Chapter Four

Flames licked the sides of small wooden houses, climbing up to the thatch roofs as terrified and pained screams filled the air to join the smoke clouding out the star filled sky.

A man stood in the middle of the village, his back turned to me and a terrible inky blackness oozed from his back like vile, poisonous wings. In his right hand was a sword, coated in the blood of innocents whose broken corpses surrounded him in a river of blood and flesh.

Bodies lined the streets of the village creating a flowing crimson stream littered with chunks of torn flesh and shattered bone. Fear was frozen in their faces as they stared out, mouths agape as though they had been screaming in terror before they met their untimely demise at the sword clutched in the strange man's hand.

He was crying, I couldn't hear what he said, but I could hear his voice crying out as though he was faraway. He was angry and he wanted to know something, but what? What was so important that he cried out like he was possessed? What was so important that he had to burn a village and cut its people down like they were mere animals?

I strained my ears, trying to hear what the man was shouting. The more I strained, the closer the voice grew.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?"

The voice came suddenly, so sharp and clear that I hadn't expected it and stumbled backwards into darkness.

Shadows swirled around me as I tried making my way back, but when I finally reached some light, the village was gone and instead I stood in the lounge of a house. The floors were made of wood and the walls were painted a faded shade of green, a green and red rug rested under a wooden coffee table and sitting on opposite ends of a black leather three-seater couch were an oddly familiar couple.

The man had honey blonde hair which was cropped short and kind golden eyes; a soft, almost comforting light shone out from his back. he smiled at the woman lovingly, but there was a sadness in his stunning eyes.

The woman was his opposite, her midnight hair flowed around her face in delicate curls that were cropped to her jaw, her eyes were dark brown, maybe even black, and a shadowy smoke flowed out of her back. She returned the loving smile the man had given her while she placed a hand gently on her stomach and I noticed a slight bump there.

"It's sad that we will never know them," the man said.

"Our first priority is to protect them, no one can ever know they exist," the woman responded.

"Who will teach them how to control their powers? Who will help them grow strong?" the man asked.

"I will take care of that, you shouldn't worry so much," she shook her head at him.

"At least I know they will have their mother's strength," he chuckled to himself.

"As well as their father's," the woman smiled at him tenderly.

The room slowly began fading and shadows swirled into my vision until nothing but darkness remained. I looked around frantically trying to find the room again, wanting to know who or what I was seeing, but nothing led me back to that room or the burning village.

Suddenly there was a flash of white and something grabbed a hold of my shoulders hard, shaking me violently as someone loudly shouted.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

My eyes snapped open and I shot up violently, only to discover that I was alone in a flowery bedroom and sitting in a bed with butterflies covering it in twirling patterns. Where the hell am I? I wondered as I looked around a room that appeared to have been decorated for a twelve year old girl from the Fifties.

I slipped my bare feet onto the cool wooden floors beside the bed, noticing that my black suede wedge-heel boots were lying in the corner of the room next to the red wooden door. I wondered who would have removed my boots and put me in the bed, when I suddenly remembered collapsing in front of Kyriel.

My cheeks reddened at the thought of being so vulnerable near a man such as Kyriel. I was being paranoid of course, since I was still clothed and I felt unharmed. Besides, he had made it crystal clear that he'd never find someone like me attractive, so there was nothing to worry about if I thought about it.

I slowly stood up from the bed, my legs wobbling slightly from the effort making me fear that I would collapse again. A minute or so passed of me forcing myself to stand before the sensation ceased and I felt confident that I could now walk. I still felt a bit dizzy, but I was able to balance and took a step forward to test how well I could walk. I was a bit surprised when my body stayed up right and I released a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding.

I noticed a note lying on the bedside table. I picked it up and read the uneven scrawl written on the paper: There are clothes for you in the closet. I guessed your size and preferred style. If you don't like them, don't wear them. Stink for all I care. That was obviously Kyriel's handwriting and I couldn't help but wonder when he had time to get clothes for me. I shook my head as I put the note down; I would change later when I was sure this place wasn't home to a psycho kidnapper or something.

I spotted my appearance in the standing mirror propped up in the corner of the room and froze. My fair skin had become a sickly kind of pale, my full rosy lips had paled to a light pink, my midnight hair was clumped together with dried blood and my amber eyes had a haunted look to them. I even looked like someone who was living their worst nightmare; my jeans were stained beyond saving and I knew that my black tank top hadn't been spared the soaking of blood. I blinked away the tears that had welled in my eyes and took a deep breath. I desperately needed a shower, which meant that I would need to find one before I could even think about seeing to the clothes Kyriel had gotten for me. Psycho or no, I couldn't stand being stained in this blood any longer.

I quickly and quietly put my boots back on, before opening the door and stepping out into a narrow hallway with several wooden doors on either side. Both ends of the hallway had doors leading out, I looked left and right, before making up my mind and going left. I hadn't the faintest idea where I was going, but I hoped to either run into another person – hopefully one friendlier than Kyriel – who could tell me where to go or find a shower in one of the many rooms. After the initial hallway, I took several right turns, a few left turns and entered and exited several rooms, before I somehow found myself in the room overlooking the succubus's habitat.

I actually took in my surroundings properly this time instead of being consumed by the woman behind the glass. The room was homely with an intricately carved stone fireplace and a smattering of green settees littered around the room encircling round coffee tables sitting atop dark green and brown throw rugs. There were a few landscape paintings hanging on the hunter green walls that depicted beautiful vistas as well as some that appeared to be portraits of people that looked to be Kyriel's relatives or ancestors. I glanced back to where the so-called succubus lounged and studied her silently.

The stunning purple woman looked up at me with those black eyes from where she lounged on a large flat rock. She didn't move this time though; she just sat there bare to the world as if it was the most normal thing and regarded me with a smirk pulling up at the corners of her lush plum lips. She really was stunning and yet her appearance was terrifying at the exact same time; I had no doubt that she could capture the heart of many a man even with her unnatural appearance.

"My, my, what is this sweet little thing doing outside her room at this time of night? And to visit me no less," she said in that terrifying yet mesmerizing voice.

"I didn't come here by choice," I muttered.

"Oh, well, most don't come by their own choice," the succubus's smirk widened into a cheeky grin which revealed perfect pearl-white teeth.

"Not everything is about sex, you know?" I spat.

"Oh, is it not? I hadn't gotten the memo, I was still under the impression that since the reason for existence is to reproduce, therefore everything leads to sex. If one thinks about it, you eat to survive so you can have sex and reproduce, you wear makeup and scant clothing to attract a mate to have sex with and eventually reproduce, you exist because your parents had sex and reproduced, therefore everything is, practically, about sex," the succubus said.

"I didn't mean... ugh nevermind," I sighed.

"Oh, no, please do go on. Your voice is absolutely... seductive," the succubus said with a playful smirk.

I frowned as I tried to figure out if she was taunting me or actually meant the compliment. I wasn't entirely sure how to take it if she was being honest; why would a figment of my imagination call anything about me seductive? I wasn't vain like some girls could be. I thought I was pretty, sure, but I never considered myself to be a head turner. I decided to steer the conversation away from any potentially sexual subject.

I sighed, hoping this wouldn't trigger another sex addict comment from the woman, "So do you have a name that I can call you by?"

She tilted her head in confusion, "A name?"

"Yeah, you know, like Kyriel is your master or captor or whatever's name and Tya is my name," I explained.

"Oh, demons don't have names, we are not born into loving arms, we are hated and discarded, left to fend for ourselves. However, Kyriel calls me Beast, so perhaps you wish to call me such as well," the succubus said, a hint of anger coating her tone with her first words.

"Well, that's not much of a name for a woman," I commented.

"I agree, it is too harsh," she nodded.

I smirked, "What about Bridget?"

"Bridget?"

"It's the name of the popular girl whore who goes to the same university that I go to," I shrugged.

The succubus bared her teeth, "I dislike it."

I thought for a moment, "Hmm, what about Selena?"

"Selena?" the succubus said as if tasting the name, "I agree. From this day forward, I will be known by the name Selena."

I smiled awkwardly, it's not every day that you give a so-called demon her first real name. A moment later, heavy footsteps entered the room and I turned around in fear only to realise that it was just Kyriel. He glared at me as though irritated to find me outside of the pink flowery room that he had given me which was obviously another jab at me being a child in his eyes. In fact, I believed he would somehow turn me being out of the room without permission as a childish act.

He glanced at Selena, "What have you been filling her head with, beast?"

"I will no longer answer to beast, Kyriel, I have a name now and it is Selena. Let me hear you say it with that sweet manly voice of yours," Selena smiled playfully.

Kyriel turned his irritated gaze towards me, "Selena, eh? I wonder where that came from."

Selena, oblivious to the sarcasm in his voice, answered, "Why, I was given the name by... oh what was her name again... oh, yes, Tya."

Kyriel raised an eyebrow, "Your name is Tya? What a weird name."

It felt odd to hear him say my name. Although, the fact he said as though it had a bitter taste made me want to punch him in the face and string him up by the balls, but somehow, I managed to restrain myself from causing the infuriating man bodily harm. Part of my restraint was due to the fact that he was at least a head taller than me and probably around one and a half times my weight with sculpted muscle that I likely wouldn't be able to overpower, but that didn't stop me from fantasising about breaking his nose on the wooden floor.

"Yours isn't exactly what one would call normal either." I retorted, "Besides, I'm from South Africa, what's your excuse?"

"I'm a dark angel," Kyriel said as though it was obvious.

"Not more of this kak," I sighed into my hands.

Did he honestly believe that angels and demons walked this Earth? Did he truly think himself to be a dark angel? Was he completely delusional? Or was he trying to drive me insane enough to parade around nude in tank like the so-called succubus? I couldn't tell; he seemed serious enough, even genuine, in his claims.

"What more proof do you need, other than what you've already seen, that this is all real?" Kyriel asked, sounding frustrated.

"I refuse to believe all of this," I turned away from Kyriel.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because it means that the world really is a dark place and that monsters aren't just psychopaths and serial killers but creatures that can tear a human apart like tissue paper... creatures that don't exist," I said.

Selena barked a dark laugh at that, "Humans can be crueller than any demon ever could be. If we could reproduce, I'm certain that we would not abandon our children at birth just because we dislike how they look."

"You say that as if the Fallen didn't abandon their children as well," Kyriel said, an iciness creeping into his tone.

"I don't care about the children of the Fallen," Selena spat.

"And the very fact that you don't care is why you are nothing but a beast to me. It is also why she doesn't deserve a name," Kyriel said in a frigid tone.

"I was abandoned by a human!" Selena screamed as a burst of black and purple flame slammed against the glass separating us from her.

I instinctively stepped back as the glass shuddered with the force, but much to my relief, it did not give way. The inferno subsided until Selena was visible, standing on her lounging rock, her well-endowed chest heaving with exertion. Black flames lapped at her hands and feet and flames danced in her hair. Black lines that looked like thick veins travelled down her cheeks from her pitch-black eyes.

In that very moment, she looked more like ademon straight from hell than before. Part of me was completely terrified andpart of me felt sorry for her since she had never felt what it was like to have a mother's love.