Chapter 1

Present

Kira opened her eyes, and woke to the darkness. She just laid there for a while, waiting for the last trickle of her dream to slide away. The pain, the fire… It had all been so vivid in her mind, it had been like she was reliving it. She sighed heavily, pushed herself out of bed, and slowly made her way to the bathroom. She quickly splashed water into her face to wash the sleep from her eyes and took a quick glance into her reflection, looking for some kind of sign. All she saw was a familiar stranger, tall, Asian, pale skin, dark eyes and black, long hair.

Kira heavily sighed again and brushed her hair a thick ponytail and walked out into the cool morning. She sniffed the air, as she always did, to check for any stray demons looking for a tasty morsel to chomp on. It had happened in the past, and she’d be stupid to think it wouldn’t happen again in the future.

Kira sniffed again, getting a whiff of something strange and familiar at the same time. She glanced around the street, trying to locate the source of a scent, and then she saw someone at the corner, a willowy, young girl, probably a college student.

Kira felt as if she should know this person, but it just remained out of reach from her memory.

The girl looked up from a piece of paper held in a pair of slender, pale hands, and noticed Kira standing in front of the comely house Kira called home.

Her kindly-looking face lit up, and she screamed ecstatically, “Kira!!!!!” She dashed up to Kira, “It’s so good to see you!!!”

Kira immediately recognized when she lifted up her face; it was Anna, a girl she reluctantly befriended when she was traveling through New York. She had known it was not a good idea to have a human friend, but she couldn’t help it. Anna was someone who just attracted people with her warmth and pure heart.

“Nice to see you too, Anna.” Kira greeted.

Anna grinned and replied, “Is that all you’re going to say after all these years? You look good.”

Kira smiled, only Anna could make her feel truly happy, and replied, “Of course, it’s what I am.”

A breeze suddenly picks up, and Anna shivered, “I never knew it’d be so cold around here.” She was dressed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of torn jeans. A bit under-dressed for fall in Los Angeles, but probably normal in Florida.

“Come on in. It’s a lot warmer inside.” A few months after their meeting, Anna had moved to Florida, and Kira had moved to Los Angeles, hoping Anna would forget her.

But that didn’t work out so well, seeing as Anna was standing in front of her, beaming at her.

As soon as they got in, Anna settled down on the couch in the lounge, taking in the strange décor normally. The house, a building of modest design with a spacious, but not overly large lounge, kitchen, and two bedrooms, had been decorated with odd charms hanging here and there, paintings depicting the scenes of ancient battles past, and clutters of trinkets everywhere. A foxtail brush hung above the archway that separated the kitchen and the lounge. Several chains of bells and silver tags were strung across the ceiling, and paper slips with strange inscriptions hung over the hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom.

“Seems like you’re doing well,” Anna said brightly, “What are you doing now?”

Kira smiled privately herself as she entered the kitchen; living for a couple centuries taught one a thing or two about money, something that she didn’t have to worry about. She set the kettle on the stove as she dug through the cabinets to find tea leaves. “Oh, I’ve just been working here and there,” Kira said vaguely, “What about you?”

Anna sighed, loud enough for Kira to hear, “I thought that being in a hospital would be all exciting and stuff, but mostly it’s just a bunch of old people complaining about their joints or something like that.”

Kira smiled at that, “You regret being a nurse?”

Anna laughed, “No, not really. I’m just whining. It’s great, actually. I feel like I’m making some kind of difference.” That was Anna, alright. Kind-hearted.

Kira brought in the tea, “Jasmine, your favorite.”

Anna breathed in the fumes from the tea, “Brings back memories.”

Kira nodded, “First time we met.”

Anna sipped the tea, “Hard to believe it was only like a year ago. I still remember it like it was yesterday.”

Kira smiled as she sat down in her favorite armchair, off to the side of the couch, and remembered when they met at a small café near NYU. Anna had gone there as a choice for college, and Kira had just… been there to run away…

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

I stepped into the warmth of the café, dripping wet from the pouring rain outside. I didn’t bother to even try to squeeze the water out of her hair; I’d get wet anyway while I took a shower. I collapsed into a nearby chair and ordered a hot chocolate.

I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes, savoring the peace and tranquility of the quaint café. Not many people were in; most were at the Starbucks, which was a few buildings down the street, but I liked the emptiness.

My hot chocolate arrived, steaming, brown liquid topped with whipped cream which was already melting into the brown sea. I sipped a bit and licked the whipped cream from my lips, ignoring the scalding heat and just relishing the chocolatey taste.

I felt a cool rush of wind as the door was opened again, but I didn’t bother to see who else had entered. I just heard a soft but annoyed voice, “For the hundredth time, no!! Not after what you did last year.”

A male voice, louder, but pleading, “Anna, please, it was just a joke.”

The female, Anna, replied scathingly, “Oh yeah, I’m sure Jason just thought of it as a joke. Leave me alone, Derek, I want nothing to do with you.”

Kira peered over her shoulder and noticed that the two were still standing in the doorway, all eyes on the two college-looking students. Anna was of medium height with a body of a dancer, willowy, but muscular, and pale, almost albino skin, and fair, blondish-brown hair. She was dressed warmly in a pair of jeans tucked into boots and beige turtleneck sweater.

Derek was an Asian guy who looked like he did some kind of sport, possibly tennis, judging by his lithe body and strong arms. He wore nothing but a t-shirt and jeans despite the cold and rain. “Come on, Anna.”

Anna planted her hands on her waist as she cocked her hip, “Why are you doing this, Derek? You don’t love me, you only go out with me so you can cheat off my answers. And now you’re worried I’ll tattle. If you keep bugging me, that possibility is going to become reality.”

Derek roughly grabbed her arm, “Let’s talk about this at my place.”

Anna wrenched her arm away, “I said leave me alone.”

Derek’s face was twisted in anger, “Anna, if you don’t come with me, you will regret it.”

Anna stuck out her tongue in a very childish fashion, “Go away.”

I sighed and downed the rest of my hot chocolate. I tossed a five onto the table, stood up and whirled around. I faked surprise when I noticed Anna, “Oh, my God, Anna, is that you?”

Anna quickly caught on and bright smiled at me, “Oh, Tracy, I didn’t even see you. You look so different!!!” She stepped forward and warmly hugged me, despite my wetness.

Derek suddenly seemed at a loss at what to do and mumbled to Anna, “I guess I’ll just talk to you later.”

Anna waved, “Mmm, yeah, yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.” To me she gushed, “So how have you been?” We kept up the façade until Anna was sure Derek was gone. She sighed with relief and sat down in the chair opposite mine.

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, “I didn’t know how I was going to get rid of him.”

I shrugged, unable to reply. It wasn’t like I wanted to make any lasting friendships. I had only helped her because I hated obnoxious guys who thought they could just bully around girls.

“I gotta get going… Good luck with that guys of yours.”

Anna stood up, “But I wanted to repay you… Maybe some tea, coffee?”

I shook my head and leaned against the door, “Thanks, but no thanks.” I pushed the door open and walked into the rain. From the corner of my eye, I noticed she got up to follow me, but by then I had already meshed with the crowd, hidden from her eyes.

But fate had a way of making things work. A few weeks later, I ran into her at a bookstore. I was running from a Tracker demon, and I noticed this bookstore had a bit of holy aura protecting it. I slipped through the shelves, trying not to look crazy, and I saw her, standing in the fiction section, skimming through a copy of Twilight.

I was about to turn around; she hadn’t noticed me, and I wanted to keep it that way. But then she looked up and noticed me standing, half-turned. Her eyes lit up, “You!!!”

I tried to smile, “Funny seeing you here.”

She laughed, “I agree. I never expected to see you here. So can I repay you this time with some tea? Maybe some brownies?”

I opened my mouth to refuse and make a hasty escape, but her warm, open brown eyes made me change my mind. “Sure,” I said, thinking that it wouldn’t hurt, “Some tea would be great.”

Anna bought the book and led me to a small café down the street. We sat down at a booth next to a window, and she asked, “What kind of tea do you like?”

I didn’t really know anything about tea, so I just replied, “Uh, whatever you want.”

She grinned and ordered some jasmine tea. Then she turned to me, “So… What’s your name?”

“Kira.” I had blurted out my real name without thinking.

She showed the Twilight book to me, “Have you read this before?”

I nodded; when you didn’t have anything to do, but stay hidden from demons, you had, surprisingly, a lot of free time. In that free time, I did a lot of reading. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight had been one of them, although one that I thought was silly and almost childish. It was a novel of pure fantasy because nothing that beautiful ever happened in real life. But I supposed that’s why it was so popular amongst young women.

Anna inspected the cover again, “My friends told me it was a good book. What do you think?”

I was about to tell her what I really thought, but decided to go with a shrug and, “It was okay.”

Anna raised an eyebrow, “This is the literary sensation of the decade and you can only say it was okay.”

Our teae arrived, and she proceeded to pour the tea into my cup and then poured some for herself. Then she started to dump sugar cubes into her little cup. After finishing her sugar-tea concoction, she turned her gaze on me, “So why don’t you really like it?”

I shrugged again, twirling around my teacup in its saucer, “It’s not very realistic.”

Anna laughed, “Well, it is a vampire novel. I doubt it would be realistic.”

I shook my head, “Not that. I mean the romance. Do you honestly think that such a perfect, caring relationship exists out there?”

Anna frowned, “Well…”

I sipped my tea, bitter, but refreshing, “You should read it first. Maybe you’ll be able to see the naivety of the story.” We talked more, ordered more tea, and I realized that I was drawn to her. I couldn’t escape her; it was fate that we met. Night had fallen by the time I realized I had to leave. I downed the rest of my drink, “Thanks for the tea. I gotta go.”

Anna stood up as well, “Seems like you’re a busy person.”

I nodded and turned to leave. “You have no idea,” I muttered under my breath.

Our third meeting had been our last. I was running again from another demon; that was the thing about big cities. Plenty of hiding spaces, but there were at least a thousand demons to hide from.

I darted into a cemetery, one that was protected by prayer and proper burials. Any other kind of cemetery was just as bad as confronting the demon without any proper equipment. It was raining again, but I was wearing a hoodie, so my head remained relatively dry. I wandered further into the cemetery, and noticed a lone red umbrella held up by a figure. I guessed from the shape of the legs and hips that it was female, and I quietly backed off to leave her with privacy. But then she looked up, and I saw that it was Anna.

Now meeting someone three times in a city as big as New York, is NOT coincidence. You probably should be getting a feeling that fate is trying to throw you two together.

She immediately recognized me, “Are you stalking me?”

I sighed and walked towards her, “I’ve got no reason to do that.”

Anna grinned, “I read it.”

I remembered our last conversation and replied, “And?”

“I don’t agree with you,” She said, “Anyone can find true love like that. They just need to find the right person.”

“That’s a very romanticized view of life,” I said dryly, “And not all that realistic.”

“Perhaps we all are living a dream,” Anna said, “That doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

I shook my head, “Ignorance is bliss.”

Anna cocked her head, “Are you saying you are not ignorant?”

I smiled bitterly, “I think I’ve lived long enough to say, yeah, I’m not ignorant of the mankind’s faults.”

“That’s sad,” Anna said softly, “You should be grateful for what you have.”

“I’ve got nothing to be grateful for,” I muttered. Then I sniffed; the foul stench had gotten much closer, and it had hidden itself well enough for me to not notice. “Shit,” I cursed, this thing was strong to be able to enter the graveyard. Time to get out of New York. I waved, “See ya.” Then I turned and ran through the cemetery, hoping to lure the demon away from Anna. Demons lived to feed on humans and they did so, slowly, through some kind of disease. Cancer, AIDS, anything… They slowly drained life energy, making it seem like some kind of disease. But some of the stronger ones just took what they wanted, explaining for some mysterious disappearances.

I nearly fell over when I heard Anna’s shrill scream echoing through the cemetery. I closed my eyes; demons went after me because of the power I had, but this one had decided to take Anna as an appetizer first. I whirled around and ran back to Anna, who was still, unfortunately, conscious and in the grasp of a Shadow demon. If there was any demon that could slip through a scared barrier, it would be a Shadow demon. The Shadow had already noticed my coming and hissed at me in its guttural language, “Stay out of this, spirit-holder. You are next.”

“In your dreams, demon,” I retorted. I didn’t have much to protect myself against it, only a small bottle of holy water, but it could be effective enough to stall it for a bit. The problem was getting Anna out of here.

The Shadow sniffed the air, sensing the danger I possessed, “How about a deal? If you agree to serve me, I will spare the girl.”

I thought for a moment, trying to try this into my plan, “Alright. Let her go first.”

The Shadow demon, released it’s grip on her, but Anna was still too shocked to move. I walked towards the demon, the bottle clenched in my fist.

“Wait,” the Shadow demon growled, “Toss out the bottle.”

I bit my lip and pulled out the bottle, and the demon hissed, eyeing the bottle warily, “Get rid of it.”

I threw it as hard as I could, in the general direction of the demons face. It smashed between his eyes and he howled in pain, clawing at his eyes. I quickly ran toward Anna and grabbed her wrist, half-dragging her through the cemetery.

I took her to a café and ordered some hot chocolate for Anna. She still looked shaken, her face pale, almost sickly. I glanced around helplessly; I wasn’t really sure what to do with her.

Finally she spoke, “What was that?”

I quickly decided that the best idea was to make her think it was only a dream, “Nothing. This is all a dream.”

She smiled weakly, “If this is a dream, you’re not supposed to tell me it’s a dream.”

“It’s a special dream.”

“Is that why you’re in here?” she asked.

I swallowed, “Possibly.” She didn’t believe it. She was far too smart for that. Well, time for a trick I learned over the years… All humans had a bit of persuasive power, as did demons, but demons were much more powerful. “Sleep,” I commanded; it took a lot of practice and effort, but it was definitely worth it. Of course, it didn’t work on demons, but handy for a quick getaway.

Anna’s eyes began to droop, and in less than a minute she was slumped over the table, lightly snoring. I left money at the table as I whispered, “Sweet dreams.”

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

“I wish you told me you were going to leave New York,” Anna said.

“There wasn’t any time for that,” Kira said apologetically, “How’d you find me, anyways?” If there was some kind of trail, she had to get rid of it. It was rather difficult to explain to the authorities how she had been living for a couple centuries or so.

Anna grinned, “Oh, I just have a lot of friends in high places.”

Kira sighed; she would have to ‘persuade’ Anna later to tell me who these friends were. But she found it strange that Anna came looking for her just out of the blue. Or maybe she was just being paranoid…

Night descended upon them quickly as time went by, and rain followed quickly, thundering on the roof.

“You should spend the night here,” Kira said, “There’s no need for you to get drenched.” She wanted to keep an eye on Anna, just in case…

Anna smiled gratefully, “Thanks. It’s a long way back home.”

Kira pointed over to a door down the hall, “That’s the guest bedroom. I’m pretty sure there’s everything you need in there, but if you need something, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Anna smiled and nodded before trotting down to the guest room. “Good night,” she called out.

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” Kira murmured softly to herself.

Kira retired to her room, but couldn’t sleep, still wondering about Anna’s sudden return. Then she smelled it, that reeking odor, a foul stench that made her want to retch, and the bells in her lounge began to jangle like crazy; there was a demon almost right at her doorstep. “Dammit,” she muttered. She pulled out a gun, a Desert Eagle Mark XIX, custom made to fit the bullets she needed, from her bedside drawer and checked the clip, making sure it was full of silver bullets, doused in holy water. A double whammy for anything out of Hell. She grabbed a long coat as she dashed to the guest room and shook Anna awake.

Anna looked at her with bleary eyes, “What’s going on?”

“We got to go,” Kira told her quickly.

Anna didn’t argue and just grabbed her coat. They ran out into the rain, already soaked in a matter of minutes. And then Anna just halted in the middle of the street.

“What’s going on?” Anna questioned with an angry look on her face and rain streaming down her cheeks. “I know there’s something going on, are you in like a gang or something?”

“Well, you see,” Kira began hesitantly, unsure of what to tell her, “I sort of hung out wi-.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Anna interrupted, “I remember what happened in New York. Was that real? Or was it a dream?”

Kira glanced around; there was no way she could just tell Anna everything. But it seemed like Anna wasn’t going to have it any other way. Kira jerked her head toward a church, “Over there. I’ll tell you everything.”

They entered dripping rainwater all over the clean white floor. Kira collapsed in the back pew, and Anna dropped right next to her, glowering, “The truth. Now.”

“You know, even if I told you the truth you probably wouldn’t believe me,” Kira muttered.

“Try me,” she replied tersely.

Kira sighed, “Demons exist. New York wasn’t a dream.”

“I knew it,” Anna muttered, “I started researching, after that… dream or whatever. My friends thought I was crazy, but I knew it was real.”

“You weren’t supposed to get involved,” Kira said quietly, “It’s dangerous.”

Anna glared at her, “What about you?”

Kira smiled bitterly, “I was just thrown into it. I didn’t have anyone to protect me.”

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

It started in England, although I didn’t know it at the time, and I was kind of an oddity there, being Asian. I couldn’t remember anything from before, just that scrounging on the streets for food.

Alex was the one who found me and convinced his parents to take me in. They were rich aristocrats, rich, powerful, and extremely snobbish. They were always busy with something, like a party of some kind of social gathering, so I spent a lot of time with Alex, who had become like a real brother to me. He was kind to me, and I cherished the moments I spent with him.

But then one hot, summer day, I went to the river, along with several other kids. On a dare, I swam into the river’s center where the current was strongest. After treading water for a minute, I tried to swim back but the current was far too strong for my light body. I screamed for help, only to swallow in the water, but the others couldn’t do anything but watch. I thought I was going to die, but then Alex was somehow with me. He pulled me to shore, to safety, and he was about to follow. But the current picked up, and he was taken away from me, dragged down into the watery depths. The others tried to save him, but by the time the men came, he was gone far out of my reach.

I blamed myself for his death as did my foster parents. They had every right to, and so I decided to run away. I couldn’t bear to stay in this place; it reeked of death.

I visited Alex’s grave just before I ran away, and an odd man came by. He had a cold aura about him, but his words excited me. He asked me, “Do you want to see your brother again?”

I couldn’t believe his words; I couldn’t believe that I could see my brother again. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him; the dead should stay dead, but my desperation to see my brother again, to apologize to him, urged me to follow the stranger.

He took me to an empty grove, only withered trees with gnarled branches were there for company. The whole setting was sinister, the shadows dancing around us, the dead trees reaching to grab us.

“My brother?” I had asked pathetically.

The strange man just grinned, and then I felt fire burn inside me. I screamed at the sudden pain as it spread throughout my body. I collapsed to the ground, twitching involuntarily with every lick of the flame.

I briefly thought of my poor brother, lying six feet under the ground, and I glared at the stranger, but he didn’t do anything, just stood there, smirking.

I realized that he had lied. He wasn’t going to give back my brother; all of this was in vain. I wanted to scream at him, to hurt him, but then another wave of pain erupted through my body, and I gave in to the comforting darkness…

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Anna exhaled heavily, “So what’s going on now?”

“A demon’s after me,” Kira said softly, “You chose a bad time to visit.”

Suddenly, something thumped against the wooden door, and blue sparks crackled around it, mixed with red. The red electricity seemed to devour the blue until the whole door was swarming with red sparks. Something big was trying to break through the door, and Kira knew exactly what it was. It seemed that the demons of Hell had finally caught up to her. But she wouldn’t give up yet.

“Come on, we gotta go,” Kira urged Anna, but they were too late, and the door completely broke down.

“A monster,” Anna whispered in horror, “You weren’t kidding…”

“That’s a little bit mean, lass,” he said, leering at her, “I’m actually quite good-looking for my kind.” As a Bull demon, he looked very much like a minotaur, but a lot uglier.

Kira stepped in front protectively, “Stay away, demon.” She pulled out her gun, “I think you can probably smell what’s coming from this.”

The bull demon cocked his head, “Silver and holy water.” He charged in, “But something so small will barely graze my skin.”

Kira smirked, “That’s what they all say.” She fired, and the bullet drove itself into the bull demon’s skull, right between his eyes.

“Im…po...si…ble…” The bull demon staggered and fell to the floor as it crumbled to dust.

Anna stared in disbelief, “I can’t… How come I’ve never seen these things before?”

Kira returned the gun back to her coat pocket, “Well, that’s the thing. They don’t want to be seen. They work though stealth, hiding in the shadows. You hear about it all the time, when someone mysteriously disappears or dies from disease.”

Anna shook her head, “This is just… too much.” She shivered, “I just wanna go back home…”

Kira nodded, “Let’s get outta here then…”

The pair ran out, and, unfortunately for them, it was still pouring cats and dogs. The demons hadn’t given up, demons were still out here. Shadow demons were slowly creeping toward them, hissing as soon as they caught their scent. The shadows quickly flocked around them, whispering excitedly as they surrounded their prey.

Anna clutched herself tightly, as if that was the only thing keeping her together. Her face, plastered with wet, blonde hair, was twisted into a countenance of fear and confusion.

Kira gently pushed Anna into an alley, “Stay here and keep yourself hidden. Try not to drag attention to yourself.”

The shadows cautiously circled Kira, probing for any weaknesses, and then one shadow swiftly strikes, aiming for her throat as his arm molded into a blade like form. Realizing too late, Kira barely managed to dodge, the blade nicking her cheek. The warm blood dribbled down her cool, rain-soaked skin, and the shadows quivered in anticipation. The stench of the blood excited them, like sharks.

They all struck at once, working like clockwork. She managed to dodge all their blows as she drew her gun. She fired as soon as the opportunity arrived, and tore through one shadow caught unawares.

Kira knew the whole thing was too easy; the Shadows weren’t even properly attack. It seemed like… they were waiting for something…

And then she felt something cold stab into her back. She stumbled forward, gasping at the pain. She turned her head and saw Anna standing behind her, holding a bloody dagger triumphantly. She instantly felt it, a Parasite demon had already eaten up Anna. Parasite demons took over a human’s body and devoured their memories so they could fit into human life.

“Oh, you bastard,” she whispered, voice laced with pain. The Parasite’s smile just widened and hissed, “Not so tough now, ey?”

Kira brought up the Desert Eagle and pointed it between the Parasite’s eyes, “Shut the fuck up.” And she fired.