The Demon Princess and the Vampire Princes

Chapter III
Tyrone’s In His Own Little World

Blaze came back, eventually. I was close to tearing him to shreds for leaving me. Right now I was on his stomach, preparing to rip out his throat.

“Phoenix, truce!”

“You left me,” I snarl furiously.

“Yeah, I went to go get this!” He held up one of those insanely thick black jackets that cover your entire body. “I figured it would hide you from the light.”

“You don’t get it. There’s no loopholes! I cannot walk out in sunlight!” I growl, “I. Will. Die!”

“Really? I think you’re being a little bit dramatic.”

“You don’t believe me?” I growl. I hold my arm out, in full view of the sunlight. Within seconds it started sizzling, and I hissed in pain.

“Alright, I believe you!” He pulls my arm away from the light, staring at it with wide eyes.

“I’ll have to wait till sundown,” I grumble, getting off of him.

“And what are you planning on doing in the mean time?”

“Light a fire, smell the smoke, take a nap. You can leave if you want,” I say, studying the dead corpses of the guard. I snap my fingers, and a flame ignites. I set him on fire, taking in the sweet scent of burning flesh. It reminded me so much of home, of Hell. It reminded me of Dad …

I shook my head viciously, a growl escaping my lips from where I sat by the fire. I throw my hands into the flames, letting it warm my skin up from this cold place.

I hadn’t noticed Blaze sitting quietly, until he finally spoke. “You don’t look like a Demon.”

“I’m a monster in disguise, Blaze. This is merely a form I take so that I can feed.”

“Yeah, but you just look …” He struggles for the words for a moment, before finally saying, “beautiful.”

“Everyone says that.” I sigh, look at him from over the flames. “But nobody knows what I really look like.”

“Well, what do you look like?”

“I don’t know. The only time I had ever taken a Demon form was when I was five.”

“Really? So, all you know is that?”

“Yes. This was the form I chose as a young child and probably the form I will stay as.”

He stayed silent, almost looking like he was processing it all. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I know how you feel.”

“How could you? You can survive with a little blood every month. I need to eat an entire human every day. If I don’t, then I kill and kill and kill.” I glared across the blazing flames at him. “Although, there are more than one way to drive a Demon to insanity.”

“Like?”

“What makes you think I’d tell you?” I growl at him.

“Fine. I’ll tell you a Vampire weakness. We burn in fire.”

I roll my eyes. Everyone knew that. “Fine. If you make a Demon feel helpless then they basically go mad.”

“Really? I can die by a wooden stake to the heart.”

“If I lived in Alaska, then I’d die.”

“Why?”

“Ice.”

“Oh. I like to chew on dog toys.”

“What?” I ask, laughing. “You chew on dog toys?”

“It relieves stress and helps build strong jaw muscles.”

“I sometimes like to chase cats.”

“Why?”

“They shed, they cough up puke and fur, and poop. That, and they’re bossy.”

“I take it you’re not a cat person,” Blaze says sarcastically, “Alright. One time I considered having sex with a lion.”

“What? Oh, I can’t beat that!” I say, clutching my stomach as I laugh uncontrollably.

“Hey, you’re a Demon. I’m pretty sure you’ve done everything.”

“Nope.”

“What? I thought you said you were a Demon!”

“I am. I’m a virgin Demon.”

“Really? I’ve never heard of a Demon that’s a virgin.”

“What are you?”

“I’ve done it a couple times.” He smirks cockily, making me roll my eyes.

“So, if I were to fall asleep, should I be worried about you raping me?”

“Nah. I’ve surpressed the urge to have sex with you this long, haven’t I?”

“That’s not a comforting thought,” I say tiredly, lying my head down on the cold cement of the jail. I fell asleep just seconds later.

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I woke up at nightfall. The fire was still burning with one of my arms in it. I stared at it blankly a moment, before I finally sit up. Then I’m nearly pounced on by a Vampire.

He jumped out of the darkness, nearly biting me before I grabbed him by his neck, throwing him onto the concrete floors of this prison. “What the hell are you?!” He growls furiously, his words laced with hatred.

“I am of unimportance,” I growl, standing up, “I’ll be leaving.”

“That’s not what Blaze says.” I froze completely, like a block of ice, when he mentioned Blaze.

“Pass on a message to him for me,” I say quietly, “Goodbye.”

I was gone in a flash, running down dark corridor after dark corridor. It was hard to move as fast as I would’ve liked. It was freezing cold and I was starving. That little bag of blood wasn’t enough to satisfy the hunger. This place was bigger than I thought, though. It was like a palace. Trust me, I know what a palace looks like.

I bump into someone, nearly falling over before they steadied me. “Are you okay?” I look up at the familiar face of Blaze. “I’ve got blood.” He holds up the bag of scarlet, and I snatch it with inhuman speed. I rip it open, chugging it down completely in a matter of seconds.

“Thanks,” I say, wiping at my mouth, “I have to go.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere.”

“Why not just stay here?”

“Because I have to go.” Under my breath I mutter, “Before he finds out.”

“Before who finds out?” I growl at him in warning. “Alright! I’m pushing my luck.”

“Yes, you are. Now tell me how to get out and I’ll be on my way.”

“Come on, Phoenix, why not just stay the night?”

I roll my eyes. I was perfectly aware by this point that he wasn’t going to tell me how to get out. It would take me long after sunrise, and by then I’d have Vampires coming after me by the dozens. “Fine.”

“Great. Come on!”

“Hold on a second. I’m still hungry.” I cross my arms over my chest, giving him a look that I knew gave me whatever I wanted. It wasn’t a scary look, although I was perfectly able to scare any man. No, it was more flirty. It works wonders on males of any race, though.

“I can get you more blood,” he says, smirking. I told you. I can get anything I want with this look.

“Just be sure no humans come near me. No windows either.”

“Of course not.” He starts walking, and I follow silently behind him. “So, umm, what’s your favorite color?”

“Black and white. I like the simplicity of them both. Black is hidden and invisible; while white has no secrets.”

“Hmm … deep.”

“Yep. What about you?”

“Midnight blue. You know how fire sometimes changes blue?”

“You don’t wanna get near those flames, though. They’re too hot for even the Princess.”

“The King had a daughter?”

“Yeah, but he likes to keep it on the low. She ran away seven years ago.”

“Oh, really?” He didn’t have a clue that I was talking about myself. I was the King of Hell’s daughter; I ran away seven years ago.

“But, why do you like fire?”

“I dunno. It’s just dangerous; you can’t control it.”

“Especially not blue flames. They sort of do their own thing. They won’t bother you unless you bother it.”

“How do you know?”

“Fire … speaks to me. Fire is a Demon’s element. It’s kind of weird since sunlight can kill us.”

“But, any light at all?”

“I can handle a little light. Any amount of light that doesn’t come from a flame irritates me. A simple lightbulb, sunlight especially. I’ve always wanted to see fireworks, though.”

“Really? You’ve never seen fireworks?”

“Never. I’ve heard that they’re beautiful, though. Someone once said that they’re like giant, colorful stars.” I look up at the ceiling, just in time to see a window-like ceiling that revealed the stars. “Oh! See! There’s the crab!”

“What?” He gives me an odd look. I walk up beside him, pointing toward the outline of the stars.

“It’s a zodiac. It’s how I tell the time of year. It will be warm for a little bit longer. Once it changes to the scales I must go.”

“Why?”

“It symbolizes the coming of cold. I told you that I hate the ice.”

“Cold doesn’t always mean ice.”

“Blaze, what probably is normal temperature to you, could feel like a solid block of ice to me.” He gives me an odd look, making me roll my eyes. I grab his hand, and he jumps probably from the sudden heat that my palms held.

“What was that?”

“That’s my body temperature in this freezer,” I say unemotionally. With much more seriousness I say, “Lets go ahead and get this out of the way. I’m fire. You’re ice. Those two don’t work unless one dies. Alright?”

“Alright,” he says, nodding.

“Good. Now lets get going before sunrise.”

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The sun came up, but I stayed in bed. Blaze had left me to hunt. I’ve been in this castle for a week. Blaze keeps asking about Hell, being a Demon, and all of that. He also asks just personal stuff — was I born in Hell? What were my parents like? Did I ever meet the King or Princess? — which I of course growled at him for asking. I didn’t want anyone to know about some of that stuff.

A knock at the door to this dark bedroom. I so badly begged silently that it was a human servant. Blaze wouldn’t be back for a while, so it was my only hope until I went insane.

Instead, it was a Vampire. He had a goofy grin on his face, and had about three bags of scarlet in his hands. I kept myself hidden under the black silk covers, growling just loud enough for him to hear, “Set the bags on the floor.”

He sets them on the ground, going to sit in the chair across from the bed. Like lightning I was crouched on the floor, ripping the first bag open and drinking. Sure, this wasn’t my normal feeding, but it subdued my madness.

“I’m Tyrone. Blaze’s little brother. He told me to send three bags of blood in here everyday. I thought he was crazy. I guess I see why now. So, what’s your name?” I look up at the boy, continuing to drink my bag of blood. “Are you even a Vampire? I mean, there has to be a reason Blaze is hiding you from all of us. Do you talk? Can you hear me?”

I finally finished my first bag, and gathered the other two for later. “Phoenix Seraphina,” I say quietly, hiding back under the thick black covers.

“What?” He asks, looking at me curiously.

“You asked what my name was. Phoenix Seraphina.”

“Oh. That’s pretty. So, I guess you hear me. And that you talk. But, are you a Vampire, too?” I shook my head. “Oh. Then what are you?”

“I’m a Demon,” I say quietly, “Why did Blaze send you?”

“Well, he said to just leave them outside of the door, but I figured he was keeping some in here for later. I guess he sent me because I’m his little brother and he can kick my butt if I tell anybody that you’re here. How long has Blaze been hiding you?”

“A week. I think.”

“Oh. Cool. You know, Adam said he saw a Demon once and that she knew Blaze. That wasn’t you, was it?”

“I do not know a Adam.”

“Well, duh! Hey, you kinda talk funny. Why is that?”

“I come from Hell. I am still adapting.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, it’s nice to meet yah, Phoenix Seraphina. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He stands up out of the chair, nearly walking out of the door before I asked, “When will Blaze be back?”

“Oh, does someone like my big bro? It’s alright if you tell me. I won’t tell him. So, do you?”

“No, I do not,” I say harshly, “I would just like to be informed.”

“Umm … I think he said that he was cutting his hunting trip short. We asked why, but he wouldn’t tell us. Do you know?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well, he said he’d only be gone for three days. So, umm, why do you need blood every day?” I growl in warning. I wasn’t just going to hand that information over to some blabbering child. He could tell everyone. “Oh. Okay. I guess you don’t wanna talk about it. Well, see yah!”

Tyrone left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Why would Blaze cut his hunting trip short? Why send his little brother to give me blood? I could probably handle just a few days without any. Little questions and theories were beginning to form a web inside of my head, filling it up to the point of where I got a headache.

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“Okay, Phoenix Seraphina, I just called Blaze to ask him why it had to be human blood, and that I couldn’t just cut my wrist. He said that if I feed you my blood then he’ll punch my face in,” Tyrone says, as I drink my first bag of blood for the day. Only one more day till Blaze was back. I couldn’t wait. Tyrone’s constant blabbering was driving me over the edge. “So, why did he threaten my beautiful face?”

I roll my eyes at him. I guess cockiness runs in the family. I stay silent, drinking my blood. Tyrone always talks, never needing me to reply or answer his questions.

“I guess Demons don’t like Vampire blood or something. Hey, what happens when a Vampire drinks Demon blood?” My eyes went wide as I stared at him. I dropped my bag of blood on the floor, hiding under the thick black blankets.

“Don’t even think about it,” I growl, glaring at him with my fiery eyes.

“Jeez, you overreact. I wasn’t gonna actually try to find out.” Tyrone rolls his eyes at me. I slowly come out from the bed, licking up the spilled blood carefully off the hardwood floor. “Hey, do you like music?” I look up at Tyrone, slowly sitting up as he waited patiently for my response.

“Yes.”

“Really? Cool! Who’s your favorite?” Tyrone asks excitedly. I look at him, continuing to drink my blood as Tyrone tells me all his favorite bands and singers and songs. Truth was that I didn’t understand half of what he said. All I knew is that I like music. “Hey, don’t you ever get bored?”

“No,” I say, taking my two other bags and putting with the rest. I’ve slowly been trying to take less and less. It’s hard, but I’m getting there.

“But, I mean, come on! You’re practically a prisoner here all day and night! You need to get outside, feel the sun on your face!” Tyrone opens the door, grabbing me and pulling me outside into the pure sunlight. I immediately started to sizzle, and quickly began scurrying down the halls, desperate to escape the light. I could feel myself slowly turning to ashes. I fell to my knees, unable to bear the pain, the feeling of helplessness.

And this is the part where I die in a pile of ashes.