The Dark of the Core

Deliberate

The man’s expression changed to one of pure terror. Somehow it made her feel even more powerful and in control though she had obviously lost her mind. Her movements were not her own nor were the growls sounding from her. It was like she was watching a movie from inside the main character’s mind yet unable to do anything. The man stumbled backwards and the sound of glass breaking could be heard. A hand flew out to grab his throat and hold him in place. She realized then that it was her own hand. She definitely didn’t move it.

“You all will pay.”

A low, dangerous voice said before a snarl sounded. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she was the one that spoke. The man’s mouth opened and he seemed to be speaking though she could hear nothing. The hand moved from the man’s throat for a moment and she could almost feel her lips curling into a smirk. The man immediately turned and attempted to run away. He did not get far before he cried out in pain as nails clawed painfully down his back. She heard a laugh and soon her vision became blurry. She could barely make out the hands that she assumed belonged to her moving at a rapid speed. In only a few moments, the man collapsed onto the ground surrounded in a pool of blood and ripped clothes. He was choking and looking up at her pleadingly in fear.

“It’s too easy to kill weaklings like you. I want to see you in as much pain as you inflicted on me.”

When the words came out of her mouth, she was surprised. The last sentence was exactly what she had been thinking deep down for the last few years. She heard another laugh then felt her body move until she was crouching directly in front of the man. She then found herself staring at the man’s front bulge and her smirk widened.

“How pathetic…”

 The hand by her side moved on top of it and dug her nails in. The man howled out in pain as blood seeped from his trousers. A laugh was all he got as a reply before his eyes rolled backwards into his head. Her vision became blurry again as her hands thrashed across the man’s body. The last thing she saw before walking away was different bloody pieces of flesh scattered around.

Skye sat up from the mat abruptly causing the lower half of her body to ache. Her eyes scanning her surroundings before she gave a sigh of relief and looked down. It puzzled her but she pushed it aside. It was just a nightmare again…Nothing else… The cave was empty. There were no scattered belongings or mats around. Suddenly she gasped and lifted her hands to the light provided by the fire. Her two hands were staring back at her all bloodied, battered and bruised. The tips of her long nails had little bits stuck in them. It made her feel sick and repulsed. Immediately she wiped her hands roughly on her cloak and dress yet the blood just did not seem to come off. Panic and fear rose up rapidly inside of her. She then felt a sharp sting of pain on her neck and touched it softly with her hand. Skye flinched at the contact and a memory of Cayleb biting her neck vaguely entered her mind.

Her mind started to replay back the events of the day. At the end of it, a heart-wrenching cry could be heard. Skye hid her hands in her cloak while tucking her knees to her chest and cried into them. The position caused the ache between her legs to become even more uncomfortable. Suddenly she felt movement beside her and a pair of hands hesitantly resting on her shoulders. She tensed up immediately but relaxed after she heard Jocene’s voice. Diego moved beside her and started whimpering while nuzzling her arm with his nose. Skye just shook her head not daring to look up.

“Skye, we were waiting for you to wake up so we could say goodbye.”

The cheerful voice of Teor made its way into the cave. After a few silent minutes, Skye heard hurried footsteps and raised her head ever so slightly. She saw Teor and his group of soldiers enter the cave. The wounded soldier had gotten better over the course of the night allowing him the freedom to walk around. Teor seemed to want to speak when his soldiers pulled out their swords and stood in front of him protectively, their eyes darting between Jocene and Diego.

“Leave her alone, demon spawn!”

One of the soldiers hissed as he pointed his sword at Jocene. She merely raised an eyebrow and turned back to Skye worriedly. 

“Are you alright?” She asked in a low voice. Skye shook her head fervently. Do I look alright!? Can you not see just how broken I am…? Those were the words she wanted to scream but didn’t. She saw Teor make a move towards her which resulted in Diego growling at him. This caused the soldiers to tense up even more. Skye wanted to yell at them all for being so foolish but the words that came out of her mouth were unexpected.

“Kill me.”

Every pair of eyes fell on Skye as she spoke. She slowly lifted her head off her knees and looked at them. Teor could see pain, sadness and anger in her eyes. It unnerved him as he wondered what could have caused her distress in such a short period of time. It seemed her words caught everyone off guard for the swords around him dropped slightly. The demon and werewolf both were stock still as they stared at her.

“Kill me before I kill someone else.”

Skye repeated again feeling the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She looked directly at Teor and saw his expression change from one of confusion to anger. His eyes narrowed at her as he stepped forward ignoring Diego’s growl. 

“What are you?” He asked and Skye almost laughed if she had not been so disgusted with herself. She knew that whatever friendship she had created with Teor over the last few days, will be destroyed with her next words. Skye hoped he would be kind enough to give her a quick and painless goodbye.

“I’m a demon. I’m the creature you were born to kill so go ahead. I am not going to stop you.” She said firmly hearing the collective gasps from around her. 

One of the soldiers moved forward and was about to point his sword at her when Teor grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Skye saw the conflict behind his green eyes and felt guilt bubble up within her. He stared at her for a few moments before his hand moved to his belt and unsheathed his sword. She did not flinch away as he pointed it at her throat. Diego growled menacingly from beside her but she shook her head and turned to him briefly. Skye pleaded with her eyes for him to let her go. He whimpered slightly but stayed where he was. She turned back to Teor who was now in front of her. She could feel the tip of the cool metal against her neck and hoped he did not see her bruise. Time seemed to have stopped and she closed her eyes praying for him to strike. The metal moved to the side of her neck pushing the hood of her cloak away slightly. Her heartbeat quickened in anticipation. It’s going to be a quick death…He’s going to s***h my neck…

Skye felt the metal scrape against her skin then it was gone. There was no pain, nothing. Disappointed, she opened her eyes to see Teor’s back facing her and his sword pointing to the ground. The tip of the sword had blood dripping on it and she realized it was from her bite mark. Teor had seen it. Tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head trying to fight them off. She rushed forward and grabbed onto the hem of Teor’s cloak with her still bloodied hands. 

“Why? Why can’t you kill me?” Skye exclaimed then started sobbing when Teor did not turn around. “I’m begging you please…kill me.” She said in a softer tone. Immediately Teor turned around and glared at her to which she did flinch away. His eyes then travelled to where her hands were on his cloak.

“Do not touch me, demon spawn.” Teor hissed before ripping his cloak out of her hands and storming out of the cave with the soldiers behind him. 

Skye felt a pain in her chest and hugged her arms around herself. Several moments passed and she thought she was alone until she felt a familiar nuzzling on her arm. She turned and looked into Diego’s amber eyes which held sadness in them. It hurt her even more to know that she was the cause of his sadness. Mentally, Skye shook her head. She would not cause her loved ones any more trouble. She did not deserve their love and they should stay away from her as much as possible, even if she has to hurt them to make them leave her.

“Get away from me!” Skye shrieked as she scrambled up and away from a shocked Jocene and Diego. She forced her tears back and clenched her fists into her already wounded palms. “I hate you!” She screamed. Silence followed her words but she saw the impact they had on Diego. His amber eyes seemed to have dulled considerably and his head coiled inwards to his chest. 

“You’re just a stupid wolf that doesn’t know anything! I don’t need you!” Skye continued lying, feeling the impact of every word like a knife on her heart. 

Jocene stepped forward just as Diego let out a whimper. “What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?” She asked concerned.

Skye turned to Jocene with a glare though she was breaking inside. “Don’t act like you know me because you don’t! You and I may both be demons but I am different!” She said harshly then realized how true the words were. 

She bit down on her lip hard and ran out of the cave without a word. She ran through the forest, her feet soundless on the ground. She stopped only when she reached her secret place. There, Skye collapsed on her knees amongst the flowers. For the first time in her life, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Tears streamed down her cheeks freely. I don’t deserve love… Her body and mind felt so weak. She swayed slightly and found herself approaching the ground. Just before impact, she clutched the pendant around her neck tightly with one bloodied hand. The chain of the necklace, though smooth, cut into the bite mark on her neck even more but she ignored it.

It seemed like forever as Skye laid on the ground curled up. The sun soon disappeared from the skies and the moon took its place. Now that she was left to herself, she was finally able to feel the pain from the wounds and bruises over her body. Cries escaped her as her body jerked from the agonizing pain. It seemed almost cruel how she was still living. How much more of this torture do I have to endure…? Her body felt cold and she shuddered involuntarily. Suddenly she could feel immense heat from behind her and immediately knew who was there. Her first thought was to turn around and scream before running away but her body was too weak to even move. Diego sensing this, gave a soft growl and nuzzled into her hair. The guilt in her stomach made her even more uncomfortable. Just at that moment, her body jerked again from a spasm of pain and she whimpered.

Immediately Skye felt herself being turned around and was soon facing Diego’s furry body. She could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck as he laid down beside her. She knew this was something she should push away. She did not deserve Diego. Her mind argued against her body and in the end she gave up, snuggling closer to his warmth instead. It did not help her body much like it normally would. 

“You should stay away from me, Diego. I’m bad for you.” She said softly, tears falling down her cheeks. Skye heard Diego make a noise that sounded like he was chuckling. She turned her head slightly to look into his eyes which were filled with amusement. She shook her head seriously at him before hesitating. Should I tell him…? Deciding to be truthful she glanced briefly at Diego then turned her eyes away. He is going to leave me… Already she could feel the pain increase and she had not even spoken yet.

“I-I killed a human…”

***

It had been a day since Skye had disappeared and both Vince and Devin still could not find any trace of her. At first Devin thought it would be easy as he could just follow her scent however, he soon realized he had no idea what her scent was. He remembered all the times she was next to him yet he could not smell anything from her. It was as if she had no scent at all which was impossible for a human. The thought of her being something else had crossed his mind but he soon banished that thought as it was also impossible. The only thing the two brothers could really use was their speed. They covered most of Sydney’s CBD in less than five hours, yet nothing turned up. Now the two men were making their way to the alleyway where the murder had taken place. The rain from the night before had luckily stopped though the clouds did not let up. Devin and Vince were only two streets away when they found their path blocked by police banners.

“Well, this just makes things even easier.” Vince commented sarcastically while dragging a hand down his face. Both men had obviously forgot about the media attention towards the murder. There was still a small crowd gathering around but most were beginning to leave. 

Devin looked around him trying to find another way when his eyes fell on a small narrow street. It was on the opposite side of the road and seemed deserted. “Vince, have you checked that street?” Devin asked tilting his head in the direction. 

Vince turned then shook his head after looking at the street. “I thought you had already.” 

Devin did not know why he felt a pull in that direction but knew he had to check it out. Eyeing the policemen nearby, he quickly crossed the road with Vince behind him. They made their way through the busy weekend crowd and entered the street hiding from view. The street was indeed very narrow but had many turns. At first Devin suggested to split up but Vince said it would be better if they went together. Their senses together were more powerful. The two took turn after turn and soon Devin had lost count. They had just taken another right turn when he stopped. He had heard something though his brother had not. After all, his sense of hearing was sharper. He waited for a few more minutes, but after hearing nothing decided to ignore it. The two brothers had just taken a few more steps when this time, both stopped in their tracks.