I nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t think you guys were allowed to kill humans.”
Seth winced. “We’re not. Lucifer is ropable.”
“Then why did you?”
He looked at me with possibly the most serious expression I’d ever seen him have. “Because of you.”
“Me?” I was confused.
He looked at the ground. “We almost didn’t come up here tonight. If we weren’t there, if you’d left the shopping centre and got to that alley by yourself…”
I shuddered.
He looked up, skewering me with his cobalt eyes. “We all thought the same thing. ‘Fuck, what if that was Katie?’” He paused. “It enraged us, and we lost control. We care about you, dear one.”
I smiled tentatively, and reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thank you. What did you do with them? Did you leave them there for someone to find?” I asked curiously.
He shrugged. “Mt. Everest.”
“What?” I was confused.
“We took them to Mt Everest. Near the summit but away from the trail to the top. There’s so many dead bodies up there, we figured a few more wouldn’t hurt. That’s why I’m tired. It’s easier to take a dead body than a live person, but it’s still a long way.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “It’s really nice, knowing you guys are looking out for me.”
He grinned, and gave an elaborate bow. “Demon cavalry, at your service ma’am!”
“Well then can a demon take me home? I’m so tired, and I’m about to be carried off to Hell by the mozzies.”
He returned me to my room, and I slept like a baby for the rest of the night.
The next weekend, Sera and Seth were alone by the river when I arrived. “Hiya, Katie!” Seth called.
“Hey!” I flopped to the ground. “Ugh, why don’t you guys pick me up from my room? Why do I have to walk when I have friends who can teleport?” I complained.
Sera smiled. “It’s good for you.”
I poked my tongue out at her. “Can I have a have a drink?” I asked, eyeing the bottle of bourbon.
“You have to work for it first.” Seth smirked.
“But I had to walk so faaaar.” I whined. “Hang on, what do you mean, ‘work’?”
“Your cast is off, your arm has had plenty of time to heal, time to get back to your training.” His tone was businesslike. “Sera and I will pick you up from your place when your mum is working late, just like before. You’ll be kicking Sebastian’s arse in no time.”
“Ok.” I sighed, then added, “Where is Seb?” Seth smirked and looked at Sera, who coughed and looked embarrassed.
“He’s ah…. He’s with… a um, a pet.”
“What, is he keeping a dog somewhere? That’s adorable.”
Sera shifted her feet and looked more uncomfortable. “A human.” She admitted quietly.
“Like me?” Seth guffawed, and Sera glared at him.
“You’re not a pet, you’re our friend.” Sera clarified.
“What’s the difference?” I was confused.
Seth grinned widely at me. Sera still looked uncomfortable. “Pets… they… I dunno, they kinda worship us. It’s fun to have them do stuff for us.”
I looked from Seth’s grin, to Sera’s uncomfortable face, and thought I probably didn’t want to know more.
But I needed to know more. “Do you force them to? Like how Lucifer tried to force me to get him a drink that one time?” My heart thudded as I waited for the answer.
“No.” They both looked at me steadily.
“Ok then. Let’s train.” They both looked relieved that I dropped the subject of pets.
They pushed me hard, and over the coming weeks, I started feeling really strong. I decided I liked the way my body felt, and took up running on the nights when mum was home. My aim with the knives improved, and I started to feel like I might be able to defend myself with my favourite double bladed knife, the one Sera had given me at first. Against a human, at any rate.
Eight.
I was running down by the river, the night my world changed forever. I entered a small clearing, and there were two figures there waiting for me. They were tall, around the same height as Sera. Unlike my friends, their legs ended in cloven hooves, and they had forked tails. Their skin was a brighter red, and their talons were jagged and dirty. Their horns were massive, and curled like a ram’s. I pulled up short, my heart pounding.
“Uh, hi.” I said nervously. “Did Lucifer send you?”
They laughed, a grating, awful sound. “We were sent by Satan. We will destroy you in His name.” I was confused, but didn’t hang around for clarification. I rabbited off into the bush, running for my life and praying hard for my friends. I couldn’t form words in my mind, but I focussed hard on imagining them appearing, and chanted their names over and over. They didn’t appear. The demons behind me laughed, and as I leapt over a fallen log, one of them grabbed my pony tail and savagely yanked me back.
I screamed in pain, and scrambled for the knife hidden in the small of my back. I managed to grab it as I scrambled to my feet. A demon swung at me, and it glanced off my cheek as I dodged. Pain bloomed in my face, and I felt blood start to roll down my face. I swung wildly with the knife, forgetting most of what Sera had taught me. I screamed for Seth. He had never let me down before.
A demon grabbed me from behind and twisted my arm until I dropped the knife. The second one sliced my shirt with its talons, and traced patterns on my stomach. I squealed as he pressed harder, slicing into my skin. They laughed, an ugly, cruel sound, and I decided that once I died and entered Hell I was going to find a way to tear these fuckers apart. They were enjoying playing with me, enjoying my pain and fear. The demon sliced another line into my abdomen, and I decided I was going to go down fighting tooth and nail. I yanked my arms, but the demon behind me just tightened his grip. I felt his talons cut into me. He pulled me backwards, to punish me I guess. I heard my shoulder pop before it exploded with pain. I squealed and saw stars.
And Seth. He was almost naked, barefoot, bare- chested, and only wearing boxers. His hair was in disarray. I decided he must actually be there, because I didn’t think I could have imagined him looking like that. He took in the situation, and a cold hard rage covered his face. He spotted my knife on the ground and swooped it up, running as he bent, and leapt onto the back of the demon facing me. He yanked the knife across its throat and snarled. Hot, red blood spurted over me, and I smiled in relief.
The demon holding me picked me up and threw me to the side. I tried to tuck and roll like Seth had shown me, but my arm wouldn’t do what I asked and I landed awkwardly on the ground. Seth had gracefully leapt over the corpse of the first demon as it fell, and was now crouched low, weaving side to side like a snake, grinning ferally at the second demon. It roared, and charged him.
Seth danced. He wasn’t fighting to kill, he was fighting to punish. Soon, the demon was covered in blood- its own, this time- and Seth’s lean body had bright crimson splash-back patterns all over it. It was almost beautiful, in a barbaric way, the way the two shades of red complemented each other. Eventually, Seth had had enough, or he remembered I was there, and he opened the demons’ gut, allowing its entrails to spill out. I thought that it was curious that they had entrails, given they didn’t need to eat. Seth grabbed a hand of each of the demons,