This is taken a while, my apologies. I am actually in the process of making this story available as an audio book. I have recorded five chapters so far and a friend of mine will be taking over, as she wants to get into recording for book. The audio verson is a bit different due to the fact that I edit a lot of grammar as I go and dialogue tends to change with reading it out loud, because some lines are better read in your mind then aloud. If you are interested, feel free to send me a PM and I can get you the files if you would like. :D
Now then, let this story continue!
This chapter has been edited, definitely reread.
Amongst the quiet trees a pocket of wind began to form. Brittle leaves were torn from their homes and sent into a flurry as darkness split the cyclone. Dark appendages darted from the now oval opening and pierced the dirt in several places as Cain exited his portal. The demon's face was pale, more so than usual, and his glowing red eyes focused on the ground before him.
Reapers… what annoying creatures… Dark blood coated his clothes where the wound on his back continued to bleed. Cain reached a hand back as his dark manifestations melted into the ground, blending back into the shadows of the forest floor, and touched the infliction. He winced as the brush of his finger stinged his skin, causing him to growl.
The blade must of been blessed.
It was no shock to the demon that the blade that had pierced him was blessed, as the squad of Reapers had been sent to punish him. No leader would send their troops in without some sort of protection. Cain grimaced as he pushed himself forward to the faint outline of his Mistress's mansion.
I will have to wait until this wound heals, until then I cannot maintain a proper Glamour. Glamour was what demons used to appear humane to their masters, but it served many purposes besides just that. With Glamour, a demon could contort their image to any role they could mentally maintain. If a demon needed to spend the day as a dog, then they simply needed to imagine the image of dog and perceive themselves as one. If they needed to portray themselves as a tree, well, then they would have to understand the plant in order to be one. Never had there been an instance where a demon had to act as a tree, but there were plenty of instances for a demon to disguise themselves as mortal beings, as their prey was mortal.
"I could use a meal" Cain snarled, caving in to his pain by sitting down on an aged tree stump. He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to stretch out, since physical movement was far too taxing. The more he moved, the more difficult it became for his skin to mend, but he wanted to get closer to the house and closer to his Mistress. One could imagine his shock when he sensed her nearby in the woods, rather than in the mansion as she should have; however, this was not the most unsettling part. What was more concerning was the fact that Isabel was accompanied by Lara, of all people.
"So you are aware now of what you must do?" Lara spoke, her voice heavy with expectation.
No reply came, leaving the eavesdropping demon to wonder what the two had spoken about. He needed to know and as this one thought looped in his mind, his skin began to fade into darkness, dripping into the shadows surrounding him and slithering across the forest floor. Soon he pooled in a large circle of darkness that held the two females within the thick forest.
Lara leaned against a withered tree and watched Isabel with sparkling ice colored eyes. She wore a lengthy dress, which Cain knew she chose solely to conceal her multiple wounds from their previous exchange, and looked most intrigued by his lady. The demon found this odd, as Lara had always held an air of disinterest, or more like hatred for his human master so why now did she look at Isabel with such interest?
"I will take what you have told me into consideration" Isabel nodded to the woman and turned to leave, but Lara laughed, making the woman pause in irritation.
"It does not bother me if you believe me or not, mortal, because in the end, it is all the same. Allow me to offer a suggestion" The demoness smirked, her eyes flashing red "enjoy your remaining months as a mortal."
Isabel turned to curse at the woman, but when she glanced back, Lara was gone. Gritting her teeth, she brought a hand to her stomach and glowered down at the area in question before taking a step in the direction of her home.
Cain watched his Mistress through the hanging shadows and beneath the dark abyss the demon scowled. Oh, I think not.
Large dark spikes shot out of the forest floor and surrounded the woman within an instant. Isabel hissed and took several steps back out of surprise.
"How dare you startle me, demon!"
"My apologies, but your little rendezvous had me most anxious. Might you tell me what the two of you talked about?" Cain's voice surrounded the woman, much like the quivering limbs that now caged her, and had an almost distant feeling to it.
"Might you explain this?" The woman pointed a slender finger at the dark webbing.
Silence sat heavy in the forest as the two refused to answer one another, but Isabel broke first.
"What does it matter? You've been gone for days and now expect me to explain my actions?" She gave a hollow laugh, malice echoing in the sound "No, that is not how this works Cain. Now release me" Isabel's violet eyes flashed the moonlight "or just kill me and end this pathetic charade."
The appendages twitched and all at once the mass shrunk into the ground once more. Cain stood before her with what glamour he could manage. His maroon eyes were narrowed, not looking pleased "what did Lara say."
It wasn't a question, rather a demand and the demon began walking towards the woman. Isabel appeared disinterested, but her eyes screamed anger.
"That you are a demon, nothing I didn't already know" Isabel locked eyes with Cain and she grinned "now if you'll excuse me, I need to return home as I have been absent for a couple days-"
"Isabel, I have been gone for less than a day." The reds of the demon's eyes began to glow "you will tell me what she has said and you will do so now."
Cain reached and grabbed the woman's chin between his thumb and forefinger. Blood trickled from beneath his sleeve and ran down the length of his arm, sliding into his fingers and dripping onto her face.
As the warm blood pooled on her chin, a small sigh coursed within her.
Faaather…
Pale skin flashed as it smacked the demon's hand away. Cain snarled and his power flared in response, but he faltered when he witnessed tears in the woman's eyes. She didn't look him in the eye and the fact it was intentional made Cain furious, but he couldn't move. The emotion he saw in her eyes was much like when Mordecai assaulted her and that had the demon hesitating. He gritted his teeth and turned his back on the woman.
"Ib… I shall wait until you are ready to tell me what nonsense Lara has filled your head with. Until then I will leave you, as I can see my presence here is unwanted. You need only call me and I will return to your side."
Tears multiplied in the woman's eyes and they glanced over at the demon's back. She reached out a hand, her heart clenching at the large wound in the man's back. What had happened to him in her absence? Blood continued to saturate his back and her hand moved to touch the trail of crimson.
You are with child mortal, and it is a child of a demon. Such a honor that you will have to sacrifice your life for Cain's seed, as humans cannot survive demonic childbirth. Your pregnancy will be a quarter of the time that it takes humans to give birth and when fully matured, your child will rip from your womb and stretch it's arms for the first time. Signs will start to show after your first month, so if you would like, I can take you into hiding until you give birth. If you value your life, you will not tell Cain of this. In the past... he never took the news very well. I have lost count of how many mortals he has slaughtered that bore his seed and I wouldn't want the same fate for you, Lady Isabel.
Her hand stopped and clenched, twitching in anger. Pain constructed her chest and words became impossible to form. Tears stung her eyes and her body quivered, but she brought her hand back to her chest and returned to staring down the path back at her home.
"I will be waiting" the sound of boots crunching was her only indication the demon had left. Silence wrapped itself around the woman and soon the sound of her sobs broke it. She pushed her legs forward and with mindless movement she returned home.
When she was within a close distance of the door, she noticed Issac looming against the railing of the stairs.
"Well well, what an expression you've got there" he pushed himself from the railing and strolled over to her "did you get lost?"
Isabel showed no interest as she walked past the man and Issac sighed, moving to grab her wrist.
"Compose yourself before entering, unless you wish to show your staff your true colors."
"...let me go" Isabel choked, tugging her hand away from the man, but his fingers remained laced around her slender wrist.
"I have free will, so I will do as I wish. Do not think you can control me like your spawn-" Her eyes shot up and met with the man's, making Issac stop. Violet depths appeared almost crimson as anger dug into her features.
"Let me go, Issac" the words sounded forced, and the effort made several tears fall from her eyes. Issac narrowed his eyes, contemplating. He knew she had gone to see a demon, perhaps a friend of Cain's, but how she looked, did she really meet up with the demon? A trace of guilt laced through him as he knew he should have accompanied her, regardless of her demands earlier. He sighed and opened his mouth to ask what happened, but the words died in his throat as the front door was swung open. Relying on instinct, the man moved and brought his arms around Isabel, pulling her into his cloak.
"Mistress! Is that you?!" Kaile's panicked tone asked.
Issac spoke in an almost whisper, wanting only Isabel to hear "your trembling. I'm going to lift you up, so please try your best to not bite. I will take you to your room and we can talk about this tomorrow. Now be a good girl and appear asleep." Issac's grip on her tightened and shifted in order to scoop her up in his arms. The dark cloak consumed her, but in the movement Issac's hand peeked out from beneath and the touch was uncomfortable due to how ice cold the limb was. Issac had stated he was cold to begin with, but this chill couldn't compare to his normal touch. She appeared conflicted as she played with the idea that Issac had been outside waiting for her to return and with a gentle sigh she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
"Can you get the door Kaile?" Issac called out, turning to face the girl once Isabel appeared asleep, or at least enough to fool the staff. He climbed the small stairs and glanced over at Kaile upon passing "could you show me where her chambers are again? It appears she got lost in the woods, silly woman."
I got lost in the woods?! You bastard... Isabel shifted a hand beneath the dark robes and wrapped her fingers around his forearm.
"Well, at least that is what I am to believe, because she exited the forest when I found her and she collapsed as soon as she reached me." Isabel clenched her jaw, damned man sounded proud.
"Oh, well then it was good that you were waiting outside when she came home. I don't understand where she ran off too... but who am I to question it" Kaile's voice traveled past the two and the sound of her shoes on the stairs pressured Issac to move forward, but her footsteps paused.
"We should take her to the church."
Issac sighed and looked down "I believe whoever she meant to talk with told her what she needed to know. Let us allow her to sleep and we shall ask her tomorrow if she will speak with a cleric."
It was Kaile's turn to sigh and she did so with pain in her breath "if only Cain was here... He would know what to do."
Isabel flinched and again her body began to quiver. Cain, the one firm cog in her mess of gears. Her mind couldn't comprehend anything but anger at this point, but she knew she would have to analyze their time together in order to see if Cain had in fact been deceiving her. He was demon, so of course he had been toying with her, but her gut challenged that. Were his smiles, his laughs and his emotions all for the act? Her heart screamed for the news she heard to not be true and she had told herself that she wouldn't believe it, but when Cain appeared in the woods, her resolve had shattered.
He had been gone for days, and it was then that he chose to show up, right after Lara had taken her and explained everything.
Isabel, I have been gone for less then a day. Had she? Had it only been a day since Lara had escorted her to the demoness's home? No, it couldn't have been. She had slept and eaten while Lara ran tests and consulted with other demons. She of course hadn't seen these meetings as the woman had left her in one of the rooms of the mansion. It had been strange, during the downtime in between the small sessions with Lara, Isabel couldn't find time to think. Her brain had been blank during the entire time. She had laid there, staring at the ash colored wall, and listened to the static that manifested in silence. Time passed and there had been no way to accumulate how long she truly laid there, but it had felt like hours. She knew she had also dozed off several times, falling into dreamless slumbers, only to be woken up by the demoness later for another questioning and a meal. No, there was no way that everything that had happened took place with barely a day.
But Cain had no reason to lie, so then why did he?
"Well, he isn't, so we shall make due. Soon you and your Mistress will understand that even a man like Cain can be replaced." Issac retorted and passed the girl on the stairs, pushing up them "its all a matter of time."
To be continued.
Hope you all are enjoying the story!
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See you all next chapter.