Where Light Dies

25. Family

"My name is Raziel J'raad."

It's a piece of cake. Piece. Of. Cake.

"My father seems to have entrusted you to me, so I suppose you should start by telling me your name."

The girl stared back at me keenly. It was probably her way of being nice.

"Okay..."

-- Valhalla, Surface -- 2010 --

I backed up a bit, slowly opening the door and stepping out. Javier was outside, picking on his nails. "What is the meaning of this Javier?"

"I agree. This is ridiculous, even for your father."

"The girl does not know how to talk. How can people live without knowing how to talk?"

"Food, water and air would suffice for most."

"Not my point."

Javier turned around, now facing me with his hands propped on his hip.

"Then what is?"

"What is? What is she even doing in my quarters? "

"You can always put her back in prison."

"No I can't!"

"Of course you can."

"No I - "

"But you won't," Javier snapped, cutting through my words. I was a hair's width away from telling him to go hang himself. But of course, that would be disastrous.

"You'll have to teach her," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"In the name of Valhalla! I will not be the one to babysit her. I AM THE PRINCE! "

"Yes and I still do not see how that matters here. The moment you took her in is the moment you became responsible for whatever she turns into in the future. You'll have to teach her, feed her and oh my it's like handling a toddler isn't it?"

"I will kill you."

"I never get tired of hearing you say that," Javier guffawed, getting back up on his feet. "Good day, Prince."

He left.

Well done Javier. You've just made my day worse.

Now it was time to face the task at hand.

I placed my hand on the doorknob, turning it so slow that the click should've been quite as a feather's fall. The last thing I needed was a mute bane on edge.

The knob was pulled away from my hands, the sudden screech of the hinges sending a sharp ripple through the halls.

What the - ?

Despite all the caution I took, I was greeted with a glass shard to my neck. The bottle at my bedside had been reduced to powder, one of its few solid pieces now pressed against my veins. Sure, that was one of my favourites, but I couldn't deny that I was impressed.

I looked deep into her dark red eyes.

You're pretty good.

The girl slowly drew her trembling arm away, pulling it closer to her own neck this time. Her eyes were shaken with fear as her own hand pressed the shard deeper, blood trickling down her skin. Slowly, her hand stopped.

"I don't want too much of it on my floor." My palm was held wide open, waiting for her to react.

She eyes froze whilst her body followed my orders to the word, placing the blood-stained shard on my palm. I lifted it up, flicking it between my fingers. "That was one of my favourites. Yet to think that you found a way to kill someone in a fraction of a second. I find it quite intriguing."