Page 5 of Stolen By the Demon

“You don’t intimidate me, demon,” Roger cried, baring his fangs snarling. Fangs?

The man he had called a demon bared his as well. All the while, the loud bangs still rang out, but had turned more sporadic, as more of the fighting turned into a grabbling match. This I only noticed on the periphery of my awareness because any part of me not scared to death was solely focused on the demon and Roger.

My mind couldn’t even begin to make sense out of any of this, but part of me connected some dots, Roger wanting the blood that had supposed to have been for me, the fangs clued me in that he had to be a vampire.

That I could deal with, but the man who protected me being a demon? I wasn’t sure about that.

Fueled with fear and a cry, I sprang to my feet, determined to get away. But for some reason, I couldn’t move. I stood frozen and stared at the demon and Roger, battling each other.

Roger was madder than I instinctively knew I had ever seen him before. His fist slammed forward into the demon, who only stared at him. “Is that all you have?”

Roger narrowed his eyes and flew off his feet, at the demon, who stepped aside, slamming both of his fists down on Roger’s head. With a crash my father’s henchman went down, but recovered fast, jumping back at his feet.

In a blur of motion, the demon’s hand shot forward, only it wasn’t a hand any longer, it had turned into a claw, opening Roger’s chest wide and pulling out his heart.

I screamed.

The demon roared, and Roger collapsed to his knees in front of him. His hands reached forward as if grappling for his heart before the demon kicked him fully down with a sneer on his face.

“Devon!” a man yelled just as a wailing sound filled the air. “Cops!”

I should have been scared to death, yet, the sound of the name Devon reverberated inside me and I knew deep in my gut that it was the demon’s name. Unbelievably, it was the demon more than the man he was returning into, who looked familiar to me.

“Blanche,” he said, holding out his hand. “Come, I’ll take you to safety.”

My eyes blinked unfocused as another wave of dizziness overcame me... I swayed on my feet and would have fallen, but suddenly he was right next to me, encircling me with his arms, and keeping me up with ease.

“Trust me,” he repeated, glancing down.

I nearly laughed. Trust him? He had just ripped a man’s heart out in front of my eyes, had switched into the form of a demon and back! How could I trust him?

I couldn’t even trust myself.

That sobered me, along with the realization that I didn’t have a choice. I had already established that I couldn’t trust myself and memory, and I was running from the henchmen my father had sent after me. My father!

With that, I gave up any struggle my weakening body might have been able to call up and leaned into his embrace. He picked me up, looking down at me, his gaze filled with such tenderness that I surrendered myself to him, allowing my head to fall against his chest.

My throat burned like hellfire. I was thirstier than I had ever been in my life and as Devon turned his head slightly to take us through a side entrance, I noticed the pulse in his vein. My teeth ached so hard, I felt compelled to run my tongue over them, only to encounter elongated, sharp canines instead of the dull, flat teeth I had felt all my life. What was happening to me?

The vein in Devon’s neck throbbed invitingly, impulsively I licked my lips which only intensified the burning in my throat.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he pulled me into a tight, square space, that got even smaller once a set of doors pulled shut as if by magic hands.

His voice grounded me, my teeth returned to their normal state, even though the burning thirst in my throat remained.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

The sensation of going up, dropped my stomach, but by now I was in a state where nothing surprised me any longer, at least I believed that, until we stepped out of the square box and found ourselves on top of a roof.

Ahead of us sat a machine the likes I had never seen before, with long blades at its head that circled so fast, it created a breeze tugging on my hair.

More men emerged from another box, the doors to the metallic machine that was even louder than the banging sounds from the strange weapons the men had used, opened and Devon carried me inside. Carefully he sat me down on the most comfortable, softest leather chair, taking the seat next to me. His arm slung around my shoulder, inviting me to lean my head against his chest, looking up at him, feeling relaxed for the first time since this nightmare began, my eyes rolled back in my head, as everything that had happened crashed over me like a giant wave.

We climbed into the waiting helicopter, where I carefully put Blanche in a seat. Simone, my pilot, lifted us up into the air right away, but I didn’t pay it any mind, fully focused on Blanche. Panic overcame me the moment her eyes rolled back into her head, and her body turned limp. Carefully, at first, I shook her. “Blanche!” When she didn’t react, I shook her harder

No, I couldn’t lose her now.

Her skin was so cold. I noticed it earlier, but now it seemed like an ice chest. Right in front of my eyes her skin began to brittle. “No!”

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