• Introducing,
    Kit

    Part 1: A knock on the door

    The little girl sat in front of the fire place, drawing happily whilst waiting for her father to return. It was a scene that could be typical of any house-hold, if it weren’t for a few small things. For one, the child’s drawings were far more skilled than was believable for one her age, showing detail and balance that would usually be found only in the work of someone much older, but it was the cat ears on her head and the leathery wings folded beneath her ebony hair that really shattered the façade of normality.
    They pegged her as a demon, a higher-class demon, if you into account her otherwise human appearance. Her name was Kit and she lived with her brother and father in a small country town called Fuldrith, where their father was the town’s protector. A position that allowed Kit and her brother to be tolerated by the towns people, even though they were never truly accepted and one that Kit viewed as weak for a someone like her father, who was a great demon lord, one of the most powerful in the area and worthy of more respect than this meagre position offered. She had always felt slightly spiteful toward him for that and for choosing to live amongst humans were she would always be an outcast
    If she listened carefully, she could hear the towns children laughing happily outside in the park, and she couldn‘t help but feel a little bit jealous, but she knew better than to try to fit in, it was better for her to stay inside by herself and ignore them. Her older brother had gone out for once and she was looking forward to spending time alone with her father. Maybe he’ll actually talk to me tonight, she thought as she paused at her drawing, Now that brother‘s away.
    Kit’s mother had died giving birth to her, which had started a deep hatred between Kit and her brother, who blamed her for taking away his mother. The hatred had only grown stronger over the years and by the time their father realised what was happening, it was too late to do anything about it, as a result Kit‘s father had closed off to his children, preferring to ignore the problem than to face it.
    Tonight her father was fighting a lesser demon that had been causing trouble in the town for the past few days and when he got back she was determined to get him to talk to her, to give her some kind of attention, she couldn’t stand being ignored any longer.
    Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the door. ‘I’m coming’ she called as she got to her feet, her drawing falling to the ground, forgotten. She sniffed at the air on her way to the door, Gun powder, fear and the undeniable smell of a human. She thought, cataloguing the scents in her head. It’s nobody I recognise, I wonder who it could be. She opened the door cautiously, revealing a grim looking police officer. ‘What do you want?’ she asked coldly. Her worry hidden completely behind a mask of indifference.
    ‘It’s about your dad,’ he replied fear entering his voice at the sight of the demon child so different from himself.
    ‘What about him?’ She asked. Only just managing to keep the distain she felt toward this pitiful human out of her voice.
    ‘I regret to inform you that your father has died, the demon that he was fighting killed him.’ He looked at her with a mixture of fear and pity, fear that she might blame him for what had happened and pity toward the poor girl who was now alone but for the brother she hated.
    What! Father can’t be dead. ‘I think there must be some mistake,’ She said, keeping a tight reign on her emotions. ‘Father could not have been killed by some mere country demon.’
    ‘I swear I’m not lying to you, your father really is dead, I saw it myself.’ He was looking down as he babbled, trying to hide his nervousness with words. After a few seconds of silence he looked up. His eyes meeting the cold stare of the little.
    ‘Are you sure my father is dead?’ She asked, the commanding tone completely at odds with her childish appearance.
    ‘Yes, mistress’ He replied blankly, his eyes glazed over.
    ‘You may go.’ She said dismissively and closed the door in his face mulling over what he had said and deciding on her next course of action.
    She climbed the stairs in a daze. How could her father be dead? It was impossible, completely impossible. And yet there was no doubt that the police officer had been telling the truth. She walked into her room and looked at her meagre belongings, what should I take with me? She wondered and gazed around with cold evaluation. Her mind was already made up, there was no way she could stay here, with her brother, no way in hell, she’d die first. The only option left was to leave and fast.
    Kit reached under her bed and pulled out a old school bag, stuffing it with her cloths and a few personal belongings, making sure she took only what she needed. She took one last look around the room and after a moments hesitation grabbed the photo of her, her brother and her father, and placed it on top of the rest of her stuff. Pulling on her coat and bag, she left the room and walked back down the stairs, determination filling her steps.
    When she reached the front hall she grabbed her sword and sheath from where they were resting against the wall, and the hat she used to cover her ears when she went out, she belted the sheath to her waist and shoved the hat roughly down over hair, her wings already hidden beneath her coat. She looked back one last time, her cold glance softening slightly as she remembered the happy times she had shared in this house, but she couldn’t stay, as soon as her brother found out about their fathers death he would try to stop her, try to control her, and that was completely unacceptable.
    She walked outside and closed the door firmly behind her, officially cutting off her old life and beginning her new one. She sighed and for once she felt glad for her demon blood and the many hours of practice that had allowed her to control her emotions so easily, to block them out and ignore them. Without it she would be crying like a pathetic human, completely unable to look after her self, and vulnerable to the rest of the world, vulnerable to her brother. She grimaced at the very notion of that fool controlling her. And with that thought echoing through her mind she turned her back on the house and walked down the street that led out of town, completely confident in her ability to look after her self and numb to her fathers death, a picture of cold indifference.
    Part 2: Goodbye Brother

    She had long ago left the outskirts of the town and had travelled a considerable distance. The sun had already set and it was rapidly approaching midnight, but the full moon and enhanced senses made it as bright as day. Her demon body did not need as much rest as a mortal and where as a human child would long ago have collapsed from exhaustion she was still able to go on, even though she had already been travelling for hours.
    Still, she was starting to feel hungry and all the travelling was making her weary. I’ll stop at the next water source. She decided after a moments thought There‘s sure to be a river near by, where I can stop and rest. She smiled to herself, happy to finally have a destination to travel toward, rather than walking around aimlessly and it gave her something to focus on apart from her fathers death.
    The next river was further than she’d expected and when she finally reached it the journey had started to get to her. She was tired, cold and, though she continually denied it, decidedly lonely, knowing that she was alone in the world, completely alone. She lowered herself to the ground and started to rummage through her bag, looking for the food she’d packed. She finally found an apple and sat down to eat it.
    Her brother hadn’t caught up with her yet and she hoped that he was too busy to bother with her, but she knew if he really wanted to find her it wouldn’t be hard for someone of his power. Like he would bother coming after me, he’s probably glad I’ve left, now he doesn’t have to look after me, or at least pretend to.
    Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the bushes. She got to her feet and drew her sword, being careful to make as little noise as possible. She edged toward the trees, silent as a shadow and ready to pounce. When she got within a few metres of the forests edge a demon stepped from the trees.
    It was over three metres tall and had a vague resemblance to a bear but with too many limbs and distorted features. Its face held a look of pure hunger and she classed it instantly as a lower class demon, less than animals, lower class demons knew only hunger and the need to destroy. She looked upon it with distaste, obviously it thought of her as easy prey and indeed she would be if she were human, but she was the daughter of a powerful demon and even at such a young age she held more power than many demons could ever hope to posses.
    The demon lunged at her in a hunger driven rage. She dodged its pitiful attack with ease and brought her sword down hard on its neck, severing its head with a single blow. She stepped smartly out of the way as blood sprayed from the demons neck and kicked the severed head into the trees.
    A rare smile spread across her face as she looked upon the pathetic body at her feet, a feeling of victory, success, over came her and her worry’s slipped away for a few moments. This cemented the beginning of her knew life and she finally felt completely independent.
    Her sense of accomplishment was shattered with the sound of sarcastic clapping from behind her. She whipped around, her mask of cold indifference firmly in place once again.
    ‘Brother’ She addressed the teenager who was leaning against a tree near her bag.
    ‘Sister’ he replied. ‘So good to see you’re safe.’ The sarcasm was thick in his voice and it made her laugh, a sound as cold as death.
    ‘You didn’t think I could be taken out by such a pitiful demon, one such as this may be a challenge for you Brother but it is no problem for me.’ She stared up at her brother, hating that he was taller than her, hating that he had followed her and most of all hating that he had seen the small amount of emotion she had let slip only moments ago.
    ‘I’m sure your aware that I am here to take you back to the village.’ He said, not bothering to reply to her taunt.
    ‘And I’m sure you are aware that I have no plans to do so.’ She said disdainfully. ‘As you can see Brother,’ she gestured to the corpse at her feet ‘I am perfectly capable of looking after myself and I have no desire to go with you.’
    ‘As I have no desire to stay with you Sister, but it is what father would have wanted and I at least am willing to respect his wishes.’
    ‘You’re pathetic Brother, almost as pathetic as a mere human. It does not matter what father would have wanted he’s dead now and I refuse to let a dead man have any control over my life.’ She said ‘Are you so weak as to give in?’ He stared at her in shock for a few seconds.
    ‘Are you really so cold Sister, that you feel no sorrow for fathers death? Even I am sad that he is gone. Do you feel nothing?’ Of course she felt something, but there was no way she was admitting that to the likes of her brother.
    ‘Yes Brother, I do feel, I feel relief, relief that he is gone and that I am free to live as I wish. So should you Brother, there’s no point living your life by the wishes of a dead man.’ He gaped at her, and she smirked at the human expression.
    ‘Is that truly how you feel Sister? Have you no respect for your own father, your own flesh and blood?’
    ‘I do not Brother and you would do wise to feel the same.’ She felt bad saying these things, but all of them were at least partially true and she had too get away from her brother.
    ‘I do not understand you sister.’ She paused, he had truly meant that, it was far too soft and when he had called her sister it had lacked the usual sarcasm.
    ‘Goodbye Brother, do not bother to follow me.’ And with that she scooped up her bag and walked away, leaving her brother standing there, completely confused about this creature he dared to call sister.