Disclaimer: Warning! This story contains some fetishes that may make some uncomfortable: BDSM, Bondage, and Bloodplay for example. Also this story contains gothic themes such as Vampires, Demons, etc. If this is not for you then hit the back button on your browser now. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy!
-Dannygirl
*
23 YEARS AGO...
David hit the cold stone floor with a sickening thud. The towering walls of this ancient, abandoned castle's courtyard seemed to spin wildly around him as he fought to keep his consciousness. His eyes rested on the sword lying only a few feet from his body, and he reached for it weakly, desperately. Blood dripped down the worried creases of his forehead and over his nose.
The demon stalked slowly towards him, chuckling. This monster, adorned in the skin of the man he had possessed, had killed so many of his fellow hunters, his comrades, his friends... It did so without effort, without remorse, for it possessed psychic abilities that were beyond imagining. There was, truely, no way to stop it.
David's fingers brushed futilely against the hilt of his sword as he struggled to grab onto it. He wasn't about to just lay back and let this thing kill him: He would go down fighting to the very end. Every muscle in his body seemed to be on fire, his every nerve screamed in agony, as much as tried, his body would not let him reach the sword.
"Is this really the best you mortals have to face me?" it gloated. "And you call yourselves hunters? Pathetic."
Just then, with a dreadful tearing noise, a single arrow pierced the heart of the demon: The monster cried out in utter agony, but he did not even fall. The arrow had pierced it from behind, and so it turned around to face the new defender.
"Margaret, no!" David groaned, fighting to lift himself from the floor, but finding himself still too paralyzed with pain and fear. He could not bear the thought of what this demon would do to her, to the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.
She stood in the archway leading into the courtyard. A cold breeze blew through her dark hair as she dropped her crossbow to her side and drew her sword instead. Her deep blue eyes fixated on the demon who was going to kill the man she loved. She could not bear the thought of what she had to do, but anything was better than leaving her beloved David to the horrors of this monster.
"You will not hurt him," she cried out defiantly, despite her body trembling with fear.
"Interesting," the demon grinned, drawing a blade of his own, "now this might be fun."
Margaret swallowed back the dryness in her throat. She could barely lift her own sword her arms quivered so, but one glance at her beloved David lying upon the floor, gasping for air, and her resolve was renewed. She charged forward lifting her sword above her head, and then bringing it down quickly over the demon.
The demon blocked her blow with ease and deftly stepped to the side striking at her with the pommel of his blade. He moved too fast for her to react and he struck her in the back so hard the air was knocked from her lungs.
Her vision flashed with bright white light as she stumbled to the floor, just over her soulmate. Every cell in her body pleaded to give in to the urge to pass out. But she struggled and heaved for air and quickly her vision came back to her.
She could feel the demon slowly coming up behind her and with great effort she pounced to her feet and spun around, twirling the blade around in the air fiercely. The demon had not expected her to recover so quickly and the blow caught him square in the chest.
He wailed as he stumbled back, barely remaining on his feet. One hand shot to his chest and fumbled around in shock, apparently he could not fathom Margaret landing any hits at all. Margaret chewed on her lip nervously as she watched the demon. That strike would've killed any ordinary man, but she knew the demon was far from ordinary. Still, she couldn't help but pray the demon would just lay back and die. It would save her so much trouble...
The thing, as if still in shock, began to laugh wildly, maniacally. His eyes grew large, and Margaret trembled as she looked into them, she could see a sort of blood-lust in them she had not seen in even the hungriest of vampires.
"Impressive," he smiled so wide the corners of his mouth stretched beyond what was normal for a human being. "Now that is more like it."
Margaret gritted her teeth as she raised her sword again, ready to continue the fight. Despite her abject horror, she felt a sort of confidence growing. Perhaps she could do this after all. As if to answer that thought the demon simply disappeared.
The shock was apparent in her face: One moment it was standing not more than 10 feet in front of her, in the middle of the courtyard, the next it was gone. She glanced around rapidly, her eyes searching the courtyard frantically. Then she felt it: Hot breath on her neck, and she realized... It was standing right behind her.
She spun around quickly, swinging the sword as she did before, but this time it caught her blade mid-swing. She gasped as she struggled with both hands to pull the blade from its grasp, but it would not budge. It punched her squarely in the chest and again her vision was hit with a flash of white light. This time even her ears began to ring loudly. She did not realize it right away, but she had fallen to the floor: When her vision returned she gazed upon her beloved David, this time reaching not for his sword but for her hand.
A tear streamed down her cheek as she reached back for him.
The demon laughed over them, his laugh echoing menacingly throughout the courtyard. He cast Margaret's sword aside, then took his own and placed the blade to David's throat. "No, please, don't..." It was all she could do to beg.
"I will tell you what," the demon sneered, "I will not only leave him alive, but I will leave the mortal world in peace, if you, and you alone, agree to my terms, my dear."
Margaret winced. Probably the most important thing she had learned in her long life, growing up an orphan in the church, learning to be a hunter, was simply: Never cut a deal with a demon.