Silverblood Demons (Daughters of Darkness Book 1)

by Turhan

  Cerberus immediately lunged at the food, the gates opened and we flew inside closely followed by Sin-dy who moved ahead of us and had now Alter-Witched into a fairytale golden haired goddess form with flowing garments. She continued to lead us past a bucolic scene of old English country homes, streams, and stone walls. Where is Hell?

  Kira, Elektra and I, are far too apprehensive to speak and accept that we just needed to follow Sin-dy as she wound her way deeper into this remarkable world we were now in. Finally, she began descending toward a small thatched cottage and we landed in its back yard.

  Looking at us and holding her hand over her mouth to signify to us that she doesn’t want to speak, Sin-dy waved us through the back door of the cottage. Once we were safely inside, we looked out the windows and made certain we hadn’t been followed.

  “What the hell,” Kira said. “And where is it?”

  “Yeah, are you kidding me, this looks like paradise, where are all the demons and tortured people?” Elektra was looking at Sin-dy in disbelief.

  “Okay, I’m going to tell you the real reason why all the Morning Spirits and your daughters,” Sin-dy was looking at me, “have been taken. The stakes are astronomically higher than you know, so get ready because it ain’t pretty.”

  We gathered around a roaring fire with demonic stone creatures standing at each side of the mantel and listened as Sin-dy not only moved the goal posts, but changed the entire game.

  Chapter 6

  Don’t let the Dragons eat your Heart

  “I hear something, it’s outside!” Elektra didn’t look like she was pulling one of her jokes, she was sensing something outside the cottage.

  “Everyone, in here!” Sin-dy pulled on an iron ring that was hanging on the inside wall of the fireplace and it moved the fire out a few feet into the room we were in. She started to push us back toward the opening, behind the fireplace and pulled the ring again for the fire to return to its original position. Trouble was looking for us, and it was coming into the cottage.

  From inside the concealed area we found ourselves imprisoned in, we quietly listened. “Sceleris!” Someone with an assertive female voice was addressing Sin-dy.

  “Come in Ophelexa.”

  “Did I startle you?” Her tone sounded cautiously enquiring.

  Trying hard not to be heard I found a crack in the back of the fireplace, just enough to get a view of Ophelexa. She was as beautifully ugly as a demon could be in a lizard kind of way. A slender tail long enough that it lay on the floor, two short horns that sat one above her forehead, the other directly behind, and breasts (that were barely hidden behind her silken shirt) that seemed entirely human-like, very surreal.

  “Yes you did startle me, I just got back and wasn’t expecting anyone, anything new to report?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing, I hear that preparation’s for the ‘Feast of Saint Fevronia’ are right on time?” Kira and Elektra looked puzzled and I remembered Boris telling me about the tradition, but this didn’t seem to be idle talk, there was something positively gruesome behind Ophelexa’s tone.

  “Yes my sweetness, you are correct and soon we will reap what we have sown.”

  “That sounds deliciously prophetic, but almost like a warning, is that right? Are you keeping something from me, Sceleris?”

  “You know me so well, I can never keep a secret from you for very long. I might as well tell you now, there are three humans stashed in the fireplace and I’m going to serve them up for dinner tonight, it’ll be a taste of things to come.”

  We heard steps heading back toward the door. “You know Sceleris, you are such a tease, I’ll be back in a couple of days to help with gathering the girls, there’s so much to do but we can’t be late.” With that comment there is a rush of air and apparently Ophelexa has already gone.

  We heard the sound of the iron ring being pulled once again as were released from our temporary prison. “Don’t even start with me!” Sin-dy is anticipating another slap from Elektra and Kira is giving her ‘big sister look’ “She’s not going to do anything, are you?”

  My hands are raised questioningly, “Sin-dy, who−?”

  “Wait a minute, I have a question, and don’t worry I’m not going to slap you, yet, what was ‘lexa talking about “gathering the girls?” ”

  “Did you ever think about taking Lithium? It might help with your mood swings. Ya know, I don’t have time for this, I’m tired, hungry, and I need to tell you all what the stakes are.” Sin-dy led us to the kitchen. The pantry shelves are stocked with bread, cheese, butter, milk, fruit, water and several other foods. Who in Hell, eats? Maybe my daughters? This was getting stranger by the minute. Sin-dy was right about one thing, we were all tired and hungry, so after loading up the table with food we sat down, ate, and she began to talk.

  “I haven’t been entirely honest with you Kylar,” Sin-dy said. “I’m sorry.”

  Elektra slapped the table, “Shush, let her speak!” Kira said.

  I narrowed my eyes, focusing on Sin-dy, “What do you mean?”

  Looking back at me she continued, “I’ve known about your three daughters for months, they’re here, within walking distance−”

  “I want to go to them,” I stood up, “right now!”

  “I’m coming with you,” Elektra is also standing by this time.

  “No one’s going anywhere, we’ll all go together at the right time. I’m here for my daughter too, now both of you sit down and let’s frikkin hear what Sin-dy has to say.”

  “Thanks Kira, I’m not exactly sure how yet, but somehow, we can rescue your children. But, there’s more to the story, a lot more. Your daughters aren’t the only ones whose lives are in peril, there are millions of girls trapped here and most of them have reached child bearing age and the vast majority of them have been born to demons by having sex with humans, it’s been going on for a long time.”

  “Millions? Now you’re really starting to get on my nerves.”

  “Elektra, it’s how my daughters ended up being here, it’s been happening to me for years with female demons called the Succubae, but I didn’t know what was going on until just recently, let’s give Sin-dy a chance to finish.”

  “The demons have been planning this for a long time,” Sin-dy said. “But Ophelexa doesn’t trust me, so it’s been difficult covering my tracks while looking into this.”

  “Planning what?” Kira asked.

  “They want to overthrow the Third Millennial Templars, the front line for the Angels of Heaven. I know this all sounds ludicrous, but their schedule has been brought forward and is now slated to begin before the end of the Feast of Saint Fevronia.”

  Sin-dy was standing by this time and began walking around the table, there was complete silence from us as she continued. “I haven’t told you the nastiest part of their plan yet. After finally infiltrating the most secure vaults that the papacy kept hidden for centuries, the demons discovered manuscripts that outlined how they can procreate. It’s the first time in history−”

  “What relevance does this have to do with them procreating?” Kira interrupted. “So they have children with humans and imprison them, how does that help them overthrow anyone?”

  She is now standing too and has her hand on her sister’s shoulder. Elektra has reached up and placed her hand on Kira’s as though to comfort her sister’s anticipation of Sin-dy’s response.

  “What they discovered in those secret manuscripts was that human girls, born to demons, like they did with you Kylar, can then give birth to demons if they have sex with a male demon, the Incubae.”

  “That’s disgusting! But okay, they can begin outnumbering the Templars,” I said. “Then what?”

  “I’ll tell you what she means,” Kira said. “Evil will win the battle to challenge heaven itself, because, without the Templars, and if they succeed against the Angels, humans won’t stand a chance, am I right?”

  “There is one other factor involved and it’s a huge part of
what’s going on here,” said Sin-dy, “and none of you are going to be prepared to hear this.”

  By this time we were all standing, Kira was by the window, peeking outside through an opening in the shutters. Elektra had her hand on the face of one of the stone demons bordering the fireplace and I was standing by the back entrance to the cottage facing Sin-dy, but there was something confusing and ethereal happening to me and I couldn’t understand what it was.

  “Spill it Sin-dy,” Elektra defiantly said. “We’re ready for anything.”

  “After giving birth just one time the girls become barren, so they are of no further use to their demonic parents.”

  Sin-dy had turned away from all of us and hesitated to finish speaking. By this time I was behind her and quietly asked, “What happens to all the girls?”

  She turned, her lips were dry so she licked them and took a small gulp. “The demons plan on having their own celebration during the Feast of Saint Fevronia. As an insult to the Saint they’re going to impregnate the girls and once they’ve given birth to their demonic offspring . . . they’re going to devour all the girls, hearts.”

  Hearing what Sin-dy had just revealed to us was the catalyst that changed who I was forever. Earlier I felt strange as though something weird was happening to me, to my body. I repeated her words in my mind “They’re going to devour all the girls, hearts.”

  It was too much for me. I felt a sensation creep up, beginning in my toes, up through my entire body and finally through my brain. By this time I was in a doubled up position, one knee on the floor and my hands holding my head. With a searing jolt in my arm, I stood up, raised my hand and a bolt of electricity, like lightning, crackled and tore through the stone demon on one side of the fireplace. In an instant I raised my other hand and a black ray pulsed towards the other stone demon that Elektra had been standing at and it knocked her off her feet and down to the floor, the black ray had punched a thousand small holes in the stone demon which now looked like a sieve. I then passed out.

  ***

  When I was about six years old, my parents and I were involved in a horrific car crash. We were on our way back from another midnight bloodletting. They did these randomly about once every six weeks or so and our group, or perhaps a more accurate descriptor would be our ‘cult’ was called, The Order of Filia Diaboli Sarine Centum. I still remember the name to this day because my parents in their almighty wisdom decided to have it tattooed on the nape of my neck under my hair when I was three years old.

  My recollection of them was that several adults, my parents included, would gather together and chant sounds that I couldn’t understand and after around ten minutes a scantily clad female would walk around with a jeweled knife and slice one palm of each person. The blood would pour down their hands and be collected into a chalice which she would then add something to and drink from it. Several days later I would hear my parents talk about someone who had mysteriously died and that “now there is one less of them.”

  My parents died that night, it seems as though they may have been the focus of that evening’s bloodletting and were betrayed by the very group that they had met with for all those years. The truck had seemingly come out of nowhere and had rammed into us and dismembered both of them. Eventually I overheard someone saying, “the little bastard is still alive.” But before anything else could happen the sounds of emergency vehicles approaching apparently scared them off. To this day I don’t know if I was the intended target but my parents had paid the price with their lives.

  Memories of my childhood previous to the accident were all but erased by the trauma I had experienced. My aunt took over the responsibility of raising me until she died, but before drawing her last breath she said something that has been a mystery to me ever since, “Gladius ReVera Patrocinor Honor Niveus.”

  ***

  I could hear voices in the distance. “Kylar . . . ”

  “He’s coming back around.”

  “Hold his head up.”

  “Hey Kylar, it’s Sin-dy, drink this.”

  With her hand under my head, Sin-dy pressed a glass to my lips and I felt the cool water trickle into my mouth. The room began coming back into focus and I could see Sin-dy’s face above mine and it looked like she had tears in her eyes, she pulled my head a little closer to hers and kissed me on the lips.

  “What is that, the kiss of death?” Elektra was chiding Sin-dy, as usual, and helped her pick me up into a seated position.

  “Elektra, are you? I didn’t mean . . . ”

  “I’m fine, but dude, when were you going to tell us about your powers?”

  Kira gave me a hug, “I’m so glad you’re okay, do you feel like getting up?”

  “Yeah, thanks, I just need a couple of seconds.”

  I stood up and walked over to the stone demon that was now full of holes and asked Sin-dy, “How are we going to explain this to Ophelexa?”

  “Maybe we won’t have to, this whole ordeal could be over by the time we see her next, why don’t you sit down and tell us about your powers.”

  “My powers? I don’t know how I did that, that’s the first time anything like this has happened to me.”

  “Can you do it again?”

  “I don’t know, I’m afraid I’ll hurt someone.”

  “Do what I do Kylar, open your hand and tilt your fingers back a little but don’t think about it, just let your thoughts control the rhythm.” Kira picked up the fallen head of the stone demon and placed it on top of the mantel. “You can do it, I know you can.” Kira smiled that smile that warmed my face when I first met her back in Vostoc, it was all the confidence I needed.

  Raising my left arm I pointed my hand at the demon head and as though I had been doing this my whole life, I pulsed a steady black ray and without knocking over the head I punched it full of tiny holes.

  “Oh my Go−”

  “STOP! You can’t say that here!” Sin-dy looked at Elektra. “It’ll make you double up in pain.” Turning to me, Sin-dy asked, “When you had passed out, you were saying something, “Gladius ReVera . . .” I couldn’t make out the rest, what were you trying to say?”

  I didn’t get to answer Sin-dy, there was a thundering in the air above the cottage that reminded me of the nightmare I had at Kira’s cabin. We all stepped outside under the cover of an oak tree and stared into the sky. It was as though nighttime had descended on us in an instant, but it wasn’t clouds that we were looking at, it was a fear inspiring cloak that had covered the sky with a display of every kind of demon that was unimaginable to mortals. It seemed as though there was a lot of jostling going on.

  The enormity of our quest was sobering to say the least. How could the four of us even begin to think that we had a snowman’s chance in Hell of helping millions of girls get back home? It’s impossible, yet here we were, the only hope that stood before the massacre of the innocents and the hedonistic desire of evil.

  There was a sudden separation in the middle of the demons.

  “They’re making way for Lucifer’s daughter,” Sin-dy said. “She’s the one that came up with this sick plan.”

  I reached up instinctively and touched the name inscribed on my neck, why am I doing that? Kira and Elektra were looking up but also looked over at me and were saying something to each other. Sin-dy stood alongside of me and slipped her hand into mine, it felt good.

  The four of us watched the masses above us as another group entered the fray, this group was more orderly and flew in, seemingly above the others. As gray and drab as the rest of the horde appeared, the central figure, Lucifer’s daughter, radiated a beauty that is impossible to describe except to say that from the distance we were watching from, she shone colors that even a rainbow would envy. Suddenly and without warning, explosions ripped around the demons and one by one, demon after demon fell from the sky crashing down in the distance.

  “This is the third time this month that she has purged so many of her sisterhood,” Sin-dy said. “Even some of her cl
osest allies are against her insane plan. They feel it’s a betrayal of their own flesh to use their own children by devouring their hearts.”

  I began to have the seed of a plan, one that could destroy any chance of helping the millions of girls, but maybe it was the only plan that had any chance of success, what if—?

  Sin-dy pulled on my hand, “It might be a good idea if we all went inside.”

  “You two go in, we’ll be right behind you,” Kira had turned back to Elektra and was talking in a whisper, shielding her lips so they couldn’t be read. I was confused, why would she do that?

  Back inside, Sin-dy and I sat on a bench that faced a window where we could see Kira and Elektra, they were still talking in a guarded manner while continuing to watch the melee above them.

  “I hope you weren’t startled when I kissed you earlier?”

  “Oh no, not at all, I, it helped me, it felt−”

  “Me too, I won’t do it again, it was just . . . ”

  I squeezed her hand, nervously looked at her and then away again so as not to betray my real feelings. “It brought back memories Sin-dy, good memories, but we’ve both moved on now, right?”

  “Kinda, but I’m glad at least you have Enya, she’s a terrific girl, and she’s my friend.”

  “Yeah, she is awesome, I just wish she was around more often, she’s always working on a project, but I guess that comes with being so good at what she does.”

  Staring up through the window I could see that the events in the sky had come to an abrupt halt and the demons were finally all gone. I thought thank God, but he wasn’t here, it was just the four of us.

  Kira and Elektra were on their way back, Sin-dy got up and walked away from me. Once inside, Kira asked, “What’s next? I really want to see Davina.”

  “Me too, I’m anxious, I can’t believe I have three daughters.”

  “They’re safe, but if we go to see them you can’t tell them who you are just yet,” Sin-dy said. “It’ll be too much for them to take in, and all they’ve ever known is this group of cottages and a handful of other girls that they’ve seen across the pasture behind us.”