Chapter Nineteen #2
I debated approaching her. I was tempted to snatch her up and hide her for the next five days.
But if I did that, I’d risk her finding out who I was.
She wouldn’t willingly do as I said—not while thinking I was just another demon—and would try to run away from me any chance she had.
The only way I could convince her that I wasn’t going to kill her was to show her who I was.
Yet doing that was just as threatening to her life as this place.
Not to mention, she would know I was a demon. If it didn’t get her killed, she’d still never trust me again. Not that she did anyway, but there wouldn’t ever be the chance. That wasn’t what I wanted. Protecting her from a distance was the best way to keep her safe while keeping my identity hidden.
My best friend had already been ripped away from my life; I didn’t want to lose Vhaena for good, too.
Darkness was falling over the island, so I leaned against the side of a small tree. I’d be in full view if they could see in the dark like I could.
It wasn’t until I had become friends with Vosten and we went out after dark as teenagers, that I learned our differences. Thankfully, he’d mentioned first that he couldn’t see well in the dark before I said anything. I made sure from then on to pretend I couldn’t, either.
Humans were truly at a huge disadvantage.
Additionally, I didn’t need to sleep. At least not here. With my demon active for the duration of the Hunt, it wasn’t necessary. My father had told me about it during my training, expressing that it was an odd feeling at first.
“They’ll be sleeping while you’ll continue hunting,” he’d said.
While I wasn’t using this time to hunt down a woman, I was going to use it to protect one.
I stayed awake all night to keep an eye on her, quietly walking around to check the perimeter when I got bored.
Staying silent was one of the many things my father taught me during training.
I knew where to step, how to keep my feet light, and how to control my breathing so that not even the creatures of the night could hear.
Vhaena slept for about half the night while her friend—Inka, I learned—stayed awake. Not that there was any real reason for it. It wasn’t as if she could have done much if someone approached from behind anyway. Inka then woke Vhaena after several hours before lying down to sleep until dawn.
I drew closer, wanting to observe Vhaena better now that she’d had some sleep. She had something gripped in her hand that I hadn’t noticed before, and I squinted through the distance to see it.
Really? A cooking spoon?
I nearly laughed at how absurd it was, if only to keep myself from once again groaning in frustration. She was doing a terrible job of keeping herself alive, and it was only making my job of protecting her that much harder.
Not that I was beginning to regret my promise to Vosten.
I’d do what needed to be done. Though to Vhaena’s credit, she wasn’t exactly prepared for this.
Not like that one female I saw filing down a stick with a rock to make a spear.
Vosten and I were stupid. We should have expected the possibility of Vhaena being voted for, and made sure she was at least somewhat prepared.
All of a sudden, a wave of guilt washed over me. Was there something I could have done? What if I had been more involved with the Ministry, like my father wanted, and I had known ahead of time? Could I have warned them? Could I have saved my best friend? Could I have prevented all of this?
Fuck. Now I was in my head.
I felt bad for all of these women, but my true sympathy was reserved for Vhaena. I had known her for years. She didn’t deserve this. She had lost so much already. I’d be damned if I let her lose her life, too.
She used to be outgoing, fun, and had so many friends.
She was the light of Nillah. She had even opened up her own eatery, living her dream of cooking for people.
But once the rumors started, she was forced to shut down The Spiced Chamber, where she served dishes made with exotic spices from all around the world. And she never used those spices again…
I wondered what she was thinking as she sat in the dark on an island filled with monsters. She had to have been scared, yet as she stared out into the pitch-black forest, she looked determined—brave.
I continued to watch her for some time, noticing how much more alert she seemed now that she had slept. After a couple of hours, I did another perimeter check. And it was a good thing I did.
Several hundred yards away from the woman I was watching over, a fellow demon prowled through the trees. He was heading this direction. The last thing I wanted was for him to stumble upon Vhaena. Then I’d have to kill him, too. I walked toward him.
“Corse? That you?” Thilo Jahn, one of the younger demons, asked as I approached and pulled down his mask.
Thank the hells it was this dumbass. I’d only ever interacted with him once, but he was as stupid as they came. Diverting him wouldn’t be that difficult.
“Thilo.” I noted the two green slashes on his mask.
“Both Corse brothers on the same hunt. How’d Asher manage that?”
“Long story.” I shrugged. I hadn’t forgotten that my brother was out here, and I wanted to know where—more so that I could keep an eye on him. “Know where he is?”
“Last I saw, he was sinking his teeth—among other things—into a woman yesterday morning. Haven’t seen him since.”
Damn it.
That told me everything I needed to know. He was already indulging himself in his demonic pleasures. Having raped and killed, he was already lost to his demon.
“Any luck out there?” I kept the conversation going.
“Nah. Almost had a kill earlier, but someone else got to her before me. You?”
“Yeah. I got one.” Just not a woman.
“Guess you’re having good luck, then. At least you don’t know your rank yet,” he gestured to my mask.
I glanced down at it; a third slash had appeared at midnight, but I hadn’t noticed until now. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to respond to that, so I just shrugged and began to walk past him in the opposite direction he was headed.
He looked confused but began to walk beside me. “Want to scout the southern end with me?” He pointed over his shoulder behind us, where Vhaena was. “I just came from this way.”
“Already did,” I said with confidence. “It’s been cleared out by who was left, and the rest of them have moved deeper into the island. It’s better if we stay on their path and look for some hiding. Which direction did you come from exactly?”
He pointed to my right. “The eastern coastline. Thought I’d check over here for stragglers.”
“Really? I’m surprised, Thilo,” I looked down at him beside me.
“Going after the weak doesn’t really seem like your style.
I thought for sure someone like you would head north for the more difficult prey.
But I understand your desperation.” I hated referring to women as prey…
But if I could get him to head north, it would keep him away from Vhaena while I led her west.
Thilo stiffened, puffing out his chest. “I’m not desperate.”
I shrugged again. “If you say so. I just assumed the weaker ones were for the older, less agile demons. But seeing as this is your first Hunt, I can see why you just want a kill and don’t care about the thrill of the chase.”
He came to a halt and pursed his lips. I stopped a couple of steps ahead of him then looked at him over my shoulder.
“North, you said?” He glanced past me.
“Yep. That’s where I’m headed. I want someone who’s actually going to give a good fight,” I taunted.
“Then that’s where I’m headed, too,” he said with resolution.
Yep. Stupid.
We continued to walk for a bit longer before I veered off to the left. “I’ll catch you later. Happy hunting.”
“Wait, where are you going? I thought we’d hunt together.” His eyes flashed with momentary panic.
“I need to piss.” I gestured to a tree to the side of us. “Besides, I hunt alone. You need someone to do all the hard work for you or something?” That ought to have done it.
“No! I can do it alone, too,” he scoffed.
Thankfully, he didn’t say another word before he put his mask back on and dashed away. I went behind the tree and waited, making sure he was out of sight before I turned and ran back to Vhaena. At least it worked, and I didn’t have to kill him.
“For now,” my demon said.
I ignored my demon as I hurried back to the boulder where Vhaena and Inka were. The sun was beginning to rise just as I arrived, and the two were already up by the time I got there. I molded myself to the other side of the rock, listening for their movements.
“Alright, today is your turn,” Inka said as they started to walk.
“What do you mean?”
Hearing Vhaena’s voice sent a jolt through my chest. Probably just relief. Yeah. That was it.
“I mean, I talked about my life all day yesterday. I want to hear about yours. What did you do for work? What did you do to get voted out by your town? Do you have friends or a boyfriend you left behind?”
I had no idea why my body stilled or why I stopped breathing while I waited for Vhaena to answer.