My Inner Demons S2 Continued

Outside the Border

Above is an image of Appolline!! (She is Pierce's sister, in case anyone forgot!) Also, I forgot to give credits to people but none of this art is mine! This one I found on Reddit but the account had been deleted💔

~With Lady Bish and Lord Tramy~
⚠️Does contain some language!

          "What do we do with these?" Lord Tramy asked, holding a vial of swirling purple liquid and a vase with the neon blue flower Flurouseco proudly gleaming in it.
          "You don't do anything. When I asked you to help, I meant help, not get in my way every ten seconds." Lady Bish snapped.
          Lord Tramy glowered at her but put the items down. He had been much more cooperative, Lady Bish thought gleefully, now that Ava's future safety was part of the deal.
          Once Lord Tramy had agreed to help Lady Bish get Ava back, he was put to work immediately. Lady Bish had him push King Bracken off the edge, making the king of Kane's obsession with finding Ava and her boys a priority. Lord Tramy hadn't been happy doing it, but to get Ava back he would do anything. On the down side, now everyone in the palace had to deal with a mad king.
          Lady Bish glanced at Lord Tramy, "We'll need her blood."
          The telepath groaned, "Oh for fuck's sake. Okay. How much? And by when?"
          She sniffed at his attitude, "At least two pints. And as soon as possible."
          "Why-?" 
          "Lord Tramy. I know you loved the beautiful human Adela, just like I know who murdered her. And we both know that you can't pluck the information from my brain. If you want me to keep Ava alive after I'm done experimenting with her, you better shut up and stop asking me questions."
          Lord Tramy paled and his eyes darkened, but he turned around and planted himself in a corner, out of Lady Bish's eyesight, still brooding. Satisfied, Lady Bish continued with her chemicals and herbs.

~With Ava in Mersedith, Appolline's office~
          Ava woke up to the smell of fresh bread. Groaning, she peeled her eyes open and looked around her. She remembered last night, her and Asch's conversation. He must've put her to bed.
          She also remembered another moment, with another boy, by a waterfall.
          Shaking the thoughts from her head, Ava flopped back down on her bed and snuggled her head into her pillow. She was about to fall back into a blissful sleep before someone rudely poked her shoulder.
          "Wake up." A distinctly female voice said.
          Ava opened her eyes unwillingly, and stared up into the face of a sour Appolline. Glancing to her right, she saw Leif and Pierce eating their breakfast, with Asch asleep on the armchair next to them.
          Looking back at Appolline, Ava matched the flat tone of Appolline and said, "What do you want?"
          A plate of plain bread and a bowl of oats was shoved under Ava's nose.
          "My brother insisted that I give you breakfast." Appolline nodded in the direction of Pierce and Ava shot him a grateful look, her stomach rumbling loudly.
          "Well... uh, thanks." Ava said, filling the silence with the tapping of her spoon.
          Just then, Marcos burst into the room, a scream turning into a word, "Help!"
          Everyone, even a wobbly Leif and Pierce, shot right up and got into a fighting pose, although Ava looked more like a scared penguin.
          Marcos was panting, his clothes torn and shredded, and was blood was pumping from a large gash in his side. He was clutching his wound and his face had gone pale, but he managed to gasp out five words that made Ava's heart pound.
          "Rohan... captured... by Kane guards."
          Then he fainted, his head knocking against the floor with a bang.

~With Appolline and Ava, one hour later~
          Appolline, ever a faithful doctor, was fussing with Marcos' pillows, even though he had insisted multiple times that he was fine.
          According to Marcos, most of the blood covering his body was Rohan's. They had been gathering berries to make Rohan's favorite kind of pie this morning when Kane guards ambushed them. Marcos and Rohan had fought valiantly, but they were outnumbered, and Marcos had barely managed to escape with his life. Rohan was taken prisoner.
          "I didn't want to leave him, I- I was just so scared. I'm a horrible boyfriend. What if Rohan's dead? What if he isn't? What if he's being tortured right now?" Marcos blubbered and burst into tears.
          "Rohan would've wanted you to leave him and live, then go with him into a dangerous situation." Appolline assured.
          Ava felt sick. She thought she knew why those guards were there. Her group had probably been unknowingly followed into Mersedith, and although people with bad intentions couldn't go inside the town, that didn't stop them from waiting outside. And none of her friends would've gone to Mersedith if it weren't for her, because the king wanted Ava. Rohan's capture was, however indirect, Ava's fault.
          "Marcos, I'm- I'm so sorry." Ava whispered sadly.
          Marcos wiped his face, smearing snot all over his sleeve, but just looked at Ava sadly.
          Ava suddenly wished she could tell him everything. How she was the last human on Earth, and how, while she was on Daemos at least, she would always have a target on her back that put those around her in danger. How the king was obsessed with finding her for mysterious reasons, and how terribly Ava felt about it all.
          "Appolline, could I, um, talk to Ava? Alone?" Marcos asked, glancing at the doctor.
          Appolline hesitated, but nodded, walking briskly out the sectioned off area Marcos had been placed in.
          "Marcos, if there's anything I can do to help..." Ava rushed to Marcos' side.
          He shifted away slightly, wincing, "Why didn't you tell me you were the last human on Daemos?"
          Ava froze, "W-what?"
          Marcos glanced down, shame flushing his cheeks red. Or maybe it was anger. "I lied. I didn't run away from the guards, I was sent away. The captain of the guards told me to deliver you a message right before they attacked. They knew I was going to run, and all they asked was that I deliver a message to you, Ava, from King Bracken."
          A beat of silence followed, with Ava staring wide-eyed at Marcos. When it was clear that she wouldn't answer, Marcos continued.
          "The captain told me to tell you that the king is going to gain possession of you, no matter who he needs to kill on the way. It was pretty easy to see why the king wanted you so badly after that. Being the last human on Daemos meant that you were the last source of magic holding our world up. Once you die, everyone only has the magic stored up inside themselves left, and when all that magic is used up, they die, and the Great Void opens up a little wider."
          "The Great Void?"
          "A children's tale for what happens when all magic on Daemos runs out. A great black void swallowed our world whole, leaving nothing behind." Marcos says through gritted teeth.
          Ava gulped, "Mar, please believe, I am so sorry for not telling you the truth about me-"
          Marcos whipped his head around to glare at Ava, "You think that's what I'm mad about? I'm mad because you knew that by coming here it would direct the kings attention and fury onto this town, and thus the people inside it. You knew, and you didn't care one bit. And now my Rohan is gone, maybe even-"
          He breaks off with a violent shudder, but Ava knew what he meant to say. Maybe even dead.
          "Please go away." Marcos said, turning over on his side so his back was facing Ava.
          Discouraged, Ava slowly walked out of the room, and, not even sparing a glance for the other Daemos people in the room, stumbled down the medical treehouse's rope ladder and sprinted in a random direction.
          Ava had never been one for any type of physical exertion, but she had pain, regret, and fear fueling her legs to keep pumping, pumping, pumping, until they collapsed under her.
She didn't know how long she had sat there, but the sky had bruised purple and all three moons were out, the bigger purple moon almost invisible in the night sky.
"Well well well, look what we have here." A raspy voice taunted.
Ava whipped around, but saw no one.
She heard a chuckle behind her, "You'll have to be faster than that, Ava."
Again, she turned around. And again, there was no one there.
"Who are you?" Ava yelled.
"I'm hurt that you don't remember me." Ava's stalker fake-whimpered, "After all, I'm the one who opened your eyes to the lies and deceit around you."
Ava clenched her hands together, frantically trying to remember the self-defense she was taught her senior year.
"Zex."
A man peeled out of the shadows. A man dressed in the clothes Ava had found him in, near her hotel dumpster.
Zex smiled, flashing his teeth. They winked in the moonlight like a blade of light.
"How stupid are you to walk outside of the Mersedith borders?"
Quicker than Ava could blink, Zex was rushing at her. She screamed at tried to run, but she knew it would be useless. Zex was a seasoned warrior, and she was a powerless human.
The impact never came, even as Ava darted to the edge of the forest. Instead, she turned around and saw Zex and Noi locked in battle. Noi drew his golden blades from their sheaths and attacked Zex in a brutally cold, efficient way that Ava never would have associated with Noi. Zex retaliated equally as vicious, his silver-black blades singing through the air. Both their blades were moving so fast that their swords looked like liquid, like moonlight and sunlight bouncing off each other in a beautiful but dangerous rhythm.
Although Noi was an excellent warrior, he had very little magic, and this gave Zex an advantage. Lady Bish's follower used his magic to boost his speed and strength, which allowed him to overpower Noi. Ava knew that if she didn't do something, Noi would die.
Picking up a large rock, Ava snuck around the edge of the forest and slowly crept up behind Zex. He was too engaged in battling Noi that he didn't notice her.
"It's over." Zex smiled cruelly, his sword pressing into Noi's chest, right over his heart, "And to think, you couldn't even protect your precious princess."
Noi locked eyes with Ava over Zex's shoulder and his mouth tightened, "Well, you couldn't even protect yourself from a human."
Ava brought the rock down, but Zex turned around just in time and grabbed her wrist. He squeezed and the rock fell from her grip, tumbling uselessly through the grass.
Zex grinned and used his inhuman speed to knock Ava against a tree, his entire body pressed up against her. He pinioned her hands above her head, and she cried out in pain. Her head had been banged against the trunk.
"Y'know, it isn't the king who's obsessed with finding you. It's Lady Bish. She's using her telepath pet to get into his head. I'm supposed to bring you to her." Zex hissed breathlessly in Ava's ear.
Ava grit her teeth, disgusted by the feel of his body pressed against hers, "You call Tramy Lady Bish's pet like you aren't also."
Zex's other hand slapped her, "I'm supposed to bring you to her," he said again, "But maybe I'll have my way with your first. After I bring you to her, you'll be untouchable. Your father made sure of that."
Ava paled, "My father? What did you do with my family?"
Zex laughed, "No no, not your human family. I'm talking about Lor-"
A sword ripped through his shirt from behind and protruded from his chest. Zex looked down at it in shock, as did Ava. Then Zex's grip on her loosened and he slouched to the floor. Shakily, Ava lowered herself down as well.
"Ava? Ava!" Noi said, crouching down next to her, "Are you okay? Did I slice you with my sword? I tried to not cut you, but he was so pressed up against you..."
"Noi... I'm fine." Ava said, having to speak around her dry throat, "I've- I've just never seen a dead person before. I saw the life leave his eyes."
As Ava replayed the recent events in her head, exhaustion claimed her and she burst into tears. Noi held her as she cried and slowly rocked her back and forth, his hand stroking her head soothingly.
          Eventually, Ava's crying stopped and she looked up at Noi, looking surprised to see him, even though she obviously knew he was there, "Thank you for staying."
          Noi nodded, still looking worried, "Are you okay sharing what's bothering you? Or we can stay here and just stare at the stars, or talk about something else, but we should probably go back inside the Mersedith borders. Seriously Ava, anything is fine."
          She took a deep breath, "Okay, okay. We- let's um. Right. Let's get back inside the Mersedith borders."
An animal howled nearby, which was motivation enough for both of them to hurry back toward the glowing lights of Mersedith.
"Shh, it's going to be okay, Princess Ava."

OKKKKK so this would be considered a late chapter if I had a writing schedule, buuuuuuut I don't so🤪 enjoy and THANK U SO MUCH FOR 62 READERS!!!