Love Reaps

Chapter Nine: A Hug, A mistake

“Are you just going to dawdle?” Daemon barked in front. As usual, he was ordering me to do something. “Am I going to have to carry you?”

“No, I’m just sore!” I exclaimed back, wincing at the pain. My arms took so much damage, and I felt so weak. I just wanted to die.

“You can die after we complete this task,” he uttered, pacing on ahead.

“I thought you couldn’t understand my thoughts properly?” I seethed, glaring at him.

“Most of the time,” he mocked, turning his head, to smirk at me. I rolled my eyes and hugged myself. Desperately wanting the pain to leave my body.

As I kept waddling awkwardly down the silent street, I ran into something.

“Oh come on,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Now you don’t even know me, and yet you already hate me,” sang an English accented voice.  “Now that’s just pitiful.” I had run into a man, here in the underworld. Another human in the underworld.  So overjoyed and hope filled, I wrapped my arms around him. Pulling him into an awkward hug.

“Now that’s more like it,” he murmured, hugging me back tightly. “What is your name my dear?” I laid my mind boggled head on his strong chest. I couldn’t speak, I was too happy. I wasn’t the only human down in this pit hole. 

“Get your filthy hands off her!” an aggravated tone exclaimed.

“Calm yourself Daemon, she hugged me first,” he teased, swinging around to face him, still holding into a tight hug. “I’m just simply returning the favour.”

Confused was a complete understatement of what I was feeling now.

“Don’t you tell me what to do, or I’ll rip your petty head off!” Daemon ruptured again. The stranger that was cradling me in his arms looked down at me. A sweet smile formed, taking away the throbbing that was no longer pounding through my arms.

“You don’t want to go with that stump, now do you?” he serenaded softly, moving his head closer to mine. His dark hazel hair, just skimming my forehead.

“Scarlet, ignore him!” Daemon screeched, marching closer. “He’s bad news, and most of all, I hate him.”

“Yes, but you hate many people,” sighed the stranger, not even inching his soft grip around me. “Though, you mustn’t hate her.” A grin spread across his tan face.

Daemon’s face became contorted with rage. I was then wrenched off the ground and everything became a blur. Then before I knew it, the world came crashing back, and I was amongst trees.

…

Dizziness and muddle, still blurring my vision. But I was still moving. I didn’t think I was walking. Or was I? I was looking up at the tree tops, and the grey sky. Moving through the forest without a care. I heard a whistle, a familiar tune.

“Sorry about that ma ’lady,” echoed that sweet English tone. I flickered my eyes around. Realising, I wasn’t the one walking at all. I was being carried wedding style by the human stranger. Well he seemed human. “I needed to get you away from him.”

“What…why?” I mumbled numbly, scanning him. He had the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen, thick caramel hair that made me drool slightly, and sun kissed skin.

“Because, you’re important to him,” he whispered into my ringing ear.

“That’s because I have some gift or something,” I muttered defensively. “I’m more of an asset to him, more than anything.” He just sighed and continued whistling. He’s even odder than Daemon.

“What is that tune?”

“It is Follow Me,”

“How ironic of you,”

“You could say that, yes.”

“Follow Me?”

“By I believe his name was Uncle Kracker,”

“He must be a cracker,”

“It’s actually a good song,” he argued, stopping in his tracks.

“Why exactly?”

“The lyrics, the message,”

“What’s the message?”

“It’s about a man who has an affair with a married woman,” he said favourably, sending me a wink. I buried my reddened face into his shirt. 

“Great message,” I mumbled into his shirt. He let out a chuckle.

“Indeed it is,” he retorted back. Gazing back at me. His eyes really made me unnerving. I couldn’t get the strength to try and get away from this cheating cracker.

He plodded breezily through the forage, not even pausing to catch his breath. Though he didn’t even seem to be puffing, let alone breathing.

I didn’t know his name, or what he was. He no longer seemed to be human. I hugged him for nothing. And to make matters worse, I was being carried away into the unknown. Not a Daemon in sight.

A slight sigh escaped. And his eyes quickly scanned down at me. I froze, and I think my cheeks were glowing. He smiled warmly, trying to reassure me off his safeness. He wasn’t fooling me though. He wanted something, and I was going to find out.

He came to an opening, the canopy of trees finally disappearing. I sat up in his warm arms. I gazed down in awe, at a small brick village. People and indescribable creatures flooding through the small structures Where was I now?

“Let’s get you checked out,” he said, giving me another grin. I felt a chill. What did he mean checked out? And where was Daemon?

So many questions and this warm stranger knew them all…