Daimon by DANIELLE BOLGER (e reader .txt) 📖

this world, but that other part that makes things tick, the life-force, has been summoned from another dimension. That flowing force and the vessel that holds it is what makes you now, Jane. A hybrid of two different planes of existence, but in order to gain, something must be sacrificed. Your life-force from this world, Jane, was given into that other universe, and instead, you were gifted with another force, one far more powerful and ferocious than anything possible in this world.”

“This other universe…what is it? Where is it?” I wondered, was it just another big group of stars that was aligned right next to ours, though some billions of light years away.

Alex waved out her hand in front of her. “You know, many scientists believe that there are numerous dimensions all intertwined and coiled up in the simple three that we perceive, or four if you count time, but they are there, hiding. Others have described universes as being placed next to one another, and that they could be cut into slices like a loaf of bread. Right here,” she closed her hand, “is that other dimension and others. We pass through them, touch them, but never feel them; perpetually blind to the truth surrounding us.”

I frowned as I imagined the life force that was taken from me wafting around in one of these other dimensions. I would pass right through it like a holographic image, though I could never hold or reclaim it again. “So, a daimon is a creature that has been separated from its soul. I see now why Mack confused it with “demon.”

“A soul?” Alex considered this for a moment. “Yes, I can see how you would come to that conclusion. That is interesting, however, that you considered you had one to lose. A soul—amplified—yes, that could be what balanced the equation.” She pondered this more to herself than to me.

I stared out over the black rippling waves. “In exchange for my soul, I have been given this life-force from a parallel universe?” I was struggling to follow.

“I would hardly call it parallel, the universe your power is from or any other. These other planes of existence are as different to one another as wind is to fire. Put together in a beautiful puzzle, these other dimensions make life possible, but they may never truly coexist. If they were to be melded together, either the fire would consume the wind or the wind would snuff out the fire, and thus life would either end in a blaze or in a whimper.”

“You're being cryptic,” I growled.

“Oh?” Alex feigned surprise. “Yes, I suppose this complexity is all really beyond you. Quite ironic really.”

“You know, I'm thinking I could eat again.”

She laughed at my threat. “Smoke could rip out your heart before you could even lay a claw on me.”

I glared at her, icily, knowing that she was probably right. Instead, I waited for her to come to her point.

“Your power, that life-force you've acquired, is quite unique. It seems that it originates from a plane where only energy exists, with no matter, no form, and hence no consciousness. Therefore, with no means to dissipate this energy, it becomes very condensed and very potent, with near limitless potential. Accessing that would be like accessing the power of a god.”

“Why?” My voice trembled. “Why does it have to be human hearts?”

Her voice softened. “I don't know. Maybe, that's the payment required to access that otherworldly power. There's still a lot I have yet to figure out, too.”

“Why me? Why did I come back to life, and not any of those other girls?”

“He likes damaged girls,” she replied sadly.

“I want to see him. Let me speak to Valentine.”

“You mean you wish to see Rose. That is his name, not that stupid concoction from the media. For now, you cannot. Sage has decided that you are too unstable. When you learn how to control yourself better then I believe he will permit the two of you to meet.”

“Rose—that's true name of Valentine?”

“True enough.”

“Sage.” I pressed. “Is he another daimon?”

“Yes, and he is very protective of Rose. If he thinks there is any kind of risk then he will take measures to remove it. Though Rose created him, Sage plays the role of the guardian.”

“I see. So, what do I need to do to earn an audience with the flower?”

She shot me a dark look. “You best be careful how you speak of him. There are many that are very loyal to him.” She indicated Smoke, whose black eyes pierced right through me. “He wants you to start working for us. You will be given an assignment every couple of days; do this and you will have earned your trust with the Foxes.”

My eyes narrowed. “What kind of assignment?”

“An assassination, of course.”

“I refuse.”

“Don't be daft!” she shouted. “This is more for your benefit than for our own. Don't you see, you need to eat human hearts on a regular basis to keep healthy. They can't just be picked up at the butcher.”

“So I'll be unhealthy.”

“Stupid girl,” she muttered angrily. “You might think you can be noble and adopt a pacifist lifestyle, but just look to the ground there and remember your first kill. The harder you try to resist it, the less control you will have of yourself. Fast yourself and you'll transform into a wild beast. Trust me on that one.”

My grip tightened on the railing.

“Kill who we tell you to and we'll do the rest, clean up after you, and all the while you'll gain good stead with Rose and Sage. You really don't have a choice if you want to live.”

“I'll never work with you monsters!” Blood was still coating my hands.

She crossed her arms. “So, we are the monsters?” she echoed.

“You're responsible for all the destruction in the Blue Coast. So many murder victims, even more missing persons, and every life somehow shattered by you people. All you do is destroy, kill. You kill everything good. You're nothing but killers!”

“Ah, I see.” Alex mused, her voice becoming quiet. “You blame the Foxes for the city's tragic past.”

“Of course I do!” I sniped. “It was you filthy gangsters, firing your guns and setting your bombs. You destroyed everything, killed everyone. You killed my parents!” I screamed.

She simply nodded, her features irritatingly expressionless. “Your profile said that you were involved in a drive-by shooting, but that was performed by a different organization to ours.”

Alex was right, it wasn't the Foxes but it didn't change the fact that gangsters destroyed my family. Though their deaths occurred years ago, the pain was everlasting. It was what had fueled my hatred of organized crime. The Foxes profited from the previous gangs' fall. They gained the city's entire market, prior gang’s personnel and immunity from the police. The gang that left its mark on my family had disbanded, but its members lived on, kept up their violence and a few had assimilated into this very gang. There were members from the drive-by shooting within the Fox ranks; I knew it with surety even though it was no more than a feeling. I did not know who they were; the only faces I remembered of that day were those of my parents, splattered with blood.

My enemies were here. In my mind I saw them coated in red, a mask that kept me from discerning their true identities, but I knew that they walked amongst this pack. On all fours they eluded me, laughing as blood flowed into their mouths.

The Fox gang did not destroy my family, but that did not mean Foxes didn't perform the act. My enemies were here, hiding beneath another skin. To me, though, one Fox looked just like another - that was why I had to eradicate them all.

“Your parents' deaths had nothing to do with us,” Alex continued. “You were there, in that restaurant as it was torn to shreds. You know that it was another organization; one that died before the Foxes ever began. You can't blame us because we were never there, you can't blame the gang responsible because they've disappeared. That just leaves you. You're still here when your parents are dead. You survived a horrific incident when so many others didn't. So, if you are really so adamant on blaming someone, shouldn't you think of blaming yourself? Blame the pathetic teenager that could do no more than weep as people died around her.”

I leapt forth again and this time gained a grip on her throat and squeezed merrily. As I did, I imagined her face as one of those emerging from a car window with a rifle in hand.

Then, to the corner of my gaze, I saw a movement. Within a moment, Smoke was upon me again. I recoiled, just evading him by millimeters, and backed away a few meters. He did not stop, though, and kept moving for me. Again, I evaded and used the wall as a springboard to jump over him. I thought I had made it, until my ankle was locked in a crude, vice-like grip.

He swung me down at the floor. My head thumped against the tile, and blood began oozing from my forehead. I lifted my torso up and spat red onto the ground.

“Fuck you all,” I growled. “I'll kill you!”

Smoke was back in front of me and he slammed my head into the wall, again and again, more times that I could count. Swift and merciless he pounded me; each time I could hear my skull cracking. The last blow had spread all across from the back of my head to the front so that I could no longer see in alignment.

He sniggered brutishly and tossed me aside, back to the tiles, back to Sam’s corpse.

“You see, Jane, I am trying to appeal to your reasoning, your intellect,” Alex purred. “I know it's in there—you are not a dull girl— but since your transformation you have not used those qualities in the slightest. This has been very disappointing. There is a teething period, but right now you are really testing my patience. I think Smoke would not disagree.” She sniggered. “Girl, it is truly in your best interest to play along, so won't you just be a darl, hmm?”

Fury raged through me so forcefully that I barely heard her words. The vile gangsters had murdered me, twisted me into this vile, hungry, raging form, and thought I would simply forgive them and do their bidding? I would never work with gangsters. They were truly the most detestable creatures in the world; even more despicable than myself, and I would rather die than be their pawn.

Instead, I envisioned ripping out every organ from Alex's body, starting with her skin; tearing it to shreds. First, I would need to dispose of Smoke; he was proving to be very irritating.

I lifted myself so that my torso was propped up from the ground, arms trembling in the crouched position. The world was not blurred as such, but disarranged, like viewing a visual puzzle where the eyes and brain could not come into agreement. I touched my face, detecting the warm liquid drenching it. I pressed on my skull and found a smarting fracture beneath the skin, and trembled as I realized that my body was losing its healing ability.

“I will not be one of you,” I replied obstinately.

I heard her breathe heavily in and out. Her heart was very loud, prominent. It seemed like it generated too much force for her slender physique.

“You don't have a choice,” Alex replied tersely.

I was about to leap at her despite my poor sight but just as I turned Smoke was there with a expression which was either extreme disdain or pleasure, my eyes could tell no difference. He proceeded to beat me, repeatedly, against the walls and floor. This thrashing lasted maybe five to ten minutes, but to me, it felt like an hour. Over and over again he attacked me, as I pleaded for it to stop.

It all happened so fast, a hundred strikes in every minute, due to Smoke's incredible speed. So fast, faster than me, and far more powerful. I never had a hope of defending. I could do nothing but play the doll that took it all.

When he finally stopped, I was limp and completely unable to move. Dull, hot agony coursed through me. Most of that was in my head, which felt like an anvil was pressing in from all sides. I wished I had died that night in the woods.

I was thrown back to the tiles. The way in which I landed afforded my askew sight a full frontal of Sam, who had wanted nothing more than to enjoy a certain quality time with me. Already he was so pale, with eyes that rolled back into his head. Fear was frozen on his bloodied face.

“Jane? Stop being so obstinate and respond, girl.” I felt a weak kick from a narrow point. “Damn it, Smoke, I told you to go easy on her. She'll be brain damaged now, after that. Not that the ingrate wasn't before, what with calling us her parents' killers. Now, isn't that a joke?”

“It's...” I muttered weakly, barely audible. “It's your...fault. Mom...and Dad died as a result of...gangsters. You gangsters...”

Alex sighed loudly, then added, “So that's