Simple Distortion

Chapter 2 - Simple Distortion

"Augh." I heard a grouchy moan rumble from my lips as I tossed over in the rough bed quilts and clothes lying with me on my creaky mattress.

Squeezing my eyes tighter and fumbling for the edge of the duvet, I tried to get comfortable. That was probably impossible on my cheap bed, but I tried anyway.

Lying on my back, I tried to un-focus my head.

Just as my conscious mind was about to shut off, the slight tapping of creeping feet woke me up again. My ears were sensitive, pricked up and trying to figure out the footsteps.

Who was that? Why were they stopping outside my bedroom door? They got louder and louder. I forced my eyes shut to try to block it out. Tucking my tail into myself, I listened.

Silence.

Who ever it was seemed to be gone now. But then the closed door flung open and a sickeningly familiar voice yelled,

"Morning Amari!"

Snarling, I sat up sharply, my mattress squeak violently.

Pausing for affect, I glared him straight in the eyes.

“Get. Out,” I whispered, trying to put as much menace into my words as possible.

The creature just stood there, seeming unaffected by the ferociousness of my voice.

 He seemed to withdraw, seeming to be finally submit. With a smug little grin on his face he turned for the door.  Without warning, Ace was suddenly about an inch from my face with a massive smile.

I flung backwards, not expecting him to be so close without me seeing. I hit my head hard on the wall.

Putting my fingers into my short dark hair on the back of my head, I carefully felt a stinging and extending lump. I became furious at my stupid little brother. A growl rippled from inside me as Ace stood and laughed. I leapt at him through the air and grabbed hold of his neck tightly and tumbled out the door and down the stairs.

"Augh! Get off, get off!" He screeched, digging his icy nails into the back of my neck as we tumbled round and round, finally thumping to the cold rocky ground. He got up quickly, brushing the dust from his small body and ran down the dimly lit stone path that, surprisingly, wasn’t my hallway. The little taps of his feet echoed annoyingly as he vanished into my kitchen.

“Frigging hell," I complained, rolling pathetically onto my side, not bothering to get up off the stone floor. Massaging the back of my head softly, I began to feel a sharp pang in my left knee.

Maybe I'll just go back to bed, I thought. It’s better than having to face today. Or find out what that idiot Kalcifer and his band of rejects wanted.

"Amari," called a lifeless voice from down the path. I ignored it; I wasn’t going to see them today. Come back tomorrow, I thought in their direction. Getting up painfully, I turned back to the stairs, planning to get into bed for the next two hours or so. A quick sharp kick from behind made my knees buckle beneath me. My knees were always my weak spot.

I span around as someone stomped on my tail. "What the hell?" I yelled, looking up into some girls’ brown eyes. She was leaning over me, her hair flopping forwards. Her knowing eyes were experienced for her 30ish face. She was mocking me, looking down to me like I was a young, inexperienced little child. I hated that.

She turned back suddenly, beginning to walk down the path. She flicked the end of her hazel tail up slightly; a way of telling someone to follow. I groaned again as she disappeared into my kitchen, if it still was my kitchen. Looking back up at the stairs I realized I have no option but to go and see Kalcifer.

I stepped into the room, warily glancing around to the scene in front of me. A cold gust of air washed my face. Three people were staring at me.

Looking up I could see the misty, dark sky. What happened to the fricking ceiling?

 My small, crowded kitchen was now a long courtyard. The stupid group always made huge monuments. They obviously feel more at home with big open spaces, but they always seemed to make my home into theirs.

God, this was going to take forever to wear off…

I hated it when the others used magic, especially to show off and look powerful. I growled. What the hell did they want this time?

"Ah. Amari," The mocking voice came from the man that was stepping calmly into my personal space. I rolled my eyes and stepped back. Too close.

“You’ve grown since the last time I saw you,” Kalcifer’s friendly tone wasn’t fooling me.

“Yeah, that’s usually what happens.” My sarcastic tone was annoying him already; I could see it as his eyes. The black streaked iris’s were flickering slightly red, like any Demon’s would if you managed to get then angry.

Kalcifer calmed down and began to circle me.

“Hm.” He looked up and down. “Strong neck. Developed arm and leg muscles,” what was I? A blinking cow? “But weak knees, we’ll need to work on that.” Woopty doo, I thought. Kalcifer pulled sharply on my dark tail. I whipped it away from him as he said “Strong tail.” He flicked the newly formed lump on my head. Pain shot through my nerves. I turned and snarled at him. He didn’t react. He knew that it was really stupid to start a fight with him. He knew I would lose, and then I would die. Keeping a cap on your temper was the key to surviving here. I closed my lips and straightened my legs out and blanked my face.

"We have a job for you today," Kalcifer stated.

"Wha-" I was about to say something sarcastic but a cold icy look in his eyes, and the boulder that just dropped in the pit of my stomach, made me think otherwise. The man, if you could call someone like him a man, chuckled darkly under his breath. I patiently waited for my 'job'.