There is an irony in being human. Not having to be just happy or just sad. The nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time. Sounds messed up, and it is. Most of us must learn to love people and use things, I grew up that way, but in the end it cost them there lives.
When someone you love dies, you are given the gift of second chance. You're bound by the past, that is who you are. You're reminded of the feelings of who you are, how you felt at that moment. Your bad choices defined you, they are who you are today. Your future travels the same path with the same people. You can start over, so they say. You don't have to apologize to people that won't listen. You don't have to justify your feelings or actions, during a difficult time in your life. You don't have to put up with people that are insecure and want you to fail. All you have to do is walk forward. The people that were meant to be in your life won't need you. They already understand, because there dead.
I feel like, God expects me to be alone. I feel like, God hates me. Broken, empty, bruised. I feel like, God doesn't look at me and wish that I was something else, because he doesn't like me. I feel like, God doesn't want me to close my eyes and pray for him. I feel like, God already knows I'm dammed to hell.
In the months following a mans death, one thought had returned time and again as I passed others in the street. What demon did I hold? What can I endured? I wondered how many people rushing in and out of shops, or on their way to their work, had lost, or known deep disappointment, grief, fear, or lost the will to go on. Who knows, that's there life.
My life, now that's a different story. Similar to John Constantine, but worse. I am the son of a Witch, the Witch Enchantress. A Witch who didn't want me, so she tried to kill me. Her plan failed and I ended up in an Orphanage in Jump City. I grew up there, and through the years, the people and kids there died, one by one. Hell, there was even a demon attack there once, I conjured up a stronger one to remove it, instead it took everyone else and absorbed the demon before returning to hell.
I threw myself into depression, but I stayed in the Orphanage, turned it into my own home, in memory of the ones I got killed. It was no longer an Orphanage, but a house of sanctuary, dark arts, you name it. It was a new House of Mystery.
Never trust a demon. They have a hundred motives for anything they do. All the demons of Hell formerly reigned as gods in previous cultures. One man's god is another man's devil. As each subsequent civilization became a dominant power, among its first acts was to depose and demonize whoever the previous culture had worshipped. The Jews attacked Belial, the god of the Babylonians. The Christians banished Pan, Loki and Mars, the respective deities of the ancient Greeks, Celts and Romans. The Anglican British banned belief in the Australian aboriginal spirits known as the Mimi. Satan is depicted with cloven hooves because Pan had them, and he carries a pitchfork based on the trident carried by Neptune. As each deity was deposed, it was relegated to Hell. For gods so long accustomed to receiving tribute and loving attention, of course this status shift puts them into a foul mood.
Now, well in most cases I would just be walking around, putting demons back in hell that walk amongst us. The others, I'm either getting electro shock therapy for the trauma or sitting in my room looking at a bloody wall. The blood, is my blood. When a new victim is picked, the blood forms a name, one that is in the city.
That was what I was doing now, waiting for the next victim to be choses so that I could save them. The process sometimes took weeks, months even, but it still came. This time, the blood turned White when it spelled the name. Rachel Roth. Now, when the blood turns white, it means that its not human, and that could mean many things. They could be from space, Haven and even hell. So that meant that I had to approach the situation with care.
Standing up, I grabbed my coat and tossed it on, making my way down stairs to the living room. Once in the living room, I made my way over to the table, where a map covered it. Grabbing the pendent on my neck, I pulled it off and held it over the map like a pendulum. "Loe e twcica atha cyeoeh hhnrlotmfotoh sll enoete r." I said, the chain cutting my hand, blood dripping down onto the map. Once the blood hit the map, it turned white, where it started moving. Following the blood, I watched as it stopped at the old Library.
Later, old Library
Walking forward, I stopped at the doors. The Greek Style was out of place, by a long shot. Clapping my hands together, I held them out. "Sro hdaie ne h dfhotw aymwms heemsione tf." I said, with a red S appearing, not like the superman symbol, but this S was like a demonic symbol. 'I'll have to look in to it later.' I thought, walking up to the doors that were barded up. Grabbing the wood, I ripped it off and tossed it down, where I then did it again and again until it was clear for me to pass.
Pushing the doors open, all I could see was dust. Walking forward, I waved my hand, pushing the dust away with each step. Pulling out a lighter, I lit it, with the flame hovering in place as I removed the lighter. It took off, with me following it further to the back. Once I reached the end, I saw a opening in the wall, leading down below. Following the flame, the passage went into a room with statues of robed people, and markings on the walls, on the far side was an opening.
Walking forward, I still followed the flame as its light got dimmer and dimmer before burning out. That didn't mean that I was close, no it just meant that it had gone as far as the magic would take it, but another would continue on. Taking out the lighter, I lit another flame, with the light reviling a spiral stair case. I watched as the flame went down the easy way, before moving to the side as it hit the bottom, leaving me in the dark. Pulling out a flashlight, I made my way down, planning on finding out why this Rachel Roth was down here to begin with.
After a few flanks, I stopped once I saw a white glow coming from below. Looking down, I narrowed my eyes at the spirits of demons that started to give chase. Stepping back, they surrounded me, each with a weapon and ready to strike. "S nafh,to ea iun csg rnnths emrin cepe f uetttree ycv iuaroarrdadiotnes e lwceeei nhsdpioph nae rnhicoimm." I said, where I then threw my arms out, flashing a bright light around that burned the spirits, sending them back down to where they came, where I then continued my walk down to the bottom.
Reaching the bottom, I saw a passage lit by flames. Walking down the path, I knew that I didn't need the lighter to lead me, because my gut was telling me that this lead me straight to her. I slowed my paste once I heard chanting, which came from the room ahead. stopping at the door, my eyes widened once I saw a pool of blood, with people around it in red robes, holding there hands in the air. I saw the blood bubble up in the center, where I watched a girl jump up, screaming her lungs out.
One of them ran down with a robe and covered her, where she tried fighting back. "Em v taa l lel oyersirteeito lrn hsnter mh e ssdet yhseneehsiihiamhcu adelofevgm iene nahl vr a o,g fitef n tkmndneeepooi stahnhemieir r tsdeyomie." I said, holding my hand out as each and everyone on them started screaming as they grabbed there eyes. Running forward, I kicked a few into the pool of blood as I made my way over to the women. "Rachel Roth!" I called out, with her looking at me as she got free from her captor. "Lets get you out of this mess." I said, holding my hand out to her.
She reached forward, with me pulling her out of the pool of blood. pulling her close, I got some blood on my clothes, with me reaching into my pocket and pulling out a gym, where I then tossed it on the ground, incasing us in stone.
The next thing we knew, we were no longer down under ground, but back at my house. "There you go." I said, reaching forward to the rack and grabbing a blue coat, wrapping it around her, with her clinging to it instantly. "Well, you can use any of the baths, clean up and then we will talk." I said, pointing up stairs. "The house is enchanted, nothing in or out without my say so." I said, turning to her, seeing that she was shacking as she looked all over the place. 'Demon it is, but there's human as well.' I thought, before leaving the room to get cleaned up my self.
Later
Walking down stairs, I spotted Rachel at the door, looking at it. "Tried leaving I see." I said, with her tuning to me. "If you were to exit, you would just walk right back in." I said, with her nodding.
"True, and even my magic cant get me out of here." she said, with me nodding.
"That's thanks to the runes I've got scratched into the walls, prevents magic from exiting or entering unless its mine. you can still use it, just not to leave." I said, walking over to her. "Why are you still in the coat, its got blood on it." I asked, with her looking down.
"I...Don't have any actual clothes." she said, with me nodding.
"Still, there's clothes in the rooms, you have my permission to go find something to wear, and as for the coat, just toss it somewhere and my magic will send it to the laundry later." I said, with her nodding and heading upstairs. I walked back into the living room, where I noticed a mop cleaning up the blood on the floor. Walking over to the table, I looked at the map again, seeing that the blood mad moved over to my house, meaning that she wasn't safe yet, even in my home.
Walking over to the bookshelf, I spotted a red ruby amulet. Grabbing it, I turned to the door and saw Rachel standing there. She now wore a long sleeve blue shirt that said Frankie says relax, with a gray jacket over it with three blue stripes on the left arm, blue jeans that had some holes in them, blue shoes with red laces and a blue hat with a skull on it. The blood was still present in her hair, meaning that it dried well enough to dye it, temporary that is. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?" She asked, with me tossing her the ruby, with her catching it.
"I don't have a name, my mother never gave me one." I said, walking back over to the map, seeing the blood vanish completely. "As for how I know your name, well my blood wall told me." I said, confusing her. "Second floor, my room, I used my blood to make a spell that forms a name of someone whos in demonic trouble. Lucky for you, it spelt your name, even if you are part demon, I'm still going to help you." I said, shocking her.
"You know?" She asked, clenching her hands.
"Not the first half demon I've met, and I don't think you'll be the last." I said, looking up at her. "As for the ruby, its a cloak, just pace it on your chest and like Cinderella, bi bad am boom you change." I said, with her looking at it, before slapping it on her chest. She was covered in a purple like light, blinding me.
Her new outfit was dark blue, or perhaps indigo as they seemed really close. Over her shoulders was a blue cloak and matching blue ruffled ankle boots with a black sole, with an almost leotard-like long sleeved shirt that is black with cuffs at her wrists of the same blue of her cloak. On her cloak, she has the red jewel that now rests in a gold plate that attached the whole thing together. Around her waist she has a red and gold belt with the same jewels around it and no pants as the shirt connected around the groin area.
"Not bad, I expected more of a Halloween version, but the slick version will do." I said, standing up straight and walking over to her. She backed up, with me walking past her. "You said you can use magic, I'll trust that you have it under control." I said, with her following me up stairs. "I don't care what you do from this point on, but if you do anything to harm another while in my city then I'll come after you." I said, reaching the top and making a left down the hallway.
"You help people, using dark magic." She said, with me entering my room and heading straight for the chair, where I sat down, looking at the bloody wall. "This the wall?" She asked, looking between it an I. "You just sit there, waiting for a name all day?" She asked, where she then looked at the wall, with it forming a name, a strange one at that. "Live Die, that the next person?" She asked, with me nodding.
"Yes, and like I did with you, I'm going to help them." I said, standing up and walking back out of the room. "You are free to stay here, until you get your own place." I said, with her nodding as we walked back down stairs and into the living room again, where I took off the amulet and held it over. "Loe e twcica athi vyeoeh hhnlmfoto sle enodti l." I said, with my blood dripping down the amulet, only this was different, something I've never seen before. The drops of blood multiplied, growing in size and around the map in different locations. "That's not good." I said, narrowing my eyes at it. 'Either there's more than one Live Die in one city, or the demonic activity has increased tenfold.' I thought, looking up at Rachel.
"I take it that isn't normal." She said, with me nodding. "Then what's the plan?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"The plan is, we save each and everyone of them." I said, looking back at the map.
