A Night of Flame and Blood Read online

  “Yeah, I think I’ll pass.”

  “I knew you would see it my way.” He put his hands behind his head and looked ahead, closing his eyes peacefully. “The ladies always see it my way.”

  I shoved him, hard, with my hand, but it did not appear to affect him. He did not even move an inch. He was way stronger than Robert. Robert would have easily been pushed against the car door.

  “Was that supposed to do something to me?” His eyes were still closed. “Because you failed.”

  “Thank you for stating the obvious.” The ass hat was pushing his limits.

  “You’re welcome; anyways we should really get to work.” He opened his eyes and stretched his arms out in front of him. The muscles in his arms flexed when he moved. He grinned when he caught me staring.

  I quickly snapped my head away from him, embarrassed at having been caught. “So, you’re going to teach me this whole seer business.” I said to change the subject.

  “Yes, but we need to go outside. We have limited space in here.” We were surrounded by wilderness; the big trees of the forest were ahead of us. Many people from school came to camp here. I loved the peace you felt when you were surrounded by nothing but trees. I would come here to hike or to get away from my life whenever I could. The forest was a beautiful place to get lost for a couple of hours. It was also the perfect place to hide a body in.

  I got out of the car. I heard his car door slam shut as he followed suit. It would be far too easy for him to do away with me if he wanted to. A small voice inside of me told me that this was probably not the best idea. The thought of finding out more of what I was had clouded my judgment and made me forget that there was a part of me that was still suspicious of Daston.

  I felt Daston’s body heat as he came to stand beside me, a small tug on my sleeve, I looked up to see his curious expression.

  “What are you thinking? You got that worried wrinkle between your eyes.” He chuckled.

  I shook my head. “Nothing, it’s not important.” After all I was here already, come what may, it was too late to turn back.

  He reached for my hand, his warm palms gentle and led me through the trees—away from the interstate. The trees were tall and each had different color leaves, they were a clash of yellow, brown, and green. The ground was littered in fallen leaves and with each step we took a crunching sound would explode from the bottoms of our feet.

  He led me deeper into the forest; it became darker the further we went. The trees seemed to multiply; they were bunched up together, the branches creating a tangled mossy shield that kept the sunlight from making and appearance.

  “You seem to know your way around the forest.” I stated. We had been walking in silence for a couple of minutes; both lost in our thoughts.

  The cool air whipped loose strands of hair around my face. The breeze was fresh; it smelled like thick nectar and lilac. “Yeah, I come here sometimes to think.”

  I smiled. We had something in common. “I do too.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  He shook his head and laughed without humor. “That’s dangerous, at least bring Robert when you do.”

  I snorted. “Robert would be the least helpful person to bring. Rebecca would be a much better choice if we are talking about protection.”

  “I can’t see her ever getting her hands dirty.”

  “Oh, she’s ruthless when she wants to be.” I smiled thinking about all the fights we had gotten into throughout the years.

  Daston stopped suddenly in the middle of an uneven dirt trail. The large moss covered trees created a big looming shadow over us. The dirt had no other plants growing out of it; the lack of sunshine did not allow any other plants to grow here. I glanced around, at what could only be called the most depressing part of the forest.

  “Of all places in this forest, you had to pick the part that looks like the horror scene of a fairy tale.”

  He gave me a startled look. “This is the best part, it’s nice and dark, quiet, and best of all no one comes here.”

  “Of course, no one comes here, no one would willingly come into the forbidden forest.” I held my hands up at his confused gaze. “The Harry Potter forest in case you did not get that reference.” He still looked confused. “Forget it.” I mumbled and turned away from him.

  I spotted a large boulder next to a tree, the top was flat and looked like it would be easy to sit on. As if he read my mind, Daston walked towards it and perched himself on the boulder glancing towards me, completely relaxed. There was something different about his face, as much of a jokester as he was, he was never truly at ease. Seeing him now, I could see he no longer had the pains of the world written on his face; like the forest air cleared them. He looked younger, more carefree.

  “Are you ready?” He asked me, his tone mocking but there was a seriousness to his question.

  “Yes.” I breathed out and inched towards him. There was nothing else in the world I wanted to hear.

  His green eyes cut me like glass. There was so much in them, so much pain lashed out in that one look. “You asked for it.” He laughed cruelly. “I already told you that a demon is after you. But do you know why?”

  I shook my head.

  “It’s because of what you see. Your visions are not necessarily linked to demons, if you are trained you can have visions about anyone, see anything about them, see their past, their future. You can see it by touching them, or any of their belongings. You can even see it by being near them, though that is harder to do, direct contact is much easier. But when it comes to demons, they have a power to them, it’s palpable, it leaks out of them, and it makes it easy for seers like you to feel them. In a way you are more in tune to them, and you could see visions about them without even needing to touch them. Demons always have something up their sleeve, a plan, but seers are two steps ahead of them. They know where a demon is going to be before the demon himself knows. They could easily set up a trap and the demon will walk into it. There is nothing a demon is more afraid of than a seer. That is why they want to wipe them all out. No seer’s means no problems.”

  “How do you know so much about demons? Are you a demon hunter?” I asked.

  “Demon Hunter.” He said trying the word out. “I guess you could say that.”

  “What do you mean, I guess?”

  “I’ve killed demons, so I guess I am qualified to be called a demon hunter.”

  Daston was always aloof and mysterious; able to move quickly and nimble. He was telling me he hunted demons. Did I truly believe what Daston was telling me? A part of me screamed no but seeing Daston so serious and genuinely scared for me, I could not doubt him.

  He took a deep breath. His voice was more solemn when he continued. “Unfortunately you don’t know how to be a seer yet. You are easy pick-ins for demons. They’ll want to finish you before you get the strength to finish them. That alone should have you running.” He looked at me cautiously. “But you are not going to run.” I shook my head. “I didn’t think so. You should.” He warned.

  “Why should I?”

  “Because demons aren’t to be taken lightly. They trick you, their filled with deception. It’s easy to fall into one of their traps. They do not need to come after you, they will make you come to them.”

  “And why would I go to them?” I asked. If demons were not going to take me by force, I was relatively certain I would not be racing into their trap.

  He looked at me like if I was an innocent child. “You honestly have no idea what you’re up against. It would be so easy to get you to come into their trap. Look at you here now. What if I was a demon? You hardly know me and yet you are in the middle of the fucken forest with me, and no one knows you are here.” He growled. “It was too easy to get you here, and yet you willingly came.”

  I shivered a little. He noticed. “Finally, you are showing some self-awareness. Do you finally see the big picture? Anything could be a trap. And you’ll never suspect who they are. They w
on’t let you suspect. By the time you figure it out it will be too late.” He pointed a finger at me menacingly. “Which is why you can not be wandering around, alone. You are practically calling them to you.”

  “Well, it’s never happened before.” I argued, though I already knew I was going to lose. His face was set in fury, talking about demons ignited him. I could tell there was something in his fury, a pain he was trying to mask with anger. They had done something to him, something horrible. I could see it all over his face.

  “What did they do to you?” I asked. He gave me a questioning look.

  “The demons, what did they do to you? They hurt you deeply.”

  He gave me a startled look. I could tell he was a person who suffered in silence. He was not one to talk to people about his pains.

  “Why do you ask me that?”

  “Because I could see it on your face, your pain. You hide it behind your attitude, but I could see, it’s so clear to me now.”

  “You don’t know anything!” The anger and pain in his voice hurt me deeply. Daston was kind of a jerk, but he was also funny and kind. He did not deserve whatever they did to him.

  “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep my boundaries. You obviously don’t want to talk about it. Sorry I brought it up.” He was not ready to talk about it, I could see that. But maybe someday he would.

  He collected himself quickly and dived back into our “lesson”. I knew he was not going to acknowledge what I had figured out. I expected it. Daston was not one to admit weakness.

  “So, demons,” he said lamely. “As I said before, they’re going to look like normal people. They might be your… neighbors.” He scrunched his face, a slightly pained look on his face. “They can be… your schoolmates, a teacher, a….a friend.”

  I gave him a curious look he shook his head at me.

  “So why do demons come here. Isn’t hell good enough?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? Nobody likes hell. Not even demons. What demons want are to be part of this world, so they won’t have to be stuck in hell for eternity. They like this world because they are free to do what they want without the hell fire constantly burning their skin off. In order to stay a part of this world they need people, a constant supply of bodies they can possess and use. They get followers since they can’t get them forcibly; they have to convince them to join. A demon cannot possess a body that is unwilling.”

  “That does not sound so bad, if they are only taking the ones who have allowed themselves to be taken.”

  “They are taken with false promises, desperate men and women who have been promised a better life for them and their families. Trust me, it is not good for them. They lose themselves, and the demon takes and takes until they have used the body up and discard it.”

  I gulped at his serious tone. “And how exactly do I stop the demons if I don’t even know how to be a proper seer?” I asked. He gave me a serious look, something clicked.

  “The book! That’s why you want me to find it”

  “Well, that is one of the reasons, it would make teaching you easier.”

  “What about the book I have? Wouldn’t that work?” I adjusted the weight of my backpack, only now realizing what I had inside.

  “Not really. It really only talks about the demon perspective, not the seers.”

  “Well, it’s something. Besides, there were some things in it that I didn’t quite get.” I said nonchalantly. What I truly wanted was to show Daston the ritual. What did he think of them?

  I flipped open the book and took him to the page that had been haunting me these past two days. “I need help with this.” I asked pointing to the scripture about the demon and the shadow. But most importantly I pointed out the ritual.

  He winced when he read it. “I guess these books do have something useful in them.” He laughed uncomfortably. “That’s a summoning ritual.” I nodded. “And I know you know what a demon is, but do you know about his shadow?”

  No, I did not. Except maybe the one in my dream. “No.” I told him.

  He scratched the back of his neck trying to come up with the words. “A shadow is like a demons puppet. They were once human, but they cut a deal with a demon and sold their soul to them. Now whenever a demon wants them to do something all they have to do is pull a string and they obey.”

  “So, demons are the puppeteers. And the shadows have no choice; they have to obey their commands?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That sucks. Not being able to have control of your own life. Who would sell their soul for that?” I said to know one in particular.

  “Desperate men.” Daston answered. “Men who have starving families; men who would do anything to keep them alive, so they strike a deal with a demon. A lifetime supply of food and shelter for their soul.” He seemed to be somewhere else; his eyes were glassy. I knew that behind them he was reliving this. Daston might not have told me what caused his pain, but I was beginning to think it was about his family.

  “You miss them, don’t you? Your family.” His face became stone again, I could not read him. He went back to being the old Daston from before. I really put my foot into it this time.

  “We should probably stop our lesson for today.” He answered harshly. “We do not have the book anyways, so I can’t really teach you anything else. We could pick this up again tomorrow.” I exhaled in relief. Tomorrow. He was still going to teach me more. I did not realize how worried I was that he was going to stop teaching me.

  Daston led the way back. We did not talk it did not look like he wanted to make conversation; he was still stone faced. It was not until his car came into view when I stopped him. “Daston, are you mad at me?”

  He whipped his face towards me, “What, no why would you think that?” He looked confused and…. sincere?

  “Because you haven’t talked to me since we started walking. And because you look mad.” His face softened and his eyes took on a regretful tint.

  “I am sorry for making you think that.” He apologized. “I wasn’t mad at you. I was mad at myself for overreacting back there. I am sorry for taking that out on you.” For a moment he looked vulnerable, he was giving me a brief look inside of him.

  “It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize. I get it; you don’t feel comfortable enough telling me something so private.” I told him.

  “It’s not that—“

  “Stop, Daston.” I put my hand up, covering his lips. “I would do the same. If I had something as serious as you seem to have under your belt, I would not be telling you either. I would hide it too, so really it is unfair of me to ask. Maybe you’ll tell me one day, or maybe you won’t. I promise I won’t ask again.”

  His eyes softened. He grabbed the hand I had against his lips and guided it back down. “Sure, when you’re safe I’ll tell you.” He gave me an intense look, I felt consumed by his look.

  “We should… go.” I barely got out. A hot flush spread throughout my skin. He smirked down at me once he took notice. It looked like Daston was back to his cocky self.

  “Sure, Brianna, you do seem like you’re getting a bit hot. I am sure the air conditioner will clear that red flush. Or maybe being in that enclosed car with me will bring it back.” He winked. My cheeks burned brighter than ever, damn him.

  “If you think I am flushing because of you, you’re wrong.” I pointed at him with my finger. “My cheeks always get this way, you arrogant bastard.”

  “Aren’t you feisty, but you are wrong about two things. First, I am not an arrogant bastard, and second,” he ticked off with his fingers and took a step closer to me, “your cheeks just got redder the second I got closer.” My breath hitched up, he was close, too close to me. Our bodies were almost touching. My heartbeat sped up, and then he started to lean down. He was going to kiss me. My eyes fluttered close and I tensed in anticipation. I felt his breath right against my mouth, it was minty like peppermint.

  “I’ll do you a favor.” Daston whispered, his lips bar
ely brushing mine when he spoke. “I’ll let you kiss me once you take back the arrogant bastard comment.” And just as quickly his heat was gone. I opened my eyes and saw him walking towards his car—away from me.

  “Are you coming?” He called over his shoulder.

  “Yeah, I am coming.” I grumbled. “Arrogant bastard.” I whispered.

  He smiled. “You’re never going to get a kiss if you keep up with that.”

  “Who says I even want a kiss?”

  “Oh, we both know you want the kiss.” He walked up beside me smirking. All I managed to do was roll my eyes as he opened the car door for me.

  “Your actions are gentlemanly, but your words are not.” I said as I slid into the seat. He closed the door behind me and walked around the car to his side. He slid in effortlessly and turned on the car.

  “I only say truths, nothing ungentlemanly about them.”

  I shook my head. “You really need to calm down that ego of yours. With as cocky as you are, I am surprised you are not sleeping your way through the girls at school.”

  He made a disgusted sound. “Never, what would I possibly gain by doing that?”

  “Sex.” I said. He turned the car around and started driving back towards town.

  “Sex is not just sticking it any hole, well not for me. Besides.” He glanced at me mischief written all over his face. “I’ll just stick to my hand for now, until someone truly interesting comes along. Unless your offering, I would not say no to you.”

  I punched his arm, he managed to dodge most of it. “Better keep searching for your interesting girl, because it sure as hell will not be me.”

  “Sure Briana. Let’s tell ourselves that for now.”

  “You are going to be using that hand for a long time if you are holding out for me.”

  He laughed loudly.

  I smiled inwardly, glad that I was able to make Daston laugh.

  “Don’t hide your smile.” He told me suddenly. “Let it out, it makes you look.” He thought about it. “Beautiful.” He said finally.

  My breath sped up. Daston thinks I am beautiful? I did not know what to say, it was the first time anyone called me beautiful.