Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 2.2: Lies

Ari continued down the hall to the stairs going down instead of up. He looked around and saw nothing but empty chairs and tables. There were a few candles lit scattered here and there but nothing more. The floorboards creaked under pressure and grew louder as it followed him.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Ari spun around and asked. "I cannot stay here. I cannot be your food. You seem to have enjoyed someone else's blood much more. You do not need mine." Words rushed from Ari, anxious to leave.

"I am doing nothing to you but presenting you with another opportunity and knowledge. I am giving you the chance to live a life full of knowing instead of ignorance and darkness."

Ari found himself being pulled into the den area by the arm. A cascade of blond hair adorned a chaise. As he turned his head, Ari recognized him as the one who had nearly choked the life out of him—Cyrus. Green eyes locked onto him for a moment before shifting to the demon accompanying him. Cyrus then turned his head back into the chair, exposing two puncture wounds on his neck, with more scattered on his shoulder and collarbone. Despite his disheveled appearance, he made no effort to adjust his shirt.

Ari swallowed dryly.

"Cyrus, leave us for a moment," the demon beckoned, and Cyrus turned to it, offering a nod before leaving without a word.

"Have a seat, Ari."

Ignoring the command, Ari moved toward a large window adorned with heavy red silk curtains embroidered with gold patterned foliage along the sides. It was downpouring, heavy and angry. He could not see anything amidst the rain and fog.

"If you do not, you may ruin my surprise."

Ari's gaze fixed on the demon with morbid curiosity once he released the curtain. Despite instructing Freir to leave him behind, a bitter taste lingered. Now left alone with the demon, the weight of the situation bared onto him. A fire crackled, casting dancing shadows and faint images around the room. The flames illuminated the demon's eyes, infusing them with a real fire's intensity. Its heated glares felt like searing beams penetrating his back. Ari sat himself at a distance, grappling with the uncertainty of what awaited him.

"Basalda is today, Ari. You cannot go out and play your game of demons and swords."

"You condescend me," Ari growled.

"Am I supposed to applaud you?"

Ari closed his eyes and looked away from it.

"Without your friend here, you are quite different."

He looked at it again.

It leaned its head onto the chair's arm, maintaining its gaze on Ari. "Much livelier, less formal." It smiled. "Makes for a delicious treat."

The demon's appetite for blood was voracious. Despite drinking from Cyrus, it remained unsatisfied. Ari gripped the side of his neck, voiding thoughts of the pain it had caused once before.

"My name," Ari gazed at it, or him, he corrected in his mind. "Do you wish to know it?" His lips parted, catching the glint in its eyes. The demon intrigued him, a mix of fascination and caution. His knowledge, his relationships—all tethered to the Khaeo. Besides the order, he knew of no others, especially not intelligent demons that could speak.

"... I would," Ari mumbled after a moment of silence.

"Then share with me, what are your deepest desires left unfulfilled, and do not lie or omit."

"Only demons lie," Ari hissed, prompting laughter from it.

"Little Ari, you will soon come to realize there is not much that separates a demon from a human. Everyone is capable of telling lies." Ari watched as it lifted its head briefly before moving over to him. It sat beside him, maintaining a distance to ease his discomfort.

"I have none," Ari said.

"None?"

"None," Ari repeated.

"Not the soft flesh of a man or woman or wines from the richest orchards? Nothing like wealth or power?" the demon probed.

Ari shook his head no in response. He was taught to think as a collective not as an individual. Those thoughts never once passed his mind. He had no time for it.

"Ari." It pursed its lips. "What do you want from this life?"

"You asked your question. Now answer mine."

"Auovin."

Ari tilted his head at the strangeness of it.

"Go on. Try it on your tongue. Once you say it, you will not ever forget it."

The name slipped off his tongue as if he had said it a thousand times. It felt unfamiliar yet familiar. It confused him. The ages of time could be felt on his tongue, it seemed.

"I shall have you experience every pleasure this life has to offer you, Ari. The price of it is small in comparison."

"I do not care for––"

"You do not care for what you do not know. It is understandable, but I shall have you know of it. Immersed in it. Ravaged by it," its whispery accent bled through its voice again.

Ari blinked slowly, his lips parting in anticipation, heartbeat rampant. He was tempting him with the unknown, making him question things better left unanswered, and wanting things he never wished to have. He was a demon hunter, nothing more and nothing less. The demon made him feel differently, somehow, as if he was not so small and insignificant. He balled his hands into fists at the thought.

"Things are not what they seem. They never are," Auovin whispered as he pressed his lips onto his neck. Ari moved away just as he felt the point of its canines.

It was telling him lies, he knew. Curiosity was a bewitching thing. Ari covered his neck where it almost bit him and simmered. Before he could fully remove himself from the chaise, Auovin grabbed his arm and bit him there instead. He could feel its fangs sinking into his skin. It was softer this time, but the pain still shot through him as if it was the first time. They sank deeper as it pushed him against the plush cushion of the chaise. Ari bit down on the inside of his cheeks until he could taste his own blood. Tears pricked his eyes. He knew no amount of pushing would tear Auovin away from him. It would only incite it to rip more into him. Ari closed his eyes muscling down the pain. His body shook and writhed against him.

Just as Ari thought it would never let go, he felt it move away from him. He watched as his blood dripped down the corners of its mouth. Soon more of it oozed from the punctures in his arm sinking into his shirt. Ari pressed a shaky hand against it. It was a lie, a living lie. A living contradiction of what he wanted and he thought himself to be. It had nothing to offer him but the vulgarness of the world.

"You will want mine," Auovin declared. Ari looked at it, eyes narrowing in disbelief. "Soon enough," it continued, "And when that day comes, your entire understanding of the world will be in shambles." It looked at him as it wiped away his blood from its lips. "But be cautious. Some lies are better than others. Some lies are better than the truth."

"I do not care," Ari said, shaking with anger.

"You do not care?" It laughed. "Not even if it will devour your very soul?"

Ari shook his head, unfazed by its words or gazes. Already, he was falling prey to its fangs and temptations. Left behind and alone, what did it matter anymore?

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[A/N]

Ari is becoming more resigned to his situation and he had not heeded the warning Freir had given him. Auovin's mysteriousness is slowly beginning to unravel as a result. What do you think will happen?

Leave me your thoughts down below! Thank you for reading, commenting, and voting!