaning it. I put the bottle back and bit into the apple, savoring the juicy flavor that came with it. Taking another bite, I headed where I was going before. Soon, I got a strange sensation. I got these when I was near a town, but I didn’t know why. I’ve learned to trust at least these sensations, and I approached with caution. I reached behind me for a sword as I pushed aside a few leaves, to find but a few tents. Sighing silently, I let my hand drop from the sword handle. Gently, I let the leaves go back and I circled around the tents and got back on my set path.
The sensation was still present, but that was normal for a while after I left somewhere. I shoved my hands into my pockets ant looked up at the clouds through the trees.
“Hey there!” greeted a high pitched voice, making me jump backwards about a foot or so. There was a girl hanging right in front of me. In her mid-teens, maybe 16 or 17, I decided. “Don’t be so surprised, silly!” she said, making a pouting face. I shook my head, and started around her. When I got to her side, I felt a sharp edge against my chest. I was surprised, but I didn’t let it show. “Just where do you think you’re going?” She asked a teasing tone to her voice. “You’re not going anywhere!” She said. I stepped back slowly, my hands still in my pockets. I glanced down to see a sword in her hand, blocking my path.
“Away.” I said my first word in over two years. She made a pouty face “But we just met!” She said, sword still in place. She turned around and dropped down. Now that she was straightened out, I could see her more clearly. She had blonde hair pulled into a ponytail that reached the middle of her back. She had on a white shirt, with surprisingly, a Hello Kitty picture on the chest. In my opinion, she seemed sort of childish to be wielding a sword. But as I’ve learned, looks can be deceiving.
“I have no business with you. Step aside” I said, trying to keep from talking too much. With all my troubles, I couldn’t trust anybody anymore. So, I guarded myself. I didn’t want to be near anybody for any length of time, and I was trying to get away.
“Why should I?” She placed a hand on her hip, keeping her gaze on me.
“Look, I don’t want trouble, but that’s what’s going to happen if you don’t stand aside” I said, reaching a hand behind me to one of my swords.
“Who said I wanted trouble?” She said, shifting her weight to one foot. “I just wanted to talk with you” she said, not moving.
“And if I refuse?” I asked, my hand lingering on the handle of one of my swords.
“Well, then that’d be a pity, because I think you’re cute” She winked at me, then slowly slashed her sword in my direction, as if cutting me down.
I slowly pulled out my own sword and rested it on my shoulders. I pulled it off of my shoulders and held it in my left hand as I tried to walk past her again. This time, she sliced at me. Moving swiftly, I blocked the attack, a metallic clashing sound ringing in the air. I held the position, and tried spinning, to get on the other side of her so I could run. When I successfully reached the opposite side of her, I broke off from the clash and bolted. I turned to look behind me, just to find her following me. Rolling my eyes, I grunted while I sheathed my sword and took out my bow. I knocked an arrow, turned around quickly, and let one fly. She dodged it easily and slashed at it, slicing it in half. Cursing to myself, I turned around again and started running. Squinting, I made out a light. I figured this out as the edge of the trees, and possibly the forest. I ran through the brambles that blocked the end, cursing as they scratched me. I ran into the stretch of open field of grass, and ran a little further. I could tell I wouldn’t be able to get away without a fight, so I figured I would at least get a good bit of ground between us so I could start out with the bow. After clearing the line of trees, I turned around to see her just slash the bush down. While I caught her distracted, I knocked two arrows and shot. She didn’t bother dodging and just deflected them.
After deflecting them, she started running at me, her sword tight in her grip. Quickly, I re-strapped my bow and took out both my swords. Although light in my hands, they were quite sharp and had a heavy swing. She did a downward slash, which I just brushed off with a slice, and with my right hand, sliced at her. She jumped back; dodging it, then came back with a jab. I jumped backwards and slashed at her, aiming for her torso. I wasn’t aiming to kill, but if was brought to that, then I would. She leaned backwards, dodging and lashed at my legs. She barely met her mark, but still drew blood. She flipped backwards, getting out of reach of my swords. Cursing to myself in three different languages, I staggered backwards, avoiding stepping too heavily on my injured leg. I knew it should be treated ASAP, but I didn’t have the time at the moment due to the fact I was in the middle of a battle.
“I thought this was going to be fun.” She taunted, twirling her sword in her hand. I for one, not taking taunts lightly, immediately dashed forward and slashed at her. She blocked one of the swords, but the other made a nice sized gash along her side. She looked down at the seeping wound. With a pouting face she said “Well this is going to be bothersome” She shrugged and started running at me again as if the searing pain of the gash didn’t affect her at all.
She brought her sword to the side, going for a horizontal slash. Prepared for this, I ducked, dodging the blow as I swung with my own sword. She flipped over the sword as she did a flip. I quickly stood up and swirled around, swinging my sword. I barely nicked her on her hip as she landed. She immediately jumped backwards to avoid another blow that I had in motion.
Going on the offense, I dashed forward, ignoring the protest in my leg. I crossed my swords, then when I got close enough I lashed out. She stuck her sword out and barely blocked me. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my shoulders and spun around quickly to see a black blur. I spun around again to see the girl had jumped back, and there was another girl with her.
This girl was dressed in skin hugging clothes with a small sized satchel on her waist. On her back, I could make out the shape of a short sword. Probably more for speed than anything, I concluded. She had thick eyeliner on, black lipstick and she was pale. She had a few visible piercings, each one some type of dark silver. The boots she had on were like my own, knee high and strapped. But where mine were more for looks, hers were actual combat boots. I could tell by the wear-and-tear that they were meant for fighting and trekking in the woods. Her hair, streaked with dark green, reached about to her shoulders. Also, she was around five-and-a-half feet tall, the same height as the other one.
Where the one girl was bright and cheerful and bubbly, this one was dark; Mysterious. I wasn’t quite sure her personality, but from her clothes and contrast to the other, she had a darker personality. I backed away, feeling that I’d be stuck outnumbered. I knew I wouldn’t have any help, so I’d just be on my own. Just like I had been for over a decade.
“Took ya long enough,” the girl said. “I thought that you wouldn’t show.”
“Who are you?” I asked, the direction actually aimed for both of them. The darker one turned her head to me, and just looked disinterested. She scoffed then looked back at the girl. Now that they were side to side, I could tell there were many similarities. The build, facial construction, even the way they stood. From what I saw, I could conclude that they were probably sisters.
‘Of course I would come,” she said with a bored tone “I wouldn’t pass up the chance to have a good fight.” She glanced in my direction again, as if to evaluate me just by looking at me. Oh, but appearances can be VERY deceiving. I thought to myself. They looked at each other one more time and nodded, then turned to me.
I backed up slowly, preparing for an attack after pulling the ninja star out. They were probably going to attack me on both sides, I figured. Turns out that I was right, I noticed, when I saw them separate and run at me, swords unsheathed. I held up both my swords and met their attack, blocking each with one hand. They were strong, I found out. I turned the blades and jumped backwards in hopes of making them fall into each other and give me an opening. There were none, as they went and slashed at me again.
I parried their attacks as they did mine. After a minute or so, we leapt back, panting. The two sisters looked at each other for a moment. I could tell they were having some kind of communication, even though there were no words spoken between them. I took this opportunity and ran at them, swords at side. They both nodded, and at the last moment dodged my swing.
I was off balance, and expected to pay for it by possibly a cut along my back or side. I didn’t feel cold steel meet my flesh, to my surprise. I quickly whipped around and saw the two conversing casually. I inquisitively raised an eyebrow, curious as to what they were doing. I gripped my swords tightly in each hand, and ran again. I wouldn’t expect to meet a target, of course. They stopped talking, and looked at me.
Both of them were smirking, and didn’t even look interested in the fight anymore. I suddenly had a sharp headache, but I kept running. Then, the cheerful one spoke “So, why don’t you tell us about that brother of yours?”
That, stopped me dead in my tracks. I didn’t let too much expression on my face. Only a fake curiosity.
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
“Oh, don’t tell us you already forgot about how he destroyed your town and killed your family, Raven.”
Alright, now I was kinda freaked out. Freaked out and starting to boil with rage. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, poor baby Raven, only age of 8 when it happened. How his brother killed his parents for just a pathetic ring.” She said in a mocking tone.
I was speechless. I didn’t know at all how they were getting this information. There was nobody else that night. I had seen all the skeletons and corpses myself. The only ones that knew that much detail were me and my brother. Then, a thought occurred. They must have been there with him in some way. “Were you there, that night?” I asked, a snarl in my voice as I spoke.
She scoffed “No. Somewhere close though. We saw some older guy after seeing a huge fire in the distance. He was holding a ring.” She told me.
I wasn’t listening, though. I was too busy trying to keep my rage down. How did they know all this? Why? Who? How? All these questions were racing through my mind, and I couldn’t keep track of them. I felt weak in the knees, and fell onto them.
“He told us that if we saw a little runt that looked like him, to kill him. And it looks like we finally met this ‘little runt.’ It only took about 11 years.” She said.
At this point, I couldn’t keep hold of my rage. I growled. A deep, menacing, and fearful growl. I looked up, and my eyes were no longer black. They were now red. On the outside, blood red, and closer to the center, it turned into a bright, furious red. I don’t think this was the reaction they expected, since they were backing away slowly now.
I felt different now; More powerful. What I didn’t realize, was the air around me changed as well. It started to waver, like it would from heat. But I didn’t feel hot either. I stood up, and gripped my swords tight. A dark grin spread across my face as I looked at the two.
The ground beneath us began to rumble, and a loud ripping sound tore through the air as hunks of Earth and trees rose from the ground. The air around me shimmered again, and there was another ripping sound. The sound of cloth ripping, and two massive wings appeared at my back. Slits had appeared in the back of my shirt and robe, allowing my wings to spread out.
The two looked at each other, and I could hear them whispering. They then looked at me, then nodded to each other again and they ran separate ways. I heard them run in my direction, and I clenched my swords. As they neared closer, I took a deep breath and then they reached me. I held a sword behind me, and another to my left. Just then, I heard the metallic clang and knew I had blocked their attacks.
With a little flick of the wrists, I spun my sword and theirs came loose. With the opportunity, I lunged with my own towards their chests, but I didn’t meet my mark. I was quite the distance off on the one behind me, but almost got the one to my side. They didn’t back far away, though, and they stuck close to me, speeding up their attacks. With little movement in my legs or torso, I blocked their attacks as they circled me, sparks flying as metal collided with metal.
Subtly, I felt the air around them change as well. Their attacks were getting quicker and more powerful with each swing. Blocking their attacks were still pretty easy, but I soon discovered I couldn’t counterattack as well. There was a sudden pause in the attacks, and I felt energy build up around me. I instinctively knew I should get the hell outta there. I crouched down, and jumped away as the two collided. I felt the force of their swings, even from where I stood.
I put on an expressionless face and held my swords tight in each hand, watching the two closely, for an opening in their defense, for a weakness, anything. The only thing I could really figure out was their relationship they held.
They watched me closely, looking for any opening in my defense. I forced myself to stay steady and hold my ground, as I circled the two. My eyes darkened again as energy radiated from me, and the ground quivered. I stepped forward, and to my surprise, when my foot hit the ground, a small crater opened up. As if it suffered a massive blow. I tried to avoid seeming surprised, and I continued forward. I could, for the first time, see fear in their eyes.
I took pleasure in this and I had my arms hang by my sides. I had no idea what I looked like at the moment, but I could guess by how the two just stared at me. Long dark hair lifting from the dark energy that surrounded me, two massive wings at my back, a menacing grin, and dark eyes. The irises were always black, but now they had a red tint to them. I was unaware of this change, as I just felt power. Raw, power.
I raised an arm when I was near enough to the two in front of me, and brought it down. They dodged to the side just in time before I made my blow. I looked around for them, for they went hidden. I relaxed my body and opened my mind, trying to sense where they could possibly be.
There was a rustling from behind. I whirled around, spinning on my heels to find nothing. I narrowed my eyes and took another breath, straightening out. Mind tricks. They were playing with me… I looked up at the sky above, seeing the clouds. Appear to be unfocused. Maybe that would get them to attack, so I could counter.
I was half right. The bubblier one fell for it. Or so it seemed, and attacked me. I raised a sword to block, but suddenly found by her attack I needed to use both. Her strength had increased.
Slice. I stood there, gasping, and gritting my teeth as I looked down. I couldn’t see anything, but I was bleeding through my front. This caused me to lose focus. The girl in front of me saw this, and she swerved around, getting a nice blow on my chest. Blood immediately began seeping to the surface and I staggered. I dropped the sword in my left hand and I fell to one knee, clutching my fresh wound.
I grunted, and went to stand up. I growled in my throat as I looked at her with a death glare. Her sister had just appeared by her side, a quite thin sword coated with my blood. Huh… So that was what caused my wound… But how did I not see it?
I gasped as the whole situation rushed me, as well as the pain of my injuries. I fell upon my elbows, my other sword falling from my grasp. I panted and looked up at them once more. The sister with more attitude began approaching me. She raised a dagger as she did so.
Was this already the end of my journey? I hadn’t gotten to face off my brother. No… this can’t end. She was getting nearer. I shut my eyes tightly, feeling anger seeping out. How could I already be beaten? And now killed by these two, paid off by my brother? No… No.
NO! I screamed my anger out, and I swear I felt something… move. Something beneath me. Maybe it was a mini earthquake. No… It felt different. I forced myself to stand up and I threw my arms up in attempts to perhaps disarm her… Get an upper hand.
But what happened next, completely surprised me and caused me to fear even myself. A small column of dirt rose from the ground beneath her and shoved her away.
Well, it more so hit her away. I blinked, wide eyed and I staggered forward. I looked at my hand, which was now shaking. I wasn’t sure what emotions were on my face. Fear? Sadness? Regret? I didn’t know, but I looked at the two. The one had rushed to check on their sister, and I reached a hand forward. Pebbles began to move, but then my body seized up.
I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe, and I was blacking out. As I pitched forward, looking at the two, I felt a tear leave my eye as I could only remember.
Remember the happier days.




Chapter 1 finished. After much procrastination and hardcore writer's block, it is done XD

[Varðr]

Aproved by NorthernStar