The Deal with the Demon Prince

*Chapter Thirty-Five*

*Chapter Thirty-Five*

He laughed.

Lightning flashed once more, followed by more thunder. His laugh, booming well above the thunder, echoed incessantly around the cliff. He held up his uninjured hand, and a ball of flame hovered inches above his palm. Aurora dropped her gaze, but kept her scythe steadily against his neck. The wound did not seem to bother him at all.

“How foolish of you to think a mere wannabe immortal can harm me, a true immortal. I cannot die, foolish half-demon.”

Aurora’s slit-like eyes landed on him. She ignored his comments. There was only thing she cared. “What did you just call me?”

“Frankly, I don’t even know what to call you. You’re more of a hybrid created by accident than anything else. You’re a freak, an anomaly of nature. You were never born a fully human.”

Valin closed his eyes, and his body suddenly slumped forward. Aurora removed her scythe to avoid accidentally cutting the unconscious body open. Her enemy was not Valin but the being that used Valin’s body.

A pool of mist, black hazy mist, twisted to form the legs of a human male, quickly followed by a waist and torso and lastly, the head. In less than two seconds, the silhouette of a humanoid shape appeared in front of her, veiled only the black mist surrounding the creature. Aurora could also make out the shape of a pair of wings identical to hers.

It was then it happened. Something small and moving caught Aurora’s eye, and she glanced up. A bird that had been flying perfectly fine moments ago fell from the sky, dropping dead before it even hit the coarse pebbles. The waves seemed to roar in anger, crashing furiously against the rocks beneath her. The lush green plants around the edge of the woods turned a sickly yellow, withering and dying. Like some contagious disease, it spread further into the woods. Finally, around six trees into the woods, it stopped. The seventh tree stood tall and healthy, a stark contrast with the dead equally tall tree next to it.

As if answering her unknown question, Aurora felt it. There was a strange tug. She balled her fists. She wouldn’t let it show. It was a suffocating feeling. It was as if there was a giant black hole, wanting to suck her soul right out of her body. There was a strangled noise. Cadence doubled over, quickly dropping to the floor. She clutched her throat, and Aurora could see her turn into different shades of color.

“Father, perhaps I should get this demon out -”

“No, Lirithia, I need all seven of you here to complete this. None of you interfere,” he said, turning slightly. “She’s mine.”

His hand shot out and tendrils of black mists lunged at the small group. At once, they all fell unconscious. He smirked at Aurora. “We’re now alone.”

Aurora had no idea what he was talking about, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. After all, she no longer held any curiosity. Emotions, she hadn’t realized she’d been taking them for granted ever since she could remember. Some things were much more precious once you lost them.

The mists shifted, quickly transforming into a black cloak that draped itself around him. His eyes were crimson, just like any other demons, but the look in his eyes was nothing like she had ever seen. It was something mixed between Raven’s hunger, Avary’s greed, and more that Aurora could not identify. It was a petrifying look one would only find in his or her darkest nightmare.

“Do you know who your father is?”

“No,” Aurora said without blinking. “I don’t want to know. You still did not answer my question.”

“I am answering. Your father was not a human. Demons cannot reproduce between themselves. I create demons, but for some reason, they can with humans. The human must be a female for this to work, and she usually gives birth to some horrendous half-dead creatures that do not belong in your world.”