Of Light And Shadows

“It’s so nice when dinner comes to us,” said the female behind them and she too walked close enough to show her silvery eyes. Evander tightened his grip on Jia’s arm even as she was reaching out with her mind, trying her hardest to make them turn and walk away. The male Vampire’s grin broadened as he felt her tapping at his consciousness.

“Ah, a Lotura. Your blood will taste especially nice,” he murmured.

“Your little tricks don’t work on the undead,” the female Vampire giggled. “So you might as well stop trying.” She skipped forwards a few steps to peer up into Evander’s face as he backed Jia up towards the wall. “Oh, you’re a handsome one. If you’d only chosen a different alley you could’ve saved your pretty face.”

“You can have my blood, just let Jia go,” Evander answered calmly. “Let her walk away from this and I won’t struggle.”

“Aww, how sweet that you’re protecting your girlfriend,” the woman crooned.

“Unfortunately one of you isn’t enough to feed both of us. Valiant of you though,” the male added. “Now be a good little boy and give her to me.”

“Not a chance.”

The male Vampire snarled and his fangs dropped as he advanced. While Evander’s attention was divided the female inched forwards.

She moved faster than an attacking snake, sinking her teeth into his throat. Jia yelled as Evander grunted and dropped to one knee under the creature’s weight. The male Vampire laughed, his eyes glowing as he prepared to kill them both.

“Run, Jia!” Evander gasped. He tried to pry the female off as Jia avoided the swiping hands of the other one.

“I’m not leaving you!” she called back. Her anger snapped taught, so much anger at everything. Anger at not remembering her life. Anger at being taken away from the Demonic Realm. Anger at being abused. She felt furious at how awful the last eight years had been to her and that fury made her violent.

She ducked under the grasp of the male, elbowed him in the stomach and volleyed the females’ head like a football. She gurgled in shock and slumped to the ground, her teeth tearing from Evander’s throat as she crashed into the wall. The male snarled and spun, the back of his hand cracking across Jia’s cheek hard enough to stagger her.

Evander growled and launched himself at the male, dropping his shoulder and slamming hard into his torso. The Vampire coughed as he landed on his back beneath the human. Evander tried to fire off a punch but his assailant was faster, knocking him to the side and getting his hands around his throat. He gagged and the male bit down on his skin again.

Two bites. Two Vampire bites in the space of a few minutes, both to the throat. Jia felt sick as Evan’s struggles grew weaker.

The female was on her feet again and advancing slowly after such a forceful kick in the head. She bared her teeth and snarled as Jia turned and tried to focus over the blood rushing in her ears. She wasn’t fast enough to outrun a Vampire, not by a long shot. She couldn’t leave Evan.

She whispered a silent sorry to Mammon and his brothers, her fingers brushing the symbol on her palm as she realised she’d never see them again. The female leapt and Jia squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for death.

She heard a startled cry that choked off in a wet gurgle and her eyes flew open. The female’s head was gone and the body teetered for a moment before dropping onto its front, disintegrating into a pile of ash as it hit the ground. She heard a similar sound behind her from the male, but her eyes were fixed on the sight in front of her.

A man was brushing ash from his hands. His eyes were a beautiful shade of deep amber and his hair was silvery and ruffled, falling over his forehead as he grinned and showed a pair of pointed incisors.

“Hey there, shortstack. It’s been a while.” His voice was velvety and deep, the sort of voice she could listen to all day.

“Holy crap. Mammon?”

“Miss me?” She felt tears in her eyes as she lurched forwards and slammed into his chest hard enough to make him stagger. He chuckled and ruffled her hair, hugging her back gently. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“How did you find me?”

“You called us. As soon as you speak to the pact mark it summons me.”

“Us?” He turned her around and she saw two figures helping Evander to his feet as the male Vampire’s body turned to a pile of dust sifting away on the wind. He smiled weakly to show he was okay, though his expression was wary as he looked between his two helpers and Mammon.

“Bell? Lucifer?”

“Jia, it’s been a while.” Bell grinned and waggled the fingers of his free hand at her. Lucifer nodded his head in greeting. The sight of him almost stopped her heart.

“You saved our lives,” she breathed.

“Mammon said you needed help,” Lucifer said. “Your friend needs medical attention. We can have our reunion later.”

“Hold on tight,” Mammon warned as he reached out and grabbed her hand. Her stomach lurched as shadows swallowed her.

Suddenly she was in a different place entirely. The dank alley was replaced by a room she hadn’t seen since she was young. The same faded posters hung on the wall. The bed was still unmade and had clothes on it like always. The rest of the room was in a state of disarray and Mammon’s battered old guitar still leaned up against the wall by the window. She was in the Demonic Realm.

“My dad’s going to kill me,” she said softly. He laughed and flopped onto his bed, as comfortable with her then as he had been when they were kids.

“Your dad can go screw himself,” he shrugged. “Lucifer would eat him for breakfast if he so much as tried to get angry at you.”

“How did you find me?” she asked again.

“You say that like I didn’t already know where you were.”

“Have you been stalking me?”

“No. We have a pact, remember? I always know where you are. You called me and I came.” He propped himself up on his elbows. “Its lucky we’re linked or you’d be a blood sucker buffet right now.”

“Will Evan be okay?”

“It’s hard to say. He didn’t look like he’d lost too much blood but I saw two bite wounds. There’s not a lot we can do to stop him turning. He’s gonna have to stay here until the transition is over so he doesn’t go on a rampage and kill a bunch of people.”

“Why do you care if he does?”

“Because you would be caught up in that rampage, obviously.”

“I’m flattered that you value me.”

“If you think I was concerned you should’ve seen the state Belphegor was in. You’re like the little sister he never had. And don’t even get me started on Lucifer. As soon as the pact mark called me they were right by my side. They insisted on coming with me. They didn’t even question it.”

“There was literally a second between me calling to you and you showing up. There wasn’t chance for either of them to panic.”

“Time moves differently here.” He cocked his head, his eyes on her cheek. “Are you okay? The male hit you.”

“I’m fine, it’s just a bruise.” She didn’t tell him about the pounding headache it’d caused or the fact that she wanted to throw up. She also didn’t mention the other bruises on her body that made her cheek pale into insignificance. He raised a knowing eyebrow.

“Maybe we should visit the Infirmary after all.”

Before she could protest he stood and put a hand on her shoulder. She blinked and they were standing in a white room lined with beds sectioned off by curtains. It smelled clinical and she could hear Lucifer and Belphegor talking quietly behind one of the fabric partitions. She went towards it but Mammon caught her hand again.

“Not yet. The medical attendant will be stitching him up and Lucifer is explaining to him what’s going to happen now he’s been bitten. He’ll need some time to process how much his life is about to change. Let’s get you sorted first and then we can go see him.” He led her over to one of the empty beds and made her sit.

As soon as she was settled a small attendant with luminous green eyes and slit pupils sidled over with a smile on her face. All of her teeth were pointed and her hair was a deep, luscious green. It was oddly beautiful under the harsh lighting.

“Mammon, how many times are you going to bring injured people to me? You’re always getting into trouble,” she teased.

“This one’s special.”

“Oh?” He held up his hand to show the mark of the Demon pact sat against his skin. Jia showed her own palm where an identical mark was imprinted. The attendant let out a low whistle. “The only person to ever get Mammon to commit to a pact. Wow, you really are special. You must be the Jia I’ve heard so much about.”

“We were kids and he was dumb,” Jia shrugged. Mammon arched an eyebrow as the attendant giggled.

“All the same, I’ll be taking special care of you. My name’s Sellik.” Without needing to be told the attendant started prodding gently at her bruised cheek, rubbing some sort of cooling cream over it before handing her a glass of pink liquid.

She panicked when the attendant dabbed at her other cheek where a larger bruise was hidden by foundation, before sweeping Jia’s hair out of the way and putting some on the boot print on the back of her neck. Mammon’s expression tightened as soon as he saw it, but he stayed silent.

“The cream will reverse the bruising and swelling in a few minutes and the drink will stop the pain and settle your stomach.” Jia downed the liquid and in an instant the pain was gone and her nausea faded. She sighed and Mammon grinned, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Better?” Sellik asked.

Jia nodded and the attendant excused herself before she could be thanked, moving over to the curtain that Evander and the other brothers stood behind. Mammon continued studying her suspiciously.

“How’ve you been while I’ve been gone? It’s been what, eight years since I last saw you?” she asked him, hoping to distract him from her other injuries.

“Eight years huh? Weird how it feels like a long time and no time at all. I’m glad I got to you in time.” He flashed his teeth in a handsome smile. “I’ve been saving a nick of time rescue for a special occasion.”

“I didn’t think Demons were into rescuing people.”

“You’re not people,” he shrugged.

They were interrupted by Lucifer and Belphegor approaching. Jia got off the bed and Belphegor swept her into a bear hug and spun her around as soon as she was on her feet.

Where Mammon was stocky and casually handsome, Bell was tall and slender with delicate features and the same beautiful violet eyes. His hair was still a vibrant shade of auburn and arranged in perfect waves.

“I missed you,” he grinned. He was soft spoken and incredibly gentle with her despite the intensity of his hug. “I must say, I didn’t expect to find you facing off against two Vampires in an alley.”

“Agreed,” Lucifer answered. Unlike the others, he didn’t rush to hug her. She could see in his eyes that he was overjoyed to see her but he refrained from dragging her to him, keeping his hands clasped behind his back.

Like his brothers, he was devastatingly handsome. His eyes were a rich shade of red, his skin like porcelain. His hair was darker than sin and he was tall and elegantly dressed, every inch the Prince of the Demonic Realm. He was still the most beautiful thing she’d ever laid eyes on.

“It’s good to see you, Jia.”