The Devil's Dragon

Chapter 3

The next morning, I woke up to Shiki lying behind me, propped up on his elbow. He must have been watching me sleep. Brushing the hair out of my face, Shiki smiled. "Good morning, little dragon." His hand weaved through my hair, and it felt really good.

Still so achy. I returned the smile. "Good morning," I whispered, afraid my voice wouldn't work. It sounded a little scratchy. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep, but Rem wouldn't allow me to skip school. It might bring unwanted attention to us. The thought of getting out of bed made me groan.

"What's the matter? Does it still hurt?" Shiki asked, inspecting the bruises on my wrists from the shackles. He kissed them, soaking up my winces.

Nodding, I sat up. "I'm okay." Stretching my arms up carefully, my eyes landed on the clock. Oh, shit! "I am so late! Why didn't you wake me up?" Jerking the covers off, I slid off the bed, despite my protesting muscles. Rem is going to kill me for being late!

"I like watching you sleep," Shiki replied from his spot on my bed.

I threw my uniform on, tossing the white dress onto the pile of dirty clothes. No time for makeup or straightening of my hair. I pulled it up into a ponytail and used a big clip to hold it off my neck. Shiki had disappeared. Grabbing my bag, I ran out of my room and down to the front of the house.

"You're late," Rem said, holding the door open for me.

"I'm sorry," Was all I could get out. My breaths were heavy and any excuse I offred wouldn't help anything. Sliding into the seat, my mouth watered at the French toast sticks and omelet waiting for me. Rem knows how I am after these intense summoning's. The next day I could eat double what I normally did.

Rem stayed silent the whole ride to school. Something had to be bothering him. Was it that girl? Or his father? I couldn't ask him, because I knew he wouldn't tell me. In my classes, I could barely stay awake. Trudging to the student council room, I noted that no one was in here. Score! Sneaking into one of the back-reading areas, I pulled the curtain and laid down on the couch. The boys had a meeting here today so we would be staying here late.

"This is Cerberus," Rem said off handedly. He didn't seem interested in the dog wagging its tail at me. More like, he disliked him.

I knelt to pet the Pomeranian. Dogs were a weakness of mine, and this one was very cute and friendly. "Wait, Cerberus? Like the mythological dog of the Underworld?" Rem nodded his head from the waiting, waiting patiently for me to finish. "It's a Pom?" I asked with disbelief in my words. The stories of a three-headed dog that towered over its prey.

"Are you questioning me?" Rem asked, folding his arms. We'd only known each other for two weeks, so he was still trying to assert his dominance over me, which he definitely didn't need to. The demons here were terrifying, and Rem happened to be one of the strongest.

I stood up. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just curious. It's still really new to me." And this was my first time to the demon world. No sightseeing, however. I'd be stuck in this house with Rem and his father, the scariest man in either realm. It made me grateful for not having to serve him.

Tomorrow, we were going to learn about summoning demons to earth. One of the most painful summoning spells there is. The demons can only cross over into the human world by possessing a person for a short time. Basically, it means that I am a conduit. The demons possess me for a moment, one after the other.

"This will be your room. Dinner will be brought soon. Kaida, do not leave this room without my permission," Rem said, leaving me.

Sighing, I fell back on the bed. "I shouldn't have to do this yet." The plan had been down the line. It was always 'when you're older, Kaida.' Something had changed. And as prepared as my family felt I was, I had my doubts. I should have another 5 years at least of training before I had to come here.

A bark came from outside my door. When I cracked the door, Cerberus ran inside, jumping up on my bed. I leaned on my elbow on my mattress, petting his head. "You're so cute," I said, smiling. My parents never allowed me to have a dog.

A puff of black smoke exploded in my face, the dog disappeared, and in its place was a boy with blue hair. He smiled, amused when I fell backwards onto the floor. "You're quite cute yourself," He said.

Staring at him, my mind turned, trying to find words. I shouldn't be surprised. The demon world had plenty of creatures who could transform from a human-like figure into animals. I hadn't been expecting to actually meet one! "I..." Stumbling over my words, my first coherent sentence was, "You're really attractive."

He laughed, sitting Indian style on the bed. "I could say the same thing about you, little human girl. I'm Roen."

Roen...

That was the first time I'd met him. For the remainder of my time in the demon world, he came to visit me often. A secret we both held. Rem eventually found out, but he didn't stop it from happening. I liked all of them, but Roen was special to me. Unlike the others, he never pushed me into things I didn't want.

Only half awake, I realized that I wasn't alone on the couch. Someone had their arms around me. "R-Roen!"

"I was surprised to hear you say my name in your sleep," he said, brushing my hair back. "I can't imagine what you were dreaming about."

My cheeks burned. "It... it was about the first time I met you." If anyone caught us like this, we'd be in huge trouble. Rem might not mind me talking with Roen, but it had become quite apparent to me that Rem didn't trust him. If we were found out, it might damage everything my family had built. But, I really liked Roen.

Roen smiled, "The first words you ever said to me was, and I quote—"

I put my hand over his mouth. "We don't need to repeat that. I remember and I'm still embarrassed about that." It made me cringe. I can't believe I said that to someone I'd just met.

He pulled my hand away, still smiling. "Kaida, you're so special to me." He leaned down and kissed me.

"Wait!"

He cut me off again with another kiss.

"Roen! What if—"

He laughed, giving up on his attempts to make me be quiet. "No one is going to find out. They think you're the good little human girl who does everything they ask. But I know the real you," he teased, tickling my sides.

I squeaked, trying not to laugh too loud. Covering my own mouth, the laughter didn't stop because he wouldn't relent. Someone is definitely going to hear us! When he stopped, I sighed. "One day, I want to live my own life." It wasn't that I hated working for the devils, but my life had come to a standstill.

"I'm going to make that happen for you, I promise," Roen said, kissing my nose.

He says that a lot. He tells me lots of promises. Roen had never broken a promise to me yet, but this one seemed impossible. As long as Rem lived, and that could very well be outside of my own lifespan, my family had vowed to serve his family. It didn't seem plausible to think that one day I'd have a life of my own. But nonetheless, I hoped for it. I hoped for Roen to take me away from here.