Act One: New Orleans

The Lord of Shadows was a title passed down not through generations or bloodlines; no nothing quite so trivial as that. The title and subsequent powers that came with it were granted by only the strongest. A position achieved slaughtering the previous Lord of Shadows after a length trial. Being a skilled Umbrakinetic, although a common factor, was not required but it was something Cain and the previous Lady had in common. After defeating her and taking his rightful place upon the throne the new King of Darkness toyed around with the title and new-found allies for a while. It was not in his nature to sit back and relax or to govern. Due to this it took quite some time for him to come into the roll of leader. Or at least learn how to properly lead the Creatures of the Night. (Other than having them attack and feast upon the unsuspecting humans).

That said, the past couple of months Cain Vulsore, the Lord of Shadows, had been leading his flock from their base (at the site of the old Shade base) in New Orleans. It was here that they conducted their operations, decided who did what and how things went about. There were a few hiccups along the way such as the rivalry between Vampires and Werewolves, or Chupacabra and Demon Dogs fighting for territory. Age old things that needed to be sorted out, dealt with, or simply ignored. In the end however Cain was able to get things into working order, to pick up where the last Lord left off and rule with an iron fist. He knew what was going on across the world, was able to organize haunts half a world away, deal with pesky rebels and possible usurpers before they even got up at night.

Things were going great. At least until he started getting whispers of something big that was to happen. Nothing concrete. No confirmed reports. The ghouls all just moaned, the zombies groaned, and the hell hounds howled. Some claimed that Lucifer had died and come back, others spoke of hordes of demons making their way top side, even others claimed the end of days were upon us. Cain, usually not one to believe in rumors and half-truths sent out his feels to gather more intel. To actually find him some damn proof before telling him the end of days were coming. They were the creatures of the night, they haunted the waking dreams of the poor little bag of bloods. Ghost stories and devil magic didn’t frighten them.

Until it actually happened; and even then, it simply excited him, and his brood, more than anything. The chaos, the destruction. It was wonderful. From all over the world it seemed the gates of hell had burst open and every demon, devil, and ghast had come pouring out of them into the streets above starting with Cain’s stomping grounds in New Orleans. But, it was all wrong. There was no purpose to it. No direction. No true motive that Cain could find, and as much as he liked Chaos some of this unbridled chaos had messed with his operations. Which was why the Lord of Shadows had taken the previous few days to attempt to reign in the chaos. To claim it as his own. The Demons of the Abyss would bow to their new Lord just as all before had.

Something was alive and moving in New Orleans. That much Adam could feel the moment him and Samael stepped into the city, both decked in similar attire save for his jacket being composed to denim rather than the typical black leather that his cambion friends was. Samael had been acting strangely lately, looking paler and even being more prone to outbursts than he usually would have been as if the stress were finally beginning to get to him. It was when the woman Asmoday came that he came to wonder. This unabashed creature of flowing red hair, moving as if she were some manner of empowered goddess rather than an abhorred hybrid. She mentioned that something was going on in New Orleans and he would want to look into it personally.

He being Samael anyhow.

”I’d say somethings off, but something always feels off about this city.” Adam noted as he examined the rustic french quarter of the grand city.  Destroyed of course but something about it always drew him back, despite knowing that a place like the fetid Bourbon street was likely not too far. His own nostrils burning from even the thought of it. Talk of the very portals of hell ripping open was rife, and he admittedly only had a few reasons he would be coming into the fray. That reason was the person standing beside him, looking far more determined than he was. The screeches of demons could be heard, ripping and clawing through the concrete with bubbling acidic spittle hissing as it hit the ground.

One of them turned to look at the ginger half-breed, hideous voids for eyes narrowing in a considerate fashion before it hissed something. In a deep grating language that Adam could not comprehend, but that seemed to bother Sammy. Deep lines of rage and discomfort warped across his pale features as if he were more than ready to strike the hellspawn back to where it belonged. Yet no such retribution came. Instead his jaw was hard set, causing veins to bulge along his neck.  ”Woah there Sammy, don’t need to wrecking the place any worse than these guys have.” He said resting a hand on the others shoulder, though he seemed to jerk away from the contact.

”If you knew what they said, I don’t think you would be so calm.”

”What would that be?” Adam questioned, seeming even more concerned now that things were left so ambiguous. He had recently seen how badly Nate managed to injure him not too long ago, enough so that his blood had been barely able to close the injury. The next time they fought, he had a feeling one of them would die and likely Samael would be that someone.

”Let’s just get this over with before any celestial pains in my ass show up.” They trudged on forward, Samael producing two silver lined daggers inscribed with strengthening runes as one was hurled through the air and found their mark in the neck of a demon. It let out a blood curdling cry, drawing out into a gurgling moan and fell over. Others turned towards the one that had felled the demon, pale fingers ripping the dagger from its fleshy sheath and twirling the blades in motion to slice through more. Despite being anything but, he a lot seemed like how one would imagine an avenging fallen angel.

Fetid blood splattered the ground and Adam’s nose burned from the stench. It was demon blood still, which likely had its uses. ”Alright Sammy, don’t take all the fun.” He said cracking his knuckles.

"Hey, Bliss." Erica continued sweeping the dust out of the corner. The morning passed by quickly enough with no signs of Bliss. Mitsuko continued work on new designs. No demons possessed Nancy. Summer did something with her phone. Coraline was probably sad. "Bliss!"

"We don't honor exchanges or refunds to demons!" Bliss strode down the stairs, bouncing from side to side with a balance barely explained by physics as to how she did not fall down. "Unless it's a friend of mine. Then we can- why does it smell like absolute poverty?"

"My phone says we're in New Orleans?" Summer took her feet off the counter.

"Someone put a checkmark by the 'Summer did something useful' part of the good stuff sheet." Erica tossed the broom in the closet, shutting the door. "It can finally keep the one we gave you when you said 'I heard someone say orange is the new black somewhere' and Mitsy felt so bad at all of us laughing at you, she put one by your name."

"Are we in the New Orleans they advertise or the real one where you either get stabbed or a disease by breathing the air?" Most of the decor in the shoppe remained completely the same. The only change came from the way the sun fell on Nancy, casting her in the wrong light. Her only weakness. "Let me change that." Nancy moved twenty degrees to the right and she was back in the right light.

"Bliss." Mitsuko came back from the window. "There are demons outside."

"Oh, cool. Someone else will deal with that." Bliss moved past the rest of her team, digging through one of the drawers, annexing counterspace from Summer's feet.

"Bliss, you're like a vampire or something?" Summer let her legs go limp while Bliss continued her search.

"And, you have ice powers." Nancy looked really good in the right light.

"And you can do telekinesis." Erica looked perplexed at the fact she just swept what Bliss could have gotten rid of.

"I'm clearly overqualified." The sound of calamity outside began to grow more. Bliss finally found the remote control she so desperately searched all of ten seconds for.

"Bliss!" The smaller version of Bliss walked down the stairs, wiping crust from her eyes even though it was early afternoon. "The TV isn't working."

With a very powerful punch of her finger, Bliss tried to summon forth the wizard who operated the television in their store. Her clicks did nothing but summon forth a 'No Signal' image. "Fine. I'll go save the world. But, only because the TV isn't working. Time to get dressed."

Part of the cool of the Sailor Moon outfit was the transformation sequence. So, Bliss needing to go change into it really defeated most of the purposes about it, but Bliss still made the entire world wait while she geared up. Emerging with her black skirt in place, the blue leotard in place and the boots and gloves fully suited up, Bliss walked through the looks of complete obliviousness and lack of care from the rest of the store. "Okay. Cool. I'm going to go do everything for everyone. No flash sales while I'm gone!"

And Bliss stepped into New Orleans, full of ice and fury.

The streets were in utter chaos, the likes of which he hadn’t seen for centuries. The last time he saw the demonic forces en masses, he was leading them under his father’s command. Now, he lives in secret among the mortal plain, remembered as Hell’s once finest warrior and Lord Protector, dead because of the uprising where his sister took the throne. It was all a lie. His legacy as the Lord Protector was a lie. Asmodeus served his father faithfully, but he grew to realize that the King of Hell would turn on his children, the Prince’s and Princesses as they grew in their power. Asmodeus was not his father, though he was the most loyal hound to the crown his true loyalties lay with his family. Rochelle, Nathaniel, Entei, and one could never forget his little shadow Mephistopheles, or his beloved brother Malphas. Asmodeus did not want the throne, but in the hands of any other it would just spark the same cycle that he hoped to avoid with his father. He helped his sister claim the throne, faking his own demise to even her so that none would suspect his continued existence.

He was not Hell’s greatest warrior… he was the greatest traitor.

In his time here, in the mortal realm, he had lost many of his assets that linked him to the realms from which he came. The price for remaining in seclusion and blissful isolation. Rather it was a Bliss-less isolation that made it so blissful. Even the King of the Cross-roads didn’t cast a flicker of sparks before the all-consuming fire that was Bliss and her craft as a lawyer and a businessperson. It sent a shiver down his spine.

The women screaming, the children screaming and even the strongest men running in horror. Asmodeus took out his phone and quickly pressed the speed-dial on his number 1. He watched as a mixture of emotions filled him. There was a battle to be waged here and now. For Asmodeus, there were two.

”BOY! We’ve got a Hot Elevator here!” He shouted into the phone as the other end picked up. There was an intense static thet fed through it, making it impossible for Asmodeus to know if his message had been received. He looked to the demons and growled. He should have anticipated that the existence of the supernatural would mess with the Electromagnetic field. He looked amongst the demons, trying to see their true faces, but he couldn’t recognize them.... Or he had denied himself of his power for too long.

The buildings were beginning to topple as glass shattered. Some demons threw people from the higher buildings and sending them splat onto the sidewalk. Others crashed cars into buildings or oncoming traffic. But the thing that got to Asmodeus the most. All those souls. He could hear them screaming as they were consumed, like a high pitched ringing in his ear as they called out for help. There was a nihilistic glee he felt inside, knowing that now was the time to pool upon his power. But with this glee came something he knew all too well…

Shame….

Rioters overthrew local law enforcement, and those that were possessed joined in, adding firepower and confusion to the masses. The one good thing about today is that the media was in such disarray many were just trying to stay alive. New Orleans was below sea-level and yet the city burned. There were even cases of humans being physically devoured and disemboweled. A large host of the invading body took to the hospital, while another took to the barracks of law enforcement. This disabled humanity's chance of receiving help or aid, and supplied the demons with weaponry they didn't need. This was thought out, meticulous. This wasn't just a trash-pile of demons grabbing for power or wanting fun. If there were ever a time he missed being able to kill demons with a glance, it was now. But what was a warrior without his spirit? This would prove a challenge. This allowed Asmodeus to do the thing he was always born to do. Fight.

Asmodeus clicked a few more buttons, sending a message for where Samael was to meet him and then he tossed his phone aside as he stepped into an alleyway. He needed to get hold of Rochelle and Ezra as fast as possible. But first, he needed to send the demons a message, and he knew just how to do it. His first action was stepping into a sporting goods store. With a balled fist he punched one man in the gut, then following through with a backhand to send him flying. Another possessed would charge him, only for Asmodeus to duck down and level into the person, charging them through the entire store, knocking down isle after isle before pushing off and driving the body into the ground. After a flurry of angry fists, Asmodeus found that the host of the large man he tackled looked akin to that of smashed raw hamburger with white chips and a pool of blood. With a slight sigh he fought to regain control of himself.

"This was a Ermenegildo Zegna Bespoke suit..." He growled before he stood up and walked over to a small rack, peeling off a ski-mask. Putting the Ski-mask on he walked out of the store and ventured back into the alleyway before removing a manhole cover. Asmodeus quickly began to go to the street and corral the non-possessed people to the manhole cover. Despite what some may thing. The safest place when Hell invades...may just be six feet under.

Evelynn sat cross legged on the floor, hands resting on her knees. The lights in the apartment she had commandeered flickered lazily, illuminating and concealing the streaks of blood and scorch marks along the walls. A record player played a song from the 1940s but it was stuck and looping the same 10 seconds. It was quite a serene, if slightly off putting, scene. Infront of the witch, a leather bound tome hovered a foot in the air, it's pages open before her. She waved her hand and the pages flipped gently. She smiled before folding her hand, causing the tome to slam shut. Grabbing the book, she got to her feet and walked over to the body of an old man on the floor. He was still breathing? Impressive. When she approached, he began shaking his head slowly and moving his mouth but he found himself unable to speak. She looked down at him and then at the book. "In my defense, I did ask you for it nicely - not my fault you said no."

She clicked her fingers, a light blue circle etching itself into the floor beneath the man. She turned her back and grabbed her red trench coat from the back of one of the old man's kitchen chairs. The blue lines beneath the crippled man began to fill themselves in with an emissive cyan light. She walked towards his apartment door which was still partially blown off it's hinges from when she made her dramatic entrance. She closed it behind her best she could, just in time to hear a blood curdling moan and the sound of flesh rapidly freezing. She began walking down the corridor before splitting pain forked through her head like lightning, causing her to cry out and fall onto her knee. Holding a hand to her temple she groaned, the pain fading. An invisible entity whispered into her ear. "Of course I felt it. What was it?" Her patron kept whispering to her and helped her find her feet again. "Really?... Interesting." Placing a hand against the wall to steady herself she continued walking down this shabby apartment building's corridor, a wicked grin pouring itself onto her face.

--

wearing

She'd spent a few days preparing the spell. A huge, intricate ritual circle painted on the floor of a large abandoned warehouse. It was all over the news by now. She can't believe she didn't embrace the invention of the television when it was first made because they were invaluable nowadays. Demonic monsters were rampaging through the streets. It looked as if Hell itself was invading the earth and that made her patron very, very interested. Her too. Her encounters with demons had been few and far between, but always interesting. Seeing them in such great numbers was rare, especially when they were attacking everything in a frenzy. There had to be something deeper going on.

Throwing the fourth bucket of red paint to the side and dropping the paintbrush at her feet she admired her work, holding up her smartphone to make sure she'd copied the image perfectly. A wizard once left their spellbook open infront of her, she didn't have time to memorize but fortunately, humans had invented camera phones. The mystic symbol would amplify her teleportation spell, allowing her to jump the considerable distance from New York City to New Orleans. But it needed something more. It needed blood. Walking into the centre of the circle, she pulled a switchblade from her pocket. With one hand, she began to cast a teleportation spell. Lime green power began to radiate from her hand, her fingertips creating incredibly brief tears in reality. She pulled the switchblade to the hand casting the spell and with a deep breath yanked it upwards. The blood and green power streaked through the air and with an audible roar she funneled her power into the spell. The green light consumed her and half the warehouse, and just as fast as it had arrived, it vanished - folding in on itself.

A tiny green speck of light flickered in the air above a New Orlean's street before, without warning and only for a split second, it became a gigantic green flare. Half a building apparated a few feet in the air before it dropped sending out a wave of dust. Evelynn fell to the ground. Her coughing slowly transitioned into quiet laughter before she got to her feet. Maybe that was too much blood? Putting her knife away, the witch dusted off her black jeans and pulled her red velvet jacket's sleeves up before checking her phone's GPS. Her spell had worked! She was in New Orleans. Her moment of celebration was cut short when she heard human screaming, followed by not so human roars. Untamed demons, running rampant in the streets, attacking everything in sight - which at present, included her.

Leaving the decimated ruins she'd brought with her, Evelynn slowly creeped down an allyway before taking a peak into the next street. She was confident that if any of the demonic terrors discovered her she could dispatch of them quickly, she just didn't want to expend any energy unecessarily.

The air smelt of opportunity and death. Mostly death. Her patron seemed excited and It had never seemed anything before so this entire situation was making Evelynn feel all giddy. She needed to find out what the demon's game was - if they had one - and how she could exploit it for her own gain.
She could be standing on the brink of world domination here, it would be such a pity to let it go to waste.

They couldn’t pinpoint who, but they could tell there was a leader. That interested Cain. It meant someone was calling the shots. Shots that involved turning the residents of New Orleans into meat suits for their enjoyment. The demons were like a college frat. Running around town, destroying property, playing pool, smashing beer bottles, the whole nine yards. With a bit of wonton murder thrown in for the hell of it. Which, honestly wasn’t that far off of the analogy that Cain had been comparing them too. But, they did want to meet. Or, at least agreed to meet with him and that was what really mattered. An open location, not somewhere inside or hidden away. They wanted to be out in the open, they wanted to continue to revel in their destruction. Cain could respect that.

He had one of his followers reach out to the demons, to let them know that the Lord of Shadows had agreed to their terms for the meeting. As well as offer up a location for them to all meet at. The meeting location was suggested as Frenchman Street. It was out in the open and it was a big tourist attraction. That meant there would be lots of people there. Well, maybe. The whole demons rising up out of the pits of hell to cause untold destruction upon the earth probably put a bit of a damper on that kind of thing but this was the Big Easy. The people that lived here were a different bread of bag o’bloods. They were used to all this superstitious nonsense. Or at least had been more accustomed to it. Plus, tourists were insane.

Making his way with a good group of vampires, werewolves, shadow monsters, and other creatures of the night in tow he would stop in front of the Snug Harbor, a jazz club on the street. Hand resting upon his kilij, the King of Darkness grinned watching the scene that was unfolding before him. It was immaculate, at least in his eyes. The ‘heroes’ rushing to defend the helpless, slaughtering demon after demon only to fall to the numbers. Or attempting to save a hapless civilian only to find out that they were not so helpless and were demons in disguise or shapeshifters, or vampires enjoying the chaos and confusion brought about by the demons. With a nod of his head Cain’s followers, or most of them, would rush out to join in on the fun while he and a loyal few waited for the demon’s they had come to meet.

These were pawns, that much Adam could tell with how easy each went down. All it took was a powerful strike to splatter blood and gore across the street while others began to take notice of how much of a threat the vampire posed. He smiled, revealing the fangs which had extended. It was hard to hide his nature when so much blood was being spilled around him, some of it staining his knuckles which were aching from the brutal blows. Cracking, only to quickly knit back together in this cycle that he had become numb to. Not as if he had to worry about being put down because of a single punch. The vampire didn’t consider that they would be able to regenerate so quickly, rising from ruin to jump at him. However they didn’t consider the forces that were allied with the strange vampire.

Spikes of darkness rose from Adam’s shadow, catching the two demons  in the chests and causing them to rise in the air like a duo of macabre flags. ”Looks like you lost your strength in numbers thing.” He stated with narrowed eyes, as the two impaled demon found themselves skewered with even more spires of shadow. Samael walked from behind one of the circling demons with two bloodied daggers now within hand.

”You can take care of yourself, right?” He inquired, sounding a little concerned but he had the feeling the cambion had other places to be. That was suggested the by the phone still lit with a message.

”Yeah, these guys don’t seem like too much of a threat.” He spoke, impaling factors shredding through demon flesh in an attempt to reduce them to a state that couldn’t so easily heal. ”Go do whatever you need to do Sammy.” With that he seemed to run off, heading to where he was expected to meet with hi uncle while the vampire had other things to look for. Not too long before they arrived, Lily had messaged him about being in the city and that meant she was likely fighting against the demonic hordes. Despite the fact she had some demon blood within her, it seemed there was little love within their race.

Likely the demons would try to stop the one that was turning away from this little conflict but Adam became a flurry of swinging fists and kicks. Smashing through any frail flesh that stood in its way.

"Well, that was pointless." Bliss flicked shards of ice from her finger tips as a duo of demons regained their structural integrity after the ice spikes lodged in them exploded under the pressure of Bliss' telekinesis. "If I wasn't the only person capable of stopping this crap, I would be right back inside trying to- wait, why didn't I just fix the TV? I'm a tech genius." The two demons found their charge halted as Bliss froze both of them in a block of ice. No explosion this time. They could just sit there and think about what they did.

"This is killing my back. I should find that serum and inject it into every last one of those jerks back at the store and make them come do this." Another demon became a fixture of ice.

The light bouncing through the frozen water began to reflect a different image. A good looking image of some good looking- not quite Tengo Okami- guys fighting some demons. "If I wasn't in a committed relationship to a woman, I would send those two to- screw off demon!" Another demon found itself trapped in Bliss' ice trap.

"That's it. Hey, good looking dudebros!" Bliss shouted over towards the vicinity of Adam, the man drawing more attention from demons than Bliss- not that Bliss was jealous, because she totally is not jealous, and you are just jealous thinking about it! "It's about to get really chilly in here, but I need you to buy me some time. Send any civilians to me."

A throne of ice rose up under Bliss. She leaned back like a boss. A total boss. Commander of an aircraft carrier telling the helmsman to move the ship fifteen degrees off course to get the sun out of his eyes so he could eat his bagel level boss. Google that story. As the ice set around her, more of it cascaded all about. Walls formed, as did spires, and turrets. They grew in height first over the course of a hundred foot radius, encasing buildings, parks, streetlights, Bliss did not make a throne of ice so she could give a fuck.

Once the walls grew to their magnificent height of twenty five feet, they began to grow in diameter. They began to grow spikes where needed after they grew to five feet in width. The frigid cold began to reach unlivable temperatures for everyone in the castle. Except for the throne room. Bliss focused enough of her telekinetic energy the civilians who would be huddled inside to assist in generating heat. The cold would still exist, but no one within Bliss' throne room would die from being slightly uncomfortable.

Asmodeus watched as several demons were inbound. With a slight glint in his eye he snapped his fingers, a small rift to the Hellverse and a vibrating slightly off-colored purple glow had a very faint outline as the shrieks began to be heard. The entirety of the Lands of Lust within the hellverse cried out and were harnessed. The Echosword manifested in a myriad of screams and tempting whispers chorusing out to their eternal master. With a flick of the blade, there was an intense vibration that pulsed sending out a powerful sweep of force, akin to that of a one-directional shockwave that would throw the demons around like their careers if they had been part of one-direction. They were all sent all over the place, scattered and ultimately they would probably do much better with their life choices without that strange Brotherhood Of The Terrible Fanfiction and teenaged girls weighing them down.

Asmodeus kept his head on rotation, using every part of his senses to try and sniff out any demons prior to their arrival, but he was out of practice. He needed to connect to the Hellverse, but the second he did that it would be a beacon to his loyalists, and there would be an entire legion coming for their true master, the Lord of Lust. That would only complicate things and give him cause to be questioned as to his disappearance. He would need to do this the hard way, until he could be sure his sister, and his child were safe.

"GET DOWN THERE!" He shouted. The demon armies seemed to be here for the sole purpose of causing discord and disarray. Someone was heading this, but who would do this? His mind fell upon one demon in particular, a beloved brother. Malphas...would you do this? He mused to himself as he guarded the mortals hat went into the sewers. It would be long before he found Samael approaching.

"There ya are ye little nipper!" Asmodeus said as he howled with a jovial tone, a demon leaping at him from the lower rooftop of a smaller store. Asmodeus ducked, seeing the shadow and kicked his leg out, twisting himself to the side and clashing the demon across the back of the head, the creature letting out a scream and it's body dissolving the essence filling in and joining the Echosword in a small whisp. Asmodeus would have hugged his Nephew, however the encroaching mass of demons beginning to swarm would distract him.

"They seem to be for causing Chaos, showing the mortals their lack of control over the situation. I doubt the demons would be in the sewers much. Someone needs to get them out of the city limits safely. The other needs to go have a little talk with the demons... Your call mate." Asmodeus said, thrusting full responsibility and decision onto his much younger, and entirely greenhorn nephew. The Demon Prince let hsi eyes glow, ready to attack the demons or charge the manhole. Either way, it would work out for the best.

wearing

Evelynn ran a single finger along the alleyway's wall, her other hand holding her phone. I need to find out where these demons are coming from, and who's leading them. The witch peered out into the street, seeing nothing but a few stragglers, destroyed buildings and some gently flaming cars. It was kind of quaint. With a sigh she closed her phone, sliding it into his back pocket. She span on her heels and turned to walk back the way she came but found herself face to face with demonic greeting party. She tilted her head at them, unflinching. She hadn't dealt with demons much in her life but one thing she knew was that you couldn't show them any fear or they'd use it against you.

The creature let out a low, guttural growl which caused the concrete floor to vibrant like a concert's stereo. Lifting her hand from the wall she brought it down to her hip. "Hello to you too." She took a step forward. "Aren't you far away from home..." Another step. She began rolling her red velvet sleeves up, revealing more of her sheer gloves. Any signs of aggressive the creature made would be noted but not reacted to, not yet. "What on earth do you want? Chaos? Souls? Are you tired of waiting for scraps?" She took another step, until she was face to face with the most prominent member of the small pack. As soon as it went to strike her, she'd bring her hands to her mouth, a pink ring appearing around her iris, before she threw her arms out. A dark but bold pink dust swirled from her mouth over the group of demons.

Their stances dropped, muscles relaxed and their dark eyes were filled with a glowing pink pentacle. The witch had bewitched them and they would obey her every desire. She tilted her head, pouting her lips and brought her hand up to the demon's chin, squishing it a little. Surprisingly soft. A grin filled her face. Reaching into her pocket she took her phone out and stood beside the demon, still holding it's chin and held her phone out.

Click

She saved the selfie to her gallery, patting the demon's cheek twice. "That's going onto my instagram.' When she'd first heard of Instagram she had assumed it was a new modern spin on the classic pentagram, she always struggled to keep up, but when she learned it was just a way to celebrate vanity she instantly embraced it - she had 157 followers! 'Now now dear.' she gripped the demonic creature's cheek tighter and pushed her hand forward, causing it to look upwards.

The demons remained entranced, enthralled by the wicked magic she'd weaved into their brains. 'I want you to tell me everything. Who's in charge and what's the plan? What is going on."

Cain, the Vampire, the Legend, the Master of Shadow

Cain's forces would tear through a swarm of demons like mean girls through freshmen girls who though they were all that in eighth grade. This ain't middle school girls.

While the fun continued in the streets, a man in a red suit walked into the bar Cain and his entourage occupied. His arms extended out with palms open. "Cain. The Lord of Shadow. The Greatest Secret of the Sun. How are you?" The slender man would take a seat and pull out a bottle of wine. "Good vintage. From a little vineyard in Italy. It's owner sends her regards to you."

The bottle placed upon the table would harbor the signs of the Diabolic Queen of Mean, Chelle. "Special pour." A long nail from the demon dug into the cork. It twisted along the glass neck, slowly granting a dark ascension of red hubris stained into the wood. "I love what you've done with the place. It should be yours. And you should be one with the rest of us." The tint of the wine cascaded like a wave of blood into the curve of the glass. "There is a Hell portal here. A gift like the wine. You'll probably need to kill the former owner though. And, if the portal isn't enough, who wouldn't want to kill Bliss Fukuyama?"

The Street

One head rose over New Orleans. Its neck long. Its body massive. Its eyes brighter than the sun. One massive foot pushed the massive beast forward from the harbor onto the street. The body of the creature covered two city blocks once it made its landfall. A screech broke the air in the city, shattering glass and ice alike.

A tumor began to push forth from the body of the two legged beast. A second tumor appeared on the far opposite side. A third and forth tumor convulsed through thick skin. Skin burst forth with a geyser and black pus, expunging a head from each of the tumors. The screeches joined in chorus with each other until twelve heads all sang out in utter dissonance.

The massive foot took another step towards the center of New Orleans. Its burning eyes set on a set point.

The demons on the street began to convulse as the screech overtook them. Tumors began forming on their bodies as they flailed and continued their spastic attacks. Arms, legs, heads, bladed bone began bursting forth from the demons as they found new means of delivering a terrible directive to those before them.