Page 7 of Demonic Division

Instead of answering, the demon stares at me, its face set in shock.You can hear me?

“Of course I can. You’re literally yelling into my brain with your creepy demon voice,” I say, my voice coming out a breathy whisper.

It shakes its head, blinking rapidly.You should not be able to hear my thoughts. The fact that you can…

Its eyes widen. In a flash, it transforms back into its human form, his glowing yellow irises the last to change back. Before I can react, he lunges forward, gripping my shoulders in his calloused palms and shaking me.

“Where is Bo?”

“Who?”

“The bunny—where is the fucking bunny?”

My mind reels for a moment.Bunny? What bun—oh!

I open my mouth to explain, but before I can get a single word out, the door to the bathroom bursts open, smacking against the drywall with a massive crash. A large, dark mass spills into the bedroom so quick and with such force that it slams into the opposite wall. Flecks of paint and drywall explode into the air from the impact, creating a thick cloud of dust that makes it impossible to discernwhat it is. That is, until a familiar scream pierces the air, high-pitched and childlike and oh, so horrifying.

The bunny.

“What… what the fuck is wrong with it?” I rasp, unable to take my eyes off the swirling form. The dust settles, allowing me to see parts that I hadn’t noticed before. Broad, sloping shoulders covered with matted fur lead to impossibly muscle-bound arms. Its hands are long, and clawed, the joints gnarled and causing the fingers to splay in unnatural angles. Thick shadows swirl around its feet and lower limbs, obscuring them from view, but I have every indication to believe they're just as deadly looking as the rest of it.

I hold back a yelp as it steps toward me, my night-light bathing the right half of its head in yellow light. A demonic rabbit face the size of a fully grown man’s stares back at me, its mouth open wide to display each one of its razor-sharp teeth. It gnashes its jaws as it slowly steps toward me. All the while, that eerie wailing pierces the air.

Panic seizes my chest as I scramble backward off the bed, landing with a painful thump onto the floor. At the sound, the creature quiets, but only for a moment. Those beady eyes pin me to the ground as it tilts its head, a low whine replacing the horrible shrieking noise from earlier.

“Demon guy? Can you pleasedo something?”

He doesn’t respond, but the demon’s footsteps draw nearer to me. He stops at my side, remaining silent forseveral moments. I keep my eyes on the bunny—Bo—too scared to look away, too panicked to ask the demon why he’s being so damnunhelpful.But when he reaches for the hem of my pajama shirt, I break.

“What are you doing?” I demand, swinging a glare over my shoulder. “This isnot helping?—”

Bo’s shrill wail cuts me off, and I swing my gaze back that way, only to find the demonic creature hovering less than a foot from my face. A choked noise escapes my throat as it leans in, giving my face a thorough sniff. And all the while, that good-for-nothing demon stands andwatches.

After a couple more sniffs, the rabbit lowers to the floor, a low purring sound rumbling from its lipless mouth. The shadows around its legs evaporate as the edges of the creature begin to shrink and fall away. The change happens in just a few moments, and when it’s over, I’m staring wide-eyed at the little yellow bunny I saved in the forest.

The wounds that once marred its sides are healed, and his yellow fur shines with such luster, it’s practically golden. The little bun raises his head, staring with kind black eyes as his nose twitches happily. He hops into my lap, nestling into the crease between my thighs as the purring noise intensifies. And all the while, a comfortable warmth builds at the base of my stomach. I turn my gaze toward the demon, my gut churning at the horrified expression twisting his handsome face.

“What the fuck have you done?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’tdoanything!” I close my eyes as panic squeezes my windpipe. “I didn’t… all I did was save a helpless little animal! There’s nothing wrongwith that?—”

“Everythingis wrong with that!” the demon explodes. He slams his fist against the wall, rippingthrough the drywall like tissue paper as his features flicker between demon and man. “This shouldn’t bepossible! None of this should be happening. You’re just a…” His gaze cuts to mine, burning me up from the inside. “Whatareyou?”

I sputter. “I’m a person?—”

My voice is cut off as the demon lunges forward, gripping my forearm and hauling me to my feet. I clutch the rabbit in my free arm, careful not to squish it despite the knowledge of what it really is. “What are you doing? Let go of me!”

“We have to go,” he murmurs, his brow set in stone as he hauls me to the door. “I have to fix this.”

“Fixwhat?” I dig my heels into the floor to no avail and end up stumbling to keep up with his massive strides. “Where are you taking me?”

“Home.” He stops when we’re in front of my door, wrapping his clawed fingers around the handle and twisting. Like a strong gust of wind is pushing against the other side, the door seems to fly open on its own. And instead of the darkened hallway I expect, there’s nothing. No light, no spiderwebs, no apartment building—just an endless void of swirling darkness, sucking the air from the room.

“What’s happening? What are you?—”

I never get to finish my sentence. Halfway through the last word, the demon places his hand on the small of my back, fingers curling into my thin pajama top lovingly. It’s so gentle and so sincere that it causes me to forget myself, to forget the evil creature standing at my side.

And then, he pushes me into the void.

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