Blood Tainted Rose

Chapter Six: Snow Falls

    Lotus woke up before Ryker had. He looked so peaceful laying there asleep, like a little boy in his own little dream world. Pulling the blanket over him a little more she went off to find where Jiro had run too. He was so mysterious to her. He never said much, never acted on his emotions. It was like he didn’t want anyone to know who he was. Now was not the time to keep secrets from anyone. Finding the man himself he was on top of a high tree gazing out at his surroundings. You would not think that a man with his height and weight wouldn’t be able to climb so high, but it must be the strength of a half-breed. Getting a piece of rope she began climbing up there.

    When she was in the Neutral Grounds she would climb apple trees all the time. To her this was second nature. Once she was up there the view was amazing. The sun rising against the distant mountains, the forest coming alive with birds flying out from their nest. Far off Lotus spotted a small town. Thinking this small town might be a safe place to rest like the Ruins or Nakushita. Ryker yelled up at them to come down. Jiro slid down the tree holding onto the trunk. Lotus did the same, only with a rope in her hands. Ryker still looked tired and his hair was a mess.

    “Rye there is a small town,” Lotus informed Ryker. “It might be like Nakushita.”

     “It isn’t,” said Jiro. “It is a down where demons resides. So our only options are go around it or attempt to go through it.”

    “Name of the town?” asked Ryker rubbing his eyes.

    “River Stone,” he answered with a straight face. “Is it possible you have any connections there?”

    Smiling with his demon fangs coming out a little he took Lotus by the hands. “Lotus would you consider being my girlfriend, temporarily?”

    Shocked by his sudden romantic emotions towards the young girl, she backed away from him. “What do you mean by girlfriend? And temporarily?”

     “The woman I know is a sucker for romance,” said Ryker. “This is a sure way to get us inside her home. So just act like my girlfriend.”

    Thinking this over she took a deep breath. This may sound silly, but if it was a way to save Yasha or know his location Lotus will take it. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

      Approaching the city there was giant walls and huge guards around the city. Since war started they must have built these to ensure the safety of the people living there. Ryker managed to find a weak point in the wall and get them in there undetected. Once in there Lotus saw the real difference in living conditions for demons than humans. They were safer in every possible way. Children were playing outside without a care in the world. The demons living here looked well fed and healthy. The doctors here had the supplies they needed to make medicines for those who were sick, for those who could afford the medicine. This just brought back bitter memories of her mother’s death. How many times had she tried to get that medicine for her mother? How many times did she fail?

      “This is ridicules,” said Lotus under her breath. Nobody took notice of her insult. While he mother was dying these demons were being taken care of. This is one of the reasons why demons were much stronger than humans. Once they were out of the main part of town they came to a nice red house, with a white roof. The door was a dark blue color. Flowers growing around the edge of the house, roses and violets were the flowers. You would not believe that a demon from Ryker’s past lived there. Taking a hold of Lotus’ hand they walked up to the door.

     Ryker began to knock viciously. “Snow, open up!” Ryker said loudly. “You owe me a favor!”

   “Hold on, hold on.” A woman’s voice said coming up to the door. Opening the door was a beautiful woman with short blond hair with black streaks and emerald green eyes. He skin was pale with little freckles on the cheeks. Lotus for a quick moment thought that she could be Ryker’s sister, but the facial details could tell you that they weren’t related in any ways. It was only their green eyes that looked the least bit similar, but that’s where it ended. She did seem nice, but she was demon.