THE SERPENT'S CHOICE

TWO.

Cane was greeted by the sun and a bad headache as he opened his eyes. He pulled the pillow under his head and covered it on his face to block the brightness. His head began to clear as the darkness soothed his aching head. He couldn't help but groan as he recalled the memories he had last night. He couldn't remember anything except his mother's panicked face and a silhouette of a man behind her. It must be the angel since he was the only one in the room aside from his mother.

Cane guessed that humans will have the ability to see immortal beings when they are distressed. However, Cane wondered why his mother thought that Jedriel looked like a monster when the man didn't look that way even when he only saw his silhouette. He only saw a man with one head and with no wings.

Can angels even hide their wings?

As Cane's headache turned into a weak, dull pain, he sat upright and looked at the clock beside his bed. He realized that it was almost 9 o'clock. It was late and yet his mother didn't bother to wake him up. His mother might have felt too guilty about what she said last night for her to let him slept in.

Next to his clock, was a calendar made by his mother for him. They couldn't necessarily buy things that they need so they only make things on their own. In his calendar, he marked the date of his birthday. He only needed to wait for two more days and he will reach the required age to meet his own guardian angel.

A shiver ran down on his spine as the words that his mother uttered passed by his mind. Fear settled on his stomach as he thought that maybe he didn't really have an angel to guide him. Cane gulped as he felt his own throat constricted.

After all, there was a part in him that believed that there was truth behind her mother's words. Ever since he was a kid, he knew that Jedriel couldn't feel or see any presence of an angel around him.

Cane knew that people in his town had an idea if there was an angel following their human since angels could see each other. They could even see demons, too. And if there was a chance that they couldn't see other immortal beings due to some spell or magic, they still had a chance to feel their presence.

Cane suddenly stood up and walked towards the window beside his bed when he noticed that it was a bit loud compared to his normal mornings. As he peeked through the curtains, he was curious when he saw a crowd of people gathering outside their house. With this, he decided to check out what was happening.

The voices grew even louder and clearer as soon as Cane opened the front door. The crowd consisted of the elders and adults of the town were gathered around something. Their movements were agitated and fear was etched on their faces as their hands covered their noses.

The smell reached the nose of Cane and he almost gagged as he recognized the evilness it emitted. One adult shouted as she scolded her son who was trying to take a peek at the thing everybody was looking at. Cane couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy who wasn't allowed to go out but it has been the rule of their town ever since it was founded.

Cane pulled his shirt up to his nose trying to lessen the stink he was smelling as he went closer to the sight everybody was fussing over. This is the smell every human loathed—the smell of a demon—dead in this case. However, the smell that lingered in the air is far worse. It smelled murder.

Cane stomach turned as the demon appeared in his sight. It was splattered on the ground with its stomach open. Cane felt his skin itch as he realized that the stomach wasn't sliced cleanly. The lines were jagged as if the murderer enjoyed killing this thing. The face of the demon showed fear in every angle and its mouth was open with a frozen scream.

"This must be the demon lurking in this neighborhood." An elder woman said. It was the head of the town—Nana Siena. She was the oldest person living in the town and she has experienced a lot of things no one couldn't imagine. A long white scar covered her left face and other scars could be seen from different parts of her body. Stories said that Nana Siena was once part of a team that hunted demons.

"Yet I wonder why there is a dead body left. Angels completely annihilate demons. They don't leave anything behind."

The murmurs grew louder as the people who heard the statement threw their own speculations around. They communicated with their angels, asking them what might have happened last night but even the angels didn't have a single clue.

Angels have the ability to remove a demon's existence from the human world. This is the obligation of the angel towards its human. This is also one of the reasons why demons despise angels. So the uncertainty made the townsfolk scared.

"What if another demon killed this demon?"

The noise came to a halt as everyone's attention diverted to Cane. The hidden fear everyone had emerged into their eyes. Cane has said the thing they wanted to disregard. Only disaster followed a demon who tried to kill other demons. It would bring a war between demons and people who were caught in between ended up as a food or as a hunting prize. Either way, people always ended up dead.

"Malael said that it isn't the work of a demon." Nana Siena broke the spell of fear that chained everyone in place. "The only smell of demon that lingers in this ground is this demon's scent. There's nothing to worry about but we still need to be careful. I'm calling for a meeting. All adults with angels who can fight, gather around the town hall."

Malael, a warrior angel and the guardian angel of Nana Siena, was the backbone of the town. He fought countless battles alongside Nana Siena and their connection ran deeper than anyone. This is a blessed pair from Heaven that protected their town.

The people immediately dispersed as soon as Nana Siena left. Cane and his mother were the only ones left behind. Cane took this chance to look at the demon one more time. At this time, Cane noticed how the organs from its stomach jutted out and were spread out around the corpse. Black blood pooled around it like it was some spilled petrol from a merchant's truck.

The demon's face was beautiful. It didn't even look real as if it was pulled out of the canvas of a famous painter. Even the fear it showed made it even more beautiful. It was perfectly set up as if the murderer decided to kill it with this image on his mind.

"Let's go, Cane. Let's go inside." Cane's mother noticed how his son looked at the demon. His face was lit up with curiosity and fascination. With this, she pulled his arm and tried to separate his attention from the demon.

"Mother, who will bury the demon?"

Cane's mother froze on her tracks the moment he asked the question. She looked back to Cane slowly and her eyes were wide in disbelief. Disappointment bloomed in her face and the boy couldn't help but feel confused if he asked something wrong. "What did you say, Cane?"

Cane couldn't help but to feel bad but he also had a hard time understanding why he was given that look from his mother. The demon was right in front of their house and the smell was so bad in the first place. If no one would bury the body, then it would reek and they would be the one getting pestered by the smell.

"I... The demon... Who will bury the demon?"

His mother's expression darkened as she slowly spoke the words that even confused Cane. "The earth is given to humans. We are blessed to receive such gift. We will not curse the land with an abomination."

How are we cursing the earth if we try to bury the demon? If we are blessed, what makes it different for them? Aren't demons once humans, too?