CHAPTER NINE

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Nine 



       My eyes popped opened, and I was looking at a ceiling; it looked like the same ceiling I saw when I was with Ban the other night. I shifted in the bed so that I could set up, and saw Soji laying beside me. My head felt as if someone took a jackhammer to it. Reaching up I grabbed the ring that was around my neck still feeling it there. What was that? When Soji touched the ring I saw his memory. I was there, I meant him when he was younger. Back then I was lost to the fog, I don’t remember a time in my life where I meant Soji. Not before that night at the club. I had been with Shu for the last forty years, how could he have been there? How could I have saw him?


         Soji shifted, and sat up rubbing at his head as he clenched the covers around himself. He rubbed his eyes as he turned, and looked at me. I could see a confused fear in his eyes. I reached out, and stroked his cheek. Holding my hand to his face he let out a deep breath closing his eyes for a long moment before reopening them.

         "What's wrong," I asked sensing that something was off with him. He looked at me, and smiled shaking his head no. He could have just been in pain, if his head felt anything like mine then I don't blame him for being in a bad mood. Or it could have been something else. I saw a memory that wasn't my own. Even if I was in that memory it wasn't mine, that was something from Soji's past. If I saw something from his past maybe he saw something from mine.

         There were any number of things from my past that could have put him on edge. I was a demon after all. When I was lost to the fog I did all kinds of things that I wouldn't have done if I had my will. If I had been in my right mind at that point in time.

        "It's nothing just pain." Soji said. I nodded getting out the bed, and walking over to the window then lighting a cigarette. It's been six months since my last one so it felt good as the smoke burned my lungs. "Where are the others?"

         “I just woke up,” I told him. Just as we asked the others as if they had been called opened the door, and they all walked in the room. My eyes went to Blake, but in true Blake style he seem to be getting along with the others just fine. He always had that effect on people, you didn’t know why you were his friend you just knew that funny shit happens when he was around. They all sat around looking at us as if we had just awakened from the dead.

         “How are you feeling?” Blake was the first to ask. I gave myself the once over, but other then the headache that was now fading I seem to be doing fine. Walking over to me Blake took the cigarette from me. I could see Rai eyes follow Blake around the room, I started to say something to protest against it. He was way too old for her, I should know. I bit my tongue though looking at the woman who had her arms crossed over her chest.

        “Is that sword the sword of souls?” She asked me, I looked around for the sword for a moment wondering where I had put it but Blake handed it to me. “Your friend wouldn’t hand over what was rightfully mine.” I took the sword from its sheath, looking at the pretty blade that rest inside of it. It was kind of disappointing to part with it, but I never was big on swords. Using my teeth, and claws worked for me just fine. I passed the sword to her, and she grabbed it out of my hand.

         I watched as she greedy unsheath it looking at the how the light danced on the blade. She frowned as she held it in her hand. “What have you done to it?” She asked her eyes going from the sword to me. I could see malice in her glare, could feel the hatred that poured from her. There was a time that I thought she was one of the nicer people that was a part of Soji’s group. I guess I wasn’t as good a judge of character that I thought I was.

         “Gee I don’t know stole it for you.” I said annoyed at the hostile tone in her voice when I put my life on the line in order to get that sword for her. I didn’t have to do it, yet out of the kindness of my heart I risked my life for a blade that I wasn’t going to use.

         “You used it, you used the sword,” she said. I rolled my eyes; she was freaking out because I used her sword. I didn’t see what was so special about it. In my hands it felt like any other sword that I had used in the past. “It’s worthless now.” She yelled throwing the sword to the floor. My eyes went from the sword to the woman, and I frowned. I could feel the hunger roll through me again. This time I didn’t have the collar on, this time Soji wasn’t close to me. I wouldn’t mind making a meal out of that bitch. It would be nothing less than she deserved after all. My stomach growled, and all the humans in the room took a step back. I needed to find a meal, the fog was going to come if I didn’t. I would be lost to it yet again if I held off anymore.

         “Zero,” Blake said, but I shook my head. I would leave, I would go the bar, and find some outlaw that I could make a meal out of. Maybe two outlaws just to be sure I have my fill. I could hear their hearts beating, could smell the sweat on their skin. Could taste the blood that flowed through their veins. I was losing it, losing myself to the blood lust. I needed it, wanted it, needed it. I needed blood, I could feel my fangs pushing down. The smell, I was sure it was Soji he smelled divine. Only the pure could smell as good as this. Only someone with clean blood could be so sweet. I wanted that sweet scent, wanted, needed, wanted that blood.

         I stumbled a bit going towards the scent, the smell, the divine sweetness. I didn’t care, who, or what it was I wanted it. I would have it, take it, make it my own; I needed that blood. I knew this feeling to well, knew this emptiness that pushed down on me. Knew this hunger, this never fading hunger that gripped at me. I needed to leave, a part of me knew that as well. I needed to get as far as I could as fast as I could. I needed to fight it, so that I didn’t do something I would later regret. The blood though, that scent, that sweetness. Stumbling forward some more I didn’t know who was in my crosshairs. I didn’t care all of them would be filled with blood with the goodness that I needed to live.

         Bringing my arms to my lips I sunk my fangs into my own flesh. The rush of pain brought me out of my daze as I tasted my own tainted blood coat my lips, and tongue. Blinking quickly I could see that I was just a few feet away from Rai. I would have taken her if I made it there. In the haze of the fog I wasn’t sure if the others could have stopped me. Everyone in her family has been killed by the hands of a demon. I wouldn’t allow it, wouldn’t be the one that took Rai’s life. I wouldn’t be the one that killed Shu’s daughter. The one that ended Kar’s legacy.

        “I...I have to leave,” I said rushing to the door, and leaving the room before any of them could follow or protest. The night breeze felt wonderful against my hot skin. I needed to settle my head, to get my mind right again. I needed an outlaw bar. I needed a meal, there were so many meals around me. As I walked the streets I noticed that we were in the town I was from again. I walked blindly, and was taken to my home again. My house that held the strange family, my house that held all of the awful memories. That wasn’t all true though, I had good times in this place. Laughing, joking, just playing around with friends, and family. This was my home.

         I reached out placing my hand on the glass of a window. There was a meal inside of that house. Tucked away from the world sleeping in their beds was food. I wanted a meal, I needed blood so badly. Why wonder until I find an outlaw when I could have a feast right now. A part of me knew that it was wrong. That I was going to hate myself if I did such a thing. An even stronger part said who cares. I was a demon now, demons kill, they feed. Shu, and Kar tamed me as if I was some kind of show dog. They broke me, demons weren’t meant to look for the worst meal. They were meant to take who they want. When they wanted to. I licked my lips as I looked through the glass. I wanted to, to go in this house. To devour everyone, and everything that inside of it.

        If I did that though I would be no better than Ban. Ban, I whipped around looking for him as if just thinking his name had summoned him to me. I didn’t see him anywhere so I let out a breath looking back towards the house. I closed my eyes expelling any thoughts of eating the owners of the house. I wouldn’t be the things that took the children in the dark. ‘Why not, you are a demon?’ Kenji’s voice hissed in my head. I thought I had blocked all paths the snake could have taken. It would seem that Kenji magick was stronger than I thought.

         “Because I’m not that kind of demon,” I hissed back at it. My voice was hushed but there was still a few passerby that looked at me.‘What kind of demon is there to be? You are either a real demon, or a toothless one. Did Shu take your fangs as well as your balls Zero?’I growled at him wanting his voice out of my head. ‘Poor little Natsu so alone in the world. This can be a dangerous place when you are spinless.’

         Shaking my head I wouldn’t allow him to get to me. There was no way the words of a dead man would move me to take action. ‘If I’m inside of you then am I truly dead?’Kenji asked, and my hand started to glow with my dark magick. I couldn’t remove him from my head but I could block him again. ‘Why fight it Zero, we are one now.’

         Touching my head I could feel him withdrawing into a corner of my brain. I started to block him off lock him away in that corner, and hoped that it would stay that time. The last thing that I wanted was Kenji lose in my head. He called me toothless, spineless. He was just using my own thoughts against me. He would have never saw those things if I didn’t just think it myself. Killing anyone didn’t take strength, it didn’t mean that you were any better a demon then some lesser demon. Killing only who you want to kill, not being controlled by the hunger that was true power. I had that, I didn’t care if something dead thought I was weak. I knew that I was so much more then Kenji could ever see.

        Going to the bar that I had been in not even twenty-four hours ago the idiots that were picking on me last time had left. There was a few people inside, but none of them stood out to me too much. Well one of them did, there was a boy in the back of the bar he had to be in his late teens. I wouldn’t give him any older than nineteen. He couldn’t have been of age because he had a glass of chocolate milk in front of him, and not beer or anything stronger.

        He sat alone in the back of the bar lighting matches, and watching the flames as they burned down to his fingertips before going out. I probably would have ignored the boy. He wasn’t doing anything so great. What was odd was that the few others that were in here sat as far from him as they could. everyone was closest to the door or the bar none were near the tables in the back. None were within a foot of the strange boy in the back of the bar. My eyes were on him, but I couldn’t sense anything from him. I couldn’t feel anything around him. I smelled blood but it was a mix of human, and demons. It was as if he had slaughter them both indiscriminately.

        Going over to the board I casted a spell to pick whatever idiot was the closest to me. A page fell off the board, but under that page was another picture. I ripped it from the board looking at the picture that was there.  Lavender eyes with long golden hair that reminded me of the sun. It was streaked with a deep blue, and blood red color. It made me think of a painting. As if this was some kind of ocean stained with blood with the sun shining down on it. My eyes shifted from the picture back to the boy that was sitting in the back. I frowned when my eyes went to the table, and he was no longer there. The glass of milk that was full just a moment ago was now empty.

         Tucking it away in my pocket I looked at my true target, I still needed my meal so I was going to go get it. Leaving out of the bar I allowed the magick to take me to where I needed to go. Falling the scent of the outlaw I was looking for the price that I would be getting for his head would be worth it. The blood through, the blood was what I longed for. I felt impatience as I rushed through the streets ready to take my prize. I could taste it already, or maybe it was only in my mind. The blood that I was tasting was thick, and sweet. I was sure that no outlaw would taste as heavenly as I  pictured in my head. It didn’t matter though, at this point any blood would do.

        Turning the corner I could see my target in the park. Walking dumb, and blind to the world I could hear his heart lightly thumping in his chest. I could taste his blood on my tongue already. Normally I would have waited, I would have lead him to some dark place. Then I would have attacked. However hunger  clouded my thoughts. I only knew what I needed, I only needed blood. I stalked him around a huge tree, not as isolated as my normal attack would have been. It would work though, I was confident that no one was going to come save him. Even if he wasn’t an outlaw, even if he was a good human being no one would save him. It didn’t matter how good of a person you are or aren’t. If you are the one getting attack, the one that needs to be saved. You have to have trust in the humans around you. Even before demons walked the earth not many humans were willing to put their life on the line for a stranger.

         Coming up behind him I tackled him to the ground. He didn’t have time to scream, didn’t have time to react to anything that was happening. I bit into his flesh, my teeth tearing into him so that I could get to the liquid gold that lies underneath. His better juice coated my mouth, not caring for the bitter edge that he held I drank. The warm liquid slide down my throat, and settled in my stomach. I could feel the hunger fading as my belly filled with the goodness.

         Normally I would have compared how he was bitter, how there were sour notes in his blood. I would have said that I had better, that I wanted more. Not today though, it had been six long months since I last feed. I could have been drinking a pig right now, and it would have tasted like heaven. It wasn’t until I leaned back on my heels wiping my mouth off on my shirt that I looked up.

         Feet dangled out of the tree that was above me. I moved away some so that I could look up at the person that those feet belonged to but they were gone. I frowned turning around when I saw a boy laying on the bench that was facing me. I knew this boy, well I didn’t know him but I seem him. His golden hair with blue and red going through out it. The lavender eyes, looked at me boredom within them. He was stretched out on the bench as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He covered his mouth as he yawned.

         “Who are you?” I asked, and he sat up looking at me. His eyes going from me to the outlaw whose life I had just taken. I wouldn’t feel guilt for killing an outlaw. I wouldn’t feel shame for taking a meal. He tapped his chin as if he was thinking about who he was.

        “I have many names,” he said. “So far my favorite is Nero so you can call me that. What name would you like me to use for you?  Zero, Zassago, Natsu, or Surge.”

        “How do you know my name?” I asked; it was rare for someone to know one of my names yet this boy knew all of them. I didn’t trust him, then again I would be a fool to trust anyone that Ii just meant. He was in front of me looking into my eyes, I felt as if he could see through me. That those strange eyes of his were looking into the very depths of me. That my core was showing itself to him, telling him all of my fears, and doubts.

         “You know the Order of Chaos.” He said stepping away from me. I thought at first that he was asking me, but he wasn’t. I had the feeling that he never asked anything. If he did he already knew the answer to any question he cared to ask. “I need to go there, you’re with Soji right.”

         “You know Soji?” I said, looking at me again he tapped his chin as if he didn’t know if he wanted to answer me or not. I didn’t see what the pause was for. He either knew Soji or he didn’t.

         “I know the leader of the Order. Your friends will worry if you don’t return to them soon. I will join you.” He said starting to walk.

        “You...you’re...” I couldn’t find the words that I was looking for. He seem fake to me. As if he was putting on this act not that he was this person. He might have knew the answers to all questions, but I knew that he wouldn’t be there to share them. He was so empty inside, I hated that the most about it. It was off setting to feel someone like him. Even demons felt something but he felt like nothing. I blinked, and he was already walking ahead of me. I had no doubt that he was going back to the others. No doubt that he knew where we were staying.

          Opening my mouth I wanted to say something, knew that I should say something. Words failed me though. I had no clue what it was that I should say to this boy. No idea who he was or what he wanted. I knew nothing about him but two things. He was an outlaw I knew that I had seen his picture on the board. His name had the most credit that I’ve ever seen near an outlaw. I knew that he went by Nero, that wasn’t his real name. I wasn’t a fool I knew that. There was nothing else though. Nero the outlaw, I would watch him closely.

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