38. Chapter 38
T he red bandanna was all Lennox needed to see under the streetlight to know exactly who it was, Aron. A wave of fear washed over her as she watched him draw attention to himself and the house at midnight. The familiar song that played with lyrics about forgiveness and taking a moment to forget the world. She watched him for a few seconds while she decided if she should tell him to leave or talk to him. Since yesterday afternoon she wanted nothing more than to interrogate him, yell everything that had been running through her mind. She shook her head and reinforced the barrier she had put around the room to keep out external sounds.
With a swipe of her hand, she brought the ivy back over the window and turned away from it. Though just as she stepped toward the bed, her phone buzzed on its charger and flashed a photo of the demon standing outside. With a frown she tapped the ignore button and quickly typed out a message.
Lennox- You’re going to wake up everyone in my house. Shut off the music. -Sent 12:02 am
Aron- Come down and I will. I just want to talk and I promise he will not make an appearance. It’s just me tonight, please Lennox, let me explain. -Sent 12:03 am
Lennox- You realize I barely trust just you right now, right? -Sent 12:03 am
Aron- Fair, I don’t expect you to. Just give me one hour and I will tell you anything you want to know. No more lies, bring the dagger- You can take me out if you decide. -Sent 12:05 am
Her eyes didn’t move from the message on her phone. As much as she wanted to trust Aron, she didn’t trust Armaros and now they were one in the same. Lennox had spent hours with her nose in her demon studies book on possession in an attempt to begin to understand this Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde situation. Xemos’s words from earlier reverberated within her as she moved her gaze to the sigil above the door. Trust my judgment. I will not let harm befall you and in time you will understand, Little Phoenix.
With a glance over to her friend sound asleep in bed, Lennox tiptoed over to the bag of things Rosalyn had grabbed from her room the night of the attack. Silently she rummaged through it and dug all the way to the bottom where a copy of last year’s advanced magics course book resided. She flipped open the cover and a few pages to reveal the very dagger that had been in her side just over twenty-four hours ago. Quickly, she pulled it out and closed the book before she put it back at the bottom of the bag. Ever so carefully she slid it into her pajama pants pocket but paused when she felt something brush against her mental barriers followed by a soft coo. She quickly turned her attention to the window and found the raven perched on the vines outside through the window.
Lennox watched the bird silently as confusion crossed her face. Is this the same raven? It peered behind itself and looked back at her before it suddenly took off. With no time to question the bird’s presence, she went to the door and the vines retracted when she reached for the knob. As quietly as she could, she opened and shut the door only far enough to get through without waking Rosalyn. With success, she covered the doors once more and sent extra magic into them so Rosalyn could get out if she woke up before she got back.
She grabbed her green jacket once more and shifted the dagger to the inner pocket before she made her way out the front door. When she lifted her palm up an orb of flames ignited just above her skin and floated eye level to her right. In the light of the lamps, Lennox could see Aron about ten feet from the front door as he pushed his speaker back into a bag and swung it on. A flame like hers was lit beside him and kept the bitter cold air at bay. When she shut the door he jumped and peered up to her with mild surprise. He ran his hand through his hair and took a visible breath before he started to walk to her.
Even in the darkness, there was enough light from the full moon above for her to see his emerald eyes gauge her reaction. She refused to look away since when he had seen her last she held back tears they both knew were there. Her eyes scanned every move he made as he closed the distance and that’s when she saw it. The look she had seen on various faces throughout the school after Felix and Rue’s murder. As if she might lose it at any moment, like she was fragile.
When he stopped he bore both of his palms face up. “You have every right to be mad. After tonight if you want me to leave you alone I will. You have the right to know everything I can tell you.”
“You felt like now was the best time? A day later? You know, normally people usually wait for the pissed off party to come to them.” She snapped and hid the recoil she felt on the inside. It was easy to be mad at Aron, however, the back of her mind reminded her who he was as last night’s nightmare had reminded her how dangerous he was.
“I guess I’m bad at waiting when I know I can do something to help you understand. You’re as smart as a whip and stronger than a lot of demons I’ve met, Len. You and Rosalyn will know everything, I owe you that.”
“So you decided that blasting music in the middle of the night was the best way to get my attention? You really don’t care about rules, do you?”
“It got you out here didn’t it?” He came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. “I thought you already knew I was a rule breaker, Lenny-Boo?”
The two watched each other for a moment before she nodded and walked down the three stairs and onto the path. Lennox only hesitated for a second when she came within arms reach of him as a small shadow of a hopeful smile twinged at his lips.
“You’re right, I’m here and ready to hear it all.” She folded her arms over her chest.
“We shouldn’t talk here, too many ears.” He glanced at the few rooms whose lights had turned on.
“If you cared about that, I wouldn’t have woken up half of Omega.”
“If we are caught out here and not in one of the houses by the security team they are going to think something’s up.”
“What about the gazebo by the lake? They wouldn’t have too many reasons to go that way and maybe they won’t think anything of our scents around the grounds since they know I patrol.” Aron suggested.
With another nod, she turned a little to the right to start to head toward the back of campus. As she walked she saw Aron out of the corner of her eyes, he kept some distance between them as the quiet of night took over. Lennox forced herself to keep her eyes ahead and forced herself to trust him no matter how scared she was of the demon that lay beneath. He’s been there for weeks, he would have hurt us if he wanted to. She reminded herself quickly but still didn’t find much comfort in the thought as they crossed the campus in ten minutes.
The moonlight shone off the frozen lake and reflected like a mirror. The pine trees that surrounded the stone gazebo were covered in a dusting of snow. Her eyes traced the white columns that lead up to a silver dome roof with a tall point on the top. On the edge of the roof was a ring of iron spikes that mimicked the front gate. The trees that circled the small structure prevented a large amount of snow from piling on the inside.
As she walked under the dome, she glanced up and sent her flames halfway to the top. She kept her attention on the rising fire and saw Aron’s flame also drift into view where it met hers and joined together. Suddenly the night around the gazebo fluttered momentarily as a shield developed around each column, a barrier she knew would prevent any passersby from the sight of their fires. With a deep breath, she pushed off any malicious intentions on his end that invaded her mind and shoved the trapped feeling that washed over her down deeper. Occasional gusts sent a trail of warmth down that Lennox could feel on her cheeks and at the same time a pair of eyes. Finally, she dropped her gaze and met those familiar green eyes.
“How?” Was all she could muster herself to ask after a pause.
“How is Armaros within me? Or how could I not tell you?” His voice was even, calm.
“Both.”
“Well, I’m still just a bit hazy on all the details but from what I’ve discovered he possessed a human body to start a new life. It sounded like he was running from something but he won’t share what it was. He- We then became one and after that he laid dormant for so long that I kinda just forgot he was there.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You forgot he was there?”
“Someone doesn’t talk to you for two decades, you kinda forget they exist, Len.” The fire snapped above them and a few embers fell out and faded within seconds. The sound caused her to blink in surprise as he continued. “As for the second, how could I have told you after we just became friends? When was the right time to tell you I suddenly remembered I have the one person who tortured two people I consider friends? I needed time to process and figure out what the hell was happening in my head.”
“So the night with the mirror…”
“We were fighting, it was hard to come to terms with what I discovered of our past.”
Lennox’s heart ached a little as she remembered the cuts all over his hand. She had held true to her word and didn’t bring it up again. Suddenly, it all made sense of why over the last few weeks since he brushed her old burn scars he had acted so strange. She had been too distracted to notice he was going through something. As empathy willed itself up, regret that wasn’t hers found its way beneath the surface and caused her brows to furrow slightly.
She tried to fit the two together and passed it off as her forgiveness for second chances even when she shouldn’t. Possibly, it was the way he seemed almost as tormented by the past as she was that caused her change of heart. She shifted her weight and finally unlocked her gaze from his as he motioned toward a stone bench on the edge of the gazebo. They both took a seat on opposite ends and she considered her next question.
“So he wanted to start over and you, Aron, I’m imagining a human at the time, agreed to let him possess you?”
“I think so, but the human me, I don’t really remember much of and eventually I just called myself Aron. I know he liked rock and roll- Maybe that’s why I do.” For a second his words trailed off as he seemed to fade before he came back. “His name was Darren- Fuck, Derek! Sorry, Derek.”
Her eyes softened ever so slightly as he stumbled over his words and watched him rake his hand through his hair and look at her cautiously. “It’s okay, I’m not going to use the dagger because of a wrong name. I’m mad, but I’m not that mad.”
For a second he stood frozen before he let out a laugh and his demeanor loosened. “Well, I guess you could say I’m Derek and Armaros’s love child.”
She couldn’t stop the laugh that followed as the tension between them faded into more of a haze than a looming cloud. The force sent a stab of pain through her side from her still sore wound. After she had seen the wound surrounded with darkened veins that spanned at most three inches from the center, something nagged at her. The same way different waves of emotions occasionally washed over her. Oh... oh this is interesting. This will be very interesting indeed. Armaros’s words echoed as they had been which brought goosebumps to her skin.
“Are you okay?” He suddenly asked and motioned to her hand over the spot. “I can try to heal you if you’d like.”
“It’s okay, I’ve been trying and I don’t think it’s able to be… I do have something I do want to ask though. When you- Armaros- well both of you saved me and saw the dagger he said something about this being interesting… I couldn’t help to notice he went pretty quiet after that and I had this strange wave of emotions hit that didn’t seem to make sense for what was happening.”
Aron flinched and paused for a second as his brows furrowed. It was a few seconds before he blinked and shook his head. “I asked him after you walked away, he locked up his thoughts and he still won’t tell me even though the information could be useful right now.”
“I thought we all agreed on no more lies.”
His jaw clenched before his expression softened once more. “I guess it’s more of a secret.”
“So he can hide things from you, can you do the same?” She questioned as curiosity got the better of her.
“It pisses me off but no I can’t. It’s hard to block him out for extended periods of time but even when I do it seems he can still see the memories.”
She considered the statements for a moment, they made sense given the power imbalance between one of the strongest demons from Hell and a human body turned demon. Images of the ten foot long tattered black wings flashed briefly and brought with it a new question.
“What was that scream I heard before you arrived? I thought- I thought you were dead.” She tried her best to hide the old emotions from the moment that threatened to well up.
“I was so far away, you were in the halls and I was in my room when the dildo leaf appeared. As fast as I ran, I knew there was no way I was going to make it to you in time on my own. Armaros-” He paused at the name and watched her reaction, with none he continued. “ He convinced me to let him out so we could help you, hence the wings and suit.”
“He’s not him without the suit.” She fiddled with the edge of her sleeve.
A lingering question dangled between them, one she didn’t want to be the one to ask. She attempted to picture Kappa with another new head of house within six months of each other which sent a new type of grief over her as she remembered Felix. For some reason it didn’t feel right if Aron didn’t walk into the kitchen at random hours to challenge her to Uno or with some movie in hand she had never heard of, yelling about her living under a rock. Ultimately, the possibility of the presence of the demon from her nightmares around in any capacity made her want him gone, however she cared about the person in front of her, now one of her closest friends.
“Are you going to stay?”
For a second he was silent and his eyes fell to his hands. Lennox stayed silent while he seemed to debate his answer either with Armaros or himself she wasn’t sure. Slowly he shifted in his seat, faced her and slid a bit closer. A light touch on her hands made her look down as Aron’s covered hers to steady them, she hadn’t even been aware they began to shake.
“I came here to have fun and get away from my duties as a crossroad demon. This is your home and Rosalyn made it hers too. If it makes things more comfortable to have me gone, I’ll leave.”
“I- No.” She looked away as she spoke too fast; with a quick inhale she felt the heat in her ears.
His eyebrows rose in surprise followed by the smallest smile. “That’s not what I was expecting. Are you sure you still want me around? Even with him on board?”
“With Eden knowing so much, we need you here… Then I think we should talk about it together once there’s less danger. What if she goes after someone else to get you to come back?”
Aron nodded in agreement and kept his eyes on hers. “You’d miss me too much anyways. Besides, what if the next Head of House wasn’t as cool?”
Lennox let out another laugh, “Who else is going to annoy me for actually going to class or doing my work? Since we’re being honest, I think we make a good team, and I can’t lose anyone else. Not right now.”
“I knew it, you’d miss me.” He teased.
His hands slipped away as finally her body seemed to settle, even with the knowledge of who he was, he was still Aron. Once again, she found forgiveness for a second chance but knew Rosalyn wouldn’t be able to. She would want him to leave, not that she blamed her in the slightest. However, she decided she’d find a way to make it work. After the discovery that her own daughter was actively trying to kill her, she felt as if she’d snap if anyone else vanished from her life.
“Rosalyn is going to kill me when she finds out.” Aron pointed out.
Her heart fell into her stomach. “Oh, absolutely.”
“Comforting, Leonard. Did you say anything?” Lennox fell silent. “Shit, I’m surprised I’m still breathing.”
“She’s been my best friend since I died. She deserved to know, I was only with him for less than a month, she was with him for decades. ”
“It’s okay, I’ll find a way to talk to her… Maybe all three of us?”
“Only if she wants me there.” She agreed.
At the same time, the two turned their attention to the frozen lake, the quiet of the night doing nothing to help fill the silence. That was until his stomach rumbled loudly. With another laugh, Lennox looked over and rested her arm on the gate.
“Skipped dinner?”
“Haven’t really been hungry.” He admitted and rubbed the back of his head.
With a quick grip on the internal thread, she stood and went to the edge of the gazebo where there was an empty spot between two pine trees. With a gentle tug she allowed the image of a tall tree to fill her mind. It was hard to see in the shadows, it wasn’t until the tree stood about three feet that it started to be visible. Within minutes a pomegranate tree formed with two of the fruits within arms reach. Once done, she reached up and plucked them from their spots before she turned back toward Aron. When their eyes met again, his jaw had dropped ever so slightly as more unheard conversation seemed to go on within his mind. She took her previous seat and passed him the one in her left hand.
“That was kick ass, Lennyboo! You gotta show me how to do that.”
“Maybe if you came to class you’d know.” She retorted as they broke open the shells.
The two pulled the seeds out and Lennox’s mind began to wonder again. How could I hate and protect two different people who are really one at the same time? The whole situation was ludicrous and something she had never seen before even in her studies of demon possession for her Magical Arts class. No matter how much she wanted to tell Armaros to leave and go back to where he came from, she couldn’t without the loss of Aron. If he was going to stay she had to accept him, all of him, including the darkness.