”What did you do to him, you filthy creature?

”Nice, you’ll have to do better though” thick amusement coated those words

”What did you do?” She wailed, her anger joined by fear

”A little something to keep him out of the way”

”If you’ve hurt him I’ll…”

”Nothing, you’re not in a position to make threats”

Yan Mei stood up from the floor, an ominous aura emanating from her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as she raised her chin, giving the demoness a condescending look. Seeing a sinister smile on her face, the demoness laughed as Yan Mei’s eyes turned red, her veins marred on her face.

A powerful gust of wind blew in the room, making the lights flicker on and off. The hairs on the demoness’s body started to stand in attention. With annoyance coursing through Yan Mei’s body, the current in the light exploded, the glass shards falling on them and on the floor.

With a mocking laugh, the demoness looked at Yan Mei who was now in her demon form. Her voice was heard echoing inside the room, asserting her dominance.

”You didn’t let me finish talking” she trailed off, her smirk disappearing from her face, her eyebrow arching up to intimidate them. “I will bury you with him if he dies.”

The demoness chuckled, “Such arrogance, you’re just like your father. Too bad he can’t help you now. He can barely help himself and he is not here to stop me.” The creature informed Yan Mei with glee.

”And oh, apart from your father. I’m the strongest in the underworld, do you think a mere hybrid child like you can defeat me? I have brought armies onto their feet with just a flicker of my hand. So just don’t…. ” The demoness added.

”Why are you doing this?” Yan Mei asked again, even though she knew she wasn’t going to receive an answer.

”Because you and your mother stole a life that was mine, I’m only taking it back”

”No no no” she wailed. Willing Lei Zhao to get up from his unnatural sleep but she knew how hopeless that wish was.

”Say goodbye Yan Mei ,” the voice that was suddenly coming from right in front of her taunted before massive hands curled around her throat, lifted her off the ground, and started to steadily choke the breath out of her.

The hands tightened around her neck until dark dots floated in her vision, she tried to kick her but her hands and flailing legs bounced off a skin that felt like it was more iron than flesh. Yan Mei felt powerless for the first since her demon powers awakened and she hated it. This demoness was too powerful for her to handle.

Heavy despair fell over her as the life slowly leached out of her, she didn’t even have enough breath to scream, just her body flailing weakly as she realized that this was the day she would die.

Two things happened, Yue Yan whispered a haunted and angry “no!”

A sound Yan Mei heard because she was so close before the hands around her loosened just a little, allowing her to breathe. Her senses returned slowly, her eyesight cleared enough for her to see clearly.

Yue Yan was glaring at her, a look of pure hatred that burned the air between them. The next thing that happened was that she heard a body stirring behind her and a weak voice calling “Yan Mei “

Lei Zhao was awake, she was no longer alone.

*********

There were no names in the underworld, no names you wanted to give anyone anyway, names had too much power. Plus she rather quite loved being called Yue Yan , and the way the quivering prey in front of her stumbled over what to call her when Yue Yan would do in a pinch.

Prey, that was all she was now. At a point she had expected more from her, considering whom her father was but human nature remained the same, disappointing at every turn.

She had herded her into the kitchen so that she could witness the last drop of hope in her extinguishment. Everything had been going fine until she heard it, faint but unmistakable, two of them.

Yue Yan felt her rage explode, she had squeezed her hands tighter around Yan Mei’s neck. Watching her pathetic attempts to fight back, it would take more than the weak flailing of a dying creature to wound her.

That was when she heard it, one heartbeat, then another that echoed its beat, small pattern barely distinct. She chanted softly and reality rippled, she calmly walked through the thin fabric into another dimension.

She tightened her hand around her neck, barely feeling the weak kicks aimed at her belly. “This is the best thing you’ve ever done for me, I killed your baby the first time, and now I’m making sure you’ll never be a mother, ever again! You die here and your disgusting line dies with you! Your babies die with you here”

Her hands tightened, slowly but surely as her laughter echoed in the space around them, her joy complete as Yan Mei’s struggles got weaker by the second, her eyes swallowed up in mindless panic while her hand tried to shield the babies in her womb.

Yue Yan knew she couldn’t let these babies live. They will be too powerful for even her to handle. The power they hold was nothing she has ever seen before. No wonder, Yan Mei couldn’t fight against her. It wasn’t because she was a weak hybrid, it was because of her babies feeding on her demon powers and energy.

Then everything exploded in a thousand shades of livid color before she blocked out, unable to hold on any longer