The Demon Realm

by Annette Morris

He walked into another room and came back with a red t-shirt. He handed it to me. "You can have a shower if you want to? There are multiple bathrooms in here."

  "Wow!"

  He laughed. "Yes, we have everything down here." He swung around to face another doorway. "Why don't you take that one?" he pointed to a doorway.

  I nodded and hurried through the doorway and into a bathroom. I reached for the light switch and could only stare when I got a look at the room. Someone had painted it bright yellow. The walls, the floor, even the shower curtain. They were all bright yellow.

  I shook my head as I turned the knob in the shower. I let the water warm up as I undressed. I could feel exhaustion grabbing at me. My eyes were closing. Nothing I could do would stop them.

  Luckily I was having a shower and not a bath. With a bath, I may well have fallen asleep and drowned.

  The water was warm. Trying not to get my hair wet, as it would take too long to dry, I washed, then stepped out of the shower. After drying myself, I threw on the t-shirt, making sure everything that should be covered, was covered. Even though it was a big shirt, my boobs filled it to maximum. Straining the material to capacity. But there was not a lot I could do about that. I have always had large breasts. They'd been a menace in high school as all the boys had wanted to feel them and gawk at them. But, as I grew up, I came to terms with their size.

  As I stepped out of the room, I noticed Diego was already in bed. I hurried over to the other side, folded down the covers and slipped underneath.

  Diego whispered a word, and the lights went dark.

  Janey

  "Huh!" I looked over to where Diego was lying, in the darkness. "Handy trick."

  "Mm…"

  I shrugged. Diego must be wiped out too. I rolled over to my side, closed my eyes, and that was the last I remembered.

  My eyes shot open as I stared out into the darkness of the room. I had no idea what time it was. I struggled to wake up enough to find out why I was awake. It was obvious something had woken me. But what? That's when I heard the yelling. Then there came a loud banging on the door.

  I sat up slowly careful to not make any sound. It felt like fear was all around me, crawling up my skin. I looked over to the other side of the bed. It was dark, but I sensed Diego wasn't there. My hand reached over and patted the bed anyway, but it was empty. He wasn't here.

  Throwing back the covers, I stood and inched closer towards the door. I almost tripped over a small table, set against a wall.

  Diego was by my side in an instant. Grabbing me, he held me back against his front, with his enormous hand covering my mouth. "Don't make a sound." He whispered in my ear.

  I nodded my response. What was going on? Were we under attack?

  He continued to hold me against him while his attention remained focused on the door.

  I could feel his heart beating. His breath moved my hair every time he breathed out. His breath caused my hair to brush out like a breeze, from a fan, on a summer day. We stood like that for many minutes.

  The banging continued unabated on the door. Now I was closer and more awake, I could hear someone yelling, from outside. "Let me in! Open up and let me in!"

  I tried to move. I had no idea what was happening, but I was sure that whoever was outside, needed help.

  Diego's hold on me tightened, forcing me to remain with him.

  I moved my arms to break free. But, it didn't work.

  He shushed me as he pulled me steadily backwards. Finally, he simply picked me up, threw me over his shoulder and whisked me into another room, deeper inside his quarters. He stopped at another panel where he input a code. A door slid open, and he raced inside to another bedroom. Laying me down, he held his hand over my mouth. "Not a word. They are here for you."

  He raced out of the room and closed the door behind him.

  I lay there, my breath escaping in short gasps. What did he mean, they were here for me? What did they want with me? My blood? Did this happen because they could sense my human blood? From down here? Just how powerful was my blood? After a few minutes, I realised Diego wasn't coming back. I forced my tight muscles to relax. I couldn't do anything anyway, but lie and wait until someone released me from this room. I didn't have the code to open the door, anyway.

  I heard bumps, yells, screams, and then nothing. I waited, staring at the darkened door. Goosebumps rose all over my body. My eyes wide with fear, never left the doorway. I stared at it. Which is when I saw the door slide open. I gulped nervously. Who was it? Was it Diego? Or one of the others?

  I held my breath as I waited to see or hear who it was. My muscles had tensed again, as if trying to decide if I should run or stay.

  The door slid closed, and a body dropped to the ground with a groan. It was still dark, but somehow I knew it was Diego.

  Jumping off the bed, I raced over to him. Flicking on a switch on a wall, the light came on illuminating the state he was in. I fell to the floor in disbelief. The light in the room showed that Diego was covered in blood. His clothes were ripped, and he had one arm wrapped around his waist. His expression confirmed that he was in pain.

  "Diego?" I put my hand gently on his forehead.

  He grabbed my arm and held on. "It's okay. The danger is over." He then collapsed back to the floor unconscious.

  --------------

  Janey

  "Diego!" I patted his face desperate for him to wake up. "Diego!"

  I felt a tear falling down my face.

  I forced myself to think. What were my options here? Diego was alive but out cold on the floor. He was still losing blood and had severe deep cuts and scratches over his body. I couldn't lift him myself. I couldn't go for help because I needed the code to get in and out of the rooms. And, when Diego had entered the last time, the door had slid closed behind him. It was a risk for me to go outside, anyway. I was unsure if the other vampires were still out there, or if more would come and grab me. I was unsure if Diego needed blood or medical help? I didn't know that much about vampires. I wasn't sure if they healed themselves, or if they needed help. There was so much I didn't know.

  I looked around for a phone, but didn't see one. My phone was in my bag. Which was in the other room.

  Glancing around the room there was nothing I could see that would help. This room only had a bed. I looked down at Diego again. I saw now that he was dressed, wearing the jeans he'd had on before. I knew he had a mobile phone before. The question was did he grab it and put it in his pocket? There was only one way to find out.

  When he'd collapsed, he'd fallen onto his back. Crouching on my knees, I leaned forward and pushed my hand into the front pocket of his jeans. Nope. No phone. That left the back pocket.

  I didn't want to disturb him too much in case he was seriously hurt. But I had to get him aid somehow. I pulled him over to his side and slid my hand into his back pocket. My fingers touched his phone. Gently, I pulled it out, then slowly turned him back over. I noticed more blood had run out when I'd turned him. That couldn't be good. I wondered if I couldn't get him help, what he'd do when he woke up. Would he attack me for my blood? I shuddered at the thought. I had to get help for him before then.

  And, I had to hurry. He needed urgent help.

  I opened the lid of the phone and stared at the buttons. "Okay," I brushed sweat off my forehead. This was a completely different phone from any I'd ever seen before. There were double, if not triple the buttons on the front of it. I had no idea what any of the buttons were for. For brevity's sake, I would try pushing the number one button first. Sometimes people programmed emergency numbers using the first number. I pushed the number one button and almost cheered as I heard it ringing. I had no idea who I was ringing, but hopefully it was someone who could help.

  I sat on the floor alongside Diego, and rested my hand on his shoulder, hoping my warmth would reassure him that I was still here. The phone continued to ring. I was becoming desperate.

  Finally, someone answered. "This had better be fucking
life threatening!"

  "Um…" How could I respond to that? "Who's this?" I wondered if there was a protocol for this sort of thing. It would be bad if I notified Diego's enemies that he was incapacitated. I had to be certain who I was talking to before I told them anything. I strengthened my voice and spoke louder. "I need to know who this is?" I demanded.

  There was a heartbeat of silence. I heard movement on the other end. "Who the fuck is this? Where the fuck is Diego?"

  "Who is this speaking, please?" I had to make sure I sounded confident. But whoever I was talking to was not a happy vampire. That was assuming this person was even a vampire. He could have been a human, or even a different race of being.

  "This is Serentis!" I could hear more movement. "Now, who the fuck is this? What the fuck have you done with Diego?"

  "Serentis!" I cried in relief. "Oh thank God! I was hoping I'd get someone I knew. I really didn't want to kill him… you know. And if I'd gotten a hold of one of his enemies, that could have happened. But I didn't thank God. Please Serentis. You have to help. Please. I don't know what else I can do. There's so much blood and...

  "Wait!" he bellowed. "Who the fuck is this?" he yelled.

  I gulped. "Oops. I probably should have told you… never mind. This is Janey. You know… Alex's sister. Please help Serentis. They've hurt Diego and…"

  "Wait!" he bellowed again. It forced me to pull the phone away from my ear, with the volume of his yell. "Janey? Alex's sister?"

  "Yes. Yes, it's me. Please help," I put the phone back against my mouth. "They've hurt Diego and I don't know what to do. He's losing so much blood…"

  "Where are you?"

  That threw me. I had to think about how I could explain it to him. "Um… I think we're in a room off his bedroom. You know underground!"

  "What the fuck!" I had to pull the phone away, again. "What the fuck are you doing there?"

  "They attacked Diego. I don't know what happened. But he's bleeding bad, and he needs…"

  "Wait!" His voice was even louder now. "Where was Diego attacked?"

  I sighed. This wasn't getting us anywhere. Diego needed help. "In his bedroom. I just told you. Well… actually it was outside his bedroom. Anyway… you need to help him. He's bleeding everywhere."

  "All right, Janey. Calm down. Do you know if there is anyone else still there?"

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it in disbelief. Then I put it back to my ear. "Did you not get the part about Diego bleeding badly," I screeched loudly. "Or the part about him needing help?" Oops. I probably, really shouldn't have yelled at the leader of the vampires though. That might not have been a wise thing to do.

  I waited in silence for what seemed to be minutes. I had no idea what he was going to do. Was he going to come here and kill me? His voice was surprisingly calm, when he replied, "I'll be right there."

  I hung up the phone. Finally! He was coming to help Diego. I waited alone in the room. Having the light on didn't make it as scary. There was still no movement from Diego though. His blood was still steadily dripping onto the floor. I wasn't sure if I should try to help stop the blood, or just wait. Surely Serentis would be here soon. He'd know what to do. I didn't want to turn him again. Not with help coming. So, really all I could do was sit, watch and wait.

  I was getting seriously worried after what seemed like hours. Where the hell was Serentis? What was taking him so long to get here? Diego was continuing to lose blood.

  I picked up the phone, intending to call him again, when the door finally slid open.

  Serentis stormed in like a whirlwind. Alex was close behind him.

  Janey

  I breathed out in relief.

  "Get away from him!" Serentis ordered, He moved straight towards Diego.

  Alex came rushing over in my direction. She picked me up and carried me over to the bed.

  My eyes remained on Serentis though. His teeth were bared. I could see long fangs protruding from his mouth. His eyes were glowing red, and his body was stiff and tense. He'd gone full vamp.

  "Do you know what happened, Janey?" Alex asked.

  I heard the words, but I couldn't understand them. My entire focus was on Serentis. He turned him over and examined him. I could hear Serentis swearing and muttering under his breath.

  Alex gave me a small shake. "Janey, are you okay?"

  I jerked my head towards Alex, then turned it straight back as I saw Serentis sinking his fangs into his wrist. Blood was oozing over his skin and running down his arm. I gasped out loud at the sight of the blood.

  "Take some deep breaths, Janey." Alex told me.

  I did as Alex instructed. All the while watching Serentis. He was now holding his bleeding wrist over Diego's mouth. He was trying to get Diego to open his mouth, but he wouldn't. It was as if he'd locked his jaw in place.

  I was taking more and more deep breaths. The only place I wanted to be was beside Diego.

  Serentis looked over towards me as if he sensed my urgency. "Come here!"

  My legs obeyed quicker than my brain could interpret his instruction. I was up and moving towards Diego. I knelt down beside him.

  "You need to get Diego to open his mouth for me. I have to get the blood in."

  Crouching down further, I tried to pry his mouth open with my fingers. It was no good. His mouth was shut tight. In desperation, I leaned down and kissed him. Our lips met, and I slid mine back and forth. My tongue whispered out and ran along his lips. His mouth opened slightly. I hoped it would be enough for Serentis to get some blood inside him. I jumped back and grabbed hold of his mouth, forcing it to open a little further.

  I glanced up at Serentis, who was sitting there looking at me stunned, as if he'd seen nothing like it before.

  "Well, what are you waiting for?" I asked him.

  Glancing over towards the bed, I could see a similar expression on Alex's face.

  --------------

  Janey

  Shaking his head, Serentis put his wrist over Diego's mouth. This time, his blood found passage past Diego's lips. I watched as it began to flow inside him.

  I glanced down at Diego's neck in time to see him swallow the blood. His hands seemed to reach up automatically and seize Serentis's wrist. He pulled it closer to his mouth.

  I sat back with relief at his movement. That had to mean he'd be okay?

  Heavy footsteps pounded behind me. Whoever it was, they were coming fast. I glanced behind me and barely registered a man there, before I was picked up and carried over to the bed.

  "No, she's okay! She's not a threat!" Alex was there and calmed down these new vampires.

  The one holding me, dropped me onto the bed. I bounced a little from the fall. I thought it would probably be a good idea for me to stay here for a while. Looking around, I could now see the room was filling with vampires. They were all showing their fangs, and their eyes were glowing red. Everyone in the room, except Alex, had gone full vamp.

  More than one of them stared over at me with those red eyes. Similar to how one would look if you were starving for a meal, I thought warily.

  Alex was sitting beside me, holding my arm. I kept my focus on the events happening on the floor instead of staring back at the vampires.

  Serentis continued to feed Diego with his blood. "Report!" Serentis barked out as he lifted his head and looked towards the newcomers.

  I jumped a little even though I knew he wasn't talking to me.

  One vampire stepped forward. "Sire… we've captured seven vampires, Sire. Five are still breathing. Two aren't. We have them in a room and have guards on them." He hesitated and then added quietly, "Sire… they are all ours."

  Serentis looked at the speaker in disbelief. The red tinge in his eyes illuminated his face. "Ours?"

  "Yes, Sire."

  Serentis let loose another vast array of abusive words. His voice was harsh and fast. I didn't get it all but, the vampires in the room must have. They all turned and left the room.

  "Tell
me what happened?" Serentis moved his vision back to Diego.

  Alex was quiet as she was sitting beside me, still holding my arm.

  I checked to make sure there was no-one else in the room he could give the order to, or if he'd directed it at me. Seeing no-one else, I related the events of what had happened, as far as I knew them.

  "So," Serentis said as he looked over at me. "You didn't hear what started all of this?"

  I shook my head. "No. All I know is that Diego said they were here for me."

  "For you?" he glanced at me and then looked back to Diego. "Are you certain those were his words?"

  I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure he said that."

  Serentis finally lifted his wrist from Diego's mouth.

  Diego still lay there, motionless.

  I shrugged off Alex's hand and rose from the bed. Taking a wide arc, I walked over to Diego.

  Serentis was getting to his feet. "He'll be out for a while."

  "Oh. He'll be okay though?"

  Serentis nodded. "Yes. Are you staying here with him?" Serentis looked at me.

  I glanced back. Was I going to stay here? Was I supposed to stay with Diego? Where else could I go? I didn't dare try to get home in the dark, not with vampires after me. "Yes. I finally said."

  "Fine, I'll leave him in your hands then."

  With that remark, Serentis rose and walked towards the bed. Alex jumped off the bed and they both left the room. The door slid shut behind them.

  I opened my mouth to tell Serentis to leave the door open, but it was too late. I didn't think he would do that, anyway. I didn't think he was too happy with me right now. Although, it wasn't my fault they'd attacked. The same as it wasn't my fault to be born a human. I'd had no choice over that.

  Looking down, I realised they'd left me in the room with an unconscious vampire. Two issues were going through my mind. First, I didn't know how long Diego would be out. Second, there was no way I could lift him onto the bed. With no other option forthcoming, I grabbed a cover from the bed and threw it over him. I also grabbed a pillow and put it underneath his head. At least he could get a little comfort.