COVER STORY

The ring on his hand was pulsing, confirming his assumptions that they had walked into a demon shelter. Not to mention the acrid rotten smell coming from the dark, dingy room and the tingling at the nape of his neck.

‘Remind me to strangle Greyback when we get back. He needs to get hold of some better rats. His information is rusty. I’d smack him in the face, but that’ll just make him uglier.’ He whispered under his breath to James.

‘I don’t think he needs better rats, Kyle. We need a dependable informant. We have been played.’

‘I had deduced as much, James, owing to my extraordinary intelligence,’ Kyle replied dryly.

Kyle and James had first met when they were both 10 years old. They had connected instantly and formed an unbreakable bond. They had even trained together over the last decade. Ever since he had lost his parents and his older sister to a demon attack, James was all he had and he trusted him with his life. The thought that something might happen to him made his  heart skip a beat, but outwardly he remained calm.

His eyes had grown accustomed to the semi-darkness and he could now make out the vivid outline of the hordes of demons lining the walls of the huge room. The room felt like a swamp; it was hot and humid, but he felt a chill run down his spine. The demons did not attack immediately which felt unnaturally odd. It wasn’t in a demon’s nature to hold back. They just stood there, swishing their tails and flicking their pointy black tongues.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Kyle called out. ‘It’s not like you’re getting any prettier. I’m sure we all have better things to do, so why not just get this over with? I don’t want to miss my dinner.’ He felt rather than heard James chuckling behind him. No sooner had he registered this that a huge lizard shaped demon lunged at them, its claws outstretched. James flung his dagger and the demon exploded midair with a hellish scream, covering both of them in gore and demon blood.

A wild roar erupted in the room and the demons surged forward in rage when a deep voice boomed. ‘He is not to be harmed. Or have you forgotten your orders? Be patient. You will have plenty of souls to feed upon tonight.’ The voice sent a chill down Kyle’s spine, but his unfazed demeanor did not portray his surprise. If the demon king himself was here then something big was about to happen.

‘Look who finally decided to grace us mortals with his presence. Mazoka Konin, the royal hideousness himself. To what do we owe this pleasure, your filthy stinking majesty?’ This time James’ sigh was audible. ‘You’ll find out soon enough but, in the meanwhile, hold your tongue! Your friend here has a very bright soul. My kin and I would feast upon it with relish.’ Unconsciously, Kyle raised his sword and stepped protectively between James, shielding him from the demons. The demon king laughed harshly at this gesture. ‘You think you can fight us all! You think you’re that good, demon hunter?’ Kyle was about to make another snide remark but James urgent warning caught his attention. ‘Behind your back!’

James was right. On the back wall a swirl of colours was now visible. He immediately recognised it as a portal and someone was indeed coming through it. There was a sudden flash of bright light in the room which gradually dimmed down to a glittery gold haze. All the lanterns in the chandelier above them were now ablaze and both of them simultaneously realised how badly outnumbered they were. ‘Summoning more uglies, are you? I’d rather-’ The rest of his words died on his lips and for the first time ever James saw pure and unmasked horror on his friends’ usually expressionless face. ‘Sammie!’ he whispered brokenly. At the mention of Kyle’s dead sister, James spun around and almost stumbled from the shock. For, in front of the dimmed out portal stood Kyle’s older sister. Even though James had never met her, he had seen some photos of Samantha, and the resemblance with Kyle was unnerving.

James regained his composure and looked towards his friend who was ghostly pale, mutely staring at his sister. ‘It’s a trick. It isn’t she, Kyle. Don’t believe it. They’re playing games with our minds somehow.’

‘If it were a trick would I be able to do this?’

James was suddenly knocked off his feet as if hit by a hurtling train and thrown backwards against the wall. The impact was blinding.

The horrific sight of his friend being attacked jerked Kyle back to reality and his body tensed like a sprung coil. ‘Well, hello little brother. I can see that you’ve held the family tradition and joined the Demon Watchers. Our father always had high hopes from you. His only son, his prodigy. He must be so proud.’ Sammie spat at him.

‘How can this be? The demons, they killed you. If I had known you were alive I would have looked for you. How did you-’

‘Survive?’ She hissed. Her eyes seemed inhuman, dark, greyish and soulless. ‘The thing you don’t get, little bro, is that the demons did not attack our home. They were summoned. They recognised true power and potential, unlike our dear father who never thought much of me because I was just a girl ruled by emotions and my heart. I wanted all of you to see what I had made of myself. That’s why you are here tonight. I released all these demons from the dark void they had been trapped in for millennia. Their life force is linked to mine now. They’re like my very own dark army.’

‘Those demons you summoned, just didn’t carry you away, they killed our parents.’ Kyle saw the first flicker of emotion on her face but it vanished instantly. She looked at him calmly. ‘A few casualties don’t matter when we’re talking about overtaking the world. My army will ravage this mortal world and devour all worthless souls starting with you two. This world will be mine to reign over.’

Kyle relaxed a bit when he saw that James was on his feet now. The scalp laceration was bleeding but they both knew that it wouldn’t slow him down in case of a fight. ‘You released all this rotting, stinking ugliness into the world. It would have been better had you freed the animals at the pet store.’ James could feel the circuitry of Kyle’s brain beginning to devise a plan, but he couldn’t see a way out of this mess. He looked around for a way to escape and to warn the others about the looming threat. He felt Kyle touch his hand briefly and subtly look upwards towards the ceiling. The chandelier! And James understood the signal. Very slowly both of them started edging towards the corner of the room, distracting Sammie with words. ‘I never did like you much, Kyle. Do you know why?’

‘May be because I was always better looking than you! Or maybe because you were no match for my charm and panther-like grace.’

‘You find this funny? We’ll see who is laughing when my army tears the flesh off of every living being they can get their hands on. If I had known-’ Her words were lost amidst horrible shrieks as the massive chandelier came crashing down. James had cut off the chain supporting it. The demons were splattered by hot oil and shattering glass. Their bodies were burning, spewing acidic blood everywhere. All hell broke loose after that. They stood back to back swirling their swords and daggers.

James was fighting Mazoka Konin when Kyle realised that Samantha was fleeing. He had to stop her. But could he? James seemed to have read his mind.

‘Kyle we have to stop her. I can...’

‘No! I have to do it.’ And with that he dashed forward slashing his sword. She was already at the portal when he reached her. ‘What, going already, sis? I thought we were having fun.’ She lunged at him suddenly with a dagger coated with demon blood. He leapt out of the way but the tip grazed his arm, scorching his skin. She knocked him backwards with a staggering force and aimed for his heart again, but he was quicker. With a swift movement he thrust his blade into her chest. He glimpsed a shadow of his sister in that creature for just a fraction of a second as her eyes cleared before it collapsed on top of him, lifeless. The demons exploded one by one since their binding life force was cut off.

Kyle lay dazed under the body of what was once his sister until he felt the weight being lifted. James held out his hand which he gladly took. Though bruised and burned, they weren’t mortally injured. ‘That thing wasn’t your sister, Kyle.’

‘I know.’

‘So what do you say that we get out of here? Clean up and tell everyone what happened and boast about how agile and amazing you were!’

‘I think it’s a great idea.’ Kyle replied, grinning. ‘After all, it’s time for dinner.’