Blood Prize (Bloody Dance #1) (8 page)

ELEVEN

Tossing the last bag into the trunk I slammed it shut. Pausing I looked at the house I called home for the last fourteen years. It was a home that Amy and Shu built with me. It was where Rai grew up and took her first steps, said her first words, demonstrated her first acts of green magic.

We had so many memories in this place. It was the first place that I felt like a teenager again. It was the first place that I had two parents again. Even though it was an illusion, it felt nice. To be taken care of, to be loved unconditionally.

Once again, a demon took my family from me. It was Ban and Kenji that ripped my family apart. I wanted to pay them both back in blood. At the same time, I didn’t want to be reckless and lose more members of my family. We shouldn’t have gone after Maya. Or maybe I shouldn’t have told Shu, Kenji was with her. Maybe I should have fought harder to get him to turn around the car.

I could think in maybe and what if all day and night. It wasn’t going to change the simple fact that Shu was gone. That our whole team was dead. Now, what did we have? A demon, a white mage, a half-trained green mage, and a pregnant ex-Demon Hunter.

I shook my head. Shu was going to be a father again. Amy explained to us the reason she fainted was because the stress was too much for the baby. She was going to tell everyone when we got back from killing Maya. Shu would have been so happy to learn he was going to be a dad again. He would never meet his child, his child would never meet its father.

Getting into the car I was in the driver seat as Amy sat up front with me. She had the mapping orb in her hand. Tech came a long way since I was a human. GPS were a lot more accurate, there was no annoying voice telling you to drive five miles out of your way just to make a U-Turn.

Soji had suggested that if we had nowhere to we should return to his church. I vetoed that bill as soon as it passed his lips. I didn’t trust holy rollers. Maybe it was because I was playing for the other team. Maybe they would have invited Amy and Rai in but I wasn’t human. I wasn’t going to be locked in someone’s cell.

Pulling off I looked through the rearview mirror. Rai was still angry at me. I wondered if it was over Shu or if she was really upset about the kiss Soji and I shared. I was inclined to think it was the kiss since she refused to sit in the same row of the truck with Soji.

She had her head pressed against the cool glass of the window. She stared out into the world numbly. I knew the loss of a father. I knew the loss of a home. Rai and I had that in common now. Once we found somewhere to set up, I would talk to her. Maybe if she knew she wasn’t alone in this, she would stop being so angry.

The truth was I didn’t know where to go. Shu was the man with the plan. He was the leader of this group. Was everyone looking to me now? There was only one place I knew to go when I was lost. An old woman who claimed to have known me when I was human. That probably meant she was a demon if she was still around. The fortune teller always pointed me on the right path when I didn’t have a clue where to go.

The drive to where the woman lives was done in silence. Everyone seemed to be in their own world. We each had our own thoughts, our own worries. We each mourned in our own way. The important part was that we were together. That we were moving forward at a time like this.

It was about twelve hours in the car. Samter was a town that Shu and I had visited a lot in our travels. It wasn’t far enough from our old him. Still we were going to need more supplies if we were in for a long road.

Passing the card that held our credits over to Amy she looked took it understanding that it was up to her to food and supplies. Parking I got out of the car and Amy followed so that she could move to the driver seat.

“Where are you going?” Rai asked jumping out of the car as well. It was the first thing she said to me since she saw Soji and I kissing. “Can I go with you?” My eyes shifted over to Amy. Amy looked over at the both of us. I could see that motherly worry on her face.

“You two need to be careful,” Amy said and Rai smiled nodding her head. I nodded as well. She said the both of us because she still saw me as one of her children. She didn’t have to worry. I was going to protect Rai with my life. It was the least that I could do now that Shu was gone.

“Soji could you go . . .” I paused looking at Amy. I didn’t want to insult her. She was a proud and strong Demon Hunter. She was also pregnant and still looked pale from the night before. I didn’t want her driving around alone in case something happened.

“Amy and I will do our thing. You and Rai do your thing. When and where shall we meet up?” Soji said. It was better this way. Soji was a white mage. He should have been strong enough to protect Amy. I knew that I would protect Rai.

“The Demon Hunter bar is as good a place as any. We’ll meet up in two hours.” That should have been enough time for Amy to gather what we needed. We all nodded before turning around. Walking with Rai all was silence again. I wondered if she was ever going to talk to me again.

Why did she want to come with me? Because she didn’t want to go with Soji, or maybe she didn’t want Soji to come with me. It was a shame that she didn’t like Soji. Shu would have liked him. He would have told him to shut the hell up with his annoying rambling. He still would have liked him.

“Are you dating him?” Rai spoke as we walked down the street. I looked over at her frowning face. “He looks like a girl, you know.” I laughed at her assessment of the white mage. Soji was small, short and petite like a girl. He was soft and very beautiful. I could see how people could mistake him for a girl. Rai only glared daggers at me. I shook my head at the girl. She had Shu’s quick temper with Amy magic. A deadly combination.

“It was just a kiss, Rai. If I dated everyone, I kissed then . . .” I let my words trail off. If I dated everyone I kissed then Ban and I was in a serious relationship that spanned two hundred years.

“He’s the same age as me isn’t he.” I didn’t know how old Soji was. I would give him between fourteen and seventeen. I suppose that was still young since I was over two hundred years old. Still my body was only sixteen. There was nothing wrong with kissing someone a few years younger.

“I guess,” I muttered. What was with this line of questioning?

“How do you even know you like boys, Zero. I thought you liked Aya.” I liked Aya well enough. I wasn’t about to kiss Aya though. I guess that didn’t actually matter anymore. Aya was gone. How did I know I liked boys? It was just something I alway knew. Even as a human.

“I love you, Zero,” Rai said and I turned to her. Smiling over at her I reached out pushing my fingers in her hair.

“Rai, I love you too.” She was like a sister to me. She was Shu’s daughter. She was the baby that I held and watched when her parents needed a moment to themselves. She was the child that I played with. Who I taught how to cuss and steal cookies when her mother wasn’t looking. I adored her and I loved her endlessly.

Rai leaped into my arm her mouth smashed against mine. I pushed her away as soon as her lips pressed against mine. I frowned at her as she frowned back at me. What the hell was that? I rubbed my arm across my mouth.

“I love you Rai, as a sister. For fucksake, I changed your diapers.” That was just gross. How could she even think that I met it in any other way? I was pretty sure there was a line as clear day drawn in the sand. There shouldn’t even have to be lines we were family.

Rai stomped her foot turning away from me and walking away. I shoved my fingers into my hair. What hell was wrong with teenagers? Shaking my head, I followed behind her. It was another forty minutes before we ducked into one of the shops.

Inside of the shop was a girl who was probably in her twenties. She was tall with huge breast and a curvy figure. Her black hair was streaked with purple as it flowed down her back. She was dressed in tiny shorts and a bra with knee high boots. I could see the many weapons strapped to her body. Most were guns, but there was a band of knives around her thigh. Who was this woman?

“Zero,” an old voice croaked. I looked at the old woman. She was hunched over like always. Her sightless eyes were milked over as she looked through me. I could see her thinning gray hair coming around her face like a curtain against the world.

The strange girl turned around as if just now noticing she wasn’t the only person in the shop. Her eyes moved over me and then to Rai. I watched as she walked towards Rai. I could feel my fangs pressing down. My own daggers were strapped to my legs. The stranger reached out grabbing Rai’s boob.

The same kid that was just sexually harassing me with her kiss screamed and ran behind me for protection. I looked behind myself at Rai before looking at the strange woman again. What kind of person just grabs a stranger's breast?

“They are perfect.” The woman gave this high pitched scream of delight. “I have been looking for the perfect pair. Yours are just right.” She was opening and closing her hand as if squeezing something. “They fit in my hand so perfectly.” She jumped up and down her own breast bouncing with the action. I wasn’t ashamed to say my eyes followed them.

“Can I help you?” I asked. She was fast, but I was faster. As soon as she went for her dagger I was at her. My own dagger was pressed against her throat. “It’s rude to attack strangers.” I pressed the blade in enough to make a line of blood form. It smelled much better than the last meal I had.

“Funny, normally I only attack demons.” She hissed back at me and I bared my fangs at her. Luckily everyone in this shop already knew I was a demon.

“Emiko!” A voice I was learning to recognize said. I turned around seeing Soji and Amy standing in the door or the shop. What were those two doing here? Soji eyes were on the girl. He has a huge smile on his face. I pulled my dagger away from her as she walked towards the white mage embracing him in a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Niwa told me about what happened at the base. I was so overcome with grief that my little light wasn’t safe. I ran over to Mother Fate to find out who the beast that took you were.” I noticed that she had Soji’s head pressed against her breast. She was going to smother him with those things.

“I already told Niwa I was staying with Zero.” She pulled him back looking him over. “It was my choice, Zero had every intention to send me home.” That was true. I didn’t ask him to tag along with me. He did that after his phone call.

“Then I have no choice but to come as well. Did the beast touch you?” She grabbed Soji’s shirt trying to force it open. Soji yelped grabbed his clothes trying to keep them on. His face was a bright red as he protested the inspection Emiko was trying to give him.

I shook my head ignoring the idiots and moving in the back room with Mother Fate. Sitting down at the table across from the old woman she reached over grabbing my hand. Her skin was cold as ice. Leaning down I pressed my forehead to the back of her hand.

“It’s been too long, Zero.” I couldn’t remember the last time I came here. When I first met Kaleb, maybe. I wanted to know if staying him was a good idea.

“I’m lost again.” I shook my head at my own words. “I don’t know where to go.”

“You’re not lost, Zeo. Stay with the white mage. He will remind you of the humanity hidden within. He’s good for your soul.” Soji was good for my soul. “He clears the fog.” I looked up at her. Did that mean that Soji had cleared away the fog before? I haven’t been in the hunger in so long. Why couldn’t I remember him if we met before? How was it possible to have met him before?

“I don’t have a soul.” I sighed before changing the topic. “Ban got away again.” I failed to kill the Great Demon yet again. I was never going to have my revenge at this rate.

“Do you really wish to kill Ban?” She asked and I looked up at her. Did I want to kill Ban? The answer to that should have been yes without a thought. Ban wasn’t just the person who killed my family. He was the only thing that I held on to from my human life. He was the only person alive that remembered I was human once. Ban was . . .

“Are you sure you’re not in love with Ban?” I growled at Mother Fate. Me? In love with Ban? It was impossible. You couldn’t love the beast that killed your family. The sex we had was always enjoyable. Sex wasn’t love though. I hated Ban. I wanted to destroy him for what he did to the people I loved.

“The world is ending, Zero. Ban and Kenji are trying to bring hell to earth. You can save us. Only you have the power to stop the Night of Demons. With Soji, you can find the power that sleeps inside of you. However, this power will come at a price. You will lose what you love.”

“I already lost everything I love.” I didn’t know about saving anything either. I didn’t know what the Night of Demons was either. Ban and Kenji were up to no good. How could they bring hell to earth? Hell was already on earth.

“Someone so pure needs to be protected, Zero. A sacrifice of innocence must be made. Ban will use Soji for this.” Ban would kill Soji. I had to protect him. How was I suppose to protect anyone? I couldn’t even protect Shu.

“What am I supposed to do. I can’t beat him.” I wasn’t strong enough to beat Ban. How was I suppose to keep Soji safe? Mother Fate reached across the table. Her cold boney fingers touched my cheek. I looked into her milky eyes as she looked through me.

“You must do what you have always done, Zero.” What I’ve always done? “Live.”

TWELVE

I failed, someone in my family again. This time it was my sister-in-law whom I never meant. Ban forced his way into my brother’s home. My home, it was the same house that I had lived in. The same house that I died in. At least Yael and his daughter got away safely.

Now I was in this house alone with Ban. My dead sister-in-law hardly counted as company. The scent of fresh blood made my stomach growl. Ban was having his way with me again. We were supposed to be fighting. I was supposed to be protecting my family from him. So where were my pants?

How had he gotten my hands bound behind my back? He was sitting in a chair. If I was morbid, I might even think it was the same chairs my family had once been tied to. I highly doubted Yael would have kept the things his family was murdered in.

I kneeled before Ban as he sat in all of his naked glory. I could smell the blood that hung to him. It made me so hungry. It was my sister-in-law who's blood coated him. I didn't know her or maybe she was around when I was human. She had screamed out my name when we first walked into the house.

My tongue traveled up Ban’s length. He was already hard. I could taste the blood that was on his flesh. His fingers had been covered in the red nectar as his stroked himself.

Now as I ran my tongue over every inch of his shaft I could taste her blood. It only made the hunger inside of me grow. Ban’s fingers were shoved into my hair as he brought my head down to him. I felt his member sliding down my throat. My eyes fluttered shut as I took pleasure from having Ban between my lips. His member pinned my tongue to the bottom of my mouth as his hips rocked.

He thrusted into my mouth ignoring the sounds of my gags as he did so. I didn’t mind as much as I should have. I should have cared that once again he was touching me with the blood of my family on his hands. So why didn’t I fight harder? Because he was Ban and I was Zero.

I could feel him holding my head down in place. His prick pulse as the hot, sour liquid shot into my mouth. He pulled away and spit what was released out. My fingers flexed as Ban rose from his chair. What was he going to do now? I already knew what he was going to do.

“I give you a gift and you wasted it, Natsu.” His voice held amusement in it. He found all of this . . . amusing. Of course, he did. Ban was a demon. He took some sick pleasure in knowing he was back in this house with me. That he had killed someone else in my family. That once again he would take me as their body rotted only feet away.

Glaring at him he pushed me down onto my back. It hurt slightly since my arms were already behind my back. The way I landed made it uncomfortable. Ban didn’t give two shits about my comfortable. He grabbed my legs pushing them up towards my chest. There was a moaned that parted my lips as he rubbed his tip against my hole.

I cried out when he thrusted inside of me sharply. There was a pain that accompany the pleasure of him entering me dry. Ban was a lot of things. He wasn’t a gentle lover. His thrusts were powerful as his body slide in and out of my own.

After a few minutes, the motion became smoother as my body accepted the pleasure. His fingers moved up my chest and I moaned again when he plucked my nipple. Shaking my head I was always conflicted about how good it felt to be taken by Ban.

He grunted out his pleasure our bodies collided in perfect rhythm. I could feel myself clenching around him. His hips moved and with each rock I cried out more. Ban yanked me up sitting back against the wall so that I was on top of him. He reached behind me freeing my hand.

When I brought them around my body, I grabbed onto his shoulders. He bounced me on top of him. The sound of our bodies slamming into each other filled the room. My pants for breath made my lungs burn. I didn’t know if demons needed to breathe. When I came together with Ban in this manner, it felt impossible.

In the years, I was lost in the fog the feel of him inside of me has been one of my only memories. The night he killed my family was also the night he gave me immeasurable pleasure. How can you hate someone so much and still want them inside of you? I didn’t understand this desire. I didn’t understand myself.

Still I rocked and grinded my body against his. Seeking the pleasure that I knew came from being on top of him. The pleasure that only he seemed to bring when he was inside of me. My hips rocked faster. My nails coming down to their demon size as I dug them into Ban’s shoulders. I started to bounce harder, faster.

Ban reached out, one of his hands wrapped around my throat as the other gripped my hips. He was still thrusting upward inside of me. This . . . Blood just seemed to be a part of what we were. It was the only way I knew how to be with him. I hated him, but I wanted him. It made me hate all the more.

“You’re so greedy today, Natsu.” I shook my head I wasn't greedy. I just wanted everything that he was going to offer me. I knew that I didn’t have to ask Ban for this. Even if I didn’t want it, he would take it from me anyway.

I could feel the ring I took from him heating around my neck. Maybe it was crying for its old master back. I ignored the ring. Ban couldn’t have it. It was mine now. I took it from him fair and square. He didn’t seem interested in the thing. At the moment, Ban was only interested in his own pleasure.

His fingers wrapped around my neck tighten. I could feel my body clenching around him harder. There was a darkness on the edge of my vision, but Ban didn’t squeeze hard enough for me to black out. The lack of oxygen made me feel his thrust even more.

It was as if all my focus went to the part where our bodies connected. My fingers pulled from his shoulders as I wrapped my hands around his wrist. I already knew that Ban was stronger than me. If he didn’t want to let me go, I couldn’t make him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. This felt just as intense as when he was . . . Killing me. His finger loosen and I gasped for air.

“Ban,” His name was a moan on my lips as he thrusted hard. I felt his fingers in my hair as I wrapped my arms around him. Our chests pressed together as we both were coated in sweat. Ban yanked my head back and I could feel his smooth tongue traveling over my throat. He licked away the sweat that rolled down my flesh as our bodies continued to seek the pleasure the other brought.

I could feel my own prick rubbing against his flesh and it was driving me mad. I shook my head as best I could. Ban just seemed to laugh as I was trying to hold back. He drove his body into mine harder. He was making it impossible to think.

“Ban!” His name was a scream as my back arched I could feel myself tightening around him as I reached my climax. That didn’t stop Ban from thrusting into my body. It was a few minutes later before he held himself inside of me. I could feel the pulse of his prick before he pumped his load into my body.

“Don’t waste that gift, Natsu.” Ban whispered in my ear. He pushed me from his lap grabbing my hands and tying them behind my back again. “Now for round two.” I could see the crooked grin on his lips. It made my prick pulse and my heart race. This man was evil and perfection. Ban was the perfect evil.

Five weeks and eight towns Amy finally found a house she deemed livable. Buying the house had put a dent in our funds but it was worth it. Now that we had a home we could stop roaming around like lost puppies and get back to our business. Demon Hunters that weren’t hunting demons could hardly call themselves anything.

We had something of a team again. Soji was a white mage, Emiko was a skilled gunslinger, and Rai. She was still training with her green magic, but I doubt that we would actually need her for missions. She would come because telling Rai no was getting harder to do now that Shu was gone. With my black magic and demon powers, we weren’t a half bad team.

Still how could I asked these people to hunt with me. Maybe being Bounty Hunters was the better choice. Humans were less dangerous than demons. It was demons that broke our family. It was demons that I had a bone to pick with. It was demons that Rai hated and wanted to hunt.

Amy was her daughter’s age when she started to hunt. Shu was much younger when Kaleb started to let him go on missions with us. Soji and Emiko could decide if they wanted to hunt or not. I guess Rai decision was up to Amy.

Would she let her daughter hunt when she just lost her husband? I wanted to promise that Rai would always be safe with me. That I would bring her home time and time again. After Shu, I found that I choked on those promises.

Sitting at the table I poked at the food on my plate. Moving it around but not eating. I didn’t have to pretend to eat anymore. Everyone at this table knew what I was. Maybe when we built up a new team, I would tell everyone what I was. That way none of them would turn on me the way Dante had.

“So demon,” Emiko started and I rolled my eyes at her. “What’s the next move?” My eyes shifted from my plate to the big breasted woman across the table from me. She sitting next to Soji. Over the weeks, Soji and I shared a few more kisses. He was someone important. Someone that I was supposed to stay close to.

Mother Fate said Ban and Kenji wanted to kill him. I was supposed to protect this boy. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do that. I couldn’t even protect Shu against the two of them. Soji was supposed to help me become stronger. It all sounded like a load of bullshit. It was all I had to go on. The Night of Demons. I didn’t know what that was. It was coming though, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“We need to hunt. We’ll need credits and this house put a dent in what we had.” Even after collecting on Maya we were still going to need more money. We had to pick a demon and hunt them. That would keep food on our table and a roof over our head.

“I’m going with you.” I already knew that Rai was going to say that. I knew that she wanted to hunt with us. Over the weeks, all she had been talking about was hunting down Ban and Kenji. Paying them back for killing her father. I didn’t want Rai to become like Shu. I loved Shu, but his obsession with Kenji was part of the reason he wasn’t with us now.

“Rai,” I sighed, what was I suppose to say to her.

“I’m a green mage. My mother taught me how to use my magic. My father taught me how to use guns. I’ve been training since birth to be a Demon Hunter. I will finish what my father started. I’ll kill The Blood Demon Kenji.” She glared over at me a small smile on her face. “Then I’ll kill the Great Demon Ban.”

My fist slammed down on the table. She didn’t jump. She just looked over at me. Amy looked between the two of us. What did she have to say about this? Did she really want Rai to go on missions? Did Rai really think she had the power to take on two demons?

“You can’t go after them.” I spoke softly. Didn’t she understand how dangerous it was. Her father just died. This wasn’t some game that we were playing. Not just Ban and Kenji. Anytime we went after any demon we put our lives on the line.

“Why? Scared I will do what you’re too weak to do.” I was weak. I knew that already. As weak as I was I was still a demon. I was still something that she should fear. Or maybe being around me all her life has desensitized her to the threat of demons. Maybe because I was her friend, her uncle, her brother she thought all demons were . . . toothless.

I leaped across the table. It only took me a half of second to shift into my demon form and crash into Rai. Her chair banged against the floor loudly as I had her pinned under me. My fangs were only an inch from her face. If I were any other demon, she would be dead.

“Look at me.” My fingers grabbed her chin when she tried to turn her head from me. My red eyes peered down into her green ones. “This is what a real demon looks like.” I could see her eyes swelling with tears. “Cry Rai. We like it.” I sniffed at the air as I bared my fangs. “I smell your fear.” It smelled like citrus. I opened the third eye and she gasped. I felt vines wrapped around my arms. They yanked me off of her.

Using my nails, I cut them away. I could hear the way Rai’s heart racing. She was glaring over at me, but she was scared. If this was how she was going to fight, then she was going to be useless on our team.

“Fear will get you killed. Act or die.” I went to her again and I could feel her blood boiling. Good, anger would make her move. The vines came at me again and I flipped out of the way. Backing up to the wall I touched the wall making three more versions of myself.

“Demons don’t fight fair.” The four of us surrounded her. She spun around in a circle trying to keep her eyes on the real me. I gave my body over to the shadow becoming a shadow version as well. Now it would be nearly impossible to tell us apart.

I was an S-classed demon. I used high-level black magic to do this. Lower class demons wouldn’t know this trick. Ban and Kenji would. They would know much more than I knew. They wouldn’t hold back and go easy on her either.

“Don’t waste your time on the shadows. Find the real me or you’re just wasting energy.” I told her. For a mage, it was all about keeping their energy level high. If you went crazy with your magic at the start of the fight, you would run out of energy and be demon food.

She closed her eyes trying to sense the real me. I sent one of my shadows to her and watched as he kicked her in the stomach. It brought her to her knees. “You better be faster. A demon isn’t going to wait for you to pick him out.” This was the big leagues she wanted to play in. She needed to know what came with that.

Turning around her vines grabbed my wrist pulling me through the shadow. I grabbed the vine cutting it away before it stabbed me in the shoulder. Coming towards her I started to attack. I didn’t use all of my strength as we went hand to hand. I knew that she could fight. Shu had trained her. Still I wanted her to remember to stay on her guard at all times.

I smiled as she was keeping her own. There was a lot of openings that I didn’t take but for a newbie she wasn’t half bad. She would need more practice, but we could do that while we were on the road. She would still need protection, but everyone needed protection when going against a demon. That was why you had a team. So that there was always someone out there watching your back.