It wasn't often that you met your long-lost, long-thought-dead relative.
And yet, there Hari was, staring at her Great-Great-Grandmother who was grinning at her without a care in the world.
"I'm so confused," Hari said weakly.
"Of course, Child," she said happily. She smirked teasingly and pointed to Hari's neck. "But first, I think you're going to want to answer your girlfriend there."
What? What was she talking about? How was she supposed to talk to Shan when…
Hari felt so stupid that she smacked herself on the forehead. "The Sound of Wandering," she groaned. "I completely forgot." She reached inside her shirt and pulled it out, very thankful that her captor hadn't realized she'd had it. The horn was trembling so softly that she almost thought it wasn't moving at all. "Why is it not shaking so much?" she wondered out loud. "The last time I saw it in action, it was moving a lot more."
"The Sound of Wandering reflects the distance between the two mates," Chisato explained with a grin. "The weaker the vibration, the greater the distance. But, as she approaches in the right direction, the vibration will grow stronger."
"That makes sense," Hari mused.
She put the horn to her lips and blew gently. It was strange that no noise came out, and she was surprised to feel a calming warmth from where her lips touched it. A few moments later, the vibration returned and Hari knew that Shan had received her message. Love for the girl filled her heart and Hari smiled tenderly at the horn in her palm, taking comfort in the connection it provided her to Shan.
"Still, it might be too late when your girlfriend arrives."
Hari startled at Chisato's bluntness. "What do you mean?" she demanded.
Chisato's face was gloomy. "You're their final piece," she said grimly. "They will make their final preparations and then force you to become Lost. And because they can control the Lost, they will control you."
"Even if that happens, Dad will kill me," Hari said uncertainly. "He knows that being a Lost One is worse than death. Becoming a monster…" she shuddered. "He won't hesitate."
"No, he probably won't," Chisato conceded. "But, if you become Lost, then your blood will fully awaken. Your Demon's Body is stronger than even your father's. He may not be able to stop you before you bring destruction and end countless lives."
This was getting better and better. Hari scowled at her grandmother. "Then tell me you have a solution instead of just more bad news," she snapped. "You said you're trying to save me, then tell me what's going on."
Chisato nodded. "I have been setting things in motion since we met," she said. "When I read your palm, I was really looking to see if you are capable of what only myself has done before." She smirked and held out her arms dramatically. "Becoming a Demon-Witch." When Hari didn't respond, she pouted. "You could act a little more surprised," she accused.
"Sorry, I'm a little worn out from everything that's happened today."
"I suppose that's fair," Chisato said with a shrug. "Now, you may not know this, but witches are made, not born." She sighed dramatically. "I would show you some more of my amazing abilities, but sadly, when I allowed myself to be captured, I had to resign myself to wearing these." She lifted her sleeves to reveal a pair of bracelets on each wrist. "They prevent me from doing anything truly impressive, like when I turned your girlfriend into a child. That was quite the nifty spellwork if I do say so myself."
So apparently, Hari's grandmother was a bit of a braggart.
"Why did you allow yourself to be captured?" Hari asked.
Chisato wagged her finger disapprovingly. "Don't interrupt your elders," she scolded. But then she grinned. "I had to be captured so I would be 'forced' to create some curses to be used on others."
Pieces clicked into place and Hari grew pissed.
"You made the curse that's killing me?" she hissed. "I wouldn't have been captured if it wasn't for that!"
Chisato waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, you would have," she countered. "But then, I wouldn't have been able to stop you from becoming Lost." She grinned. "It's quite ingenious of me, actually. I managed to create a spell that masqueraded as a curse but will actually simultaneously make you a witch and allow you to fully awaken your demon blood."
Hari let out a strangled choke. Her eyes bulged and then narrowed.
"Are you insane?!" she demanded. "I can't fully awaken my royal blood. I don't have an anchor and it'll kill me!"
"But Dear, I gave you an anchor," Chisato answered, tapping her own chest, right over her heart.
Hari was saved from responding by the sound of the door unlocking.
In an instant, Chisato became obscured by smoke and resumed her old woman disguise. When she pointedly gestured to Hari's horn, Hari tucked it back under her shirt before the door opened. Then she got to her feet and turned around, arms crossed defiantly.
The door opened and the cloaked figure entered.
"Princess, I hope you're liking your accommodations," she sneered with a mock bow. "I'm sure they aren't what you're used to."
Hari shrugged. "A little drafty, but it'll do temporarily," she said arrogantly. Her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
The cloaked figure removed a whip from her sleeve. "I thought you would appreciate seeing the effort of our work," she bragged. She pulled on the whip threateningly. "Now, will you be a good little princess and obediently follow? Or do I have to get rough?" Under the hood, Hari could see the woman lick her lips eagerly. "I'm perfectly fine with getting rough."
Head high, Hari walked out of the room. Though she hoped her captor couldn't see the way her palms were sweating and her knees trembled.
She was led down a stone corridor lit by several torches. There were no other rooms and from what Hari could tell, she and Chisato were the only prisoners. She kept her princess mask on as she was led out of the corridor and onto a balcony that overlooked a giant stone chamber.
A chamber that housed over a hundred Lost Ones standing at the ready.
Hari gasped and clutched the banister in front of her to stop herself from shaking. How were they managing to control so many Lost Ones? She felt her eyes water in grief for each one she looked at. Each one, once a fellow Asmodian, now consumed by their demon blood and forced to live out their days as a monster.
Until she did her duty and ended their suffering.
"Quite impressive, isn't it?" her captor bragged. Hari glared at her from where she was sitting on the banister, leaning against the wall while she admired her work down below. "We've been gathering them from under your nose for quite some time now. True, you and Shan managed to be a thorn in our sides at times, but you never realized what was really the prize here." She turned her head and smirked at Hari. "I'm quite excited about the idea of controlling you once you become Lost and turn into a savage monster yourself."
Hari stared back tiredly. "So, you're Asmodian," she said sadly. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to discuss the truth behind the monsters with me."
She shrugged. "Asmodian, Elyos, in the end, power is power." She tapped the handle of her whip against her palm. "I think you'll find that there are quite a few Asmodians who are disgruntled with the current power structure in the Underworld."
"Will you at least tell me who you are?" Hari asked softly. "If you claim to be my future master, then I think that you owe me at least that courtesy."
Chuckling, the woman reached back and removed her hood. It was a relief when Hari didn't recognize the dirty-blonde-haired woman who stared back at her. Her ice-blue eyes were full of so much glee at Hari's predicament. Were there really fellow Asmodians who looked upon the royal bloodline like this?
"You may call me Ino," she said smugly. "I'm a blood demon. Kwang-Sarang kicked me out of the clan some years ago for questioning the clan's position at your feet." Her ice eyes widened manically. "Imagine her surprise when I show up controlling the princess she's sworn to protect!"
Hari's frown deepened. "Don't you fear that whoever you're working with will push you to become Lost yourself?" she wondered. "Don't you fear that same control you're hanging over my head?"
Ino shrugged carelessly. "Not really, and neither do the other Asmodians in our group." Her smirk widened. "We know that we won't all walk away from this, but it sure is going to be fun to spread some chaos. Anything to wrong those who wronged us."
Unable to look at her, Hari turned her face back to the Lost Ones. She gazed sadly as she looked at each one, standing still as a statue though their eyes were open and aware.
"I've done my best to free every Lost One I can for the past seven years," she said softly. "So many of my people, consumed by the very thing that's supposed to give them life." She turned to look at the uncaring Ino. "It is an Asmodian's sacred duty to carry the burden of darkness of both Heaven and the human world," she said. "And it is my sacred duty to free those who are overwhelmed by it."
Ino rolled her eyes. "Blah, blah, blah," she said mockingly. "I don't care about that." She grinned, a fang disturbingly protruding from her mouth, signifying her already started path to becoming Lost. "I can't wait to sick all of these Lost Ones on Heaven. Maybe one will get lucky and tear your pretty girlfriend from limb-to-limb."
Hari's heart turned cold.
"Why attack Heaven?" she asked numbly.
"Well, we might need more Lost Ones in the future," Ino laughed. "Gotta leave the Asmodians alone so our future stock doesn't run out."
Hari had thought she knew what evil was. But now…now she realized what true darkness looked like.
"How do you plan on controlling me?" she asked in curiosity. "If you force me to become Lost, my blood will fully awaken. Do you really think you'll be able to control one who is dominant in Demon's Body?" She grinned darkly. "It might be you who ends up getting torn limb-to-limb."
It was a gamble to stoke Ino's ego, but it was one that Hari felt she had to take. Unless she knew how the Lost Ones were being controlled, she wouldn't be able to stop this from happening again in the future. Thankfully, it worked. Though not in the way she expected. Ino's eyes glared and her whip lashed out.
Hari grunted when the whip struck her face, very nearly taking out her eye. She felt the blood dripping down her cheek, but was unable to do anything about it as the whip was then wrapped around her torso and restrained her arms. Hari glared at the smug Ino who was openly laughing at her predicament.
"Alright then, Princess," she mocked. "Let's go and extend this field trip."
She was dragged around the balcony to where a set of stairs was carved out of the stone wall. Hari struggled to retain the image of strength when really, she was reaching her limit as her fading body began to shake.
Grandma, you and I are going to have a little chat about what's considered helpful, Hari thought in annoyance.
Ino led her through the throngs of Lost Ones. Each one glared at them, growls building in their throats. Hari felt herself sweat anxiously at being so close and so helpless at the same time. But each one was unable to move and the two Asmodians were able to pass safely to the other side of the chamber and to a new corridor.
This corridor had light at the end and Hari's heart lightened at the sight of an exit. But she wasn't taken there as there was an iron door in this corridor that Ino unlocked with her magic before shoving Hari inside.
Thankfully, this room was an office instead of another cell. There was a large desk filled with papers tossed haphazardly on it. On the corner was a large blood-red diamond that reverberated with dark power. But it wasn't that that really captured Hari's attention.
No, that was saved for the golden spear that hung on the wall.
Hari's knees buckled and she fell to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing.
Ino smirked. "Yeah, I'm not surprised you recognize this beauty," she said proudly as she gestured to the spear with her thumb. "It must've been, what, ten years since you saw one?"
Her body wouldn't stop shaking. Her blood began to burn as her fear quickly overwhelmed her. "How?" Hari croaked.
"It's crazy the sort of friends you can make when you hold a grudge," Ino laughed. "I won the bet that determined who gets to use it on you." She bent over and pressed a cold kiss to Haki's clammy cheek. "I'm looking forward to running that spear through your heart, Princess," she whispered in her ear. "And then using the gem to completely make you my pet."
Through the overwhelming terror, Hari felt a small twinge of satisfaction. Now she knew the how. It was definitely a start.
"Why not just do it now then?" she asked sorrowfully, eyes trained on the spear that still haunted her nightmares. "You clearly want to."
"I do!" Ino whined as she straightened back up. She walked to the table and picked up the gem. To Hari's surprise, Ino pressed it to her heart and it sank into her chest. "Quite the impressive magic," she gloated. "Keeps people with sticky fingers from getting ideas," she said, eyes coldly boring into Hari's. "I would stab you and use the gem now, but something about needing the strongest in both worlds in one place is making the others want to wait, just in case you end up going a little too wild for us." She cackled manically and walked over to the wall to lovingly caress the spear. "I'll just have to force myself to be patient."
But Hari was barely listening anymore to Ino's mad ramblings. Assuming what she'd said was true, then this sick group's plan was to gather strong people together and then overwhelm them and kill them. People like her dad. People like Shan.
And Hari had given Shan a beacon where to find her.
Now the terror took on new meaning. Hari swallowed multiple times and desperately tried to suppress the emotions that were driving her blood crazy. She could feel her magic threaten to build in response to her distress, and that in turn made her heart pound in warning.
It seemed that Ino grew tired of messing with her once she saw that Hari was no longer responsive in her shock. Hari followed without a word as Ino led her out of the office and back to her cell. She was released from her binds and was once again shoved to the floor before the door was locked behind them. Hari was so overwhelmed that she didn't even realize Chisato had undone her disguise once more until her grandmother was gently guiding her to lie on a pallet bed and covered her with a blanket.
Chisato sat at Hari's side and comfortingly ran a hand up and down her arm. "I'm sorry that you had to endure that," she said sincerely. "Seeing that spear…it must have been terrible for you."
Tears leaked from Hari's eyes and she buried her head in the moldy pallet. "They're going to ambush my dad and Shan," she cried. "And I've given Shan the direction where to find me. It'll be my fault if they…"
"Shush," Chisato soothed while she gently stroked her head. "Dear, they were going to come with or without your horn. Our captors plan on guiding them here regardless. But at least with your horn, you can set things in motion faster than they're anticipating."
Hari lifted her tired head. "How long do we have?" she croaked.
Chisato stared at Hari for a few long moments, but it wasn't clear whether she was actually looking at her. Then she blinked and bit her lip. "It's unclear," she admitted. "Two, maybe three weeks until they use the spear on you. Not a lot of time for you to safely awaken."
Hari sat up and placed a hand over her heart. "How is this spell supposed to do that and make me a witch?" she asked.
Chisato grinned, placing her hand above Hari's. "You said that you need an anchor in order to awaken," she said. "Well, in order to become a witch, we each accept the soul of what we call a guardian within our own."
"Sora's guardian is a giant earth monster," Hari remembered.
Chisato grumbled. "That woman," she sighed. "But yes, Sora made an arrangement with the Guardian of Earth. A spirit with no form until she gave it one. By hosting the spirits and giving them form, we are granted the ability to cast magic."
"What's your guardian?" Hari asked.
Chisato smiled. "Mine is the Guardian of Air," she said proudly. "He allows me to see glimpses of the future on the winds." Her dark eyes glinted mischievously. "And I often give him the opportunity to spread his wings, so to speak." She sat back, now looking uneasy. "Yours though…I'll leave that to you to find out." She chuckled nervously. "But she wasn't exactly…pleased when I trapped her within that spell. She's the one attacking your heart."
Hari scowled. "And I'm supposed to accept her within my soul after that?" she clarified sarcastically.
"If you want to live," Chisato shrugged. "Despite what Sora said, I can't remove her. The only way for you to use magic again is by merging your soul with the guardian I trapped within you. By binding yourselves together, she will be both your guardian, and your anchor." Chisato's eyes gleamed eagerly. "You will never become Lost and will be able to fully embrace your Demon's Body." She broke off and shrugged uneasily. "Kind of."
That was a little cryptic, but it was honestly Hari's best bet at the moment. "And how do I do that?" Hari sighed.
Chisato clapped her hands excitedly. "Our first activity as Grandmother and Granddaughter!" she gushed. "First, you should probably call your Shan again. This process takes time, and you'll be unconscious for most of it."
Well, that didn't sound appealing. Hari frowned nervously as she pulled the horn out. It was vibrating slightly. She hadn't noticed during her little trip with Ino. Hari put the horn to her lips and blew. Almost instantly, the horn's vibrations increased slightly as Shan blew hers at the same time.
Causing a tiny whistle to sound.
Hari smiled and kissed the horn before she tucked it away. I'm sorry, Shan, she thought. But I'll have to worry you even more since I don't think I'll be able to respond very often. She looked at Chisato, her newly found Grandmother, and nodded solemnly. I will see you again, Shan, Hari vowed in determination. Wait for me.