Hopelessly Broken

74. Radiators

6.26.20

When I followed my uncle's gaze, I saw cracks spreading across the window's glass like a spider web. The older man's fingers dug into my shoulder as his whole body tensed up, and we both dropped to the floor when the glass shattered. Shards of the sharp substance shot through the whole room, and I felt a rather large piece dig into my upper arm. Black puddles flowed through the broken glass, and the knowledge that demons were in a room with us made my hairs stand up.

My parents were still caught up in each other even though I had screamed like a little kid, and I could see all of the black puddles approaching them. One of the two must be producing an emotion that the demons viewed as weak... Oh God, I can't watch! My uncle looked like a deer in the headlights, and I don't think that either of us were prepared to watch this happen.

I took a deep breath and chose to recall my training... Feet shoulder width apart, body centered, breathe... then shoot. The violent rays of everyone in this room's magic hit into each individual demon, and the black blobs began to disintegrate before our eyes. Papa looked at me then at the ground in rapid succession, and he registered how close they were to being destroyed. As soon as the demons had disappeared, I used the same rays to seal the window. Once the glass was reinforced, my weight plummeted onto my knees, and I felt this horrible exhaustion wash through my soul. My body fell once more, but this time my acceleration was halted by someone's arms.

"Moving that much energy through his body is taking a toll on his stamina. He's still a young boy, 'Lex, you can't have him as the forefront!" While he spoke, I looked up into my uncle's soulful blue eyes. There was a glass of worry thrown over the orbs, and I was shocked that he actually cares about me.

"How was I supposed to know about this! I never asked him to save me!"

"Pay more attention, maybe?" The two men began to have a glare off, but there was another loud thud on the floor above us that made me nervous. I don't like to think about anyone getting hurt; it messes with my psyche. I attempted to sit up, but it was like my body was filled to the brim with lead weighing down my limbs. "Just stay down and replenish your energy; you're going to need it."

I felt weak, laying there in the man's arms. My body was working on overtime to repair itself, but my weakness was drawing demons to the window. It was reinforced by my magic, but with that fading so fast, I didn't know how much longer I can hold them out. It was like the flame in my chest was dwindling, and no one was there to add more fuel.

Suddenly, my magic slipped, and the glass shattered once more. Only this time, they were coming for me. I heard frantic shouting from everyone, but I didn't register it in my mind that I was being torn from my uncle. Darkness swamped over my head, and I was suddenly hearing things in the demonic language instead of English. That's when it landed in my mind; I'm being taken again.

***

The chains connecting me to the radiator were digging into my wrists, and it was impossible for me to lay down or even shift much. The knowledge that I was back in hell weighed me down, but I wouldn't let it pull me under. It's time to go on a little mission; why is this demon leader such a bitch?

The door slammed open on cue, and I found myself staring at the dumb demon guy that happened to father my boyfriend. The man's shoes approached my body, and I suddenly felt them dig between my shoulder blade. The strain on my shoulders and wrists made me cry out, but it ended just as quickly as it came... Strange.

"One would think I would never see your face again after the stunt you pulled last time, but alas... You're a fun one!"

"Why?" The one word had so many meanings, and even I don't know which I was speaking of. A hand skimmed down my cheek towards my chin, and I couldn't help but shiver from the contact.

"You wanna know why, do you? I'll tell you the fuck why. It starts many years ago... Hell was still a beautiful place, and everyone was happy. Food was plentiful, and people were kind Until it all went wrong. My father was young and stupid, and he thought he knew the best way to make us stronger. He started a conflict with the vampires, then just a small coven. He was frustrated; our population was growing rapidly, but they were taking our food supply as their numbers increased as well. People were dying... It wasn't pretty. My father tried to destroy them, but it ended up reversing. Those vampires were much too strong, and they ended up getting beyond the gates of hell and tearing down the beauty we had before.

"My father tried his best to stop them, but everything he knew was burning. Pretty much everyone died including my mother and father. I was just two years old, and they died trying to protect me. Happy about their victory, the vampires experienced a gigantic baby boom while our numbers were still down. I spent my whole life trying to pull our kind out of the dumpster, and once I finally did... I wanted revenge against the vampires. For my father, I had to press forward into building a battle force. Halfway through that process, I found my mate. She was a beautiful young lady, and we ended up falling deeply into love. She tried to convince me to forget my parents, but I never could. I had to forge forward for him. I needed to make hell great.

"We had 8 children, but my wife turned them against me. Told them that I was a bad man... A power hungry man. I guess I am power hungry, but I just need to avenge my parents. I won't stop; not until every vampire on the earth is eliminated." As I searched his eyes a bit, I knew he was telling me the truth. Screw my inability to know magic history in the slightest.

"Uhm, I kind of understand. I grew up as an orphan, so I know that feeling like no one loves you. Of course, I recently found out that my family was alive the while time, but... I can get what you're saying; you're royalty in hell, you're supposed to protect them. The thing is... This isn't the right way. The best way to solve violence isn't more violence! If you kill all of the vampires, you'll hurt your son. I would hope you don't want that."

"How are those two things related?"

"He's my soulmate, and I'm partially vampiric."

"So you're just trying to save your hide!"

"No! I'm trying to guide you away from making things worse! I get that it hurts, but you're going to destroy the fragile balance in the world!"

"I have to do this, and I guess that starts with destroying you."