Demon Puppet

Chapter 14

Doll-eyes screams and slams his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree. Leo jolts, startled at his sudden movements.

"What's wrong?" He murmurs, momentarily shifting back to his mortal form.

"It's Noelle," Doll-eyes whispers. "She's thrown away the doll. I don't know where she is now. I heard her whisper something—to find the doll, and be free—and then her presence was gone."

"They must have made it to the stronghold," Leo growls. "It would've been too risky for her to keep it when she's surrounded by Imitators. I can't imagine what would happen if Hero would have found the doll."

Doll-eyes shudders at the thought but quickly collects himself, gritting his teeth. "I'm not giving up. I'm going to find her, and I'm going to destroy him—like I swore."

Leo's eyes flash, and he shifts back to his demon form. He winces in pain, slowly unfurling his wings. "That's what I thought you would say."

Doll-eyes stares at him blankly. "You're not going to try to fly, are you?"

"What else can I do?" Leo snaps.

Doll-eyes sighs. "You can't fly like that. You're in too much pain."

"Then help me!"

"You know I can't do that!" Doll-eyes huffs, glaring at the demon. "You need souls to survive, don't you? I'm a demon puppet—I don't have one."

"Then we need to go back to one of the human villages."

"That will take days!" Doll-eyes argues, clenching his fists angrily.

Leo's eyes bore into his face. "You do not want to make me your enemy, Hongbin," he warns, his tone venomous. "I know you are angry that Noelle cast the doll away, but think for a moment. You're right—I'm in no condition to attack—but neither are you. The doll is still too close to enemy territory. If you go without retrieving it first, then you risk the chance of one of the Imitators finding it."

Doll-eyes pauses for a moment and closes his eyes. His mind travels to the doll. He can smell soft earth, freshly upturned, and he feels stone pressing against him.

"She's hidden the doll beneath a rock," Doll-eyes thinks aloud.

Leo grunts. "We should part ways here," he suggests as Hongbin opens his eyes. "You go find your doll—then you will be free to act as you please without one of the Imitators finding the doll and destroying it before you get the chance to free Noelle. I will go back to one of the human villages and...recover. It shouldn't take more than two days for me to feed and meet you here again."

Doll-eyes sighs. "Very well. I'm lucky you are so level-headed, Leo."

Leo raises an eyebrow. "Make no mistake. I'm as livid as you are. I have just learned to control my emotions more effectively."

Doll-eyes harrumphs. As a demon puppet, he could only feel one emotion at a time—another bitter side effect of not having a soul. If I did have one, he wonders, I would give it to Noelle. He nods slowly as Leo turns away, moving back down the mountainside to search for the nearest human village.

He takes a deep breath. Still my feisty little Warden, he thinks fondly as Noelle's last command echoes in his mind. All right, Noelle. I'll obey. Whether you have the doll or not, I still belong to you.

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Leo's eyes gleam as they adjust to the dark; night had fallen, and he had finally found a human village. It was barely even that—a few measly shacks and houses built into the side of the mountain, hovering over the face of a cliff. It will have to do.

Leo hisses in pain as he tucks his wings against his back, keeping them hidden beneath his shirt. He composes himself, hiding his demonic face and stepping forward. The villagers had already gone to sleep for the night, yet he couldn't risk being spotted and hunted down. In his weakened state, even a human could take him down.

Leo sneaks up to the first house and leaps in through an open window with ease. The humans did not stir as he crept beside them. His eyes fell on a young man sleeping peacefully on the floor.

Leo wrinkles his nose but moves forward, gently laying his hand over the boy's eyes. He creates a dream for the boy. His lips press into a grim line. The boy was a hunter for the village, the sole provider for his ailing family.

Very well... Leo says to himself, leaning down. I won't take too much, then... He hesitates before closing his eyes and joining the boy's dream.

The hunter turns as Leo appears, stepping forward from the trees. "Who are you?" He asks, his voice echoing softly.

"Don't be afraid," Leo whispers, keeping his voice quiet.

The boy's brow furrows. "I am not afraid," he lies.

Leo chuckles softly; even from a distance, he can see the boy trembling. "I need something from you," he murmurs. "Will you let me take some of it? I promise it won't hurt. You won't remember a thing."

"What?" The boy takes a step back, his eyes widening. "What do you need?"

"Energy," Leo lies, taking another step to close the distance between them. "I'm injured, and my...friends...are in grave danger. I need to protect them." He smiles softly. "Just like you protect your family."

"I..." The boy falters. Leo feels a little guilty, knowing that for every moment he lingers in the boy's dream, more and more of the human's energy seeps away. "I can't..."

"Just a little," Leo promises. He darts forward faster than the boy can see and gazes intently into the boy's eyes. "I only need a taste..."

Leo's eyes darken, and his face shifts. His wings snap out, and he lunges forward. For a moment, Leo loses control. His hands wrap around the boy's neck, his claws digging into his soft skin. The boy yelps as Leo yanks him forward and, without hesitation, presses his lips against the boy's.

The boy's eyes widen before he goes limp, his eyes rolling back into his head. Leo growls hungrily as the boy's soul ebbs out of his body, passing between Leo's lips as fluidly as water. The dreamscape fades around them, and Leo sits up.

He feels a flicker of guilt as he rouses himself from his hunger and tosses the boy's body away. He left the house and went back to the woods, closing his eyes as the soul's energy took hold of his body.

Leo groans as his wings pop and snap back into place. His feathers ruffle and regain their shine, and Leo straightens. The pain and numbness from his old injuries vanish into nothingness.

He chuckles softly and stretches, rolling his shoulders back and leering at the other houses in the village. More, he rumbles. I need more... I almost forgot how good it feels... I haven't had a soul since...

He pauses, going back in his mind. His hand tightens into a fist. Since the prison. Noelle's face flashes in front of his eyes, and he sighs. Silly girl... All right. One is enough for now.

He turns back the way he came, and his eyes narrow. I wonder what the soul of an Imitator tastes like...

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Helloall! ^u^ What do you think of this chapter? Do you think Hongbin will find thedoll before someone else does? You also get to see a bit deeper into Leo's mind...There will definitely be more to come!