The Beautiful Monster

The group went to a hotel in the city to get off the streets at night. If someone was daring enough to light the house on fire while they were sleeping, there was no telling what else they were willing to do.

The group needed to get somewhere safe to talk about their next step. Someone had waged war on them.

"What was what?" Elias asked once the door to the hotel room swung shut. Adrenaline still thundered through him at a rapid pace, and he couldn't get his heart rate to slow down if he tried. They all could've been killed tonight!

Melina glanced at her father.

"Remember that demon I mentioned?" she asked him with a grave look on her face.

Daniel sighed as he sat down on the small couch in front of the two beds.

"How could I forget?" he asked.

Elias walked over to them, looking between them with a confused look.

"What demon?" he asked. He had never encountered a demon before. He had only been around witches and vampires, and they were dangerous enough. He couldn't imagine facing off with a demon. They were incredibly powerful.

Melina turned to Elias.

"When I was attacked, I knew that whoever attacked me wasn't a witch or a vampire. He had some of the darkest energy that I've ever sensed before. I felt that again tonight," she explained to him.

"I saw someone across the street from the house tonight. Do you think that was him? He was the one who lit the house on fire?" Elias asked her.

He hoped that wasn't the case. He hoped that something less terrible had happened, but the house had been burned down. How could things actually get any better?

"Most likely," Daniel answered, placing his hand on Nora's knee as she sat down beside him. He looked up at Elias. "There's a demon that's been garnering more and more power for a while now. I fear that he's found out about you two."

Elias brushed his hand through his hair, shaking his head. This was the worst thing that he could hear right now. He didn't want to fight against a demon! He didn't even know if he was strong enough.

"He wants to kill us or something?" Elias asked, trying to gauge just how bad this situation was. The fact that there was a demon involved already made the situation horribly bad.

They were dealing with something incredibly dark and merciless, which he wasn't used to. He didn't even know how to fight a demon effectively.

"He wants to be the most powerful being on the planet. Together, you and I can be stronger than him. We're a threat," Melina replied with a frown.

Elias sank down on one of the beds, feeling overwhelmed all over again. Just when he got his footing, something else knocked his feet out right from under him. He didn't know how to take this news. Some powerful demon wanted his head.

"Can't you guys fight him? Or at least scare him off?" Alyssa asked, looking worried.

Melina shrugged, looking lost.

"Maybe, but we would have to team up and grow stronger together," she replied.

"Like prepare for battle?" Elias asked as he lifted his head to gaze at Melina. It sounded like they had to gear up for a fight that he didn't think he would ever be prepared for.

He could fight vampires and maybe even witches, but demons were some of the darkest creatures on the planet.

"It's time for you two to be a unit. You have to fight this demon before he can wreak havoc on the world," Nora spoke up.

Elias scoffed as he stood up, pacing around the room.

"Do you hear yourselves? How are we supposed to suddenly team up and fight a demon?" he asked them.

They were asking a lot of them, and they weren't even a hundred percent sure if he and Melina would even be strong enough together to battle the demon. "Do we even have a name or know anything about him?"

"I believe his name is Alaric," Melina replied. "He's been around for years, but he just started gaining power and supporters."

"Supporters? So, he would be backed up," Elias asked. Things just kept getting worse and worse.

Melina nodded.

"We can't just give up, Elias. He's going to come after us regardless," she said as she stepped toward him.

Elias turned away from her. He already knew that, but he didn't want to accept that. He was basically signing a death sentence by agreeing to fight Alaric. Maybe he was already as good as dead if Alaric was determined to kill them both.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted. He couldn't run forever. He didn't feel strong enough to fight. He felt trapped by a demon that he hadn't even met yet. He felt like some sort of cruel joke was being played on him. He didn't want to play this game any longer.

Melina placed her hand on his shoulder, feeling him flinch in response.

"Just help me. We're stronger than we think," she assured him.

Elias looked over at Alyssa, needing her input. She was always his guiding light, and he really needed help right now. He had never felt so lost before in his life, but he knew that he could always find his way back through her.

"You can't fight him alone," Alyssa pointed out.

Elias sighed and nodded, knowing that he would have a better chance at survival if he teamed up with Melina. He still didn't know how that would work, but they would have to figure it out. And soon.

He doubted that Alaric was going to give them much of a recovery period before attacking them again.

"Fine. I'll help you," he said. He didn't really have much of a choice at this point. He also knew that Alyssa would be safer if they were all a team.

He didn't want to risk Alaric going after Alyssa because she was connected to him.. If Alaric was twisted enough to set his childhood home on fire, he was twisted enough to go after the love of his life.