Chapter 26: Gone

Adan

She can't be... not her...

Not Evelyn.

My loved one lied on a soft bed with yellow sheets. The witches crowded around and tried to heal her. She was like this ever since my fight with Kaine had ended.

I had let Kaine escape.

He was right. I didn't have it in me to kill him. Not after knowing him for so many years. Not after using up so much of my essence to create him.

Kaine was almost like a part of me. A warped part that went in the other direction.

But enough about Kaine. I figured that I should leave the troubles that he brought for another day.

Evelyn was dying.

I walked up to one of the head healers. "What's the situation?"

She was an old woman. Wrinkles had formed on her face and her lips sagged downwards—there was only so much longevity and youth spells could do. Witches were mortal.

The witch looked confidently at me. "She's still in danger. But her situation is starting to look good." She sounded professional, like how a doctor would address his patients. Apparently the fact that I would kill all of them in an instant if Evelyn died didn't make much of difference to her.

I furrowed my brows. "And that means?"

"We'll most likely be able to get her on track soon. But it's still not a guarantee. At this point anything can happen."

Anything could happen. I walked over to the couch and rested my palms on my forehead. Evelyn was still at risk of dying. I had sworn to protect her from all dangers, and yet here she lied, frail and damaged.

Her body was cold, and her face so pale that anybody would recognize her as a dead person. How could anyone survive with so little blood running through their veins? She had lost so much weight when she went missing. The sides of her face sagged in, and her wrists were so thin it was easy to mistake them for bare bone.

I regretted letting Kaine go. He needed to pay for this.

But the witches could work magic. Literally. I trusted them. It was the only thing that I could do. Demons were terrible at healing. We were meant to destroy and cause chaos, not heal people.

I sat helplessly next to her as I let the witches work. A green glow emanated from their palms as they chanted their spells. The words moved past so quickly that everything became a blur.

Time crept endlessly. If she died... I wasn't sure how to spend the rest of eternity alone. I would probably give up the battle to Jason and allow myself to die. Although, I couldn't be sure that Jason would want the same thing.

Only one of us could die. If he killed me, no one else was capable of killing him.

Adan?

My eyes shot up to Evelyn's face. That was her voice again. She was talking to me.

"Evelyn?" I said out loud, hoping she could hear me.

You seem worried. Her face was a blank slate but her voice sounded filled with emotion.

I held her hand tighter. I am. You might die, my love.

There's not much to worry about.

Are you feeling alright? I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb, wishing to bring her comfort.

I feel weak, but I'm getting stronger. There's something that's pulling me back.

It must have been the healers. I looked around. All of them stood in them concentration, their eyes shut tight. Some of them even had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

I assumed that death was enough incentive to make them so focused, but I still wanted to reward them when Evelyn got better.

Promise me you'll be fine, I said.

I promise. I will. It feels... warm, Evelyn replied.

I allowed my shoulders to slacken. I didn't notice that I was sitting upright with my back like a plank until now. Finally, I could let myself sink into the chair.

Evelyn would be fine.

I wanted to say something else to her to prompt her to speak, but I was afraid that she would lose energy because of it.

For a long time I sat there in silence staring at her beautiful face. Her cheeks started to turn pink and her fingers began to feel warmer. The witches were doing a great job.

For a moment, I allowed myself to smile. Although, I still looked at her longingly, hoping to hear something from her.

She answered my wishes, even though I didn't expect her to speak. You can talk to me you know.

But you're weak.

I feel much better. I think I'm going to wake up any time now.

Really? I wanted to see those mesmerizing eyes of hers flutter open again.

Yes, really. I have enough energy to talk.

You'll recover faster if you rest, my dear. I didn't want to send her back to silence, but it was the right thing to do.

I lifted her hand up to my face and rested it against my cheek. As cliche as it sounded, Evelyn was so close yet so far.

I glanced at her chapped lips. It hurt to see her so deprived.

"It is time to feed her," the head healer said decisively. It was a statement, not only to me but to the rest of the witches as well. Yet, I didn't mind her rudeness. It made me glad that her straightforwardness made her professional and efficient.

One of the warlocks stopped his magic, allowing the faint green glow to recede. He got up and left to fetch some food-namely, blood.

Why does it suddenly feel slightly colder? Evelyn asked, her tone panicky.

I reassured her. A warlock stopped momentarily. He will be back soon. There's nothing to worry about.

Okay. I could almost hear a sigh of relief in her voice. It wavered my confidence about her recovery. Was she lying when she said that she without a doubt, would be completely fine?

Shush now, communicating like this takes up a lot of strength, I said

Just then, the blackberry in my pocket started to buzz. I ignored it, wanting to reserve all my attention for my sick damsel. The buzzing stopped, and I assumed that the caller had given up. Apparently not, because it continued again after mere seconds.

It was not until a good ten calls did the blackberry finally stopped.

The warlock had returned with a blood bag in his hands. He methodically cut it open with a pair of scissors that was on a desk across the room before rushing over to Evelyn's side.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're not going to pour it straight into her mouth are you? She's not conscious."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the head healer interjected him with her cool voice. "No, of course not my lord. We have a spell to make the blood transfer as clean as possible."

The warlock grabbed a bowl from a drawer and poured the blood into it. Then, he closed his eyes and raised his hands over the bowl, trying to concentrate. He chanted a long string of words. I recognized a few of them, but I was still not proficient enough with witch spells—I never really took enough time to learn.

He lifted a giant drop of blood from the bowl and directed it to Evelyn. He wasn't going to soil her was he? I wanted to reach out for his hands and stop him, but I trusted the procedures of the witches—after all, they were my most elite team of healers.

The drop levitated above Evelyn's chest. After years of seeing so many events, what happened next failed to surprise me. The mass of blood began to become smaller, as if it were sinking into Evelyn—it most likely was.

My blackberry buzzed one more time. A text message had arrived.

The sender was incredibly annoying. News of Evelyn's predicament should have spread to all my subjects by now. They must be certain that nothing could be more important.

The sender was asking for a death wish.

I begrudgingly pulled the blackberry out of my pocket and clicked a few buttons to reach the text.

Wesley, one of the seekers I had sent was the caller. The warlock must have opened the door of the house. Couldn't he prioritize things? The house was most likely empty.

I let out a sigh of frustration and read the message:

My lord,

The door had successfully been opened but the warlock's body was found dead on the roof. Another body was found on the porch. We have not yet identified it as it is heavily disfigured, but our suspicion suggests that it might be our mistress, Hollie. We may require your assistance my lord.

I stopped breathing for a moment there. Hollie? Perhaps they identified her wrongly. Those imbeciles. I tried to think that way but the sinking feeling in my stomach persisted. It couldn't possibly be her. A demon that had lived for thousands of years. It was simply impossible to imagine her... dead.

Jason had threatened to kill her.

The realization that her death was entirely plausible when Jason was involved sank in. I looked at Evelyn. I didn't want to abandon her but I needed to confirm that the body wasn't Hollie's... or that it was.

Why are you suddenly so worried? Evelyn reached out to me. She was very close to Hollie. If she found out what happened now, it might stem her recovery.

It's nothing.

You're hiding something. Her tone sounded almost chastising.

I need to find Hollie. I didn't want to tell her the whole truth, so I lied. She might be in danger.

Evelyn left a momentary silence. I reached out to her emotions. I sensed her small heart beat faster.

You should go find her. I don't want anything to happen to her, she finally responded.

I didn't want her to dampen her health because of this. Are you okay?

I'm fine. Just make sure that Hollie is alright.

But it might've already been too late.

I took a big gulp. I will.

Evelyn always looked at me as if I were omnipotent. Heck, the whole world saw me that way. Even I did sometimes. The only person that refused to recognize me as such was Jason. But there were many times when I suddenly felt hopeless and weak.

I could never bring a loved one back to life.

Sometimes, I saw myself as a god. It might've been narcissistic, but I was close. However, when I looked upon a still, dead, white face, I realized how nobody—not even the most powerful being on earth-was omnipotent. Everyone had some kind of weakness, regardless of how insignificant their weaknesses were.

I took one more look at Evelyn's face. I'll be back. I promise.

Be safe.

Her words brought a smile to my lips. Her innocent reply meant so much. I had never heard anyone wish me as such before. Mainly because my safety had never been something to worry about.

I released her soft hands and stood up. I wanted to be there when she woke up, but another important matter called. Staying next to her was like being at home. I'd protect her and never allow her to become like... like... like Hollie.

I shook the thought from my head. No. That body wasn't Hollie's. My subjects had been mistaken. Hollie couldn't be killed by anyone. Anyone but Jason and me.

"What's her condition?" I asked the head healer.

The side of the witch's lip curved upwards. "She's completely stabilized. She should be awake by tomorrow latest."

That reassured me. "Great work. All of you will be rewarded accordingly."

She nodded slowly. Sincerity failed to show on her face. She simply replied to look polite. "I was just serving my duties, my lord."

"You're being modest," I said. This time I started to feel insincere too. Her lack of emotion irked me slightly.

I lifted myself off the seat. "Call me if she wakes up. I need to attend to something."

"Of course, my lord," the healer replied without looking up. She concentrated on fixing Evelyn's predicament.

At least I knew that my mate would be in capable hands.

I exited the room and headed off to Russia.

Soon, I found myself at the front porch of the house.

The house had been broken in. I scanned the area for signs of dead bodies. The blood on the roof had already dried and stained the pipes which it flowed down from.

There were no signs of any bodies on the porch. Wesley might've moved them. Or maybe he played a prank on me. But that was just stupid. He knew better than to waste my time. Most monsters did.

I walked closer to the house and to the backyard. Still no bodies, although the grass was splattered with fresh, vibrant red blood. Just like Christmas. I shook the wry thought from my mind.

Someone had just died.

The evidence for death were all there. But who?

The back door was left gaping open, with a gruesome maroon handprint smeared across it. The house was not lit, but my eyes could still make out its inside; wooden flooring and splatters of red.

I moved into the living room. What the hell had happened here? The walls had similar handprints plastered all over them too. It seemed like the victim had a terrible death, although I had seen worse.

An uneasy feeling told me that something was behind me. I turned around.

And there were the bodies. All of them severed. Three heads stared at me with their eyes wide open and their hair thrown around. Next to them were their dead bodies stacked on top each other.

I recognized all of them. The warlock, Wesley...

And Hollie.

Her face was burnt, leaving black, rotting scars that made her barely recognizable. But her large, shocking green eyes and wild red hair remained. It was her. My heart froze over. Hollie had remained by my side all these years. She never deserved this.

Her killer was either Kaine or Jason. Jason had threatened us but he wouldn't actually do it... would he? She was his own spawn.

I knew that I never should have let Kaine go.

"Will you give me Evelyn now?"

I faced the voice. And there was Hollie's killer, sauntering in without a care in the world.

I didn't think that I'd be able to hate him more. But I did. "Jason."