Chapter 13:
One of the papers on The Advocate's table was about three tombs that were on the island, saying that the way into them was in a library on the far side of the island, under a hatch.
So, naturally, the others wanted to explore the area. I let them, saying that I had Englo, and I could always just shield us from view, if it came down to it. Ifan wanted to stay behind with me, but I shooed him off, assuring him that if I really needed them, I could use the pyramid. He still didn't budge, so I told him the reason I wanted them to go on without me- I needed some time to myself. That got him to agree, but he made me promise to keep myself safe.
With Englo by my side, I wandered back to the large tree that the Black Ring had been stationed around. Her story was so sad- she was being poisoned by something- a demon- and it had spread to the rest of the island, thanks to her roots. She whispered the demon's name to me, and the word filled me with dread.
The others found me just staring off into space, leaning against the tree.
"You okay, chief?" Lohse's voice sounded very far away.
A hand waved in front of my face, and I blinked, focusing on her.
"What? Sorry." I rubbed my eyes, finally realizing they were here. "Oh! You guys are back. Did you find anything?"
"We found the locations of the tombs and how to get in." Fane explained.
We split into three groups- Ifan choosing to go with me and Englo. Our tomb held a little girl and a skeletal cat. I honestly couldn't see anything wrong with her- even the man guarding her had said he'd made a mistake by locking her up. Lowering myself down into the pit while Ifan was talking to the man, I approached the girl. The cat hissed at me, telling me to leave its mistress alone. I reached down, patting it on the head, and smiled softly at it.
"You've been so strong for her for so long. Let me take some of the burden from you." I murmured.
The cat regarded me for a moment, before sitting. Giving me permission.
"If you break the pillars, you can free my mistress."
I nodded, lighting them on fire, watching as they disintegrated easily under the flames. The chains binding the little girl shattered. I walked over to where she lay on the floor, resting my hand on her forehead, feeling for any physical injuries. I didn't find any, but I did find another entity within her. She really had been possessed. But that was no reason to lock up a child.
Was it?
"You're safe now." I murmured, moving her head to my lap, stroking her hair. "You're safe. It's okay."
Pink returned to her skin, chasing away the pallid gray tone. Her chest rose higher than before, her breathing strong now.
"What are you doing?" Ifan demanded sharply.
I looked up at him, feeling very protective over the girl. "I'm going to take her back to the Lady Vengeance."
"You-"
"You're not going to be able to stop me." I warned. "I'm helping her."
"And if she kills someone?"
I hesitated, turning my gaze back to her, my fingers moving through her hair. "I don't think she will."
"You can't know that." He sounded so done.
Picking her up, I draped her arms over my shoulders and put her legs around me, resting her head on my shoulder. The cat leaped up onto me, laying around my neck like a scarf. Carefully creating a wall under me, I lifted us to the upper floor, where Ifan was looking at me with something on the verge of a glare.
Ignoring him, I walked past, heading to the entrance. Again, I used a wall- since I couldn't possibly climb a ladder like this- and walked back to the invisible bridge, Englo by my side. I made it halfway across, before he called out to me.
"Just come straight to me." I advised.
He cautiously moved toward me and, when he reached me, I told my wolf to continue on- she was in front. He was hot on my heels. Once on the other side, he tried to take her from me, but I turned away from him, holding fast to her.
"At least wait for the others." I could tell he was clenching his teeth.
I ignored him. Again.
Malady was back at the ship when we got there, and I took the little girl down to the next deck, where all the beds were. I gently laid her down, tucking her in, before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She would be okay. I just knew it.
The cat jumped down, laying on her chest, watching over her.
"You keep her safe, now. Okay?" I murmured.
It nodded, eyes never leaving her sleeping face.
With that taken care of, I went back to the top deck, finding Ifan talking to Malady. She turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
"You carried her all the way here?" It almost sounded as if she was impressed.
"I did." I smiled.
"Tell me, why did you want to help her so badly?" She looked bored, but she'd asked, so she must be interested. Right?
"She was suffering for so long." I looked at my hands, fidgeting with them. "She must have been so scared, being trapped there. Being powerless. Not in control of herself." I hesitated, before lowering my head further. "The demon in her is dormant, for the moment. She's like Lohse. I want to help her. If I can... then I will."
"Your friends are right- you really are a menace." She chuckled, amused now.
I couldn't argue that. Not when all signs pointed to it being true. I just smiled and ignored the heat in my face as I glanced up at them both.
"We should get back." Ifan gave me a look. "The Red Prince still has a pyramid."
He held out a hand to me, and I took it. The next moment, we were standing on Bloodmoon Island, just outside of the tomb we had gone in. The others had been waiting for us. Surprising me, he just shrugged off Lohse's questions about how it had gone down there and said we should get back to Jahan, if there was nothing else.
"We didn't get the name of the demon." Lohse said quietly, looking away from the demonologist.
I raised a hand, as if I were in school waiting to speak. "Actually, I know it."
Surprised looks all around, aimed at me. Jahan just motioned for me to continue.
"Adramahlihk." A shudder passed through me as I spoke. "And it's in Doctor Daeva, in Arx."
I hoped I never had to say that word ever again.
On his part, however, hearing it seemed to calm him. After reminiscing over the time he'd spent with the doctor, he urged Lohse to go closer to him, so they could get started. She was very nervous, but reached out and touched her arm, offering a smile.
"We'll be right here." I assured her. "I'm rooting for you."
She covered my hand with hers, giving it a squeeze, before straightening and nodding firmly. "Right. Let's do this, then."
She moved to stand in front of him, and his gaze went around our little group, before stopping on me. Telling us that we were not to disturb them. No matter what. The warning caused anxiety to curl in my stomach.
Everything was fine- they were humming louder and louder- but then he shouted, and I jumped, backing up a step. He called out the demon's name, and Lohse shot forward, trying to grab him by the throat. A hand wrapped around mine, fingers intertwining, and I knew it was more for me, than him. He knew this would be hard for me to stay out of, so he acted as a tether.
Jahan moved out of the way at the last moment, and she fell, sprawled on the ground. She wasn't down long, quickly getting her feet under her, and turned to face him. Face us. Her skin was gray, her eyes black. I'd... never seen her like this before, and I froze, barely breathing.
I could see the dark aura surrounding her, now. Now that the demon was in control. It was... purple, with wisps of black. Kind of beautiful, though that beauty was dampened by the circumstances.
The shouting started up again, the gist being that Jahan was trying to urge the demon out to "play with" him. As in... possess him? What was happening?
The demon's voice was low, husky as it responded, sounding for all the world like it was bored of dealing with the man. This back and forth went on for a while, during which Jahan started speaking in another language. Finally, the demon's eyes rolled back, and it collapsed. Lohse was out cold, breathing shallowly. I rushed to her, pulling her head onto my lap and checking her neck for a pulse.
"It's no use. It's too late..."
I barely heard him, too focused on making sure she was physically alright.
"I... I failed her. The demon's not coiled around her heart: he's become her heart." His words sent an icy chill through me as I moved her hair out of her face. "Try as I might, he would not shift. Lohse's soul is buried very deeply, deeper than ever before; Adramahlihk may never allow her to resurface again."
Her eyelids fluttered, as if she was dreaming, and I hoped whatever she was seeing, it was good.
I leaned over her, so my body was shielding her from anything else that may happen. She didn't deserve this. She was so kind to me, always worrying and fretting over me. She deserved to be here, to be herself. To be free of the demon. If Jahan couldn't do it, then we'd just have to find someone else. There had to be other things we could try.
Without realizing it, I'd begun to quietly hum in her ear, a song I loved so much. I used to sing it softly to myself when I was in times of stress or trouble. Surprisingly, I hadn't done that since before going to Fort Joy. During the song, I watched as her face started showing signs she was waking up. When it was over, I whispered for her to come back to us, urging her to listen to my voice and show us how strong she was. Because she was so strong. To have a demon in her, to be herself all day, every day. To fight against it and be the one most present in her own body. I was so proud of her, and I looked up to her. And I wanted her here, with us. I would miss her terribly, if she went away and never came back.
A soft noise left her, and I smiled brightly. Her eyes were open. She looked a little dazed, but her eyes quickly focused on me. I pulled back enough so I wasn't practically draped over her anymore. Her hands reached up, clasping mine, and she stared at me in wonder.
"You're awake." I murmured, squeezing her hands.
She and Jahan talked about what to do next, deciding the next move would be to head to Arx and confront the doctor, himself. He said that, after he helped us with our Source, he would make his way to the Lady Vengeance, so that he may accompany us there.
"Lohse." I slipped a hand free, moving her hair out of her face again. The breeze had fluttered it all around.
"It was like dying." She whispered, looking through me. "I was all alone in the dark, in the deep, deep dark, and I suddenly knew as clear as day that I didn't exist, that no one would ever know me and then..." She trailed off, and I wondered what she was seeing.
Before I could ask, her eyes snapped to mine, the awe back, tears spilling down the sides of her face.
"And then, I heard your voice. I heard you, and... and I followed it. It was all I had in the darkness. It was the only thing I could find. Just you. Nothing else." A quiet, muttered. "What the hell do I do with that?"
"Lohse." I poked her cheek, smiling again. "You're one of my best friends. Of course, I'm here for you. To help you. In any way that's within my capabilities. If you need a lifeline, I'm here. If you need someone to drag you back from the depths, I'm here." I pulled her up so she was sitting. "If you want someone to just listen while you talk about what's going on in your head, I'm here. I'm here, Lohse."
Her arms wrapped around me, and she buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing.
"And just because this failed, it doesn't mean that there aren't other things to try. Other avenues to go down. It just means we haven't found the right one yet." I assured her.
Slowly, she pulled back, wiping her face dry. Smiling. "I'm damn lucky I met you, chief."
I got to my feet, helping her up. "The feeling's mutual, I promise."
She dusted off the back of her skirt. "Right. What are we lazing about for?"
I chuckled, looking to the others. Jahan motioned for us to gather around the cage that held a demon. I was morbidly curious- I hadn't ever seen a demon like this before. Only in media or sketched in books. Still, I felt a little nauseous being so close to it.
"...this bond comes at a cost." I caught the tail end of a sentence, and what I did hear, didn't make me feel any better. "All life, after all, sustains itself by consumption. Like the grass feeds the herd and the herd feeds the hunter, so you must feed, for instance, on these..." His eyes went to the cage.
"We have to draw Source from demons?" Beast asked, doubtful.
"The sum of Source that flows through their festering flesh is more than enough to expand the sum that is yours. Through demise, a chance of divinity. Are you ready?"
Everyone else nodded. I, however, took a few steps back, wanting nothing to do with this. I would find another Master.
"Then let us begin."
He started chanting something in a language I didn't understand- it resembled the language he'd spoken in to Lohse's demon. I backed up even further, my back hitting a tree, as a scream sounded- the demon was screaming in agony. Several streams of Source formed, linking my companions to the demon. When the ritual was over, there was nothing but a pile of blood and guts in place of the demon. I covered my mouth with my hand and stumbled blindly deeper into the forest, before throwing up. The scream, the sight, the smell- the whole thing- it was all just too much for me.
Englo leaned against my side, giving me comfort with her weight, but also standing protectively over me.
I heard voices- they were talking about something, but I couldn't focus on that. I couldn't get the scream out of my head. It was awful.
Footsteps sounded close by, and my wolf let out a low warning growl, while I tried to collect myself.
"It's just me." Ifan said, and I wiped my mouth, wishing I had finished this sooner.
Still, she growled again. For her, it didn't matter who it was- I was unwell, and thus needed protection.
I patted her back gently. "It's okay." A glance at him. "I'm okay now."
The others approached, just then.
The Red Prince nodded slightly. "That certainly was unexpected, but what can one do?"
"Are you gonna be alright, lass?" Beast asked, frowning. "That couldn't have been easy to-"
"I didn't participate." I shook my head, moving away from him. From all of them.
Englo stepped with me.
"I couldn't... I could never..." Tears pooled in my eyes. "I just can't..."
Ifan, ignoring another warning growl, sidestepped my wolf and pulled me against him, arms going around me. He rested his chin on top of my head when I buried my face in his chest. He held me while I cried.
It had been a demon, yes, but... It had still been alive. The sound it had made... I couldn't help but feel like that ritual had tortured the creature. And for only that to have remained? What... I couldn't wrap my head around it.
We went back to the tavern after that, and I disappeared upstairs into my room. A few hours later, Ifan let himself in, dropping his pack by the bed and sitting. He moved toward the far corner of the bed, where I was huddled, and shifted me. I frowned at him, but he ignored it. When he was settled, he pulled me onto his lap, and I curled up against him. We didn't speak.
Eventually, I must've fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, I was laying down- sprawled half on top of him, his arms around me.