The Beautiful Monster

"Who?" Melina asked, her voice coming out weakly. She had a feeling that she already knew who it was. Who else would want to scope her out?

"Alaric. He's the one who sent me to meet you," Blair said. "He wants to meet you now."

Melina let out a shaky breath. The last thing that she wanted to do was be anywhere near the demon that wanted to kill her just because she was powerful.

She had a feeling that meeting wouldn't end well, but she knew that she had no choice but to go if she wanted a chance at saving Benjamin.

"If I come, will you let Benjamin go?" she asked quietly.

"I guess you'll just have to come home and see, huh?" Blair replied within a sneer.

Melina wanted to throw her phone down the hallway as she seethed with anger, but she knew that wouldn't help anything. If she wanted to do anything, she had to go back home.

Usually, she was happy to visit home. This would be the first trip that she would regret taking there because she knew what danger was waiting for her there.

"I'll leave now," she said, starting to head down the hallway toward the school's exit. She would have to call a cab to come pick her up, and she hoped that they drove fast.

"If you tell your boyfriend that you're coming here, we'll peel Benjamin's skin off in front of you," Blair said menacingly before the call went dead.

Melina swallowed hard. She didn't plan to go behind Blair's back and tell Tyler where she was going, even if she really wanted to.

She would've felt so much safer if he was with her, but this was something that she had to do by herself. She had to be brave in the face of one of the worst situations of her life.

~*~

The car ride felt like it took an eternity, even with traffic being light. Melina stared down at her hands as the cab neared her home, making energy build in her fingertips.

She had a feeling that she would have to use her magic at least once tonight. She wasn't looking forward to this, but she needed to be there for Benjamin. She had to get him out of this situation, even if that meant risking her life.

When the cab stopped, Melina paid the driver and stepped out of the car, staring up at the two-story brick house that she grew up in. It had a dark, ominous feeling to it now.

She felt like it was warning her to go away, but she had to ignore the warning and go inside. As expected, the front door was cracked open, welcoming her inside.

Uneasiness filled Melina to the brim as she quietly stepped into the dark house. Her eyes darted all around, expecting someone to jump out at her at every corner that she passed, but no one came after her.

She paused and listened for a moment, hearing low noises coming from the living room. They had to be in there.

Swallowing hard, Melina strode to the living room, gathering what courage she had left to face Blair, Benjamin, and a man that she didn't recognize. She froze in place, staring down at Benjamin as he sat on his knees on the floor in front of Blair, who had her fingers buried in his black hair.

"There she is!" Blair smirked, wrenching Benjamin's head back so that he was forced to look at Melina.

There were tears in Benjamin's eyes as he looked at Melina, begging her silently to turn around and run away. Blood and cuts covered his face and hands. He had put up a fight, but he had ultimately lost.

Melina felt her eyes burn as she stared at him, wishing that she could free him now. She figured that she could take Blair, but it was the demon that she was worried about. Even from about seven feet away, she could feel the power radiating from him. He was dangerous.

"Melina, this is Alaric, our soon-to-be lord," Blair said as she gazed at Alaric with pure awe in her eyes.

Melina looked over at Alaric, staring into his dark, cold eyes. What was frightening about him was that he looked like a normal guy.

He wore normal clothes, a grey t-shirt and casual khaki pants, and had normal features, like short, brown hair and stubble. No one would suspect that he was a demon.

However, Melina knew what he was beyond the vessel. She remembered reading a passage about demons and how they were truly dark, evil creatures. They fed off pain and sadness, using it to fuel their evil plans. They didn't care about anyone else but themselves, and nothing stopped them but death.

"Please, let him go. He didn't do anything," she said, hoping that he could feel some sort of mercy.

Alaric smirked as he tilted his head at Melina.

"He raised a threat. You should've been taken care of earlier before you got so strong," he said, seeming to study Melina.

"I'm not as strong as you think I am. I'm just a normal witch," Melina argued, trying to get him to consider letting this all go.

She wasn't going to fight him. She knew that she would lose and get her and Benjamin killed. If she could avoid a fight, she would. The odds weren't in her favor, and she didn't come here as a suicide mission. It was supposed to be a rescue mission.

Alaric gave her a pointed look.

"Now, we both know that's not true. You have special blood running through your veins," he said as he stepped forward. "I'm tempted to get a taste."

Melina tensed up as he came closer. She wanted as much space between them as possible.

"I'm not a threat to you. He's not a threat to you. We'll let you go on without stopping you," she promised him. She just wanted to look out for her family, especially since she had just started learning more about them.

Alaric huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"This isn't the fiery witch that you promised me, Blair. I expected a little more fun from this one," he said, narrowing his eyes at her.