I need to get out of here!

Lily had always expected to run away from her foster family someday. Many nights she lay awake, imagining how she would do it and where she would go afterwards. She would giggle, whenever she imagined the stupid looks on her foster father's and her foster sister's face when they realized that she'd managed to sneak away from them.

She had, however, not expected that this day would be upon her.

It was still early morning when a servant came knocking on the door to her quarters to fetch her.

He didn't wake her, since she'd already been awake for a little while beforehand, watching the rise and fall of her best friend's chest sleeping in bed beside her, and listening to the purrs the cat made with every sleepy breath.

It had been some odd ten years since Louise had been brought to the house as a new pet, yet no one ever discovered the truth about the small animal – except for Lily, of course.

That behind the disguise of the white fur, bushy tail and slitted amber eyes hid a little girl was a secret that Lily made sure to keep every single day. Lily was very glad that she wasn't the only misfit anymore, even if Louise was a secret one. It was a trade that Lily was more than willing to take. She couldn't bear the thought of what Lord Duncan – the lord of the house and her foster father – would do to Louise if he ever found out the truth about her.

Nevertheless, now on the brink of a new day was always her favourite time of the day. Just her and Louise resting side by side – before the torment which daylight usually brought, began.

Today, though, the servant was very early, which already made her day a little worse than it had promised to be half an hour before the knock.

Apparently, it was now acceptable to wake the demon first, the rooster second.

With a sigh of regret, she carefully got out of bed as to not disturb her friend.

Shivering in the cold air of late September, she quickly got dressed and combed her hair in the dark.

Then she strode to the door and opened it in one swift motion, catching the servant with his hand raised and about to knock a second time.

To her satisfaction, he flinched at the sight of her dark expression.

"Lord Duncan requests your attendance", he then said.

"You don't say", Lily replied sarcastically, then moved past him and closed the door as she did.

Since she knew exactly where she was being expected she didn't need the servant to lead her, and she suspected that he was secretly glad that he didn't have to turn his back to her.

By the time she reached Lord Duncan's laboratory, the servant had quietly snuck away. She didn't mind. There were days when she felt lonely and ousted for being feared by the people around her. On other days, she enjoyed it. Today was such a day.

When she entered the room, her foster father had his back turned to her, so she closed the door with an audible clicking sound.

"Where are your soldiers?", she asked after scanning the room and noticing the lack of the usual muscle men assisting Lord Duncan.

"They need their sleep", Duncan replied without turning to her.

Lily snorted, then asked: "What do you want from me at this hour?"

"I've acquired something new that I wanted to show you", Duncan said.

Show me? You mean try out on me, she thought with disgust.

This was nothing new. Ever since her real parents had left her mewling in a basket on Lord Duncan's porch, claiming that she was a demon, he'd been experimenting on her regularly.

"And that couldn't have waited another hour or two?", she asked.

"Oh no", Lord Duncan replied while he tinkered on something she couldn't see yet. "I simply couldn't bear the wait!"

"I'm not interested", Lily said trying to sound brave while her stomach began to churn.

What is it this time? Something painful, no doubt. It's always something painful, she thought.

"Now, where is your excitement for science?", Lord Duncan asked and turned to her with a reprimanding look on his face.

Lily chose to not answer his question. Instead, she followed his gesture and sat down in a chair in front of him.

Almost automatically her fingers ran across the groves that her nails had left in the wood of the arm rests whenever an experiment caused her more pain than she could bear. Which was the case more often than not. But Lord Duncan never grew tired to tell her that great pain was necessary for great results.

What results those were that he went such great lengths to achieve would make any sane man keel over with fright.

He wanted to explore her demonic nature. He wanted to see her turn into the demon that hid beneath her skin.

At least, that was what he told her during his mad testings.

She watched as her foster father buckled her wrists in thick leather bindings and fastened them tightly. The old leather was hard and cool as it pressed her arms uncomfortably against the arm rests.

None of this was new. It was merely a precaution in case she did turn into a demon and lashed out at him.

As of yet, that hadn't happened. In more than a hundred years of conducting his experiments on her, she had never turned for him, no matter the pain he put her through.

Furthermore, she herself didn't know how to turn into a demon, and sometimes she wondered why everyone seemed so sure that she could.

On the other hand, what other reason could her parents have had to abandon her on Lord Duncan's doorstep when she was only an infant than that something had to be utterly wrong with her? All she had to go on were the words of the people around her, and especially those of Lord Duncan and his daughter Diana.

A dark sheen in the dim room brought her back to the present. Lord Duncan was back at his desk and handled something black and shiny which reflected the light of the candles beside him.

She wondered what he had procured this time that made him so excited. It must have been something really promising.

Then he turned around and her gaze fell on a sable blade in Duncan's hands. Her stomach made another twist.

Lord Duncan noticed how she regarded the slender sword and smiled.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Rumor has it", he said, then paused and looked at her before continuing "that this blade has the ability to kill a demon."

Lily tried to conceal how much that piece of information disturbed her.

"Impossible", she said. "Demons have exceptional self-healing abilities. We cannot be killed by anything. We both know that. Hell, you sure ran enough experiments to have been witness of that!"

"That's what I thought, too", Lord Duncan mused. "But apparently, this blade is capable of disabling its victim's self-healing properties. So, in theory, it should be able to kill anything. Even a demon."

Lily blanched.

"You want to see the demon inside me, remember? If this works, you lose the only specimen you have. Think about all the future experiments that you won't be able to do without me", she argued.

"True, but just imagine what scientific breakthrough it would be, if it turned out to be true!", he said, and his smile turned into a wide, mad grin. "The Church wouldn't be able to keep their control over the simple-minded if we discovered a weapon that could kill their worst fears - no matter if they're real or not. Pious people would be so relieved and glad that they would pay any price no matter how steep to acquire the means necessary to kill demons. It could open up a whole new professional field of Demon Hunters or Demon Slayers, and I would hold exclusive rights to any equipment or even personnel they would need!"

Lily knew that look all too well. If Lord Duncan had his sight set on a personal gain, she would not be able to deter him from seeing it through.

She glowered at him, but he only looked at her with mock-pity.

"Don't be like that, Lily. Remember who you own your life to. Your own parents didn't want you, but I took you in, fed you and had you educated and raised into a fine young lady alongside my own daughter. That's nothing short of a miracle given your true beastly nature. The least you can do is help me with this little endeavor", Lord Duncan spoke, edging closer.

Lily swiveled her head left and right, frantically searching for something to help her out, but all she could see were shelves stacked with glasses that contained objects in fluids that she would rather not see up close.

She pressed herself against the hard, unloving wood panel that served as her chair's back. During all those years of constant torment this back rest had been with her through it all. Old with age it now creaked as she put pressure against it trying to get as far away from her foster father as possible – which was not much by any means.

Lily didn't know if the blade would actually be able to kill her, but also, she had no desire whatsoever to try it out.

Lord Duncan's grin widened even further as he raised the sword to strike her.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. She had no idea if it would work or not, but she was out of options. It was now or never.

Against all her instincts, she leaned towards Duncan. When the sword rushed towards her, she threw herself backwards into the wooden panel. As she had hoped, the back rest broke under the force, making her fall on her back. The swords missed her, but not by much. However, instead of her throat it cut through one of her leather shackles. Lord Duncan was so surprised that he staggered back a few paces. Quickly, Lily undid the shackles on her right arm with her free hand and rolled away from her foster father before he could regain his orientation.

But it didn't long for him to reorganize himself and charge after her with an angry howl. Lily got to her feet just as he was close enough to swing the blade again. Without much thought, she threw herself into one of the shelves closest to her using her momentum to knock it over. Glass container shattered on the floor and stinky fluids emerged from inside of them.

While it didn't fall directly on top of her foster father, it did throw him off his balance and made him lose the grip on the sword's hilt. It clattered to the ground in midst the goos and fluids. A second later, the dark weapon glid under another shelf and out of sight.

Lord Duncan cursed and retreated a few steps, shaking his head irritably.

Lily regarded him warily, when out of the corner of her eye something silver caught attention. A slender sword that must have fallen out of the shelf when it toppled over and was now covered in slime.

She cast another glance at her foster father and saw that he'd noticed the blade as well.

However, he was too late. As soon as he started forward to grab it, Lily snatched up it up and plunged it through his throat.

Lord Duncan's curses turned into gurgles and bloody sputters. Then he sank to the floor. Lily watched his limbs twitch and his eyes going in and out of focus, while his blood poured from his neck and mouth.

It didn't take long for him to stop moving entirely.

Only then did Lily relax. She took a deep breath.

Now she needed to think quick. This was the best shot at escaping this hell-bound mansion that she ever had. She had to get Louise and then disappear from here before Lord Duncan's body was found.

However, as she left the laboratory, she ran into a lush pink dress and a pile of blonde locks.

"Ow!", her foster sister cried. "Watch where you're going!"

Suddenly, the blonde girl snapped her mouth shut and glared at Lily.

"Sorry, Diana", Lily said. "I'm kind of in a hurry."

What was Lady Diana doing here this early? She usually slept until late morning.

"Well, move aside then. Father wants to show me something. He told me yesterday to come here around this hell-bound time. No idea what could be more important than my rest", Diana snapped.

"Lord Duncan is not available at the time", Lily said.

"What?"

"He's … not feeling well. He told me to get a doctor", Lily lied.

But at that moment, Diana discovered the blood sullied blade Lily was still clutching, and her eyes grew wide.

"You… Monster!", she cried. "Guards! Guards!"

Lily didn't wait around. She turned and ran back to her quarters.

Louise. I have to get her, now!, her mind shouted.

She raced through the corridors while Diana's cries followed her. Absentmindedly, Lily though that they sounded like that one jaguar a friend of Lord Duncan had gifted him two years ago. The poor beast didn't live too long.

Louise hissed alarmed and jumped three times her height when Lily finally burst through the door of their room.

"We have to go! Now!", she yelled, grabbed the startled cat and kept running.

Lily knew which way would lead them outside and away from the house the quickest. She had thought about it many times and sometimes tested the most promising routes when no one was looking after her.

However, alarmed by Diana's cries, soldiers from Lord Duncan's private household militia poured into the corridors from all sides. Soon, Lily was cut off from her favourite route. She considered pushing on, but so many troops headed towards her, she couldn't even count them.

So, she turned and took a servants' corridor. It was longer and narrower. If troops were to come through here, she and Louise would be caught without any chance of escaping.

But only a made headed towards them with a jug in her hand. Lily hissed at her, and the girl threw herself against the wall, out of Lily's way.

Then there it was. The reason why Lily had even considered this risky path as a potential escape route.

The servants' corridor led directly to the foyer hall on the side of which was the main entrance.

Almost there!, she thought with a racing heart.

She cast a glance left and right of her. From both sides men came running towards her.

A commanding voice with an audible accent yelled from somewhere beyond the rows of soldiers: "Catch her, now!"

Down the staircase which led to the foyer she could see more uniforms swarming in. She guessed that she could probably make it to the door. But if she didn't, then they would be caught together, and Louise would be punished with her. Or maybe they would kill her just to make Lily suffer.

She glanced down at Louise who in turn stared up at her with her eyes wide.

Lily gritted her teeth. Then she dug her fingers into Louise's warm and soft fur and squeezed her friend so tightly that the little cat mewled in protest.

"Sorry", Lily whispered under her breath. She put Louise down on the floor and stared into her beautiful amber eyes.

"Run", she said. "Hide. Don't let them find you. I'll be back soon to get you, alright?"

Louise fluffed her fur and mewled in protest once more.

"Hide, Louise, please! Trust me!", Lily beseeched her.

The cat's eyes became teary, but finally she nodded, turned around and ran back into dark servants' corridor.

Lily turned around as well. The gap between her and the staircase was now almost completely filled with soldiers.

Anger rose inside of her. More than anger. Wrath. Wrath for these people who made her friend all teary-eyed.

With Louise's desperate face in her mind, she charged at the men who were responsible for all her pain. Raising the silvery blade, she cut the first one down. But a second one slashed her left side wide open with a knife.

She howled with agony. Incidentally, upon hearing her howl the men must have thought they released a beast from hell, since they froze for a moment.

Lily didn't hesitate. She sliced through both their necks in one motion, then she took the knives they had carried and headed for the main entrance hall, climbed down the stairwell while clutching her bleeding side. With every step, hellish pain burned through her body.

Her vision itself turned to the colour of blood and as if in a haze she saw soldiers fall beneath her swiveling blade.

Suddenly, cold wind blasted into her face as she left the mansion.

The cold helped her regain her senses. It froze the pain and cleared her vision.

Behind her, she heard men howl and dogs bark.

She looked around herself. In her plans she'd always imagined disappearing into the forest enclosing the compound. She liked to think that the wood could swallow her up and let her disappear from this world forever.

One last time she heard the shrill voice of her foster sister issuing demands to catch the monster to the soldiers.

Then Lily stumbled forward, her eyes fixed on the rows of trees in front of her.