Lips Red As Blood

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Cora tries to speak, but her lips are frozen. Everything about her is frozen: her voice, feeling, and inability to leap up and run. All that comes out is a pathetic whimper, as she connects gazes with Brielle, whose baby-blue eyes glow brighter with thirst. 

"You know what this reminds me of?" Brielle lets loose a pealing laugh as if they're old friends drinking beer and sharing stories. "The first time we met. In the bathroom. You look as terrified as you did then." 

Fear. Yes, it's the same fear as then, heart thumping and thoughts screaming, throat dry and fear jumping through every single cell. 

"Last time, I was ordered not to kill. To just give you a tiny scare." The demon girl thinks for a moment, twirling a lock of auburn hair with her finger. Then, a cruel smile. "Now, I'm going to actually kill you." 

Asher's tugging on her arm, shouting blurred words, yet she stays paralyzed. Move, her mind orders, but her body disobeys. Fear has her locked in place. 

Brielle moves forward, those haunting blue eyes glittering. "I'm going to enjoy this dearly," she coos, fingernails stretching towards Cora's vision. "So you should probably worry because it'll hurt a lot." 

That's when Cora blinks, everything settling back in place once more. 

"Run!" Asher shouts in frustration, grabbing her hand with more force. "Do you want to die tonight?" 

Die? "No." Her lips barely move, yet that little word has her moving. Cora leaps to her feet, adrenaline threading through all her veins. "I can't die tonight." 

Then they're running, feet pounding against snow and icy wind whipping everywhere. They run, shadows tearing through their every movement. They run, tree branches scratching their faces. They run and even as Cora's muscles beg, she doesn't stop. 

Brielle is a few feet away, laughing breathlessly as if she's in a state of ecstasy. "Where are you going to hide in this endless forest?" she taunts, her laughs echoing through the darkness. "There's nowhere to hide, fools. You're only wasting your energy." 

"Don't listen to her," Asher murmurs, breath coming out in puffs. "We're almost at that place." 

Indeed they are. Cora starts seeing an isolated city in the distance, fairy lights dripping from the entrance. They're almost there and relief flows through Cora, a rush of golden nectar that drips through her blood. 

There's a quaint cornflower blue sign that hangs to the right, pale flowers painted on the wooden board, as the vanilla-white font spells out words: Welcome to Hell. Once you enter, you can't leave. 

In hot pink graffiti, there's another set of words: unless you have permission or something. 

A cobblestone path leads upwards, to houses stacked upon each other, building higher and higher. Each house is lit up, warmth and gold spilling out to the shadows. Baby blue and beige buildings line the area, each of them perfectly built as if it's taken from a fairytale book. 

"Come on," Kai calls, already plunging through, running across the cobblestone. "She's going to catch up." 

He's right. There's no time for ogling, until later. 

Cora follows him. The moment she goes past the sign, a sudden warmth seeps through her clothes. It's like she's inside a room with roaring fires and hot chocolate — yet that's not the case. There's still a winter storm raging behind her. 

"Wait," Cora says, looking behind. "Where's Brielle? Wasn't she right behind us?" 

"Doesn't matter!" Kai shouts back. "Right now, we need to get to safety and get the hell away from that she-demon before she decides to hurl a knife at us."