Demon Games

Hello, um...HI! ^^ ok so this is my story. It starts off a bit rough but it smooths out I promise. I hope you like. OH and fyi ** means a point of view change. It happens a lot this chapter but only because the characters are apart at the moment.

ok story time. toodles!



The alarm buzzed annoyingly beside Lyra's bed for almost five minutes before she managed to pull herself away from the warm covers. Another day, just another long day she had to pull through. Her silky brown hair fell all about her face and shoulders as she sat up and stretched, throwing her slender legs over the side of her bed. Her long fingers turned off her alarm and teased her hair out of her green eyes. She was glad it was Friday; the end of the week was always the easiest day for her. The last stretch before two days away from looks of fear and distrust. Lyra wasn't normal, she never had been. Even when she was a child her peers and even her parents looked at her with certain disgust. She could see ghosts; she could talk to them and even release them from earth to wherever they were meant to be. Such things can complicate a childhood. After nineteen years her curse was the reason why she found herself alone, in a house generously paid for by her parents, without family, without friends, just alone. Her parent's only request was that she graduate high school. That date was only two weeks away. She wondered if they would show up to the ceremony as she pulled off her sleep shirt and slid out of her panties. The house was large, made in the Japanese style with perfect hardwood floors, paper doors and even a garden, despite the fact that she lived on the outskirts of New Town, Virginia.

Her fingers tested the hot water as she started her shower, she liked it hot, she liked the way her skin turned red and her body seemed to become part of the beating water. She stepped under the current and lathered herself, the steam clearing her chest and sinuses. Just two more weeks and she could shut herself away from the world for good. No more pretending to be normal, she wouldn't have to put up with anyone anymore. If she really wanted to she could even create a profession out of her curse. Conning a poor mourning family seemed low, but if she could make money without really having to work by sending away fake souls while really sending away ghosts with no relation, it didn’t sound like a bad idea. She shut off the water after she rinsed herself and pulled the curtain back, letting the cool air hit her body as she dried. She liked the extremes in temperatures against her skin, it reminded her how real she was in a world that seemed so two-dimensional. She quickly dressed in her school uniform of a white button up shirt, a dreary gray coat with gold trim around the collar and cuffs, a gray and blue plaid skirt with long white stockings and black buckle shoes. After she was dressed she carefully brushed her hair, leaving it loose about her shoulders. She hated her hair; it was so stubbornly straight that no matter how much curling, or hairspray or product she tried it would always go flat again. Even if she tried to pull it back, it was so sleek it would simply fall out of the tie. She hated it.

She gathered her school bag and grabbed a golden charm on her way out the door, latching it carefully around her neck before tucking it away into her shirt. Jewelry was against the dress code, but without her charm she would be vulnerable to ghosts, who always seemed to be around. They knew what she could do for them, and would sniff her out like dogs. They were all so selfish, but she would allow them to approach her every Saturday. That was her day for sending. But sending ghosts always seemed to leave her tired and completely drained of energy. Sunday allowed her to recover before school. She walked through her garden, the front yard looking more like the entryway to a shrine than a house. Traditional Japanese plants and trees shaded the stone pathway up to her gate. A quaint stonewall lined her property, the tall iron gate blocking entry to anyone on the street. Tiny golden charms, like the one she wore around her neck, hung from various points along the wall and the gate, an impenetrable boundary between the ghosts and herself. Her house was her only safe place, once outside she was vulnerable to any number of spirits, good and bad. She opened her gate and locked it behind her. She had a car, but had been walking to school lately, with the gas prices so high it was simpler that way. She didn't work, but her parents paid her a small allowance to live off of. There really was no need, and they wished her to concentrate on her studies rather than work.

Despite their dislike of her, they tried to act like caring parents. Too bad they were so terrible at acting. She didn't live far from the school; it was a good ten-minute walk to the bus stop and then a fifteen-minute ride to West View High. In that time she managed to eat her breakfast, which consisted of a banana and a bagel she had packed in her bag the morning before. She didn't particularly like the bus, but so early in the morning it wasn't so crowded, that evening would be a different story. At night she usually just walked an hour to get home rather than ride the bus. Once the bus reached her school she forced herself out of her seat and onto the campus. She tried to ignore the looks she got just stepping off the bus. Everyone knew she was strange, more than a handful had seen her first hand release a ghost, all of them avoided her like her parents. It was going to be a long day.

**

Kain watched the girl as she left her house. Small charms dangled from the stones and iron gates; even from a distance they pestered his senses. They were only minor annoyances; a demon of his stature could easily remove them. He took a final drag from his cigarette before casting it aside. He had to follow her. His father's orders were to kill her but he felt a human as interesting as her could be allowed a little observation. He watched her lazily from a distance as she waited for the bus. Her school uniform was absolutely dreadful, it didn't help that the girl was so scrawny and frail looking. Her wrists were so small and her fingers long and slender. It wouldn’t take much pressure for him to snap the delicate bones. When the bus arrived he smiled slightly, he would have to walk and follow her, follow the scent she would leave behind in the air. His stalling wouldn't please father, but father wasn't around at the moment, Kain could do as he pleased while with the humans.

**

Lyra sighed as she sat through her final class. The day had been long, but a normal day. No one spoke to her, people moved out of her way in the halls; she ate her lunch alone at an empty table and did her work by herself. Even her teachers avoided her, feeling the universal unease from every side suffocating them as well in her presence. She decided it was natural instinct to fear her, it wasn't natural what she could do, she wasn't natural. When the bell rang she gathered her things and left, watching the others around her laugh and talk as they met up with friends to walk home with. She had no group to wait for her, no kind hand to walk her home. Her feet absently led her from the campus and found the sidewalk that would lead her back home. It was all well, tomorrow she would wake early to send the souls waiting for her and she would sleep all Sunday to recover before going back to school. She cleared her mind as she walked, after so much time alone she had practiced it well. She managed to teach herself how to think about absolutely nothing except her feet, meeting the pavement rhythmically. Dusk had almost reached her when she turned onto her street. That was where she found her, a lost soul weeping before her in the street. Lyra clutched her books to her chest; the charm would prevent the ghost from touching her in any way.

"Please, help me. It hurts so much."

Lyra calmed herself, forcing her heart rate down again as she reached into her shirt for the charm.

"I can help you tomorrow."

The girl approached her, tears streaming down her pale face.

"You must help me now, or I fear hell waits for me. Please, it hurts."

Lyra stared at her a moment, tension filling her chest. She had never heard a soul speak of hell waiting for them. Most of them were selfish and only commanded her to set them free. The girl's clothes were tattered and stained with something dark; Lyra imagined it to be blood. She pulled loose the charm as the soul stopped in her tracks; Lyra pulled it from her neck and let it fall to the ground. The girl smiled, tears falling fresh as Lyra embraced her, feeling something warm fill her up as the soul slipped away from her.

**

Kain forgot about the cigarette in his mouth as he watched the girl release a spirit right in front of him. She was so damn foolish! An absolute idiot human who had no idea what she was doing. He watched her pick up the charm from the ground and quickly tuck it away again. He committed it to memory, not only did she guard her house but herself as well. It would be another nuisance he would have to remove before finishing her. He took a long drag from his cigarette as he watched her continue on down the street. He wondered why father had sent him for such a minor aggravation. The girl was obviously oblivious to the consequences of her abilities. She probably was never exposed to anything more than lost souls. He smiled to himself as she unlocked her gate and walked in. At least he would get to her before the angels did, or else she would become a much larger problem. If they had her, they would surely show her how to usher souls to heaven rather than just releasing them as they will.

**

Lyra locked her gate behind her, looking about suspiciously before continuing down her walkway. Night had fallen over her, she had been slow to start with and then being stopped by the girl, she was running late. But for some reason she had a feeling someone was following her, she had felt it at the school and then again when she had been walking but she hadn't seen anyone. Maybe it had just been the soul following her. She went inside and locked her door for safe measure before getting ready for bed. She would have to wake early to open her gates to the dead, and she would be so tired. Even from just one release she could feel the exhaustion inside her, it would become even worse on the morrow.

**

Kain waited until all the lights had gone out on the street before approaching her gate. Many souls had gathered in the darkness, waiting for her. He wondered why so many had gathered at the same time but smiled at the huddled group. He would wait until dawn to capture her, until then there were countless souls waiting for him to usher them to hell. Father would be pleased. He solidified from the darkness as some turned to face him. They could surely feel his presence before he had even made himself visible to them, they were anxious.

"Do not approach demon. As one we are weak but as many we become strong."

He walked through them carelessly, feeling the cold chill of their half bodies as he passed through some until he reached a charm hanging lightly from the gate.

"This prevents you from entering does it not?"

He clutched the small golden charm angrily in his hand. It aggravated his senses and managed to throw off his sense of smell. It was a minor annoyance, just like her.

"Do not torture us demon."

He smiled at the souls words as a black flame from his hand consumed the charm until it was nothing but smoke. Several of the souls backed away, some turning to flee.

"Torture? I think not."

Kain cast his hand out, the souls writhing under his power as he forced them to hell, all of them unable to scream in time. He smiled as they disappeared just as the charm had. He sighed and took a long drag from his cigarette as he took up yet another charm and burned it as well.

"One more night little human, and then you'll be mine."


OK! yay! rate and review please and read the next chapter. love you all whole bunches. ^^ xoxox and stuff. toodles!