My Demon

Long Night - 12

Being carried back to a demon lord' s manor was not a part of any future plans, but it happened to be an undeniable vote against my hurt pride. Despite any form of protest, this would've played out the same way.

Bad luck was an understatement for this intervention Claudis deemed necessary, the guy practically likes to dominant my time. He antagonizes me on every level and any idiot would have left me to march off into a death trap, but not Claudis.

I ignored him the whole way back to his demon lair. What kind of demon he was, remained a mystery. It might be an exception for demon kind, but it was irregular on so many other levels.

Holding me in his arms so gently and carefully, was a line he shouldn't be allowed to cross. But here he was, carrying me about like a fragile maiden in his arms. Ironic that an angel is relying on a demon in the first place, so humiliating.

As we returned, I ignored the truth that I actually give a crap about Claudis. He struck so many of sore spots without even an attempt at sensitivity.

Still...he was kind enough to care about me. He did save me from getting turned into goblin stew and...

"Hey, why bother with me?" I said as Claudis kept walking. He even kept his eyes at the entrance. "I'm an angel, and you're a demon. So, why the hell do you feel obligated to protect me?"

He continued walking as I grew uneasy at his silence. When we made it inside the mansion, I wish I had just punched him hard in the face. His feet didn't stop until he put me in one of his spare rooms and set me down the bed.

"Let me see your ankle," Claudis bent down to look at my right ankle. When he touched it, I grimaced as a pain shot up my leg. "You did a real number on your ankle, it's sprained badly. Walking on it probably made it worse,"

I crossed my arms as I shut my eyes to avoid looking at him. "You were chasing me, so of course I'd rather walk on a broken leg than be caught by you,"

Suddenly, I didn't feel any pain in my ankle. His eyes were staring into my eyes intently as I watched him carefully. "Am I so bad a demon that I am no longer considered a cursed man?" His voice shot through me as I averted my eyes.

I'm no gonna get sucked in by his demonic charm. I'm not a fricken maiden!

"You're more like an irritating pest I'd rather avoid dealing with,"

He laughed in that light low laughter like when Ryu and him talked. "A pest huh, you are like a stubborn child who insists on making my life difficult."

I really hate him. Just for that remark, I glared at him with an old vigor as I pulled my legs onto the bedsheets. "Whatever. You're one to talk, stubborn idiot."

Claudis' smile faded as he remained seated on the wooden floor. "You really do not remember me," he sighed as he looked at me like he was going to cry. It was like back at my grave marker when he was visiting it. "I meant it when I want to protect you, I would never hurt you. I never could," his voice trailed off as I felt so uncertain of him.

What do you want, Claudis? What do you want to protect me from? The questions were unanswered as I gazed down at the floor. "You can't," I said softly as I felt his eyes on me like arrows being trained on me. "I'm a broken down angel with so much hurt and hatred for demon kind. We can't be allies, not friends either. The scars cut too deep to forget,"