The Dominant Demon (Finished)

14. Symbolism

In the morning, when I wake up, I am wrapped tightly in Colvin's arms. Trying not to wake him, I slowly lean away and grab my phone to check for text messages. As soon as I glance at the screen, I roll my eyes. The demon realm must not have phone towers. Why didn't I think of that?

"You're awake?" I hear Colvin ask from my right.

I place my phone back on the side table and Colvin pulls me against his warm chest again. "Yes," I reply, glancing up to him. "I just woke up."

He gives me a sleepy smile, and I feel my stomach flip as I take in the sight of his messy hair and tired eyes. He looks so cute when he first wakes up. "Good morning," he mumbles, pressing his lips to mine gently.

I return the kiss, lovingly, and then I smile back to him. "Good morning. When are we leaving?"

As I ask, his face falls, giving me a disapproving look. "Don't you want to wait a bit?"

I shake my head. "No, I want to get this over with. I want a normal life again."

Colvin stares down at me, his dark brown eyes piercing mine. He nods after a moment. "I understand. You want to remember and catch Moskil so that you can go back to your human life without me."

"Wait," I snap, confused. "You're the one that has been telling me that I need to remember, and that is not what I meant."

Colvin looks away. "Of course it is. You've never wanted to be here. I've done everything I possibly can to make you want to stay and you still don't want to."

I feel myself growing frustrated. Does he not understand what last night meant to me? "Are you blind or just dumb?" I ask, annoyed. "I'm not going anywhere. I want to be with you, Colvin." I pull his face to mine and bring my lips to his. "I told you last night that I love you too, and I meant it."

He kisses me softly and then pulls away. "I know. I'm sorry. I think I just feel guilty that I am keeping you here, and I'm overreacting. When you say go back to your normal life, what exactly do you mean though?"

I sigh. "I don't know. I think I just mean that I want to go back to not living in fear that I am going to be murdered again."

Colvin scoffs. "That makes sense I guess. Does that mean that you might want to be together when this is over?"

I glance up at him, confused. "I thought that last night meant that we already are together now."

I watch as a grin spreads across his face. "We really need to start communicating better, Love."

I laugh. "We really do."

***

"So, this is where it happened?" I ask, staring up a large hill at possibly the largest tree I have ever seen. "A big, old, tree?"

He nods. "The Reaper Tree. Every realm in this universe has one somewhere. It's sacred ground."

"Sacred ground? God, I hate this mythical stuff. I'm in the dark with everything!" I exclaim.

He chuckles. "You will learn, Love. Come on, let's get a little closer."

We begin to make our way up the hill. "So, what is the purpose of the reaper tree, and why is it so special that there is one in every realm?" I ask.

"It's the only true way to cross over to the reaper realm," Colvin replies, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks. "The philosophy behind it is that death comes from life. The tree is the symbol of life, and when someone sacrifices a pure soul here, they get to meet death."

"Why would they want to meet death?" I ask, curious.

"Giving the reapers a pure soul is a big deal to them. When it happens, they give you the opportunity to let them fulfill one request of yours. It can be anything that doesn't offset the balance of the universe."

I scrunch my nose. "So, Moskil murdered me at a big portal tree for a magic wish from death?"

He nods. "Something like that."

I groan. "That's some shit."

"Yes, definitely some shit." I feel Colvin's hand reach for mine and our fingers intertwine. Once we make it to the top, I am practically panting from how steep the hill is. "You OK?" 

"Yea, I'm just kind of human. Sorry I can't hike up a mountain without blinking."

He scoffs. "We could change that, you know."

I glance up to him, sideways. "What?"

"You being human- We could change that."

I stare at him, intrigued. "What? How?"

"The same way that Rory became a demon," he says simply, shrugging.

I shake my head. "Why did I never put that together?" I ask aloud, more to myself than Colvin.

"So, is this tree triggering any memories?" He asks, pointing over to it.

I glance over, taking it in in all of it's enormous entirety. "I mean, it's kind of like de ja vu. It feels familiar, but I'm not really seeing anything."

"Maybe I could refresh your memory," says a voice from behind me. It's a very bubbly, yet unhinged tone, and as I realize where I have heard it before, my blood runs cold.

Colvin turns, but I am frozen where I stand. "Salem," he says calmly. "Run. Now."

I stay still, unable to move my feet, and anxiety begins to build. Just Moskil's voice in person provokes the feeling in my chest to build. As Colvin nudges me, and I stumble forward, I remember how to walk. Instead of running the other way, though, I turn to Colvin and the man to confirm my fears. That's when it happens.

My eyes meet Moskil's, and in a second's time, I fall to the ground, blacking out in the worse possible scenario.

***

The murder is brutal. I watch from the bottom of the hill, not daring to walk any closer. Thara is strung up from her feet under the dark green sky, and Moskil is the only soul that stands beside her.

I hear her screams and cries as if her lips were against my ear. They are blood-curdling, and I don't think that I will ever forget them. Another sound I will never be able to dull in my mind is Moskil's wicked laughter as he slices away at her body. He hums and sings tunes as Thara screams, calling for Colvin, and I weep. I've never seen a being so cruel.

After what feels like hours, Thara's screams stop. They die down into whimpers, and then the only sound drifting from the top of the hill is Moskil's cheerful humming. He cuts the remains of her body down from the tree, and from the bottom of the hill, I hear a dull thud as it falls to the ground, motionless.

I watch Moskil as he stands there, staring down at the body and then back to the tree. Moments pass, and just as I begin to slowly make my way up the hill, the ground beneath my feet stars to vibrate. Warmth tingles the soles of my feet, working it's way up my calves, my knees, my thighs, and the rest of my body.

I begin to walk faster as I see a large, dark hole rip open from the center of the tree. Moskil laughs victoriously, and then quickly steps through. As I watch him disappear, I start to full on sprint. My eyes avoid Thara's body, but there is no stepping around the blood. It has soaked the grass and parts of the tree trunk here and there.

I stop right at the hole, feeling a strong, gravitational pull. I've never traveled through one of these alone. It's always been with Colvin. Should I step through on my own?

With a heavy sigh, I glance around. Nothing is changing. This must be what I need to do. There's no other way to end this total nightmare. Tightly, I squeeze my eyes shut, and without further hesitation, I leap through, feeling the air sucked from my lungs.