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 |  Leila finds out who she really is. Will she survive and fulfill her destiny? |
| Chapter 1 Demon The battle was over. Well almost. This one demon just wouldn’t die. He lay injured a few feet away from me, his eyes on the same thing as mine, my trusty pocketknife. It was resting idly between us, only inches from both of our fingertips. I was examining his injuries. I had to be sure before I made a move. Suddenly, I went for the knife but the sharp claw embedded in my side pierced deeper as I reached forward and I groaned instantly as I felt the venom invade my bloodstream, burning into my core. I squeezed my eyes and bit my lips. I clenched my fists and my teeth ground together. I’ll be damned if I let him hear me scream. This is nothing. You’ve had worse. I thought to myself trying to catch my breath. I was seriously starting to doubt that statement. I opened my eyes and saw the demon inching closer to my knife. With one quick and extremely painful movement, I clumsily kick slid myself over to the side and pushed the knife across the room with the tips of my bloody fingers. Good luck getting that, sucker. I was mere inches from his massive claws now. The same make and model of the one-thrust inches deep into my side. The burning was worse of course, now that I moved. This was new, the burning. They must have laced their claws with something this time. Their poison shouldn’t last long in my system though; my body will kill it off. Still, the burning was unbearable. My breathing was heavy with agony and fatigue. I stared into the demons empty black eyes. He too, was winded and tired. I see now that I gave him a run for his money. Huh. What did he expect? I had no energy left to fight. I took out at least thirty of them give or take and I had severely wounded the rest. The demon was lying on the floor only an arm’s distance from me. Both of us were on our backs and both of us were super tired from this fight. I had never before clashed with a demon like him, he was a shocking challenge and definitely not like the others. Ugh the others. I would finish them off later, as soon as I got some rest. Breathing felt horrible, like fire traveling slowly into my lungs. My eyes were tearing up and instinctively I closed them. It hurt less when I did that. I decided to try something I never had before. I opened my eyes and took a long look at the demon. I examined every inch of him to the boundary of my peripheral vision. He didn’t like the scrutiny but I didn't care. He wasn’t going anywhere; his lower half almost completely severed from his torso. Ha! Nice work. Go me! He looked weak now, defeated. He was starting to look human again. Well, the top half anyway. I hated when they did that. Their human appearance masked grotesquely ugly demonic morphing monster things that tried to give me the kiss of death every chance they could. This was not very often considering I was very hard to find, thanks to my protectors. I took in another slow and smoldering torturous breath. This time my eyes stayed open and determined as I stared into the demons cold vacant eyes. It was just us now. The others were useless or dead. “What’s your name?” I exhaled slowly to gather my thoughts. The demons eyes widened slightly with surprise and quickly narrowed with suspicion. I had never talked to one of them before. Not personally anyway. The array of curses and verbal abuse I sputtered at them while I kicked their butts is all they ever hear from me. However, considering the circumstances, (both of us lying helpless, injured, and tired, side-by-side), I thought this was good enough grounds to spark up a conversation. He looked at me for a while. His expression went from tough to shock to confusion to complete curiosity. I knew this would work. His lips quivered, then parted and his breath came slow and steady. I wondered what was going through his mind right now. He was probably contemplating my sanity. I sure as hell was. They did not expect this attack. This has never happened before. They always found me and they always attacked, but I ambushed them this time. The hunted had turned hunter. How cliché. I smiled at the thought. He was entirely human looking now. His morph time had seriously slowed down because of his condition (half-dead) and that was fine with me. The slower they are, the easier to kill. I waited. My guess? He was just as tired as I was and talking was as difficult a challenge as breathing at this point. Not to mention the fact that his body’s lower half was falling off, and he was going to die soon. Yes! I wasn’t in a hurry anyway. I still had to finish what I started. I surveyed the room. Whoa! This was a house when I got here. Let’s just say…don’t bother sending a demolition team, clean up crew a definite yes. The walls I could see were charred black and smoke rose from the far end of the room. Holes where there should have been walls, windows broken, glass everywhere, dead demons all over the place. I smiled at that thought. Wow! I really did it. Alone. Breathing was easier now but the pain remained unchanging. Hmmm, interesting. Note to self: save the claw for further examination. I have to get out of here soon. List of things to do when I leave: 1. Get this thing out of me. 2. Find my protectors. Yeah, like that’s going to be a happy reunion. Hey guys. How are ya? Sorry I snuck out and attacked a house full of demons without you. Let’s get lunch. How about pizza? Dealing with them will be worse than fighting a house full of demons. Which I just did. What was I thinking? I must be insane. I finally cracked. Ha! “Leila. “ the demon said in a deep menacing voice that called out to my subconscience. I snapped out of my thoughts. He was smiling now, a wide creepy grin spread out over his mangled bloody face. Crap. Was he going to attack? I braced myself. I was ready. I have been fighting his kind for a long time and I mean long. Killing them was usually a simple task. Most were slow and dumb and I was swift and skilled. I have to say though, this demon knew what he was doing, and for being ambushed he didn‘t seem at all surprised to see me. He just waited on the sidelines and watched me defeat his friends. So much for camaraderie. “The legendary Leila“. His dark voice whispered. I listened intensely. My eyes focused on his as his smile faded to a tiny smirk at the corner of his mouth. “Your beauty is breathtaking. And your courage is honorable. I have never seen moves like that before.” He paused to breath. “Your technique is one of a kind; it was a pleasure and an honor fighting you.” Huh? Did he just compliment me? I think I’ve lost too much blood. He chuckled at my expression. I wiped the look of complete shock off my face. This is what he must have felt like when I asked him his name. So he thought I was honorable huh? “Since when did demons have a code of honor?” I said still breathless. That burning sensation was traveling down my side and I winced. He chuckled again. “I was told of your gifts but never did I imagine you fighting without them. Not when you were outnumbered. And alone.” He said, stopping to catch his breath. I felt drowsy; falling asleep would be bad news for me. What I wouldn’t give for a shot of espresso. Better, make that a double. What did he mean with out them? I didn’t do anything different. I always fought this way. “Honorable and beautiful” he mumbled and then coughed up something. Maybe a hairball. “Who sent you here?” “Who told you these things about me?” I said. Wonder filled his empty eyes and he smiled again. “Let’s cut to the chase.” I said. “Why are you trying to kill me? I have done nothing to you or your kind” (Except kill them when they attacked me. But hey, self-defense is not a crime.) Shock flooded his bloody face then fascination. “You are Leila, keeper of the earth.” He said with certainty. “Surely you know what anyone would gain from your demise?” The demon asked with a puzzled look. Keeper of the what? This is crazy. Why am I listening to this scum? I need answers not puzzles. I glared at him. “Who sent you?” I said icily. He snorted. Great now he wants to play games. “You’re going to die. You cannot be fixed demon.” “This is the end for you. You can do the right thing and tell me what I need to know. You will be a hero for saving the uh earth.” I said. A sharp sudden pain exploded in my side. I closed my eyes and slowly inhaled. I pressed my lips together and bit the inside of my cheek while my body trembled. This pain was on the fringe of intolerable. I counted to ten, raised my lids and tasted the blood in my mouth. His cold dead eyes penetrated through me, his steel gaze sent shivers down my spine. Great, now I was going to have nightmares. “Your dying too Leila.” he said softly, almost in a whisper. He looked at the claw thrust deep inside me. “This poison…” he coughed. “This poison becomes more potent the longer it stays in your system. Your body will not be able to kill it.” His eyes closed. His breathing slowed down. This was a new and interesting twist. It also sucked very badly. “You never told me your name.” I said softly. “You know my name, among other things. If we are to die next to each other…“ I trailed off. Never admit defeat. My protectors taught me that. I needed a new approach with this one. He was difficult. He was also dying and I needed to be quick. “You fought well today. You are a worthy adversary. In all my years battling your kind, never have I… I… A paralyzing pain erupted through me. All I felt was an agonizing gut twisting burn torpedoing through every vein in my already tortured body. I wanted to scream but my vocal chords where numb. I was on fire; burning from the inside out. I had never felt pain like this before. Sure, I have been worse off in a sense, but those were surface wounds. This was different. This was internal. A toxin. POISON! I didn’t know they had it in them. Maybe they were smarter than I thought. My thoughts returned to the present as the intensity grew. Shit, I think I might be dying. Suddenly, I wanted to see my protectors. I wanted to thank them for everything. I wanted to tell them I was sorry for coming here alone. I could hear them already, “This is what you get for going off on your own. What were you trying to prove? Come on; let’s get you cleaned up.” Then the pain slowly subsided and relief instantly washed over me. How temporary was this relief anyway? I did not want to think about the pain again. I had a gut feeling it was going to get worse. Would I be able to endure it? Alright back to business. Being nice to the demon was out. I am in no mood for nice. The deafening silence was interrupted by the gentle rumble of thunder, followed by a light, steady downpour. Normally the rain wouldn’t bother me. In fact, there is nothing like a nice thunderstorm on a warm day. The pitter patter of rain on a roof top is a sound I still find very relaxing. Of course, instead of the roof , it’s my body that is getting soaked. Thanks to the lovely battle earlier today, more than half the roof was blown to bits, (Hey, how else was I supposed to get in? knock on the door?) and instead of a nice warm rainstorm, this one is cold and icy. On a positive note I am now entirely awake and fully alert. I checked my surroundings again, but came up short. No weapons, no rope, no cell phone. The demons eyes never opened but I knew he was still alive. Barely. I’m thinking clearly now, and I knew what I had to do. I prepared myself. Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, counting to 10 and starting over to work up some nerve. I needed a lot of it right now because, yes you guessed it, I’m going to pull out that claw. Is it going to hurt? Hell yes. But you heard the demon; the longer it stayed, the worse off I would be. Besides, after the pain I just felt, this should feel like a pinch. Well, maybe more like a kick in the face, but, whatever. I have no choice. Live or die, that’s all it boils down to now. I gently brace my hands around the claw ready to jerk it out. I hold my breath and just as I am about to pull it out I hear a low muffled giggle followed by a painful sounding cough. I wince. “Your insane.” The demon said. He laughed again. “Even in the face of death you still fight?” His breathing was ragged. “I see now why it is impossible to defeat you. Why after all these years no one has come close. Except for this day, Leila.” he said smugly. “Today will go down in our history as the death of the Earth Keeper.” He wheezed. “What a triumph that will be. Then, I will be a hero among my kind.” he coughed violently. Blood began seeping through his teeth, trickling down the side of his mouth, and dripping onto the floor. I counted the drips as they fell to the ground and pooled together. This image reminded me of the first time I killed one of them. I had been alone. My protectors were fighting the others and I ran off into the woods nearby. I was so young then, and inexperienced. I never thought I would be followed. Honestly, I never realized until that day, that I was the one being hunted. I ran right into a demon when he jumped out in front of me and I fell back into a huge mud puddle. He grabbed my neck and wrapped his arm tightly around me. His eyes were fierce and wide with excitement and hunger. His rancid and acrid breath filled my nostrils. Fear and adrenaline coursed through my veins simultaneously causing my body to tremble. He laughed and raised his razor sharp claws toward me. I knew he was going to kill me. With my one free hand I grabbed the knife that was strapped to my leg and stabbed him in the chest, right in the middle like David taught me and pulled down as hard as I could, hearing a loud ripping sound as the blade tore through the rough leathery skin. I held onto it as he thrashed side to side. I flew off him and landed in the mud. I watched as he grabbed his open chest and I saw something like a murky cloud of smoke shoot out and vanish. Then his lifeless body fell next to mine and I just watched his blood flow into the pool of mud. I was in shock until I heard David and Brandon yelling for me to run. Just as I scrambled up, they were by my side. David scooped me up in one muscular arm and ran forward. Brandon was right next to him looking at me with a big grin on his face. He was having fun like always ,and I knew the threat was gone now that we were on the move. I smiled back and lay my head on David’s shoulder and watched the trees whoosh by and listened to the crunching of the leaves beneath their feet. I saw a bird’s nest on a maple tree. It held three birds and it made me think of us. How we were a family. I looked up at Brandon who was still smiling and winked at him. That made him burst out laughing and I laughed with him. When we stopped, David set me down and kneeled down to my level. He was so tall. “Great job love, you remembered your training. Well done.” he hugged me. Brandon nudged me on the shoulder and said. “ Not bad, kiddo.” “I didn’t want to kill him.” I said. “But he was going to kill me and I didn‘t want to die.” David took both my hands in one of his and pulled me towards him with the other. “You made a choice love, live or die. He made a choice too, kill or be killed. Do you understand love?” He looked at me with soft eyes and I nodded. “You made the right choice, don’t you forget it.” He rubbed his finger down my nose and showed me the mud and dirt. He chuckled and put his arm around me. “Come on lets get u cleaned up.” I’ve killed thousands more since then. I don’t like killing them. I don’t get pleasure out of it like Brandon and David do, but my hand is forced each time they attack. I never quite understood why they were after me. David had touched on some things but he was vague and obscure. I see now he has been keeping things from me. I know he has a good reason for doing so. I trust him and Brandon; with my life. But we're definitely having a talk. I believe everyone has a choice and this demon has enough life in him to make a better one. I spoke to the demon, “You don’t have to end up like this. You made your choice to kill or be killed and I made mine.” I paused. “There’s always a choice to be made, good or bad. You don’t have to die this way; there is still time to redeem yourself,” I waited for an answer. I was desperate. “Help me.” I whispered. “Why should I help you?” He asked. “Because I need to survive. I am the earth keeper.” I feel the pain creeping up, slithering it’s way into my mind. “Please.” I said. There was silence for only a short moment. “I am Roland.“ he said between short raspy breaths. My eyes shot up to his in an instant. It was creepy, I’m not one to explain the impossible but I swear he looked human. I mean really human, not like the empty vessels they usually look like, but really truly human. Weird could not describe what happened next. His hand slowly slid across the debris filled floor towards mine, and his blood stained fingers reached for my hand. I gave it to him. In the next few seconds I thought I was hallucinating. Random images appeared in my head. I couldn’t make them out at first, but they became definite the more I focused. They were memories, but not mine. The rain was just a trickle now and there was a low rumble of thunder, a reminder that the storm was just beginning. I felt his pain. He was sad, remorseful and full of regret. His memories were unmistakable in my mind, his regrets swirling around my thoughts. We saw his entire life flash before our eyes. He was human once, he had a wife and a son. There was an image of them at a park, blissful and happy, and then an image of them trapped in a room pounding on a window, screaming for help. There were bars on the window and they couldn’t get out. (How lovely.) He ran into the room and locked the door. He immediately embraced his family, kissed his wife and child and told them it will be ok. The boy was young, four years old maybe five. It was at that point I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks. The door burst open and a swarm of demons burst into the room, flames engulfed the walls behind them and black smoke flooded the room instantantly. I watched as they ripped the woman and the boy from him with ease, how he fought to save them, and how in the end they were effortlessly torn apart by the demons. He broke from the demon’s hold and ran to his family, and then knelt next to their lifeless bodies. The last sound he heard was the swoosh of a sword. But I saw it all, like an instant replay of every angle, the burning walls, the demons killing his family, ripping them apart, and ravaging the room around them. Demons were tearing apart the boys’ bed, shredding the family photos on the walls, destroying everything in sight. They were amused when he ran to his wife and son and laughed as he collected their body parts. They scoffed when he wept over his beloved’s lifeless corpses. Then, with no hesitation, a demon sliced his head clean off. The others grabbed his remains and left through the door they came in, disappearing through the flames. When he awoke, he was one of them. He was trained and taught their ways, and soon led his own army of “hunters,” all with one sole purpose. To destroy me. I was vaguely aware of my flowing tears, my loud sobs, and, my body in a different position. I was no longer on my back. I was on my knees hovering over Roland's body. My hands pulled his lower half up connecting it with his torso. I frantically searched through blurry eyes for a piece of cloth or something to hold him together. The need to help him was so urgent and crucial, I hardly noticed his firm grip on my wrist or the gut wrenching pain searing through my body. “Stop it Leila your wasting time.” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m so sorry they did this to you.” I said between sobs. “No one should have to go through that.” My voice was thick and cracking. I pulled my wrist free and wiped the tears so I can see his expression. His black dead eyes pierced through me like a dagger with a serrated edge. I froze, realizing how close I was to him and how deadly it could be for me. I wasn’t scared not this time. I wanted to help him. I needed him to live, to survive. He was a human; he loved once, he lived once. He still remembered his human life, he still felt human emotions, and there was still a chance for him to change. He didn’t have to be a monster, to hunt…me. “I won’t kill you earth keeper” he rasped. “But please don’t waste your time on me anymore. Your time is almost up,” he reached for the claw and with one quick and skillful move, yanked it out. I held in the agonizing scream that wanted to escape. “You are right. It is you who has to live,” were his last words. |
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