Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Daemon
MONSTER
That was much more exhilarating than I thought it would be. It also didn’t go quite as I’d planned, but it all worked out the same, so no harm done. Well…except for the felskriecher and the demon I had it kill.
My father had told me about them or at least about it.
I had no idea if there was more than one on the island.
According to history, several creatures emerged into this world with the demons thousands of years ago when the hells opened up on this very island.
But demons didn’t live on the island, so no one was here regularly to know much about the beasts that lived here. The felskriecher was one.
But holy fuck, controlling that thing was a challenge. It was wild and frantic, with a mind that was scrambled like nothing I had ever possessed before. It was like riding a drunk horse while blindfolded.
A spider-like monstrosity, it was nearly ten feet tall when standing on the ground—which it rarely was.
It used its legs to brace itself between the rocks it resided within so that it could stealthily move over its prey and attack from above.
Aside from being large, it had no real defenses with the exception of an oily substance covering its body, making it difficult to grip.
It was also just creepy as fuck, especially when it glowed in threat.
And it was the perfect way for me to use my ability and kill a demon without anyone knowing.
With the glow of its body, I could see my target through its eyes.
But even after I had it chase down the demon, stab him with its leg, carry him off, and use its other leg to rip him in half, my demon wasn’t done.
My control was too loose, and I couldn’t stop myself from also taking the felskriecher’s life with my bare hands.
After I killed it, glorified in letting my primal instincts take over, I took back control from my demon.
All of a sudden, thinking about killing it didn’t give me joy anymore.
Which only confirmed what I had originally feared: my demon truly was a temptation that I struggled more and more to resist.
My demon thrilled in hunting through the creature in its habitat.
It made for an engaging challenge. Especially when Vhaena and her friend ran right toward the demon it was chasing.
If they had just stayed put, they wouldn’t have had to run at all.
At some point, I think the demon was no longer concerned with chasing them; just running from me.
Which was why I had to use the raven to guide her away. But at that point, the demon was just following them to get out of the maze.
Vhaena quite literally put herself in harm’s way, even if it was unknowingly. It just further showed that she was a danger to herself. I couldn’t properly protect her like this any longer. I wasn’t going to keep making things harder than they needed to be.
I was done hiding in the shadows.
I made my way out of the cluster of rocks and followed Vhaena’s trail until I caught up with them.
It was still dark out, and I knew they couldn’t see well, if at all.
I assumed that was why they had stopped where they did.
I thought they would have traveled farther away, but it looked like Inka was having a difficult time continuing on.
Once again, she was holding Vhaena back, risking her safety and ultimately putting her in more danger.
But it was also Vhaena’s decision—she chose to stay with her.
Deciding to approach in the morning at first light, I kept my distance for now.
In the daylight, I’d come off slightly less intimidating than I would at night when all they had was my voice in the darkness—an unseen threat lurking in the unknown.
My goal wasn’t to scare Vhaena. I didn’t want her to look at me, even hidden behind a mask, the way she had before—like I was a monster.
But she was going to have to face her fear of me, even if she didn’t know who it was she feared.