BORN IN HELL and deemed the whisperer of beasts, a mutated cluster of horns was Asylis's demonic crown of chaos and glory.
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Visiting Earth, the portal between realms closing was the last of Asylis's expectations. She was forced to adjust to her...
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MY HAND PENETRATED his chest when I punched through his sternum. Blood turned the dingy ceiling lights from grey to an aesthetically pleasing red. I sunk my claws into the warm, wet cavity, my wrist brushed against jagged, broken bone. His heart pulsed with the speed of a jackrabbit against my hand.
A shriek erupted from the young man but it was cut off by blood spewing from his mouth and nose. I squeezed the organ in my hand, crushing it to a sack of meat. If I was in the mood to get dirty tonight I'd stay for a meal. Blood splattered onto my cheek and curse words slipped from my forked tongue. I felt a hot, glowing ball within the cavern. A human soul. Latching onto it, I pulled and his body collapsed to the floor. His eye sockets burned to hollowed-out holes.
The ball was black with a red center and a white glow. Its heat was almost intolerable against my skin but my body craved it. Without it, I was weakened. Smashing it in my hand was like clenching a ball of hot glass or recklessly jamming a needle in your veins. But fuck did it feel good. I opened my palm, jagged shards impaled my hand. My skin absorbed the sharp pieces, and I knew the rush of euphoria wasn't dying anytime soon.
My head turned to the front of the convenience store. A dog sat outside the doors. In hopes it'd be there when I returned, I quickly went to the bathroom and cleaned myself. The cool water running over my hands melted away all remaining heat from the soul. Of course. It was gone when I stepped outside, though I could tell that the animal didn't get very far.
In the distance, the dog turned a corner and I followed with hard, brisk steps. My hand gripped the gun on my waist just in case anyone wanted to be brave tonight. Shady pricks and harlots leaned against the graffitied walls of buildings in the Bronx's abyss of poverty. Their chatter and the city's sounds were tuned out of my hearing as I remained locked on what was in front of me.
Heads of the homeless turned my way, unpleased I was walking through their camp underneath a bridge. My eyes scanned the sea of trash, clothing, and sleeping bags. Unable to find where it went, I cursed under my breath. The homeless population had increased to a record-high number over the decades. If you hung around these places long enough, you'd get the treat of seeing police arresting random people to take and euthanize under the guise of only having an arrest warrant. Government orders.
"Whatcha lookin' for honey?" a man questioned from his place on an upside-down bucket. I felt his eyes on my back, a curious energy. Thoughts within his brain raced, wondering what someone like me was doing walking around here at night. When I pivoted to face him the heels of my boots dug into the cement. The man's grin wavered as he processed my face. I wasn't exactly your usual pretty thing that hung around this type of area—the only thing we had in common would be the lack of innocence. He looked no older than thirty despite the scraggly, unkempt beard covering his oblong face.
"Someone here mug you or somethin'?" he interrogated, itching the scalp under his short blond dreadlocks with a rusted metal hand.
"Nah, saw a dog run up in here. Was wondering where it went?" I replied, panning around the camp once more. A smile returned to his thin, chapped lips before he brought a joint to them.
