Demon Puppet

Chapter 18

"I don't understand," I say finally, taking a step back. My eyes drift from the doll clutched in my hand to Leo's face. "Where do you fit in all of this?"

"You..." Doll-eyes winces and looks up at Leo. "You're betraying me?"

Leo's brow furrows. The forest melts away again, and Hero and Hongbin fade out of sight. Leo hesitates before sighing and reaching for me. I flinch.

He clasps my hand gently and gazes at me. It's the same intense stare he always had in the Prison. "They won't be able to bother us here," he says quietly. 

I look up at him and pull my hand away awkwardly. "I don't understand," I repeated. "What do you want, Leo?"

"Do you know what I am, Noelle?" He asks, ignoring my question.

I pause. "I... You're a demon."

He nods. "And you know what you are. What Doll-Eye--what Hongbin is. Demon puppets, both of you. I didn't just show the Imitators and the Wardens how to create demon puppets. I made them. Made you."

He sighs, tilting his head back. His wings withdraw, folding slowly towards his back and sides. One of them juts and jerks back into place, sending a quick shudder of pain down Leo's spine. When he turns and looks at me again, his eyes glow like coals burning with hellfire.

"I made Hongbin first," he murmurs, his voice fading in and out like an echo. Around me, the vision wavers until I see shapes moving in the shadows. Full, almost-human figures move around us; upon closer inspection, I realize I am witnessing the past. 

"I wasn't wholly against what the Wardens were doing," Leo admits, watching the shadows of the Wardens walk past us. "The best monsters evolve into better predators. The worse monsters don't. The ones in the Prison were monsters who failed to blend in. They made life harder for everyone else, harder for us to get coexist. We still hunted, of course, but carefully. They didn't." He inhales. "The Wardens found me by accident. In exchange for my freedom, I offered to make them a tool--a weapon, even, if they wanted it to be--that would never grow old. Never die. Something both immortal and invincible. Something that could stand against Imitators--the apex predator. Monster of monsters."

"So you made Hongbin," I guess quietly.

He nods. "As promised, the Wardens let me keep my freedom while Hongbin served them. But... the Imitators found out about what I'd made and wanted one of their own." His eyes meet mine. "Whether they wanted you as a weapon of their own, or a way to figure out a demon puppet's weakness, or if they simply did want a daughter and mate for their prince... I do not know. But one demon can hardly stand against a clan of Imitators." He half-opens his wings with a wry smile. "I can hardly stand against one anymore."

"You..." It was too bizarre to even think, let alone say out loud.

"I made you," he finishes. "When the Wardens found out, they had Hongbin track me down and throw me into the Prison they were beginning to build." The shadows around us climb higher and higher. The pounding of hammers and grinding of stone against stone fills my ears.

"I told them about you," he continues. "They sent Hongbin to find you and bring you back to the Prison. They didn't know Hero would follow you. I didn't know..." He trails off and watches a pair of shadows stalk each other. "I watched them from behind the cell bars. I watched them fight. Hero must have slaughtered hundreds--monsters and humans alike--before he found the doll." Leo swallows thickly. "I saw him rip the eyes off."

The shadows lurch and a wordless scream echoes in my mind. I clench my eyes shut and drop to my knees, the horrid sound making my ears ring. 

Leo's voice was soft, breathless around me. "Hongbin was weak, but he managed to lock Hero away in the Vault. From then on, the Wardens kept both demon puppets hidden in plain sight. Doll-Eyes watched over you. I watched over both of you."