Chapter 8
CHAPTER
We were back to being thieves.
Well sort of, depending on how you looked at it.
We had every right to the food just like anyone else at the camp, but we may have gone slightly overboard with our ration size. After acquiring it, Ashley and I did our best to sneak to the outskirts of the camp.
No one seemed to have seen us, yet I had this feeling of being observed, watched.
Once at the edge of camp, we found a fallen tree and shared our scavenged finds with each other.
“Thank the Gods, it’s fresher than canned food,” Ashley muttered, taking a bite out of an apple.
Some of it could’ve been a lot tastier if we cooked it as we should’ve, but Ashley wasn’t comfortable enough to go back to the group yet.
She hadn’t said it herself, but I saw how she still battled herself for control over her emotions.
She couldn’t keep from doing things I had never noticed her doing before, like fidgeting her fingers, blowing away strands of hair from her face and how irritable she was.
“Tell me about the mission,” I said, as I fished up an apple from the bag.
“It really was nothing, Jaden just showed off his magic and—”
“Not the argument,” I interrupted with a half-chuckle. “The actual mission?”
“Oh,” she smiled apologetic. “There were a few demons wandering around. We took out five along the way. They seemed scattered, but… it was intentional?”
“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brows, sinking my teeth into the fruit. It was sweet, and soft, exactly as I preferred.
Lucky me.
“As if they had enough distance between them to alert one another, but no room to sneak around them and if you took one out, another soon showed up.”
A warning system… They would be able to alert each other from whatever direction we came from.
It felt way too unrealistic for demons to have the capability for strategizing.
Most of the demons we had encountered were simply hungry, wanting to devour and lure us in for themselves, not caring if a fellow creature died or not. The ones we had seen across the border didn’t look much different than those we fought before…
But maybe these organized demons, were able to take orders? Perhaps they’d been promised something in return for their cooperation?
I had half-expected to see more humanoid demons, like Malakai. After all, Nicron had been a mixture of demon and mage as well and had managed to hide himself for a long time within the Aetherion village, Runora.
These new organized demons seemed capable of acting like us, looking like us and sounding precisely like us, but they were aligned with the Demon King, secretly taking over more territory in his name, devouring magic and killing humans.
How many of them were there? Was it common for demons to use humans like that, creating offspring for their own purpose? The thought that perhaps they were doing it forcefully made my stomach turn.
“You look like the Gods gave you a prophecy, but forgot to include the instructions…” Ashley tilted her head, watching me. I burst into laughter at her sudden words.
“Who needs instructions when I’ve got people like you around me?” I chirped at her and a smug smile spread on her lips.
She laughed, leaned her head against my shoulder, and seemed to relax.
“Okay, now tell me about the stupid boys,” I muttered with a smile on my lips and she groaned loudly.
Once the sun began to set, we made our way back. It didn’t take long to find the others, gathered around one of the campfires. Nate’s head shot up as soon as he heard our movements.
“Ash,” he blurted, sounding relieved.
“We’re good,” she waved him off. “Sorry… you know, for yelling and all.”
He opened his mouth, but slowly closed it again, as if he had more to say but didn’t dare risk breaking the peace once more.
“Look—” Ashley began, before Nate raised a hand to stop her. She looked bewildered at him for a moment, before he rummaged through a bag and pulled something out.
“Ethalyn, a little help?” he asked, eyes darting to me.
“Uhm… yeah?” I stumbled over to him and he held out a weird looking stick with… Oh my Gods is that a grenade!? “Nate!”
“Just light the fuse and shut up,” he hissed.
I hesitated but let my flames catch the string on the stick and watched as it began climbing towards the grenade.
Quickly, he rushed away and stabbed the stick into the ground, before returning to us.
By the time he turned, the flames made the small ball shoot up into the sky, and it exploded into colorful rays of red and purple.
I gasped and looked over at Ashley, whose eyes had widened, her jaw hanging open. He finally made fireworks for her.
“Told you I’d learn!” Nate flashed her a grin and she struggled for words.
“That was actually kind of cool,” I heard Jaden and Eve mumble behind.
Ashley took a deep breath, and bowed deep. “I’m sorry for being a dimwit. I’m sorry for holding a grudge and reminding you of… the accident, Eve.”
“Uhm… why are you apologizing? It’s weird, stop.” Eve shifted uncomfortably on a log next to Lionel.
“Because it was a freak accident, and you clearly suffered from it too.” Ashley kept her head lowered, not witnessing how Eve stiffened at her words.
Nate took a few quick steps, until he was right in front of Ashley, his hands grabbing each side of her shoulders.
“Ash,” he whispered low.
“That’s all,” she raised her voice along with her head, her eyes meeting his. “That’s all I can offer, an apology.”
He furrowed his brows as he watched her for a moment, before his hands slowly let her go again.
“It’s okay,” he said, voice still low.
Ashley’s eyes slid to the campfire, avoiding Nate’s. I merely watched in silence, but still, my heart ached knowing how she felt and why she pushed him away.
The fear of losing and failing someone else besides yourself had us all wrapped in its grasp.
But there was nothing I could do, it was her choice, her battle.
Suddenly, Nate gritted his teeth, annoyance spreading across his features, before he swung his arms around her and pulled her against him in a tight embrace.
Ashley’s eyes widened with shock, her hands flat against his chest, debating whether to stay or struggle.
Nate lowered his head to hers, squeezing, refusing to let go.
“Stupid,” he muttered. “You’re utterly stupid.”
Ashley’s eyes slowly recovered, turning blank as she stayed in place and let him get the frustration out.
“Mmhm. I am.”
I patted Nate’s shoulder, and walked past them.
If only they could escape the weight of the past, break out of the prison that held them from living their lives to the fullest.
I glanced towards the campfire, and the four logs around it. Eve and Lionel rested on one, with Jaden sitting right next to Eve on the next log. Malakai was on the opposite side from Jaden, keeping his distance.
His scarlet eyes slid to mine, searching, waiting without uttering a single word.
I knew this would hurt my oldest friend, like the thorns of a rose prickling the one admiring it, but if there was one thing I knew we all deserved, it was honesty.
Before anyone could break the silence, I made my way to Malakai and sat down beside him, my heart hammering, fully aware that I was closing a door behind me for good.
My pulse was so loud, or was that just because of the silence echoing around me? I felt as if the space around me was shrinking, closing in on me, my breath quickening.
I didn’t dare look at Lionel.
“Ethalyn.” I swear I heard his voice… but surely I must’ve misheard? No?
Painfully slowly, knowing pain awaited me, I dragged my gaze towards him and… my blood stilled, freezing to ice.
He smiled.
Lionel was smiling at me.
“You look rested, I’m glad.”
What?
The corners of my eyes burned treacherously, the relief hit me harder than I had imagined. He wasn’t mad, not visibly at least.
Lionel didn’t ignore me, or leave me because of my choice.
He simply smiled.
“Yeah,” I stammered forcefully, feeling awkward.
“Hmm…” Malakai hummed, placing his chin in his hand, resting against one knee as he studied me. “More like glowing, kitten.”
My eyes slid to his, which were faintly glowing red, and he leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice just for me. “I’m glad you finally stopped running, though I don’t mind chasing you.”
“Arrogant demon,” I murmured, my leg nudging against his.
Nate and Ashley placed themselves on the empty log, staring into the fire.
“It’s odd,” Eve sneered, glancing over us all. “We’re all actually getting along for a change?”
“Don’t jinx it,” Lionel sighed, rubbing his forehead.
“What, this is you guys being friendly?” Jaden asked curiously. “Now I kind of want to see you all mad.”
“No,” Ashley and Lionel echoed.
The fire crackled, slowly devouring the rest of the wood.
“So… after all this, what will you all do?” Jaden asked, while sculpting something in the earth by his feet.
“Maybe I’ll open a gunsmith,” Ashley pondered. “Without a war there won’t be much use of explosives, except for mining perhaps…”
“I want to go see the sea,” Nate said quietly, throwing a branch into the fire, causing it to spark.
Ashley looked at him, her hand opening and closing as if hesitant, before she placed it on top of his against the log.
Mey had wanted to paint the sea; since she was a water mage, she was naturally drawn to it. Maybe he wanted to do it for her. Or perhaps just to feel close to her one last time.
“Hmm… I wouldn’t be able to leave all the action behind,” Jaden confessed. “I’d probably become a hunter, setting traps with my magic that blend in perfectly with nature.”
“That’s… smart,” Ashley nodded, conflicted.
“Yeah, I might want to teach others how to handle a sniper, for hunting or something,” Eve shrugged. “I wouldn’t be able to put it all behind me so abruptly but… it wouldn’t be all bad to have a normal life.”
“What’s normal to you?” I asked, arching a teasing brow at her.
She glared at me. “You know… settle down, get married, open a small family business perhaps…”
“Eve with kids,” Ashley tasted the words, before shivering and Eve snorted at her reaction.