What Lies Between ✔

Lines Drawn

16

Lidia

"God, I hate cities," I complained as we stood atop the long skyscraper, looking down at the busy activity below and listening to the chorus of blaring car horns.

"Agreed," Pyralis said from beside me, "but there is a good chance Nameless will be in this area. It is the place where the most Ghosts have been captured, next to New Orleans and Japan."

I fought the urge to pick at my nails, knowing Pyralis would catch the nervous habit. "She is not a Ghost by choice," I reminded him, enforcing my lie.

"Of course," Pyralis nodded, but the way his brow furrowed showed me he was skeptical.

"All the more reason to find her," Thorne spoke determinedly, looking over the side of the rail down at the masses below, already searching.

If Nameless was here, there was no way she could remain hidden from Thorne. He was so enthralled in his mission to find her for his father. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to repress the annoyance and anxiety he was making me feel. He knew there was more to Nameless' leaving Purgatory then I had reported to The Council. He must have informed Lord Cyril and that surely was the reason why he and Pyralis had joined my group. To keep an eye on me.

Did he know of Nameless' powers then? Had The Lord finally disclosed information to the lower Levels? And if so, was it only my group that was kept in the dark because I was considered a traitor? Or had my group also been informed and were watching me as well?

Paranoia joined the anxiety.

"Lidia." Pyralis shook my shoulder. I realized I had been staring rather hatefully at Thorne, absolutely not helping my case.

"Sorry, I was just... deep in thought," I scrambled to recover, pulling a stubborn strand of hair behind my ear.

I kept a steady expression as Pyralis searched my gaze, obviously looking for any signs of deceit. "I was saying we should cover the East side first."

"Don't you think it would be easier to split up?" I suggested, doing my best to look indifferent as opposed to looking like I wanted to get the hell away from them, which of course was my intention.

"No," Thorne butted in, "we should stick together in case of any mishaps. This thing that took Nameless by force, we have no idea how powerful it may be."

"Exactly." Pyralis, ever-agreeable.

"Yeah, that would probably be best," I nodded, trying to ignore the way they were both analyzing my reaction. They seemed to have forgotten that I too was a Seeker, and I was able to analyze them as well. Able to see their discontent towards me.

"Let's hope that whatever this thing is, it's not a Demon. If it's bound itself to Nameless then her mind might be altered and we'll have no choice but to obliterate her," Pyralis explained.

"Wait, what? Bound itself to her?" Thorne gave him a confused look.

"Yes." Pyralis nodded, "As discussed in one of the meetings you skipped," he paused for affect, "a Demon is able to bind a human to their soul by drinking that human's blood and having the human drink theirs in return. The demonic blood mixes with the human blood so that an energy made up of the two beings is created within the body, the life forces mixed. The Demon is aware of where the human is at all times and the human in time can gain the powers of the Demon.It is rare for a human to make it that far in the connection though,because the Demons use the human for blood until they bore of the flavor and eventually kill the human for their soul. Then it's off to the next person. Humans used to summon Demons, sometimes mistaking them for Gods, and offer themselves to them because they wanted their powers, but misunderstood that the bind was not everlasting. Despite what they think, no human has a strong enough life force to overtake a Demon's, therefore they can never gain a Demon's abilities. In reality, the human gets weaker and weaker the longer the bind, and is at risk of being possessed if the Demon wishes. "

"Who would willingly bind themselves to a Demon anyway?" I asked, completely disgusted by the idea.

"Those who crave power," Pyralis said.

"Nameless doesn't crave power," Thorne said firmly.

"But the bind could be forced." Pyralis' words made me sick. What had I let Nameless run off with? What if Ben really was a Demon?

"I won't let that happen," I spoke, feeling my own determination swell up.

"Let's get moving then. I'll take the lead." Pyralis blurred, phasing into spirit form, and shot down over the side of the skyscraper, zooming to the ground.

I was about to leap over the side as well when Thorne grabbed my arm. "That thing regarding Nameless you were going to tell me back in Purgatory, I'd like to hear it now."

My defenses automatically went up. "And why's that? Daddy wants more information? Why don't you just arrest me then?"

Thorne glanced over the edge, watching Pyralis get further and further away from us."It's not for my father's sake. I want to help Nameless. I realized how selfish I was being." He looked back to me, lavender eyes seeming sincere.

Unable to stop myself this time, I started picking at my thumb. "You really want to help her?"

"Of course I do. I'm just as good as friends with her as you are. You can tell me. "

It was true. If anyone besides myself, Nameless trusted Thorne. But the fact was, I didn't at all. There was something telling me not to reveal my secret to him, something in my gut telling me not to trust those eyes. "It is as I told The Council," I lied, looking him dead in the eye.

His eyes flashed, and I saw betrayal and sadness in their depths for a brief instance. That was when I knew my fate had been sealed and I truly became an enemy of The Seekers.

"May the Gods be with you." He shook his head, and jumped over the railing, blurring after Pyralis.

I stared after him, and before following, I gave the small plea, "... Artemis, please be with me."