Page 39 of The Demon's Fire
Skyler steeled her shoulders for the blood-drinking. Maybe she’d just let her lips touch the fluid.
Kole leaned toward her. “No more than a sip. The stuff is strong.”
Skyler tracked the progress of the chalice in her section. From the corner of her eye, she observed the Cruor. The flickering candles on the walls created strips of light or shade throughout the shrine, and he shadowflashed from dark spot to dark spot until he appeared at the end of her row, his gaze fixed on her. He stretched out an arm in front of Loredana, an unspoken bid for Skyler to grasp it. Once she did, he pulled her from her seat.
Clasping her hand, the holy man removed his cowl, revealing a young, smooth face with a comforting smile. The Cruor cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing Skyler.
She shivered when his remarkably old eyes probed deep, settling in what she thought might be her soul, brushing dirt from buried emotions. Once he unearthed them, a healing light from his gaze bathed her in warmth.
Appearing satisfied with what he saw, he pushed back the sleeve of his robe, bared his fangs, and bit into his own wrist. “Drink from me. I am truth, freedom, life. As my essence has passed through the OneCreator on its journey to me, may it strengthen you for what lay ahead.” He stretched the self-inflicted wound toward Skyler’s lips.
Bright red blood bubbled to the surface. After a moment’s hesitation, she accepted his offer to drink.
The Cruor’s intoxicating blood flowed down her throat like a languid river, coursing to every part of her. Her lids grew heavy. When the fluid exploded into her heart, her eyes rolled back in her head, her body seizing. She felt as though the organ might rupture, flood, overflow. When her knees wobbled, threatening to send her to the floor, the Cruor tapped her cheek, his touch kind but persistent. She forced herself to stop drinking.
Skyler removed her mouth from his wrist, swiping fingers across her lips. Nelo dropped his sleeve, giving her a slight nod. Tugging the cowl into place, he returned to the altar.
“What was that about?” She collapsed into her seat, her body filled with contradictions, weak but invigorated, relaxed but strengthened, sleepy but energized. It was as though her emotional burdens had lifted, every cell plumped, more alive. Skyler latched onto Kole’s hand for support.
The lines above the bridge of the commander’s nose furrowed. “Damned if I know. Loredana?”
Their escort seemed stunned, her eyes wide, pinned on Skyler. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him offer blood from his wrist. It’s quite an honor. Perhaps he had a vision. He sometimes does when he taps into a mind.”
Skyler’s skin prickled. The other Strigodierna participants had turned in their seats to stare. They whispered among themselves, their hands covering their mouths.
****
Aftershe rested from the pre-dawn vampire ceremony, still weak though at peace, Skyler rose, ate a late lunch in her room at Casa Purgatorio, and logged onto her laptop.
She re-fluffed the pillows on the bed, leaning against them, her computer resting on her thighs, her ankles crossed. The accommodations at the luxury hotel in Covenkirk, the seat of government for Scath, were posh. The Aeternals housed visiting dignitaries in the old country house with its three buildings laid out in a horseshoe around a courtyard, garden, and natural lake. Skyler’s suite on the first level overlooked the water, which she now surveyed while she absorbed the information she had read.
The problems of the world once again came crashing down. Anna had e-mailed, telling her to check out TheBigReveal.
The bloggers had carried through on their promise to post about demons. Skyler’s gaze returned to the screen. Tapping a finger on her lower lip, she re-read, muttering, “Damn. Damn. Damn.”
Let’s begin with a history lesson—in the early 1400s, a little-known work,The Lanterne of Light,classified demons according to the Seven Deadly Sins. But they got the whole thing backassward. Demons gave rise to the Seven Deadly Sins. Not the other way around. You see, pride, carnal, hedon, greed, sloth, animus, and envy are names for their breed’s tribes.
Let’s clear up another myth. These guys and gals, we’ll call them the Sins, were never angels. So, they are not fallen angels as Christianity would have us swallow. LOL.
All demons have a few things in common. First, they are Superman, or Superwoman, strong. Second, they have two forms—one human-like and the other a beast. Their beasts can arise willy-nilly during emotionally charged sitches, such as battle or S-E-X. Of course, they can also force their creature to surface.
The orange-sashed fighter during the Genesis Rite grew claws and fangs. Azamat’s bull form had flickered, too.
To survive, the Sins feed off sex just as vampires drink blood (we’ll feature them in a later blog). Demons need nooky. A hand job works for a while. Not for long. They require lots of bootie bumping.
Demons celebrate their Awakening, or attainment of their powers, between ages twenty and twenty-six. Your cousin Bernie’s Bar Mitzvah has nothing on this ritual. Then there’s their mating ceremony. Rumor has it, the Settling is really harsh. Talk about the Bride Goes Wild. Afterward, they are monogamous for life. No divorce lawyers or alimony for them, my loyal blogophiles.
It is not uncommon for demons to lose their shit, aka the rampage. If they don’t leash the beast, their own kind usually kill them or isolate them on Darque.
Let’s take a gander at each tribe. Animus demons are the strongest, biggest, meanest mutherfuckers. They manipulate fire and electrical energy. The most powerful call the hottest, deadliest burn—hellfire. While they can use their power to heal, the side effects can be wonky. Having sex with one will curl your hair, light-socket style, since they blast electrical impulses to make their partners orgasm repeatedly.
An image of Kole barreled into Skyler’s mind as she stared out at the placid lake. Her thoughts were anything but serene as she envisioned him propped above her, his brawny arms flexed, his hips doing pushups, and his fire-gold eyes ablaze, fixed on her. Controlling her skittering heart, she focused on the here and now.
A hedon demon pops dangerous claws, along with long, sharp canines. They are your basic flesh-and-bone shredding machines, enjoying a good hot serving of cannibalism if they rampage. Since they’re drawn to blood, able to sniff it from far away, they are skilled trackers. Sloth demons are like a shot of morphine. One jab and you’re snoozing. A scratch from envy demons is emotionally paralyzing, flooding your mind with a fierce need or want. They’ve been known to make scratchees slit their own throats. carnal demons smell desire, zap willpower, and bring on a serious case of do-me-baby-oh-yeah-that-feels-good. They can also cause shifters (another soon-to-be blog) to change to their animal form. Avarice demons are frenzied speedsters, seeming jacked on PCP. Pride demons are Star Wars lightsabers, sizzling your eyeballs with the blinding, searing beams of their arrogant self-regard.
Sighing, Skyler clicked onUpcoming Events.
The latest event went off without a hitch. What did Shakespeare say? Oh, yes, “Let’s kill all the techies.” Or was it “lawyers?” Oops! Our mistake.
