Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 10: Maelstrom

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Ari stole glances at Ylanan as he led him further into the Sept forest. Ylanan was humming loudly to himself, but it was not the upbeat melody he was used to hearing. It was low and dark; as haunting as the billowing trees. Their trunks looked as if they were contracting, breathing almost. Branches looked more like elongated arms and fingers sharp as blades. The moon was hidden by storm clouds, and Ari soon came to realize it would soon be raining. He could smell it in the air as well. Still, Ylanan's voice carried on the wind, sending a shudder through Ari's body. He did not like it here.

Ylanan's red eyes glowed in the darkness as he continued his humming, unphased by their environment. He spared Ari a glance and smiled.

"Do you not like this? The darkness, I mean. Does it not call to you?"

Ari furrowed his brows and shook his head.

"It is because you do not have much blood in you. That is why. These trees... do not be so wary of them. They are trees from our home, and they protect us."

"The sands?"

"The sands... yes. Would you not like to see it?"

"Tell me where and I will go myself."

Ylanan laughed.

"You do not trust me. Understandable. But am I not the one who will answer your questions? Am I not the one who has the least to benefit from you?"

"You mean to annihilate the humans, and I somehow fit into your plans."

"I need you and I need Auovin as well. With him awakened, things will be as they used to be. The balance in this world will be corrected, and our kind can prosper once more."

Him? He meant to wake another great demon?

Ari looked at Ylanan, seeing the resolve and determination swirling around inside him. He was too convinced that this was the way that Ari did not bother to refute his words. Being alone with him, Ari did not want to upset him. Ari was wary of him as ever.

"So then why did you seal him away?"

"When you live too long... you grow bored and you begin to do things... terrible things... to sate an appetite that cannot be sated. He hungered for malice, for pain, suffering, blood; the blood of humans and the blood of our own kind. As a result, the humans and our kind gathered to send him into a deep slumber."

"By our kind, you mean Auovin, my father, and yourself."

"Correct."

"But Auovin does not want the same thing as you..."

"No, he does not."

"So he wants me for a different purpose? What is it?"

"It has been ten thousand years. Soon he will become conscious and Auovin wants him to stay asleep," Ylanan said as he picked his nails. "Harun is dead, however, so neither of us was able to obtain what we wanted, but then you came along and stirred the waters once more."

Somehow, Ari was coming to believe he had done what he did to Auovin in order to get him away. Ylanan was calculating and preyed on other's emotions, Ari gathered. He found what one was interested in and bargained with it for a price. There was always a price to pay with demons.

Ari flinched away as he saw Ylanan's hand coming close to him. He did not move fast enough. Ylanan combed his fingers through his hair. His nails scraped his scalp slightly, making Ari become more cautious than before.