The Demon and the Human Prophecy

Rage dropped down to me side. His velvet purr seemed to be the only thing to stop the voice. He spoke my name once, but when I whimpered, he stopped speaking. "No!" I begged. The woman's voice began to mumble in the arcaic tones. I gripped his shirt and looked up at him, "Please don't stop speaking!"

His eyes were anxious, but his hands where firm as he worked my fingers loose from his shirt. "What do you want me to say?" His purr was soft despite the hard anxiety in his eyes. For a few brief seconds afterwards, there was relief. I let out a frustrated whimper when her monotonous voice appeared again. "Aiurea..." I wouldn't acknowledge him. I tuned everything out and listened to his voice that stopped that woman's voice from entering my head again. "Aiurea..." No. Tears welled in my eyes, my head pounding. "Aiurea." He tilted my chin up and pressed his warm lips to my forehead.

The woman's voice stuttered and slowly disappeared. The tears in my eyes spilled over and softly trickled down my cheeks. Rage hugged me into his chest as his mother spoke, "Just as I'd feared." I looked up at his mother, whose eyes had darkened. She gracefully glided to the hunk of stone sitting upon a slanted table. "Rage..."

"I know." He sighed. "I'd already reached that conclusion." I wiped my eyes and looked up at him.

"What conclusion?" My voice cracked causing it to waver.

"The prophecy." He muttered cryptically.

"What's-"

"The prophecy is a human child of great demonic stature and power." Her voice was cold, almost devoid of emotion. "It is the only thing that connects our worlds to one another. This is only a small piece of the tablet, so it only awakens the darkness within you, Aiurea. There are much worse things to come."

"What are you-" My confused retort wasn't finalized.

"You are the prophecy." Rage grumbled darkly. I looked up at him, but his eyes were glowering in the direction of the tablet. His words were icy and is tone full of hatred.

That's when I slowly started to piece it together. Rage's brother Gage's attack, every demon I meet commenting on my "scent", Rage and his mother's words... This was why everything had happened. Why his brother attacked us... Why I now sported stitches in my stomach... I shivered and winced as my stitches burned a bit. I hid my face in his chest and sighed.

A large, deafening explosion sent a wave that knocked Rage and I backward. He made sure that he was under me as we collided with the floor. I groaned as my stitches protested painfully. I bit my lip as he carefully helped me sit erect. I mouthed the words, 'You okay?' He only answered with disgruntled nod.

"What the hell..." His mother spat. "Stay here." She ordered gracefully running through the exit. Rage and I stood, waiting anxiously for some sign off attack. I didn't hear her come back down, so her low, urgent voice made me jump. "Rage, You need to get her out of here." By this time, I'd already wrenched myself out of his arms. "Your brother has decided to make an appearance after all. Go, I'll cover you." I had already flung myself half way up the flight of stairs by the time she was was done.

My heart rate increased as my head pounded. My vision blurred as the front door came into view. I didn't know the reason for my actions, nor did I know why I was moving so well. That's when I heard it, a female voice calling me out the door into the unfamiliar twilight. It was the same female, but that didn't make my body move differently. I was but a foot from the door when an arm collided with my stomach. A short-lived, high-pitched scream erupted through the air, and it took me a moment to place that it was mine.

I slammed into the ground, landing on my back. I coughed as I tried to fill my lungs with the air that had been stolen from them. My hands shakily clawed at my shirt as my stitches stung, sending currents of pain through my torso. I shakily rolled over onto myside, curling up in pain and gasping for the air that wouldn't seem to fill my now aching lungs.

"I barely touched her." A woman muttered. "I didn't realize just how brittle humans truly are." Her dark, yet still feminine, voice wasn't one I'd recognised. There was a slight sneer in her voice. Despite that, I could hardly hear her over the pounding in my ears that hadn't settled down much. It must have been the adrenaline from my actions before.

The next somewhat menacing voice, I recognised instantly. "She is injured from our previous encounter." Rage's brother corrected.

The female voice began to sing out my name again, forcing a whimper to roll out of my mouth as I clapped my hands over my ears. My left hand was forced away from my ear and tore me from the ground in once swift movement. In a matter of seconds, I was on my feet, staring into a pair of sinister onyx eyes. Gageis...

My knees grew weak and shaky as my hand still clutched at my shirt, feebly trying to put out the fire in my stitches. "I thought you said she was to be unharmed." The female's tone had a slight whine ringing through it.

"She threw herself into the way, I can't help the rediculous actions of a human girl." His eyes only left mine for a fraction of a second, barely allowing me suck in the breath his gaze seemed to restrict.

His eyes met mine once again, and the hand that cupped my elbow tightened. "Are you prepared to cooperate?" His voice had softened to a tone that would be used with a young, frightened child. I nodded wildly. Anything to escape his menacing scrutiny...

"Gageis." That motherly growl was what seemed to break his concentration. He turned to look behind him, his eyes hardening. "Release that child." She ordered.

I couldn't see around him, merely the bored expression that his face and sunken into. "I don't fear you, mother. I haven't since I was a young child." My eyes widened as my heart quivered in sheer disbelief.

"I will teach you an all new definition of fear, if you do not release that child this instant." Her menacing growl polluted her naturally melodic hum.

I peered around him to try to get a view of Rage, but he was no where to be found. Gageis twisted around suddenly and his free hand caught something in the air. I hesitantly looked up to catch a glimpse of his hand constricted around Rage's neck. My hear raced and my eyes stung. Not again!

The voice called out to me again, but I grit my teeth and ignored her.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rage's mom charge forward. Her claws didn't quite reach Rage's brother before a long, elegant hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. I looked at the owner.

She was just a beautiful as Rage, his mother, and even Gage. Her brown-black hair was draped over her shoulders and her choppy bangs framed her long, beautiful face. Her irises were a startling golden color, but they bore a menacing glint of thirst that was hard to over look. Overall, she had a sauntering, willowy appearance.

"I can't let you do that, hag." She sneered, a wide smirk dominating her face. The woman with slung his mother across the room like she was a simple ragdoll.

Rage coughed, snapping my attention back to him. My eyes stung again as I saw him gripping at his brother's wrist, feebly trying to suck in air. There only one strangled plea that escaped my mouth, "Don't hurt him!"

His onyx eyes were fixated on me as he spoke, "Only if-"

My body began to lightly tremble, "I'll do anything! Just don't hurt any one! Don't hurt him..." I cried, my chest tightened as the well of tears trickled down my face.

"No! Aiurea—" Rage's voice barely reached me before his brother flicked his wrist. With just that tiny movement, Rage slammed down into the floor boards. They crunched underneath him, burying him in a pile of rubble.

I let out a half strangled cry as I covered my mouth shakily. "Let's go." His stoney voice growled, his firmly muscled arm snaking around my waist. A squeaky whimper escaped my mouth as my stitches burned against my tee, making an all new torrent of tears overflow. "Mirane." He called out to the woman.

Mirane turned to him, a smirk on her face, glanced at the pile of rubble, and soon retreated out the door. Gageis forcefully yanked me from the ground. My jaw tightened, and my fingers dug into his arm. My entire torso lit up with a licking flame of pain, reaching from my ribs to my hips. My body shook, forcing the pain to escalate. I kept my jaw clenched and eyes shut tight so I wouldn't release the scream bubbling in my chest.

The fire in my stomach could not be quenched, nor would it allow me to suck in a much needed breath. I was vaguely aware of the sharp wind blowing against my skin and the absence of sunlight behind my eyelids. Then I fell to the ground with a thud, my left arm landing on a large, flat stone.

The wrenching pain in my torso forced me to double over and curl around my stitches. My eyes had popped open, and I was finally able to breathe in shallow breaths. My pulse pounded in my ears as I took in my surroundings. "W-Wh—" Nothing could ecape my mouth in a complete sentence.

The only thing that entered my head was the same female voice. Her flickering purr was jumbled, and her words seemed to be in another language like before.

Would she ever leave my head!?

I hadn't noticed that my hands were covering my ears until the low purr of Gage's voice drifted over to me. "You can hear her can't you?" I wiped my eyes, as they strained to look up at him from over my shoulder. I pushed myself up as steadily as I could manage with my quivering arms. I ignored the flickering flame around my stitches.

A soft red glow appeared from the corner of my eye. I finally looked down and analyzed the hunk of stone in front of me. It was written in the same, uniform language that the other stone was written in. It took me a moment to realize that this was the rest of the prophecy tablet, and that there was a corner missing.

"As I'm sure you already know, this is the prophecy." Gageis stepped up and now stood inches from me. "I'm sure that was why my mother had taken you down to the caverns. She did the tiresome job of activating your powers for me." He knelt down so that he was now face to face with me. "This is the hardest part. I've read many accounts that distainfully stated that it is also the most painful." A sadistic smirk spread across his lips, which must have been a reaction of the fear that undoubtedly crossed mine.

His large hand, wrapped around right hand and pulled it from the ground. He turned my palm upward, "Such a tiny fragile creature..." I'd only heard this once before. Rage had said it when we first met, and I'd never understood it until now. He gingerly ran his thumb over my palm before digging his claw into my skin.

I gasped in a pain ful breath and whimpered as the sharp pain spread through my hand. My fingers gripped the ground as he slowly, agonizingly dragged his claw across the flesh of my palm. My teeth were clenched against my bottom lip muffling a scream building in my chest. When he stopped, my palm began to bleed. Tears stung my eyes and threatened to spill over again as I stared down at my hand.

The cut burned and stung as he held it over the stone tablet. He turned my hand over, allowing my palm to face it, only making the soft, red glow grow more prominent. His fingers pressed against my palm. The open wound throbbed in protest, making me wince as a tear slipped down my face. Blood tricked from the wound and dripped down onto the hunk of rock.

This seemed to be the goal because Gage dropped my hand, letting it fall to the stone, and stepped away. The second my hand was placed against the stone, the blood that was already there had begun to sizzle. I felt my eyes widen as the red glow began to seep under and around my hand. That's when the pain started.

A scalding pain ripped up my hand and began to tear through my wrist. I instantly recoiled, letting out a sharp whine. I kept my teeth clenched against my lip to prevent the screams of pain that were leaving my mouth didn't get lounder. The agonizing pain began to relentlessly ravage its way up my arm quickly, leaving a trail of pain in its path. I didn't dare look at the red glow that had begun to envelop me.

Aiurea... The woman's purr was now chiming and clear. Aiurea.

I tried my best to ignore her, but she just kept saying my name. Over and over, I thought I was going to go crazy. The seering pain moved up my arm and quickly began to consume my abdomin. The woman's voice continued to chime in my ear, making my hands fly to my ears instinctively. Bad idea... The seering pain had then begun to consume my face.

I fell onto my back and struggled, trying to keep the screams that already left my lips from getting louder. I barely breathed, not chancing the parting of my lips. The red glow had spread across my face and sloped down my neck and chest. My entire upper body was completely dominated by this tormenting glow. I whimpered as it slipped over my chest and began to travel downward. I feared what was to come when it spread across my stomach. The woman's voice still echoed in my ear, and when I realized covering my ears was futile, my nails dug into the ground.

My teeth clenched down on my lip harder as the unrelenting wave of pain flowed over my body. I didn't dare release them, even when the pain in my lip tripled or when I could taste the blood. I would not scream. Not even if was the last thing I did. Even the salty tears that streamed down my face stung... No! I would not scream.

Then it rolled over my stitches. I couldn't keep the scream in any longer. For a moment, I wouldn't have believed the high scream that had come out of my mouth. My back arched and my nails serrated the ground. After what felt like an agonizingly, long time, the red glow finally rolled over the stitches and began to finish consuming me.

"It is such a pity that such a dainty creature has been chosen as the Prophecy." Gage's condescending hum cut its way through the barrier, "Isn't it Rage?"

What! I looked away from the twilight sky, that I hadn't even noticed through the tearing pain, and to my left. Rage was standing at the tree line, a horrified expression seized his body as his onyx orbs stared into mine.

Now the glow was almost to my feet. As it covered my toes, the pain dulled. I began to feel the slight elation that came with the relief, but it only lasted for a few mere seconds. I was very mistaken... The pain intensified to more than double, forcing another scream to leave my half-bleeding, parted lips.

Aiurea... Aiurea. The woman beckoned in a singsongy as though she were calling me. I gasped in a ragged breath, only to let loose another scream as the burning of my stitches flammed.

Rage's face then dominated my view. His lips moved, seemingly forming my name, but I couldn't hear him. I could feel his fingers on my face and his strong arm supporting my back. His touch seemed to dull the pain brought by this freakish maroon glow. I must've began to enjoy it too much because everything went black.

In fact, I couldn't only see myself. I wasn't in pain any longer, for I was numb. I felt nothing. It wasn't all that great, the cold touch of nothingness. Pain was better than nothing, but I could force myself to enjoy it for a moment longer. As I waited, no pain returned. The only thing that came to me was the same female voice. This time, she did more than just say my name.

"Hello, Aiurea." Her clear, chiming voice was melodic and very pleasant. I looked around, and no matter where I looked, she was no where to be found. Who was the owner of that voice.

"Who's there?" I tried to call out. Only a laugh returned. "Who are you?" This time, I got a response.

"Absurd child... I am you. Your inner spirit." She chimed softly. "It was you who seeked me out, was it not?" I couldn't answer. I almost couldn't conprehend what she was saying. Not that I wasn't intelligent enough to understand, but her words didn't seem to settle.

She must have sensed this because she spoke again, "Face me, child." A soft hand draped itself on my shoulder and gently pivited me on my heel. I was amazed at the breath taking woman—no—young woman that stood before me.

Her hair was the color of moonlight, which framed her thin, heart-shaped face and her high cheek bones. Her startling crimson eyes were framed by lucious black lashes. She wore a long, silky, robe-like dress that flowed over the ground, only showing her light shoulders. Her elegant hand brushed some of her, thick moonlight colored bangs from her face.

"You're..." I couldn't finish my inarticulate sentence.

"I am—what a demon would call—the darkness within you." Her wine red lips that stood out from her skin so beautifully, formed the words. "I am your power. Your strength. And even your mind."

"You control me...?" My shaky question slightly quivered.

She seemed to deem this amusing, "No, you impetuous child." She laughed. "You and I both have free-will, but only if you accept me." She says.

"W-what if I don't accept you?" I muttered meekly.

Her pretty face darkened a tad, "It is rather simple really. I will consume you." She extended a long, elegant hand. "Just accept me. Make me a part of you, and you shall not fear from me."

Every fiber of my being urged me forward. It wanted me to take her hand. The part of me that held the sense of danger cautioned me. What could it hurt? Just everyone around me... If she was what I think she was, then she was highly dangerous. But if I didn't accept her, then she would just consume me anyway. I couldn't chance letting her hurt those that I loved. Not my mother or my brother. Slash... Even Righge... And then there's Rage. Would he be able to handle her? Would he be able to save me? If not, would she destroy him? Or did she retain the soft spot that I had for the lanky, jet black haired boy with the mysterious onyx eyes.

I sighed, "I really don't have a choice."

A soft smile scread across her lips, "It is your choice. We will become one, whether it be the hard way or the easy way." Her hand was still extended. "Become one with me, Aiurea."

I sucked in a deep breath before placing my petite hand in hers. "I will." Her smile spread from ear to ear and her crimson eyes somehow looked more sinister.

"Good." She pulled my arm, making me stumble forward gracefully. She wrapped her arms around me, almost as though she were embracing me in a hug. "We are as one." Her breath flowed across my earlobe gingerly as she whispered those words.

In those brief seconds the pain had intensified and the darkness had disappeared, allowing Rage's face to dominate my view.