The Codex of the Knights of Day - 10. Chapter 9: Howl

Chapter 9: Howl

The street fell into total darkness as I absorbed all the light around us for myself. The power felt terribly wrong and silvery. It chased the Taint inside of me with a vengeance, not caring how much damage it was doing to me. I felt my Taint crawling at the walls of my skin to escape the pure fury of the amassing Innocence. I couldn’t take it anymore. I found my voice and screamed the power out of me and into the clouded heavens.

Thunder without lightning rippled in the blackened sky, the only warning sign of the coming attack. Suddenly the sky caught fire, hurtling comets of Innocence into massive crowds of demons without strategy. The comets turned them into wisps of swirling ash before it even touched down to leave nothing but yawning holes in the ground. It was beautiful and frightening. As the Innocence died down to a fading light, the alien presence lifted from me in a sigh and the sky could no longer hold me.

Falling through the air is an exhilarating feeling for those who are conscious, but for me on the verge of sleep, I found it quite comfortable. It was stiff yet soft in all the right places, never getting too warm in one spot.

“Someone catch him!” I vaguely heard someone yell.

I heard my body hit something heavy but I didn’t stay awake for much longer.

~*~

My body floated alone in the darkness. I liked it. There was no world in need of saving, no vengeance to be gained, no Innocence, no Taint, no Jensen; just nothing. Everything was calm and silent. If being dead was like this, I love being dead.

“Aiden.” My name echoed across the darkness, but got louder the farther it went.

Off in the distance, a flame flickered to life. Its lapping flames pulsed with black-purple light, rippling through my dark haven. The darkness shifted like liquid, placing me in front of the dancing flames. On impulse, I reached out to the fire, mesmerized by its odd yet lovely color. The fire sprang from its place, wrapping itself around me, filling me with euphoric bliss.

“Welcome,” it whispered.

The warmth along my body got warmer and warmer still. The heat grew uncomfortable now, too hot. It began to suffocate me. The fire grew burning fingers, tugging at my lips until the pain drove me to let out a soundless scream, just then the fire crawled into my body. My hands flew to my throat, choking off my air in order to stop the fire from going anywhere but it had already spread to my limbs, forcing them to my sides. It clutched my heart, digging its nails into the vital organ, lacing my blood with its flames. I gritted my teeth, trying to block out the pain. I tried to remember the feeling of total emptiness, of not existing.

The fire roared, breaking my concentration with my scream. It tore and raked at my body, searing my veins like when the Innocence tried to hunt down the Taint. The pain had made my mind sharp. This darkness was my body, unresponsive and lax. It was too drained to cry out and tell someone to kill me. The fiery torture continued, and then the pain doubled as I felt my bones twist and crack under the flames. The fire had even burned out time from my mind. It never had a beginning or an end, just an infinite moment of perdition.

~*~

Minutes, hours, days, or weeks could have passed as I began to feel my body again. The fire had grown, and then faded, then peaked again, and finally relaxed, making its home in my heart. As it ran out of things to burn, the fire had died away and reality had come back to me.

I had yet to open my eyes but I could smell Jensen next to me and I could hear his thudding heart pumping well calculating amounts of blood through his chest. His breathing was slow but still too fast for him to be asleep. His left hand rested on my heart while the right one was on my jugular.

My lips curled in a smirk, “Jensen.” My voice sounded different, more quirky and deep.

I felt his body trying to jerk back but he leaned closer. “Thank God, I thought you were dead.”

My eyes opened and gazed above me in wonder. Jensen’s handsome face came in view, so sculpted and fair. His lovely sea green eyes were filled with fear and panic. His pouty cherry lips trembled. He lowered his head to mine, capturing my lips in a gentle kiss. He was afraid for me, afraid that I had killed myself in order to kill the demons. I kissed back harder, feeling the need to have him right then.

He pulled back, pushing back my hair from my eyes. “Are you okay?”

I giggled, pulling him back down. “I think so.” I whispered before I kissed him again.

His big hands held us apart. “Rhys! Aiden’s awake.”

Sneakers hitting the cold concrete alerted me that not only was Rhys coming back but Casey also. I was expecting to see Dancer’s hard brown eyes, but when his eyes hit mine I saw Rhys’ emerge from the shell. In a rush, he hugged me hard.

“I’m fine.” I tried to assure him, but when my hand touched his back to comfort him, he stiffened.

He pulled away. He lifted my chin, making me stare into his almost honey colored eyes. “Aiden, do you feel any different?” His tone was edgy.

I shrugged, stretching my muscles. I popped up, stretching my fiery muscles. They felt so much stronger and anxious for something. “I feel great.”

Rhys frowned deeply, cursing under his breath, but I still heard him. “Dammit, he’s done too much.”

“I did too much?” I asked.

He did a double-take, scooting back. “You used so much Innocence that you’ve become unbalanced and the Taint has become your primary source of power.”

“Is that why he’s so affectionate?” Jensen asked.

Rhys rubbed his chin thoughtfully, letting out a long sigh. “Yes. You’ll notice that Knights with more Taint tend to have lower ambitions, heighted senses, and are more reckless. He’ll be like this until his Innocence comes back.”

I balled my fists up, punching the air. “If this is what the Taint feels like, I understand the appeal.”

“So what do we do now?” Sandra asked.

Casey cocked his automatic. “We still need to finish the job.”

My mouth opened to tell him that we were finished until I realized that the sky was still eclipsed. The neighborhood around us had deep yawning holes through the ground with white flames still dancing on the edges and on the burned bodies of demons. The alabaster flames were daunting to me, licking its hungry chops at me. I heard myself panting in preparation for a fight, but my attention was drawn to the anomaly of Alex Korman Street.

One house stood tall and proud against the ruined neighborhood; Florence House was untouched by my cleansing flames, which had washed away its minions. The lawn was still immaculate with its baby palm tree planted in the front yard. Anxious excitement filled my limbs, making my mouth water. He had such power, power that I wanted.

“I agree with Casey.” I said. “We’re already here and look.” It was something I would’ve missed if I was balanced, but with the Taint overflowing in me, my eyes picked up on light shining out of the corner of the house.

“Now, why would Carlisle protect only part of the house and not all? There are only three reasons. One, he couldn’t extend his barrier fully, two, it came so fast he couldn’t pull it together in enough time, or three, I maxed out his powers.”

Rhys threw me a look, “You’re not actually thinking that you’ve overpowered Carlisle are you?” He turned to me with his hands on his hips, scowling. “Carlisle is a Knight ex Rakis. He has more influence here than you think, Aiden. He’s not some baby demon lord that you can defeat by sheer luck.”

“But Rhys, this might be the only chance we have.” The house radiated with power but it felt shaky and wobbly. “He’s weak now. I can feel it.”

His eyes widened with terror. “You can feel him?” I nodded. “Jensen, can you feel Carlisle?”

Jensen stared at the house and closed his eyes. Counting to five, he released a slow breath. He was completely still just staring until his jaw tightened and he clutched his stomach. “Yeah.” His voice sound ragged. “His power is wavering, but there’s still so much of it. Aiden, are you sure you can take him?”

I saw the fear in his eyes, in all of their eyes. I tried to listen to what my conscience would say, but it didn’t even answer me. “Yes, I’m sure, but you guys should let me handle this. Rhys, take them to the house on Blue Fountain. I’ll-.”

Jensen clamped down on my wrist, forcing me to look into his eyes. “I’m not letting you fight by yourself.”

“Are you sure? Are all of you sure you’re ready for Carlisle?” I asked them. “He’s ruthless in every form of the word. You can’t believe that this will be over in a matter of minutes.”

“We understand, Aiden. We’re going to fight with you.” Casey said.

“What type of friends would we be if we let you go off to be slaughtered?” Sandra mused.

Rhys’ soft brown eyes glowed with power, “I have the perfect song for this.”

I faced the house again, feeling the ocean of dark power running over the house. I shivered, shaking off the anxiousness. “Well, I think we shouldn’t make them wait any longer.”

I would like to say that I fond memories in this house, but all of them were false pretenses created to lure me in and keep me there. The Florence had tried to mold me into them, but I proved to have too much of my mother in me It was only until I reached my teens that I realized that I had more of Carlisle than I wished.

The closer we got to house; I felt a change in the power surrounding it. It wasn’t as stable as I thought. Suddenly, the power buckled when I touched the door followed by a piercing scream. I kicked the door down, rushing inside.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on edge. I didn’t think, just acted. I pushed the others back and dropped to the floor to avoid whatever was screeching towards us. Hot orange sparks lit the foyer for the briefest seconds. Hellion flipped the blade to a defensive position, stalling the attack. More sparks flew as the attacks grew frantic until Hellion’s stance faltered, sending his blade across the room. Another sweep of the sword sent Hellion into the wall. Fiery pain erupted up my spine. The aggressor blurred towards me, but my new Tainted eyes still saw it.

He had a young, moon pale, face half hidden by a mess of silvery hair, tied off to the side by a red spirit mask. He wore a black and blue snow patterned kimono. He wore three swords at his hips, two katanas and a ninjato, a small katana above the right one. He had one hand over the right katana, moving towards me with his sword drawn.

“Archleone, stop,” His sword caught fire then, freezing it before it pierced my heart, “He’s my son.” The Sword sheathed its sword again and bounded off to the darkness.

I ran to Hellion, feeling the icy pain lace up and down my back with each movement. “Hellion?” He sat himself up, holding his left arm to his chest. “Are you alright?” He smiled sourly. “Why aren’t you healing?” He fingered the symbol on my forehead. “It’s changed?” He nodded. “So my power’s changed?” He said yes again. “You should rest.” He shook his head, pointing his wounds then me. If I dismissed you, then I’ll feel it?” He nodded. “Well, I can’t let you just hobble around. Dismissed.” He exploded into fine black snow. Every flake that touched my skin erupted in pain. The pain shot up my arm, exploding in my shoulder. I rolled over on my face, gripping my shoulder.

The Taint Fire came back to life, making the pain in my arm feel like an itch. The fire gave me more pain to take away my focus of the pain in my arm. It was a nice distraction, but I prefer my healing instead.

Jensen helped me to my feet. “What the hell was that?”

“It was my father’s Sword. We should hurry up. He’s waiting for us.”

We walked through the rest of the house on the way to the den. Casey and Jensen checked every corridor and hallway on the way, but I could feel his power radiating through the air, calling me to him. As a demon, I expected to find Carlisle sitting on a throne of pure white bones, twirling the spine of a little girl as his scepter with hungry, whining demons at his throne as he gave me a dark knowing smirk.

What I saw was an old Carlisle. His face was sunken and his eyes were bloodshot. Blood trickled from his nose in a thin stream. He leaned heavily on Kendall. Carlisle’s face would never be called handsome, but his infectious charisma made up for it. He had nearly black eyes that could paralyze you where you stood. I’m use to seeing his face in some form of a scowl, but when he saw me, a wide grin spread across his face. This was not the Carlisle I was expecting. He wasn’t deeply tanned, and the crest upon his forehead was a crescent moon but a star existed between the points of the moon with rays reaching beyond the power of the moon.

The star existed upon Kendall’s forehead as well but he only had a star. Kendall had grown to become a spitting image of our father save his mousy brown hair. Kendall and I had grown up thinking that we were nothing more than play cousins. His mother was struggling with him and his older brother, and my mother decided to help her. The oddest thing was as a child I always thought Kendall looked like someone very familiar but I could never place my finger on it. You see, my father is a very slick man. He never allowed my mother, or I, to see him and Kendall interact with one another. It was only two years ago that I found out that Kendall was my brother. It had set off an entire chain of events, which left the Florence family without their pride child.

“Thank you, for saving us, but you need to learn how to control your Innocence more. I barely had time to pull together a barrier to protect us.” At the mention of us, I realized that there were other people in the den.

Tracy stood behind Kendall, fear clearly etched into her eyes. She shared a resemblance with my mother but so did every other girl that my father dated. Her hair was cut in a pixie style with fair red hair.

My aunt, Kelly, stood in front of their parents with her Sword drawn. Her crest was different; it still held a star but the rays were bound by a circle. Her Sword was elegant in design. She wore light shimmering silver armor that seemed to enhance her features. She had a nice face with dark violet hair tied up into a ponytail. Her sword was a black epee with a rose hand guard and an onyx shield with the same rose design.

My grandparents sat behind her, holding onto one another. An indescribable look was in my grandfather’s eyes while my grandmother smiled faintly. Only my grandfather bore the same crest of the Florence family, the star, but his mark seemed smudged as ink runs when wet.

“I was hoping I would kill all of you demons with one attack, but you’re like a damn roach.” I said. “You escaped at Champagne Village, and you might have held off my attack just now, but I’m going to kill you, Carlisle.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not a demon. I know you hate me, but this is no way to use your power-.”

“Abuse of power,” I interrupted him. “You hunted down my family like common vermin. You killed infants for Christ’s sake.” A dry lump was making it hard for me to talk. “You made me kill Natalie. Why? Why did you turn her?”

Kendall stood in front, putting a protective arm over him. “He would never attack your family. Father’s not a demon.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I barked. “You’re not involved in this, Kendall. You’re not even a damn Florence. You’re a bastard, so shut the fuck up.” A fire lit in his eyes, but he took a tentative step back. “I want an answer, Carlisle.”

“He wouldn’t-can’t do that. He isn’t a demon.” Kendall denied.

The fire in my chest was getting hotter, spreading outwards. “You weren’t there. You weren’t sitting in your Grandfather’s ashes after he killed himself to save you. You didn’t see Carlisle step out of the shadows with the same crescent moon symbol on his forehead. You thought you could hide by changing the symbol. I know what you are, Knight ex Rakis.”

All eyes were on Carlisle. My grandfather got up with his fists shaking with rage. “Carlisle Jr., is this true? Are you a demon? You put us in danger, for what?”

Carlisle chuckled, “You don’t have any proof that I’m a demon because of my crest. You have the same one.” My hand flew to my head, trying to feel the smooth crest. “If you’re correct, then you’re a demon too.”

Rhys-no, it was Dancer who talked next. “He isn’t. He can’t be or his Innocence would destroy him. But if it’s proof you’re asking for, I’ll give it to you.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Siren?” Carlisle sounded frightened.

The vague music that had been playing since we entered the house now rose to be heard. It sounded like night, like crickets at first. The beat grew faster adding drums to mix. My heart writhed to match it with excitement. The piano followed by the violins and symbols sounded next.

“If you could only see the beast you’ve made of me. I held it in but now it seems you’ve set it running free, screaming in the dark.” Dancer’s words made the fire worse. I bit a scream back, but my body felt like it was tearing into itself again. “My fingers claw your skin; try to tear my way in. You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to howl…Howl.”

I held my ears, trying to block the music out, but it had already gotten into my skin. “Dancer,” The sound barely left my mouth. “Stop.” I begged, but he was already entranced by his song.

“Now there’s no holding back, I’m making to attack.” My hearing started going in and out as I collapsed with Jensen to hold me up. Jensen didn’t see how Dancer’s song was affecting me. “Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins. I want to find you, tear out all of your tenderness.” Another wave of pain exploded from my heart throughout my entire body. I silently screamed; trying to writhe away from the damn music but the sound wouldn’t go away.

I didn’t know I was on the ground until I saw Jensen trying to pull me up. My head was hurt like hell and my body boomed in pain as I felt the fire tearing through me. Every sound was amplified a thousand found. The pain throbbed in rhythm with the music.

“The Fabric of your flesh, pure as a wedding dress until I wrap myself inside your arm, I cannot rest. The saints can’t help me now the ropes have been unbound. I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallow’ed ground.”

Jensen was suddenly thrown away from me by an unknown force. At first, I thought Carlisle had done something to him, but he had already transformed into his demon side. It was me.

“Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters.”

A column of fire had erupted around me, choking off my air, burning my lungs. I tried to hold back the scream but the fire was merciless. It burned on making me stronger, but the agony of it retreated to my heart. The dark power made my senses stronger and my muscles harder with anxious power. The fire rested in my veins, ready to surge into my blood at a seconds notice. Vermillion sigils blazed bright on my skin. My nails turned black and lengthened with haste. I whimpered, feeling the razor teeth filling my mouth as my lips curled. My eyes burned red with rage.

“A man who’s pure of heart and says his prayers by night may still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright.”

I rose from my knees. My heart was beating frantically to run out of my chest, but I reigned in my hunger. The thirst of destruction flowed in my veins. It was thick and strong. I was the Knight with the hands of the Creator. I was made to heal and protect. I could mend bones and flesh, and protect those from the demons. Now, with my newfound powers, I am more. I am the Innocent with a heart of destruction.

“If you could only see the beast you’ve made of me. I held it in but now it seems you’ve set it running free. The saints can’t help me now, the ropes have been unbound.”

I felt it within me, the wild rage that came with the Taint. It beat in my heart to be free, to control my body, to release the bloodlust. But I held the storm, more afraid of what it could do if let free.

My sword swirled into existence. It differed from Hellion’s burnt orange and black blades. Its black cloth hilt unfurled to a silver defender to cover my knuckles. Going further with doubled edged black steel with the tip of the sword flaring out like an arrowhead. Red symbols were etched into middle of the blade. The largest one was a vertical crescent moon with its shadow; an exploding star. I fingered the symbol, wondering if my crest resembled it.

The fire column burned away, leaving a ringing of soot on the ceiling and floor. I glanced away from my new sword to Carlisle. His gaze was level with mean, showing a twinkle of fear but no remorse. I was going to change that.

“I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallow’ed ground.” The music died away, leaving all to take in my new form.

Dancer gasped, taking a step back. “Oh, Midas, no. What have I done?”

“What is he?” Jensen asked, wary to approach me.

“He’s an Unblessed.” Dancer said quietly. “This shouldn’t be possible.”

The air around me funneled to him. I followed the path, flying at him at blinding speed that made my limbs look like they weren’t moving. Our swords met in a spray of blue sparks but mine came down red hot, taking a sliver of his silver katana with it. I brought it up again to meet his in a cross block. The muscles in his arm jumped and quiver against my steady strength. I was amazed how composed I was this close to him.

“Aiden, stop.” He commanded. “You don’t understand what’s going on. You must stop.”

“Stop?” I asked. “Did you stop when your agents killed my family?” I didn’t wait for him to answer, I raised my blade higher in a flourish motion, wrenching his sword in the air, and then batting it away to hold my naked blade against his neck. “When they cried out in fear and pain, did you call them off? No you stood there from the shadows to watch and wait.”

He struggled against me, crawling at the wall behind him. “Aiden, you don’t understand. There are things that needed to happen.”

“Needed to happen?” I repeated. “You needed to kill dozens of innocent people. For what?”

Carlisle leaned closer allowing the steel to dig into his neck. “When I met your mother, I knew she an Innocent. It was so strong that it could destroy the Superdome without buckling. Now, she is the heir of the Champagne line. All the Innocence of her family is now hers. She is an ocean of power that you must use. The Champagne’s were going to build a fortress and lock themselves inside. They weren’t going to help anyone. They forgot their purpose.”

“Purpose! Their purpose?” I slammed his head into the wall. “You have no say in what people can and can’t do. Who the fuck,” I slammed his head again; “do you think you are? Purpose. Your purpose is to protect.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” He barked back. “If I hadn’t done everything, then you wouldn’t be an Innocent. Your mother would be an easy target. I know you don’t-won’t understand what I had to do, but it was all necessary.”

I flashed my canine teeth at him, “Then your new purpose is to die.”

My sword moved along at the perfect angle to open his throat, my senses suddenly screamed a warning at me, making me jump back to parry the coming blow from Kendall’s Sword. It was my height with windblown black hair with blazing green eyes. Its face and body was covered in the same tight black jumpsuit as Hellion. Its sword was a weave strands of steels forged into a gruesome blade made long scratches to hook and tear the innards of its enemy.

Kendall stood between Carlisle and I. “I can’t let you kill him.”

The fire kicked up again, digging its nails deeper into my limbs as if to take over, but I shook off the feeling. “Kendall,” I started panting like a wild animal. “Step away, or die. I don’t care if I have to kill you. It’s your life.” I regretted the words as soon as they fell from my mouth. I should’ve killed them both right there, but I was too soft. The building of Taint was unmistakable, but I had been too busy conversing to notice until right now.

Carlisle lifted his head up to the sky as a thunderous roar with much dark magic underlying in his voice. “COME, My Servants!”

Glass from the entire house burst, showering everyone in a deadly rain. Demons jumped through the shower, ignoring the random shards of glass that hit their skin.

One landed next to my Aunt. Her Sword twirled the distance in a matter of seconds, flipping above the demon and sent her flowery sword through its skull with such glace that could’ve been called art. The demon died with a whine and all hell broke loose again.

Dancer was the first to act. The air thickened with music and bright light filled his hands then left to reveal a guitar. “Die, die, die, my darling, tonight. Die, die, die, my darling, tonight…Don’t urge a single word. Die, die, die, my darling. Just shut your pretty mouth. I’ll be seeing you again. I’ll be seeing you again in Hell.” The two demons closest to him spasm and dropped to the floor dead.

Casey stood in front of him. “I’ll cover you.” His gun started going off with a tat-tat-tat noise. “Sandra, watch out for his grandparents.”

Sandra nodded, running over to them. They had been overwhelmed since the windows where closest to them and my aunt couldn’t handle them all by herself. Sandra’s eyes fluttered as the black snow started to swirl at her back in a tunnel. She screamed her spell into existence and a lance of red-orange flame about as wide as my chest swept across them.

Jensen was already running towards me, picking off demons with calm precision. Sparky came to life with demons sounding against his shield at such speed they cracked their heads. One got past the giant, ready to strike at Jensen’s back, but Jensen saw him coming. He dodged quickly to the left and shot it in the head.

I looked at the demon for a minute. It was different, they all were. Original the demons resembled humans in shape, but now they had taken a sinewy build with rubbery skin and the shape of a dog-ape hybrid. Its arms were too long with powerful legs yet short. It eyes were still eight pointed stars and yellow, but they stood, or rather, crouched. When it ran, its arm flew to the back to decrease air resistance.

I didn’t have time to asses more as I saw Carlisle trying to escape to the hallway. I turned my blade, letting the Sword’s blade catch the arrow part of mine and raced forward with thunderous speed. The Sword had no time to react being crushed into the wall. I backhanded Kendall so hard that his head flew back, taking his body with it.

Carlisle ran through a surge of new demons, pushing them to get through. I followed only a few feet away.

They stared at me in curiosity. They probably sensed the demonic Taint within me, but couldn’t understand that I wasn’t one of them until I slashed the first neck. They roared and my knees shook. I kept moving, slashing without mercy.

One grabbed my wrist, digging into my arm with its nails. I threw my sword to my left, blocking another set of claws then swinging my arm backwards when I heard gurgling and the grip relaxed. I ripped my sword from its throat. I started ripping through them, ducking under sails of teeth and claws.

I wanted the air to funnel again, but it didn’t even wobble. More demons than I could count filled the space between Carlisle and I. My sword was ripped from my hands quickly. I wasn’t worried about the sword because now I have to use my claws.

A demon launched itself at me, but I caught it by the neck with one hand and ripped its face off with the other. Before it let out a howl with the red, hot flesh, my claws ripped its head away. Another one tried to slash through me, but I gripped it by its arm, flinging it into the ground. More and more started to surround me.

Power started to well inside me. It was different from the fire because it was shapeless and empty. It had no emotion to it, but it made me feel bloated. When I touched it, my arms flared out with a wave of sightless power, sending the demons to their backs. I reached for the power again but it was gone. I tried not to dawdle and scrambled to my sword, stabbing all that I could deep in their bellies.

Carlisle was nowhere to be seen but his abominations were. They stood on the landing that led upstairs. They all turned to me like Children of the Corn eyes. Gouts of ghoulish green flames came at me. I cut through the first two, sliding the right to dodge the third. I moved like liquid, bending and twisting out of the way. I had to spring backwards before I caught fire, and fled to the dining room.

It had much more space than the hallway. We never ate in the dining room very often. Maybe once in my life we used the wedding china from my parents’ wedding for Christmas after I begged to use them. It was a nice outfit with the white and blue plates and the more expensive china in the wooden cabinet beside the table. There was a great big crystal chandelier. It was still clean, no dust, never any specks and all the crystal casting perfect reflections over the room. I wanted to break it, but there were things that are more pertinent right now.

Abominations floated in the dining room as if their feet never touched the ground. The five of them stretched out their hands, moving them in circles, mumbling in some odd language. The spinning symbol appeared in the middle of their group.

I felt the chaotic whirl of the Taint ready to attack, but I didn’t know what was coming. My body reacted suddenly, listening to phantom instructions. My leg muscles coiled and launched me into the air, catching the chandelier.

Green lightning, like my Innocence lightning, screamed out from the circle at me. I kicked off the ceiling, falling towards the abominations. The feeling of falling was exhilarating. My mouth watered in anticipation of seeing their blood burst from their pink fleshy skin in a shower. I knew something was wrong then.

The moment before I flipped upright, my sword slashed across an abomination from its left shoulder to right hip and black blood jutted out in rivers. I tucked my legs under me, righting myself. The lightning bounced off the crystal, coming back at me. With the momentum that I still carried, my right arm swung out, slicing another’s head off. I kicked off the wall next, flying through the air while my sword point hooked in one of the abomination’s deformed shoulder. I yanked it back with all my strength, getting it to slam into the other behind it. The lightning came down at the perfect moment. It lashed out, missing my legs by a hair’s breadth and ripped through them, leaving black oily spots in the carpet.

I turned the corner to see Carlisle still trying to run up the stairs, but he was moving painfully slow. I looked back to the black stains in the carpet to see smoke slowly flowing from the spots. Time had slowed itself for me, or I had become too fast to fully understand the extent of my power and how to control it, but this realization came with a consequence. I dropped out of the strange state of speed and raced to Carlisle.

He had a good head start and he had regained his youth, making him even faster. He looked behind, holding his fingers in a strange symbol. An invisible wave of raw power socked me in the stomach, knocking me back at the landing.

I rolled back to my feet, panting with rage. My eyes burned with excitement in seeking my prey. My hands shook to feel the wetness of his blood on them. My teeth ached to rip into his flesh and swallow his heart. The air funneled once more and I blazed to him, striking out with my blade. He turned to the side and raised his sword, meeting my thrust with a parry, but the sheer impact caused the wall behind him blow out with fine dust motes and drywall hitting us.

I drove my hips into his side, pushing him through the hole, but I didn’t let up. Before he could try to right himself, I hit him again with the flat of the blade so hard, I heard the ceiling collapse under him as he fell. I jumped through, hoping to crush him under my feet, but he made the odd motion with his hand, tossing me back in the dining room.

The Fire gripped me again, demanding control to end him. My eyes burned hot again and the symbols glowed even brighter as I rose slowly. I was only fighting the Fire half heartedly, listening to the darker thoughts of my mind.

He made the first attack this time. He soared into the air, collecting fire in his hands. The fireball wailed towards me. I sidestepped the attack, waiting for him to come down. With a twist, he fell; summoning Archleone’s shorter blade in his left and began to rotate.

He landed, spinning towards me with a silver ring of steel around him. He pushed me back against the wall as I tried to block every swing of his attack, but he got the upper hand, elbowing me in the solar plexus. My entire body went numb and my sword slipped from my grip. He spun again; hitting me with an upper cut followed by roundhouse kick, sending me it the old TV room.

Stars floated on my vision. The ringing in my ears didn’t stop me from hearing his heavy boots walking over to me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kill him because I did; it was just that I didn’t feel like putting the effort in it.

I closed my eyes for a second and Natalie’s face appeared. She smiled brightly, winking at me. She was so awesome, so nice, and so perfect. We grew up close, even though I was seven years older than her. I made an effort to be there for her when I could. I made sure to talk to her weekly when I was in Arkansas. She was my best friend, more so than Rhys was. I missed her savagely, so much that my chest felt like it was broken.

Her face went from smiling to screaming. Unbridled fear entered her eyes as she ran from the demons. She cried out for someone, for something to help her, but everyone was either dead or demonic. She died in fear. She didn’t deserve that, no matter what purpose she served.

I let the Fire ravage my body. Its wrath mixed with my sorrow, twisting and writhing into some new emotion. Power came from it too. It filled me, so chaotic and violent. Red smoke rose from my body bursting into flames seconds later.

The Fire lifted me to my feet. The pain caused by Carlisle paled in comparison to what I was feeling now. The pain of the Fire was different. It reinforced not destroyed. It restored my body and healed the wounds, but the pain stayed as a price.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Carlisle stated. “You have to understand that I’m on your side even you can’t see it.”

I held my hand out, feeling my sword land in my hand. Its weight was light, too light. The hilt grew thicker but lost length. The blade doubled in width. Three columns of glyphs ran down the blade now, each capable of doing something different. I ran a finger along the new edge, wetting the new edge. The balance felt right now with the blade heavier than the hilt. It committed me more with each swing, but I didn’t worry about hitting my target.

“Don’t you understand, Carlisle? It’s your purpose to die so that I may become stronger.” I said. “Accept it.”

I was upon him before he could properly raise his sword again. I faked him out at the last second, driving my sword into the ground as he tried to scramble back, but I carried my momentum through, lashing out with a devastating kick to his chest. His chest made Crack noise as he flew back into the china cabinet.

He popped right back up, flying at me just like I wanted him to. Seconds before he reached me, the Fire slid the sword to the matching symbol on my arm.

The crest jumped to life in hellish light. He tried to dodge, moving on my right, but I turned with him. The Fire throbbed in my arm and unleashed itself through the mark. A purple column of fire bigger than any person I know erupted from the sword, screeching Carlisle through the mountain of demons. The corrupt flames left the stench of sulfur and rotten eggs. The demons still alive howled in pure agony as they saw half of their bodies had been scorched into nothingness. Others twitched as shock took over and died seconds later. The few that were passed by my flames ran back through the broken windows in fear. Carlisle had no other tricks up his sleeve. There would be nothing to stop me.

The air caught fire because of my movement. My pulse quickened and my mouth watered. My eyes made everything sharper. I saw his heart beat ever so slowly, tantalizing me with the hot blood underneath. He looked panicked as his life a coming to a close.

When vengeance was about to have its way, my sword point was smacked down, cutting a shallow line from Carlisle’s shoulder to the center of his chest.

I let out a howl so savage I scared myself. My limbs moved on their own accord, sending a devastating blow to his throat. He dropped to his knees, clasping his neck. I spun around with blade ready to chop off his head. My demonic senses roared again, causing me to scramble off to the side to avoid Innocence, the size of a tennis ball, from making contact.

My hand sent out an effort of will, pinning Tracy to the wall. She fought wildly for her Innocence to overpower my Taint but I was too strong. The look on her face showed confusion when she touched the hilt of my sword that had gone all the way through her and into the wall. It wouldn’t kill her because I didn’t sever her head or rip her open. I wanted her to see me kill the man she loved and her son. I wanted to see the despair fill her for tampering with me.

I kicked Kendall over, taking up his sword. The crater that held Carlisle was empty. Purple flames still danced in the cracks but he was gone. I looked to the window, to the empty night. He had escaped. I lost all control over myself then.

“Nononononono!” I bellowed. Black-purple flames erupted around me, shaking the very foundation of the house. The power of the Fire was too much now that my object of focus was gone. It was useless to fight against the Fire because I had already given up my body to fight him.

My skin started to blotch and discolor, turning black. I clawed at my arms, but it didn’t stop it from spreading. I gritted my teeth as I felt acid being poured on my guts. It was too late for me. I was to be a demon.

“Aiden, hold on!” Jensen yelled beyond the purple flames. He swiped at the flames, trying to get in. “I’m coming.”

I started to reach for his hand, but mine hand already transformed into black claws. I coiled back, hoping the fire would destroy me. Someone pulled him back and my vision faded.