The Dominant Demon (Finished)

5. The Demon King

As I drift off to sleep, I expect to be dropped back into the realm with the dark, twisted trees and ominous green sky. Instead, I find myself making my way through a large, dimly lit, cavern. It's like a maze. I turn left and then I walk for a while. Then I turn right, and I walk for a while longer. This happens several times, and the deeper I go, the darker it gets. I begin to walk faster, frustrated.

"Hello?" I call out. My voice bounces off of the walls, echoing back to me. I stop, waiting for a reply.

Just as I am about to give up, I hear a voice from behind me. "Salem," Colvin says. "You got here fast. Did you miss me?"

I turn to see him standing a few feet away. "Stop sneaking up behind me!" I snap. "Where am I?"

He gazes past me, searching for something. "Follow me," he replies, flatly.

He walks past me, but I don't move. "Why? Where are you taking me?"

I watch as he slows to a stop and then turns to me. "Follow me," he repeats again, but with more authority this time.

"Tell me where we are going first," I reply, crossing my arms.

Before I have time to even budge, Colvin appears infront of me, scooping me into his arms, bridal style. "Stop being difficult, Love," he says, staring down into my eyes. I feel myself grow dizzy with his gaze, and my body relaxes.

I stare up at him. "What did you do to me?" I mumble, feeling drowsy.

"I just weakened your energy. That's all. This is my realm. I have complete control over it."

Through the mental daze that I am in, I still feel a tinge of anger shoot through my body. "You're manipulating me."

"Not your mind," he replies. "Just your physical state. Your energy."

"Is that why I'm able to be pissed off at you right now?" I mumble, closing my eyes.

He chuckles. "Yes, I don't control your emotions, unfortunately. Give it time, though."

My eyes open slightly, and I notice that we are now climbing a curved, stone, stairwell, exiting the cavern. "What do you mean?" I ask.

He gazes down to me again, and I see him smile. "You'll love me someday."

I let out a weak laugh. "Fat chance. Tell me where we are."

We exit through a hole in the floor of a large room. It looks like a bedroom but much more extravagant than one I have even seen. "Like I said before, you're in my realm. This is where I live."

I am laid down gently onto a bed, and I begin to feel energy flow back into my body. He stands over me as I push myself up from the bed. "Why am I here?" I ask, looking up to him.

"Don't you want your answers?" He asks. I nod. "OK, I need questions then."

"What did you mean when you said that my parents are the ones who lead you to me?"

I watch him, closely, making sure that he doesn't try anything again. He sits down beside me. "Your mother got pregnant at sixteen. Her and your father were clueless about the world and the things beyond it. They experimented with black magic and different kinds of rituals together. I've seen it too many times to count. Now, I'm not saying that they didn't love you, but-" He pauses, glancing over to me. "They weren't ready for a baby. I don't know how they came across the rumor, but they heard that the king of the demon realm was searching for the soul that he had loved from the time that your realm came about. Her soul was so rare that she would only live every few thousand years. In exchange for her soul, the demon king would give the person anything that they desire."

"OK, so what does this have to do with me?" I ask, feeling ridiculous for even believing any of this demon king crap.

I see him smile at me. "Patience. I'm getting there. Your parents found out the sex of their baby soon after they heard the rumor. They knew it was a long shot, but being stupid teenagers, they decided to try it."

"Try what?" I ask, confused.

"Don't you remember your parents sitting you in the middle of the pentagram and dancing around you all of your life?"

My eyes grow wide as the memories flood back to me. "My father said that they had been doing it since before I was born."

He nods. "They were trying to summon the demon king to sacrifice you to him. He didn't notice at first. They weren't the only ones trying to get his attention. He had been searching for the woman that he once loved for too long, and he had almost given up."

"What made him notice my parents?"

Colvin shrugs. "They wouldn't stop. They kept doing it for years. They did it all the way up until you were ten years old."

"OK, but I mean, what made him notice them? Like, why am I here right now?" I ask, trying to get my point across.

I see Colvin smile again, and he slowly begins to lean closer to me. "Because I am the demon king, and your soul is the soul that I have been searching millenniums for."

My eyes grow wide and I lean back, trying to distance myself from him. "You're insane."

"You're the only thing that I have ever truly loved," he states, leaning in closer. I try to scoot away, but he corners me on the bed, placing his body over mine.

"Get off me!" I exclaim, angrily. "I'm not who you think I am. That can't be possible."

His face comes closer to mine as he pins my wrists to the bed. "It is possible. I loved you for three, short, human years, and then you left me. Now that I have you back, though, I will never let that happen again."

His lips are almost against mine when I turn my head away. "Stop!" I shout. "I don't even know you!"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel a hand go around my throat, directing my face back to his. "You do know me. Just not in this life. You will though, and slowly, your memories will begin to come back to you. You belong to me, and I promise you that someday, you will love me again."

Before I have a chance to respond, I feel a pair of soft, warm, lips against mine. His hand tightens around my neck as he kisses me, roughly, and I begin to feel something stir inside of my chest. I let out a quiet groan against his lips as the feeling builds. "What's happening?" I ask just before I begin to kiss back.

"You're remembering," he murmurs as he lets go of my other wrist and grips my love handle, grinding his lower half into mine. The sensation sends a bust of fiery passion throughout my body and my back involuntarily arches.

My head becomes dizzy again, and I feel my entire being begin to slip away. The only thing that exists in this moment is Colvin's hot body pressed into mine and a name being whispered from the back of my mind. I don't understand it at first, but, slowly, it grows louder and louder. After what feels like a century, the name finally stands out in my brain, apparent enough for me to hear it. Thara.

I pull away from Colvin's lips, gasping for air as if I am taking my first breath. "My name was Thara," I exclaim.

He gazes down into my eyes with his dark brown ones and grins. "Soon, Love, you will remember it all."