Winter Nights of Hell

      

Chapter Eight

The Spirit Walkers

      

Down the path from the castle, I watched the shimmering blue light in and out of the dark surrounding shadows. The snow crunching under my heels - feet cold as hell (literally), but I had to figure out what this was. I needed to know - the curiosity in me burned with desire. Maybe this could help me figure out what the others meant when they told Lord Mundus that I wasn’t entirely human. I 100% think they’re wrong, but if I had the power to - possibly - activate a portal that’s been deactivated by the Celestials, then there was something within me that could answer my questions.
My vision was blurred by the slight tingling of alcohol coursing through my system. If I wanted to, I could just slide down this hill with these heels! Totally possible… Right? No, I wasn’t going to do it. I’d probably bust my leg up, hitting something that wasn’t supposed to be there. I had tons of practice walking in heels, maybe not so much running. Still, if anything, I’d just take my heels off and risk the possibility of cold feet… Or I’d rip a piece of fabric from the dress and try to at least wrap it around my feet as if they were shoes. I don’t know; I was tipsy.
Tipsy enough to follow a slight shimmer of blue! At the end of the path, finally, at the bottom, I entered the town, which was extremely lively! There were tons of… Normal-looking people? Aren’t they supposed to be demons? I eyeballed a few of them as I walked past them, still trying to keep up with the blue shimmer. I’d weave in and out of people making their way through the town, talking to each other and avoiding looking at me - almost as if I were invisible. I guess perhaps I did blend in with the demons of hell. I felt proud of my choice of attire and completely turned my attention back forward.
I passed a couple of shops, wanting to stop and look at the goods these demon people were selling. I would have to come back and visit! It seemed I had reached the ‘downtown’ of the village, as I was now in an extensive open clearing with a fountain in the middle of a statue that looked similar to the man from the portrait I saw earlier - Lord Zonoth - I’m pretty sure he was addressed by. I paused before the tall fountain statue and stared at it momentarily, blocking the surrounding sounds. That’s when I noticed the blue shimmer circling the giant statue, climbing to the top and flowing off to the side.
“Wait up!” I called out to the shimmer, leaving the open surroundings with many vendors calling out their prices and items they were selling. I bullied my way through the crowd again, and it eventually began to thin out. The blue weaving in and out of the buildings, guiding me still. The busy village turned into a quiet part of the village rather quickly, where only a few were out, and they still looked like ordinary people. I have not seen another kitsune or nogitsune, no one dressed in strange robes like a sorcerer or anyone with horns poking out. Perhaps I wasn’t looking hard enough, but I also focused on this shimmer.
After almost 30 minutes of walking, I could no longer see the castle or demon people. The village has turned into what looked like nearly abandoned homes, almost like a bad part of town. I hope I didn’t make the mistake of coming here, but I haven’t run into trouble yet. The shimmer stopped at the side of town I remember seeing from above - the snowy forest off to the right. It seemed like the shimmer wanted me to go into the woods as it bounced before me. I didn’t budge, though - I was scared of this forest. When I remembered I had my little bag on me with the dagger, I felt the urge to go in - like a burning desire.
“I don’t think I can go,” I told the slight shimmer as it danced around me.
I could feel a slight nudge at my legs, but I still couldn’t brave myself to do so. I just couldn’t imagine being attacked again. Frowning, I shook my head and took a step back. “Please,” I begged, the slight shimmer. “I don’t know what you are, but I want to know - if you’re anything from what I saw the other day.”
“The other day?” A voice sparked interest, but no one showed up, just the same blue shimmer before me.
I tilted my head and looked around me, seeing if I could find who the voice belonged to. No one was near me; it was just a path fading away from the village to the dark, snow-covered forest.
“The other day, I saw… Well, something as blue as this shimmer… It had a very serene voice and saved me from a Demon,” I murmured, folding my hands together as I continued to talk to myself.
“Did it give you a name?” The voice asked, high-pitched as though it was coming from the shimmer.
Curious, I reached out and poked at the shimmer before me, causing it to ripple a little. I then poked it again, in a different spot, and it rippled again. “Um, no,” I murmured, watching the blue shimmer rippling in and out of the area.
“Did you see what it looked like?” It asked me.
I nodded, once more poking the shimmer as the alcohol began to wear off. I could feel my body begin to cool down, now beginning to feel the chill of the underworld being frozen. I held my arms together and described the scene of the wolf-like creature coming to save me from the demon. I also told of its beautiful light blue starry pelt, explaining its white eyes. I remember seeing the little multi-colored specks in her fur that shimmered with its coat.
As I did so, the shimmer began to move side to side, almost as if it were excited. Suddenly, I felt something grab my shoulders, and the shimmer showed that of arms connecting to my shoulders. “Do you know what this means?!”
I shook my head and responded, “No….?”
As the pressure of the hands got tighter, the blue shimmer revealed a body belonging to someone. It slowly materialized a human-looking man. My lavender eyes were full of awe as this spiritual being appeared before me. The pressure of the hands was removed from my shoulders, and the man began slowly pacing back and forth. What I thought was strange was that he didn’t leave footprints below him as he walked back and forth.
“Yuna must still be alive. And she’s here, somewhere. I need to bring her home,” The celestial looking-being spoke calmly.
I eyeballed him over, seeing as though he hadn’t noticed me. Tall, dark, and Handsome, precisely in that order. He wore a white top with golden line tattoos wrapping around his arms and running up to his exposed shoulders. No, they weren’t your everyday tattoos, such as a forest or bird tattooed on your arm. These tattoos were simply markings on his body that ran up his arm and, I’d assume, over his shoulders and back. The combination of the crisp white fabric and the metallic gold accents created a sophisticated and eye-catching look. The way the gold shimmered in the soft light added a touch of glamor that was genuinely captivating. This man was stunning. He looked like a higher power, but he was no angel. On his head, he wore a solid white veil-like hat that showed a blue similar to the shimmer and the wolf I saw the other day, dappled with little white stars inside. On the top of the veil, it had a golden crown-like look.
I sat there, staring at his handsome features, and noticed his hair peeking out under the veil. His hair was a dark smokey-gray with a little white mixed in with his bangs. His tanned skin looked unaged, his face thin and with sharp features such as his nose, but just divine.
“Hm?” He murmured as he turned to face me. “You need to take me to where you found her, please.”
“Who are you?” I asked him, taking a step away from him.
“I am but a mere shimmer, looking for a friend,” He bowed to me, believing I couldn’t see him.
“I’ve been told by a demon before that they were looking for a friend… What is your name?” I demanded from him. “And how did you materialize right in front of me?”
The man looked down at his exposed body and nodded slowly as he replied cautiously, “This is rather new. I’ve never been Materialized by a demon before. Are you a sorcerer similar to Enoxon?” He asked me.
Enoxon. This man knew Enoxon, and I felt immediately at ease when he said his name. I stared at the ground; I hoped they didn’t realize I had taken off. I’m sure they were looking for me if they had, right? Or perhaps they were too drunk to notice I was gone. Regardless, I felt better now that I knew this man knew Enoxon.
“You’re… Not a demon?” He questioned me. “I do apologize; my senses have been off since the disappearance of Yuna; forgive me.” The man bowed to me, putting his hands together. “You must be a human then, but… You are not dead?” He questioned me.
I gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, lifting my head to lock gazes with this celestial being. “I am Snow Rumaki, I am a human, yes. I am not dead; I’d like to keep it that way.” I offered him a friendly smile, shivering again as another breeze passed.
“Oh… Snow Rumaki, it’s a pleasure to meet you. If you have seen Yuna, she trusts you to expose herself to you. May I ask again, where did you see her?” He asked me, tilting his head and frowning. The man seemed rather eager to find this ‘Yuna’ spirit.
I shook my head and let out a soft sigh, embarrassed by this. “I do not remember; to be honest with you, I am going. When the demon chased me off, I went to so many different spots in this forest,” I explained to him.
“Ah, no worries. Let me see your hand, please,” He asked me.
Awkwardly, I felt obliged to hold out my hand. When he gripped my hand with both of his, I could feel the warmth seeping off his large palms and gently cupping my hand with this. He lowered his head, closing his yellow eyes and murmuring a few words. I could feel a power of magic surge through me and up to my brain, feeling a light knocking in it. However, nothing more happened.
Within a few seconds, the man let go of my hand and crossed his arms again, putting one of his hands up to his mouth. “Strange, I cannot see your memories as I usually can… Nevertheless, you will show me where you found her,” He told me, stepping out of the way so I could lead him into the forest.
I shook my head, “I refuse to go back into that shadowy hell of a forest,” I pouted, crossing my arms. “Besides, I need to get back to Lord Mundus…” I turned my head to look over my shoulder at the large hill surrounded by some low clouds. I couldn’t make out the castle, but I needed to get back.”
“Knowing Enoxon and Lord Mundus, I can only imagine they are rather…. Intoxicated, I’d recommend not going back but rather showing me the way to Yuna, please,” He forced a friendly smile and, once more, motioned me to the forest.
“I don’t know, I was leaving Enoxon’s home and headed this way to the mountain village, but then I was side-tracked by the Demon that attacked me.”
“You say it was between the village and Enoxon’s home?”
I nodded my head and sighed, “I’m sorry that I can–”
“Let’s try this again,” He said, reaching for my hand again - interrupting me. Gripping my hands tightly and adding a bit of an extra squeeze, he murmured some other language again under his breath, and suddenly, I was pushed into a very hazy world.
“Wonderful, we made it,” The man spoke.
Suddenly, fear washed over me as I could feel my physical body. I looked around frantically and began to panic. “What did you do?!” I demanded from him.
“Accessed your memories. It took pushing some of that demon blood out of the way, but I did manage to access them,” He simply stated, waving my fear off. He looked around, and his yellow eyes began to glow as if he saw something I did not. The town’s scenery faded within seconds, and we were in the shadowy winter forest.
I could hear a voice screaming. It sounded like my voice, but I was right here. Gazing at the scream, I saw two bodies running through the snow. They ran right past us, and I noticed it was myself and the demon that was chasing me. I watched as the two ran off deeper into the forest. Within a few seconds, the celestial-looking being began to follow them - well, I guess us - that demon and I. This was so strange. I joined the man in following the two bodies, and when we caught up, I could see my tattered self lying in the snow. This must be when I was attacked in the forest when I first came to the underworld after escaping Enoxon’s house. I was screaming at the demon picking me up with one hand by the neck. It almost hurt watching this again. Watching as my near-lifeless body was thrown to the side, I heard the man gasps beside me.
“Yuna,” He whispered, eyes wide with hope. “She was here, she was; I cannot believe this. This is amazing! Where has she been hiding?”
However, something strange happened next. The fight occurred as it did in my memory, and Yuna’s voice began to sound as I remembered what happened.

“Soul of the Damned, leave her,” A voice called out. “It is not yet her time.” This voice was serene and soft-spoken, but one could hint at a bit of anger within it. “She remains pure - not one for you.”
“Better to eat,” The demon laughed. “But if you prefer to be my meal, I’m sure we can arrange that too. I do prefer your spirit over hers.”
“Soul of the Damned, leave her, I stated,” The voice called out. “Or feel the wraith that I have fated,” It said.
“Come out, come out wherever you are, little mutt,” The demon called, throwing me hard off to the side.
I landed with a thud, breathing heavily as my side was punctured and now on fire from pain.
“To have the soul of a reaper like yours would make me extremely powerful,” He taunted.

And that’s when the memory changed. The demon in this memory, going after the light blue and black wolf, stopped and looked around the air, tilting his head as though he were smelling it.
“What’s this? Has my prey returned?”
“What?” I gasped, freezing in absolute fear.
“She has returned with another… Spirit Walker? There are two?” The demon’s voice whispered inside my head.
My eyes were full of fear, and I was too stunned to move. This demon turned to face this man and me, immediately locking gazes with me. His alien-like face grinned as his blood-red eyes connected with mine. “Why is it looking at m-m-me?!” I asked the man next to me.
“Soul of the Damned,” The man’s voice boomed out as he held out his hand, “How can you see us?”
“Soul of the Damned,” the demon mocked him, laughing exquisitely loud. “This little mutt of yours was delicious. I can only imagine what your pure souls taste like,” The demon roared in laughter.
“D-d-d-do something!” I squealed, still frozen in fear, as this demon suddenly disappeared. “P-please do something,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face as I remembered all the pain this demon had put me through. I wanted to leave and begged the spirit Walker’ to return me. I knew I shouldn’t have even tried to leave the town. Oh, Astaroth will be so disappointed that I left the castle.
“Yuna?!” The Spirit Walker called out across the ‘memory.’ “Yuna, please show yourself,” He begged, almost desperate. “This isn’t real,” He muttered, fear filling his voice. “Human, what kind of demon have you brought upon yourself and our WORLD?!” His voice grew loud with terror.
I cried, stepping away from the man as his body shifted into something different, his yellow eyes turning blood-red like the demons.
“To think a human such as yourself can shift memories and cause a demon to come after you in your memory!”
This isn’t real - this isn’t real. The Spirit Walker I was with was no longer there; he had become a shadow, like a demon. Was this the monster’s doing? It had to be. It was playing tricks on me; it had to have been! I was so scared that I could feel my entire body trembling. I looked around the shadows, reaching for the bag I had with my dagger. Perhaps I could at least fight off my memory with the blade. “Please, I don’t want any trouble.”
“You have doomed us all,” It was the Spirit Walker’s voice, but it was demonic; he had to have been taken over.
“I don’t know what I did, but I don’t want a part of this. I want to go home; I didn’t mean to be here!” I cried out, tears ruining my vision. I tried to wipe them away, but it wasn’t helping. The shadows consumed the light gray area, turning my memories into something tangible. Within seconds, I was surrounded by darkness, similar to that of the action of the memory. I was back in that shadow realm or whatever it was - where it was nothing but the demon and I. However, it was just darkness - just black. Nothing, not even a spark of hope anywhere. That’s when those red eyes beamed back into my vision. With a quick flash, it charged at me.

“Hey, wake up!” Something sounded.
Eyes immediately flung open, instantly jumping up and breathing heavily, chest and head pounding with fear. My entire body was drenched in sweat, and I frantically looked around. I was in a room? No, no, no! That was not a dream. That was way too real to be a dream - my feet were freezing due to the snow I was walking through.
“Where am I? Where is Yuna and the other Spirit Walker?!” Questions came flying out of my mouth. “Where… Where is the demon?!” I wailed, scanning my surroundings. “I… Where is it?!” Things were still blurred around me, and I tried to reach for my bag that carried my dagger, and I panicked when I couldn’t feel it. “Did it get my dagger? Oh please,” I begged, feeling around the soft bed.
“Snow, Snow!!” Voices spoke to me, finally catching my attention.
Still huffing and puffing, I looked at the surrounding people. To my surprise, I came into contact with Enoxon and Kurai, but also, in the distance, I could see Lord Mundus.
“Did you… Say, Yuna?” Lord Mundus asked me, questioning me from across the room, his eyes cold as usual.
I couldn’t control the words, “S-sh-she was right there, with the demon. So was the other Spirit Walker - and then it saw me, and they disappeared an-and and…”
Kurai cut me off, snapping his fingers in front of me, which forced me to look up at him.
I’d recommend keeping quiet about Yuna, especially to Mundus… He warned me.
I stared at him, confused as hell, when he spoke to me. I took a deep breath and shook my head. “I heard a story about a wolf named Yuna…” I struggled to state, “I guess I… They drifted off into sleep during the story or had too much alcohol. The story stated that …. There used to be a wolf that roamed these lands named Yuna, am I correct?” I questioned the group of people in front of me.
Lord Mundus eyeballed me and nodded slowly, “I suspect that the alcohol we have here in the underworld is more potent than that of the Human World. Nevertheless, I am glad to see you are ok,” His voice was actually… Passionate and seemed to be genuinely caring. I even noticed the corner of his mouth quirk upwards. “I will send Astaroth up here shortly, I guess… Human-realm food, if you cannot handle our food,” Lord Mundus begins to leave the room with a flick of his wrist.
“Thank you, Lord Mundus, but we will be leaving here and taking Snow home,” Enoxon respectfully stated.
Lord Mundus froze, and he glanced over his shoulder as if annoyed at the response from Enoxon. “As you wish, thank you for attending our business party tonight,” With that, a flick of his wrist waved goodbye, and his long ghostly-looking hair left the room behind him.
Enoxon’s hand pressed against my forehead to take my temperature. “You’re still rather cold but sweating up an awful storm, Snow. What happened?”
“Enoxon, perhaps we should go home first? There are ears in this castle, everywhere,” Kurai spoke softly, not tearing his gaze off of me, worrisome flickering in his amber eyes.
Agreeing, Enoxon gently motioned for Kurai to sit beside me and hold me for support, as the teleportation wasn’t very… friendly. After a few words, the sorcerer snapped, and we began to be teleported, the blue and white light shimmering around us and taking us back to the house in the middle of the forest. Surprisingly, we landed softly in the middle of the large living room. Kurai sat me on the couch and instantly started a fire by, pretty much, a fireball that was conjured from his hand. Such incredible power this man had. The fire began to spark with life, and I was also provided a blanket. I sat on the couch, shivering now from being so cold. I’d only assume I had been frost-bitten.
Kurai was pacing back and forth slowly and murmuring, “You know, you could’ve woken me up and invited me along.”
I remember that I left a note to Kurai explaining to him where we were going. Enoxon told me to leave him alone and let him rest, as he had been healing the demon’s wound all night. “I mean, I figured you were exhausted,” I told him quietly, pulling the blanket toward my mouth.
“Yeah, but…” He trailed off, “You should’ve woken me up and not trusted Enoxon to keep watch on you - nevertheless, Mundus.” He turned his back to me, and I could tell by his posture that he was angry. “Not that I would’ve gone for you, but because I don’t need anyone taking advantage of anyone if they decide to drink - I think it’s wrong…”
I slunk down on the couch, nearly covering my face with the blanket. “I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I just… Thought… You were tired…” I whispered gently into the mantle.
Kurai turned towards me, tilting his head as he noticed me pretty much buried in the couch and blanket. “Ah, I didn’t mean - I’m not angry - Or upset… I’m just…”
“Who wants hot chocolate?!” Enoxon’s sing-song voice came into the living room, and the smell of a warm hot deliciousness filled the air.
I perked up a little, poking my head a little bit out of the blanket I was covered in. Enoxon provided a cup of hot chocolate to my hands, and I embraced the cup’s warmth and smell.
“Also, Kurai, you’ve no reason to be upset with her. I told her to leave you alone. Besides, you’re not much of a partier-in-the-Lords-Castle kind of guy,” Enoxon noted. “So stop harassing her.”
In disbelief that Kurai was just told to stop harassing me, his jaw gapped. “I wasn’t harassing her,” He growled in annoyance, ears flattening back on his fluffy midnight-black hair. “I simply stated that you should’ve asked me if I wanted to go.”
“I did. You said no,” Enoxon argued earnestly.
“You did not!”
“Ok, anyway, stop making this about you,” With that said, Enoxon sat next to me on the couch and propped his feet up on the round ottoman in the middle of the room. “So you drank too much and chased something out of the castle, did ya?” He questioned me playfully.
I stared at the hot chocolate warming my hands, hearing him but not wanting to speak. Kurai told me not to talk to Lord Mundus about it. Was Enoxon ok, though? I glanced up at Kurai, whose gaze was fixed on Enoxon beside me. The emotions I could feel for some reason began burning inside me again. The nogitsune was annoyed, and I could detect a hint of jealousy from him. Perhaps I shouldn’t tell Enoxon about it? However, maybe Enoxon knew something that could help me. I readjusted on the couch to sit straight, pulling my knees up to my chest and taking a deep breath.
“I wasn’t drunk, Enoxon, firstly,” I stated briskly, quickly turning that thought down. “I don’t get drunk, never have, never will. Bartender life.” Turning my head and looking at the sorcerer next to me, “I was maybe tipsy, but not tipsy enough to blur what I was doing.”
“So you just… Left the castle without anyone knowing?” He questioned me.
I couldn’t deny it; I did sneak out of the castle without telling someone. I figured I’d go right back in, but that’s when I saw the shimmer and felt like I needed to follow it. “Mm, I did leave the castle, yes. However, it was for a good cause.”
“To nearly freeze to death? Snow loves the snow so much that she must play in it?” Kurai spoke, his eyes flickering between Enoxon and me, ultimately landing on me. Why was he so annoyed?
I could feel the tension rise within him; for whatever emotion he was feeling, I was able to handle. I did not know why he was annoyed, but I could feel it there. Besides jealousy, how could he even be angry in this situation? I bitterly replied to the nogitsune, “I am ok, am I not?”
“You could’ve been hurt or found by a demon with horrible desires, or even worse!” The man’s voice boomed, in my direction, anger beginning to replace the jealousy that was deep within him. His voice sounded slightly brittle, too, almost cold toward me.
Stunned, I burrowed myself back into my blanket - like a turtle hiding in its shell when they’re scared - except I was embarrassed that he had even raised his voice at me. Turning my attention from the annoyed Kurai, I gazed back gently at Enoxon. “I… Um, I followed a blue shimmering light,” I said in a small panicky voice. Kurai was like a ticking time bomb, and I wasn’t sure what I said would set him off again.
“A shimmering light?” Enoxon repeated, noticing that I was slightly nervous. He shot a cold glance at Kurai as if to tell him to stop.
The cold glance from Enoxon made Kurai more annoyed, and I felt it. He had something to say, but I knew he was biting his tongue. The way he was standing and watching Enoxon and me, his pointer finger tapping nervously on his arm, showed me that he wanted to speak.
However, I continued my story to Enoxon, truthfully, “I followed the shimmering downtown, ran into a bunch of vendors with some nice things. I even saw a beautiful jewelry stand that I’d love to visit again,” I added in, remembering the one stand that caught my attention the most but quickly getting back to the topic, “Anyway. I made it to the end of town, to the forest off to the side of the village, and stopped at the end. The shimmer urgently urged me to follow it into the forest when I was there. It began to speak to me, and for whatever reason, I felt the urge to share what happened to me a few days ago by the demon.”
Kurai’s sharp tongue retorted, “You just… Told… A random light, shimmer, your story of how you were attacked by a demon?”
I nodded to Kurai, avoiding his harsh gaze. “When I told it about the story, I suddenly felt hands on my shoulder, and it mentioned Yuna. When he mentioned Yuna, I saw the shimmer materialize into a human-like being. I immediately could tell he wasn’t a human, but he had the appearance of one,” I shared with them and began to describe the man from earlier. “I never got his name, but he took my hands-”
“He grabbed your hands?” Kurai said with a sad grimace. “You just let a stranger hold your hands?”
“And I let two get me dressed,” I replied coldly, shooting him a gaze from the corner of my eyes. “Anyway, He took my hands and said some magical words but told me nothing was happening. I tried to make my way out by letting him know I needed to return, but he insisted I join him in the forest to find Yuna.”
“Not creepy at all,” Kurai muttered, crossing his arms and sitting on the other side of the couch next to Enoxon.
“Not as creepy as you two getting me dressed,” I snipped.
“Magic got you dressed, not us,” Enoxon said quickly.
“Better. But after he insisted I joined him in the forest to find Yuna, he tried the hand thing again and was eventually able to access my memories - oh, and he mentioned he knew you, Enoxon.”
“Sounds like you ran into an old friend of mine then. However, I didn’t realize he had become a Spirit Walker,” Enoxon said in a soft, affectionate voice. “I’ll have to find him one day, but… People cannot see the Spirit Walkers unless they reveal their true forms. Surprisingly, it was you, Snow.”
Feeling better, I began to unravel the blanket that was sitting on my back, exposing my long white hair as it gently drifted downwards. “When he could access my memories, he could find the memory of the demon attack. But…” I trailed off and frowned, feeling rather worried about the next part. “Things got weird, and it was as though the demon was talking directly to me. The memory became a nightmare, and even the Spirit Walker turned into something different - like - it morphed into the demon that attacked me.” I could feel my body shaking with fear slightly, “Those demon eyes and knowing that this thing could remove the Spirit Walker from my memory and push me into the darkness. I - I,” The memory of nearly being attacked again with no means to defend myself while already injured scared me. Yeah, I was a bit of a wuss. But I haven’t learned too much about how to defend myself. I had one training session with Kurai and learned that I could feel his emotions, but that was it. How could I even feel his emotions in the first place? So many confusing things.
Suddenly, I was pulled into a tight hug which completely popped me from being scared to feeling embarrassed. He even glanced at Kurai behind him and patted my head as he did so, “You’re ok now, so don’t be scared!”
I was so embarrassed that this sorcerer just hugged me tightly. When I tried to wiggle, he tightened the grip and patted my head again, rubbing his face against my arm. I could feel the jealousy burn inside Kurai as he did so. He was trying to comfort me, but I knew he was trying to make Kurai even more jealous. Anyone could quickly tell that he was jealous.
“Cut it out, you creep,” Kurai grunted, standing up quickly and shoving Enoxon off my body. He reached for my hot chocolate, holding it while pulling me off the couch and the sorcerer.
“But I’m not done talking to her; this is a serious matter,” Enoxon whined.
“Then stop touching her. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be touched,” Kurai muttered, letting go of my wrist and standing there. At the same time, Enoxon continued his conversation with me.
Bewildered, I rubbed one of my wrists as it was slightly sore from such a random and aggressive grip. “Do you know the name?” I asked Enoxon.
“His name is Yushin. At one point, he was a human, like you. A magical human, similar to me, but not much. He came into contact with the underworld’s previous Reaper and became a Spirit Walker. But knowing that you came into contact with him and Yuna makes me extremely curious,” Enoxon explained, standing up beside Kurai and me. “I’m sure Kurai told you to keep quiet to Lord Mundus,” his voice was full of seriousness as he turned to eyeball the nogitsune, who simply turned away and lowered his gaze. “That’s fine, but Lord Mundus will probably pester you now and find situations to find you alone. He’s not a threat, just… Be careful. He’s still a demon,” He said, almost slightly disgusted. “If you see Yushin again, tell him to come visit me. I will do some research to see if I can find anything regarding this matter at hand; see you soon, Snow.” Enoxon offered a friendly smile.
“Fine by me, come on, Snow, you’re due for your nightly healing session,” Kurai grabbed my wrists again and began dragging me off the living room.
I waved to Enoxon as he smiled at us, making a silly face mocking Kurai. I couldn’t help but giggle a little at his mockery of Kurai, who glanced over his shoulder at us, causing us to immediately stop. As he looked over his shoulder, the sorcerer mocked him again and watched us leave the living room up the stairs, me being dragged along and practically against my will.
Upstairs, Kurai pulled me into his room and shut the door, still holding my hot chocolate from earlier. Awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, I took in the scenery from around his room again and smiled, knowing how serene I felt when I looked at the plants that lined his room. Without thinking, I began to trail to the edge of the room, looking over all the plants while Kurai sat down the hot chocolate. I stopped at the sizeable pink-flowered plant in one of his room’s corners. It stood taller than I and almost looked similar to a cherry blossom. The leaves were heavily detailed, mostly pink, with the veins of the leaves a very dark red-brown color. I hesitantly reached out to touch one of the leaves. However, Kurai’s voice stopped me.
“I’d recommend not touching that plant - Banshee Raspberry. It’s used in many spells, and Enoxon asks me to keep it here as I ensure they stay well and are taken care of.”
“What does it do?”
“Similar to the name, it’s a hallucinating plant - and not in a good way. If used raw, it will cause you to hear a banshee’s cry consistently in your ears until the effect wears off,” He explained, wrapping his arms with some golden tape. “A lot of these plants in here have some wild side-effects. I’d recommend not touching any without being taught what each one does.”
I nodded to him slowly and sat on the side of the bed when he motioned me over so that he could work on his session. His warm hands took my arm, and the process began. I could feel the warmth of his healing effect drip into my skin and a cold liquid being moved about. I winced, as I’d never be able to get used to the awkwardness of the movement between the two. I took the opportunity of awkward silence and turned it into something, asking questions I hoped I’d get the answer for. He was a demon, right? So perhaps he had some knowledge. But before I had the chance to ask something, I could feel a deep worry blossom deep down in him. He didn’t show any sadness or worry on his face, but I could feel that emotion as he ran his hand up my arm and to my shoulder area.
“What’s wrong?” I immediately asked him, feeling worried.
“Ah- nothing,” He simply lied, straight through his teeth.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I asked him again, “What’s wrong?”
His hand tightened a little, and I could feel the healing flame within me tighten around my shoulder. It almost hurt, but I endured the pain because it seemed a tough spot for him. “I don’t worry,” He stated.
“You do worry,” I replied. “I can feel your worry.”
His amber gaze raised from my arm and locked with mine, “Snow. You were heavily poisoned by that demon, and now knowing that he could come after you in a memory when that’s been impossible for hundreds and hundreds of years…” He trailed off, his usual straight face turning into something sad. “For some reason, I feel worried.”
I could feel his emotions twist into something mixed with confusion, worry, anger, and resentment.
“I don’t know what it is, but this isn’t a normal demon’s blood.”

 

 

Yuna and Yushin, The Celestials.
Ai Photos Generated by me through nijujourney (aka, MIDJOURNEY!)