Chapter 1

Emily swore to herself that tonight would be the last time anyone hurt her. She was covered in bruises and blood, too scared to fight back. She knew if she did fight back or even cried out they would hurt her more out of spite.

Her mother held her down so her father could beat her with whatever he could get his hands on. Sometimes he would even beat her with everything, this time it was with an extension cord. Emily had tried to get help in the past, but each time she told someone they would just go back and tell her parents. Each resulting in even more abuse. Over the years, she became so used to the pain that she learned to project her mind so she could ignore the majority of the abuse. They told her since they had to raise her, she deserved every bit of it.

Tonight, however, would be the last time. For the past few months, Emily had been doing research to free herself from this pain with all of the free time she managed to get. After finally finding the spell she wanted to use, she needed to steal a black candle. The spell also called for the bones of a black cat. She remembered a black cat that she had taken care of years ago that her father had killed because he knew she cared for it. In a way it was ironic, the cat died because she was loved by him, and now his bones would be a part of what saved her.

After another 20 minutes Emily’s father finally got tired and his arm sore from swinging and he finally quit, letting her go. Each step she took filled her with pain, but she knew if she could make it to the attic where she slept, that each fiery step would be worth it. With each step her will and determination grew.

Emily knew it was just a matter of waiting for the sounds from downstairs to grow quiet before she could start the ritual. She waited until she heard her father’s snores reach her before she brought the candle out of hiding. The 200 packs of salt she had slowly stored had finally come of use as she created a pentagram. Digging in the hole in her mattress she grabbed the lighter she had hidden away.

From the beginning, she knew she had to memorize the spell or else it would be destroyed by her parents if they found any book. Emily began by laying the bones from her old pet in a bucket in the center of the pentagram. The ritual called for the bowl but she knew if she used a bowl they would notice one missing so she hoped this would be acceptable. She began chanting in a low voice so she would not be heard downstairs. “Bones of a black cat, I offer as a sacrifice to thee. My familiar, so pure, I give to thee. Accept my offer, oh great protector and come forth.”

Next she clipped a small amount of hair and placed that inside the bucked and said, “Hair of the abused I offer you, innocence and purity within. Come to me, my beloved protector and take what I offer.”

The final step required her blood, it would usually require someone to cut themselves but she was still bleeding from the beating so all she had to do was wipe blood from any part of her body and add it to the bucket. Taking the toilet paper she still had in her pocket she did just that. Afterwards chanting, “My blood for you, my blood is my sacrifice to thee. Come forth and bestow your eyes, I summon thee here in this plane. I command you to appear and greet me. Expergiscimini, ut meus protector pro me ire, daemones.”

For a few moments she was scared it would not work, when suddenly smoke began to overflow from the bucket spreading out until the pentagram was filled. Within the smoke two shadows began to form and take shape. Anyone else would be scared if they saw these things. But not Emily, she was different, she had endured what most people could not survive, she was drawn to these beings. She wanted to reach out and touch these smoky figures, instead she waited.

When the smoke was finally gone, there stood two of the most beautifully built perfect twin men she had ever laid eyes on. They stood at 6’6 with shoulder-length curly black hair. They wore only black bohemian harem pants and long sleeveless hooded cloaks that showed off their sun kissed, tattooed skin and chiseled abs.

“We are yours; your wish is our command,” they said in unison.

“Protect me,” was all Emily could say before passing out. The man on the right was able to catch her right before she hit the floor.

Carefully he picked her up, trying to cause as little pain as possible, and brought her to her bed. After a few minutes, Emily woke up to see one of the men sitting beside her with bandages and a bloody rag.

"What’s going on?" Emily asked.

"I am taking care of your wounds."

"Where is the other guy?"

"He is downstairs. When you fell to the floor, the bucket was knocked over and woke your parents. Your father came up here with an extension cord wanting to beat you for disturbing his sleep. My brother knocked him out at the door, then carried him down and tied him to a chair."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For taking care of my wounds. You didn't have to, I could have done it when I woke up."

"I know you summoned us for protection, but that does not mean I will let you bleed out or die from an infection. We may be demons, but that does not make us evil."

"Can I know your name? Or shall I call you Demon A?" she said jokingly.

"Is that a question or more of a command?"

"It's a question. I meant to summon one person to protect me. I didn't mean to summon two of you. You can leave if you want."

"My name is Mankbako, and my brother is called Sallumon, but he will answer to Sal. And I am sure you only meant to summon one of us, however, we are twins. So wherever one goes, so does the other. I am not sure which of us was meant to be summoned, what I do know is that we will both protect you, until there is nothing left to protect."

"You mean when I am dead."

"Yes, but we will not let that happen." Mankbako looked her over one last time and said, "There, all your wounds have been cleaned, medicated, and bandaged. I even made sure to take the pain away."

"Again, thank you," Emily said with tears in her eyes.

"Why are you crying? Did I hurt you? I thought I removed all the pain."

"Deep down I know you are only doing these things for me because I summoned you to protect me, but I have never had anyone ever help me. Even if I needed a band-aid as a young child I would have to do it myself. I never had anyone ever care enough about me to do anything."

"As we get to know each other more, you will realize that is no longer true.”