A Demon's Kiss ✔️

ELEVEN

Word Count: 1554

~Aspen

We return to the same area first thing in the morning.

The same internal tugging feeling has me leading Kastriv through the forest. The difficult terrain has it taking a while, but Kastriv insists it's part of the test for me to lead him there.

"Can you sense it?" he asks after a while of walking.

I wipe sweat from my brow, squinting to look through the trees. "It's around here."

It feels like I'm being drawn to something, that there is a tether between it and myself, that is pulling taut with each step I take in the right direction.

"I go where you go, Aspen," Kastriv says from behind me.

"Do you really not know where it is? Or are you testing me?" I question, looking over my shoulder, giving him my best accusatory stare. He's told me he's testing me, but how much of this is really necessary?

"Genuinely, I don't know exactly where the site is. I just have a general idea," he tells me.

He hasn't made any comments that I've been heading in the wrong direction, so I continue.

"Great. I feel needed," I mutter, pushing a stray branch from my face.

"You are."

I sigh, as the pull within me grows stronger, as we weave through a few more trees. It's impossible to tell if this pull is a positive thing, or whether there is a darkness that's luring me.

"It's through here...This is it," I exclaim excitedly, pushing into a small clearing.

It's entirely vacant, the forest floor covered in limp, dying leaves, a small stream running through the centre. From first glance, there is no evidence anyone has been here, but it's like I can feel their lingering presence.

Kastriv strolls around the clearing, looking up. "Are you certain?"

"It feels right." I can't explain it. I just know.

The Demon's have been here. I led Kastriv here, right to the correct spot, all by myself. It may not seem like much, but I really am capable of doing this.

"They left no trace. Just like I suspected they wouldn't," Kastriv muses, kicking at the wet forest floor.

"So what now then?"

He sighs, resting his hands on his hips. "I'm not sure. We should search the area, just in case they weren't thorough."

I nod. "I'll check over here."

Both Kastriv and I turn, searching on either side of the clearing. They did such a good job ensuring they couldn't be hunted down. How long have they been running, and what, exactly, are they running from?

They must have a skilled leader who has been doing this for quite some time.

All of a sudden, it's as if I've been shot in the head, a strike of pain knocking me off my feet, onto my knees. A blast of white flares in my vision, an echoing sound stinging in my ears.

"Aspen? Are you okay?" I hear Kastriv distantly call out.

I crawl on my hands and knees, damp leaves sticking to my palms as I sway uneasily, the pounding pain increasing in tempo as incoherent flashes of colour dance across my vision.

"My head..it hurts so bad." I lean up, clutching either side of my skull.

"Here, lie down," Kastriv soothes, sitting on the ground next to me, encouraging me to lie my head down on his lap. I do so, curling my legs up against my stomach, trying to breathe through the pain.