Ashi

Chapter 5

Oliver turns around and buries his head in my chest, wrapping his own arms around me, slightly digging his nails into my back. I hold onto him just as tight, but I don't dig my nails into him.

"I'm never going to let you go," I whisper in his ear.

"You better," he whimpers back.

I barely open an eye and from it I was as they surround the tree, the second demon reaching up at us. There's not much tree left, but I try to climb higher with Oliver in my arms. We rise up about three more feet before the branches become too thin to hold us.

"You can't escape us," it says, its friends laughing demonically.

They reach closer and higher. A few of them climbing the sides for us, including the demonic one.

My breath hitches in my throat. "Oli," I squeak.

He digs his nails further in me, actually tearing through the fabric.

Then they reach us, their long claws ripping our shirts and throwing us down to the remaining four members at the base of the tree. One of them catch us and another tries to split us apart.

"No!" I scream. "I'm not leaving him! I'm not letting him go."

They continue.

My shirt grows wet. Oliver's still in my chest, though our legs are far from each other.

Our grips loosen. We scream. They laugh. They pull. We try to keep our hold. I try to keep my promise. More of them come. They reach for our hands. They yank. We cry. We break apart.

I desperately reach for Oliver, screaming his name. He does the same.

However, they keep us at a ten feet minimum distance away as we're taken wherever they're carrying us.

"Why can't I stay near him. Huh, you demon?"

"Demon? It's been a long time since I've been called that," the second one replies, ignoring my question. "Well, call us what you like. Though we are actually known as the Ashi. Personally, I am called Hew."

I grunt.

"That's fine as well," Hew chuckles to himself.

"Now let me near Oli."

"Hmm...no."

I repeat myself again.

Hew denies me once more.

I try again.

And he finally gives in.

I run to Oliver, hugging him tightly, spinning him around me. He smiles against my shoulder when I let him down.

"You can stay near him from now one, but if you try to run away or disobey what we say, then you're going to end up much, much father apart. You may never even see each other again."

I gulp down the knot in my throat, squeezing Oliver's hand. After, I shake my head, agreeing to what he says, and peek over at my best friend. He looks like he's about to start shaking at any moment. He's terrified. His eyes pane wide, lips squeezed together tightly, and face paling.

I shake his shoulder. I whisper, "It's going to be okay, Oli. I'm not going to leave you and I won't let you get hurt either."

He nods, adding, "But what about you?"

I flash a confident grin. "I'll try my best for me too. After all, if I get hurt, then I can't protect you."

After hours of traveling, most of the day (or night, I guess), we arrive at wherever we're supposed to be at. I'm still holding Oliver's hand, and when I see the eerie, devilish castle I shiver, squeezing his hand. He squirms closer to me.

Hew laughs at our behavior. "Oh humans," he says merrily, "Such interesting creatures, so much fun. They cower in fear quickly and run for dear life at practically anything they don't understand."

"Shut up!" I yell, hugging Oliver while refusing to look at Hew.

"You, boy, are certainly one of the more entertaining. Feisty. Gosh, I love it when they are like that." He licks the edges of his lips as I peek back at him.

I shiver.

"We are not your play things, demon." I spit back.

He walks toward us, I can hear even though I refuse to look at him again. In front of me his eyes dance secretly, a smirk joyously placed on his face. He grabs me by the jaw, forcing me to look at him. I glare him to death though his eyes, but the more I look at them the more I fear what he could be thinking. My heart thumps against my ribcage, threatening to burst, the thought of protecting Oliver the only thing keeping me sane.

He chuckles, turning my face slowly from side to side as he stares every feature and imprinting it to memory. "I can't wait to see how you will break," he hums.

A cold sweat pours down my spine. But regaining my courage, I shove him back, forcing him to let go of me as I hold onto Oliver tighter, burying my face in his hair. I never really knew it before, but his hair smells like morning dew, they flowers we grow at home, at cherry blossoms. Sweet and calming.

Hew walks his first two claws up my back by the spine, starting from the middle of my back. I freeze in place. Then they glide across the back of my neck. I bite my lower lip as I rub comforting circles on Oliver's back, as if I'm comforting myself from doing it.

They touch the back of my ears, gentle, moving on to my shoulders and upper arms. Then back to my spine, going up and down.

I suck in my breath, afraid to breathe.

Oliver mumbles something into my chest. I tap for him to repeat it. "I'll protect you too, Donnie. We're in this together. I won't let him hurt you either."

I smile in his soft and silky hair, brushing my fingers through it, minding the cowlick.

The demon retreats his fingers, shooing his friends into the dreary castle.

"Now come along," he says in a hushed but cold tone, "this is going to be your new home from now on. Welcome to your version of utter demise."

Oliver whimpers, but we follow him.

Home, sweet home, huh? Yeah right.