The Demoner Series: The Trails

Chapter Fourteen - The Beginning Of A New Age

  Knock knock knock.

  The knocking of the door rings in my ears. I open my tired eyes, my eyelids feel heavy. I open my mouth wide for a deep morning yawn. I sit up lazily, my hair is in a mess.

  Knock knock knock.

  "Joel? Are you in there?" Zack calls out from outside, his knuckles hitting the door.

  "Yeah," I say. Well, not really. I just mouth it out like I'm talking before falling back onto the bed.

  "It's almost Breakfast time now," Zack says, knocking the door once more.

  Breakfast! I think to myself as a wave of energy rushes through me. My eyes shoot open, and I jump out of bed, my body fills with energy. I do a quick wash of my face and flatten my hair down, looking at the smooth piece of mirror. Feeling satisfied, I open the door. Zack is waiting outside, tapping his watch.

  "Breakfast, you were saying?" I ask, my eye glimpse in the sunlight.

  "That's a way to wake someone up," Zack mutters to himself. "Breakfast will be in ten minutes, be late and there is no breakfast for you," Zack says, louder this time. He begins jogging across the hallway to the stairs before I can say a word.

  Ten minutes! I think to myself, panic filling my mind. I can barely reach the end of the stairs in seven minutes and breakfast starts in ten?

I rush back into the room, and shook Starubius up. The tired dragon tries to slowly stand up on all four, one leg at a time. I can't afford to waste anymore time! I pick up the demon and runs out of the door. The little dragon whelp in surprise and begin to fidget. I smile at the sight of it.

Good morning, I think in my mind, hoping that Starubius can sense the thought.

He rolls his eyes in annoyance. Yeah... It replies in his mind, more like a morning wake by being shaken and forced out of bed.

There's breakfast, I say in my mind and immediately, I can feel the rush of energy in Starubius.

I'm awake now, he says through telepathy, looking around eagerly.

  I glide down the stairs once again, this time, it feels so much easier and quicker to descend. I jump off at the last few remaining stairs, landing on the wooden flooring. My knees bends as my legs cushion the force.

  Taking advantage of this, I spring off the ground and run through the warm hall of the castle. I run towards the red stairs, remembering that the red tower is closest to the village. As I exit the tower from the other side, I can see the village is packed with other Demoners. "Phew," I sigh with relief, "I'm not late."

  I push myself through the crowded village and towards the canteen. People are seated on their respective tables, categorised by their years of study in the academy, ranging from one to a hundred and fifty.

A hundred and fifty, I think to myself, we Demoners can sure age. I remember the other time looking through the book on Demoners in the library before meeting Raymond. The Demoners have a lifespan five times the lifespan of human at an approximate five hundred years of age expectation, I recall, having to remember the exact words. I do my math, dividing one hundred and fifty by five, the quotient being thirty! So, I say in my mind, they are at their thirties compared to a human.

"Joel!" Calls a familiar voice. I scan around and spots my friends waving their hands to catch my attention. The happy looks on their faces make me smile unconsciously. I make a slow jog towards them. Chloe taps on the empty seat beside her, indicating me to seat there.