The Daughter of Darkness

        "Hey, Solanine!" I slow down my walk at the sound of my name, allowing the guy to catch up to me. He wraps an arm around my shoulder and starts walking with me. "What's up?"

        "Hey, Adam. How's it going?" I greet him.

        "I'm alright," He answers. "I'm a little tired, but things are good. How are things with you?"

        "I'm excited. Tonight's Halloween, you know." I say back with a smile.

        "Of course I know! I can't wait to show you my costume!" He starts telling me what it is and how it looks. The idea of him covered in bright-coloured feathers almost makes me laugh aloud, but I make sure to keep my face straight. I don't want him to think I'm mocking him. "You're coming by tonight, aren't you? Or is your family doing their annual party again this year?"

        "It wouldn't really be annual if we skipped a year, now would it?" I laugh lightly. "I'll try to stop by before it's too late."

        His excitement water downs, but he accepts the defeat gracefully. "That's better than nothing. Okay, I hope to see you there!"

        We talk more as I follow him outside to his truck. I tell him I'm dressing up as a fairy tonight. It's not true, but I have a costume from back when I used to do ballet. I decide it will make a good go-to if I'm able to find the time to stop by his place. I should make more of an effort this year to stop by and see him. If for no other reason than to assure him that I don't avoid him on Halloween out of hate or something. He hasn't accused me of such, but it's only a matter of time before he begins to question why isn't welcome to my family's Halloween party when he can come to everything else. I have a lie planned for that talk, but I'd rather not use it.

        "Hey," I say once we reach his truck. "Would you be able to give me a ride home? My dad is in a meeting right and he's not sure when he'll be able to pick me up."

        "Yeah, that's no problem."

        I follow him to the passenger door. He has to yank on it a few times, but it finally pops open after enough force. He helps me up into the seat, then runs around to the driver's side. As always, I get to pick out the music we listen to. I put on one of our favourite bands and we spend the whole drive singing together.

        Adam has been my best friend since elementary school. He's been by my side through everything. He knows practically everything about me. If it weren't for him being gay, and me having a secret I don't want him exposed to, I'd be willing to bet that we'd make a pretty good couple. We've been through each other's side through all sorts of things - from revenge plots post-breakup to puberty. He's always the first one I go to for everything. Well, usually. Some things I keep to myself or turn to other people with.

        "Woah," Adam says as we pull up to my house. "Your place looks even more like a dump than the last time I was here."

        I laugh. He's not wrong - our house is a complete mess. There are car parts, trash, and broken glass all over the front lawn. A whole window is missing, covered up by only one page of a newspaper. If you look closely enough, you'll find old bullets and dried blood almost everywhere. There's even a hole in the roof.

        "It certainly isn't a dream home, is it?" I ask back, still laughing.

        "You can say that again."

        We laugh together for a moment. I give him a quick hug, then hop out of the truck. He waits until I step inside the house to drive off. I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. I can only imagine what he thinks of me. My family doesn't really live here, but of course he doesn't know that. I wouldn't tell him anything of the sort. He'd either write me off as delusional or accuse me of lying. Or he'll think I'm in the mafia or something. I doubt there are very many people out there who would believe and be comfortable with the knowledge that someone's father threatened a drug lord into letting his family their house as a cover.

        When I make it through the threshold, I'm greeted with the sight of guns being pointed at me. I roll my eyes, then tell the men behind them to get out of my way. Immediately, they scurry and allow me to pass by them. I walk to a small door in the hallway and travel down the set of stairs. The basement is completely empty. The only thing down here is a white pentagram that has been painted onto the floor. But we didn't put that here, and neither did the druggies upstairs. They told us it was here when they moved in. No one is sure about the story behind it, but we suspect the previous tenants were Wiccans or something.

        I stand in the middle of the pentagram and begin to chant. "Fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan."

        A bright, blinding light surrounds me. The sound of tortured screams becomes the only thing I can hear. After what feels like hours have passed, the light finally dims down. I open my eyes to see my beloved home in front of me. Dark shadow creatures dance all around, singing and shrieking. The warmth is nice too. It's good to be back.

        I walk up the dark-coloured steps to my father's castle. The guards hold open the doors for me so I can walk in without needing to slow down. It's not a big privilege, but it certainly isn't one I'd like to use. It makes me feel special; powerful. But I suppose that's a feeling I should be used to as Satan's one and only daughter. I have all the power I could ever wish for.

        "Bormah, zu'u los hofkiin!" I shout as I enter the grand hall. When I don't hear my father call back, I decide to announce again that I'm home.

        My father enters from his office. He opens the doors dramatically, then glides to me. He hugs me briefly, then takes a step back. "Solanine, nii los kul wah lost hi hofkiin," He greets me, happy to have me home. "Los hi ready fah fin nir?"

        My lips curl up into a smile. The hunt, the best time of the year, happens tonight. It's the one time of the year we get to go to the human realm without having to worry about hiding our true forms. It leaves us the opportunity to freely walk the Earth; hunting and eating all the souls we can find available. So while everyone else gets candy, costumes, and blood-themed drinks, we get actual blood and real screams. It gives me such a thrill. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

        "Geh, Bormah, zu'u los," I answer.

        He snaps his fingers. From all areas of the house, the demons and my brothers come out to join us. My father gives us all a brief speech about what to expect, how to be careful, and when it's time for us to return here. Once we all agree that we understand, we follow him out of the castle doors. We squeeze into the transporter, then appear in the dark and moldy basement we've gotten so used to.

        Once we get out of the house, we all go our own ways. Just in case there are any hunters out, we don't travel in groups. Instead, it's every demon for himself. I allow my human body to crumble to peices. This forces my true form to appear; wings and all. I growl happily, then fly upwards. I get a good look of the neighbourhood; of everyone around. For the most part, it's only trick-or-treaters here. While children and stoned adults are easy targets, it gets boring. I want someone to put on a fight, not lie down and die because they're too naive to realise what's going on. I decide to leave the area, instead going to Adam's party.

        I would never prey on my own friend, of course. He's safe. However, the guests are free game. I owe them no loyalty, no protection, and have no reason to keep them alive. It should be easy, and it'll give me a chance to tell him tomorrow that I did stop by his house tonight. That will make him happy.

        Adam's house is a ten-minute flight away. I land quietly in his backyard and perch myself on a tree. Adam's family owes some land, so finding even one victim here will be an easy task. I just have to have for my perfect opportunity. And if none arrives, I'll just terrorise the party and erase Adam's memory.

        Actually, that sounds a lot more effective and fun.

        I smirk to myself and turn myself back into a human. At the snap of my fingers, I'm wearing my old ballet outfit. The dress is short, dark pink, and sparkly with a pair matching slippers. It's not the most creative costume ever, but it's easier to teleport something from my own closet than from a store. When I'm satisfied with how I look, I drop carefully out of the tree. I strut up to the door. I enter the house with confidence.

        I don't know if Adam likes or even knows all of the people here, but his home is filled with the bodies of those we go to school with. It's like he invited all of the students. I throw myself into the tight crowd, hoping I don't get trampled. Through a lot of yelling and shoving, I'm finally able to make it to the staircase. I go up the first few steps. When I'm satisfied I'm up high enough to be able to see everyone, I start to inspect the room. If I'm able to find Adam, I'll be able to get the bloodbath started without risking his health. It's important to me that I don't kill him, and certainly not accidentally. Finally, I spot him exiting the kitchen.

        "Adam!" I shout. I can tell he doesn't hear me when he stops to talk to some girl. He doesn't even look in my direction. "Adam!" I yell again, this time jumping up and down. Still, he doesn't notice me. I consider trying to walk to him, but I know I won't make it. By the time I get there, he'll probably be gone.

        Feeling almost desperate, I decide to put my powers to good use. A strong wind outside knocks the power out just long enough to get everyone's attention. Then, the lights come back on. It's like nothing changed, except now everyone is quiet and confused. Before it wears off, I yell out Adam's name again. He sees me this time and pushes his way through the crowd. Once he reaches me, everyone in the room goes right back to being loud and partying.

        "Solanine, you made it!" He gives me a hug. "I wasn't sure you were going to."

        I smile happily back at him. "I wasn't sure either. But my family's party wore down just enough that I was able to slip away. I can't stay long, but I'm here now."

        "That's so great!" He high-fives me.

        We stay on the stairs and chat for a while. He tells me how long it took him to get the house ready and how much everything cost. A hint of guilt starts to appear inside my heart. He worked so hard on this party and I'm planning to kill his guests. In his house. I didn't think about that. If I kill his guests, in his house, during his party, he'll get in trouble for it. There's no possible way for me to kill anyone here without him being a suspect. And if I kill all of them, he will be the only suspect. I'm going to have to use more of my power than I was planning to tonight. But the reward, alongside the satisfaction of my bloodlust, should make up for that energy loss.

        Adam asks me if I want something to drink, then tells me to wait where I am. I watch him travel down the stairs and consider what I want to do. I scan the room again, this time looking out for the perfect people to do my bidding. If I get some of the human folk to do the crimes for me, I still get the reward without losing so much of my own life force and nobody will be able to pin it on Adam. I just need to plan this right. I can't be suspicious, not even a little.

        Adam returns with two cups; one for him and one for me. We tap our cups together lightly, then take a drink. I've never been big on liquor, but I don't hate it. The burn isn't anything new to me, it just tastes bad. It doesn't seem to bother Adam though. In fact, he seems to enjoy drinking. I worry sometimes that he enjoys it a little too much, but everytime I start to think that, he stops for a while.

        When our cups are empty, Adam starts to talk about mingling. Realising I'm running out of time, I convince to wait so I can talk to him alone just a little bit longer. He agrees to this. But instead of talking, I look around to make sure no one is looking at us, then I grab the sides of his face. I stare him in the eyes and begin to speak an incantation.

        "Hi fen stay het ahrk hi fen koraav uv hon nid. Everything daar happens nol nu erei zu'u wake hi fen ni drun nii wah hin vahrukt. Hi los frozen," I say staring deep into his eyes until they turn dull.

        As demanded, he freezes in place. From now until I wake him, his brain will be shut off. He won't see, hear, or remember anything that happens. This way, he will be safe. Satisfied, I wake down the steps. If there's anything I've learned from human books, movies, and shows, it's that the more criminal types stay near the booze. And where are the booze located? In the kitchen. I have to fight my way through the crowd to get there, then it should be easy for me to find a few people who are out of their minds enough to take anything handed to them, even if it's an experimental drug with no name.

        Just as I expected, the delinquents are sitting around the kitchen table taking shots and talking about drugs. This should be easy, incredibly easy. The group doesn't notice me, so I decide to lean against a wall and wait until the time is right to interrupt. My cue comes when one of them starts to talk about how bored he is with everything he's been doing. He mentions wanting a new fix. I smirk and step towards them.

        "I couldn't help but overhear," I say to them. "I think I might be able to help."

        "Who the hell are you?" One of the guys asks.

        "Yeah, did anyone say we want any help?" Another says.

        I shrug and start to walk when the one who I suspect is the leader silences them. "Hold on a moment. What do you mean you might be able to help?"

        I turn back to the table. "I know a guy who likes to come up with his mixtures. I have some extras of his last batch that I'd be willing to sell you if you're interested."

        "What's it called?" He asks.

        "Daanik."

        He looks at his friends. "What do you guys think? Should we give this a try or no?"

        The only girl at the table eyes me strangely. "What is it?"

        "It's like a combination of coke, acid, and nightshade; only it won't overwhelm or kill you," I explain.

        The group decides to send me away so they can talk about it among themselves. I didn't bother with telling them that it will make them lose control over their minds, giving all of it to me. This will give me the power to tell them what to do without having to stare into their eyes first. It will automatically link my mind with theirs. I'm sure telling them this would have led to them not wanting to take it. They probably wouldn't even be considering it; mainly because they wouldn't trust me.

        They call me back to the table after a minute of consideration. In exchange for a hundred dollars, I give them each a sheet of blotter paper, which they immediately take. Before they have a chance to say anything to me, I take off. If I return to Adam, no one will be weirded out by his frozen state. They won't even notice it.

        I make it to the stairs and order Adam to go do something outside with his closest friends, excluding me. By the time the demand is met, the drug has kicked in. I can hear every single thought that goes through the group's head. I smile, excited. It's finally showtime.

        I throw myself into the mind of the girl, directing her out into the living room. I send her on a decapitation frenzy - having her rip the heads off the bodies of anyone within two feet of her. Blood goes spurting up into the air with each, brutal snap. Screams erupt through the room. People try to run out of the house, but only a small amount are able to, including myself. Mysteriously, after our escape, none of the doors or windows will open or break.

        I run with the others until I see I'm alone, then I return to the tree I changed in. I climb up it, get comfortable, and call the leader of the group in to the living room too. Just for my own amusement, I have him grab one of the loose heads on the floor. The two of them play catch with it for a while. Once I get bored of it, I have him bite a chunk of the face off before making him throw it into the rushing crowd. It hits somebody, who then becomes his victim. He runs up to the person and takes a bite out of her face as well. He wraps his arms around her in a tight squeeze that causes her rib cage and part of her spine to snap. He drops her body to the floor, then begins to stomp on it. The screams worsen, and the ones from her began to sound like a weeping screech. But he continues to jump up and down, transforming her into nothing but a bloody bag of crushed bones.

        By this point, some of the guests have discovered there is no escape. Some of them try to hide, the rest of them trying to stop the murders. No one tries to interrupt my female killer, what with her snapping off head after head with no care or thought, however two guys come to the realisation that my male killer can't turn his focus onto both of them within the same minute. This means I have to call one of the other guys into the room. This one is bigger, so he's easily able to lift one of the guys trying to help into the air. He throws him in a wall, then picks up a vase. He drops it onto the guy's head, cracking his skull. I have him bring the vase down again and again until the crack is begin enough for him to fit his fingers inside it. Then, I have him force his hands apart, fully opening the skulls and leave brains everywhere. He proceeds to find another heavy weapon to do the same thing to somebody else.

        I call in the fourth member of the group. This one goes upstairs where he finds people trying to escape out of the balcony. I have him lunge at one of them with his hands out in front of him. He drives his fingers into their eyes, popping them from their sockets. The person falls to the ground a screaming, bleeding mess. I direct his attention to someone close to him. He runs at them, grabbing their head and bashing it into the nearest wall until there's nothing to hit anymore. He starts seeking out his own victims after that, attacking them through his own ideas. When he tears open someone's stomach and chokes another person with the first person's intestines, I realise that there's no point in staying with him and telling him what to do. He's blood-lusted.

        I push myself into the mind of the fifth and final member of the group. I have him pick up a knife on the counter. Once it's in hand, he starts slashing the throats of everybody near him. It's fast, although still a bloody and painful death. It's not near as fun or drastic as the other murders tonight has seen, but I need something that doesn't take a lot of thought or time. I'm going to have to leave to go home soon. I can't spend too much longer here.

        When everyone besides my zombie has fallen, I erase the memory of my appearance from his head. Then, I shut him down. His eyes close and he collapses, seemingly passed out to anybody else. I go back into the mind of the man upstairs and do the same thing to him. I do that with all of the others until I get to the girl. I her walk to the front door and unlock it. She walks out of the house halfway done the driveway before I erase her memory and have her faint.

        Satisfied, I collect the loose souls from the house and transform back into my natural state. I fly to my family's cover home, seeing all of the others already there. My father applauds us for our good luck, saying that we have enough to keep us alive for the next seven-hundred and thirty days, meaning that I'll be able to enjoy a normal Halloween for the first time next year. We cheer, then to our real home. Halloween was a success. I go to sleep pleased and proud of myself.

        School almost got canceled today because of last night's murder spree. But the distract agreed that having all of the youth in a police-protected building would be safer for them. So everyone goes to school; some normal, some pretending to be normal, some about to crack. I feel a little bad for all the trauma I gave to all of Adam's living guests, but I don't dwell on it. I'm sure they'll be okay. And if they aren't, I'll cure them one way or another next time.

        I run into Adam at his locker. I consider tapping his shoulder, but a lot of people have been jumpy today. So I decide to just greet him normally. "Hey, good morning," I say as I lean against his locker. "How's it going?"

        He turns to me with wide eyes. He throws his arms around me tightly, holding onto me like it'll kill him to let go. "Solanine!" I notice by his voice that he's crying. "I'm so happy to see you! You're okay!"

        I pry him off of me. "Yes, I am. I was able to run out of the house when the first attack started. I was going to meet up with you, but you and your friends were gone."

        He wipes his eyes. "Yeah. We decided to play water tag outside. I didn't even know what was going on inside."

        "Water tag?" I ask.

        "It's like a normal game of tag, but you have water guns."

        I nod, showing him I understand. "I see. That's okay. You were having a good time, like everyone should have been. It's not your fault that you didn't know what was happening. It isn't your fault."

        "I guess that's true." He sighs. "I called the cops as soon as I saw what happened. At least I can say that much."

        "That's good. A lot of people would have just run away, like I did," I say. "If it's anybody's fault, it's mine."

        He gives me a small hug. "That's not true. You were scared. You acted the way that most people would have in a moment like that. Some people scream, some run, some freeze, some call for help. It's as matter of instinct and training. It isn't your fault that you were afraid."

        I thank him for the reassurance, not bothering to tell him that it literally is my fault. We walk together to our first class. I can feel a wide smile trying to take over my face, but I force myself to keep it down. I'm not supposed to be suspicious. Nobody is supposed to wonder if I did anything. I didn't do anything. I just went to a live action horror show, that's all. I need to appear somehow stable.

        "What happened to the people who did this?" I ask Adam.

        "They were all passed out still by the time the police got them. They all got arrested."

        "Does anyone know why they did it?"

        He shakes his head. "No, but there is a rumour going around that they were all on a combination of drugs, or maybe a super-drug."

        I shake my head, trying to appear disappointed. "What a shame," I say. "Drugs once again ruin all the fun."