The Catalyst

Chapter 52

"I come from an elven village by the Laeth Sea. For a long time, we lived peacefully, even when the humans started to populate the surrounding lands. We traded with them, shared advice on hunting and fishing, learned each other's languages. But with the passing years, they realized that we outlived them. And they witnessed what we were capable of. They called it magic. I was skilled at it myself, I had even started teaching kids who wanted to learn. It wasn't something you were good or bad at, it was more about the persistence to keep practicing day after day."

Kili sighed softly, and lowered her gaze. "But, the humans, they wanted to know how to use magic, and they wanted easy answers. We tried to explain that there was no secret to it, just years and years of practice. Such were our ways, our legacy. But they thought we were lying. They thought we didn't want to share our secrets."

She paused. Noah waited some time before prompting, "So they thought you were lying?"

Kili nodded. "They eventually attacked us. It happened at night, we were unprepared and it was a slaughter. They captured many prisoners, myself among them. They brought us to their village and put us in cages underground. There was a torture chamber . . ."

She let out a shaky sigh, then cleared her throat. Noah swallowed against a lump in his throat. This would be tough to hear.

"This was a long time ago, right?" he asked. "The elves went extinct five hundred years ago. But I remember you telling me that in the demon realm time is different, faster? So five hundred years here in this world, what did that feel like for you?"

She wiped under her eye with the back of a finger. "It's hard to quantify it. One month, maybe."

"Shit . . . so it all must feel very recent for you. Look, if you're not ready to talk about this, I totally get it."

"You're forgetting the five years I spent as your demon," she pointed out.

"Yeah but you didn't have your memories."

"Right. And now I finally get why I blocked them out. But I can't keep this to myself, Noah. Besides, you need to know, you're entangled in this now." She looked at his chest. He nodded, kissed her hair, and listened.

"So, they tortured us, one after the other, day after day. They were convinced one of us would break and reveal some secret key to magic and a longer life. I can't speak for the others, because we were isolated, but I did my best to find a solution. I told them I would teach them everything I knew, if they let my people go. But invariably they asked how long it would take, and I told the truth – years, maybe decades. In hindsight, I should've lied and bought us some time."

She shook her head bitterly. "Back then, I thought the truth was always the better option. I was naive. So I told the truth, and they called me a liar. The torture didn't stop. They killed my family, my friends . . . I tried again, I promised to teach them, but they didn't want a teacher. They wanted a shortcut, and I didn't have one, so they got frustrated with me. One day . . . they cut off my lips. And then I could no longer talk." Her voice faded almost to a whisper.

Anger slithered its way around Noah's heart as he held her and listened. Though mainly he felt helpless, because what good did it do to be angry at people who'd died centuries ago?

"Then they changed their strategy." Kili's voice was clear again. "They made us use our powers. They were trying to study our process. You have to understand, at that point, all any of us wanted was to stop hurting. After being caged and maimed for enough time, you start going mad. Your reality shrinks to your pain – more of it, or less of it. Nothing else matters. And so, if we did exactly as they asked, that meant less pain."