‡ Promise 18: The Devil's Promise ‡

-As told by Lily-

eld in his embrace, Keith quickly unleashes his claw. Before I could react, he reaches behind me and deals Julia a final blow. I pull away quickly, turning to see Julia's slashed neck, a pool of blood forming around her head. "No!" I shriek, pounding Keith's chest with my fists, "No, you bastard!!! You killed her!!!" I didn't care if he was going to kill me next, my sobs heavy and out of control, as I tried my best to beat him down. But my strikes mean nothing to him.
He tries to hold onto me again, but I push away, turning my attention to my bleeding friend. I desperately wrap my hands around her neck, trying to stop the flow, shaking with sobs. "She's not dead, yet." says Keith, standing nearby, "But she will be, within seconds, from the loss of blood." "Then save her!" I sob, "Carry her back and we can call for help!" I looked towards him, through tears, and even though he was just a blur, I could see the worry on his face.
"No," growls the dark cloaked demon, "This is gone far enough! Young Rolmir, you've already denied us the death of the dark haired girl and now you are considering letting go the Michell as well!? Maybe your human-side is too much trouble! Maybe you're not demon enough to run our kingdom, after-all!" Keith quickly grabs the tall creature's neck, lifting it in the air with little effort, strangling it. "Oi..." frowns Fray, petting a very tired Rupert.
"Don't you ever," Keith spat his words, like knives, towards the dangling demon, "Ever, question my authority or abilities again, Dore! Don't forget your place! Because your place can be easily replaced! Do I make myself clear?" "Y-yes." gasps Dore. Keith lets go, dropping the demon to the ground like it was garbage, then turns to me. His anger is gone and replaced with regret. "I'm sorry, Lily." he says, in a small voice, "You weren't suppose to be a part of this night. What's done is done."
"No," I sniffle, shaking my head, "Just carry her back and we can call for-" "It's too late," he says, not able to look me in the eyes, "She's already gone." Julia had no pulse, as I sat on my knees, in her blood. I began to cry, painful, shattering sobs. I couldn't stop it, as I gasped for air in between sobs. "Why?" a tiny whimper escapes me, "Why?" "She was a Demon-Hunter, love." nods Fray, "She wouldn't have stopped until she had destroyed Master. And he couldn't very well stand there and die, could he?" "I don't care!" I hiss, "He's not my friend! She was my friend!"
I stood and faced Keith, my fists clenched to my sides, as angry tears now fell. "You are seriously one screwed up ass!" I shout, "You push me away and say you don't want to be my friend! Fine! I go away, leave you alone, and make a new friend and you kill her! What am I suppose to do now? What is wrong with you? Are you trying to get pay back, in some twisted way? She was right! You are the devil! What? Are you going to kill me now!? Bring it on!"
"Lily," he shrugs, "Just stop it, before you go too far. As Fray said, your friend was a Demon-Hunter. You assume this has something to do with you, but it doesn't, not one bit. This is a dance that's been, before your parents' parents were even born. Her breed of Demon-Hunters have been in battle with my family for centuries. And every other number of years, there's a challenge and a battle, and a Mitchell dies at the hand of a Rolmir. You are not a part of this cycle and neither the girl or I wanted you here. And I am truly sorry that you had to witness it.
"But the Mitchell girl knew what she was doing, foolhardy as it was, and I'm sure her people will view it as a 'honorable death' or whatnot." "You deserve to die." I sob, my fists still clench, "You're a monster!" "Well," he says, heading into the shadows, "It you want to challenge me next, that is your right. But I never hold back." He reaches into some brush and then tosses Julia's sword at my feet. "It's a nice sword." he nods, "So, at least you'll be well armed."
I took hold of the sword and I wanted to strike him. But my fear got the best of me, as I stared into his sad yet determine eyes. He didn't want to kill me, but I saw it in his eyes, that he was prepared to if I should strike. I let out a shallow sigh and dropped the sword, tears flowing again. "Wise choice." says Fray, a hint of relief in her voice. "This is all entertaining, my Lord." says the demon named Dore, "But may we have our prizes now?" "Ooh, yes." smiles Fray, "Ears and hair!"
"No!" I shriek, horrified, "Don't touch her!" "Hmm?" asks Fray, her eyes wild with confusion. "Let her go back to her family in one piece." I plead, "Please. Don't you think you've done enough?" Keith pauses, looking towards the ground. "Aww," frowns Fray, disappointed, "She has such pretty hair. I was looking forward to adding it to the skulls of my babies." Dore growls in deep tones. "It's the least I can offer," sighs Keith, "A compromise. I know you two had your hearts set on the remains. But how about you let them go, just this once?"
"Alright." says Fray, solemnly. Dore says nothing, but his rage seems to come off in waves, towards Keith and I. "It's settled then," shrugs Keith, "I will return her body, whole. That is a promise to you, Lily. Now, go home." I take one last look at Julia's pale and limp body, then head back through the woods, sobbing. As I reach the fence, I puke twice and then climb over. At home, I stuff my clothes in a garbage bag, stained with blood, and then hide it among the curbside bags ready for pick-up in the morning. I scrub the blood from my hands, until they are raw.
I am unable to sleep that night. At the most, I get two hours, but wake up screaming from the replays of Julia's death. I gain a fever and I keep puking from time to time. By morning my mother finds me, a weeping and nervous little girl, unable to go to school. "What happened?" she asks, worried, "What happened to my chubby-bear?" I can't tell her anything, not even if I wanted to, my voice just won't work today. And it wouldn't work for three days, as I stayed in my room, tortured.
On the forth day, I could talk in low rasps, asking my mother for more juice. "Okay," she says, grabbing my arm, "Come with me, then. You should leave the room a bit." I follow, but my legs feel heavy and broken. I didn't want to use them, I just wanted to curl up and die. It was my fault that Julia died. I didn't try hard enough to stop her. I should have made her understand. I should have talked with her more. I let five days slip by, when really she was still planning to attack the demon. I shouldn't have assumed that one talk was going to be enough.
I slumped on the stairs, just four steps from the landing, as my father peered out of the front door. "What's going on, sweetie?" my mother asks him. "There are movers." he nods, "They're taking the furniture out of that girl's house, you know, the new neighbor's?" "Oh," frowns mom, worried, "I hope her aunt didn't pass away. Julia was just house-sitting, while her aunt was in the hospital. Poor thing." My father turns towards me, "Sweetheart, are you okay? You're shaking like crazy."
He goes into doctor-mode, checking me over. "Yeah," he says, "Fever. Probably chills too. You must have caught that flu, that's going around. I'll get you script, when I go in to work." But I know he's wrong, it's not the flu, it's guilt and horror. With them moving away the furniture, it makes it more real, Julia is really dead. And it's all my fault! I break out into tears. "Oh, honey." says my dad, worried. "I'll get her juice." nods my mother, rushing towards the kitchen.
"Dad," I sob, my hands curling around his sleeves, "Something bad happened to Julia." "What?" he says, confused, "Oh. Well, we don't know that. Maybe her aunt got better and she went back to the city. And maybe the aunt is staying with relatives now. I know she didn't say goodbye, but maybe she forgot to." I know he was trying to make me feel better, but he was so clueless as to what I was trying to tell him. My mother screams, dropping the cup of juice, and rushes into her workroom.
Both my dad and I run in after her. "What's wrong?" asks my dad, then lets out a gasp. Sitting in huge headlines, across my mother's computer screen, "Third Victim of The Manhattan Slasher". Julia's body has been found naked in a alley in Manhattan, her throat slashed, thought to be the third victim of previous murders that matched the motive. Her bright smiling picture is posted next to the headline, which had caught my mother's attention. There's no mention of her staying in Promise Falls. Or anything about missing parts, Keith did keep his promise, at least.
My father turned pale and my mother kept muttering, "Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god." I puked right there, in the middle of the floor.