2026-01-18 04:16:27Night swallowed the narrow streets as the demon ran.
Its feet barely touched the ground, body gliding between shadows, Maya’s face stretched across its own like a mockery. It inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring.
Then it smiled.
The scent was there.
Fear. Sweat. Warm blood beneath fragile skin.
It turned sharply and slowed.
At the far end of the street, beneath a flickering lantern, Maya stumbled into view.
She froze when she saw herself standing there.
Her basket slipped from her fingers and hit the ground with a dull thud.
The demon’s lips curled wider.
Maya’s breath hitched. For half a second, her body refused to move.
Then instinct took over.
She turned and ran.
Bare feet slapped against stone as she fled down the street, heart hammering so loud it drowned out everything else. Tears blurred her vision.
Behind her, something laughed.
It caught her easily.
A hand closed around her neck and yanked her backwards. Maya screamed as her feet left the ground, fingers clawing uselessly at the iron grip crushing her throat.
The demon dragged her close, their faces inches apart.
“I love to savour my meals,” it said softly, voice layered and wrong, “but I have a hunter on my tail, so I have to eat you fast.”
“Please—” Maya choked, breath shaking. “Please don’t kill me.”
The demon chuckled.
“But I’m hungry for you.”
Its mouth opened wider than humanly possible.
A long, pale tongue slid out and dragged slowly across Maya’s cheek.
Cold.
Slimy.
She shuddered violently, a sob tearing from her chest.
The demon leaned in—
“Drop that lady this instant.”
The voice cut through the night like steel.
The demon paused.
Its head turned lazily.
Corvin stood at the edge of the street, eyes sharp, dagger already in hand.
“Make me,” the demon replied.
“Oh I plan to.”
Corvin moved.
The dagger left his fingers in a clean arc.
It missed—slicing through the air just above the demon’s head.
The demon burst into laughter.
“You missed.”
Corvin smirked, one corner of his mouth lifting.
“Did I?”
The demon’s eyes flicked upward.
Too late.
The rope snapped.
A heavy sack of potatoes crashed down from above, exploding on impact. Dust and debris filled the air as the demon was knocked back, its grip loosening.
Maya fell free.
She hit the ground hard, scrambled up, and ran straight into Corvin’s arms.
She clutched him like he was the only solid thing left in the world.
“Corvin,” she sobbed. “I don’t want to die.”
“You won’t,” he said firmly, one arm steadying her. “I promise. Now let me finish what I started.”
The rubble shifted.
The demon rose from beneath the spilled potatoes, brushing dirt from its borrowed skin.
“That was very annoying,” it said, eyes narrowing. “I hate you already.”
“Welcome to the club. You’re not the only one.”
Corvin stepped forward, only one dagger left in his hand.
The demon lunged.
Steel met claw with a shriek.
Corvin ducked under a swipe, rolled, and slashed upward. The blade scraped across the demon’s ribs, drawing dark blood.
The demon hissed and retaliated, kicking Corvin squarely in the chest.
Corvin flew back, flipping mid-air before landing on one knee.
He pushed off instantly, leaping forward again.
They collided.
Block.
Strike.
Block.
The alley filled with motion—blurred limbs, sparks flying as metal met hardened flesh. Corvin vaulted off the wall, twisted mid-air, and drove his heel into the demon’s jaw.
The demon skidded back, laughing.
It came again.
Faster.
Corvin raised his arm, sigil flaring faintly as he drove a punch into the demon’s stomach. The impact sent it crashing through a wooden crate.
The demon stood slowly, bones cracking back into place.
“…Interesting,” it murmured.
It adapted soon after.
Its movements changed—less wild, more precise. It anticipated Corvin’s strikes, blocked where it had failed before.
Corvin slashed.
Blocked.
He kicked.
Caught.
The demon twisted his arm and slammed him into the wall.
Stone cracked.
Corvin grunted, barely rolling aside as claws tore through the space where his head had been.
He countered with a dagger strike to the thigh.
The wound sealed almost instantly.
Corvin gasped. That was new.
The demon smiled.
It struck back.
Once.
Twice.
A punch to the ribs sent pain lancing through Corvin’s side. Another caught him across the face.
Blood filled his mouth.
He staggered, forced himself upright, and attacked again—jumping, spinning, striking wherever he could.
For a moment, they were evenly matched.
Then the demon shifted again.
It feinted left and struck right, fist slamming into Corvin’s gut.
Corvin gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs.
A knee to the chest.
A blow to the shoulder.
Another to the jaw.
Corvin was driven back, boots scraping uselessly against stone.
He swung desperately.
The demon caught his wrist.
Twisted.
The dagger clattered to the ground.
Corvin didn’t even have time to react before a hand closed around his throat.
He was lifted off the ground.
His feet dangled uselessly as blood dripped down his chin.
The demon leaned close, eyes gleaming.
“I wanted to eat that lady,” it said calmly. “But right now… I think I want to eat you more.”
Corvin’s vision blurred.
Through the haze, he turned his head.
Maya stood frozen, hands covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
Corvin’s eyes glowed purple.
The air around him pulsed faintly.
His voice echoed—deep, calm, and unsettling.
“Maya,” he said softly.
“Run.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
74
Lumi stopped at the final stair.For a moment, he thought he was mistaken.His father stood within the outer ring of the formation, coat immaculate as ever, hands clasped behind his back as if he were observing a board meeting rather than standing at the edge of something deeply forbidden.Opposite him stood the Blackwell patriarch, sleeves rolled to the wrist, fingers marked in ink and blood.The air above the circle rippled.Not opening.Not yet.But thinning.“Dad?”His voice sounded too loud in the underground chamber.Both men turned.The Blackwell patriarch’s expression did not shift. No panic. No guilt.Only calculation.“You were not invited,” he said mildly.Lumi’s gaze snapped to his father. “What is this?”The Calder patriarch regarded him the way one might regard an unexpected complication in an otherwise elegant equation.“We are correcting a flaw,” he said.“In what?”“In the structure of power.”The runes brightened as if punctuating the statement. Lumi stared closely a
73
“What? Your father? As in also a demon?” Lumi blinked. [What? You think I was given birth to by a raccoon? Of course a demon gave birth to me.]“What do you want me to do? Last time I tried meddling with demon magic, I ended up binding one to myself,” Lumi reminded.[You must go beneath the arena.]Before Lumi could respond, Scott’s staff sliced through the air toward Lumi’s shoulder. Lumi twisted aside, boots skidding across stone.“You’ve picked a brilliant time for instructions,” Lumi muttered under his breath as he ducked another strike.[Listen to me.]Scott pressed forward.A thrust.A spin.A sweep aimed at Lumi’s legs.Lumi vaulted over it, flipping cleanly before landing in a crouch.[Whatever they are doing below us must be stopped. They’re toying with what they don’t understand. If my father crosses over the same way I did—]Scott lunged again.“There’s no time for riddles,” Lumi snapped internally, blocking a downward strike that jarred his arms. “Explain so I’ll know wha
72
The engine cut.Silence settled around the car like a held breath.Calder estate rose ahead of them—stone pale against the afternoon sky, banners snapping in disciplined rows, sigils glowing faintly along the outer walls.Aidan was the first to step out.“Bit dramatic, isn’t it?” he muttered, shutting the door with a soft thud. “They couldn’t wait an extra hour?”Nevan rounded the bonnet, adjusting the cuffs of his coat. “It’s the Calders. They don’t wait. Very impatient family.”Cleodora stepped out last.She smoothed her sleeve.Said nothing.The gravel crunched beneath their boots as they approached the gates. Guards gave them curt nods and allowed them through without delay.Inside, the estate felt… alive.Too alive.The air vibrated faintly with gathered power.Nevan frowned. “Why does it feel like we’re late to something?”A horn sounded.Deep.Resonant.The sound rolled across the grounds and into their bones.They exchanged a look.Then quickened their pace.---They entered t
71
The morning air was sharp with frost when the two patriarchs stepped out onto the upper terrace overlooking the Calder arena grounds.Below them, banners snapped in the wind.Servants moved in careful lines, adjusting sigils etched into stone, polishing railings, preparing for the spectacle.The Concord Trials.Tradition dressed as honour.Power disguised as sport.The Calder patriarch adjusted the cuffs of his coat, gaze sweeping the estate with quiet satisfaction. Beside him, the Blackwell patriarch stood with his hands clasped neatly behind his back, expression composed, unreadable.Footsteps approached.Measured.Respectful.A young aide stopped several paces away and bowed deeply.“My lords.”Neither man looked at him immediately.Only when the Calder patriarch gave a small nod did the aide straighten enough to speak.“There has been… an unexpected development.”The Blackwell patriarch’s eyes shifted.“Speak.”“Scott Blackwell has just arrived at the entrance.”Silence followed.
70
Lumi had been walking the corridors for nearly half an hour when he felt it.A shift.Not loud.Not dramatic.Just a ripple in the air near the main entrance, like a new presence stepping across an invisible line.He turned instinctively.Through the tall arched windows lining the corridor, he could see the front courtyard below. Cars parked outside in a neat row. Hunters in formal attire moved in measured clusters, their crests pinned to lapels, their sigils faintly shimmering in anticipation of the trials.And there—At the gates.A familiar silhouette.Dark coat.Still posture.Shadows pooling faintly at his heels.Scott Blackwell.Lumi stilled.For a brief second, he simply watched.The Blackwell patriarch was nowhere in sight.No entourage.No formal procession.Just Scott, standing at the entrance as if he had arrived alone by accident.Was he their only representative or did they send him ahead to check out the competition first?Lumi descended the staircase without quite reali
69
Lumi woke to the sound of movement.Not voices, not shouting—just the low, constant shuffle of a house being rearranged. Fabric dragged across stone. Footsteps pacing and repacing. Metal clinking faintly, then stopping, then starting again.For a moment, he stayed where he was.The ceiling above him was unfamiliar in a way that still unsettled him. Calder ceilings were high, arched, ribbed with dark beams that looked more like cathedral bones than architecture. Even the light that filtered through the curtains felt heavier here, weighted with age and expectation.He swung his legs out of bed and dressed carefully.The clothes laid out for him were formal. Dark. Trimmed with the Calder sigil in thread so fine it was almost easy to miss. He hesitated before fastening the last clasp, fingers lingering there as if the fabric might bite back.When he stepped into the corridor, the estate was already awake.Servants moved briskly, arms full. Banners were being carried down from storage, the
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