Demon Mom - Ch.0 - Sacrificed (Patreon)

*** Content warning: death, imprisonment ***

=::= Lily's PoV - Last June =::=

I tried to reason with them. I tried to bargain. I even tried to plead. It was all for naught, my words fell upon deaf ears. With my last breath I cursed the lot of them for eternity and swore I'd one day have my revenge, whatever the cost and however long it took.

They ignored that too, and a moment later they completed the ritual.

It was a fate worse than death, but it was no less painful. I felt my essence, my very being torn away from my body. My corporeal shell was stripped from me and destroyed, and for a moment there was nothing but the sensation of cold metal as the scarlet colour of the ruby suffused my being.

Then there was nothing at all. No sensation. No perception. 

It could have been a heartbeat, it could have been eternity. All I knew was the pain of my betrayal and the fear of oblivion.

Then I was back. 

My senses were assaulted by unfamiliar sounds, sights, and smells. There were oddly-dressed humans, strange metal carriages, and the ground was sealed beneath wide strips of unnaturally smooth black stone. None saw me, I was incorporeal and without form.

At first my mind reeled. I knew I was in a foreign land, I knew someone or something had granted me a temporary reprieve from my imprisonment, but I knew not what. Clearly it wasn't deliberate, there was no sign of ritual, no seal or circle marked out upon the hard black ground, and no-one was looking at me or attempting to control or communicate with me.

I was still in shock from my betrayal and imprisonment, which to me seemed only moments ago. Yet I knew from my surroundings it must have been several years at least. My prison had clearly travelled much further afield than I ever had.

The first order of business was learning where I was and what I was doing here. And I needed to understand what limits I was up against in this ethereal state I found myself. I needed to know what remained of my powers and abilities.

My eyes swept over the collection of humans and I was grateful to discover I could still read them. One by one I absorbed all the information I could. I learned their language, I learned what this land was called, and where I was in relation to home. And I learned how long I had been gone. 

Each new revelation hit me like a blow. No wonder this land was unfamiliar. It had been unknown to the people of Europe at the time of my betrayal, which was over a thousand years ago. In that time my prison travelled across the ocean to a strange new world.

I noticed the scene around me had grown more crowded. I pulled more information from the minds of the nearby humans and quickly pieced together the circumstances that had temporarily woken me.

It was an accident in the carriageway. A young human had strayed into the path of one of those metal wagons and was killed. My prison remained clutched in the dead human's hand, their innocent blood dripped from the amulet which bound me. 

The human's untimely death and their blood upon my prison became an unintentional sacrifice in my name.

As I watched, humans in uniforms started moving the others back. My newfound knowledge identified them as police officers. Then emergency medical personnel arrived, but there was nothing they could do for the unfortunate soul who's death granted me this respite.

By my estimate, I had no more than an hour before my consciousness faded and I was returned to the oblivion of my prison. And in this state I was nearly powerless. I could perhaps reveal myself to a single person. If I could anchor myself to a human soul, that would grant me more time and more power. But who to choose, and how to convince them?

My eyes swept the scene once more, and that's when I saw her. Her presence hit me like a bolt of lightning. She was standing in the street behind the vehicle that killed her. 

It was unbelievable. Impossible. I wanted to deny what my senses were telling me, but they'd never led me astray before.

Her sacrifice, her death is what roused me, but her spirit had not yet moved on. Her ghostly appearance was wrong, she still bore the masculine traits of the body which was presently being extracted from beneath the vehicle that ended her. But I could see through that. I could see her soul, and it called to me. Her soul reminded me of none other than Mara, taken from me so many years ago.

For a few moments I faltered.

How was it possible? Was it coincidence, or something more? I didn't believe in fate, nor did I believe in any of the gods. I wondered if it might be a trick, another betrayal. Perhaps someone set this up for the purpose of toying with me. 

I was less concerned about the fact that an obviously feminine soul had been housed in a masculine shell. I'd encountered that sort of thing before, it wasn't uncommon. But encountering a human soul that reminded me so strongly of a demon? Not just any demon, but my progeny? I could scarcely believe it.

The scene around me continued to change, her body was loaded into the ambulance. My amulet was still in the dead girl's hand, but her soul held a psychic copy of my prison. And I realized through her, I could buy myself more time and power.

For now I forced myself to ignore her resemblance to my offspring. Mere minutes ago I swore vengeance on those who imprisoned me and this girl was my chance to make good on that oath.

I focused and used what little power I had to form myself into an apparition in the shape of my human guise. Neither of us were in a position to form a pact, but I knew a verbal agreement would buy me a day. If I could convince her to make a physical gesture of our arrangement, that would earn me a week. A week should be enough to track down those who betrayed me, enough to make good on my promise of vengeance.

Finally, before revealing myself to her, I read her mind as I'd done the others. I needed to know what she wanted, so I could tailor my offer to suit her best. And once again I was reminded of my progeny. This girl before me was kind and compassionate, yet also carefree and reckless. She worried for her mother as much or more than she did herself. And to my amusement, I discovered she didn't even know she was a girl. Though she did wish to be a girl. I could work with that.

If we could form an agreement, that bond would give me the strength to manifest a new living body for her. I'd give her something that suited her best. I didn't want to examine too closely the question of how or why she so strongly reminded me of my offspring, but at least it gave me a good idea what sort of shape her new body would take. The human guise Mara once favoured would suit this human soul perfectly.

With a plan now in mind, it was time to reveal myself to her and make my offer. I steeled myself, then focused on her. She was talking to herself and to my amulet, which I found amusing. It was also another opportunity, and I awaited the perfect moment to segue into her conversation.

She wore a silly smile as she said to herself, "This is the part where I get reincarnated as a cute girl, right? Any minute now I'm going to wake up and discover I'm a girl living in some kind of fantasy world with swords and sorcery and stuff."

I forced myself not to smile. She was half right, but I didn't want to spoil that surprise. Instead I set my expression and told her, "Not exactly."

• • • • •

"All right Mara," I said in a soft, gentle voice. "Good night."

I watched quietly as she gradually drifted to sleep after our long conversation.

Mara.

I promised myself I wouldn't grow attached to her, then the first thing I did after manifesting her new body was turn around and name her after my progeny. I couldn't help myself, I practically blurted it out.

She protested exactly once, then took to it like a duck to water. That was only six days ago and I wasn't sure she even remembered it was my idea. She was Mara. She looked like Mara. She acted like Mara. The name fit her as perfectly as the body. 

I had no idea if my kind had souls, and even if we did I wasn't sure I believed demonic souls could reincarnate as humans. I wasn't even sure reincarnation actually happened with human souls. But I couldn't deny the resemblance.

And despite myself, I'd grown very fond of this human girl who reminded me so much of the demon that was taken from me years ago.

My plans for revenge were all but forgotten by the third day. All those who betrayed and imprisoned me died a thousand years ago, even their families were all but gone. My magic could only locate three descendants, none of whom were in any position to pose a threat. None held any of the power or wealth their families did a millennia ago.

Instead I found myself caring for Mara. Six days ago I thought I'd be content with a week of relative freedom. I thought I'd win my revenge then return quietly to my oblivion and let the human soul who'd aided me pass on to whatever lay beyond. 

Now I knew I couldn't let that happen. I told myself it was because I wanted to be truly free. I told myself I wanted to live again as I once did. That's what I told her too, and it was at least partially true. 

I really did want my freedom, and I knew that would be the best revenge of all upon those who'd imprisoned me. If I could once again walk the Earth while all of them were long since dust, their failure would be complete while I would be victorious.

What I couldn't admit to either her or myself was how scared I was of losing her a second time. Not that I believed it was truly her. But she was so close, I frequently had to remind myself this was a human girl and not the demon I once knew.

For a time I remained quiet and I watched over her as she slept, but eventually I pulled myself away from her so I could contemplate my next course of action.

Over the past six days I'd continued learning about this modern world while helping Mara where I could. The passing of her original shell had taken a toll on herself and her mother, but today the body had been laid to rest. Like Mara, I hoped that would be the end of it. I hoped both she and her mother would be able to put that unpleasantness behind them and move on. 

I'd also spent these six days acclimatizing and adapting to this new limited existence of mine. 

It took me two days but I was gradually able to create a space for myself inside her mind. It went through several revisions and iterations, but I settled on a large spacious apartment. I took the basic design from a movie Mara once saw. The furnishings and decor came from other movies and television shows. 

As far as prisons go I'd been able to make mine fairly comfortable. I had a large leather sofa where I could stretch out and relax or rest, and an even larger leather chair where I could sit and observe the world through Mara's eyes. I could manifest the appearance of my true form in here which was much more comfortable than maintaining a human guise.

I had room to move, I could pace, I could even stretch my wings. The only thing I couldn't do in here was fly, but I could live without that pleasure. 

There was only one thing left for me to do tonight. I'd already told Mara who and what I really was, I told her we could form a pact to make our arrangement permanent. She was understandably uneasy with my demonic nature, though I thought I did a pretty good job convincing her.

However I needed to be certain. I needed to be sure she wouldn't turn me down out of some misguided religious belief or some misplaced fear of me. 

Once again I couldn't admit it to myself much less her, but I couldn't bear to see her perish again. I told myself this was for my own benefit, that it was merely coincidental that my continued freedom would also keep her alive. The truth was I would keep her safe at any cost. Even if it meant manipulating her into making the right choices.

I couldn't lie about the pact, I couldn't coerce her or directly influence her judgement or decision. But there was one thing I could do. I could indirectly manipulate her emotions. I was confident if she woke in a buoyant jubilant mood she would be much more willing to sign my pact.

I killed the selfish bastard who ended her life, but rather than feast on him immediately I brought his soul in here with me and saved him for when I was ready. Now the time had come for me to consume him. If my suspicions were correct, the energy I gained from his sacrifice would be enough to boost Mara's mood for most of the day tomorrow. 

That should guarantee she signed the pact and saved her life, and in turn would ensure I remained present to go on protecting her.

I rose up from the leather sofa and moved to the spiral staircase at the back of the room. At the top of the stairs I passed through the doorway and into my larder. 

It was time for my first meal.