"Y-you've spoken with Mülock?" Soraya asked, her heart stopping for a moment within her chest.
"Unfortunately, yes," Jon almost sounded bored. "His ego is astounding. I'd love to kill him, but he's in a different dimension, out of my reach."
"Yours isn't any better!" the second voice interjected.
Within the orb, Soraya saw the perspective change. Jon was now looking down towards the floor. Two light blue eyeballs were jutting out, like blisters, from the palm of his left hand, and a long, thin slit ran from his ring finger all the way down to his wrist. As the flap of skin raised and lowered, the girl spotted six yellow, bloody teeth poking out from the makeshift lips.
Without replying, Jon's thumb came down hard on one of the eyes until it popped like a blueberry. The flap of skin on his hand screamed while blood mixed with the white from the cracked eye dripped down like the runny yolk from an egg.
"There goes one spare eyeball," Marlot clicked his tongue. "Would you like to lose the other one, or are you going to shut up?"
"I-I'll stay quiet, I swear!" it whimpered.
"Good," Jon placed a black glove over his hand. "Sorry for that rude interruption. Continue, Soraya."
"Um..." the girl could hardly believe what she had just seen and her stomach curdled in disgust. "Well, Mülock told me you killed your own family by accident... is that true?"
The man was silent for a moment. "Have you ever seen the life drained out of someone else before?"
Flashes of two dead bodies filled Soraya's vision, and her blood ran cold at the sight of the memory. Their pale skin was wrinkled like dried fruit, their bones jutting out and ripping through paper thin flesh. Four shrunken, unseeing eyes stared at her through two misshapen skulls.
"Atohi and Che Marlot were their names," Jon said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "It was truly an accident that I killed my own parents, this is true, but I also have an incurable bloodlust. It turns out I'm part demon, and you being able to contact me in this way proves you are as well, though your voice and aura seem much gentler in nature than Mülock's."
"I know them!" Soraya exclaimed in shock. "Mama called them my aunt and uncle!"
"Yes, and your father is Tishva Thenayu," Jon continued. "He wrote a letter to my parents before that incident. He asked if they were also having memory loss issues, and they were..." he paused and let the weight of his words settle in the still air. "I'll tell you more of what I know, but in exchange, you have to tell me about yourself. Deal?"
Soraya bit her lip and pondered his offer. "Well, um, are you going to kill me because Mülock told you to?"
"I don't want to, but I can't guarantee that I won't change my mind."
Soraya stiffened. "Why?"
Jon let out an audible sigh. "Are you aware of the demonic hierarchy?"
The girl thought back to various passages from, The Path, and nodded her head.
"I can't see non-verbal cues. Yes or no?" his voice rumbled.
"Oh, yes!" Soraya laughed nervously. "Sorry, I forgot you can't see me."
Marlot sounded amused as he prattled on. "Mülock wants you dead because you're very high up in the ranks. The fact that you can even contact me must mean you're his equal, or are even higher than him, and he's threatened by that."
How is this even possible?
Soraya could barely believe what she was hearing. "What about you?" the girl asked with a shaky voice.
"Because we're not related, I'm a little beneath you, but not by much since I can also cast the purging souls spell. Demons in lower ranks cannot do this," his tone grew dark like a stormy sea as he growled. "I hate that Mülock can possess me and make me do things I don't like, which is why I want him dead."
He held a finger towards himself, so Soraya could see it pointing directly at her. "If you try a stunt like that on me, I'll make sure to kill you too, got it?"
"Y-yes sir," Soraya gulped. "I don't want to control anyone."
"I can tell," Marlot's tone softened. "That's why I can't guarantee whether we'll be friends or not. As long as Mülock is alive, he can control me. I'm sorry in advance if I end up taking your life, but it won't be on purpose."
Sadness crept up into the girl's heart. "He can control me too, actually, but it seems to just be my right arm."
"Interesting," Jon murmured. "I'm sure that has to do with how many bodies he has fused with himself. He has to use a lot of energy already to speak across dimensions, even more so to possess us."
"I guess that makes sense. I fused with some of my friends, and I felt so much stronger and more alive when I did, that I had to focus hard on separating our souls to keep testing new spells."
The girl couldn't see the grin appearing on the man's face. "Getting comfortable now, are we?" he teased. "I've started stocking up on souls in the hopes of not being possessed during the next half moon. I figure the more Etherian blood I have within me, the less control he'll have. I guess I'll find out if it works or not soon."
When Soraya didn't reply, the man chuckled darkly.
"Don't worry, it's only those who deserve it, like Orchal here," Jon pulled off the glove and glanced down once more at the miserable, bloody face bursting from his skin. "I'm just torturing him for fun at this point. Stealing children from their beds and selling them for profit..."
Without warning, he punched the face hard with his free hand, and Soraya could hear more of Orchal's pitiful shrieks erupt into the air.
"Too many girls have been going missing lately, and I'm determined to get to the bottom of it," Jon mused. "Mülock, thankfully, wants me to stop it, though he won't tell me why. That just makes me even more suspicious of what's being done to those poor kids."
"Say, um, do you have any more news about my father?" Soraya asked, hoping she had shared enough information to satisfy his offer.
"He and Yosef were going to meet with me, but I'm not sure what happened to them. They vanished."
"When were you going to see them?" Soraya asked, her heartbeat quickening. "He called the school last week on Ignis, and no one has seen him since."
"Soraya," Jon said quietly.
"Yes?" the girl asked, hope growing within her heart.
"Your poker face is atrocious. When dealing with strangers, you need to hide your emotions better," he snorted. "Gods, you wear them on your sleeve, practically painted a glowing bullseye around them, and I can't even see what you look like."
"Oh..." Soraya's cheeks glowed as shame flooded through her veins.
Jon chuckled at her embarrassment. "I'm only saying this because you're in a precarious situation. It's best if you don't trust any adults right now."
The view within the sphere shifted as Marlot waltzed over to the window overlooking the sea. "Tishva and Yosef would have met up with me last weekend, so they've obviously been abducted."
I thought so... Soraya wanted to cry, but kept the wall to the floodgates sealed shut. "Why did you want to meet up with them?"
"I'll tell you, but first, I want to know about that purified patch of grass in your school's track and field. I'm sure you caused it, I just want to know how."
Soraya's skin prickled. "You heard about that?"
"Word gets around Azakua a lot faster than you realize," Marlot laughed. "I'm assuming you used Etherian magic for that trick, right? If I can also purify land, then maybe I won't be possessed by Mülock, and then I won't be forced to kill you."
"I fused with my friend, and we used Water Magic to create a pool around some dead grass and trees..."
"Don't hold back on information," Jon said in a stern voice. "If you do, I will too."
"I-I used the purging souls spell on accident, that's how those plants wound up dead in the first place," Soraya breathed slowly to calm down. "While we used Water Magic, we sang a hymn because the plants asked us to, and we cried into the pool too."
"The plants spoke to you even though you don't have Earth Magic?" Marlot's voice raised in suspicion. "Fascinating."
There was a pregnant pause between them.
"You do realize you just gave me your location, right? Mülock has been trying so hard to know exactly where you're residing, and now I know."
Soraya's heart stopped. Oh no... He's right! What have I done?
"You're not very good with negotiating. You're too honest."
Soraya didn't know what to say, but her brain mentally tortured herself for falling so easily into his trap.
Jon was quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. "I wanted to meet with Tishva and Yosef to find out more information on my real parents. Atohi and Che were not my blood relatives, though they did raise me the best they could, considering I don't have a conscience and a strange lust for blood. They accidentally let that slip during one of their many moments of not remembering who I was."
Soraya leaned forward even more towards the floating, fiery sphere.
"My real mother's last name was Triparagen."
A memory stirred within Soraya's mind. Wait! That sounds similar to-
"And your mother's last name was Litrigen," interrupted Marlot. "You must know enough Casmerahn to understand what that means, don't you?"
"Jai," Soraya responded, though the temptation to slap her forehead was strong. How did I miss this? How could I have been so ignorant to overlook the meaning of my mother's last name?
"Li means one, tri means three, and gen means..." Soraya's spine shivered. "Generation."
"Correct," Marlot slowly clapped his hands together. "Your mother was the first of the third generation, and my mother was the third of the second generation."
"Generations of what we are, correct?" Soraya's head pounded as flashes of her mother came into view in her mind's eye.
Were you like me all along?
"Jai," Marlot stepped closer to the window, his reflection cast back at them through the glass. He was dressed in a long, black coat and had a large gun slung over one shoulder. His skin was ghost-like with a pale golden goatee flowing from his chin, and a large pair of blood-red shades that obscured his eyes. A round, black hat covered his head, and a pair of golden goggles sat upon it, giving him a look of having four eyes.
"Your mother was a very high ranking demon hybrid, as was mine," Jon said thoughtfully. "I want to know how and why this is even possible. I hoped that your father would know something. He and my parents all share the same issue of memory loss. I believe that was done partially to protect them, and partially to hide the knowledge of how hybrids are created."
Jonathan's lips parted into a fanged grin. "Why else would you and I be hidden in plain sight from the rest of the world, growing up without ever knowing how to tap into our abilities? And in such strategically placed locations away from haunted land?"
"My father got a letter from someone..." Soraya breathed, despite herself. "It said, don't look for your history. If we talk, you will get hurt. Be happy you don't remember," the girl paused. "Did you write that to him?
"No, that was not me." Marlot's lips became a thin line. "It sounds like whoever wrote that may be our only lead. What language was it written in?"
"Casmerahn."
"Figures. Was there a name attached to the letter?"
"No."
"Of course not," Marlot stated, his voice steady, yet dripping in sarcasm. "Can't have the answers be too convenient now, can we?"
Another abrupt silence filled the air between them.
"Thank you for being honest with me," the man said calmly. "I do appreciate it, truly. Because you're just a kid, and I sense no malice from you whatsoever, I'll try my best to keep my distance from you during half moons."
I might as well gain as much information as I can since I blew my cover.
"Mr. Marlot, sir? MagiCorp elites are visiting the school in three months," the girl said in a low voice. "I'm sure they already suspect me of using magic."
"Oh, they'll show up even sooner than that," Jon warned. "Be careful and on guard. I guarantee your father missing and these MagiCorp elites visiting your school are not coincidences."
Goosebumps crawled up Soraya's arms.
"I suggest you stop practicing magic entirely, both Etherian and Apollryük for the time being and focus on blending in as a regular student as much as possible. And..." Marlot's voice sounded jovial. "Contact me again after the next half moon. If I manage to find a way around being possessed, I'll let you know. The Gods know that I've tried so many things already."
Soraya thought back to her conversation with her friends just a few minutes prior. "Have you ever fused with plants or animals?"
"I have..." the reflection of Marlot half smiled into the window. "And it was disastrous."
He took off his right glove to show her his hand. It was greenish in hue with veins that looked like vines from a bush. "I know what you're thinking, and fusing with grass and trees is a bad idea. Don't do it, how they think and operate are vastly different from us, and that's not including what they're made of. Don't try fusing with animals either, you might accidentally kill them in the process."
Soraya grit her teeth together as she stared into the floating orb in consternation. That could've been me a few minutes ago...
"It's been a pleasure meeting someone else like myself," Marlot grinned into the window, so Soraya could see yellowing fangs glistening in the reflection. "I must admit, you make a great first impression, Soraya Thenayu. We have a common enemy, and it would be a shame to dispose of you too early," he waved his hand so Soraya could see. "Take care, kid. Watch your back."
The girl pulled herself away from the floating, fiery blue orb and turned towards the entrance of the cave, where a cluster of three floating spheres lay. As she ran to the opening and drew closer, she realized they were her three friends. Ujuu and Rhys' orbs were surrounded in brilliant red flames, while Moiya's was enveloped in an emerald fire.
"I-I contacted someone named Jonathan Marlot, and he's a demon like me!" Soraya blurted as she ran up to them. "He knows where I am, and Mülock can possess him..."
Soraya's shaky knees sank into the cool sand beneath her. "We might be allies since he doesn't like Mülock either, but I don't know. I think we're in trouble..."
Rhys pulled her into a tight embrace. "Not yet, we're not," he whispered, taking Soraya's quivering hands into his own. "I hate to do this to you, but use up the rest of your Water Magic, so we can go back to school."
"But I let him trick me! He has the upper hand-"
"Breathe, it's okay," Rhys assured her while patting her head and running his fingers through her hair. "Everything will be alright. You did great. None of this is your fault."
It is, though... it really is...
*2,647 Words