Act of a Demon: The Dark Bloods - Book II ✓

Chapter 11 - Better Than Nothing

“Ya guys will just have to adapt like me,” Gahn said.  “Technically, there is demon essence in you and any other human.”

Sadness crept over Reyna and Dante’s face as the same thought simultaneously entered their minds. Giving into their demonic heritage meant leaving another part of their humanity behind.

Gahn picked up on their thoughts. “If ya don’t, then ya going to die, and there will be two less humans for sure.”

His words straightened them away from their slouched postures. It was an odd thing to have a demon dressed in faded, cut up jeans and remains of what was once a fitted shirt—human clothing all the same despite their shredded aftermath from Erian’s battle—telling humans that they had to embrace their demonic nature in order to keep their humanity.

“It’ll be hard at first,” Gahn continued. “Ya will feel tired and hungry and thirsty, but ya have to concentrate on what’s around ya. It’s similar to sensing Magika essence. Feel the essence surrounding ya and draw it in.”

“Okay,” Reyna whispered.

Dante crossed his arms. “Even if we do that, what then? It’s just the three of us. Are we just going to keep running to nowhere?”

“We could try rescuing Auronmar,” Gahn nonchalantly suggested.

Reyna and Dante gawked at him.

He gave them a small smile. “Sure. Why not?”

“What happened to you being loyal to Auronmar’s orders? Didn’t he tell us to run?” Dante asked.

Gahn shrugged. “Yeah, but he didn’t say for how long. Besides, what else are we gonna do? It’s either that or just keep running to nowhere like ya said.”

“But how?”

“If we get close to a portal, I’ll be able to sense it and summon it,” Reyna eagerly added, her eyes gleaming with the idea. “We can cross back to our home!”

“Something tells me ya excited Auronmar was taken, cutie, giving ya this opportunity to go back.” The demon raised an eyebrow at her.

She shook her head. “I know the seriousness of our situation, Gahn. I’m just…I want to go home regardless of how our world may now be.”

Dante nodded, feeling the same way.

The Teleporter placed a one hand on Reyna’s shoulder and the other on Dante’s, connecting them all together with his touch. “Alright. We’ll rest here a bit before taking off. When we do, Reyna, you’ll take flank and let us know if ya sense anything. This world has many tears that can take us to the other one, some of which even Master Auronmar and probably even Blethinette don’t know about, but it’s still gonna probably take a while to find one.”

He grinned at them and put his arms down. “Now take a nap or something.”

“That sounds awesome,” Dante said as he leaned back and slumped up against the curved, makeshift backrest.

Reyna scooted over to him and placed her head on his chest, cuddling as snuggly as she could against his body. Dante looked down at her in surprise before placing an arm over her shoulder.

Gahn smiled. “I’ll keep watch uh, up there.”

He jumped out of their wooden crater, perched himself on Dante’s sword—deeply embedded into the trunk of the tree that housed them—and used it as springboard to jump to a higher branch for a better surveillance point.

Dante watched Gahn disappear into the thick canopy of rosy leaves. “Are you okay?” he asked Reyna, keeping his sight up.

She moved her hand up his chest and came across one of the many holes in his clothes caused by Cerus’ fangs. Reyna placed a finger through the cloth and met with Dante’s warm flesh. “Yeah. I asked him why he left.”

Dante patiently waited for her to continue as he observed the fat, red leaves above him.

“He gave me some stupid bullshit of how he basically paid his dues of me helping him get his body by saving my life, so he was free to go back to what he was doing before he met me.” Her ring finger entered another hole in his shirt.

 Dante looked down at her, slightly taken back by her cursing. He hugged tighter. “Forget about it and just go to sleep.”

She retreated her fingers from his shirt and smoothed it out the best she could. “Yeah. You too.”

Further up the enormous tree, Gahn was crouched on the edge of a branch as equally gigantic as the one Dante and Reyna were currently sleeping on. He suppressed his Magika and kept hidden behind a curtain of thick, rubicund leaves so passing demons could not see him but he could to them.

He sighed. I am sure she won’t really kill ya, Master Auronmar, but it’d still be my fault if she did.

The Teleporter momentarily lowered his gaze down to the dark timber under his feet, but instead of seeing rivers of wooden veins, he saw a polished silver floor. Under the brushed on gloss were pebbles of various colors. They were embedded within the silver tiles and gave the impression that one was walking on crisscrossing rainbows.

There was something else creeping on the lustrous floor: blood.

It fell from the only other demon standing in the room. He was dressed in regal white with a growing explosion of crimson by his side. Slim, clawed fingers pressured the bleeding injury, but the scarlet liquid squeezed through his palm and continued to plop down to the ground. Occasionally, the red drops would grace the side of his pants.

“Gahn,” the figure spoke in disbelief, “how…did Blethinette…gain access?”

“No,” Gahn said, his eyes closed in an attempt to push away his self–inflicted vision of the past.

When he opened them, twisted bark and ruby foliage greeted him and framed within it all was an unfamiliar figure. Gahn leaned forward and pushed some of the interfering leaves and twigs out of the way for a better look because what he was sensing from this new individual could not be possible. She gave off a moderate aurora of Magika, but it wasn’t from a demonic body.  

Gahn’s eyebrows furrowed with disbelief. “How can a human be out here?”

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Author's Note: Gah! Sorry this chapter is so short. x.x 

Speaking of chapters...the next chapter will probably be delayed for a few weeks. I want to work on editing and revising Book I a bit more, so I'll be focusing on that. I'll say now I'm sorry about the wait you're gonna go through...>_

Thanks so much for your support though! 

(I'm terrible... T.T)