Woven

Dom: Chapter 6

Dom honestly had no idea how he had gotten to the point in his life where he could say that he was hiding from demons in a rudimentary invisibility cloak. He had also simultaneously dragged someone in ice and evaded a flying squash. In hindsight, it was a funny story to tell the grandkids, but he had been terrified in the moment. The story of his life. But now Dom was here, in a point of his life where such things were commonplace. He had seen crazier things, even, but it still scared him how normal it seemed.

Looking up at the sky, Dom guessed it was probably about seven o'clock, based on the twilight. No other demons had come this way, but Dom was still having a hard time sleeping. If the reaper still had a possibility of being in the area, there was reason to fear, which Dom preyed upon, using it to fuel his energy to keep watch. The on-the-job training he had given Sira had exhausted him, so now he was struggling to stay awake.

Not only was he looking out for the group in general, but he was also concerned about Kyo, who had only gained a little of his healthy complexion back, so he was still pale. If Dom didn't know any better, he would say that Kyo was asleep, but, judging from the fact that he had spoken to all of them earlier, he was most likely awake, but struggling from an extreme agony, one that encompassed his consciousness.

Wow, that was depressing. If Dom thought like that, no wonder narrating came easily to him. And yet, he still had trouble reading between the lines. It was odd, but he had learned to live with it.

He heard rustling next to him and turned his head to see Olivia, who met his eyes with concern, "How're you holding up?"

"Fine. Nothing's wrong."

She leaned her head to one side, "You don't have to pretend with me. You forget; I've been here a lot longer than the others, so I know when something's bothering you."

Sighing, Dom responded, "Fine, you caught me," He gestured to Kyo, "I made a new friend."

"And now he's fainted."

"Actually, I think he's still awake."

"Huh." Olivia leaned over and touched Kyo's forehead, almost immediately pulling back, "Um, ow."

Dom knew what that meant. So his suspicions were correct, "That bad?"

She nodded, rubbing her arm absentmindedly. Her leopard plodded up to her and nuzzled her lightly.

He looked up at the few evening stars, feeling the silence more than anything. There was an edge to it, like the world holding its breath before a tornado touches down. Or when a star athlete gets carried away unmoving on a stretcher.

Olivia tapped his shoulder and her hand moved into his line of sight, pointing up the hill. Lots of pointing today. Dom glanced up and nearly had a heart attack.

The dome of gray, the Reaper, was crawling over the hill, turning the plants ashen.

Dom immediately stood up, Help me wake everyone.

What about Kyo?

If it gets close enough and we have to run, we'll carry him.

Unsure of whether or not the Reaper could respond to sound, Dom and Olivia silently woke the others up, careful to cover their mouths as they awoke. Sira and Dom crouched on either end of Kyo, ready to pick him up at a moment's notice. There were no demons around and the camouflage was still in place, so hopefully, they could go without being noticed just this once. Great, he probably just jinxed it.

As the Reaper inched its way past the dome, within an arm's reach of the border, Dom once again held his breath. The widest part of it came within millimeters of their sanctuary and he swore he could hear the Essence being sucked out of the ground beneath the dome. This close, he was able to see in greater detail what was inside it. A smaller, darker dome, ominously black, was pressing against the border of the Reaper, apparently steering it. It was attached by a cord to a spot in the center. It looked no different from the rest of the Reaper besides a ring around it. Dom was clueless as to what it was for.