Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 13 ∷

JAE PLACED CLARA'S sleeping form on the bed as he stared at her, his mind replaying the scenes that had taken place not more than a few minutes ago. He was so lost in his thoughts, he failed to take notice of his surroundings. It was the creak of the floorboard that caused him to snap his attention away from the sleeping girl.

Turning, he was greeted rather solemnly by his two subordinates who were now standing at the foot of the bed. In as little words as possible, Jae relayed the events that had transpired a few moments ago. As he did so, his eyes absently travelled to Zephyr's hands which were now bounded rather messily with strips of bandages, surprised that the latter actually bothered to get his injuries properly tended to.

In a quiet voice, Rylan said, "I was under the impression that you vowed not to make use of your hypnotic abilities unnecessarily and especially not on weak-minded humans."

"It was necessary. The girl would have spent the entire night crying had I not interfered. She was on the verge of complete hysterics. It was just a mere tweak to get her to fall asleep. That was all."

"Of course," Rylan said, his voice monotonous.

"Is it guilt? Was that the reason you did it?" it was Zephyr's turn this time, his interrogative question asked in a blunt and straightforward manner.

Jae remained silent. In truth, he had no idea if it was guilt. He didn't know what it was like to feel guilty. He had been a demon for far too long. Feelings were a fleeting notion to a demon, yet he often had internal struggles with himself. On one hand, he was the cold and manipulative demon everyone knew him to be, but on the other, was the strict conduct he felt the need to adhere to. His personalities were contradictory, two ends of the spectrum, and he found himself faking smiles more often than not.

Jae ascertained that the only reason he knew Icarus would be at the medical centre was because he had been made aware that Clara's grandmother was dying. If the angel was as concerned about the girl as he made himself out to be, Jae knew he would personally escort her soul to the other side, as they call it.

It was unnecessary to bring the girl along, Jae knew that, and yet he did it anyway. He had no explanation for his decision. He did it because he wanted to. The very moment he crossed paths with the angel, he felt a sort of bubbling euphoria in the pits of his stomach. Something exciting was finally going to happen. He was starting to get bored with the mundane routine he had gotten used to for what felt like forever now, and finally, something different was about to happen.

His mind was solely focused on that build-up of excitement and had momentarily forgotten about Clara's presence in the room. It was only when Icarus himself directed his attention towards the girl did he realise she was crying.

Time and time again, Jae heard that humans were the weakest species among all others. He immediately assumed they were physically weak, a fact that was understandable to him. Over time, however, he came to the understanding that most humans were weak-minded as well, hence giving him an advantage as a mind-bender to make them comply with his bidding without any form of resistance.

Unlike Rylan, Jae could not understand the complexity and the vastness of emotions that humans have. He did not understand that certain occurrences in their short life were enough to evoke strong emotions and reactions.

Fear was the only emotion Jae was certain of. The emotion he was used to seeing. It was the only emotion he ever saw right before their souls were reaped. But he was fated to experience an emotion other than fear; to see the whirling of another sentiment in someone else's eyes for a change.

He was beyond shocked upon seeing the tears in Clara's eyes. When it was pointed out to him that she was crying, by an angel no less, the feelings of excitement that had been there earlier vanished. The only thought on his mind was how captivating the human girl looked with tears cascading down her cheeks in reckless abandon.