by Dahlia Lu
Sayan slipped a hand under her back and lifted her up so that she was in a semi sitting position. It would be easier to feed her the medicine this way. He brought the cup to her mouth and slowly tilted the cup. The liquid spilled from the corner of her lips.
That left him with one other choice. He took the tonic in his mouth and lifted her up higher so their lips could meet. He feed her little by little until he emptied the cup. Just when he was about to place her down on the pillow again, he saw her mouth a word. He leaned in closer to hear what she had to say.
In a breathless whisper, he heard her call out the word ‘Trent’. He lifted his head up again. What does Trent mean? Is it an object? Is it a place? It almost sounded like the name of another male. He heard her call out the word ‘Trent’ again. Her tears seeped through her thick lashes and slid down the curves of her face. She repeated that word over and over as though she was caressing her lover’s name.
This person must be very important to her. Is she looking for him in her dream? If one day she finds this man, would she go with him wherever he went?
He would never allow that to happen.
“That woman is becoming an eyesore.”
Lilan gulped down the glass of wine in her hand and then threw it at a blond man’s head. It shattered and glided down the man’s face along with his blood. He stood up and wiped off the blood from his forehead. The wound closed on its own.
“What would you like me to do about her, mistress?” The man asked. He came closer to her and kissed the back of her hand. “I cannot stand to see you in such a bad mood.”
“If she is of our kind, then why haven’t I seen her before? If I ripped off her face, would it grow back again?”
“It probably would.”
Lilan rolled to lay her back. “Do you think she is more beautiful than I am?”
“No one is comparable to you, my queen.” He replied.
“That is why you are my favorite, Rain. You always know what to say to please me.”
He arched over her and gently stroked her hair. “I can please you in other ways too, my queen.”
She pushed him back. “Don’t lay a finger on me without my permission, Rain.” She grinned. “My new lover might get jealous.”
“You are quite taken with him.”
She sighed at the thought of him. “I like his cold gaze on me. He is the only man I’ve ever encounter that doesn’t grovel at my feet. I can almost see him as my equal. I will turn him into a true king, unlike the filths with a golden crown on their heads. I will make him into a man worthy of me.”
“As you wish, my queen.”
“Ah, that woman really is an eyesore! Just seeing him taking care of her makes me so angry!” She rolled onto her belly again. “Bring her to me, Rain. I think seeing her dead would make me feel a little better.”
“If that is what you wish, my queen.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Trent! Don’t go! Please don’t leave me alone!”
Nala reached out to the silhouette walking away. She stared at the five fingers in front of her and realized that she had woken from her dream. She could barely remember what she dreamt about, but it felt as if she had just lived through a lifetime and maybe even longer. The man with the platinum hair appeared at the end of her dream. Was he the one she was calling to? Was Trent his name?
The severe pain in her chest returned.
Why is it that every time she thought of that man, her chest felt like it was being torn apart? Did he put a curse on her? Did he not want her to remember the past? Who was he to her?
She turned to the side when someone caught her hand.
“So you’ve finally decided to wake up.”
A man with golden hair was smiling at her. “The mistress will find it more entertaining that way.”
“Who are you?” She asked. She tried to pull her hand back, but was unsuccessful. He was stronger than an average man. She found herself losing in a tug-of-war with him.
“I am Rain. You should be able to recognize your own kind when you see one.”
The scent on him was the same as that woman’s. “And what is my own kind?”
“Are you playing dumb with me, little one?”
“I do not have the memory of my origin. Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain what we are.”
“A demon with amnesia? That is a little bit… ironic. It’s not like you can hit your head and mess up some wiring like the humans. It had to have been done intentionally. No matter, you will soon be dead anyway. I won’t waste my time explaining.” He pulled her up from the ground she was lying on. “Come, my queen is waiting for you.”
Nala had no choice, but to give into his strength. “Queen? Of which kingdom?”
“I am a demon, so my master has to be the queen of the demons, of course. She had been expecting you.”
Queen of the Demons?
Nala followed him through a grand corridor made of pure white marble. There were life size paintings of the same woman from panel to panel. Each was a different style and costume, but it was always the same woman. She had seen her face before.
It was the woman in Sayan’s bed.
The right wall of the corridor came to an end. Nala looked down and saw a large, round circle very similar to an arena ring at the bottom. There were four gates with metal bars on four sides of the circle. Above the circle was a balcony filled with spectators.
The blond man jerked her forward when she stopped moving. He stopped when he reached a marble throne. That woman was sitting on it with the same triumphant grin on her face.
“I feel honored that you have responded to my invitation.” She said politely. “I was afraid you would not come.”
“I …couldn’t decline.” Nala briefly glanced at the blond man standing beside her. “What do you want from me?”
The woman got up from her throne and wrapped an arm around Nala’s shoulders. “I must confess. I have been getting my way as long as I could remember. I came across a new toy that I absolutely adore, but I am not used to sharing. I am quite spoiled, aren’t I?”
Nala spent a moment to figure out what toy the raven-hair beauty was referring to. “Do you mean Sayan?”
“I can’t allow my new lover to have a lover of his own, now can I?” The woman jerked her arm away and then pushed Nala off of the edge. Her quick reaction time allowed her to grab onto the ledge. The woman looked down at her with her cold, silver eyes and stepped on her fingers. Nala had no choice, but to let go and fall to the bottom of the pit.
“I sure hope that I am being a good hostess so far, but do not worry. This is when the fun begins.”
Although bruised and scraped, Nala was able to get up on her feet. Her flesh quickly returned to its normal coloring. The four gates to the arena opened. From the dark tunnels, four men stepped forward. Each of them had a sword in their hand. Nala realized she was being surrounded.
“Decapitate her,” the woman commanded, sitting on her marble throne, “and do put on a good show. It would end all too quickly if all of you attack at the same time. I suggest one at a time.”
“Yes, my queen.” They all replied in unison.
The first man to step forward was a slender man with a gentle face. He raised his sword forward and then swung it again to his side. The color of his grey eyes intensified as he charged at her. His movement was so unbelievably quick that she not did realize she was pierced by his sword until she looked down. He pulled his sword out cleanly and she stepped back. Blood dripped from the corner of her lips.
The pain was there, but it was dull, as though her body had been numbed prior to this. The wound was closing by itself. She was glaring up at the woman sitting up high, when she heard a giggle. The woman was enjoying this.
The sword pierced her belly again. She shouldn’t have been distracted. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take before her body gave up on her.
The feeling of anger was building up inside of her. When
the man attacked her again, she was able to dodge. Her body seems to be remembering what to do. She successfully avoided a series of attack just in time for her wounds to heal completely. Considering the situation, she couldn’t keep dodging. She had to attack if she wanted to win. If these people were truly her kind then they would definitely know how to permanently kill one of their own. The order was to decapitate her. Immortality is really just a lie.
“This is getting boring,” The raven-hair beauty sighed. “Finish her off already.”
Nala gasped when all four of them came at her. She leaped into the air and landed behind them. They turned around and took turns attacking her. She could not dodge them all. Each sword took turns impaling her frail body. One man found his way behind her and placed his sword against her neck.
They were going to kill her now.
She still had unfinished business.
She had to help Sayan realize his dream.
She was not done yet.
She had to live.
“Obelisk!” She screamed out. A lightning bolt raced down from the sky and struck her. The voltage sent the four men flying against the wall.
“What is that?” The raven-hair beauty bolted from her seat. “Is she dead?”
The smoke of the debris cleared and Nala was still standing. Obelisk, her soul weapon had answered her call. Her pale green eyes were glowing with rage. She pulled out the swords still stuck in her flesh one by one and dropped them onto the ground.
The spectators were leaning on the edge of the balcony, gasping words like impossible and preposterous.
The four men picked up the swords again and surrounded her. A faint grin appeared from the corner of her lips. Her afterimage trailed from one man to another until she returned to the center. The four men stared at each other, wondering what had happened, when their heads began to slide down the necks.
“She killed them! She killed them!” The spectators screamed out.
“Impossible!” The raven-hair beauty shouted out. “How could she have possibly killed them so easily?”
“My queen!” The blond man stepped in front of her in a defensive position when Nala stared up at them.
“Ah, that was more interesting than I thought it would be!” The raven-hair beauty burst out with laughter.
“Your Majesty…”
“I didn’t think it would come to this but…release the Condemned Divine Beast!”
The spectators gasped out loud.
“Your Majesty, the seal on the beast has been broken! There is no telling if it will obey your orders anymore!”
“Nonsense!” She pushed him aside. “It is a beast and I am its master! Who will it obey, but me! I am the daughter of Lucifer! You dare to say that I cannot control a mere beast?”
The man’s body stiffened. “If that is what you wish.”
Lucifer.
She remembered that name.
Where had she heard it before?
Who is Lucifer?
A pair of large, golden eyes was coming from the dark tunnel. It was hunching in an attack position and baring its fangs. A canine-like beast with long black fur stepped out into the light. It looked like the same beast that had attacked them before.
Yes, it was the same beast. She could tell by the scent.
“Hear me, Condemned Divine Beast!” The raven-hair beauty shouted down the pit. “I am your master. Obey my order and tear my enemy to shreds!”
The beast was coming closer. It jumped at her blade, caught it in its sharp teeth and threw it aside. Nala stepped back. Without her weapon, what could she do? The beast jumped at her again, and she rolled to dodge its sharp claws. It was too quick. It mounted on top of her, staring down into her pale green eyes.
“Finish her!” The raven-hair beauty screamed out.
The beast pinned her down with its paw. She struggled, but she couldn’t move. It was really going to be over. Nala closed her eyes shut and hoped that the beast would finish her quickly.
She felt a lick on her face.
She opened her eyes and found the beast licking her face instead of biting it off.
“What?”
The beast opened his mouth, as if he wanted to talk, but when no word came out, he closed it again. The beast’s body radiated a bright white light, and when the light faded away, there was a naked man with long pitch black hair on top of her. His eyes were the same color as the ones belonging to the beast.
“Master!” He licked her face. “Forgive me! I know you have specifically instructed me not to stay away, but I disobeyed you!”
“Master?” Nala slowly got up when he released her. “Are you saying that I am your master?”
“I know you are not supposed to remember me, but I just can’t help myself! Master did not recognize me that day. I was unbearably hurt.”
“What are you talking about beast?” The raven-hair beauty shouted down. “Finish her!”
The beast looked up. “Without the seal, do you think you can still give me orders?”
The raven-hair beauty growled. “Attack them, all of you!”
The spectators jumped down from the balcony and surrounded them. The man transformed back into a black beast and hunched low on a defensive stance.
“That is quite enough.” A voice echoed around them. A summoned circled appeared in the middle of the arena. The man with the platinum hair rose from the circle and it disappeared. Nala fell to her knees as soon as their eyes met. The pain in her chest returned with a vengeance. It was the same intensity as the day he fished her out of the water.
“W-who are you?” The raven-hair beauty asked.
“I could have cared less about who you pretended to be, but if you lay a hand on Nala again, I will wipe all of you clones from the face of the earth. And to show you that I am serious, here is a demonstration.”
The atmosphere suddenly thickened with a red aura and gravity weakened. The earth shook furiously. The columns began to collapse. The ceilings followed. The palace of pure marble crumbled in minutes.
“I will not be so merciful again.”
He, the beast, and the girl dematerialized in front of them.
Chapter Fifteen
Nala screamed out in pain.
She rolled on the grass as though that could relieve a little of her torment. Her body was in complete shock. The man with the platinum hair grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look into his clear, blue eyes. When she struggled away, he held her more firmly.
“Listen to me, Nala! I know you can hear me. There is a curse on you and I cannot lift it. Only you can lift it. Quit this childish game of yours now!”
“Go away!” She hysterically slashed him across the face with her razor sharp nails. “Go away! You’re hurting me! My chest is going to burst!”
The wounds healed instantly. “You are the one causing yourself pain. Do you think a little curse would keep us apart? Do you really think that you can win over the balance of the universe this way? It’s not that simple!”
“It hurts! How do I…” Her lungs gasped for air. “How do I lift it?”
“Repeat after me: I am the master of this vessel. I command you to release me!”
She would do anything to ease the pain. “I…am the master of this vessel. I…I command…command you to release me…”
He didn’t lie to her. The pain was gone as quick as it came. She rapidly gasped for air, as though it were essential to her survival. She sat up when she successfully regulated her breathing.
“Who are you?” She asked as soon as she could. “Who are you and what do you want from me?”
“I think this must be the fifth time you’ve asked me that question.”
“Sixth,” the man with the black hair corrected him. He was still unclothed.
“I don’t know what you are trying to achieve by erasing your own memories, but it seems that it had to stop somewhere. You always make the same mistake over and over again.”
Nala placed both hands on
her temples. “I erased my own memories? Why?”
“I prefer not to answer that. All I can tell you is my name is Trent.”
She stared at him with widened eyes. She knew the name as though it had been engraved in her flesh. “So…you’re Trent. Primae Lucis…”
He pressed his fingers against her lips to stop her from uttering another word. “You must never speak the name given to us by our father,” he warned. His eyes briefly glanced at the other man who was listening attentively. “It is strictly a secret between the two of us. Do you understand?”
She slightly cocked her head in confusion.
“And this is Fai,” he gestured toward the man with the black hair. “He is sort of our pet.”
“This man is…a pet?”
Fai transformed back into his beast form and licked her face.
“As promised, I have come to take you home. Forgive me for the long delay.”
“I …have a home?”
“I will take you to our mother and father.”
“I have a mother?” She jumped up and gaped at him. “And a father?”
Trent nodded. “Mother would be so happy to meet you. As for Lucifer, I can’t speak for him. His awakening is nearing.”
That name again. “Who is Lucifer?”
“Lucifer is our father.”
“Does that mean are you my brother?” She noticed he used the word ‘our’ the second time.
He didn’t reply.
“Is Lilan my sister?”
“No, she is not. She is an imposter, nothing more. We are Lucifer’s only child.”
“Children,” she corrected him.
“No, child.” Trent refused the correction. “Our parents only have one child. That is because you and I was originally one person. An unfortunate event in the past divided us into two entities. I know it must be confusing for you, but you will understand soon enough. Come, I will explain the rest on our way home.” He reached out for her hand.
“Where is home?” She asked curiously.
“Our home is Hell.”
She yanked her hand away. “Hell?! You want me to go to Hell with you?”