My Demon King and I (Book 1)

Dying For A Friend Isn't As Noble As Sacrificing For Them Everyday

Raven

*Flashback*

I'm flying through the air, soaring as high as the clouds. I feel a tug on my legs that is non-threatening. I look down and find it's Daniel, my best friend. Knowing what he wanted, I sky rocketed down, faster, faster barely turning in time to save myself from face planting the ground. Shifting back, I change into the clothes I had tie around my ankle. I got the idea from Mason, my friend from Ireland. When I fully changed, I came face to face with Daniel. He had come back from Scotia today and he hadn't changed a bit. 

He was still five foot three with a curly mop on his head. He had the same crooked smile with emerald green eyes that twinkled with mischief. I giggled as he held his arms out, expecting a hug, and ran to him. He swung me in his arms and I squealed with joy. "Yay! Daniel, when did you get back? How was Scotia? Were the Fae pleasant?"

He chuckled as I hurled questions at him. "Calm down, Raven. I got back today, Scotia was beautiful, full of trees and faeries and there was hundreds of different species in the court. The Fae were about as pleasant as can be, considering their heritage-" he cut off and shook his head. "C'mon Raven. We better get to the elders hut," he said to me. 

I nodded. Today was the day, the children of the Sun Goddess went through the ceremony to see if they were eligible to reach the Sun Goddess. Because my mother disappeared only this summer and I was the future alpha, I signed up now that I was the right age to apply. Daniel and I raced through the fallen leaves, laughing and acting like we did before he left. Standing in front of the tent, we caught our breathes. "I won," Daniel heaved. I laughed and wheezed out a barely audible, "Not a chance."

Composing ourselves, we pulled back the curtains and came face to face with Violet and Rose. They bowed their head to me, which always seemed silly to me. "Welcome home, Raven. Daniel, glad to see you back in time for the ceremony," Violet said. Rose just smiled at us and they moved on. I looked at Daniel and we rolled our eyes. Moving  to sit in the circle, we sat next to each other. Looking around, I noticed there wasn't many children, maybe twenty sitting here. When silence fell among the group, the ceremony began. Bluebell came into the room with a huge chalice in her hand. She came to stand in the middle of the circle and said, "Welcome, children. Today is the day to make your parents proud. You will commune with the Sun Goddess. She will welcome you into her arms and if she wills it, you will become a messenger for her. Now, to begin, we must bless you all with the cleansing oil." She made her way around the circle, pressing her thumb into each one of our foreheads and smearing the oil. It smelled awful and it was starting to make me dizzy, but not enough to make me pass out.

When she was finished, Bluebell started to pass around the chalice. "Now this is the important part. The oil will help you with the passage to the Sun Goddess, however, this chalice will help you commune without disturbance. Remember, that once you pass, there's a possibility that you may never return."

Looking around, I saw that everyone but Daniel and I were shaking. He caught my eye and shook his head, "Wherever you go, I go, Birdie."

Birdie. 

The nickname he gave me when we first met. Me in a tree when I first shifted. He tried to help me down and when I tried to shift, I failed. Jumping from the tree, he ended up catching me and whispering, "I caught you, Birdie."

I smiled at him and nodded. Bluebell passed around the chalice and when it reached me, I smiled at Daniel, took a drink and passed it on. The dizziness got worse until I saw many Daniels. Before I passed out completely, I took his hand and felt him squeeze it. 

***

I stood in a garden. It was beautiful. In the garden there were many children. They were playing and laughing and they didn't look much older than ten. They were just like me.

Looking around, I caught the eye of a woman dressed in gold. She looked radiant. He blonde hair was flowing in waves down her back and her smile lit up the whole garden. She was beauty personified. Her eyes twinkled with happiness as she beckoned me towards her. My feet move of their own volition. When I stood in front of her, she smiled softly at me and stroked my head like a mother comforts a child. "Now, child. Welcome to my garden," she says gesturing around her. "How did you get here?" She asked curiously. I blinked as the trance broke.

Replying, I said, "Th- The ceremony. M-My clan gives their children the choice to c-commune with the Sun Goddess," when I said this, she glared. Angry, but not at me.

Looking straight at me, she says very seriously, "Listen to me very carefully, Raven. When you go home, stay far from those women. The ceremony they have conducted is against the laws of nature. Look around," she says to me. I do and I see all the children who were laughing and playing now crying for their families, pleading to see their mothers. "These children were part of the clan. They could have been fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles. They could have grown old and died happily in their beds with their grandchildren, great grandchildren or even their great great grandchildren around their bedside. They were taken before it was their time. They weren't strong enough to leave this garden. Few ever are. But you; you are strong, Raven. I can feel the power rolling off of you in waves. You will be a strong leader and you will make your mother so proud." She says this smiling down at me.

I smile and thank her. "Will I ever see her again?"

The Goddess looks down at me with pride and whispered,"You will get the chance to see your loved ones again. I promise. Now go, before it's to late."

Holding her hand over my hand, there's a warm sensation before I leave the woman's side. I see her waving and I wave back shouting out "GOODBYE!" before I wake up.

***

Opening my eyes, I look around. There are only two children awake and there are parents crying over their children's sleeping forms. Looking down, I see I'm still holding Daniel's hand. But it feels different. When his hand usually felt warm and welcoming, I only got the sense of foreboding when I touched his now freezing hand. 

Touching his cheek, I realized he was freezing there too. When the curtain to the tent opened, Daniel's father came over looking around for Daniel until his eyes rested on my crying form. He saw me still clutching Daniel's hand and crying and then he took in his son's pale skin that was usually tanned and knew straight away that something was wrong.

Tears slid down his cheeks as he came forward, hugging his son's ice cold body to his chest as he sobbed into his shoulder. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," he kept chanting. I sobbed, clutching Daniel's hand to my forehead, willing him to wake up. "Please, Daniel," I whispered. "You can't leave me. You only just got back. Please Daniel, you're all I have left," I cried.

Eventually, Daniel was pried from our hands by the other clan members. Daniel's father pulled me back as we cried into each other's shoulders. Daniel's funeral was three days later and his father stood by my side, holding back his tears while I let mine fall. He turned to me and told me that Daniel was with the Sun Goddess now, that she would care for him. I just shook my head, "She didn't want to see her children die. She told me that she wanted to see them die happily with their great great grandchildren around them, she wanted to give them a chance to grow up. But that won't happen as long as this ceremony is around."

He nodded in agreement, but two weeks later, Daniel's family left for Scotia. I was left alone again.

Welcome to my own Hell.