Kasadya Hellhound Awakened

by Karen Swart

  Chapter 15

  He shifted me straight into a club. Metal music slammed into me and I looked around to take in the scene.

  So gross. Kali was right; this is disgusting. Some demons were fully transformed and some were in a human form. The humans were drooling all over them. Girls and guys were dancing, kissing or clinging to them. Oh, this just pisses me off. We have to go and serve a freaking eternity for this? Oh, I so hope they deem these humans as demons, I would like to take a few heads as trophies, stupid humans.

  The mute guy pulled on my jacket, and I turned to look at him. He pointed up and gestured for me to follow him. I nodded, and he started walking, so I followed. We made our way through the crowd. The moment a demon saw me, it would retreat or growl.

  Oh yeah. I like this. They are scared and they should be. The moment I got my hands on my swords, I was going to pick a fight. I needed something to work out my fury over Chax’s stupid move. We walked to a flight of stairs and the guy went up. Standing on the top were two guys playing bouncer. Oh please, like they’re going to stop me.

  They opened up and as I passed them, I stopped to look at them, taking my time. I could see that they were not happy with it; one even took a step back. I smiled and continued onwards, reaching a lounge where Draco and the so-called Ballen were sitting with a few girls, some demon and some human.

  “Ah, Bellator, welcome,” Ballen said and gestured for me to take a seat. I looked at him and remained standing, crossing my arms over my chest and giving him an F-you look. He smiled and looked at Draco, who jumped up and rushed over to me.

  “Take a seat, hellhound. You don’t throw something back in his face,” he whispered in my ear. I stepped back and regarded him, a smile on my face. Like that was going happen.

  “Come, hellhound. I assure you it is quite safe,” Ballen said again, so I turned my eyes from Draco and looked at him. The human girl on his lap caught my attention instead, and I gave her a deathly glare. Stupid girl! Her eyes went wide, and she climbed off his lap, passing by me, apologizing. Shocked, I turned to look at her. Did she think I wanted her spot? For heaven sake, get a freaking life!

  Disgusted with the stupid girl, I returned my gaze to Ballen and saw that he was not happy with me chasing away his entertainment. “Take a seat, hellhound. We had an agreement,” Draco demanded of me. I looked at him, my expression making him step back. I walked over to the couch and sat down, dropping one arm on the couch back and crossing one leg over the other.

  “That’s more like it! Such a fine creature can’t stand around and look like an ornament,” Ballen teased and gestured to a guy, who came with a bottle of wine and poured some into his glass. But it was not wine that came out of it. No, it was a dark thick liquid. It was blood.

  Oh, that’s just gross. I kept my eyes on him for a while to check out my new competition. So, this is Chiddigul? Doesn’t really look that bad, well in his human form. We’ll see what his demon’s form looks like. I turned my gaze back on Draco and found him staring at me, again. He did that a lot these days, which was creepy. “My weapons?” I asked him, remembering our deal and feeling a little underdressed without them.

  “Yes, of course,” he said and nodded to the mute guy, who shifted out and in a flash, returned holding a case in his hands. What? He keeps my swords packed away? The mute guy walked to stand in front of me and offered the case. Taking it from him, I looked at Draco. This must be some sort of trap or something. Don’t trust this freak.

  “Another gift for your performance of the day,” Draco murmured and gestured to the case. Yeah right, we’ll see. I opened up the case slowly, just in case something was about to pop out of the thing, and found the two most beautiful swords I had ever seen, rivaling even Chax’s. Lifting one up, I looked at it and glided my hand over the blade.

  “I had some words engraved on them; I think it fits you perfectly, hellhound,” Ballen said from my right so I looked at him. So this was from him and not Draco. Yeah, there’s a catch coming. I can just feel it. Returning my eyes to the sword, I looked at the engraved words starting at the base of the blade, Lux Mundi, which means “the light of the world.” Okay, now that’s creepy. Why on earth would he put those words on it? I was expecting something like ‘pet’ or ‘slave.’ I brushed my hands over them to feel the texture, and power slammed through my fingertips, almost burning me. The catch, of course; they were charmed.

  So, I got two new swords, which if I get this right, can’t kill Draco or this creep. Well, that leaves my hands for Ballen and another plan for Draco. Oh, I’ll find a way. “Gratias,” I said to Ballen, looking him in his eyes with one of my wicked smiles, but instead of retreating like Draco, his smile grew. Keeping my cool, I looked back at my swords. Okay, it’s official. Something gives with this gift. I got up, and placed the two of them in the sheaths at the back of my jacket. Because of the charm, they slid in perfectly and when needed, released just as perfectly, giving me the edge.

  Now fully armed, I walked over to the railing and looked down, watching the stupid humans interact with these freaks. Some girls were kissing and rubbing the demons, while some were sitting on their laps laughing. Guys were feeling up female demons and kissing them too. Oh man, this is disgusting, stupid humans. Look what we do for them every day, trying to protect them from these things, and they throw it back in our faces. Ungrateful.

  “Humans are such easy creatures. They just need to see something beyond their little minds, and they fall to the ground and marvel at it,” Draco said, coming to stand next to me. I said nothing, too pissed off at the moment.

  “Are you sure that they are worth it?” he went on, trying to hold a conversation. “Tell me, Draco, how did you get into my dreams?” I asked, my eyes still on the crowd. Silence followed, so I turned my head to look at him. He was standing there, silently regarding me. “Oh, come on, Draco. It’s not like I’m about to tell on you. For that, I need to be able to get out of here,” I teased, putting on a playful smile to break him. He continued to look at me, weighing his options, returning his eyes to the crowd.

  “With a charm placed in the house,” he replied. Okay, that takes care of the first half of how, now the rest.

  “For that you would need to place it there, which I know is not possible. The truth, Draco.”

  “It’s the truth. With the right price, Lord Ballen had the charm placed in the house. When it is inside, it creates a “wormhole,” or as we call it, “gateway” into anyone’s dream that is in the vicinity.”

  “I see, and how would Ballen be able to place it in the house? As far as I know, you cannot enter Exsilium.” This is getting interesting.

  “Ah yes, Lord Ballen has the service of spies inside Exsilium.”

  “Spies?” I asked, with a mocking expression on my face, trying to goad him into telling me the whole truth.

  “Fallen, my dear. Fallen who are in his service,” Draco replied and added a huge smile to it.

  Keeping my face neutral, I tried not to show my surprise at those words, so I returned my eyes to the crowd. “I see. I hope they got a good deal for it,” I finished and pretended to look at everyone. If I get out of here, their heads are mine. As they say ‘a pound of flesh.’ Well, I want the real thing.

  “Indeed, I am told that their rewards are bountiful,” he finished and then walked away.

  So Kali and I had to pay the price for traitorous Fallen? Oh, yes, they are so dead. When I find them, they will have the same fate as Draco. “Hellhound, may I have the honor,” Ballen asked from my left. He was standing there, offering his hand. No way in hell am I touching it. I could end up somewhere much worse. I gave him a “yeah right” look and added a smile.

  “Come now. I promise that you will find this quite interesting,” he said, gesturing for me to lead the way.

  Interesting, yeah right, most likely a trap or something. Hell, at least I would get some fun in for the day. So, ignoring his hand, I took the step and led the way to the floor below. At the bo
ttom, I stopped and turned to look at him. He smiled and nodded with his head to the dance floor, and then walked in that direction.

  As we walked, the crowd cleared the way, either in fear of me or in fear of Ballen. Many dropped their eyes, too afraid to look at him. So, this guy is important. It’s too damn bad my swords are charmed. He stopped in the middle of the dance floor and offered me his hand again. Doesn’t he learn? I smiled again and gave him a really dirty look, just to make sure he got the message. He apparently got it, and started to dance slowly in front of me.

  I just stood there looking at him. No way am I dancing with this freak. I looked around us and saw that everyone had stopped dancing, and were staring at us. Ballen moved closer to me, and I prepared myself for an attack.

  “You have come far in this world, hellhound. But Draco and I had a talk last night. You are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to one-on-one combat, but can you deliver the same when it comes to an all-out battle?” he said, his smile growing with each word. Oh, why am I not surprised. They are so predictable. I stepped in front of him, face to face, and looked him in the eyes.

  “Bring it on, demon,” I replied, and then backed away, removing my swords and taking a stand.

  He bowed, and then walked off the dance floor. Demons started to take their places around me, creating a circle of attack. Oh yeah, now this is more like it! Let’s see what my newfound skills can do. Game on! I transformed and spread my wings. They stretched all the way to the demons circling me, and while some stepped back, others just looked at me more determined. Snapping them closed, I looked around me. Ten of them were standing around me, and as my eyes fell on them, they transformed into their demon bodies, two standing even higher than me. No problem. I know how to deal with those.

  I took in the whole picture, watching, calculating, and then reached within me for that special place. I called it my hellhound place. I gathered my inner strength and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. As the last bit of air left my body, I doubled up on it, moving at the same time. With one step forward, I took the legs out from one of the big demons, and as he fell to his knees, a clean swipe had his head falling. I felt two demons coming in from my back, so I whipped out my wings, sending them flying into the crowd. Next came a bull-like guy, storming at me with his head down. Stupid idiot, always keep your eyes on your enemy. The moment he was in front of me, I stepped aside and brought up my arm, taking his head. The next to fall was the one standing behind him. Two swipes and he fell to the ground. I used his body to step on before it fell, jumping with a back flip over the two that were approaching me from behind. In the air I took both their heads. Everything was in slow motion; slow, accurate, and fatal. When my feet landed, I brought up my arms to my sides, turning the blades to the back, stabbing the next two at my back in their torsos. Quickly pulling my swords from them, I went for the two in front of me, the last big one behind them. I pushed off the ground with my wings, and landed between them, crouching. First swiping their feet, and then planting my boot on one skull, crushing it. I just loved the sound. My left sword took the head off the other, and then it was just the big guy and me.

  Now, the thing with being so big was that you weren’t able to move quickly enough. I was jumping around him, slicing at his legs to bring him down. Before he got hold of me, I would already be at the other side. Big also equals dumb. He fell to the ground, and I moved fast, swiping two times to take his head off, as his neck was pretty thick.

  I turned around and my eyes fell on the last two. They were standing there looking at me. They hesitated. Never hesitate. Always go for the kill, idiots. I moved forward and they both turned around to try to make a run for it, so I lifted up. With my swords ready, I landed on them both. My swords wound up in their backs. They screamed and tried to remove them, unable to reach the blades. I pulled out one sword and moved quickly, taking one’s head before he even had a chance to react. I pulled out the other blade slowly. The demon roared and fell to the ground, trying to escape the pain. I stepped forward and pressed my boot to his back, pinning him down. He tried to turn to look at me. “Misericordia!” he screamed, begging for mercy. Sorry, there is none left in me. I brought down my blade, removing his head from his body. His screaming died the moment my blade penetrated his flesh.

  I looked up, and then walked towards the crowd. Looking at them, I tried to entice them to attack. But as I walked in a circle, they all just backed away, too afraid to try me. I stopped when I heard someone applauding the scene. I turned around to see Ballen walking to stand in front of me

  “Well done, hellhound. Indeed you are untouchable,” he said, smiling at me. “See, Draco, you have misjudged your pet. She is, by far, the best of them all. Look at her, such beauty but also lethal. Not even Caim could deliver such a battle,” he went on. The mention of Caim’s name had me hoping that he made it home okay, and for all the suffering he had to endure, that he had finally found some measure of peace. Not like we have a chance of that, but hey, one can hope.

  I walked over to one of the demon’s bodies, and using my sword, cut off some of its clothing. Bringing it up to my hand, I wiped my blades clean as I stared at Ballen. Come on, I want to kill you. But alas, he just stood there, looking at me. Draco joined him, but unlike Ballen he had no smile; instead he looked at me intensely. Oh yeah, Draco, I’ll be the one to take your head. You can count on it.

  “Come, hellhound. Let’s celebrate your victory,” Ballen said and turned around, the crowd clearing the way for him as he made his way up the stairs again. I replaced my swords in their sheaths, and looked at Draco, who was still standing there, looking at me.

  “Don’t you want to play, Draco?” I teased him, knowing he was too chicken to try.

  “Come, hellhound,” he replied and gestured for me to take the lead.

  I looked around at the crowd. Even the humans’ eyes were huge, scared to death. Good, see what will happen to you if you continue this course, imbeciles? Transforming back to normal, I walked past Draco and took the stairs. The crowd cleared even quicker than with Ballen. Oh yeah, this I like. Smiling, I looked at them all, waiting for some idiot to try something, but no, they were all too scared. I walked up to the stairs and with my first step, my eyes caught a pair of green emerald eyes, the face darkened by the corner it was hiding in. But the green eyes were clear, standing out like a beacon. Stopping dead, my heart skipped a few beats. I knew those eyes. How could I forget them? Chax.

  “Hellhound?” Draco said from behind me. I kept my eyes on Chax. How easy could it be just to run to him and get the hell out of here? But then Kali will be left alone, and in their hands she would suffer alone for centuries. I pulled myself together. I couldn’t leave her. So I looked away from his eyes, and started walking up to where I had begun my journey tonight. Each step was a stab into my heart. My brain was screaming at me to turn around and run to Chax, to get the hell out of here, but my heart was reminding me of Kali, and I listened to it.

  Reaching the top of the stairs, I was near my breaking point, about to reach that part of me I had left behind a long time ago, my weaker self. I turned around and faced Draco. “Enough, take me back,” I demanded of him. The moment my eyes met his, I was back to my new self, back to the killer I had become. Draco looked at me for a few seconds, and then nodded to someone behind me. The mute guy came to stand next to him.

  “Return her, and ensure they have what they need,” he said to the guy, who in return offered me his hand. I walked forward and reached for his hand. To hell I return then. I took it, shifting back to Kali and my room. Kali jumped up and backed away from us. I let go of his hand and walked over to the bed, taking out my swords and placing them on the bed. The guy shifted out, leaving us alone.

  “Kas, are you okay? You’re covered in blood!” Kali asked, still standing in front of the bathroom door.

  “Yes, I took out ten demons for Ballen’s entertainment,” I replied, taking off my jacket. I couldn’t look at her yet.
For some reason I felt guilty for even thinking to go to Chax and leaving her here.

  “Oh my God, did they hurt you?” she asked, now moving to stand next to me. I looked up at her face and saw the tears in her eyes. Yeah, Kas, you still have a bit of weakness in you. You need to get rid of it.

  “No, they didn’t even get a chance to touch me,” I replied, smiling to give her some comfort. She turned her head to the bed where my swords lay.

  “Swords? Can they get us out of here?” she asked, her eyes fixed on them. Does she even know how to use them? We needed to test that, get her up and fighting. If we want out of here, we were both going to have to make a stand and take the first opportunity we could get. I couldn’t have a weakling to protect if that moment came.

  “They can kill other demons, but not Draco or Ballen,” I answered, feeling the air move and turned around to see who was shifting in. The mute guy shifted in with two others, a bed in their hands. They walked over to the spot still open next to my bed, Kali backing away to the bathroom again. I looked at her. She is too scared, and we need to fix that. I returned my eyes to the demons, watching them put the bed down and shifting out again.

  My attention went back to Kali. “Kali, do you want to get out of here?” I asked her, walking slowly to her.

  “Yes, of course, how can you ask me such a stupid question?”

  “If that is the case, you need to suck it up and find that fighter I met at The Hellhouse. I need her by my side when the time comes. If you can’t move beyond this, we are both stuck here for the rest of our existence, or until someone like Ballen gets the opportunity to kill us. Do you understand?” Yeah, I sound like Chax.

  Still looking at her, I could see the war she had inside herself. Her scared eyes slowly changed back to those of the Kali with the attitude. “Yes, you’re right, but I can’t fight like you,” she said, and I could see the doubt in her eyes.

  “We will fix that. The moment they’re done here, our training starts. We need to learn to work together, just like when we trained with the teams,” I replied. The air moved again, but this time just the mute guy shifted in holding a stack of clothes in his hands. I walked over to him and took a piece, opening it to find a dress. “I’m afraid this won’t do anymore. Get some like mine,” I told him. He stood there for a while, looking at me, and then at Kali, then nodded and shifted out.

  “Sorry, Kali. I know these clothes aren’t what you are used to, but believe me, when the time comes, you will see the benefit they have,” I said, turning to look at her again.

  “Actually, I must admit, you look pretty bad ass in them. Let’s see if I can make them look as good as you. But I think I’ll look even better then you,” she replied, a wicked smile on her face. Yeah, there’s the Kali I know. She’s back in the game. Good, we’re going to need all we can pull together.