Little Demon's Power

**Aileen POV**

My vision became crystal clear with the arrival of my friend and a creepy broccoli bird. Father must have found a light switch, the whole place was illuminated. With the room lit up, I could see figures of dead humans and demons littered on the floor. My Father stood with barely a scratch. A foot rested on the torso of the demon Shiuku forced Sekai to be with. Hal? I think that's what she called him.
None of that really mattered. An inferno flamed my temper, promising to send me on a glorious rampage. One that could save my friend and her companion. In the dark, the two of them were sobbing for each other. I'd never had the best of hearing before, but I could make out every syllable they mumbled. They were trying to comfort the other, not caring what happened to themselves.
I felt hot. Really hot, like magma was being washed over my skin. From my peripheral vision, I saw Father step off Hal. He took two strides away from me. Was the demon trying to light me on fire?! Strange, it didn't hurt. It was just really really hot.
Broccoli bird dropped the stick holding the two girls. Both grunted from the impact. The magma was now oozing from my every pore. The lines where Shiuku's mark ran, were the only parts of me not blazing. The contrast left little itchy prickles I wanted to scratch at. Under my fingernails, it felt like little snowflakes were pouring out from the mark without being melted.
I wasn't the only one feeling hot. Someone must have opened a window this blustery day. Wind whipped my hair back and forth. I headed in the direction of Broccoli Bird, a scowl creasing my forehead. The demon took several steps back, just like Father. Was I really that scary mad? I did feel oddly powerful. The ground under me was shaking. Pieces of stone split under my feet.
This swirling energy felt unlimited. I laughed as broccoli backed away nervously. Some kind of madness was infecting me. A drug?
I didn't know why I thought going towards the deadly monster was a good idea. Devon was the only one with a sword at the moment. I was an unarmed element-less human. Yet for some reason, everyone was afraid of me. Must have been Shiuku's mark. I was ranked now.
Devon propelled himself over to the people on a stick. Broccoli face made no protest, he let his hostages go. The Green demon was focused solely on me.
Energy swirled zapping from my fingertips. I really was high on some drug. Hal must have put some poison gas in here. That was the only explanation for what was happening to me. This was a hallucination! A fun one where I got to kick a demon's ass. This was exhilarating. Did elementals get this high rush using their abilities?
Lost in my own buzz, I hadn't realized the fire in me was consuming my body completely. In my messed up haze, I could have sworn I saw shards of ice sticking out from my mark. Blood slid down the spear of ice that refused to liquify in the inferno.
"Aileen?" someone said, worried.
Worried? About what?
The fire rescinded leaving smoke and ash behind. A puddle of water had formed under my feet. No more ice was jutting out from the mark's lines. The stone floor was shattered. All four walls were littered with wind scars. There was no way... This was just a hallucination. I mean, the room was too dark for me to see anything earlier...
To my left, Devon and Sekai were untying Sam and the other victim. When they were freed, they held each other. Sam tried to stay tough, but the other, she was a balling mess. Great, there was no telling what internal damage was done to her. That demon would pay for ruining her innocence.
I turned back to where he had been standing. There was no body, it had been incinerated. Nor was there any blood in the pile of smoldering ash; just small crimson droplets in the water surrounding me. What?
I didn't have the time to figure out why all my friends were gobsmacked, or how the Green Giant had died. Entering the room was Jacob, the man I had been hunting, before coming down here. Royal luck is a thing!
Like before, I felt the energy soaring in my veins.
"Aileen STOP!" Sam cried in my ear.
In my ear? Why were her words so loud in my ears! Sam was a good distance away from me.
I ignored her, heading towards the cowardly traitor Jacob. Nothing would save him this time. Well, nothing except if this was a drug induced fantasy.
Sam screamed in an even higher pitch. "Aileen stop! He tried to save us! Jacob is not our enemy! Please, listen to me!"
Her words made no sense. I chuckled deeper than I thought possible. Jacob was finally going to die by my hand. I would avenge Kalum at last. Not my enemy? That was utter insanity. Jacob had been my enemy since the forest. *Watch this Kalum! Father isn't the only one who can take revenge*
Nothing mattered, my morals were fuzzy, and the need to kill was intense.
"AILEEN!" Sam tried again.
Jacob cowered away from me. I wasn't sure why. He was fine with being tied up at my mercy at one time. His life was in my hands, now I was going to collect. Darkly, I approached my old friend, my old comrade. He was dead.
Pictures floated in my mind of all the faces Jacob would make once my hands were squeezing his throat.
Something light glided by my head. I did a 180 turn, wondering where my newest opponent was. A small square zoomed hitting my collar bone. I searched desperately. I saw no new enemy.
I bent down to pick up the thrown object. Confusion cut through my fog. They had thrown a small candy bar.
Looking up I saw my Father with several more pieces of candy. All of them were fun sized. Huh?
"Demon be gone! Give me back my daughter." he had a playful tone, but his hands trembled slightly. *I was scary to Father? This must be a dream.*
He added, "demon be gone! I appease your beast with chocolate!"
What was all this nonsense? I needed to kill Jacob. Whatever the drugged air was doing, must have really fucked up Father. Tossing candy at his daughter and treating me like a demon? That was not my Father.
Devon bolted to my side. He winced when his hand touched mine. I heard his flesh start to sizzle, but he held on tight. With a kind smile, he took the now melted piece of candy from me. He unwrapped it and shoved the rich chocolate goop into my mouth. It tasted delicious, but I was beyond bewildered. The heat left my body.
"Thought I should add to what your Father was doing. Looks like I tamed the demon."
Father and Sekai joined Devon's side. Sekai pulled out her phone, switching on the camera. "Take a peek at yourself Aileen."
I took the phone and almost dropped it. My eyes, they were...red....like a demon's.
"What the heck did Hal fill this room with! It must have really done something to me. This drug really has me out of it." I was losing it! I wasn't a demon. I was human!
Devon circled the top of my hand with his thumb. "Love, do you know what just happened?"
"I got drugged badly? Imagined a giant monster and Jacob. My body was on fire too, but not burning me."
"My light, that was all real I-"
I cut him off. "No, I shouldn't even be able to see in the dark. Unlike Father, I'm not used to fighting with little to no light. And why did he throw candies at me? It was all in my imagination!"
Father twisted his fist, tousling my hair. "No, I did that. Back when your Mother was pregnant with you, she would have the worst tantrums. Her temper made me see her as a demon at times. Back home, I would have the bakers make lots of cookies for me. If she got too bad, I would throw the chocolate cookies at her and yell demon be back. It worked. She would laugh and eat the cookies...So I figured I would do the honorable thing and teach Devon the trick for you."
*Mother... she would be disappointed in me. What I was about to do to Jacob without listening to my friends first..*. I trailed off in my own thought process.
Sekai put her hands on her hips, looking proud. "Sexy Daddy asked me if I had any sweets. I told him I had chocolate. He was about to teach Devon the trick to subdue an enraged preggo woman of Lutz. The lesson got pushed back because you two were out for blood."
So all of this was real? My red eyes? Then how...what did I do to the green demon? Mark, or not; I wasn't an elemental. Lots of maids here bore Shiuku's mark, they had no power. So there was no way that could have come from me. Sekai had to be joking with me. The red eyes on her screen were some kind of filtery thing. I may not know how they work, but I know they exist.
"Well Devon, you got your hands full being a step daddy to that kid. He's got every dang element just like his demon daddy."
Devon rolled his eyes, "do not call Demon Lord Shiuku... demon daddy. I'd rather you refer to Aileen's Father as Sexy Daddy a hundred thousand times."
"Fine." She conceded, "but that kid's going to be a handful and way too powerful, just like his Father. To think he's only a half demon!"
I was getting frustrated. "Could someone fill me in! You all saw what just happened. I don't have an elemental talent. And I'm human! Are you all really saying my eyes are red now!"
A timid Jacob answered, "your eyes aren't red right now...you've settled down... and well, you just borrowed your unborn baby's strength."