The Birdcage

Seeing Red

Demon ichor gushed, hot and thick between her teeth, filling her mouth and drenching her front; she shuddered as she felt it slide down her throat.

Digging her teeth in hard, Nyx pulled back... and spat a large chunk of demonic flesh and vocal chords far across the garden.

Voicelessly, the Luci-lookalike's hands flew to her throat, pouring with black blood; staining her pale hands as, staggering, she tried to staunch the flow.

Nyx dragged the back of her hand across her mouth to wipe it clean. Turning, she slowly walked down the garden, towards the crushed remains of Montgomery's desk. His array of trinkets lay shattered around it; the picture of him and his wife looking up at the night sky from behind broken glass. Sifting through the wreckage, Nyx found the sword. It came to life in her hands.

The creature's eyes bulged as Nyx came close. Reaching forward, Nyx put her arm around Luci's shoulders, holding her steady- and pushed the blade forward into her abdomen, in mirror of her own scar.

The creature cried out, sound hideous through its wrecked voice box, blood gushing a torrent from the wound at her throat; black ichor leaked from her eyes and the image began to disintegrate at the edges.

Pulling out her weapon, Nyx stabbed it forwards again, this time in and up, to where her heart would be. And beneath her blazing, blood-red gaze, the creature became no more.

In that moment, it was as if a spell had been broken. Nyx dropped her blade like it burned her, blinking the red from her eyes in a moment as they became a turbulent grey. Whatever had awakened was receding from her veins; her skin itched where the blood stained her.

"Nyx?" Turning around, she saw Ronnie, standing some way away, looking at her with fearful eyes.

Despite herself, her lips twitched. She bet she was a sight. A thin, wild-haired, deranged figure; ghostly white, drenched in black blood.

Desperately trying to make her mouth form words, Nyx staggered forwards, and collapsed into the grass.

Last thing she saw before she was overtaken in the blissful dark of sleep was a tall figure in a long coat rushing forward to catch her.

Okay, so I definitely want to read people's thoughts on this one! XD