Prologue

A small town in Ninjago,

April 18, 1864

That night,

My birthday,

My world was torn.

A young boy hurried down the familiar streets, passing friendly smiles and welcoming shops. Today was his birthday, and he couldn't wait to get home and celebrate. After all, who wouldn't be happy on their birthday? His parents had claimed that they had a great surprise for him when he got home from school, and he couldn't wait for it. Like most 6 year-olds, patience wasn't a word in his vocabulary.

Suddenly, he tripped on a stone and toppled over, face-planting into the dirt road. He sat up with a groan and wiped the dirt from his clothes. He stood up and picked up his belongings, which had scattered on the ground when he fell. He continued on, running as fast as his little legs would carry him. Finally, his parent's small blacksmith's shop came into view. His mother and his little sister, Nya, stood in the doorway. His four year-old sister came rushing over and gave him a hug.

"Happy Birthday Kai!" She cheered, a large smile forming on her face. She was always so happy. He couldn't help but smile.

"Let's go inside, I have a surprise for you!" His mom said, her smile joining theirs.

"Okay!" Her children said, and they all rushed inside their small living space next to their shop.

All was perfect.

Then He came.

Two men stood nearby, perched on the roof of a small farmhouse. One dressed all in black, the other in dark purple.

"The boy with the spiked hair, is he the one?" The black one asked, looking at his pocket watch.

"Yes." The purple one replied, a smile creeping onto his face.

"What are your orders, my lord?"

"Kill him. You know what to do after that. Meet me back at the mansion as soon as you are done. Stay out of sight." Then the purple clothed man leapt off of the roof and disappeared from sight.

"Yes, my lord." The Black man pulled his daggers out of their sheaths on his belt and smiled his devious smirk.

He took everything away from me.

"Open it! Open it Kai!" A small box lay in Kai's arms, an ever widening smile on his face.

He reached to open it, but suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it, don't open the box just yet!" Their mom walked out of the room towards the door.

"I wonder who that is." Nya said, "We almost never get visitors anymore."

"Yeah." Her brother agreed

Their mother knew that her children were anxious for Kai to open his present, so she hurried to the door. She opened it with a slight creak and was surprised to find a wealthy man, dressed in a black suit that she had never seen before.

"Ah good evening ma'am." He smiled a cheerful smile.

"Good evening sir. Do you have business here?" She asked, but the man's smile disappeared as she spoke.

"Hmm. Yes I do have business here. But not with you." He shoved her to the ground and barged into the house. With a gasp, the children's mother fell to the floor, a large scrape forming on her thigh.

The two young children watched with curiosity as the stranger walked into the room, wondering who he might be.

"Ah, you must be Kai Marks. I've heard so much about you." The man said, turning to Kai, his pupils turning a florescent red.

"Y-y-your eyes …" Kai started, but before he could finish the man shot out his hand and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the wall. Nya shrieked and backed into a corner.

The boy started to gag, and he gripped the man's hand, trying desperately to pull it away. Nya continued screaming, and their mother came running into the room.

"Leave my son alone!" She shouted and she yanked at the man's arms, but he wouldn't let go. He used his free arm to swat her away.

"Useless humans." He muttered under his breath, "Don't stand a chance against me."

He pulled out a dagger, and with one last cry from his mother, the boy's world went dark.

Agony.

Pain.

Fear.

Madness.

Flames.

Confusion.

Regret.

Slowly, his eyes crept open, but he only found complete darkness.

"Where am I?" Kai asked, trying to find something, but everything was the same, ongoing darkness in every direction.

Two fluorescent red eyes appeared in front of him, their glow illuminating the poor boy's face as they came closer. Their piercing gaze made him shiver, he wished he could leave this place and go back home, go back to his birthday with his family. The pain of being killed was over, now all that Kai felt was fear. Then, cold hands gripped his shoulders, and a voice whispered in his ear.

"Come with me Kai. Let me take your soul. I'll rid you of all fear, and give you incredible strength. You'll become invincible, and anything that you want will be yours."

"Anything?" A smile crept onto the boy's face, and he stared up into the red eyes as madness overcame him.

"That's it, little boy. Now, close your eyes."

Kai closed his eyes, and he felt bright light overcome him. He smirked.

Anything.

Anything I want.

Is mine.

"Oh Kai," His mother wept, cradling his deceased body in her arms. The black man had disappeared, and Kai's corpse had fallen to the ground.

Nya wept nearby. "K-kai…" she sniffled. Death wasn't something she understood very well, but she knew that her brother was gone.

"I wouldn't be weeping if I were you."

Their mother gasped and turned around to see the black man leaning casually against a wall as if nothing had happened.

"I would leave him be and flee. Maybe then you'll survive his wrath."

"W-wrath? What did you do to him!?" Mother shouted, but the man only smirked.

"Your son's not normal anymore. Like I said before, get out or get killed. That's the way it is with demons, you know." And with that, he walked out of the room and out the front door.

"D-demon?" Nya asked, hugging her mother. "Is Kai a demon mama?"

But her mother was speechless. Her son had a faint red glow to him, getting brighter by the minute. Eventually it got so bright that both Nya and her mother were forced to look away. When they looked back, Kai stood where his corpse had been, but his eyes were pure red, no pupils. He smiled a broad smirk, revealing his pointed teeth.

No emotion.

No pain.

Instincts.

Instincts to kill.

He ran forward and grabbed his mother around the neck and held her up against a wall. Kai licked his lips and smiled. His mother trembled, and she looked into her son's eyes.

"Nya, Kai,.. I love you."

I squeezed tighter and tighter around her neck, until finally my hands were caked in blood and she lay motionless on the floor. A single teardrop fell from her eyes as she died, but I felt nothing. I licked the blood off of my hands. It tasted sweet.

Kai turned around and looked at Nya, who was huddled in a corner, looking at him with frightened eyes.

"Kai, please don't hurt people." She said looking up into her brother's hatred-filled eyes as tears brimmed in her own. "It's not nice!" She shouted and she ran up and hugged him, catching him completely by surprise.

He stood still as she wrapped her arms around him, and he looked into her eyes. He bit his lip. "Nya…" He grabbed her in his arms and carried her away. He leapt out of a window and ran down the street with her, and she clung tightly to his chest. He jumped up onto the roof of the church, and placed Nya down next to him. "It's all mine, Nya."

I caused flames to rise in the town. Everything that I had ever known burned to the ground, and it was all my fault. All of the townspeople, the shopkeepers, our neighbors, even my father. No one got out alive. I killed them all.

Kai kneeled in what used to be the center of the town. It was all in ruins now, charred wooden frames of buildings and stone remains.

"It's … it's all gone Nya. Nothing is left. I have nothing left … but you. I'm a monster. A murderer." He looked up at her with sad eyes, his pupils back to their normal dark brown.

Nya remained silent. She didn't know what to say about anything anymore. She came over and sat down next to her brother. She leaned her head on his shoulder and started crying. He looked at her, his dark eyes pained.

"It's all right Nya, because nothing will ever hurt you. I killed our parents, but I swear I'll never hurt you. I'll protect you with my life, the day you die I will die fighting for you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

That was the first chapter of The Demon Child! =) I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think :D