Wrath of the Daemon King

Chapter 1

"Honestly, Jason, would it kill you to walk a bit slower?" Jason Smith was a completely normal guy. He was average height, average weight, not too scrawny but not too brawny, and had plain brown hair. The only thing that set him apart, physically, were his eyes. His eyes were a stark blue, capable of being both beautiful and terrifying. Those eyes usually held kindness and compassion, and then they were beautiful. But, when Jason was angry enough, his eyes seemed to freeze over, and the cold look of his eyes was often enough to frighten even the strongest and most aggressive of people.

"No, Martin, it wouldn't kill me to walk slower, but it wouldn't kill you to walk faster, either," Jason replied. Martin was, by stark contrast, very easily distinguished. Martin was tall, muscular, had bright blonde hair and had an overall intimidating build. Until you got to know him. Then you realized Martin wasn't capable of hurting a fly. He and Jason couldn't have been more different. Where Jason was brilliant, Martin was slow. Where Jason blended in with crowds, Martin stuck out. Where Jason was an avid reader, Martin acted as if books burned him. The two boys were also best friends.

The two boys had recently turned 18. While there were many differences between them, they did share a birthday. They were having a surprise party that Jason knew about but Martin didn't. Martin didn't catch on as quickly as Jason did. Jason had known about the surprise party for weeks. Martin had yet to figure it out. "Well, why are we in a hurry anyway?" Martin asked. Jason rolled his eyes and kept walking. The streets were fairly empty, but then again Gladstone always was a quiet town. Oregon was a quiet state, actually. Other than a few big cities, like Portland or Salem or Oregon City, there wasn't usually much traffic anywhere. They passed the small library that Jason had visited so many times before, passed the elementary school where the two boys had gone as children, and passed the local Pizza Hut before finally arriving at the entrance to the neighborhood. Jason walked into the neighborhood. The houses were all pretty much the same; brick porches with wooden walls painted blue. This was a wealthier neighborhood, and as a result all of the houses were two stories tall. Jason kept walking, until he reached house number 758. Jason looked back to see Martin running behind him, looking awkward with his long arms and long legs. Martin caught up to him, panting.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

"Just come on," Jason said. He walked up to the front door of the house, identical to all the others save for a sign near the doorbell that read 'Warning: Beware of oversized cat!' Jason rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer. No one did. He rang again. Again, no one answered. Jason rolled his eyes and tested the door handle. It was unlocked. They were probably expecting him to walk in. Jason entered the house and immediately noticed the lack of light. Probably so everyone can jump out and yell "Surprise!" after he and Martin had walked in far enough.

Jason walked to where he knew the living room was; straight through the hallway that led from the foyer to the left of the front door. He walked in, and was immediately greeted by a chorus of "Surprise!" from all his friends and family. There were balloons and bright party decorations everywhere. There was a table that had gifts for Jason and Martin and another that held cake and party hats. Jason rolled his eyes; he didn't enjoy big parties at his expense. He never thought he was worth the effort. Besides, it's not like living another year was that big of a deal. People didn't just randomly drop dead for no reason, and Jason wasn't a sickly child.

Martin, however, was shocked. "What? How? Did you know?" Jason just sighed and shook his head. Really, not only did this happen every single year, but it wasn't as if their friends and families were exactly stealthy. Or subtle.

After Martin's initial shock he grinned and shouted "Well, let's party!" Everyone shouted in glee and music started blaring loudly. Jason never was all that interested in music. He found it to be nothing more than noise. Noise with no purpose. He looked around at the crowd. Jason was able to recognize everyone there. Except one boy. The boy had dark hair and bright blue eyes. Where Jason's eyes were bright and usually kind, the boys eyes sparked with a kind of dangerous energy. Jason looked at him for a moment, trying to recall if he knew the boy. He couldn't remember him, but Jason just shrugged and decided he was one of Martin's friends. Or maybe a boy Jason's sister had invited. Jason's sister was about a year younger than he was, and had a different boyfriend almost every week. She was pretty enough, she had dark hair and blue eyes like Jason's. But her eyes never held the same depth that Jason's had. Jason looked away, trying to find his sister, and when he looked back the boy had disappeared. Jason looked around for a second, couldn't find him, shrugged, and decided to go try to enjoy himself. It was, after all, a party for him.

Jason walked outside onto the porch. It was a cool October day and the outside air felt good after being in a crowded room full of hot, sweaty people. His sister was out there, too. "Hey, sis," Jason said.

His sister, Cecilia, turned around. "Oh, hey. Happy birthday," she said. She didn't sound too excited.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

Cecilia nodded. "Yeah, it's just..." Cecilia trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging.

"Just what?" Jason asked, trying to get her to talk to him.

"Nothing, never mind. Forget I said anything," she said.

That was what Cecilia did. She'd almost say something that's on her mind, then quickly decide to keep it to herself. Jason had learned over the years that when she was ready to talk, she would talk and that it would benefit him nothing to pester her about it before then. So, instead he asked "Did you bring anyone to the party with you?"

Cecilia looked shocked. "No, of course not. It's your birthday, not mine."

Jason frowned. Then who was that dark haired boy? He was no friend of Jason's, and Jason was certain he had never seen the boy before, so he probably didn't attend Jason's school. Maybe Martin knew him?

Jason looked at his sister. She seemed really sad, but there was nothing he could do about it. Something flickered in the corner of his eye. Jason looked, and saw the boy he had seen earlier. The boy wore loose jeans and a black t-shirt, and he was carrying some kind of sword. Jason blinked. That boy had a sword. He was running from something, though Jason couldn't tell what. Jason stared at the boy. His expression did not go unnoticed by his sister. "Jason, what are you staring at?"

"You don't see him?" Jason pointed to the boy running down the street.

"Don't see who?" The boy ran right past the house, right in front of Cecilia's gaze.

"That boy, the one who just ran past the house!" Jason exclaimed.

"Jason, there is no boy." Cecilia sounded concerned. A man came running down the street, after the boy. The man looked to be about forty and was the picture of an average business man. Still, there was something about him that Jason felt was off. Something about him seemed... unnatural.

The man was running a lot faster than the boy, and caught up with him just a short distance down the street from the house. The man tackled the boy to the ground. The man and the boy wrestled on the ground for a few seconds before the boy managed to throw the many off of him. The boy quickly stood up, brandishing his sword. The man lunged at the boy, who dodged to the side and swung his sword at the man. The blade cut clean through the man's arm. It fell off, and as soon as it hit the ground it disintegrated. Jason's eyes widened, but he made no sound. The man laughed and his arm regrew. Jason became aware of Cecilia shaking his arm and asking him to stop staring at nothing and that it was scaring her, but he ignored her. That man's arm had just regrown from a stump; Jason needed to see more to convince himself he wasn't crazy.

The boy held up the sword again and swung it at the man. The man held up his hand and caught the sword by the blade. Jason's eyes widened again. How could anyone catch a sword like that? The man ripped the sword from the boy's hand and threw it to the side. The man then punched the boy in the face, causing him to reel back. Jason jumped off the porch and ran towards the man. He heard his sister yelling "Jason, what on earth are you doing?" but he didn't care. That man was going to hurt the boy, and after everything Jason had seen, he wasn't about to let that man get away. Jason leapt on the back of the man, holding him in a tight choke hold. The man grunted and somehow managed to pry Jason off of him and threw Jason to the side of the road. The boy cursed and muttered something under his breathe that sounded a lot like "Stupid kid." Jason got up and tackled the man again, this time in the stomach. He and the man rolled around on the ground, wrestling with each other.

The man easily managed to throw Jason off. He laughed. "You're not one of them, are you? Oh, yes, you can see me all right, but you're not one of them." Jason had no idea what the man was talking about. The boy had managed to pick his sword up off the ground. The man grabbed Jason by the throat and began squeezing. Jason felt himself losing consciousness. The man threw Jason to the side of the road and began laughing. The man quickly stopped laughing as the boy thrust a sword through the back of his chest. The man looked down and exploded into a burst of black, shadowy liquid. Jason lost consciousness.