Jet and Jade | Black and White 1

Chapter 23: Jet

Dear Banvon,
Your death has arrived,
You'll soon be gone,
Though you've always thrived.

I repeated the poem in my head as I flew, raven-black wings fully spread out across the red-streaked black sky. The blood moon shone high overhead, and it felt as though I could touch it if I flew high enough.

I wasn't in good spirits as I went off in the direction Irlene had pointed me in, but it was hard to ignore the beauty of Hell. Or at least, it was hard for me. Jade would find this place horrendous.

I flew quicker.

Jade.

Jade. I was doing this for her, wasn't I? But I knew it wasn't the only reason. I needed my revenge for the curse he put on me. I needed vengeance for the way he made Jade and I suffer. I needed to see him dying as I laughed.

All in all, I was selfish, right? I was doing this for both Jade and myself, but it was mostly for me. He deserved to die. It didn't matter what the reason for killing him was, did it? Unfortunately, it did. Or at least to me.

Jade... I felt the bond between us fray. My eyes widened and I felt the freezing winds of Hell burn them.

I followed the direction Irlene had pointed me in.

Less than a minute later, I realized that I had already arrived in my rush.

I promised to myself that once I had my revenge on Banvon and the Qwen, I would live for Jade again. I knew I was the only person she had, so even though I would like to kill myself for every evil deed I had committed, I couldn't. I had to protect and take care of her.

I knew I was too protective over her, and that I should try to be less... frightening, let's say, but I just couldn't. I didn't want the rest of her life to be ruined like mine had already been. I couldn't let it be. I wanted her to be safe. I couldn't let her risk her life for me. I was fine, I didn't need her to protect me. No, it was always the other way around.

But did she really want that? Didn't I want her to be happy more than anything?

I pushed any doubt out of my head for now as I stared at the castle before me.

I let my reaper clothes materialize, though it felt like a betrayal towards Jade, and landed. My wings retracted, and I walked right up to the huge metal door.

Here we go.

I used the knocker.

He'd be in for a big surprise alright!

I tugged on the hood over my head so it hid my face more. A moment if waiting later, the door opened to reveal a demoness' face peering up at me.

"State your business and name," she said immediately.

I smiled from under my hood. "I am here to see your master."

"Permission denied." She began to slam the door in my face, but I stopped her by grabbing it. She sneered at me. "Let go."

"No," I replied without hesitation.

Her red demon eyes narrowed. "How dare you. How dare you! You dare to defy a demoness?! I'll show you that--"

"You dare to defy a reaper?" I cut her off, copying her words.

The demoness' eyes narrowed even more. "You are a reaper? What a sorry excuse! Let go of the door and allow me to punish you. You deserve to be brought down by a few pegs!"

"Quite the opposite, I say!" I replied, forcing out a laugh. "Let me in, demoness."

"Well, at least you have the decency to call me by the right gender," she said with raised eyebrows. "For that, I will let you in."

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows, but I didn't say a word.

The black metal door swung wide open.

"Go on," the demoness urged, "you will not have another chance like this."

I entered with a grim smile on my face and started to walk in, before I stopped and turned back to the demoness. "What's your name?"

"Mine?" The demoness was even more surprised.

"Of course," I said. "Do you see any other demon or demoness around?"

For the first time, there was a small smile on her surly face.

"Maila," she told me, "my name is Maila." She sounded almost shy. "I am sorry for being rude. Many people have been coming to milord's castle and demanding entrance lately."

"Do you know why?" I asked, genuinely slightly curious.

Maila scowled. "No, but thank you for asking. I would like to know too." Then her eyes widened. "I am so sorry! I completely forgot. What is your name?"

I hesitated for a second.

She sounded truly interested to know.

"I suppose you can call me Jet. The former Reaper Queen."