Chapter 12
Inner Demons
As soon as he heard the lock opening with a soft click, Finn kicked in the door, causing the door handle to leave a deep dent in the wall. Upon hearing the impact, the demon hunter knew that Paige would flip the fuck out for damaging her wall, but it didn't look like she had the energy for that now... because she was losing more blood by the second.
Finn had heard the blood that was dripping from Paige's leg to the ground when he ran back to The Pentagram, for a moment he was sure that there was a sinister trail of blood splatters leading all the way to the store. Goosebumps appeared on his arms when he realized that people, demons, or even some of Alberto's buddies who just happened to be around were going to get curious upon laying eyes on the bloodstains and probably follow it, leading them to The Pentagram; shit would really hit the fan if one or more demons would decide to follow the trail and discover that one of their own had been giving shelter to their natural enemy. But Mother Nature seemed to give the demon hunter a lucky break for once, because when Finn was crossing the street, a loud rumbling noise was heard from the dark grey sky, that had been foreshadowing a rainstorm for a while; it lasted less than five seconds before the first raindrops touched the concrete. By the time Finn and his heavily injured friend had reached the gothic shop, a shower of raindrops had soaked the streets. The demon hunter wouldn't stop looking over his shoulder during the run, making absolutely sure Alberto or someone else was following them. Looks like he had slammed some sense into his greedy head. And he'd better remember his words; he was lucky enough that he didn't crush his head into a gory pulp against that wall. During the way back, Finn had used his regenerating powers to fix his beaten face.
Finn was convinced that the rain had erased the bloody trail, but there was no time to think about that; right now he had to remove that damn bullet out of Paige's leg.
The demon witch tried her best to regain her consciousness, breathing heavily and keeping her eyes open no matter how heavy her eyelids felt. She faintly heard her own blood dripping onto the floor of her shop, but the thought of trying to scrub it off in the morning with gallons of bleach was the last thing she was thinking of at this moment. All that she was thinking of now was to kill that grinning bastard who had shot her.
'Where the fuck is he...?' she groaned when Finn was about to carry her up the stairs. 'Where... where the hell is that bastard?'
Finn knew exactly who she meant. 'Don't worry about him. I took care of him.' he reassured her. He dearly hoped that bastard would rot away in that alley. Finn swore to God that he had never ran up these stairs this fast in his entire life. Glancing at the bloody wound on Paige's leg for a brief moment made guilt crash over the demon hunter like a devastating avalanche; not long ago, he had told Paige that he would never forgive himself if she would be harmed, he would be damned if he would have a night of peaceful sleep if she would bleed to death in her apartment. There was only one way to prevent that: he had to save her life.
Once they entered the apartment, Finn rushed to Paige's bedroom, it was the only spot he could think of now. He didn't even take the time to turn on the light in the bedroom of the demon witch when he came in. He carefully laid Paige down on her bed. The sheets were almost immediately absorbed the fresh blood that was still trickling down from her upper leg. Finn hadn't smelled it earlier due to the adrenaline that was pulsing through his body, but now the smell that always made his stomach slightly turn was filling up his nose; it was the unmistaken stench of blood. Jesus Christ, she had lost so much blood, he had to hurry! Finn was convinced that the red stains on the sheets, which had smelled like lavender on the morning that Paige changed her bedding, would forever remain a grim reminder of the night the demon hunter was fighting for his landlady's life.
'Oh God...' Paige groaned when Finn flipped the light switch. The light that illuminated the room revealed the dark red shade of the demon witch's blood. 'Don't fucking tell me that I'm going to die, Finn...'
'Ye're not goin' to die!' Finn hastily replied. 'I'm gonna make sure ye'll live, just hang in there, alright?'
The demon hunter heard Paige emitting a loud groan of pain when he turned around and ran to the bathroom; he knew that there was a first-aid kit in there, he had seen it once when he was searching the bathroom cabinet for toothpaste (or shampoo... he didn't remember that well, but that didn't matter now). After he flipped the light switch in the bathroom, Finn opened the cabinet above the sink and felt a thin sheet of cold sweat covering his neck when he feverishly searched for the first-aid kit. He could barely hear his own thoughts over the loud sound of his heart beating like a jackhammer in his head.
'Come on come on, where the fuck are ya, ya little bastard?!' the demon hunter hissed through his teeth while he continued to search, knocking over packages of aspirin and toothpaste over in the process. He swore to God and everything else that was holy that he would return to the alleyway to tear Alberto into bloody bits if Paige would bleed to death on her bed. His rapidly beating heart cringed in relief for a short moment when he saw the first-aid kit in the back of the cabinet. Finn quickly grabbed the small white suitcase, knocking more stuff over while doing so, and ran back to the bedroom. Thank God, Paige was still alive... but it was obvious that she was beyond pissed. Finn honestly wouldn't blame her if her anger was directed to him.
'Bring me... back to that alley...' Paige growled with a hoarse voice. A faint dark blue light could be seen illuminating her eyes. 'I'm... I'm going to beat that fucker until he'll bleed out of his arse...!'
'No, ye're not goin' anywhere.' Finn replied. Opening the first-aid kit, he saw a few rolls of bandages, a brown bottle of disinfectant and a large pair of tweezers. Perfect. 'Now hold still, I'm gonna pull that bullet out of yer leg.'
The demon hunter grabbed the pair of tweezers. They were long enough to reach the bullet, but there was no doubt about it that this was going to hurt. But hell... if he wouldn't inflict pain on her, she was going to die. There was no other way.
Paige had noticed the tweezers and immediately realized what was in store for her. 'Oh damn...' she groaned.
'Look, I'm goin' to make this as quick as possible.' Finn said. 'Ya need to hang in there, Paige. Ya gotta be strong now, okay? This will be over before ya know it.'
The demon witch slowly nodded, her eyes clearly showing what was going through her mind; she was going to enter a world of pain.
'Alright. Just... just do it.' Taking a deep breath and clenching her eyes shut, Paige mentally braced herself for what was to come.
It didn't hurt a lot. Oh no, it hurt a whole fucking lot.
The tweezers felt like sharp fingernails digging into her damaged flesh. Paige arched her back and let out a bloodcurdling scream, pulling her leg away, causing the tweezers to slip out before they could even clench around the bullet. To his horror, Finn saw that more blood was now trickling out of her wound.
'Oh... fucking hell!' Paige sobbed and covered her eyes with her hands.
'Listen to me Paige!' Finn snarled. 'I can only pull out that goddamn bullet if ya lie still! Ya have to endure the pain! Trust me, this will end soon!'
The demon hunter entered the pair of tweezers into the wound once more, earning another scream from the demon witch. But this time she was trying her best to suppress the urge to pull away her leg, forcing herself to lie still. Rustling could be heard when she clenched the sheets as hard as she could. The tips of the tweezers touched something small and hard again; that had to be the bullet for sure. Finn squeezed the tweezers around the object and quickly pulled out, this time hearing a loud whimper coming out of Paige's mouth.
It was indeed the bullet; Finn dropped the blood-covered piece of agony to the floor. Thank God, he got it out.
'Did you... Did you get it, Finn?' Paige asked with a soft voice.
'Aye. It's out.'
Paige emitted a loud sigh and released her grip on the sheets, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. 'Fuck... thanks.'
The demon hunter grabbed a roll of bandage out of the first-aid kit and gently, yet skillfully wrapped it around Paige's upper leg. There, like that it shouldn't get infected.
'Hey, Finn?' the demon witch asked, her voice still soft from the minor pain that still lingered in her leg.
'Hmm?'
'I... think there's still a healing potion in the backroom downstairs.' She uttered a short snigger, as if she had just made a barely amusing joke. 'Could you be a good nurse and fetch it for me?'
'How are ya feeling now?' Finn asked when he helped Paige to sit upright. But he immediately considered the question as possibly the dumbest question he has ever asked in his whole life. She had just a rock salt bullet removed from her leg, of course she wasn't going to feel as fresh as a daisy after less than five minutes or so. When he walked downstairs to get the healing potion, he saw a long trail of blood decorated the steps, which made a shiver run up his spine. Oh God, Paige would've died for sure if they had arrived at The Pentagram any later... But they had made it and she was still alive, he couldn't be any more relieved about that. After he grabbed the bottle containing the magic green liquid from the backroom, he made a mental note to himself to clean up the blood the next morning before the customers would ask any questions.
'A little tired, but... I'm fine, thanks.' Paige mumbled.
The demon hunter sat down on the edge of the bed, pulled off the cork of the bottle and gave it to the demon witch. 'Do ya think ya can drink this by yerself?' he asked.
Paige softly chuckled. 'I'm not feeling that weak.' she replied. 'I can do it myself. Thanks for asking, though.' She took a big gulp of the potion and clenched her lips together for a second, not enjoying the bitter taste at all. After she swallowed it, she let out a soft sigh. 'There. Now let's hope I will be fully healed in a day or two.'
'Let's see about that. That wound was pretty deep, ya know? Could take a while to heal, even if ya use a healing potion. And maybe it's gonna leave a scar.'
The demon witch shrugged. 'Eh, I can live with that. At least I got an awesome story to tell whenever someone asks about how I got that bloody scar.'
They both chuckled. It felt like Finn never had to pull out a rock salt bullet out of his injured demon friend's leg a couple of moments ago, it was like they had been sitting here all the time, listening to the summer rain pouring onto the streets outside. You could clearly hear it now, the rain was strong enough to clean most of the pavements and roads. Honestly, there was nothing more peaceful than listening to the rain outside in the night. Finn and Paige both didn't say anything for a little while as they listened to the soothing rain; a loud rumble in the distance would occasionally interrupt the silence, hinting that it was thundering somewhere in another part of the city.
But despite the peaceful atmosphere, Finn couldn't ignore the guilt that was resting in his abdomen, gnawing onto his conscience like a hungry rat.
'I'm sorry.' Finn suddenly said.
'For what?'
'For askin' ya to come with me. I nearly lost ya there, Paige. I was almost sure that ya were going to die.'
'But that didn't happen.' Paige calmly replied; she wasn't holding any ill feelings towards the demon hunter at all. 'I'm still here, am I? Listen Finn, it's not your fault. I was the one who agreed to tag along with you. Don't blame yourself for what happened. I have seen you kicking that piece of shit Alberto's arse all over the alley, you have given him what he deserved. Alberto... that was his name, right?' She paused for a second to chuckle. 'I think he'll be thinking twice whenever he decides to kill a harmless demon. Or even better, he'll stop killing harmless demons. At least, that's what I hope...'
'Maybe not. Those bastards of the Legion Of Hunters are real scum, money is the only thing that's on their minds.'
'Hmm... I sure hope he didn't follow us, though.'
'Don't worry about it, I've made sure that no-one was following us. And even if he did... I wouldn't hesitate to kill him on the spot. Not after what he has done to ya.'
'I suppose so... but Finn, please remember. Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault.'
'Thanks Paige... I'm glad to hear that from ya.'
'Hey, Finn?'
'Aye?'
Paige hesitated to ask the question that had been burning on the tip of her tongue for a little second. Was it possibly going to bring back painful memories? Seeing the demon hunter, who she saw as a younger brother that she never had, being tormented by memories that he would've rather forgotten, was the least thing she wanted. But there was only one way to find out if the name was actually linked to painful memories... and that was to ask that question.
Paige put the cork back onto the bottle, sealing it shut. 'While you were fighting Eva Marie, I heard you repeating this name... Becky. Who is she? I don't ever think you have told me about a person named Becky before...'
In the blink of an eye, Paige saw sadness filling Finn's eyes; and she knew that a single look in one person's eyes could tell more than a thousand words. Oh damn, so it was indeed linked to bad memories... the demon witch immediately felt guilty for asking the question. Damn, why did she have to be so curious about it?
A sharp pain emerged in his heart as soon as Paige had mentioned that one name. But Finn thought that the demon witch, who he saw as some sort of older sister, had the right to know about it. He had never talked about that one woman, whose name would make his eyes water, or his past to anybody since his stay in the United States. There was so much pain in his heart now... but maybe by telling the truth, it would go away. Finn looked Paige straight in the eyes and finally allowed himself to let down a wall that he had hoped to never break down.
'Becky was the first person who had accepted me for who I was... and the first woman I have ever loved.'
And she would always be the only woman Finn would ever love.
Finn knew that Paige was going to have to listen to a long tale, but he decided to tell it nonetheless. Hell, now that he had revealed the truth about Becky, he should reveal his past, decorated by contempt, blood and hidden secrets, as well. Finn took a deep breath and slowly breathed out. He was ready.
'I have spend my entire childhood in an orphanage, back in Ireland. It was in Bray, up in the north of the country, I believe it's still there to this day. They had brought me in there when I was a baby. For as long as I remember, I have always felt this... darkness, inside of me. I could feel it in my bones that it didn't feel right. It frightened me, it frightened me so much. I was afraid that I would somehow unleash that darkness if I would get close to somebody, which why I always chose to be alone. I never talked, nor did I play with the other kids. The caretakers... they didn't bother to hide their contempt for me. I have been treated like a freak by them ever since I was a baby. I could always hear them when they were talkin' about me. It looked like the thing that made them afraid of me was the fact that I apparently grew a full set of teeth when I was just two weeks old. From that moment on, they didn't consider me as a normal human being, more like... some monster. But that wasn't the only thing I found out during their conversations. It turned out that I was the result of rape... my mother died when she gave birth to me and my father... no, I refuse to call that rapin' piece of shite my father, was never found. But now I can safely assume that he was a demon. Those kids at the orphanage, they weren't any better than the caretakers. They would grab each opportunity to bully me, in the end it's always the lonely lad who gets the beatin'. But then, at the age of twelve, this darkness finally came out for the first time. I can't remember that much, but I can vaguely remember that the first moment I was being beaten up by those bullies, then it all went dark, and when I woke up... those bullies were nothin' more but mangled pieces of flesh. That's when I decided to run away from the orphanage. I ended up in Dublin where I would roam the streets. And on that day in the summer... I met her.'
'Becky?'
'Aye. She didn't seem to be afraid of me at all, guess she found it interestin' to see a lad from around her age roamin' the streets all by himself each day. She would come see me each day, there were even times where she skip out on school, just to see me. I was completely foreign to her kindness at first, but... it didn't last long before I trusted her. We became best mates, she was the first friend I ever had. She was the one who made me strong enough to suppress that darkness inside me. One day, Becky told me she had found an address for me to stay at, she couldn't stand seein' me sleeping outside in the cold and rain. Turned out that the guy who lived in that place was a retired professional demon hunter. His name was Collin Bálor... I have never respected a man that much. He became my mentor, he was the one who had trained me for years. My life finally had a purpose. It didn't last long before I found out that Becky was also a demon hunter in trainin'. Maybe she also gave me that address because she saw that I had the potential to become a demon hunter... During my trainin', I had never released my powers again. When I reached my twenties, my mentor died of old age and I adopted his last name out of respect. Me and Becky teamed up together and went out for many hunts. We were a perfect team, we traveled all over Ireland, tracked down every demon that meant harm to mankind and slaughtered them. But... that's when I realized how much Becky actually meant to me. She was more than my friend. I loved her, I loved her with all my heart. But I thought I would scare her off if she would find out what I really am... so I kept my feelings to myself. I had found out what I really was during that time; a half demon. And I was determined to keep my secret away from Becky. There would be times where Sheamus, another demon hunter that was slightly older than me, tagged along with us and I could clearly see that Becky was fond of him, he seemed to take a likin' to her as well. It didn't last long before they shared their first kiss. Aye, I was heartbroken, but because I thought that Becky was better off with a human... I let it rest. I accepted the fact that she was happy with Sheamus. But then one night... God, it all went to hell so fast.'
'Why? What happened, Finn?'
Finn paused to take breathe in and out once more; this was going to be the hardest part to tell...
'We went on another hunt that night. Me, Becky and Sheamus. At one point, me and Sheamus ended up in an argument, I can't remember what the argument was about, but what I do remember is that it escalated really damn fast. I'm not sure what happened before everythin' went dark, but I'm pretty sure that Sheamus must've mentioned Becky in order for me to snap. It did it. For the first time in years, I unleashed the darkness in me once more. All I can remember from my rampage was the color red and screamin'... and when I woke up, I saw Becky kneeling next to Sheamus' bloody corpse, cryin' her eyes out. Now, I have seen a lot of demons starin' at me with hate in their eyes before I defeated them, but God... I have never seen so much hate in Becky's eyes that night. She told me to go away before she would kill me. And that's exactly what I did. I never saw her again since. I knew that every demon hunter in Ireland, including her, would gladly trace me down and murder me. I moved to the United States as soon as I could.'
It was completely silent in Paige's bedroom, if the sound of rain hitting the window didn't count.
Paige swore to God that she had never heard a more heart wrenching story like this one in her entire life. 'Oh man... Finn... I'm so sorry, I don't even know what to say...' she whispered with sincere empathy in her voice, putting her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
The demon hunter shook his head. 'Don't be.'
He stood up and walked to the door. 'Look, I'm goin' to make some tea. It will probably do both of us good. Do you want some?'
'Uhm... sure, why not?'
'Good. I'll be back in a sec.'
While he walked to the kitchen to prepare two cups of tea, a single tear trickled down Finn's cheek.
