Page 28 of Soaring into the Midlife

A moment of silence followed as we took in our surroundings, our confusion clear on our faces. It was then that I noticed the dead demon at our feet. It had jagged horns, leathery wings, and clawed hands. Its skin was a deep obsidian black, making it appear even more sinister than it already was.

It had an enormous shard of glass sticking out of its chest. Oops.

"Ugh, what is that thing?" Kendra asked, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "And why is it here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said. "But at least it's dead."

We stood there for a while, trying to process everything that had just happened. Our minds raced, attempting to piece together the puzzle of our bizarre adventure. But there was no time for that now, we had to figure out what to do next.

The silence in the room was broken by a sudden knock on the door. We froze and locked gazes for a brief few moments. My vampire senses were usually on point when it came to identifying who was behind the door, but this time, I was drawing a complete blank. Human or vampire? Friend or foe? With no clue who was on the other side, my hesitation only grew stronger.

"Should we answer that?" Zara said.

"Can't you tell who's there, Hailey?" Kendra asked as she stared at the door.

"Sorry, nothing," I frowned. "My senses aren't picking up anything."

Zara's grip on Kendra's arm tightened, and I noticed the tiny pieces of glass embedded in their skin. Kendra yelped in pain, jerking her arm away. "Ouch, Watch it, Zara!"

"Sorry," Zara winced, clearly mortified. "I didn't realize the glass was still there."

"It’s okay, we’re all on edge." Kendra rubbed her arm.

The knocking persisted, more insistent this time. We exchanged worried looks, and despite my uncertainty, we couldn't justignore whoever was out there. With an unspoken agreement, I took the first step toward the door, my friends close behind me.

"Here goes nothing," I said. As I reached for the doorknob, I thought about how much our lives had changed since delving into this supernatural world. Unease never quite left me, even when confronted with something as ordinary as an unexpected visitor.

"Wait." Kendra put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"

"Got any better ideas?" I asked, trying to sound braver than I felt. She shook her head, and I turned the doorknob, ready to face whatever, or whoever was waiting for us on the other side.

I slowly turned the doorknob, trying to ignore the trembling of my hands. The door creaked open, revealing a tall figure leaning casually against the doorframe.

"Luci?" I was surprised to see the devil himself, aka Lucifer, standing before us. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too," Luci said with a smirk. “I had the sudden urge to find you and make sure you’re okay.” But his expression changed from casual indifference to shock as he caught sight of the dead demon sprawled on the floor behind us. "Holy Shi—What happened here?"

"Long story." Suddenly I was self-conscious about our gelatin and paint-covered appearances.

Luci raised a brow, clearly intrigued by the scene before him. "This looks like a party I wouldn't want to miss."

"Trust me, it wasn't that fun," Zara said.

"Really?" Luci's flicked gaze back to the demon, his curiosity piqued. "I’ve been looking for this delinquent. He creates false realities and feeds off the fear of the people stuck in them.”

Without waiting for an explanation or acknowledgment from me and my friends, Luci leaned over and touched the demon's lifeless form, as if it were just another item on his to-do list. In an instant, both he and the demon shimmered with an eerie light before disappearing completely from sight.

"Hey, that’s our skip," Zara yelled, clearly frustrated at the sudden turn of events.

The room got colder now, emptier still as if Luci had taken all warmth with him when he'd departed. We stood there, covered in gelatin, chocolate, paint, glass, and who knew what else, grappling with what had just happened, questions racing through our minds.

"So, um, who was that?" Zara asked. She looked from me to Kendra with confusion and lingering fear.

"Luci?" I tried to sound more nonchalant than I felt. "He's... well, he's... complicated."

Kendra and I exchanged glances, sharing a laugh at the understatement. Explaining Luci's involvement would require a longer story than we had time for in that gutted apartment.

"Complicated? That guy just poofed away with our demon skip like it was no big deal." Zara threw her hands up in disbelief. "And here I thought this supernatural stuff couldn't get any weirder."