A War for the Soul (The Demon War Series, Book 1)

The Third Trial

Emma walked through a crowd, every demon and human alike giving her a side eye, intentionally bumping into her knocking her off balance. Valera walked beside her, moving through her, unaffected by the hostile people around them.

"I thought they couldn't see me," Emma said.

"They can here," Valera said, "You're becoming more in tune with the demon world but you're only halfway there so imagine this as some kind of middle ground. A place where humans and demons live together, side by side. You are disrupting that."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. "I haven't done anything to provoke them. Who do they distrust me?"

"You represent a disruption in the harmony and balance they find solace in," Valera said, "Nothing changes for them here, but you would tilt the scales of power and they are wary of that reality. It changes centuries of status quo."

"Oh," Emma said, stopping in place, mulling over what Valera told her.

"Yeah, it's not swell," Valera said, "But I believe in you. You can fix it, bring all of them together once again."

"But how?" Emma asked. She had noticed the humans and demons had slowly started separating when she arrived and now they were completely removed from each other. They were starting to yell and scream at one another and some who decided to stand with the opposing side was being dragged to the ground, beat to a pulp.

"Not my place to tell you how," Valera said, "Just know that whatever you choose has consequences for everybody."

"How do I know the consequences?" Emma asked.

"You don't," Valera responded, "You may never know, in fact, but you have to be the one to make them, for better or worse."

"That's a heavy responsibility for anybody to bear," Emma said, "I could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds, thousands, even millions. I can't be the one to make these decisions."

"You have to be," Valera said, "If not you then somebody else will. Let me ask you something. Do you consider yourself rational? Do you consider yourself a good person?"

"I guess I consider myself both," Emma responded, "I mean I've made mistakes and am not perfect. In fact, I know I will make mistakes in the future but I try to do the best I can to be good. Why?"

"Do you think the person who would make your choices in your stead would be better at it than you?" Valera said.

"I... don't know," Emma said, "It's impossible to know."

"Perhaps," Valera said, "Perhaps not." Suddenly a man came out of the shadows. He had a suit on, very professional looking. He had a buzzcut and commanded everybody's attention at once. Every man, woman, and child directed their eyes to the stranger. Their attention did not once leave him. He walked over to the side with humans and shuffled through the crowd.

Valera and Emma watched on as the man came out of the crowd, a young demon, no older than 13 being dragged alongside him. Yelps and screams came from the demon as the man kept a firm grip in his hair, dragging him to the demons. He approached the demons and two parents, a mother and father ran out of the crowd. A few humans came forward and grabbed them holding them back. The man stopped just before the parents, dropping their son to the ground.

"This is yours?" The man asked.

"Yes," the mother answered, "Please give him back."

"As you wish," the man reached into his jacket, pulling out a glistening knife. He grabbed the boy by the hair once again and with one fellow swoop slashed his throat, blood spewing from the young boy's throat. He threw the boy to the mother and father's side. He then directed his attention to the humans that looked on at him in reverence and devotion like nothing Emma had ever seen and beckoned them over to him.

Emma turned her attention away from the cult-like activity from the humans and looked at the demons. They had all gathered around the boy. Their faces were resigned in defeat. None of them would stand up. None of them would oppose this monster. She had to be the one.

"Stop! You will not hurt any more innocent people. Your reign ends now!" Emma screamed. For the first time, the demons looked at her, hope in their eyes. The humans looked at her with more contempt in her eyes but they were lost. She did not care about them. She had to protect her own.

One by one, the demons stood up, locking hands with one another, standing behind Emma. Emma marched with them pushing through the horde of humans. They tried to kick, punch, shoot, and stab the demons but every attempt at harm bounced off them. Emma felt every bruise and scar from the attack but she pressed on. Those demons closest to her, including Valera, put their hands on her as they pressed on, giving her the strength to carry on.

The pain kept building and building, forcing Emma to grit her teeth. Suddenly she felt two horns sprout from her head and a tail grow from her backside. The demons whistled and cheered at the sight. After what felt like miles and miles of marching led them to a door. Emma reached the door and turned around. The demons all looked at her, nodding to her, a renewed fight burning in their eyes. Emma opened the door and walked through with Valera to the fourth trial...