Mark of The Demon

A choice

The girl had been holding the fork to her mouth and was saying the last prayer for her stupid lonely, worthless soul. That maybe the next life would be more kind to her. Maybe the next time around Sapphire wouldn't be a wealthy daughter and she might get to live, love, and experience many things. Not terrible things. That is when the echoes of a voice reached her and hot flames seemed to whip around her. 

Sapphire looked up into the flaming embers, the were running wild on the walls and the image reminded her of that fateful night. Her stomach sank and she dropped the fork back onto the plate. Yet the fork didn't fall. It hung in the air where she had been holding it. She realized time seemed frozen beyond the voice. Only see seemed to be unfrozen. From behind the raging flames she could see the trees in the yard halted a bird about to land hovered wings out in the air, and the clock above the radio was stuck at 3:33pm. The tiny red hand almost lost to her in all the red light from the fire, was stuck just moments before passing the XII. She felt tears creep to her eyes. This was a demon wasn't it? Had she become so... So impure? Why? Why did it come to this? She felt a years worth of misfortune pressing her into the ground. She just wanted to sleep. Did she... Really even care enough? She could let the clock tick and die. Or she could give her soul for a few more minutes of life. She looked up at him. So many questions flooded her mind. Then she saw the face of her mother all strong brave smiles, and her father a kind man. He had been trying to allow her to meet a man on her own. He highly encouraged her to find someone in her class but would allow her to be the one to choose a man. 

"I want... I want two things... I want to get revenge on the people that killed my father and mother, that put me here." She said darkly. "I also want to restore my family to what it was before they betrayed them. I want my family to go on, even if i cant go on with them..." She said in strong voice that slowly faded and trailed away. She realized that even if he tricked her. She had just been fully prepared to just die. And her method of dying would have sent her to hell anyways. She didnt want to exist anymore. She just wanted to keep her family and make those wicked people pay. She reached her hand out and after a pause took the demons hand. 

"I accept."

The flames roared, victorious, white-hot victory burning now, torching the high ceiling but keeping her safe, each chunk of rock and wood that fell from the ceiling burnt to ash before it touched the ground. Already, the blue sky was visible, arching sunbeams illuminating the dirty kitchen, but somehow the shadowy figure was just as dark as before.

"Then the contract is sealed."

The demons voice came out like a his of steam from a fire, his hand gripped her tightly and pain burned into her, the likes of which she had never felt before, a pain which burnt its way into her very soul. Blackness seeped into her, her last sight the flames dying and a lone figure wreathed in a strange white light..