Eternal Winter

Chapter 4: Unfinished Business

Hey guys! I'm assuming that none of you want me to answer Riggs questions in the story, right? I already answered him personally. But I will next time it you wish... Well, there's one easy one. The Kokiri are excluded because they're mostly dumb midgets, and the Gerudo are excluded because they all work for Xalon or Ganondorf.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Next chapter the real quest will begin, I promise!

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Engoth helped Xila back into the Inn. He laid her on her bed, the rag still wrapped around her neck. It was completely caked in blood, but the blood flow had stopped.

"I'll be back." He said, and he went to get the rest of the team. Engoth walked out of the room and over to his own and Mohkaal's. He shook Mohkaal awake. "Get up." He said, not unkindly.

"Crazy crap that was a few hours ago." Mohkaal said, getting up. He yawned. "The Dark Magic Xila used..."

Engoth stopped dead. He had completely forgotten about that. What if this was all a ploy? What if the Lurker had known he was there, and was trying to solidify their trust in Xila, just to have her backstab them? He had to be sure. Just a minute ago he had been feeling close to Xila; he felt they could relate. His past had been full of blunders as well. But now that feeling was all gone. There was a chance she was the enemy. As the leader of the team, he knew that he couldn't put the rest of them at risk.

"Come to Xila's room." Engoth said. He walked out of their room and down the hall. He banged on Link and Artie's door. "Get to Xila's room when you can." He said. He then walked back to Xila's room with Mohkaal on his heels. He threw the door open.

Xila was sitting upright on her bed, tending to her wound. She had got out a bottle of water and was applying it steadily to her wound. Engoth walked over to see how the wound was faring. It wasn't faring well.

"I think it was poisoned..." Xila said, her voice trailing off. Engoth removed the rag, not as gently as he might have a few minutes before. The wound was infected already, that much was sure. The kind of wound that would be infected in minutes wasn't one Engoth was familiar with. He reasoned she was right.

"It probably was poisoned..." Engoth said. He ran his hand over the wound, causing Xila to jump. His hand came away with a mixture of blood and a black-purple liquid. Xila's eyes were a greenish-yellow. She shook fiercely.

"What's gonna happen to me?" Xila asked. She was fearful. Engoth could see it in her eyes. Much more literally than in most people.

"We have to talk." Engoth said.

"What?" Xila almost screamed. "We just deducted that I'm poisoned! What do you want to talk about?"

"I think you know."

"I-" she cut off. She did know what he was talking about. She gulped. "Your heard everything, didn't you?"

Mohkaal was confused. "Heard what? What the heck is going on here?"

"It's a long story, Mohkaal." Engoth said. He didn't have time to tell every member of the team individually what happened. "Wait 'till everyone's here so I won't have to repeat myself."

Mohkaal was apprehensive, but he yielded.

"I heard everything." Engoth continued. Artie and Link walked in at that moment. "I guess no-one knocks anymore?" Engoth asked, sarcastically. The two ignored his comment. "You were Xalon's apprentice."

This lead to gasps all around the room. That was a good effect... Engoth thought, impressed with his own delivery. How arrogant I am... He thought again, smiling. He didn't dislike that quality in himself. It gave him the confidence he needed to do great things. And he knew that.

After drawing out the silence dramatically for a few moments, he broke it. Xila hadn't dared. "So you're planning to backstab us then?"

He didn't quite believe that. But he had to draw it out of her. He doubted her. Xila took a deep breath before speaking.

"I was his apprentice." She said, quite simply. When no-one responded, she continued. "But I left his army." She didn't talk again. So Engoth took it as his cue.

"You expect us to believe that?" Engoth asked. He made a good show of it, but it was just that; a show. He believed her.

"You're going to have to." Xila replied simply.

"That doesn't work." Engoth said. "You're not the one with the power here."

"Then who is?" Xila asked, challenging Engoth. He smiled; he wouldn't play her games.

"Me." He said, quite simply.

"Fine. What do you purpose we do, oh Legendary Hero?"

Engoth glowered down at her. "I ain't the one who..." He was cut off. A searing pain forced him to the ground. After a few seconds, he tracked that pain to his left wrist. He looked down. It was as if it was trying to prove him wrong. A golden Triforce symbol appeared on his left hand.

Engoth turned around to see Mohkaal had just gone through the same thing that he had. A sudden thought popped into Engoth's head. He knew it was crazy, but something made him voice it.

"Put your hand against mine." Engoth said. Mohkaal complied. "The one with the Triforce!"

"Oh... of course..." Mohkaal said, embarrassed. Had he been a Hylian, his cheeks might have flushed.

"Put your hand over ours." Engoth said to Xila.

"What?" She asked, puzzled.

"Just do it!"

"Fine, I will!" Xila did it. But she got more than she bargained for when she did.

A blinding white light encompassed the room, making all of them shield their eyes. The light stayed for a second, and then receded.

Mohkaal was the first to try to withdraw his hand. Without success. Each time one of them tried it, the white light would come back and flash across the room.

"Enough!" Engoth said. "Xila!" He spoke with a voice of command. "Are you still loyal to Xalon?"

"What?" Xila asked, confused.

"Answer the question!" Engoth bellowed.

"No." Xila answered.

The blinding white light encompassed the room again and their hands jolted apart.

"She is telling the truth." Engoth said. He felt woozy. That drained a lot of his energy.

"How can you be sure?" Artie asked.

"Because I said so." Engoth snapped. "That's enough for you." Artie didn't answer.

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Demons are powerful creatures. They take no psychical form unless they choose to. Demons have the power to possess the consciousness of beings and take them down to ruin. Unless the host has the will-power to out-match the Demon's.

Artie is a good example of failed Demon possessing. Of course, he was only a baby, so it was not his will-power that stopped the Demon from controlling him, but his fairy's, Ski.

Ski was a feisty little fairy. Artie loved the little thing very much. He grieved for weeks when it died.

Artie's Demon is now controlled by him. Failed possessing. When Artie dies, the Demon will be released, and it will be free to do what it wishes again. But until then, Artie is in control of it.

When Demon's are successful in taking-over a body, the result is bad. The consciousness of the host is slowly diminished, and they are aware of next to nothing. If the Demon stays there too long, then the host consciousness fades to nothing. At that point, even killing the Demon wouldn't free the person. They are brain-dead.

But some Demon's don't risk body takeovers. It is impossible to judge the will power of a person, child or elder, man or woman. So it can be a risky business.

When not possessing things, Demon's take no apparent shape. They have none. The only clue that they are there is the faltering air and refracted light around them. They turn their occupied shapes into shadow. You can't see the shadow unless you're looking for it.

The team wasn't looking for it. Thus, this Demon had an easy time listening to and watching the entire event.

But Artie, having a Demon inside of him, knew how to look for one. And when he glanced outside the window at the back of Xila's room, it took him a second to realize it, but he was staring at a Demon. Artie gulped.

"Look." He said, pointing at the window. The entire team turned their heads.

Xila was the first to pick up the Demon. She didn't know a lot about Demons, so she wasn't sure what she was seeing.

Engoth saw it next. He had heard about Demons, and dismissed them for folklore. It was only when he had met Artie that he had started to believe in them. He knew what he saw.

Mohkaal and Link never saw the Demon. They thought Engoth was crazy when he sent an arrow flying through the open window.

"What are you doing?" Link cried.

The Demon was too quick for them. It disappeared before their very eyes.

"We had a spy in our midst." Engoth said, sighing. "We can now safely assume Xalon knows everything."

"Not quite." Artie said, smiling. "Xalon shouldn't know how to control and conjure up Demons."

"Well," Engoth started, "I'm quite sure Demons don't just go around listening in to other people's conversations for fun!"

"Don't get sarcastic with me Engoth." Artie said, Dead-panned. "Tutendorf knows how to control them."

Engoth swore under his breath. "Enough with this freakin' Tutendorf! Who is he, anyway? And what does he have to do with us?"

Xila answered first. "Tutendorf sent for the killing of my entire Sheikah family." She said, looking down. "No more Sheikahs reside in Hyrule because of him."

Engoth almost laughed. "Don't speak nonsense! Just because you can't find the Sheikahs, doesn't mean they're not there!"

"You try finding them!" Xila shouted. "I've searched nearly a year, every corner of Hyrule, to find people of my own race! And I've turned up nothing!"

"Stop shouting guys." Artie said. "That doesn't get us anywhere."

"I'm sorry..." Xila said. "I lost my temper..."

Engoth sighed. "And I'm sorry for... provoking you. Now back on subject; what does Tutendorf have to do with this team?"

"Don't you see?" Artie asked Engoth. "Tutendorf wants the glory for himself! He wants to take the 3 pearls and lead his Demon army to defeat Xalon. He wants to rule Hyrule."

"Why would he want that?" Mohkaal asked.

"Why would he want that?" Artie asked, chuckling. "Unlimited power? I think most people would want that."

"So he wants to get the orbs first?" Engoth asked.

Artie looked at Engoth for the first time in the conversation. "And if I know him, he plants to kill us to do so."

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Far away, the Lurker was reporting back to Xalon. "Your majesty." It said, bowing ceremoniously. Its voice echoed through out the halls of the Ice Tower.

"Have you carried out your assignment?" A cold voice asked, from its high seat upon the throne. The voice was dark and cold, and it made the Lurker shudder.

"I have." the Lurker stated.

"Very well Vince." Xalon said from atop his throne. "What was the girl's answer?"

The Lurker, Vince, sighed. "She said no." Xalon laughed.

"You know that that is unacceptable." He said, coldly.

"I know, your majesty." Vince said, still bowing. "But I have the only antidote for the poison I inflicted upon her."