Prologue

Prologue

“We’re never so vulnerable than when we trust someone �" but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.” �" Walter Anderson

Ronnie

Trust breeds trust; you have to give it to earn it.  That’s what they all say, but who listens to it anymore?  People now think that they have the right to earn it without giving it.  Anything can eliminate trust between people: a wrong doing, betrayal, lies…secrets.

The truth is, my family and I have our own secret, one that only people in my blood-line know about.  Us and…a very specific group.  You see, my family belongs to a family tree of slayers.  The only group that know are our enemies: demons.  There are so many of them that all live together that I really wouldn’t consider them separate families.  They all live in underground caves that are hidden all over and come together to reach a center point.  I’ve never been down there myself, but I’ve heard about them and read about them in books that have been passed down through the family.  When the demons come up, they interact with humans as if they were one.  They all have two forms; their demon form is what some prefer, and their human form is what others prefer and actually makes it practically impossible to tell if they’re demon or human.  The only way to tell is, with some of them, they have tattoos that aren’t usually that hard to find and they’re always red and black; never any other colors.

We have tattoos as well, sometimes just as poorly hidden, sometimes a little more hidden, depending on the person.  Mine, for example, rides the top of my hip and down along the inside groove.  Its gold color stands out against my slightly pale skin and has a glittering affect when light hits it.  My tattoo is one of the only one of a trail of stars that has been recorded that I’m aware of, except for my aunt, who had the same thing only down her arm.  Most tattoos are usually some sort of weapon or an animal or, on rare occasions just a random design.  My aunt actually turned out to be a disgrace to the family when she turned nineteen; however, she was able to redeem herself.  I don’t know the story, and no books have it and my parents won’t tell me, but I’m determined to find out.

Just like demons, we slayers cannot die of age.  As soon as slayers turn nineteen, we stop aging physically and mentally.  However, we can die of being murdered, drowning, being poisoned, or having excessive damage to our bodies; basically every other way a human can die.  Demons are the same way, but their bodies can take more than ours.  One thing they can’t stand is crosses and all that religious stuff.  The weaker they are, the more affect those things have.  The stronger they are, the less of an affect takes place.  When religious objects come in contact with them, it burns them as if it’s a livestock brander, and the scar usually never disappears.  If they ingest Holy water, it shuts them down just enough to the point where they can’t move very well until it leaves their system.

To other slayers and demons, a slayer’s eyes act like mood rings, only they swirl the colors instead of changing eye color completely.  No slayer or demon can read a demon’s emotions like they can a slayer’s emotions.  Another thing about our eyes; the two groups can see in the dark as well as during the day, although sometimes it takes us slayers longer to get our eyes to adjust.

When it comes to attitudes, demons are hot-headed and they can snap at any given time.  If they get challenged to any form of fight or competition, it’s beyond rare for them to decline.  When one demon is involved in a fight, no one helps him; it’s an ‘every man for himself’ situation between them.  If one gets in the way, it typically turns into a three way fight.  Slayers aren’t afraid to turn down a fight, but when a fight is accepted, another will help if necessary.  We’re usually calmer so it takes more for one of us to get pissed off.

They try as hard as they can to live like an ordinary human while they’re on the surface, but at the same time, they spend all their time partying.  However, their partying isn’t just to pass time and have fun; it’s also so they can hunt.  Demons have a kind of charm and appeal that attracts the opposite gender very easily, and once they get someone alone with them, they eat them, usually without hesitating.  They usually take the human out somewhere away from people so that they can leave the bones lying around.  If they can’t get the human out, they’ll either compel them or eat them inside and throw the bones out or take them and hide them in the woods somewhere.

The demons’ favorite spot to find their meals are at bars and clubs, where there’s a lot going on and no one would miss or notice someone’s missing.  Not to mention that they love to party and most of them love to drink.  The books we have mention something about taverns in the underground caves and how that’s where they decide what they’re going to do and when and where they’re going to do it.  There’s only been one time that slayers have went to one of the taverns down low and that ended badly for them.  Only four of the two dozen came back alive, but barely.  The demons chased them all the way to the edge of town, at least ten miles away.

Demons eating people is not the only reason I fight them.  Part of it’s because it’s what my family does and it’s in my blood.  Another part of it is because one specific demon killed my grandmother and I’m out looking for him.  The major reason is because they treat people like their little puppets; making them do things that are uncalled for and not allowing them to have a choice.  Plus, killing them is a good way to pass time.

Reviews

[zainul]

I shiver at the story.
You have defined your characters nicely.
Enjoyed reading.