CHAPTER 59:
"The Outsider"
Dana's body burned in a ceremonial pyre pit in the Praxeum/Altar Room wrapped in her white robe with friends and family and members of the High Council of the Savant Society in attendance. Tacoma preceded over the funeral and recited a prayer of Remembrance.
Demetre stood to the side and away from the main group not dressed in a white robe like the rest. He wore all dark clothes.
Dana's father said he didn't want Demetre with them, blaming Demetre for her death. Demetre could understand the man's heartbreak. But even though they knew it was Zurn Wellington who murdered Dana, Demetre had been the catalyst of her demise. Demetre also blamed himself.
When the funeral was over and the members of the Savant Society filed out, Dana's father gave Demetre a hate-filled stare as he departed.
Demetre didn't waste any time and went back to the quarters he had shared with Dana in the Savant Mansion and began to pack. He didn't want to stay at the mansion any longer. He was an outsider when he arrived and he was an outsider again with many of the Society members looking down upon him with animosity. Dana had been much loved. So, it was best he left.
He had a mission now, a new purpose in life. He would find Zurn and make him pay!
Brother Alexandre had come to him in secret with information from Tacoma before the funeral and it was confirmed now that Zurn had joined the League of Darkness. From that moment, Demetre vowed if it took everything he had, he would hunt Zurn down to the ends of the earth. The Savant Society frowned upon revenge and the rules stated that no member was to attack another, it was grounds for removal. Zurn was no longer a member, but as long as Demetre was, he must abide by their rules. It was yet another reason to leave.
But what could they do? Take away his Death Note? Use a Death Eraser to rub away the protection he had given himself from dying at the hands of another Death Note user? He couldn't allow that to happen or have Dana's death unavenged.
The Bible said revenge was wrong and to forgive was divine, but as far as he was concerned cold-blooded murder was worse. He didn't care if he was stepping out from God's good grace. His heart hurt and he had nothing but contempt for the forces that caused Dana's death. He knew God would understand eventually. God delivered The Flood that killed nearly the entire population of the planet in ancient times. Noah built the Ark to save whom he could, going against God's will. There were countless times God unleashed fury upon His Creations.
If Man was created in God's image, then I have the same right to act as I see fit. I'm following by example.
He thought about that. Was this how Light thought when be began using the Death Note? Since the world was out of control, did it need someone to fix things, to act, and to circumvent the evils plaguing the world? It almost make him question God. Why did God allow all these bad things to happen? No, it is Man's failing, not God's, he reasoned. Am I acting just like Light Yagami in wanting revenge on Zurn for killing Dana?
It sort of put things into perspective and he understood where Light was coming from.
But, I'm nothing like Light! If it wasn't for Zurn, I wouldn't have killed Bryant Harvey. Zurn made me murder another human being, and for Light/Kira, who will eventually become the worse mass murderer the world will ever come to know.
He saw the irony of it and his own beliefs. The entire paradoxical nature of what transpired in the last few of months made him doubt everything he believed in. He needed to get away and think, take stock of his own life, and what was truly important.
He packed a carry bag, he was going to travel light. In the last couple of days since bringing Dana's body back, he had ordered and purchased another motorcycle with rush delivery knowing he would be leaving—a steel black Kawasaki Ninja 250-R motorcycle. It was currently parked in a spot in the underground storage under the mansion. It was completely paid for, paying cash.
He picked up his well-worn Bible and shoved it into the bag along with clothes and other items literally burying it under everything.
Geist stood next to him. "Demmy, think this over," the Shinigami said, almost pleading. "I like it here, and Angel and I—she needs me right now. I'm the only one she'll talk to. She's refusing to hand over her Death Note to the High Council to be passed to another Society member. They say if she doesn't, they will kick her out of the Society if she doesn't have another handler. Angel may have to go back to the Shinigami Realm."
As Angel should, only Dana deserved it. "Then stay," he said indifferently. "I'll hunt down Zurn alone if I have to." He held a gun that he purchased in secret, checked the magazine, then put into his bag. Soichiro Yagami kept his other one. "But I'll still be the owner of the Death Note, unless you want to erase my name with a Death Eraser and kill me, so you can be attached to another and stay with Angel?"
"Hey," Geist said annoyed. "You don't have to be so dark. You've only made one kill with the Death Note. Most members in the Savant Society have made more than one. The rule state I'm your Shinigami until you die or the Death Note is finished, which ever comes first. However, the pages will never end. The moment you use up one page another takes its page, so the Death Note won't end. And I don't want to kill you, Demmy. I'm a god of death, but you're a good person. And—"
"Your decision," Demetre said, as he continued to pack. "I don't plan on using the Death Note again, so I may not even bring it with me."
"You can relinquish ownership. You name will still remain inside, I will not erase it. But your memories of it will disappear."
"And so will my pain? Not a chance!" Demetre answered. "I'll forget about Light being Kira. After we settled things on the roof, I learned my grandfather was dying of terminal cancer. I confirmed it in speaking with my parents, but I didn't tell them about Dana. Still, what Light did was abhorrent. No one knew how much time my grandfather had left, but whatever time he did, Light stole it away. I'll never forgive him for that."
"Do you plan on confronting Light Yagami again some time in the future? You obviously still have a grudge. And what about Zurn Wellington? Are you going to kill him for what he did to Dana?"
Demetre paused, looked at Geist, then went back to packing. "Murder is a sin," he said flatly. "And Bryant Harvey was a pawn."
"You're being too hypocritical of yourself, Demmy. You saved Light, your friend. He wasn't under the influence of the Death Note at the time. There is a difference between Light Yagami, your friend, and Kira, the serial murderer. You told me yourself after we got back. Without the Death Note, Light Yagami would not be Kira. So, saving your friend at the Kira Task Force building was out of friendship. Just think about that."
Demetre shook his head. "Geist, you're just talking nonsense," he replied. "Light is Kira and that is etched in stone now. I see no difference."
"You pride yourself on your faith, so believe that you made the right decision," the Shinigami said. "And even if Bryant Harvey did kill Light Yagami, it would not have stopped Zurn from killing Dana anyway. He said you were a thorn in his side. You were in Zurn's crosshairs. The League of Darkness is now watching you and Zurn will try to kill you. Are you willing to sell your soul for revenge? You're not that type."
He turned to Geist. "You sound so condescending. You kill to stay alive. That is what Shinigami are. We humans have to fight to survive. Yet Shinigami can come along and take away the life we worked so hard to strive for in an instant to feed your selfish nature for eternal life. I never planned to be the owner of a Death Note, it just happened. So, forgive me, if my pain means little to a god of death!"
Geist grumbled under his breath, he sounded irked. Obviously Demetre had touched the proverbial nerve.
"You're starting to piss me off, Demmy," Geist said. "You've made one kill in the Death Note and that is the minimum any handler must do to make an official contract with a Shinigami. Otherwise, a god of death doesn't have to show themselves and can retrieve the notebook at any time without notice. Even Dana wrote down more names than you! And yet you hold her on a higher pedestal. Who is the bigger hypocrite?"
"Shut up!" Demetre picked up the Death Note that was on the bed and threw it at Geist in anger and frustration. It passed through Geist when he became transparent. "How dare you compare Dana to someone like Light!"
Geist looked at it and then retrieved the Death Note from the floor. He tossed it back with a flick of a wrist. Demetre caught it with both hands, fumbling slightly with it.
"Right now, your pain is controlling you. Anger doesn't suit you, Demmy. You're too smart than to bow to it." Geist spoke to him calmly, as if he was keeping his own frustration in check talking to an upset child. "That is yours," Geist then said, pointing a bony finger at the Death Note. "And it will not belong to anyone else. We are not supposed to grow attached to our handlers, but I find you a different breed of human and your empathy separates you from others. You have sharp fangs, but you don't blend in with this societal pack of wolves. You are better than the Savant Society. When I dropped my Death Note, I wanted to experience what Ryuk did, and to find someone who will entertain me like Light Yagami. And I did. You've shown me there is much more to learn about humans than simply their greed and self-indulgence. In other words, I wish to learn more about the human experience from you. So, I'm coming with you."
Demetre looked at Geist with awe.
"People change, but I don't want you to change, Demmy," Geist said kindly. "I'll help you find Zurn Wellington, and make him pay for what he's done. But don't change who you are inside or I will end our contract without notice. Understand?"
Demetre produced a thing smile. "Thank you," he said.
I'm glad I didn't to have to bribe you with a basket of apples, because I really did want you to come with me, Geist.
Just then, a knock came at the door to Demetre's quarters. He was in the bedroom and looked through the open door to the other room. He hadn't told anyone that he had made the decision to leave the Savant Mansion, but he knew some people had the idea already.
He went to the door, but he would not be deterred.
The moment he opened the door, he was stunned to see Adam Rothschild, the eight-year old Death Note user. He was holding his Shinigami Cerberus in his arms—a boy and his dog, per se. Over the last couple of months, he had been hanging around Demetre like a son looking for a parenteral figure to look up to. And it was not difficult to notice that the boy had grown attached to him.
The boy looked at him with a determined stare.
"Hello…"
"Demetre Draycott, make no mistake, if you plan to go after Zurn Wellington then we are coming with you," the boy said firmly, Cerberus barked in agreement. "You're going to need help hunting down that murderous bastard!" Adam grinned broadly. "And don't tell to me that this isn't what you plan to do. I can read your mind like an open book. The League of Darkness is dangerous and you will not be able to go up against them alone. You're going to need allies and people you can trust."
To be continued...