Finding Fenrir (Underworld Chronicles Fanfiction)

Piece by Piece

Chapter 20

It was mid-morning when I was summoned to a cozy sitting room in the palace. I went. I did not expect the Demon of Creation to be sipping tea in that very same room. Yet there he was, one long leg crossed over the other, sheathed in close fitting pale jeans with a flowy cream colored tunic and boots that seemed loose around his ankles. I wasn't sure why he was here but I was immediately uncomfortable. Joexia was sitting in an overstuffed wingback chair with a tablet of paper in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Hello." Said the white-haired demon with a warm smile. "We've never officially met. I'm Joexia." He held out his hand to me and I awkwardly shook hands with him. "Lucifer tells me that you and your brother are going head to head with Odin soon." He motioned to a chair nearby and I nodded as I sank into it. "He also told me that you have a passenger." He tapped a finger against his temple and I looked away, squirming in discomfort. I felt my Other bristle defensively. "In light of your upcoming legal battle Lucifer and several others are concerned that your situation could be improved if the two sides of you were to work together."

My Other growled and I ignored him as I stared at the smiling demon.

"Why?" I automatically blurted. I didn't want to become any closer to my Other than I already was. We shared a body and I had no way of shutting him up.

Joexia's smile never wavered. "You've said your memory is patchy. Perhaps if you work together, your memory would heal itself and you'd be able to tell your story more clearly to Forseti."

Something clicked. "You want me to disappear into him." my voice growled and with a gasp I shoved my Other back. I shivered and Joexia was watching me with a calm stare, his smile gone.

"Yes. I do." The demon responded and I felt my Other rear back with a snarl as my thoughts filled with fury.

I shuddered harder. "He's angry." I said softly, looking up at Joexia.

"Let him out. Let him say what he wants. If he's pissed enough he can take it out on me." He smiled again and there was something dangerous there. "He can try."

I stared at him, wide eyed. "I...I don't want to." I whispered then shuddered as the fury under my skin rolled out like a wave. This time I couldn't fight as my Other shoved himself into the forefront of my mind and took control of our body.

"Fuck you!" the Other snarled and I felt our hands digging into the chair hard enough to make the wood chair squeal in protest. "I'm not going anywhere!"

Joexia tipped his head slightly. "Then you need to show him everything. You've been holding back haven't you?"

"Of course I have! It would break him!" The Other said furiously, lunging out of the chair to stand. "That's why I'm here in the first place!"

"I understand. He doesn't. You need to show him." Joexia said calmly. "Doesn't it make it hard? He doesn't know what you've done, what you've seen. He doesn't know how you protected him."

The Other growled, a deep rumble in our chest. "He forgot me once I was there to take the pain for him."

Joexia sighed, looking down briefly. "He didn't forget you. You forgot you. You are not a separate person, not a separate soul. Your mind has been broken and only you can fix it."

"I AM NOT WEAK LIKE HIM!" The Other snarled and our fist struck out without my command, aiming right for Joexia's sweeping cheekbone.

Joexia caught the offending fist and held it, not squeezing, and pulled us forward to put us off balance. He was very close and leaned in closer so that he was looking into our eyes, and whispered, "You are not weak. You are Fenrir." I felt my body go still and all I could see was the gentle pink of his eyes. My body shuddered again and I felt Joexia's hand move to hold onto my shoulder in a firm, comforting grip. "You remember Fenrir. Do you remember when Fenrir was strong? What's the first thing you can remember before you were hiding inside your own head? Can you remember?"