The Devil's Apprentice by Patrick Stewart (polar express read aloud TXT) 📕

that governed border passage to earth. He wondered what she’d done to make it out.

“She slept her way out, dipshit,” the voice said. 

Deep down, Alex had a feeling the voice was right. But in that moment, he wished the voice had an off button. They were nearing the centre of the estate. Alex had only walked through it once. They were on one of the six streets of terraced houses that led to the circular opening. There was a fountain in the centre with a demon made of black stone. It stood five meters tall. It had four arms. Each were held out with palms facing down. Crystal clear water gushed out and dropped into the basin below.

And that’s where the demons were. Hundreds, possibly thousands of them. They stood facing the demon made of black stone. But Alex knew it was something else that had their attention. He pushed his way through the crowd. The demons reacted badly to being touched. They turned in anger, some roared and bared sharp teeth. But quickly realising he was a Demon Hunter, they held back on physical aggression and let him pass. Some spared a curious glance at the demon girl that followed.

As Alex made it closer to the front of the crowd, what lay beyond came into view. The massacre had already taken place. Dead demon bodies lay on the ground, surrounded by pools of their own blood. Others were still alive but severely injured. Alex spotted a green demon crawling away from the centre and towards the crowds of demons. There was blood from his knees down and more on his shoulder. A Demon Hunter stood over him wearing an amused grin as he watched. A sword rested in his hand.

There was a line of Demon Hunters that stood with their weapons drawn. They faced the crowd of demons and created the circle within which the slaughter had taken place. Any demon wishing to aid the injured would have to pass them. Not many did. Who could blame them… Alex knew the strength and power of Demon Hunters. It was suicidal.

But it happened just then.

A large demon with red skin and protruding horns roared, then charged. He didn’t make it far. A Demon Hunter with long black hair ducked under the demon’s incoming fists. Turning, she sliced her jagged blades against the demon’s stomach.

The demon stopped in its tracks. It dropped to its knees. His intestines spilled out and hit the ground before the body fell. It lay there, convulsing as loud groans escaped its lips. Alex found it hard to watch. This was beyond cruel.

“So, do something about it then,” the voice said. 

It was a strange thing, having a voice in his head. But Alex thought he understood how it worked. He had to talk to himself mentally to converse with the voice. The voice wasn’t supposed to be able to read his mind… But that’s what it felt like sometimes. “You never said you can read my mind,” Alex grumbled. 

“I can’t,” the voice said. “But I can feel what you’re feeling, if that makes sense. This is wrong, dude. As much as I hate demons, this is just wrong.” 

“You hate demons?” Alex asked, surprised. 

“Yes. I thought that was obvious.” 

It wasn’t obvious at all. Alex knew the voice had a dislike for Scarlett, but not all demons. “You’ve been egging me on to sleep with demons!” 

Alex shivered as he felt the mental shrug.

“Some of them are alright, I suppose,” the voice said. “How are we doing this?” 

It was a good question. Alex glanced around the circle of Demon Hunters. There were close to fifty of them. Not even the voice could take them all.

“We need to find the leader. There’s always an asshole in charge. We take him down, the rest will fuck off.” 

It was better than any idea Alex had. The Demon Hunters that stood in a circle with their weapons drawn facing the crowd, Alex doubted they were leading this assault. The same could be said for the ones standing over dead or injured demons. His eyes turned to the fountain. Sitting on the curved grey stone wall that circled the basin was a small group of Demon Hunters.

Before them, on her knees was a blue skinned demon. Her clothes torn off, she was mostly naked save for her black panties. One of the Demon Hunters grabbed her by the hair and pulled her closer. His boot rubbed against her cunt as he spoke to her. Then, he slapped her violently. She fell to the ground, where her body remained, quivering, before it rose again, afraid to stay down in case the abuse worsened.

Alex recognised the Demon Hunter. Blond hair that came to his shoulders, he wore a V-neck t-shirt and tight black jeans. In his right hand, he held a sword. The hilt was golden, the blade silver.

Mark.

“Yup,” the voice said. “That’s the douchebag you gotta defeat.”

Alex’s jaw tightened. Mark was a first-class asshole. He remembered back to his first encounter with him. It was in this estate. Mark and his crew were harassing Melissa for no other reason than personal amusement. The guy didn’t need an excuse to start on demons.

“Fuck, man, that demon, Melissa, isn’t it?” 

Alex glanced at the blue skinned demon on her knees before Mark. From his angle, he could see her hair draped over her slim back and the curves of her bottom. As her body shifted slightly, he caught a glimpse of her side.

Melissa…

Alex pushed passed the few demons before him and stepped out into the space between the crowds and the Demon Hunters. A hand gripped his tightly and pulled. Alex looked back. It was the demon girl he’d helped earlier.

She stared at him with worried eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“Stop them,” Alex said, quiet determination in