Author's Note: Adam Rothschild, the Savant Society, with 'the League of Darkness', were first introduced in my novel 'The Draycott Factor', as well as what transpired between Light and Demetre that ultimately caused Dana Chika's death. If you haven't read the 'Draycott Factor', don't worry, everything will be briefly mentioned in the following chapters. But please, if you enjoy this story, read my others.

Chapter Two:
"Demetre Draycott's Heart"

Adam looked up at the starry night sky the moment he walked outside. It was a pleasant evening and each star sparkled like cosmic diamonds. He could recite every planet and constellation within sight if he gazed long enough and if he had the time.

As he made his way to the campfire pit, he immediately picked up the whiff of alcohol. It filled the air with its putridness.

Demetre sat on a large log in front of the fire and sipped from his silver flask.

Using his empathic gift, Adam knew that tonight's drink of choice was bourbon with a particularly high concentration. Demetre was already drunk, but still conscious. From what Adam could sense, not for very long. Demetre's mental acumen was quickly diminishing with each sip.

The fire had been burning for over an hour and Demetre had been sitting next to it alone and drinking.

Adam held onto Cerberus and watched his friend from the shadows. Demetre was unaware of his presence drunk as he was. This was not the Demetre Draycott he once knew and he didn't like to see his friend like this. When they first left the Savant Society, Demetre was full of life. But now, he seemed to have given up and spent his nights in self-pity.

He remembered when Demetre traded in his brand new motorcycle for a used one with a sidecar soon after they left.

Adam couldn't ride piggy-back on the back of Demetre's motorcycle forever and he couldn't ask Angel to hold onto Cerberus every time they travelled. Cerberus could fly, but he would have to transform into his demon hound form to do so, therefore an alternative transport was needed and Demetre did not want to buy a car.

Demetre wanted to hunt for Zurn Wellington on his own, but certain circumstances changed his mind.

Adam knew it may have been inconvenient for him to have a boy tag along in his quest for revenge, but eventually Demetre welcomed the company. Of course, it helped that Adam had skills than came in handy. Kids these days were practically plugged into a computer and he knew far more about the internet and how to use it to its fullest.

Adam had wondered about their lodgings soon after they left, but Demetre said he had thought ahead of time and brought everyone to the cabin. He was told of Demetre and Light's history here, how Light's father brought them here for annual sabbaticals in hunting and fishing—'A Man's Vacation' per se—and after it was fixed up for their use, it made for a perfect residence and base of operations.

And on some of those lonely nights they played chess to pass the time. Demetre always won. He didn't hold back.

It was later found out that Zurn was protected by the League of Darkness and could not be killed by the Death Note.

Adam had tried to kill Zurn secretly, but at the end of Zurn's name on the page a small red x appeared. It indicated that a person was either dead or was protected. And since they knew Zurn was alive, therefore it only stood to reason that Zurn was immune from the Death Note's effects. He was probably using a similar trick Demetre had to protect himself when Demetre first acquired the Death Note to protect himself from Kira/Light.

In the few times they had caught up to Zurn, they were pushed back by creatures controlled by the LOD called 'Nycrofiends'. They were undead beings controlled by the 'Dark One's' Shinigami, a powerful spell caster called 'Summoner'— using a form of Necromancy, a way to reanimate a dead person and communicating with them through telepathically. Nycrofiends were dressed all in black and they had their identities hidden behind white operatic masks. They were minions and they all looked alike. They weren't particularly powerful and were easily beaten, but there was strength in numbers. Zurn never went anywhere without an entourage of them.

Demetre took a gulp from his silver flask. Adam could feel every emotion Demetre was experiencing. It was a major drawback of his gift, but that was how it worked. Controlling it was easy, but he never turned it off with Demetre. He wanted to stay in constant contact with him. And Demetre's mind was an open book right now.

There were days when Demetre was sober and on those days he helped Adam in his methods to track down Zurn Wellington online, using Shinigami portals to quickly travel from place to place in an effort to capture him. There was a warrant out for Zurn's arrest for the murder of about a dozen homeless people in Japan, harvesting their organs and selling them on the Black Market. Demetre wanted to catch him, not kill him, and let the authorities deal with him. Only after he paid Zurn back for Dana's death. But killing him was off that table.

Unfortunately, Demetre began to believe that their efforts were becoming futile. It had been two years since they began their journey with little or nothing to show for it. Adam knew this frustrated his friend a lot and every time they came back to the cabin from one of their failed missions, Demetre would then begin to drink until he fell unconscious.

Demetre gazed into the flames, then seemed to notice Adam. He smiled drunkenly. "Hey Adam, wanna swig? I think there's enough?" He sloshed the flask around. "Oh, right…You're too young to drink. But hey, who's gonna to tell, eh? I'm not." He hiccuped.

"Demetre, stop this, please!" Adam pleaded, feeling his friend's emotions. He cringed. Demetre's emotions were so raw and his mind was so open. His mind was so wrecked with pain and anguish that it even caused Adam emotional stress. When someone drank, they lost a great deal of inhibition to make rational choices, Adam knew. "Geist and Angel are worried about you," he then said. "They don't like it when you're out here like this alone, drinking, and neither do I."

Demetre smirked. "Call me Demmy, all my friends do. Or do you not consider me a friend anymore? Like a certain someone? He was my friend, my best friend until he betrayed me, and killed—" He hiccuped. "As for those Shinigami, they can go suck a lemon, or eat a sandy apple, for all I care. We don't have any more fresh apples left. That gluttonous duo ate them all. That goes for that puffball in your hands, too. Shinigami like apples and I like my liquid candy." He took a sip of his flask. "Ahhh, so good!"

Cerberus rasped at Demetre with his tongue.

Adam realized Demetre wasn't making much sense. "Please Demmy, I don't like it when you drink. You remind me of my father before I joined the Savant Society. He hated my gift and saw it as abnormal. He used to beat me whenever I used it. I found out that he was cheating on my mother and he threatened to harm her if I ever told her. She later found out and it was my mother who sent me to an uncle, who then realized my gift and brought me to the Savant Society. It saddens me to see you like this. It wasn't your fault, Demetre. Dana's death wasn't your fault!"

Demetre momentarily looked introspective, his eyes glassy, gazing into the campfire. "I'm sorry for your family problems, Adam, but Dana's death was my fault! And I'm no longer welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven for what I've done. Every person Light has killed since I left him alive is blood on my hands. I thought he could change, but I was only fooling myself. Maybe I should have dropped him off the roof of the building and let Light fall to his death? But that would make me a murderer. And maybe Light was right, L would have thought I was Kira if he died, and sent out an army of troops to hunt me down." He paused. "It's said evil exists when good men do nothing. Because of my reluctance, I unleashed an evil just as deviant as the Devil himself upon the world. I deserve to be alone."
Demetre paused, took another sip from his flask—a small one. He sat quietly for a moment looking into the flames. Adam said nothing.

It was claimed by some Indigenous tribes that if a person engaged in a purification ceremony inside a Sweat Lodge that they would receive clarity for a deep troubling issue they were experiencing and receive an epiphany of some sort that was on the cusp of one's consciousness. He knew that Demetre was blaming himself for things that were not his fault, that Light Yagami's atrocities weren't his doing, but he had to accept that on his own, no one else could.

Light Yagami had caught up to the Third Kira and re-claimed ownership of the Death Note. After that, a massive killing spree ensued. Hundreds of people died of heart attacks from Kira's judgments after L was killed—all this according to the future Geist showed them in his Portable Hole or Orb. It was a looking glass found in the Shinigami Realm that all Shinigami carried with them to see events looking like a small black bowling ball.

"I've caused a lot many people to lose their lives for my moral compass," Demetre said. "I was brought up to believe that murder was a sin, but would killing a serial killer prove that wrong? Someone else would have carried on Light's plight. Light killed my grandfather, but in a small way, I thank Light for saving him from the pain of his terminal cancer. But I can't forgive him. I'll never forgive him. And I can't forgive myself for Dana's death and the events that led up to it. She should've remained behind while I dealt with Light alone." He sniffed. "This world is cruel, filled with rotten people. Why does God let a world like this exist? Can you tell me, Adam? Why does an omnipotent deity let evil exist in the world that's supposed to be of his guiding brilliance? Tell me! How can I follow a god that allows people like Light Yagami to exist?"

Adam wasn't sure how to answer and he was taken aback by the question. He had never heard Demetre talk so flippantly of his Lord before. He prayed and read his well worn Bible daily, but this talk was new. Adam knew Demetre was just frustrated and angry. What Demetre was asking was a question people had been debating for years without an answer.

"I can't answer that, Demmy," he said straightly. "But I do know you are a good person and God loves you. There are humans who sway from God's good grace, but you have not." He wasn't sure if he believed what he was saying, but he knew what Demetre needed to hear. His friend needed reassurance. He believed in an all-mighty being who created the universe, but he wasn't as religious as Demetre was.

"Then why did God let Dana die?" Demetre said angrily. "Did God kill Dana to punish me for picking up a Death Note?"

Adam needed to calm Demetre down. This wasn't the first time Demetre had asked this and got angry about it. Adam didn't have an answer for him. He couldn't answer for God and nor did he want to. The only thing he could offer was his own belief.

"You are a good person, Demetre, and I will repeat this for as many times as you need to get it through your thick skull," Adam said firmly. "People like you are cherished, and those with a good heart always fall the hardest. God gave humanity free will, it was His greatest gift. But more often than not, those who cannot see a wonderful blessing take it for granted. You cherish life, and you refuse to use the Death Note. You used it once to preserve your own life and God understands that. God granted you the gift of Dana in your life and even though you were only together for a short time, cherish every moment. For those who have been given a love so great, they are the most blessed of all."

Demetre blinked at Adam, he looked dumbfounded. He looked at his silver flask, but didn't drink from it, than back at Adam. "Nice answer, kid," he said with a drunken smile, then hiccuped. Then his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards off the log. He landed on his back with a thud.

"Demetre!"

Adam ran over.

"Call me Demmy, all my friends do…" He muttered under his breath, his eyes closed. Suddenly, he behind to snore. All the booze he drank tonight finally got to him. Regretfully, this meant that Adam would have to drag him back to the cabin like dead weight.

Adam cupped his hips. "Drugs and alcohol, two of the worse vices humanity has every conceived for depression," he said, then shook his head.

He picked up the silver flask, looked at it, and emptied out its contents on the ground. Then he thought about throwing it into the campfire, but decided against it. It would probably explode and could cause a campfire. After he took Demetre back to the cabin, he would come back and douse the fire. He put the flask in his pocket.

He was almost eleven, but he was stronger than he looked. Leaning over, he took Demetre under his arms and started to drag his friend back to the cabin. It was not an easy task.

To be continued...