Raven Nightshade's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

The hummingbird that carried the homeless man dropped him at the castle door. Now the man sat caged in Raven's crowded laboratory. His name was Marcus Donnelly. He wore a torn jacket and red sneakers, and he gripped the bars with both hands. Raven Nightshade stood at her workbench, holding the first syringe. The green fluid inside it would begin everything. It would turn this frightened man into her first demon. But Marcus thrashed and kicked. She could not inject him without spilling the dose or losing him. "Hold still," Raven said. "This won't hurt long." Marcus screamed and rattled the restraints. One leather strap tore loose. His arm swung free and knocked a beaker off the cart. Glass shattered across the stone floor. Raven stepped back, the syringe raised high. If he broke the other strap, he would run, and she would lose months of work. A cold voice spoke behind her. "You're doing it wrong, girl." Raven turned. Corporal Silas Graves stood in the doorway. He was her assistant, bound to this castle long before she arrived. Little flesh clung to his skull, and red light burned in both eye sockets. An old blue army coat hung on his bones. The demon inside the dead soldier had helped her build this lab. She hated needing him. She needed him anyway. "He won't hold," Raven said. "I can't get the needle in." Silas crossed the room. His bare bones clicked on the floor. He leaned close to the cage and stared at Marcus. The red glow in his eyes brightened. Marcus went quiet. His arms dropped. His eyes glazed over, and his head sagged against the bars. "Fear feeds me," Silas said. "I drank his. He'll sleep now. Inject him fast." Raven did not wait. She reached through the bars and pressed the needle into Marcus's shoulder. She pushed the plunger. Green fluid vanished into his arm. She pulled the syringe back and stepped away, breathing hard. For a moment nothing happened. Then Marcus shuddered. His skin darkened to a deep purple. Thin horns pushed through his gray hair. On his belly, under the torn hoodie, a glowing symbol burned bright, a red circle crossed by two lines. His eyes snapped open. They were not human eyes anymore. Raven smiled. The virus worked. Her first demon lived. Then the demon tore the cage door off its hinges. It flew across the lab and crashed into the wall. Marcus rose, taller now, his new muscles straining his clothes. He looked at Raven. He looked at Silas. He did not look grateful. "It worked," Silas said. "But you gave it power and no leash." Raven backed toward her workbench. The thing that had been Marcus took one slow step toward her. The symbol on his belly pulsed brighter. She had made her demon. Now she had to survive it.