I Am The Demon Prince

CHAPTER 4: The Binding

Tyler shoved Alex through the narrow gap between the art building and the campus library as the wail of approaching police sirens echoed across the quad. The streetlights flickered back to life, casting distorted shadows against the brick walls while they ran.

Alex stumbled over an exposed tree root, catching his balance against the side of the building. When he looked down at his hands, a faint orange glow was fading from his knuckles. Behind them, a trail of scorched grass marked their frantic path away from the intersection.

“Keep moving before they lock down the street,” Tyler ordered, glancing over his shoulder to check the pathway behind them.

“I cannot run anymore,” Alex said, leaning against the cool brick wall.

Tyler grabbed his jacket collar and hauled him toward the side door of the science building. “You melted the street, Alex. You turned the pavement into soup, then that bleeding kid started talking to you with somebody else's voice. What is going on?”

“I told you I do not know,” Alex replied, staring at his normal-looking hands.

“That is not a good enough answer,” Tyler argued. “People do not melt asphalt just because they get angry and they certainly do not have other guys speaking through their mouths.”

“It is the only answer I have right now,” Alex insisted.

Tyler shook his head and pushed open the side door. “Get inside before a patrol car spots us out here. We can argue about this when we are not dodging the cops.”

They slipped into an empty lecture hall, letting the metal door click shut behind them. The room was lit only by the green glow of the emergency exit signs. Tyler leaned against the back wall and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“We wait here until the sirens stop and the police clear the area,” he said.

Footsteps sounded from the top of the tiered seating.

Jenna Morales emerged from the shadows near the back row, descending the carpeted steps with a silver blade held low at her side. Her eyes locked on Alex as she began chanting in a language that sounded like grinding stones and breaking glass.

“Hey, put that knife away!” Tyler shouted, stepping forward to shield his roommate.

Jenna ignored him and continued toward Alex, repeating the strange syllables. The words wrapped around Alex like a cold chain tightening across his ribs. His knees slammed against the floor as the brand on his chest flared, straining against his skin. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to remain still, refusing to fight the invisible binding as the cold energy pressed him down.

Tyler lunged forward, but Alex raised a hand to stop him.

“Do not touch her,” Alex warned, his voice strained by the pressure in his chest.

Jenna stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed the silver blade at his throat. “Why aren't you fighting back?”

“Because I am not the one trying to hurt you,” Alex replied, looking up at her from the floor.

“My orders say otherwise,” Jenna stated.

“Your orders are wrong,” Tyler snapped, moving directly between the blade and his friend. “Put the weapon down before somebody actually gets hurt tonight. You are not stabbing anyone in my dorm building.”

Jenna lowered the blade by a fraction of an inch, though her grip remained tight around the hilt. “He is a demon prince, Tyler. He broke the street with his mind yesterday. He is supposed to open a gate and burn this city.”

“Does he look like he is burning anything right now?” Tyler shot back, pointing at the kneeling boy. “He just dragged himself away from a car crash to keep from hurting anyone.”

Jenna looked past Tyler and noticed Alex's hands trembling against the carpet. He wasn't shaking with rage or struggling to unleash some hidden power. He was trembling from the sheer effort of holding himself back and keeping the seal intact.

The realization made her lower the blade to her side and break the chant. The invisible chains dissolved, leaving Alex gasping for air on the floor.

“Tell me what you are,” Jenna demanded.

Alex remained on his knees, taking a slow, steadying breath before answering. “They call me Thraxul. I woke up with this burn on my chest and a set of rules burned into my head. I have to live a full human lifetime without using my power. If I break the seal, the gate opens.”

“Why are you here?” Jenna asked, watching his face for any sign of a lie.

“It is a pact,” Alex explained. “I take no memories and keep no power. If I survive the mortal years, I get the throne of the third circle, but I do not know anything else about my past or my bloodline.”

Tyler crossed his arms, looking down at his roommate. “So you are just a demon waiting to graduate college?”

“I have been terrified since the day I woke up,” Alex admitted.

Saying the words aloud brought a strange sense of relief, as though he had finally released some of the pressure building inside him.

“Every time I get angry or protective, the seal cracks. That guy from the crash tonight is named Korrath. He wants me to break the seal so he can take the throne for himself.”

Jenna processed the information before slipping her blade back into her jacket. “The Order told me you were a mindless threat. They did not say anything about a rival prince tracking you down.”

“The Order doesn't know everything,” Tyler pointed out.

He reached down and offered Alex his hand. Alex accepted it, allowing Tyler to pull him to his feet before dusting off his jeans.

“Are you going to try and stab him again?” Tyler asked Jenna.

“Not tonight,” she replied. “But if that seal breaks and the gate opens, I will not hesitate to end him.”

“Fair enough.” Tyler slapped Alex on the shoulder. “Looks like we have a team for now.”

“Do not call it a team,” Jenna warned, scanning the dark corners of the room. “The Order will not stop hunting him just because I decided to hold my blade.”

Alex rubbed his chest, studying the hunter. “Why did you stop chanting?”

“Because monsters do not tremble when they are caught,” Jenna answered. “You were holding your power back instead of using it against me. My handlers told me you would strike the moment you felt threatened.”

“I am not going to hurt anyone unless I have to,” Alex promised.

“Korrath will make sure you have to,” Jenna replied. “He staged that crash tonight to test your control. He knows your emotions are tied to the seal and he will keep pushing you until you break.”

“Then we push back,” Tyler suggested. “We figure out what this Korrath guy wants, then stop him.”

“You cannot punch a demon, Tyler,” Jenna said. “This is not a boxing match. If you stay close to him, you will get yourself killed.”

“I am not leaving my friend behind,” Tyler countered.

Jenna's phone vibrated inside her pocket before she could argue. She pulled it out and read the bright screen in the dim room, her expression hardening as she scanned the message from her handler.

“We have a problem,” she announced, turning the screen toward them.

“Who is the second hunter?” Alex asked.

“Someone who will not ask questions before they swing a blade,” Jenna answered.

Before she could explain further, a faint scraping noise echoed through the quiet lecture hall. It came from somewhere beneath the floorboards, dragging along the old metal pipes of the steam tunnels running under the science building. The sound was slow and rough, like rusted metal scraping against solid concrete.

Tyler glanced down at his sneakers and backed away from the center aisle. “Please tell me that is just the campus heating system settling.”

“The heat is turned off for the summer,” Jenna replied, drawing her silver blade again.

The scratching grew louder, moving directly beneath the carpeted aisle as though something were tracing a slow, deliberate path toward the front of the room. Alex followed the sound, feeling the vibrations travel through the soles of his boots.

Then the dragging stopped directly beneath his feet.

A long moment of absolute silence stretched through the empty hall. None of them moved. All three stared at the floor, waiting for whatever lurked beneath it to make its next move.

Then a clawed hand scraped against the underside of the floorboards, slowly and deliberately carving the letters of Alex's human name into the wood from below…