A Shifting Land

Chapter 8

She studied the controls, the demon's touch still lingering as she took control. "Kiri! You're ok! You scared me, passing out like that." She glanced around before bundling him into a little cave. "I was possessed by a demon."

Kiri shivered, his body quaking slightly. "I'm cold... My.... Whatever she is. The other entity. She's hurt... My mind isn't right."

Swift clawed at the earth, shoving handfuls towards the entrance. "Isn't right?"

His eyes were cloudy, almost blank. "She's not responding, even with my shields down."

"What?" Bladen vanished, leaving the mind feeling rather empty.

Kiri growled, slamming a mental barrier up automatically. "No! No more demons. That one needs to stay out."

"Kiri. He's not staying. He's my headmate." 

He sank to his belly, "You promise?"

Her head dipped down just slightly but it was enough. His barriers fell, letting Bladen slip in. 

"SWIFT!" 

She went still, every muscle tensing up. "Bladen?"

"Here. Now. I need you." His voice wavered, cracking with fear.

Her eyes met Kiri's, "I need in your mind, Can I please?" She doesn't wait for permission, stepping back from her controls. Her body crumpled at his feet.

Shadows boiled, tearing apart the walls and fabrics of his mind. Great gashes wept, bleeding across the floor. Bladen stood in the center, a piece of void splashed against the shades of  darkness. "I was right."

Swift took each step with caution, skirting sucking holes that tugged at her fur. "Bladen?"

"He..." He drew a steadying breath. "D'vala may not be coming back to him." He leaned down , touching his nose to the lithe fox at his feet. "It's bad Swift. Really bad. And if we die in here or in the real world without access back to our center mind... We don't come back." He closed his eyes, his tongue running across the jagged tears in her soul.

"Bladen." Her eyes narrowed as the shadowed figure began to twitch. She shot forward, her claws sinking in as her back feet paddled, tearing chunks from the demon who dared move in her friend's head.

He spun, his flattened ears slowly raising. She tore into the beast in a manner that left it screaming and wailing before finally falling silent. Bladen stepped up to her, gently nudging her until she released with a whine. 

She stepped away from him, her chin tilted up. She gave him a half smile as she moved to kneel by D'vala. "You will live, you hear me? We are a pack now. A proper one, not what Kiri thinks of one as. We need all our members D'vala, not just Kiri." She ran her tongue across the injuries, nodding to herself as they began to knit closed. "Please. He may not realize it yet, but he needs you like I need Bladen."

Her energy radiated from her, an ancient power passed down from generation to generation. Each step taken with purpose, with confidence. 

Bladen hesitated, "Will you be ok if I watch over her for a bit?"

She tilted her head, one lip coiling back in a half smile. "Kiri won't be happy." She pulls herself back to control. 

The body unfolded carefully from it's crumpled puddle, eyeing Kiri cautiously.  "She's not dead, so that's a bonus." 

Kiri laughed, "And so now, what, I have 2 crazy voices in my head?" 

She smacked him with her tail, "No! D'vala is not a demon, and she killed the demon that tried to take you, which almost killed her! Bladen asked to stay and wait with her until she woke up, just to make sure she's doing alright. You are a true alpha Dukari Kiri, like me. So the voices are just par for course. Not a sign of demons."