Bound

Chapter 11

-Free?-

-Bzzzzzt- -Bzzzzzt-

You felt uncomfortable buzzing against your thigh. You were pretty tired, and ready for this Thursday to be over with so you could enjoy your day. Sipping on the drink you had from your takeout, you pulled out your phone.

When you read the notification, you could feel your adrenaline washing away any previous exhaustion. You sat up quickly, making you dizzy, but still continued to tap excessively at your phone. Aamon glanced at you from across the break room, curious by your sudden movements.

"Eehh? What's going on over there?" You flinched slightly. To be honest you forgot he was there for a bit. "A-ah, um. It's just something I needed to follow up on." He looked at you with an eyebrow raised. "You seemed pretty excited for something you need to 'follow up on.'" He said with air quotes. "Don't worry about it, it's something personal." You replied as you finished typing your response.

You pressed send, leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. Now you really couldn't wait until the day was over. At last, your talisman was ready.

~~~

You and Amy rushed out the doors of the cafe as soon as you could. You were lucky enough to find someone to cover the cleaning shift for you if you did the same for them at some point. You got in Amy's car as she started the ignition. "...Do... you really think this'll work?" You asked nervously. You were excited at the slight chance that this might get rid of the mark, but you were starting to have doubts.

"I hope it does, but hey, there's no harm in trying and even if it doesn't work, we'll still be a step closer to finding something that does." You smiled slightly. Despite your thoughts being unsure of her at the start, Amy continued to prove that she was a great friend and person overall.

You both arrived at the library and immediately headed towards the back. After making sure no one was glancing your direction, you and Amy moved a few stacks of boxes and crawled through the space.

Inside the small space was Kenneth looking a little tired, but he seemed excited. "Amy, (Name), Hi!" He said energetically. He grabbed a jewelry box off of his desk and got closer to you both. He extended the box out before opening it, revealing a silver necklace with a deep red jewel in the middle.

"It took quite a bit to make this talisman, but I was determined to get it to you in a week like I promised." You took the jewelry out the box and wore it around your neck. "Okay.. if I did this right, the mark now should be a similar color to your skin tone."

You swallowed nervously. This was the moment of truth. Your hand shakily crawled down your leg to your ankle. You closed your eyes and yanked up the bottom of your pants. You heard Amy gasp and you peaked out. True to Kenneth's word, The one bright red mark had faded drastically, making it look like an odd shaped birthmark on your skin.

You were overcome with joy, and leaped at Kenneth, he yelped in surprise. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" He hesitantly patted your back, a light blush across his face. "A-ah, it's no problem, you asked me too after all."

Once you broke away from him and he gained his composure, he continued to speak. "Unfortunately there's another factor in all this." You stared at him intensely. "The talisman makes it so the demons can't track or affect your life from the mark, but I don't know how effective it would be if they placed another one or harm you directly." "So that means..." You started in disbelief.

"You can't stay here (Name)"

~~~

-In an undisclosed area-

Two women walk in an office-like building, bearing the similar appearance of semi-dark skin and blue eyes. They stop and observe their surroundings. The one with short black hair turned to the other.

"V, why don't you go and find something to do while I go to work hmm?" She smirked. "... Of course... sister." She went off without another word. The remaining sister ascended up the fight of stairs in front of her.

Reaching a door at the end of a fairly long hallway, she snuck into a dimly lit room. Soft murmurs of voices were exchanged through the room. Slipping into a shady part of the room, she made sure her presence was concealed. Using the device she had used a previous auction night, she discreetly recorded the context of the meeting.

~~~

The two siblings left the building. No longer needing to be secretive, Aamon and Volken let their disguises drop.

"I assume you found something worthwhile, yes?" Aamon questioned his brother. He needed to make sure Volken would still follow his directions. "Of course..." Aamon smirked. It seems as though his burst of confidence that day has worn off.

"Good~. Now, let's head home and discuss-" Suddenly, a wave of discomfort spread through the two.

"...𝑯𝒖𝒉?" Aamon didn't understand. Something was off. Something was missing. He searched and searched within himself for the connection he had with you to no avail.

"How? How did they get away? How did they 𝒆𝓈𝓒ᗩ𝔭ᵉ me?" He frantically tugged at his hair.

"...Aamon?" Volken sweat dropped. He never imagined seeing his brother in such a state.

"UGHHH this is more frustrating than being burnt by tungsten!" "What? What are you talking about?"

"I never should have let them out of my sight. ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ₦ɆVɆⱤ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɹǝʌǝu ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɹǝʌǝu ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɹǝʌǝu ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ₦ɆVɆⱤ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɹǝʌǝu-"

He didn't stop. Volken was becoming increasingly more concerned. He knew that this mission needed to be completed quickly.

He needed to get his brother away from that human as soon as possible.

~~~

You heard the familiar jingle of the welcome bells as you entered your workplace, a manilla envelope in your hands. You quickly headed towards Shelby's office and put the envelope in a box. Shelby wasn't there, and it would probably take her a while to even notice it, but that didn't matter.

Quietly leaving the office, you were startled to see the smiling face of Aamon staring right at you. His mood was pretty neutral until he noticed what was around your neck. His expression faltered a bit, but he was quick to resume his facade.

"Ooo~ what a pretty necklace. Can I see it?" Not waiting for a response he made a quick swipe at the jewelry. Fortunately for you, you evaded his attempts and clutched the jewel tightly. You glared at him, a bit suspicious. "This is off limits thank you very much."

"My bad!" He raised his hands defensively. He couldn't let you get too warry after all. "What were you doing in Shelby's office?" Your expression softened. "Just turning something in, nothing too important. What about you, why are you over here?"

"I was actually looking for you. You see, The nearby fair is opening back up and I was wondering if you would want to go?" You pondered for a bit. You've never been to a fair before. You've been to theme parks and rides before, but never a fair. "Same group as last time?" "Yep~!" "...Alright then. When?" He smiled. "Sunday at 4, Is that good?"

You nodded. "See you then." You left to complete your shift, leaving Aamon alone. His smile faded. He didn't know what you did. He didn't know how you did it. But he knew that necklace was somehow putting distance between you and him.

Therefore, he had to get rid of it.

A/N- Sorry for the late update, I've been surprisingly busy this summer. I can no longer promise my 1 chapter a week schedule, but I'll update as soon as each chapter gets done.