I awoke with my heart pounding like a hammer against my chest. I panted and looked around frantically.
Was all that just a dream?
I looked down and oriented myself. It looked like i was lying... in a bunk bed?
Someone had draped some kind of fireproof blanket over me. It looked like i was lying on the top bunk too, from the looks of it.
Who in god''s name would be able to lift me-
“Hey, are you all right?”
I recognized Helenas’ voice. She was calling to me from the bottom bunk. I covered my face with my hands, completely embarrassed. It was totally all a dream, wasn’t it?
“G-good morning...”
Helena chuckled from the bottom bunk. “Had a nice dream, I''m guessing?”
I let out a long and defeated sigh. “You could say that...”
I decided not to recount my dream to Helena. Instead, I went back inside her body since we were leaving our dorm, and I didn’t want people to freak out that there was a demon on board.
Having entered her body I noticed that she had a scratch on her arm. I didn’t think much of it and just healed the damage with my demonic powers. After being healed, Helena looked out over the vast sea and eventually spotted our destination. It was an island on the horizon, but due to some mild fog it was hard to make it out. We would probably arrive there in an hour or two.
‘Let’s hope we can find that grey demon of yours there.’
I hummed a quick “mhm” as the boat neared the docks.
I haven’t told you this yet but as far as I''m aware, I''m the only higher demon alive who does not have a full-power form. The gray demon could form weapons out of his body, last time I saw him... so maybe we’re similar in a way. He seemed proficient at it, and as far as I know, he’d only been a demon for a day or two.
Imagine his skill after a hundred years of training.
Helena nodded in agreement. ‘That sounds like a good lead. It sounds like whenever you find them, we might go our separate ways, though.’
I felt stung, having my original plan recounted to me. Yes, that was my original plan, you’re right about that. I took a small pause before continuing. But lately... I’ve started to realize that I’ve never had a host quite like you before. There’s something special about you... But I don’t know what it is yet. I want to figure that out at least, before we go our separate ways.
I could feel Helena’s heartbeat accelerate.
‘There’s nothing... Abnormal about me. I’m fine.’
Hm.
“You’ve got to get off the boat, miss. We docked 10 minutes ago so unless you want to come back with us, you’ve got to leave.”
Mine and Helenas thoughts were interrupted as the strong hand of a crewmember landed on her shoulder. Helena jumped a bit in shock before uttering a quick “o-oh!”
Helena apologized for her tardiness and walked off the boat. The crewman simply stood watching us leave, only giving a quick nod toward our direction.
‘So, where is valentine from here?’
Helena scratched her wrist as she stood nowhere in particular in the dockyard city. She looked around, clearly waiting for my answer.
I’ve never been to this particular area before. From valentine, you can’t even see the shoreline. I didn’t even think I lived on an island before i came back to life wherever we came from.
‘I guess we can ask around then.’
After fruitlessly asking random people where to go to get to Valentine, we eventually reached the city gates where there was a single horse carriage. There was an elderly woman at the reins, who offered to take us to Valentine as she was traveling with goods there regardless.
Etariel, the old lady, asked for Helenas name in exchange for the lift. She gave it, and Etariel smiled broadly. “What would such a young lady like you want to be doing in a place like Valentine, may I ask? It’s turning into quite the hotspot.”
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Etariel gave a playful chuckle and lowered one of her hands from the rains she was holding, palm landing on a cat which was purring contently on her lap. Helena looked down at the small feline with a smile, then back up at Etariel again. “Cute kitty. What’s its name?”
Etariel smiled. “Her name is Alice. An old friend gave her to me, when he… never mind. She’s been with me for a long time now.”
Alice looked up at Helena with a slight tint of disdain, before lying her head down again. Etariel looked a bit hurt and sighed quickly. “She’s usually more friendly than this. Maybe it’s something about you?”
Might be me.
Helena scratched the spot where she had that scratch before I healed it earlier today. “That’s unfortunate. How long is it to Valentine from here?”
Etariel had put her focus, and second hand, back onto steering the carriage and smiled while keeping her eyes on the dirt road. “I have a secret way to get there, so don’t be surprised if we get there sooner than you might think. It would take anyone else around 4 days to reach Valentine, though.”
Hm, so this Etariel lady is either a witch, or she knows teleportation of some kind. That’s good to know, I suppose.
Helena and Etariel’s conversation died down before we eventually reached a cross in the road, where the right road went into a thick-looking forest and the other continuing onward into the plain plains.
Etariel nodded to a fallen tree right at the edge of the forest. “We’ll take the right here.” She lightly whipped the reins of the carriage, and the horses quietly complied before trotting onward into the forest.
Helena looked a bit worried.
What’s up?
Helena jumped a bit in her seat. ‘Gosh! I forgot you still were here. You’ve been so quiet.’
Well, hello, I suppose.
Helena’s brow slightly furrowed as she remembered my question. ‘I feel a bit… Weird. Not to worry you too much, but I think the scratch I got earlier was…’
Was…?
Helena shook her head. ‘it’s probably nothing.’
I decided not to pry further. As Helena eventually brought her attention back to the road, it became clear that we were in the middle of a severely thick forest. The sky wasn’t even visible here since the trees were so tall, but there were lanterns hanging out from the side of the trees which gave good visibility. The carriage was on a strip of road which bent quite intensely to the left, but Etariel kept a sensible speed to make the turn smooth.
Is it just me or are we going… very fast? Like, it looks and physically feels like we’re going slowly… but there was a psychological interference. My mind was telling me that we were going kilometers at a time.
Do you feel that, Helena?
Helena let out a quick, slightly pained grunt and nodded. ‘Yes. What’s going on?’
Etariel let out a chuckle as the sensation faded away, just as suddenly as it had arrived. “We’re almost there now, dear.”
As the turn ended and straightened out again, I could see the end of the forest about 20 meters away. We’re almost out of the forest again?
This is suspicious...
Etariel only chuckled in the driver''s seat and pointed forward, for about a second, before turning her finger to the right. “Your town is out of the forest here, then to the right.”
‘Didn’t she say the trip would take 4 days...?’
Something fishy is definitely going on. She’s not expressed any hostility so far, so just keep calm for now...
Nothing happened. Helena and I felt a bit silly, having gotten worked up for nothing. Etariel only chuckled, realizing that Helena had gotten so on-edge.
“And we’ve arrived.”
The carriage stopped at a horse stall. Some farmhand boys quickly grabbed the horses'' reins, and guided the carriage in until the horses were standing comfortably. Helena nodded toward Etariel, thanking her for taking us here. She got down from the carriage, landing on the semi-moist mud of the stall.
‘So, where do we go?’
I panned my vision around the village as Helena moved her gaze. I was looking for unsuspecting people... There have got to be at least two people around here who won’t be missed.
I’ll have to try to do the ritual again... Just, try to get into a back alley or something. We need to kill 2 people.
Helenas’ mouth sunk to a pout at my words, but she nodded regardless. ‘If we must...’
Looking around, I spotted a few ragged-looking individuals. I’d go for that old man there... And that guy. We can take them to a mountain nearby. You won’t have to do the deed, if you don’t want to.
Helenas’ eyes seemed to go blank, and they somewhat dimmed in... life. She only nodded and went over to the old men before grabbing each by the throat and flying upward, over the forest from whence we had just come. She did it in such great speed it was a miracle the two men’s necks didn’t instantly snap, but her tight grip on each of their throats muffled any sound of resistance they could voice. They clawed at her hand, to no avail.
And, just as quickly as she had picked the two up, she squeezed her hands together. The two men’s necks provided little resistance against her demon-strengthened grip, as a gush of blood erupted from the two necks she was holding. She let go of the two men’s bodies, and fell downward herself.
As the two bodies made a thud against the forest floor, so did Helenas’.
Helena? Are you okay?
For a moment, Helena snarled in the air like a wolf. She then quickly shook her head and her eyes returned to normal, though completely puzzled. “What- What was that!?”
I thought back to the scratch I had felt on Helenas’ arm earlier. Of course. Why didn’t i see it before now? She scratched herself and somehow, Werewolf spit got into her wound.
Helena, listen to me. I understand that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me, but turning into a werewolf when a Demon is inside you will lead to your death. You’re lucky I found out before the full moon arrived... It’s going to show itself tomorrow.
Helena’s eyes widened as she looked down at her palms, completely covered in blood.
“I’m a monster.”