Among Demons : Succubus Divine

Ch. 23 : So It Begins

*Devin Venenum*

The Pestis herb in my hand tingled through the napkin but I ignored the feeling and leveled a heavy glare on the Flesh-Eater I had just burned with a single flake. This herb had been one of the few things that Nick and a few Demon operatives managed to take back from my aunt's house. They had first taken pictures as proof of where they had found it then carefully and safely confiscated it. And this particular herb named Pestis, meaning plague in Latin, is one of the more dangerous to us Demons.

It causes excruciating pain on contact and can be used as poison if mixed with food or drink. It does nothing to Humans, even if they eat it. But for Demons a burning, stabbing pain can be felt that quickly bleeds through the skin and travels within the veins closest to the surface. If the herb is held to the skin it can cause third and sometimes fourth degree burns after a little over an hour. Blisters and bloody rashes are also common depending on the race of the Demon as well.

“We’re looking for information.” I started, looking at the still panting gray-skinned monster. “We know that one of your… friends was in contact with a Vampire that had just gotten into the city and was preparing to leave.” His pure red pupil dilated a bit and the corner of his lip twitched, telling me that he knew something. “Him and a few other Demons had been found dead with parts of their bodies missing.”

He clicked his tongue, looking displeased now.

“Such a waste.” He shook his head a bit before looking back up at me, grinning sadistically. “We wouldn’t have left a trace of them.”

“I know.” I hissed, resisting the urge to hit him. “I’m looking for the bastard that left them like that.” I leaned in a bit closer, ignoring my brother's look of worry and glared into the young monster's eyes. “Tell me, and I’ll keep your existence a secret and let you go.”

“That’s it?” He challenged, baring his teeth as he smiled wider. “That’s all you have to offer?” His laughter sent a chill up my spine and Nick nudged him with the barrel of his gun again, looking ready to pull the trigger. “You know what I am and that is the best you can do?” He glanced around at the men surrounding him, smiling a bit more when they each reflexively tightened their hold on their weapon. “Why not hand over one of them? They won’t taste as good as you, but it’s better than starving after failing to catch a Demon.”

Detective Izaak flinched and looked ready to shoot while next to him, Danny glared and stepped a bit closer, looking for a reason to pull the trigger. Detective Marcus and my brother were the only ones that didn’t fully react to the monster's words, though their eyes held disgust and anger that they quickly contained.

“They’re not mine to offer.” I casually stated, earning a few weird looks from Danny and Detective Izaak. “And even if they were, I would rather stuff this Pestis down your throat than hand any of them over.” I stepped closer and the Flesh-Eater flinched again, his eyes glued to the herb on my hand. “So you should probably tell me what I want to know before I give in to that urge and end your worthless life, here and now.”

We locked eyes and I could see that he was weighing out my words, trying to see if I was really strong enough to kill someone, even if he was a monster. He had been a Demon after all, so he could very well try to reach out to my kinder, more prideful side and weasel his way out of this. His eyes narrowed while I continued to look back at him calmly, showing him that death wasn’t something unfamiliar to me. And after another long gap of silence that made the night around us even colder, he finally turned away and groaned, leaning back before speaking.

“I don’t know names.” He started, growling a bit when Nick nudged him with his gun again. “All I know is that some of my older companions had been in contact with a Demon that had been looking for solitary travelers.”

“What race?” I demanded, feeling a rush climb within me now that we were getting somewhere. “I need to know everything you know.”

“I just said I don’t know names, you…” He stopped, catching both my brother and Detective Marcus glaring at him with murder in their eyes. “It’s a Sorcerer. Some older guy that I think is crazy and turned into a recluse. He never leaves his home unless it’s to find another Demon to use for his potions… I think I heard someone say that he lives by the beach, far away from anyone else.”

“The beach?” I echoed, staring blankly at the ground while the faint memories from my childhood flashed in my mind. “By the northern cliffside?”

The Flesh-Eater stared for a moment before clicking his tongue in annoyance, shaking his head while he muttered, “You knew and you still came to question us?”

I straightened up and glared at him, wondering if I should trust him at his word or if I should just finish this. But when I looked at the men still aiming their weapons at him I gave in, knowing that I could always return and question another one of these bastards if this information was false.

“Thank you.” I nodded to the others who slowly relaxed, lowering their weapons while I stepped back, reaching for a hidden blade I had clipped to my lower back. “As promised, we’ll release you and keep your existence a secret from the Matron.”

He scoffed, eyeing us as he stood up, watching to see if any of them were going to still shoot him.

“The Matron is nothing but a joke.” He absently muttered, backing away while he continued to look at us. “Believing that any form of peace or safety can be achieved within this Human world… It's pathetic, useless and weak.”

“As opposed to turning your back on your own kind?” I hissed, glaring as he relaxed some more, breaking out of the little circle we had formed around him.

“Choosing this life has made us stronger.” He hissed back, smiling darkly before turning his back on us and walking a little faster. “No Demon or Human can frighten us, and any ‘threat’ given by that Matron b***h is nothing more than empty words.”

I pulled the blade out from behind my back and dropped the herb I had been holding, raising the dagger up to my face before I whipped my body around in a tight quick circle. Gaining more power and speed with this, I stopped short and released the dagger in my hand, letting it fly from my fingers. It soared between Danny and Detective Izaak, turning a little in the air before reaching its target. A thumping sound followed by a painful groan range out once the dagger sank into the back of the filthy monster. His arms flailed while he sank to the ground, failing to grasp the handle as he continued to moan and pant loudly.

“You… you lying bitch.” He growled out, slipping onto his ass as he turned his body to face us.

I simply smiled as I walked over to him, feeling the eyes of the others following me. I then kneeled in front of the pink faced monster and dug into my back pocket for the tiny flat bottle of poison I had hidden from the others. The Flesh-Eater whimpered once he saw it, notifying the dark murky green color of if while I pulled the mini cork out. Then, getting clawed as he began to beg, I gripped his jaw and forced his lips apart, pinching his face as hard as I could while tilting the poison towards the opening.

“May you rot in never ending pain and suffering.” My words were soft but they held the weight of my hatred for what this creature had chosen to become.

He wriggled away from me after I had spilled the poison in his mouth, his head turning away and trying to spit it back out. But the poison I had chosen was viscus and nearly glue-like, sticking to his tongue and teeth before his body began to absorb it.

I stood up as he continued to panic, his face turning a sickening bright blue as if he were choking. His claws tore into his face and throat while his breathing wheezed out of his body, his eyes weakly begging for me to help him. A moment later, he flopped out his stomach reaching for me and I stepped closer to retrieve my dagger, making him twitch while he dug into the ground. And when I turned to walk back to the others, his body went still, his breath no longer making a sound before he exhaled for the last time.

“You think he was telling the truth?” Nick asked once I rejoined them.

“I don’t know.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration before dropping them to hug myself, feeling the late winter chill sneak through my thin clothes. “We’ll have to check it out either way.” I jumped a bit when something was placed on my shoulders, turning to find Detective Marcus behind me, offering me his large coat.

“Hey.” Danny cut in before I could decline, jamming his thumb back at the bodies around us. “Who do we call about this? The coroner?”

I gave in and slipped my arms through the sleeves, thankful for the warmth yet fighting the urge to bury my nose against the fabric and take in the soothing scent that clung to it. Nick caught me and raised a brow, but I just shook my head and moved away from the Detective as I spoke.

“No, we have people that can come in and take care of this.” Nick continued to watch me as he pulled out his phone, glancing at Detective Marcus who was also keeping his eyes on me. “They can be here quickly and clean up before anyone sees this.”

After Nick called we looked around to make sure that no other Flesh-Eaters had been around watching us before we gathered again by the van. Danny and Detective Izaak asked me questions about the potion I had used on my weapons and the poison they hadn’t noticed me taking. I was grateful for their questions since they were a wonderful distraction from the eyes of my brother and my Match that kept following me. And I spent a large amount of the time there talking and explaining things to them.

Once my people arrived they talked to Nick and I and wrote down any necessary information needed before gathering the bodies.

It was funny to me to see my small team of Demons eyeing the Humans who looked lost and confused on what they were doing. And I broke out in laughter when Danny tried to ask them what they were going to do with the dead Flesh-Eaters, catching the looks that my people gave him before they turned back to look at me. It was as if they were hearing a mental patient speak gibberish to them, making it impossible for them not to react and go mute.

“What did I say?” Danny asked, looking even more lost than before.

“It’s not you.” Nick answered, climbing into the van behind me. “Most Demons don’t really interact positively with Humans so when a stranger talks to them politely, it tends to shock them.”

“But not you?” Detective Izaak asked, looking between Nick and I. “You’re Human too yet they spoke to you just fine.”

“He’s been by my side since I was a kid.” I told him, catching a pair of gray eyes glancing back at me from the rearview mirror. “We grew up together in the same orphanage and stayed together afterwards.” Nick dropped his arm around my shoulders and smiled, squeezing me a bit before releasing me. “He’s been the only constant in my life.”

“Orphanage…”

I heard Detective Marcus mutter under his breath as the others talked to my brother, his brows knitting together as he thought of something. My curiosity took over and I watched as he struggled through something in his mind, wincing a few times before groaning and gripping his head with one hand. Danny, having taken the front passenger seat, stopped talking and quietly asked if his friend was alright, murmuring something about a headache. It seemed to be something that had been bothering the Detective for a while from what I was able to catch. Yet after another short while of driving, the Detective returned to normal as if he hadn’t been in any pain. Then his eyes moved to look back at me and he winced again, refocusing on the road.

A part of me wanted to ask if he was alright, but the telepathy potion was starting to fade so I wouldn’t be able to communicate very well with him.

Then, as if to remind me of the danger that hovered over me, the Detective was forced to break sharply just as he inched into an intersection, narrowly missing the speeding truck that ran a red light.

We all gasped and cursed as we were jerked around by the van, feeling the tightening of our seat belts and hearing the screech of the tires. Nick gripped my hand as he stared at me, showing me nothing but worry as the others commented on the close call we all just had.

“Shit.” Detective Marcus hissed, looking down at something near his lap. “It’s broken.”

He raised the buckle of his seatbelt to show that it had failed to stay clicked into the lower portion.Danny took it from him and showed us how the buckle just weakly slid into its slot before slipping out, no longer making a clicking out like the rest of ours had.

Nicks hold on my hand tightened and I choked back my panic as we began moving again, slightly slower this time.

I didn’t need the telepathy potion to know what my brother was thinking, it was obvious.

The Curse was starting to take effect.

It was aiming for us now, seeking out my Match and I to find the weaker link between us.

The easiest one to kill to satisfy the Curses' need for blood.