Daughter of a Demon

CHAPTER NINETEEN - Away

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Away

I knew as I ran away that I would never be returning.

I didn't want to be part of this. Revenge didn't have to become a war. Especially a war where fiery demons are birthed.

I shuddered at the thought of what I had just witnessed. What did Luna do to earn such hatred from two of the only seven Demons on the planet?

As I ran I smoothly untied my coat from around my waist and slipped it on in mid stride.

Tunnels and caves blurred into one continuous dark hole that beckoned me closer, daring me to reach its end.

As I sped past the tunnel that led into my bedroom I knew I was close to the cave where I could escape. Mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do, I increased my speed and, when the hanging roots came into view, I leapt off the ground and caught one.

Pulling myself up as fast as I could manage, I cried out when I lost my footing and ended up dangling from a weary root.

Swaying, to regain momentum and to pull myself back up, I sighed, out of breath, when I reached the top.

I pulled myself over the edge and flopped down onto my back and breathed out a shaky breath. You could call it relief.

I would call it excitement. For what lay ahead.

Sitting up slowly, I listened to the frost on the leaves crackle and I shivered when a flirty breeze caressed my neck.

How was I supposed to survive out here in the middle of the forest during winter?

I stood up and hesitantly looked down into the hole I had just emerged from.

I wonder how long it will take for them to notice that I'm gone.

Frowning, I spun around and whispered to the shadows. They came to me as I walked into the surrounding trees, asking and confirming; debating and diverging.

I smiled in the comfort of familiarity and old routines. The shadows danced around me in slow motion while shady birch trees groaned as they shook their leafless heads.

I watched my feet as I walked. Each step would result in a small cloud of shadows puffing up and then disappearing in the air.

If I could I'd live here forever, in the shadow world. But Caneo always warned against it, she said something about I wouldn't know how to come back.

Why would I want to come back?

I trudged along through the murky forest for what felt like hours until I heard the solitary howl of a wolf.

It was drawn out and, in a sense, melancholy.

I stopped and tried to pinpoint its location but was greeted by the silence of a thousand trees.

Maybe it was the wolf I was looking for earlier this week.

I frowned when my thoughts turned darker. Or maybe it's a different werewolf who could easily give away my location to Luna.

I shrugged off the bad thoughts and continued walking to nowhere. But my eyes kept straying to the surrounding vegetation for signs of those amber eyes that followed me around in my dreams.

I knew I was in the shadow world and no mortal eye could see through their protective haze but a feeling of being watched kept me on edge.

Bare branches swaying lazily even though I could detect no hint of wind. Although the shadows do tend to protect me from the worst of the elements.

My exposed feet swept over dead leaves and twigs without feeling the crunch of them underfoot. My arms swayed slightly at my sides, content to submit to my body's rhythmic motion.

After a while the trees thinned out and eventually dispersed to reveal a small river chuckling happily to itself.

I stopped to admire the view, although dimmed in the shadow world, that seemed to come from an old painting. When I reached the riverbed I crouched down and brought my hands together to bring some cupped handfuls of water to my lips.

It was icy cold and refreshing and I didn't mind the taste of the earthy mud which naturally mixed with the water.

I watched a random fish swim by and smiled when I saw how its silvery scales shone in the diluted sunlight.

Trailing my fingers across the river's fluid surface, I followed the fish's path until it disappeared into the deeper waters that were dark and murky.

Ripples and reflections distorted the sky above me so it appeared to be a large smudge of grey with some white highlights that danced haughtily along the river's surface.

I sneered down at them and stood up, this was not where I wanted to be.

It was becoming darker and the sky seemed to have pulled a veil of darkened grey over its sleepy face.

Trees groaned and pale trunks blocked my entrance back into the forest.

I suddenly laughed and lashed out with a fury that had been kept in for too long.

Shadows flared out from my fingers and swirled around the trees, engulfing them in darkness. I stared in astonishment at what I had just done.

I knew I could control shadows to a certain extent but never like this.

Maybe that's what Ignis meant when he spoke about using the shadows to my advantage.

A burning itch crawled over my left arm and I cried out in dismay when I ended up falling to my knees.

I ripped off my coat and watched as the demonic writing spread from my shoulder to my chest and dissappeared from view as it crawled up my neck.

I whimpered slightly as I hesitantly touched the skin on my neck. Surprisingly, instead of feeling hot and sore it felt actually quite cool.

The dark inky letters drifted placidly across my pale skin.

Ceres.

I leapt to my feet and snarled.

I knew he would have to make a reappearance eventually but I wasn't ready for him. Not like this.

"Where were you when I was with Ira and Ignis?" I yelled into empty space but I knew he was there.

Shadows lurk everywhere.

Ceres, I'm coming for you.

I stood silently listening to the sound of my harsh breathing as shadows leered dangerously.

"What's happening to me?" I said softly, almost a whisper.

But I knew he was gone. He left me again.

Why do I care? I hate him!

Why do I hate him?

He raped my mother. But I stopped, I knew that was not the truth.

My mother loved Noctis and he loved her.

I sighed. This world was so messed up.

I lay down on the soft mossy floor near the river and pulled my coat over me.

The moss was damp but it didn't bother me and I snuggled deeper into it, closing my eyes.

A wolf howled. It was close.

My eyes opened lazily and I spied the moon above me, floating between wraiths of dusty clouds.

I smiled as I realised it was only a crescent moon and not a full moon that all the stories say call werewolfs to shed their human skins.

My eyelids seemed to drift sleepily downwards of their own accord and I couldn't resist the endless darkness that pulled my near.

And with the soft kiss of a shadow, my mind floated away.