Disclaimer: These characters belong to the Miss Kelly Armstrong!
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Mrs. Enright looked pleased for a moment before she muttered something quietly under her breath. She then turned her words toward me.
"Well, I guess it's a start." She uttered a another phrase and a long, thin sting dug its way down my shoulder. I gasped and looked down quickly to find a small, long cut bleeding through my shirt. She released my throat and I backed away from her quickly, pressing my hand into my shoulder. She didn't look the slightest bit phased.
"That was just a warning," she started, lounging back against the mirror and taking her time inspecting her nails. "Any false information given and I'll be forced to take action. Understand?"
I nodded, taking a quick peek at my shoulder to see that the cut wasn't severe, but it was enough to sting. I looked back to her.
"I-I understand."
She nodded. "And, if I do believe you, but it turns out to be a wild goose chase, these kind of future meetings will only get worse."
I nodded again, already planning on escaping before another meeting could even happen. She studied me for a moment before nodding. "So tell me, what "area" do you think Simon may be?"
I took a small deep breath, preparing my lie, and took a quick glance at Derek. He was looking down, refusing to meet my eyes. It stung a little, to think that he actually believed I might betray them. I tried not to take it too personally.
"W-When Derek and I m-made it to the older p-part of the factory, he s-said that he could tell th-that Simon had been through there recently, but had left a bit ago."
Mrs. Enright nodded, motioning me to go on. I sighed and looked down at my hands, mustering the most guilty look that I could accomplish.
"W-Well, D-Derek said that his tr-trail v-veered off into th-the wooded area p-past the storage area of the factory." I said, thinking back to where Derek and I had hid between boxes and escaped. Hopefully they would see the broken window and think that Simon had really escaped past that way.
"The storage area…" She said slowly. "That wasn't too far from where we found you two." She stated. I looked back up to her to see slight suspicion in her gaze. I just nodded.
"W-we were trying to find him."
She nodded, and turned her head toward Derek. Whatever she saw, she must've convinced herself that I was telling the truth, because in the next second she stood, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.
"Well, I see this little pow-wow session between friends was productive." I winced as her grip tightened. "I'll let little Miss Chloe back into her room, and leave you be for a bit, Derek. I apparently have a little field trip to make. You two will see each other again this afternoon if this trip doesn't yield any results." With that, she began pulling me out of the room. I shot a quick glance at Derek, seeing him stare at me.
It may have just been my imagination, but it looked like he was scared. Scared, because he knew that I had lied, and that the next time he saw me, things wouldn't end on the same pleasant note that it had ended in just now.
I shook my head slightly, and gave a quick smile. Hoping that he got the message that I had a plan.
From the split second look of shock in his eyes, I could tell that he did.
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Mrs. Enright, the so kind and gentle woman that she was, haphazardly threw me against the floor and slammed the door shut without another word, leaving me stinging and sore. I felt a slight touch on my shoulder and smiled a bit.
"You okay?" Liz asked as she appeared in front of me.
I nodded, pushing myself up and making sure my back still faced the mirror.
"I'm fine. But we need-" I stopped myself as I looked around in shock, finding myself completely alone in the room. Liz had just vanished, and a small chill ran down the length of my spine.
"L-Liz?" I whispered, looking around the room. I slowly stood up, keeping my eyes open for any sort of movement, but there was nothing. I slowly backed myself up to the wall my bed was on.
After a few moments of scanning, I sighed and sat on the bed, still somewhat alert. Maybe Liz had something she suddenly had to take care of? Maybe something called to her? I shook my head, trying to not to let the panic set in.
She was probably fine, maybe she just popped up somewhere without realizing that she had the power and ability to do that now.
I think ghost could do that, right? She just appeared out of nowhere when I summoned her. Should I try summoning her again? Or did she leave on purpose?
I sat there, contemplating for a few seconds more when out of the corner of my eye, a shadow raced through. I jumped and turned, still seeing nothing, but a slow and seductive voice weaved its way into my ears.
"Oh, child," the feminine voice began, "no need to worry for your acquaintance." I looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of what was talking to me. The hairs on my arms rose, and my fingers began to shake as they clutched onto the thin blanket on top of the mattress.
"Wh-what..?" I asked quietly, still looking around me. There wasn't anything, no shadows, no figures, nothing. The only thing changing was the center light in the room slowly becoming more dim, casting an eerie glow around the room.
"I just put her… outside for now, so that you and I may have a little chat. She'll be safe." I jumped at the feeling of breathing down my neck, and I quickly turned to still find myself alone in the room.
"Ou-outside?"
"Mmm." The voice confirmed, moving around me and further towards the center of the room. "Outside. I'll give her back to you once we've finished."
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. "Fin-finished? Wh-who are you? Wh-What -"
"What am I? Oh, how to explain in a way a human could understand…" The voice seemed thoughtful, and the light in the room suddenly stopped darkening, staying at a warm glow that admittedly had my eyes feeling better at receiving a nice break from the harsh light. A sense of quick relief flooded through as I realized that I wouldn't be left in the dark, but it quickly washed away once the voice spoke again, still using the same calm and soothing voice.
"I guess Underworld-ling would suffice, seeing as though 'demon' definitely will not due. Nasty bugs, those are…" She drifted off.
"B-Bugs?!" I sputtered, my eyes going wide. I knew that I had never met a demon, and that Rae was even half demon, but weren't demons supposed to be powerful creatures? Things that could kill without any sort of hesitation? A threat?
"Yes, my child. Short-living things that attack in the night. There are some rather stunning ones, like butterflies, but nothing more than insects. Though you humans don't live that long either… So fragile, so subject to change, and yet so interesting to observe. I guess you humans would be more like flowers. No wonder you all attract demons so well."
"Wh-why can't I s-see you?" I asked carefully, growing more and more weary the longer she talked. If this...underworld-ling thought demons were just insects, just how powerful was she? How old was she?
"Oh how I would love to show you my form child, to see your amazement and your wonder. But I am afraid that I am too weak. I'm stuck here, in this building, with a trap that's been quickly draining my energy for decades. It was my fault really. So gullible I was, thinking that humans were honest and simple creatures. Your species has a certain… cunning that is both admirable and annoying." She let out another sigh, and the light above me seemed to pulse with it. I couldn't help but feel myself slowly relax, her calm voice soothing. I shook my head, trying not to let my guard down too much, just in case.
Her voice sounded again. "You see, small one, I was called upon from the other world by a large group of human specials. Witches, wizards, shamans, necromancers…. They had all gathered together, hoping that by perhaps studying one of my kind, they could find the answers that they sought about the human life. Lucky for them, it was I who answered their call, and we had struck a deal. They would be able to ask me anything, to run simple experiments on me, but in return, I was to be offered four children."
"Sa-sacrifices?" I stuttered out, instantly afraid.
A small, quiet chuckle filled the room. "You humans and your barbaric thinking." Her voice was slightly sharp, as if I had offended her. I pushed myself farther on the bed, curling in a bit in fear. At the action, a small sigh escaped the room, and I feel warmth spreading through me. I unconsciously relaxed again.
"No, my child, I am nothing like the demons that roam this earth or the Gods that humans believe in. I was interested in humans. They were, and still are, so strange to me. How you all could be so different, and yet so similar, how you could hate in one moment but love in the next, and how some of you have evolved to something wonderful, while some have evolved into something so dark." She paused, and I felt something pull on my hair gently.
As frightened as I should have been, my body was relaxed, even calm. I wondered absent-mindedly if this was this thing's power, and if I could relax, or be more scared about when she was finished with me. Was that her end game? Calm me down so that when she's ready, she would be able to strike quickly? It was a terrifying thought, but I still couldn't find it within myself to care as much as I should have.
"Four children," she continued. "A child of life and death, a child of man and beast, a child of wish and curse, and a child of weakness and strength."
"You wanted supernatural children." I said, slightly surprised.
"Yes, I wanted three supernatural children, but the fourth, I wanted to be without. A child of weakness and strength. A child who, although lacked any power, had the strength to go through and fight for their life."
"However, you humans are not bound by the same laws that my kind are bound by. When one of my kind give their word, we are bound by that word, and it is impossible for us to break it. I learned the hard way that lying comes easily to humans, and was trapped here because of it. I would allow them to study and learn from me, I said, to not do any harm onto any human. I allowed them run simple experiments. Whether it was because these humans did not want to hand over children, or simply because they had planned on it from the beginning, they learned of a way to trap me here. I've been here ever since, supplying power to the special humans who know how to withdraw it from me."
The light was severely low now, and her voice had a cold edge to it. I fought back the chill that threatened to take over.
I swallowed. "I-I'm sorry that they d-did that to you…. B-But I d-d-on't understand… why t-tell me?"
The light became a little brighter, and the cold chill that was present in this being's voice had vanished.
"Sweet child, this is not the first time that I have been aware of your presence, nor of your wolf's. The first day you came, you were so very small, and your poor mother… You could see the stress that she was under, worrying about the fate of her sweet daughter. However, the scientists here made a false promise to get rid of your power. Instead, they have turned it into something terrifying… something absolutely gorgeous."
I listened closely, flinching only slightly as I felt something run through my hair again, and I was reminded of when my mother would play with my hair. I gulped and tried to keep the tears from my eyes.
"Your power is essential to my freedom, and I wish to make a deal with you, child. The deal is this."
She paused, and the light shined bright for a moment before going back down. I shook with the sudden power and strength of her voice.
"My promise to those back then still remains. I will answer any questions, I will allow any experiments, and I will not harm any human. However, I will add to this deal a part that will benefit you directly, Chloe Saunders."
"I will help you escape, along with your wolf and your ghost. I will be there with you, as you travel, to help protect you from any future harm, and, until my power has fully returned and I may return home, I will stay with your offspring, to offer them protection as well. Think of me as a familiar, who will be near you always. These services will be provided to you if you choose to first free me of my cage."
I balked a bit, surprised. "M-me? But h-how do I know that you won't just go on a rampage once I free you? O-or that your whole story wasn't just some sort of lie? How would I even free you?" I asked, my words spilling out in a rush.
"I suppose that this may seem daunting to you, child, and I know of how many tricks can be pulled during negotiations such as these. But there is no way to further prove how bounded I am by my promises. I must ask that you take that risk. I must also ask that you should keep in mind how long Mrs. Enright has been gone already, and what may happen when she returns."
At the thought of Mrs. Enright, my hand unconsciously moved to my shoulder, where the scrap had stopped bleeding, but still held a bit of a sting. She was right. Mrs. Enright was not someone to take lightly, and more damage to both me and Derek could significantly lower our chances of escaping. A sense of foreboding, however, kept me for agreeing outright.
"Why w-would you w-want to make another deal with a human? They've b-betrayed you before…"
"Another good question child." She praised, her voice still just a calm whisper floating through the room. "You see, in my time watching humans, I have learned how to tell the honest from the dishonest. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, as you humans put it." There was a slight pause. "Besides, I do not ask of much in this deal, and your end of the deal must come first before I fulfill my end. It would be hard for you to trick me when you've already given me the freedom that I have wanted."
That made sense. But there was still one more concern.
"And the four children you were promised… do you still intend on collecting?" I said, shifting uneasily on the bed. I wouldn't feel right releasing something into the world and then having it kidnap four children.
"Ah, yes, my children…" the underworld-ling drawled. "Well, if you are able to free me, I will be bound to you and your future generations. I will be bound to one of the children I have requested - a child of life and death. And, by traveling with you and your friends, I will be able to study the others. So, in a way, I will already be getting what I once requested." She stated, a happy tone entering her voice near the end.
"You child, are a child of life and death. Your wolf is a child of both man and beast, this Simon of yours that has escaped is a child of witch and curse. I will only be missing one child, and once you are done with your adventures and have settled down, I will look for this last child."
"Y-You wouldn't kidnap this child… would you?" I asked, a little sheepishly. It was a legitimate concern, but seeing as though this thing sounded as if it could smite me at any moment, I wasn't exactly eager to anger it.
"Nonsense," the creature chuckled. "You are familiar with orphanages, aren't you? Although, maybe if I came across a child who absolutely needed to be kidnapped…" The voice sounded thoughtful toward the end, and I couldn't help but feel slightly stupid for not thinking of that.
All of a sudden, the light in the room turned bright, blinding me for a split second before calming back down.
"Child, I hate to rush you, but Diane Enright has returned, and does not look pleased. I can help you and your friend escape, but I need you to decide. Are you willing to take the risk of trusting me? Are you ready to make a deal?"