The snapping of twigs and the crunch of fallen autum leaves was the only sound in Briar Reserve that late night in May. The figure bolted through the undergrowth like a shot of lightning. A flurry of red, wings and fire.

21st of May 2018

Kristen Hunter was already about a half mile in before he realised his curved horns, demon wings and fiery tail were out, making him an easy target. He shoved the hood of his sky blue retro batman hoodie over his head and horns and held the fire-covered tip of his tail in one hand, then hid his wings -a single spike on the top of each- as best he could behind his back.

"Where'd he go? Too dark to see anythin'"

Kristen quietly got onto hus ands and knees, crawling into the shrub and laying on his tail, still lit.

Demon Hunters. They weren't angels, as they knew the balance needed to ve maintained between evil and good. The Demon Hunters were a group of humans that wanted to rid the land of demons. Christians on the wrong path. The angels did nothing about it, of course. The Demon Hunters always wore black clothes and masks, carrying deadly weapons and roaming around on high tech vehicles. He wandered off in another direction and Kristen, seizing his chance, sprinted, his fire-lit tail like a light in never ending dark. Faster, faster, faster. He could go so much--

Bang. Whizz. Pain. Blood. Burning.

They'd shot him. He cried out then realised he was still out in the open. As he was only 18, his healing powers didn't work as well against serious injuries such as this. Kristen's tail went out and his wings drooped. Using whatever strength he had left he leaped into a nearby bush, hiding as best he could and managing to throw a large rock into the lake a quater mile away. Kristen waited, gasping quietly and calming his racing heart. He heard near silent footsteps and laughing, then about a dozen or more bullets whizzing into the water, then the Demon Hunters heading back the way they'd come, high-fiving and singing.

Kristen silently and quickly got to his feet, removing his blood-soaked hoodie and white shirt, looking at his shoulder and grunting at the pain. His sun-kissed skin was covered in blood. Tearing off a bit of bark from a nearby tree and slipping it between his teeth -some now pointy with fangs like a wolf's- Kristen shoved a finger into the bullet wound in the front of his shoulder and, biting down hard onto the temporary bit, removed the scarlet bullet, spitting out the bark and panting heavily. He got to a feet, legs threatening to buckle and stumbled further into Briar Reserve, wigs and tail now dragging, but his beautifully curved horns burning bright. Like a fallen star. Kristen kept moving until he collapsed.

Hey there! Thanks for checking out the my prologue, the first episode, to my book Horns & Fire. I don't know how much I'll update on here, but I'd love it if you tell me if you want more updates! This prologue is just a feeler at the moment to see if anyone would actually be interested in reading my book. If you wish to read more chapters immediately I have an account on Inkit where I've uploaded quite a few of them, though I am on Hiatus at the moment. Again, thank you for chosing to read Horns & Fire. - Lust

24th of May, 2018

The wound was beginning to seal, but still leaked blood from time to time. The pain was still too great to fly, even though his wings were still too weak anyway.

Kristen Hunter turned from side to side, kicking at nothing and snarling like a great beast while he slept. Nightmares had plagued him since he was only 4 years old, barely able to control his demon anatomy consisting of horns, wings, a tail, and fangs. He finally awoke, breathing out smoke from his nostrils, calming the raging fire contained within him. His breathing ragged, Kristen slowly sat up and dragged himself over to the lake on his hands and knees, taking in mouthfuls of fresh, icy cold water. He was slowly regaining his strength the three days he'd been resting out here in Briar Reserve near the lake, waiting until his wings were able to carry him back to a demon safe house.

Demon safe houses were usually normal-looking households. They lived on a normal human street and looked quite modern, except for the fact the blood, fire and demons were always cloaked with an invisibility glamour. The owners were demons themselves that lived like normal humans: Going to work, taking their kids to school or daycare, going out for drinks, having friends over. But they kept to themselves, only allowing sick, injured or hiding demons refugein their walls.

Kristen gently touched the bullet wound in his shoulder, wincing at the pain that shot through him. He sniffed at himself and cringed at how horrific the stench was. Quickly undressing he slipped into the water, scrubbing at his face with his fingernails and washing away the blood that still coated him. Kristen couldn't remember the last time he'd felt safe enough to bathe. He had always had to keep moving from one safe house to another since he was 14 when the Demon Hunters had found his parents and tortured them while he'd been at a party in a bar, lying about his age and getting drunk. He'd wandered home to find his parents almost unrecognizable, mangled bodies upstairs in the closet, faces still contorted in pain. Kristen began to shake uncontrollably, tears like shooting stars rolling down his cheeks. The memory of the last thing he'd said to them burned in his mind...

You're the crappiest parents anyone could have asked for! I hate you! I hate you, I HATE you, I HATE YOU!

He began sobbing hard, pulling his knees in and hugging them tight to his ***** body, dropping his head to his knees and then lifting it up a short time later, screaming across the lake so loud all the chitting and chattering of the crickets, bugs and all the night animals seemed to stop in fear of his voice. At the end of Kristen's scream his voice broke and he cried the hardest he had in a long while. About an hour later he silently got up and stared at the moon, seeming to search for an answer to some question that he could never answer. He trod back onto the lush, soft green grass, still dripping wet. He shoved his underwear and pants back on buckling up his belt and walking over to a tree branch he'd used as a temporary clothesline, taking his now clean white shirt and sky blue retro batman hoodie off the branch and shoving it violently back on over his head. Kristen stalked back to the makeshift bed he'd made out of leaves and grass, like a bird's nest. Laying down and closing his eyes, he shut all thoughts of his parents back away in the vault at the back of his mind, thinking instead about how he was going to manage getting back to a safe house with the state that his wings were in. Kristen drifted off the sleep thinking about the possibilities.

Kristen awoke the next morning, startling himself with the sensation of his wings feeling fully revived. He sat bolt upright, opening and closing his wings about 5 times each. He slowly got up onto his feet and began flapping them hard, face unmoving and staring with concentration and before he realised he'd managed it, Kristen was hovering above the ground.

"Ha ha, yes!" He yelled.

His voice kind of deep but soft. His mum had described it like honey. His father had said he could use it to his advantage when trying to get 'chicks'. Kristen shuddered. He had never loved or had a crush on anyone, be it a girl or a boy. It wasn't that he hated everyone, it was the fact that he'd never found anyone that interested him in that way. People had tried, but often been disappointed. He'd never even had a first kiss, which people -mainly other demons- had teased him about. An 18 year old that hadn't kissed anyone. He shook his head to free it of the thoughts. Kristen stripped and washed himself in the lake again since he'd noticed he'd been covered in sweat when he'd awoken. After a quick bathe, he quickly shoved his clothes back on and moved a way away from the campsite, suddenly sprinting back toward it and opening his wings, flapping them hard and lifting off of the ground while going up, up, up. He was up in the air, soaring above the trees and the lake, banking to the right and flying up, his belly to a large cliff face. Kristen was grinning from ear to ear as when he reached the top he let himself fall back down a distance and then turned and just before he hit the water he opened his wings and glided across the surface of the lake, reaching down and touching it with his hand and laughing. He'd always loved flying as it was the best feeling ever, making him numb to all pain and emotions. It filled him with adrenaline and while Kristen flew up toward the clouds he roared like a lion and fell back down under the clouds. He turned so he was upright and stared around, looking for the entrance to Briar Reserve, as that would help lead him to a safe house. Kristen flapped toward the city, muttering an invisibility glamour even though he was still about an hour or two off. He hadn't realised how far he'd run until he was flying over the Reserve. It filled him with a sort of pride to know that he'd managed to make it that far and not have fallen or tripped.

Sorry this one is short, it's tedious and annoying to split my writing up into chapters. This part was originally attached to the previous chapter so it would have been longer if I hadn't split them up. Thanks for reading.

- ˩ʋƨʈ