Page 81 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
I started walking toward it, drawn like a moth to flame. My boots crunched on the volcanic soil, sending small puffs of ash into the air with each step. This place was primal, untamed—nothing like the sterile world I'd left behind.
"I could rule here," I said to myself, the words tasting sweet on my tongue. "This realm was made for someone like me."
The thought of Palmer flashed through my mind. She was here somewhere, with her ghost lover and those pathetic Exiled. Butin this realm, surrounded by such raw power, they didn't stand a chance against what I was becoming.
A distant roar echoed across the landscape, followed by what sounded like an explosion. Smoke rose from one of the castle's towers. There was a battle happening—one I wasn't aware of. No matter. Chaos created opportunity.
I quickened my pace, moving with purpose toward the castle. More dragons circled overhead, some diving toward the structure. Their fire illuminated the sky in brilliant flashes of blue and gold. It was magnificent, terrifying, and I wanted to possess it all.
"Control the dragons, control the realm," I muttered, formulating plans as I walked. I'd need to study them, learn their weaknesses. Every creature had a breaking point—I just needed to find theirs.
A smaller dragon landed on a ridge not far from me, its scales a deep emerald green. It hadn't noticed me yet, too focused on the battle ahead. I crouched behind a boulder, watching, studying its movements. Its eyes were intelligent, calculating. This wasn't some mindless beast—it was a thinking, feeling creature.
Perfect. The intelligent ones were always more satisfying to break.
I continued my approach to the castle, staying in the shadows. The closer I got, the more the energy of this place seeped into me. It was intoxicating, like nothing I'd ever felt before. This realm recognized power and respected it. And I had power in abundance.
"Besmet," I tasted the name on my tongue, savoring it like fine wine. "You and I are going to become very well acquainted."
As I neared the castle gates, I pulled my cloak tighter around me, ensuring my identity remained hidden. The silver mask glinted in the crimson light as I blended into the chaos of battle. No one noticed another shadow among so many.
This was just the beginning. Palmer thought she could escape me by coming here, but she'd only led me to my destiny. And when I found her—when I showed her what I was becoming in this realm of power—she'd finally understand.
We were always meant to rule together. Whether she wanted to or not.
The stench of smoke and blood hung heavy in the air, mingling with the acrid tang of scorched earth. I stepped into the courtyard, surveying the devastation that lay before me. The battle was over, but it felt like a wound that had yet to close. Bodies sprawled across the cobblestones, some still in their last throes of agony, while others lay eerily still. A grim reminder of the chaos unleashed.
My heart raced as I walked through the carnage, the chaos whispering memories of what had just transpired. Fire-blackened banners hung limply from their poles, and broken weapons littered the ground like discarded toys. No one would dare touch this place for days—perhaps weeks—after such a brutal display.
I pushed deeper into the wreckage, feeling an unsettling sense of calm wash over me. This was my element: destruction and despair were my allies. I thrived in these moments when hope faltered and darkness reigned supreme.
If Asrael had been victorious, there would be signs. He'd be celebrating, publicly. Rubbing his enemies’ faces in it… which only meant…
I stepped onto the execution platform, boots crunching against discarded swords and weapons. The ground was slick with blood, a vivid remnant of the chaos that had just unfolded. My heart raced—not from fear, but from the thrill of power coursing through me. I relished this moment, standing above the carnage like a god surveying his domain.
A glance to my left revealed a grotesque sight: a body, or what remained of one, riddled with blades protruding from every angle. The corpse resembled a pincushion more than a human being, the glint of steel contrasting sharply against its pale skin. It lay lifeless on the platform, headless and defiled.
“Now that’s quite the work of art,” I muttered, allowing myself a sardonic smile. A masterpiece created in the chaos I thrived upon.
My eyes followed a spray of crimson droplets trailing down toward an object resting just beyond the platform's edge. My breath caught as I recognized it—Asrael's head. It lay atop the stone like an offering, eyes wide in disbelief even in death. Such arrogance had led him to this moment; he thought himself untouchable. How poetic that he met his end at the hands of those he sought to control.
I stepped closer to inspect him further. The fresh blood painted the ground around his severed neck in grotesque patterns, and an involuntary chuckle escaped my lips at the sight.
“Such a shame,” I taunted his lifeless form. “You were so full of yourself right until the very end.”
It was a fitting conclusion for someone who had spun webs of deceit for centuries—a master exploiter finally undone by his own machinations.
With deliberate care, I reached down and grasped his head by the hair, lifting it higher as if to display my prize to anyone still lurking nearby—though I doubted there were many left alive after this battle. Asrael’s blue eyes stared blankly ahead, still brimming with defiance despite his demise.
“Look at what happens when you underestimate your enemies,” I sneered, raising it higher as if addressing an invisible crowd beneath me. “You thought you could control everything?That your twisted games would never catch up with you? You’ve always been too arrogant for your own good.”
I let go of Asrael’s hair and tossed his head aside like yesterday's news—useless now that he was no longer breathing life into his pathetic schemes.
The wind picked up then, swirling around me and carrying away the scent of blood as if trying to cleanse this cursed place. But there was no cleansing what had happened here today; it would linger in the air long after we were gone.
I stepped back from the platform's edge and scanned what remained—the bodies strewn about like discarded toys after playtime had ended. Their lives snuffed out like candles extinguished by an indifferent hand; yet here I stood, victorious amidst their ruins.
"Let them know," I declared into the stillness around me. "Let them all know who truly holds power here."
