Lost Ones

by Rute Canhoto

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Marina could not allow Barbatos to drag Lucas with him into the depths of Hell once more. Willing to do anything, she sprinted through the old bridge. When she reached the skate park, she was tired. She crouched, put her hands on her knees, and bowed her head as she tried to catch her breath. Not wanting to waste any time, she scanned the area searching for Lucas. There was no sign of him or his Master anywhere. Maybe they had gone to the underworld together. A dreadful thunder made her shudder at, and rain began rushing down without any trace of contention. Marina scolded to herself for having left her umbrella on the entrance step. Colossal mistake. Before she would get as soaked as a drowned rat, she hid close to one of the half pipe’s parts. She sat down, pulled her knees up to her and remained static, while waiting for the rain to stop for her to turn back. So much running for nothing…

  If there was a way to get to Hell and get back, she was willing to go there and to save Lucas. However, and heroics aside, she was nothing more than an insignificant human. ‘Human’ - that was what Lucas had called her. If even he thought of her in such a depreciating way, what could she do to stand up to a superior powerful demon? She believed that if Barbatos hadn’t called Lucas, she could have reached to his core and he could have recovered his memory. As much as he told her he didn’t remember, his reaction showed that things were just hidden in a bolted hideout somewhere inside him; if they weren’t, he would have attacked her without hesitation.

  She started to think what Barbatos would have on him, in order to keep him that loyal. Would it be a question of torture and violence? Brainwashing maybe? One thing she knew: meeting at the Auditorium wasn’t a coincidence. She was sure that he had appeared there because that’s where she was; still, she wondered why. Would it be a test imposed by his boss? Barbatos might want to know if he really controlled Lucas, or if he would turn against him when he saw her. If this hypothesis checked, the fact of Lucas having met her on purpose by the rail was a problem for him, since Barbatos could consider that his ‘work’ wasn’t effective and would punish him until he didn’t think twice to attack her. She wished that she was wrong.

  The precipitation continued to shoot down with intensity. It had trickled all day, promising something more serious - the result was visible. Noting that the rain didn’t show any will to take a break, Marina decided that she would go home anyway. When she arrived there, she would get in the tub and have a bath of hot water. She got up and crossed her arms in a gesture of protection not only against the cold, but also to protect her from a possible attack. She studied the area around her once more in search of a sign, the littlest thing that indicated the presence of her beloved, nonetheless there was nothing. She sighed, gazed at the pitch-black sky and prepared to embark on a frantic race.

  She had hardly begun the fast pace, when a latent din reached her ears. Marina stopped at once. Standing still, she paid more attention to the sounds of the night. She closed her eyes to concentrate and listened. She didn’t have to wait long till hearing it again; someone was moaning. She unveiled her eyes and decided to circle the skate park. She knew that someone was out there. She went to the other part of the half pipe and saw a glimpse of a figure lying on the floor, with his belly down. Marina shuddered upon seeing him. She didn’t need to see his face to be sure of who he was – Lucas. She ran top him. With trembling hands, she turned him. Horrified, she put her hands to her mouth to stifle a shriek. She was right; it had been a test. Lucas hadn’t passed and had been punished for it with a wound, just above the heart, that seemed to be very deep and it bled profusely. She covered it, trying to stop the bleeding and gulped.

  Lucas was motionless and he didn’t open his eyes; she figured that he was unconscious. Nervous, Marina applied two light strokes on his face to awaken him, but she had no success.

  “I have to get you out of here,” she said to no one.

  She had to take him home and treat him. Although he was an entity out of the ordinary, being stricken with such seriousness wasn’t good for sure. She shook him once more, and again got no response. She couldn’t carry him, since she wasn’t strong enough, so all that there was left was to wait for him to wake up. Would he be the same as always when he awoke, or would he continue to be the demon that his Master wanted him to be? She prayed for the first option. Without another choice, Marina took off her jacket, her turtle-neck sweater and her blouse. She turned to put on the turtle-neck, while every inch of her skin crawled with cold, and she covered his body with her coat. Next, she folded her blouse several times and put it on the wound to staunch the bleeding. To protect his body from the bad weather, she leaned over him.

  A strange vibration came from beneath her, leading her to conjecture about what was happening. The response came in the impact of a creepy sound: it was Lucas who was laughing in an ominous way. Confused, Marina leant on him, allowing him to stand on his elbows. She stopped pressing his wound when he ogled at the injury and snorted. That wasn’t her Lucas; it was his dire version. Without expecting it, Lucas pushed her so hard that she flew in the air to the fence that surrounded the restaurant next to the skate park. Stunned, Marina tried to get up, but before she could do it, Lucas was already in front of her. He continued to exhibit a poisonous smirk, as if the situation amused him greatly. He crouched beside her and looked deep into her eyes, so that she could see that he was commanded by the darkness.

  “Hello again, stranger,” he said with a grin. “I heard that you’re searching for me, and guess what? We were looking for you too!”

  Without giving her time to assimilate what was going on, Lucas grasped her rubber band and untied her pony-tail. He tilted his head a bit to the right side, while pretending to comb her hair. Out of the blue, he grabbed a large lock of her hair and pulled it hard, forcing her to rise. Marina yelled in pain and took both hands to her head to try to free herself. Lucas forced her to go to the bench right in front of the skate park. Installed on the cement seat was Barbatos, who was very busy pulling at the fingers of his glove. Lucas continued to pull her hair and forced her to kneel before his Master. Barbatos didn’t even look at her.

  Though the rain had subsided a little, the firmament was often pierced by invading lightning strikes, followed by fearful crashing thunders. It all combined into a perfect symphony of terror.

  The Master looked at the heavens and commented to no one in particular, “There's nothing like a good storm. It always has a devastating dramatic effect. It inspires both fear and respect. It’s perfect.”

  Skillfully, and without letting go of her hair, Lucas stood behind the girl. The pain from the pulling, allied to the disillusionment of knowing that Barbatos was getting what he wanted, contributed to her defeat. She felt like crying. No! If I’m going to the bottom, then I’ll go with dignity, she shouted to her conscience. She gave up trying to release from Lucas. She passed her palms over her eyes to wipe away the tears, and pressed her lips to control herself.

  With satisfaction, Lucas announced, “You were right, Master. She came here of free will and without knowing that she was heading straight for your artful trap.”

  Barbatos laughed. As he stared at his nails without any show of modesty, he said, “I'm simply genius, therefore my plans are too. Furthermore, this human is so predictable.” Turning to her, he said, “Hello, Marina. How are you since the last time we met?”

  Barbatos was now looking directly at her. Marina thought that he seemed more proud than a peacock, delighted to be victorious: he had managed to turn Lucas into a demon, had erased all his memories and, more importantly, he was getting him to hurt her.

  An atrocious recollection made her retrieve one of the things that Barbatos had told her: “Maybe I’ll send him back to fulfill his original mission.” She trembled under the hand of Lucas. Would this be the great plan of Barbatos? Would he want Lucas to complete his mission as proof that he was on his side? Not only was he sure that he controlled the Lost One, but he would also get rid of her. Would this be her fate,
to die at the hands of her beloved? She didn’t see how she could save herself. Not only she was kneeling in front of a powerful demon, but she also had another one, with unknown powers, arresting her. Stubborn, Marina didn’t answer Barbatos’ question. She diverted her view in another direction, and assumed an expression of aversion to him.

  Seeming slightly offended, Barbatos stood up from the bench and ordered to Lucas, “Bind her to the pole. Let's give a more tragic look to the scene to make things more interesting.”

  Lucas assented and turned to pull on Marina's lock of hair, so that she would get up and walk down to the pole. When they got before it, he dropped her hair and threw her hard against the column. Marina made an effort to suppress a hacking moan that wanted to escape from her mouth. Hold on! Be strong, she ordered herself. The Lost One took her blouse stained with blood, which had previously been placed on his wound, tore it into two and headed to her. Marina tried to struggle, but Lucas was much stronger. He ended up holding her hands over her head and tied them to the pole; her feet were next. With his job completed, Lucas strayed a few feet so that the Grand Master could observe his work.

  Barbatos stood in front of the girl and complained, “You know, you're much ruder than the last time we met. By the way, do you remember this?”

  The demon pointed to three pink marks on his face. They hadn’t disappeared, as it was supposed to happen with that kind of supernatural being that regenerated easily. Marina remembered those scars: they had been offered to him by her. If she was given the opportunity, she would do much worse. Impelled to act, she moved frantically, trying to undo the bonds. She felt like a fly caught in a spider web, waiting for the inevitable.

  Barbatos showed his teeth in a menacing expression and stated, “That’s right, my dear. I’m glad you remember it, because I think it's time to reciprocate the gesture.”

  That said, the demon approached Lucas and observed the scars on his trunk, that was painted in scarlet due to the wound opened over his heart. He bit his lip briefly in a way of weighting things up and said, “Since you care so much about your darling Lucas, I’ll give you a souvenir - a few scars equal to his.”

  After dropping a sinister laugh accompanied by Lucas, Barbatos approached the girl and, with a single blow that consisted of sliding his finger down the front of her, her sweater was torn.

  “Get rid of these rags,” he ordered to Lucas.

  Obedient, the Lost One pulled off what was left of her sweater. The wintry air made Marina try to shrink, but she wasn’t successful, since the ties didn’t allow her to move much.

  With a smile full of tenebrous malignancy on his face, Barbatos studied her abdomen as an artist measuring the brush stroke to apply on the canvas. He leaned his forefinger to her skin and made it slide without any shadow of hurry. His touch was extremely hot, her skin burning like paper as his finger slipped through it. Marina felt as if she was being ripped by a scorching iron. She tried to be strong and not to cry, nonetheless the pain was so strong that a guttural sound eventually escaped her, ceasing only when Barbatos stopped. She could swear that her cries had echoed through the whole city; yet, no light was turned on, no one came to the door to peek, no one showed up to rescue her.

  Barbatos showed his typical childish behavior and clapped with joy. Hurting her was a real pleasure for him and Marina knew that he didn’t intend to stop there. The demon repositioned and turned to slide his incandescent finger, this time a little above her hip. The incision was bigger, thus Marina couldn’t help but howl a moan of suffering, while tears fell in cascades down her cheeks. She avoided looking down. If she saw the blood, she would lose the last drop of energy she had left, and she feared that there was still much to stand until the coup de grace.

  “Ask me to stop,” Barbatos ordered to her.

  “No! I'm not giving that pleasure,” rejected Marina in a shout.

  “Then you'll suffer a lot till you change your mind.”

  Barbatos raised his finger in the air and struck her with a cut similar to the one Lucas had over his heart, though less profound. Marina lost the strength in her legs and went down, remaining only in the vertical position, because her wrists were tied to the pole. She let her body sway to the rhythm of the wind that had turned to blow.

  “And now, have you changed your mind?” insisted Barbatos.

  “Never” said Marina, with her voice failing. She gave her best to utter, “I hope you burn in Hell and that Justice finds you and tears you into pieces. You're a monster!”

  Huffy by her persistence, Barbatos attacked her again. A slash even bigger crossed her belly from the area below her right breast almost to her left hip. The pain was excruciating, nevertheless the scream died in her throat; she had no breath left to yell. She dropped her head down and observed the water drops falling from her hair.

  Barbatos wiped his hand in a glove as he studied her. He released something that sounded like a sigh and commented, “This is so monotonous. You're a drag and I'm already bored of doing this. Hmm, what would make you beg me to kill you?”

  The demon marched from side to side, while waiting for some idea to occur to him. The small break allowed Marina to recover a little, though the wounds were blazing hot. Suddenly Barbatos stopped in front of her and commanded, “Lost One, come here.”

  Marina half raised her head upon hearing that call. She knew perfectly what it meant.

  Always loyal and obedient, Lucas did what his Master commanded him to. Once he approached him, Barbatos plunged a hand into his chest, to the fiend’s surprise. The Lost One just groaned, while he held onto his boss in order not to fall down.

  “No. Stop it! Please, stop,” Marina cried out in horror.

  Barbatos glanced at her in triumph. That was her weak point. He faced Marina and pressed Lucas’ heart further, making him fall on his knees in front of him.

  “Stop! Leave him alone, please,” she turned to plead. “He already does everything you want, why torture him any further? I’m the one you want. Let him go, I beg you!”

  “But that's not what I want to hear, my dear. I want you to beg for something else instead. You know what it is. Go on, tell me what I want,” challenged Barbatos.

  Marina gulped and tried to appease the tangle of emotions that huddled inside of her, but the scene she witnessed wouldn’t let her calm down a single bit. She concentrated and, unable to control the tremor of her lower lip, babbled, “I beg you... I implore you to kill me, Barbatos.”

  “Yes!” shouted the demon, removing his hand from inside the chest of the Lost One.

  Lucas' body crashed and collapsed to the front, while shaken by relentless spasms that ceased little by little. Marina looked at him, helpless. She couldn’t do anything for him, but to sacrifice herself. Maybe. when she disappeared. Barbatos would forget about him, since his interest was in the game he played with her. When the fun was over, he would return to his routine, and Lucas would be just another one in his legion.

  Unexpectedly, Lucas rose from the wet pavement in a movement out of sync. When he removed the hand that covered his wound, Marina stared at the injury that she had glimpsed before: Lucas had recovered at an amazing speed, and the hole that Barbatos’ hand had opened was closed and the blow had returned to its initial appearance. It continued to bleed and to look bad, but at least it wasn’t a huge hole; he had good chances of healing completely.

  Patient, Barbatos waited for the rain water to wash Lucas’ blood from his hand. He turned to Marina and stated, “I've been thinking about what I said before. Tell me, what do you think of Lucas completing his mission?”

  It was what she always suspected: she would die at the hands of her beloved. Better to his than to Barbatos’. It was ironic, but correct. She had forced Lucas to return to Hell, so it was fair that he balanced the scales. She replied in a calm tone “I don’t care one iota about it.”

  Barbatos giggled and turned to Lucas. He ordered him, “Get rid of her, my Lost One.”

  Lucas a
greed and went over Marina. His eyes of hideous opacity, full of menace, attached to hers.

  Although she knew what would happen next, Marina couldn’t deny her feelings for Lucas: he would hurt or even kill her, but it was for him that her heart beat. If she couldn’t stay with him, it was better for him to kill her once and for all. Without ever averting her gaze from his, she took a deep breath to prepare for the worst. Bathed in conformation and humility, she told him, “With all this, I think I already proved to you that I wasn’t lying. Go ahead, kill me. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you’re okay. As you said before, ‘I’m going to give you the greatest proof of love that I can give you’.”

  That said, Marina raised her head and tried to straighten up. She tensed her jaw, waiting with honor for the advertised fatal charge. A dagger appeared in the palm of Lucas’ hand by magic. Continuing to look her straight in the eyes and fitted with a cunning smirk, Lucas raised his arm to finish it. Feeling that she no longer needed to keep appearances regarding the circumstances, Marina allowed the last tears to roll down her face. Although she was terrified and nervous before, she was invaded by a surprising serenity, for Lucas was the one to give her eternal peace. Soon everything would be over: there would be no more pain or worries, everything would stay behind. Lucas’ arm, however, remained quiet in the air, suspended.

  “What are you waiting for? Go ahead, kill her. Finish this!” ordered Barbatos, fearing the meaning of such hesitation.

  Marina stared at Lucas. Surprisingly, she saw tears in his eyes. Those windows to a soul dominated by the shadows were weeping about what he had to do. Seeing him in that state made her feel a pressing need to comfort him. In an affected, but sweet voice, she whispered, “Don’t cry. You'll be alright, I know. I'll be fine too.”

  Before Lucas had any time to reflect on her words, Barbatos reinforced with a shout, “Kill her now!”

  Lucas' arm went up again and came down without hesitation. Marina turned her face away and shut her eyes tightly: it was now, her time had come. She felt the pole vibrating and her body followed the reverberation. Contrary to what she expected, she didn’t feel any pain. So dying, even if by a violent death, didn’t hurt? Marina dared to raise her eyelids: Lucas was taking the ropes from her feet and next he untied the ones on her wrists. As soon as he freed her hands, Marina swooped down forlorn over his body. The two ended up kneeling on the ground.

  Barbatos began to move around them like a shark about to attack his victim, while saying, “Well, well, well. Now, what a surprise! Even after all my efforts, the Lost One fights back and rescues his protégé. The question is who will protect him from me?”

  Lucas made an extraordinary effort to stand up, but the effects of his wounds were starting to weight on him. Marina tried to do the same, but since she couldn’t stand, she dragged herself as far as possible. She wasn’t going to leave Lucas there, nonetheless the battle that would follow was between them and she could do nothing against powers beyond the ordinary.

  Barbatos continued moving around Lucas, preparing to attack him. He didn’t lose his theatricality and kept insulting him, “So that’s how it’s going to be? You leave everything for a human that, one day, you’ll watch die, while you’ll continue walking on in the world? And what will you do after you lose her? Nothing. You'll still be a troubled soul, and you’ll end up returning to what you were as rage and revolt grow inside you. I know what I’m talking about.”

  “No, you don’t, nor have you the truth on your side,” refuted Lucas.

  The Master rolled up his sleeves, showing that he didn’t intend to take the weak part. If Lucas wanted to fight him, he would find a powerful response.

  When Barbatos fell silent, it was Lucas' turn to strike back. “You think I cannot beat you, Master? I tell you you're very mistaken.”

  Barbatos chuckled. Amused, he asked, “Do you believe so? Tell me: how could you, a mere Lost One, beat me in battle? Me, a powerful chief with thirty legions in my service?”

  Pinning his feet to the ground, Lucas replied, "It's very simple. Do you remember Gadrel, who taught how angels could be wounded with swords? I do. And I thought that information so useful, that look what I got.”

  Lucas' hand slid vertically through the air. A bright light flashed over the line drawn and a majestic sword appeared in his hands.

  “I can’t believe it... It’s not possible. Where did you get that?” inquired Barbatos in astonishment.

  “What matters is, if this sword works with angels, it should also work with demons, since they are below them, right?” And Lucas wielded the sword, making it cut the air into slices by way of a threat.

  Barbatos wove a grin and didn’t take long to imitate Lucas: he also drew a vertical line in the air, from where appeared another sword through a black mist. “Are you sure you know how to use that, miserable Lost One?” he teased, never dropping his intimidating mask. “I have serious doubts, but if that’s what you want, get ready to disappear forever.”

  “You are the one who’s going to vanish,” yelled Lucas, who rose his sword in the air and made it come down in a sweeping blow, which was quickly trimmed by Barbatos.

  The Master circled the Lost One and attacked with a blow from below. Lucas swerved to the side, turning over himself, and struck back, making his blade slash Barbatos’ arm, that began to bleed. The Master looked at his arm with surprise, but ended up laughing as he shook his head. Next, he took the sword with both hands, assumed an expression of rage, and attacked Lucas with several blows so strong that the Lost One could scarcely defended himself.

  Lucas was forced to retreat. He barely had time to recover; Barbatos was again close to him and made his sword glide through the air so fast that it was hard discern his movements. Suddenly, Barbatos hurt Lucas on a leg. The Lost One stumbled and fell to the ground, while the Master discarded his sword with a kick. However, Lucas wasn’t beaten yet: he didn’t have the sword, but he would use his body as a weapon. He rose, in pain and with difficulty, and assumed an attack position, while Barbatos threw his sword into the ground.

  “Really?!” spit the Master. “You think that you can beat me in a body fight? If you couldn’t do it with a sword, do you think that's how you’ll get there? Brainless idiot! I’ll cut you back to non-existence.”

  Lucas tried to hit him with a punch, followed by a kick, but he failed; the adversary slipped all his attacks. Not wasting the opportunity, Barbatos moved at the speed of light and hit Lucas with a fist to his face and a kick in his chest that sent him flying next to Marina. Despite being exhausted, Lucas still he tried to get up. Before he could do so, Barbatos jumped on him and pressed the wound that he had inflicted before, making Lucas scream out in visible agony. Noting that the enemy wouldn’t give much more of a fight, Barbatos let go of the wound and walked away.

  Marina dragged herself to Lucas. She observed his body at full length: he was badly injured and wouldn’t be able to continue to defend himself for much longer. She thought that it was time to face the inevitable - they would both die there.

  In a superhuman effort, she managed to kneel next to Lucas. She put her arm over his shoulders, to comfort him, and whispered, “Don’t worry, everything is fine. You gave it your best shot. I wouldn’t ask for more than that. Thanks for trying.”

  As she spoke, Barbatos returned, holding the shining sword that Lucas had wielded before. He contemplated the object as he made it spin. He slid the blade by his hand and evaluated it. He nodded and commented, “It is truly an admirable object. And the damage it can cause? This sword is not for you, Lost One, and it was an outrage you daring to wield it. However, I have a surprise for you. Since you liked it so much, it’s precisely with this that I’ll finish you.”

  Horrified, Marina saw Barbatos moving toward Lucas, as he pulled back the sword. It wasn’t hard to predict his goal. Marina did the only thing that occurred to her: she gathered her last energies, rotated over Lucas and stood in front of him. The sword pierced
both in one strike. Marina didn’t yell nor cry, just accepted the fatality as she pressed Lucas hard against her. The Lost One uttered a howl that was heard miles away, not due to pain, but for Marina. Although he too was on the verge of losing strength, he corresponded to her hug.

  With her last breath, Marina murmured in a hasty way, “I regret nothing.”

  “Me neither. You’re the best thing that happened to me,” answered Lucas.

  Barbatos put his hands on his waist, leaned his head to the side and watched them, pleased with his victory.

  “Two birds with one stone,” he commented, sardonically.

  The demon remained still, expecting to see Lucas disintegrating as it happened when a Lost One was eradicated. Lucas, however, was still in one piece.

  Suddenly, the sword that crossed the lovers began to shine with such intensity that almost blinded Barbatos. Its resplendent glow expanded and enveloped both Lucas and Marina's bodies in a protective aura. Surprisingly, the blade left the two bodies by itself and, floating in the air, turned toward Barbatos. Amazed, Lucas made an extra effort to understand what was happening. He learned then that the sword only responded to purity, and the link that united the couple was a pure one. The sword had its own will and it wanted to end the evil obstacle between them. Lucas just had to indicate the sword which direction to take, ordering it mentally to do its part. Obedient, it flew with at supersonic speed at Barbatos and struck him in his heart.

  The Master moaned in pain and admiration. He retreated two steps and fell to his knees in a pool of water. He tried to pull the sword out and, at great cost, he did it. The blade fell on the wet and dirty floor and its light extinguished. As its weapon faded, Barbatos disintegrated and turned into ashes that soon were washed away by the rain.

  The lovers were still embraced. Despite being painfully injured, Lucas remained conscious due to his paranormal nature. Without ever dropping Marina’s body, he managed the unthinkable: he stood up and carried her in his arms to the side of the half pipe, which was better protected from the rain. He laid her gently on the ground and approached his ear to her chest to check if she was still breathing; however, he couldn’t tell if she was just unconscious or if she had...

  “No, you cannot be dead. Barbatos is gone, we can be together at last,” Lucas whispered with a note of sadness.

  He had to stop the bleeding and heal those wounds, but how? It would take a miracle. In a momentary flash of lucidity, he got up and staggered to the sacred sword that had just killed Barbatos. He picked it up and returned to Marina. The blade had lost its light, but maybe it could do one last thing for them.

  Lucas raised the sword above his head and asked to Heaven, “Please, help me to save her. She’s all I have left. Don’t take her away from me. I beg you, help me!”

  He waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. When the dismay was taking over him, the sword began to glow gradually, although not as bright as before: it was as if the strings of power that it still had left, had reunited only for him to save Marina.

  "Thank you, a thousand times thank you," Lucas thanked with his voice trembling.

  He approached the point of the blade of the wound caused by the trespass of steel and put it on it. When he raised the sharp metal surface, the cut wasn’t bleeding anymore and it even looked as if it had been cauterized. He repeated the gesture on all the injuries that had been caused by Barbatos. When he finished the process, the sword broke in his hands, turning into bright gold dust: its mission was accomplished, so it could withdraw from this world.

  Lucas stared at Marina and felt relieved to see that her chest went up and down slowly; she was breathing and would be fine. However, he had to take her to a safe place to treat her better. He waited for the weather to calm down and took the time to regain forces, since the task ahead wouldn’t be easy for a hurt demon.

  When the rain mitigated, he caught her in his arms, ran down the side walk along the river and crossed the bridge. Back on the north bank, he climbed the arcade steps, opened the door of her house with the key she had in her pocket, and went inside. He wanted to lay her on the bed, nevertheless she was soaked and frozen: he had to give her a warm bath first. Lucas took her to the bathroom, carefully put her into the bathtub and took of her sneakers, socks and jeans. Then he opened both taps and covered the bathtub to fill it.

  The thermal shock between her inner temperature and the water’s made Marina wake. She opened her eyes little by little, trying to get used to the clarity that flooded the room and that contrasted with the darkness of night that involved her before. The first thing she saw was Lucas’ face. She outlined a small smile and managed to take a trembling hand to his face to caress him. Reality struck her with violence then: run by an exceptional influx of adrenaline, she sat down in the bathtub abruptly. Lucas rushed to hold her by her arms so that she wouldn’t slip.

  Before she could speak, Lucas whispered, “Easy, Marina. Calm down. It's okay. We did it, we won.”

  As the meaning of what Lucas had said sank in, Marina gradually became calmer; Lucas released her and turned to sit on the edge of the tub.

  Marina took a deep breath, as her head was spinning. The last thing she remembered was being pierced by a sword. On impulse, her sight ran down to the area just above her navel, where she remembered having been wounded by the blade - she found only an ugly mark. That amazed her, but she quickly forgot about it when she learnt that she was wearing only underwear. She pulled her knees up and to cling to them, so that Lucas couldn’t see her body. The gesture made everything hurt her, but not even then she retreated.

  “D-did you undress me?” she stammered.

  “with all that has happened, the first thing you ask me is if I undressed you? You’re funny,” pronounced Lucas, letting a smile to stamp on his face.

  Noting that she was still waiting for an answer, he just nodded his head as he picked up the sponge and put some shower gel on it.

  Before he began to rub the sponge on her body, Marina grabbed the object and said, “I’ll do that myself.”

  Washing herself was a drawn out process, not only because she had pain in places she never thought that could hurt, but also because the scars of the cauterization burned harsh in contact with water. When finished, she rose from the tub with the help of Lucas, who handed her a towel. After receiving it, Marina wrapped it around her and blushed.

  “What?” questioned Lucas.

  “Can you turn around? I want… huh, to take off the rest of the wet clothes I still have on, to dry myself.”

  Although she had never imagined it would be possible, Lucas blushed equally when hearing Marina’s words.

  Before he could answer, the girl cut in, “Let's do something else. I’ll be right back.”

  Marina left Lucas alone and returned seconds later with a pair of Lycra boxers in hand. While she passed the boxers to him, she explained, “This was supposed to be dad’s birthday gift, but I think you need them the most. I’m going to my bedroom to get dressed. Meanwhile, you can have a bath too. When you’re done, grab the laundry and leave everything in that basket.”

  Lucas shook his head in disagreement and argued, “I don’t need a bath. I have no body temperature, so I don’t need to try to raise it with hot water.”

  It was Marina’s turn to chuckle for the first time since the fateful episode, although it was the shortest laugh of her life. “Yep, you don’t have a body temperature to rise, but I don’t want you in my bed all wet and spattered with blood.”

  “In your bed?” Lucas managed to ask after gulping.