Breaking the Rules

Richard slammed his against the door. It shook on the hinges, but wouldn’t give way.
“Rose, please, we’re family,” Richard spoke through the door. “You cannot spend your whole life trapped in that room.”
“Not one so small,” Rose muttered painfully.

​Richard continued his assault on the door till he could no longer contain himself. He flexed his fingers at his sides; a runic symbol began to grow on the wall next to the door. Ever so slowly a demon hand protruded from the wall, coming out the center of the rune. Out stepped the demon, crouching as its tall body could not fit with such a low ceiling. Richard indicated the door; although it had no eyes it could see all too clearly.
The demon attacked, its claws shredding the wood into splinters, anger manifesting in its movements. Richard hated demons, but unfortunately it was the power he was given at seven. The demon continued its assault, battering the door into nothing soon enough.
Rose watched from the inside as the demon clawed its way in, lunging at her. It crumpled in the air, bones snapping and popping as it seemed to compress into a fleshy, broken mass. Its death signaled a reaction within the demon and it burnt into a pile of ash. Rose was unfazed by the experience, so used to her brothers demons.
Richard looped his hand through the hole in the door, unlocking the mechanism and opening the door. Once it had swung all the way it crumbled till it was nothing but a shattered plank on hinges.
“Did you even try the door?” Rose asked.
“What does it matter?” Richard feinted, reaching down and pulling his sister to her feet. “We need to move, Rose, this town will notice the missing person soon enough.”
“I’m sure they will, he was the mayor.”
“You…killed…the mayor?”
“Oh yeah, I made sure that when the change happened that I was close to him,” Rose explained.
Richard felt anger deep in his heart, but what hit him the most was worry. If Rose killed the mayor there would be news story about it and the two of them would suspects if anyone caught sight of them. It was a paranoid thought, but one that he had to keep in mind when there are people like the Saints in this world.
“C’mon, move, I got us a car,” Richard told Rose.
“You mean you used one of your friends to get a car,” Rose corrected.
“No, actually, it was all me,” Richard countered as the two walked out into the hallway. Both stepping over the bodies of Rose’s last meals. “We must learn to use our powers sparingly, especially since we’re leaving a red trail behind us.”
“You know I can’t help it. I wish I didn’t do this.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Rose watched the impatient Richard step out into the bright, country sun, opening the car door for her. Despite all the running Richard still retained some of his manners. Rose figured it was just patience, but old habits simply die hard. Once in the car Richard pushed the accelerator to the floor and sped in the direction of the highway.
“You miss it, don’t you?” Rose asked. “The suits, the ties and the work with criminals.”
“Those were clients, Rose, and yes; I do miss it to an extent.”
“To an extent? You loved it!”
“I loved the clean clothes, the one home and the guarantee of food on my plate!” Richard exclaimed. Rose faltered for a moment. Compared to her in power, Richard was the weaker link, but he had anger greater than hers. “But those times are long gone. Right now we need to focus on staying out of sight and learning to control ourselves.”
Richard stressed the last half the sentence, looking at Rose with meaning.
“I am learning to control it, but that taste for blood won’t leave me,” Rose explained losing a little of her patience as well. “I can now change on command…to an extent.”
“And how did that work out?”
“Well, I killed that family without bringing the house down.”
Rose couldn’t help a small smile and Richard noticed.
“I have to admit that is a step above going full reptile,” he nodded. Rose’s smile grew and Richard had one of his own. Despite the anger, the years of torturous left the two with a sense of mania that became a part of their personality. Their value of human life, other than their own, was crushed. “We are going to the city. I was contacted by some people who could help us.”
“A champion?” Rose asked.
“No champions, but apparently there are some in the city,” Richard explained. “They told me that they could break the curse, but we need to help them first gather what they need to do it. It sounded like a…mutually beneficial agreement.”
“I hope we can trust them. The last warlocks we told about the curse only acted aggressively. I still remembered my teeth crushing their bones.”
“I still remember hearing it. Don’t worry, we are not dealing with warlocks either.”
“You mean the humans?” Rose asked with a small smile, as if Richard was joking. When he didn’t respond realization hit her. “You can’t mean the Saints?”
“I do, Rose,” Richard replied. “If they can help us I am willing to take that chance.”
“We’re warlocks, Richard, they will kill us,” Rose explained, a dose of fear entering her system.
“No, not with what I promised they will,” Richard told her. “Now relax, if anything goes wrong I will let you know and you can get out of there.”
“…you have to be the most stubborn brother in this world,” Rose muttered, falling back into her seat. The highway was long and filled with cars, but the scenery would change when the city began to loom in the distance. “What will it cost us?”
“We need to betray our own kind for them,” Richard told her.
“Honestly, I don’t see a problem with that. Not like they did anything for us anyway.”
“My thoughts exactly.”