Seeker: Demon Killers [Fantasy/Action | Complete]

"Ross!"

Tora strained against the invisible walls crushing her body. Ross yelled, scrabbling onto the wall and dangling over the edge by her fingertips. With only a few storeys between her and the ground, there was more than likely chances she'd sustain heavy injuries, if not die. Cyrus laughed, a clear, crystalline sound, his eyes crinkled at the edges. He appeared to revel in her despair.

"You monster!" she yelled. Blood pounded in her ears. A headache smashed repeatedly against her skull. Rage coursed like wild fire up and down her back and in her blood. She screamed and thrashed against the force field, to no avail.

"Save your energy, Lilitha. She's just a little fly in the way."

"She's my friend!"

Cyrus snorted.

"Friends are for humans because they're too weak to fight for themselves."

Tora could feel the time ticking away. Ross would fall at any minute.

She closed her eyes and reached into the golden liquid. Instead of dipping it in and using a tiny amount, she immersed her whole mind into it. The gold surged through her mind, filling all the crevices and exploding with energy. Power coursed through her cells, filling everything with life. Tora opened her eyes.

The world seemed crisper, more colourful. The sun overhead was dazzling; its rays reflected off the metal of the scattered bins and she could see every scratch on the surface and every bump on the stone ground. Surprise flitted across Cyrus's face. Tora saw his eyes and sensed his demon inside him. She didn't see the golden-haired boy and his angelic features. She saw the deadly red eyes, the rough leather-like dark skin, and the long claws. She saw the strong muscle-bound hind legs, shaped like a horse's, and the pointed tail. She saw the demon.

Tora snarled. With one blast of energy, she ripped Cyrus's forcefield apart. He grunted, doubling over. Tora landed on the ground, panting, exhilarated. She licked her fangs, bloodlust bubbling in her mind. A flurry of thoughts coursed through her head: meaningless images, the joy of hunting, the fearlessness, the gore. She could do with a good meal, sinking her teeth into hot flesh, tasting the sharp tang of blood, tearing through the sinews...

Ross's face flashed across her mind. Tora stopped. Cyrus straightened up, a grin on his face replacing the pain. His appearance still alternated between demon and human.

"You know who I am, now?" he said in a soft voice, his eyes a blend of scarlet and yellow.

"Ci...Cimerus?" Tora whispered. Yes, that was his name, but why was it so familiar? This face and his other face, this name – they were as at home as headquarters – no, even more at home, if that were even possible. The boy's face became human again, but his features were less savage. His eyes glowed.

He lifted his left hand and ran a finger down the air. Following his fingertip, a silver line appeared, trailing downwards and then spreading. The rip undulated like the waves of the ocean, its edges causing a distortion in the area surrounding it. Beyond the veil lay a black world, darker than any abandoned caves Tora had ever been in.

Cimerus put one foot in it and eased his body in. At the last moment, he turned to her with a gentle smile and beckoned.

Tora took one step towards him. That one gesture promised home and safety. It reminded her of the horror of the world, of the destructiveness of the humans and the sentences that await them when the day came of their discovery. It assured her of acceptance, of a world without rules and limits, of a world where she could be who she truly was.

But what was that?

She hesitated. She was no human, but she was no demon. She was a Seeker.

Cimerus saw her stop. He raised an eyebrow. Sinking further into his portal, the break started to heal. Soon, there would be nothing. This was Tora's last chance to delve into the unknown and discover her true self. The amnesia making her such a liability would be gone.