Chapter 11
CHAPTER
We were barely standing.
All panting, legs shaking, fingers trembling. How many demons had we fought off? I wasn’t sure, but our clothes were covered with black ichor, along with some of our own blood spilled.
“We… made it?” Nate said through rough breaths, studying our surroundings.
We had reached a forest line, but it carried the same aura as the rest we’d seen here. The trees were dead, with dark bark that had rotted long ago, dry and bare branches spreading like skeletal fingers towards the sky.
“It’s the Whispering Woods,” Lionel murmured.
“What?” The color faded from Faelin’s face.
“Great, as in the one used to scare little kids from wandering out alone?” Nate sighed, placing a hand on each side of his hips. “This place couldn’t be more joyful and inviting?”
“It’s only stupid stories,” Eve snorted, moving up to Lionel’s side.
“And where do stories come from, I wonder?” Malakai mused as all heads turned towards him.
“I heard that people who enter… never come back,” Faelin said, her voice shaking slightly, but even so, she straightened, readying herself.
“Stop, we’re not going to get trapped.” Eve snapped, her jaw tense.
“She’s right, what if there’s a secret paradise inside?” Ashley raised her voice cheerfully, cutting off the tension.
“That’s not what I—” Eve began but simply shut her mouth and shook her head.
“I like her thinking; optimistic,” Jaden chuckled.
“Well,” Faelin hesitated. “Perhaps you do, but I feel like she’s not taking the situation seriously.”
Silence.
“What are you—” Nate began but was interrupted as I pressed my flames against his wounded arm. “Ouch! Warn me first!”
“And miss that reaction? Never,” I smiled.
“I like you,” Ashley said, strolling up to Faelin and patting her head. Faelin’s eyes widened and we all looked confused. “Never fear voicing your opinion, even if the world turns on you.”
Faelin opened her mouth and slowly closed it again, looking bewildered. I wondered how someone so chaotic could also be the wisest person I’d met?
After all, in a world like this, trust was as rare as a diamond. Yet Ashley never withheld anything, she believed in honesty, no matter how hard it may be to hear it sometimes.
“Are you mocking her?” Eve asked confused.
“Not at all,” Ashley smiled.
A bright blush spread across Faelin’s cheeks.
Caleb scoffed low, and my eyes darted to him. He was holding his left shoulder, still bleeding. I took a step forward and he reacted instantly, eyes locking on me. He seemed cautious, perhaps because I was one of the Aetherions.
“My flames can make the bleeding stop,” I tried, holding my hands up in a surrendering gesture.
“No thanks,” he bit out coldly.
“You’ll bleed out if we don’t treat it,” I argued firmly and he narrowed his eyes on my hands, as if I was threatening him with a fireball.
“I told you, I don’t want your disgusting magic,” he hissed.
The air shifted briefly.
“You heard him,” Malakai said flatly. “He wants to die, so let him.”
Malakai crossed his arms next to me, red glowing eyes fixed on Caleb, making him stagger.
“It’s not that bad,” Caleb countered, glaring at Malakai.
“You’re right,” Malakai shrugged. “But you reek of blood, so it won’t be long before the demons find you and when they do… Well, they sure like to play with their prey.” His voice turned cold like ice, as if he was the demon to worry about.
Dread spread in Caleb’s eyes, doubt and defiance battling against one another and he swallowed nervously as sweat began beading on his forehead.
His eyes slowly drifted back to me, no longer accusing, as if he had seen the death Malakai mentioned play out in his mind and decided that his pride wasn’t worth it.
“Is it… going to hurt?” His voice was lower, but he was strong enough to not avert his eyes from mine.
“Maybe a little,” I confessed. “But the bleeding will stop and the wound will be clean.”
Caleb glanced at Malakai again, before he nodded slowly.
I guess playing cold and cruel had its advantages at times like this; it made the message more believable, no empty threat. Malakai had simply told him that bad choices leads to death.
Slowly, I closed the distance between Caleb and I, as if trying not to frighten an animal on the fine line between biting or fleeing. I hadn’t had time to get to know either Caleb or Faelin well enough to guess which of the choices they’d gravitate towards.
“Could you… pull your shirt down slightly from the shoulder?” I asked, almost embarrassed by the question alone as I stopped in front of him.
Caleb slowly unbuttoned the first button, his eyes sliding behind me. “He has to watch too?”
Malakai and I echoed an answer at the same time, only it wasn’t the same.
I glared back at him. “We’re fine, go check on the others.”
He huffed, annoyed, but I heard him retreating behind me. Caleb scoffed.
“What does he think I’ll do?”
I shrugged easily. “It’s not what you’d do that worries him, it’s… well, this place really.”
Caleb glanced at me, silently reading me, as he opened up his shirt and revealed his arm and chest. The wound was nasty, blood seeping out of it and the skin was an irritated red around the exposed flesh.
I pressed my lips together and lifted my hand, flames already dancing between my fingers. I saw Caleb stagger at the sight, but then his jaw tensed and he steeled himself to stay in place.
I couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped me. “Don’t worry, I’ll be quick,” I reassured him, placing my hand against the wound as the flames sizzled against his skin.
Caleb took a sharp breath, bending his head slightly back and staring at the sky.
“Keep breathing,” I reminded him and he slowly let the breath go.
“It hurts less than I thought it would,” he murmured. “It does sting, though.”
“It would’ve been weird otherwise,” I said looking up at him. “Fire is dangerous, even if I’m able to control it somewhat.”
He smiled faintly. “That’s why I thought it would hurt, magic is wild after all.”
I pressed harder, locking my eyes on his wound as I focused on keeping my flames tame. He hissed low.
“Sorry,” I said, quietly.
Caleb shook his head slightly, dismissing it. “That white haired man… he’s a demon.”
“How observant,” I said flatly, my voice utterly bored.
“You’re not bothered? You’re a mage, he feeds on magic.” Caleb studied me, a moment of silence before he stiffened slightly. “You care for him.”
I merely gave him a quick look before returning to the wound. “What do you want, a cookie?”
He chuckled finally. “Sorry if I overstepped… I’m curious why we let a demon walk freely, or better yet, how someone could have feelings for one.”
“You’re just a soldier, right?” I shot back and he furrowed his brows confused.
“What?”
“All you’re good for is fighting and killing, right?”
“No—”
“That’s what I thought,” I cut off. “Being a soldier doesn’t define you then, neither does him being a half-demon.”
Caleb slowly closed his mouth. He looked like he wanted to continue arguing, his eyes burning, but he remained silent, jaw tight as he thought long and hard about my words.
“Well, look at you, casually undressing our men,” Ashley snickered behind me and made me jolt.
“What are you talking about?” I barked, surprised by her sneaking.
Caleb averted his eyes, clearly flustered by her words. “Are we done?”
“Yes,” I said through my teeth and pulled my hand away.
“Oh, don’t mind me, I enjoy watching.” Ashley chuckled as she met my glare. “What?”
I furrowed my brows before I searched for Malakai in the group. He was standing far off against a tree, arms crossed and… brooding?
I blew a few strands away from my face and sighed loudly. “Is he pouting?”
“Well, you did tell Caleb to take his shirt off, in front of him,” Ashley reminded me.
“It wasn’t like that,” I said rolling my eyes.
“I didn’t mind…” She smiled as she glanced back at Caleb, who flung his shirt back on, meeting her eyes this time.
“Watch it, you’re becoming the new Eve,” I snapped at her.
She gasped, clearly offended as her eyes shot back to me. “Take that back!”
“Once you sort that complex head of yours out, sure,” I said, standing my ground.
Ashley gritted her teeth, forcing a smile. “You’re a tough bargainer… Maybe I’ll listen if you share your carrot soup with me.”
“This is stupid, let’s just go eat,” I muttered, pushing past her. Ashley chuckled, delighted over creating chaos, or at least watching it unfold.
We silently unpacked some of our rations and placed ourselves along the tree line, taking time to finally breathe.
What was waiting inside of the woods for us?
None of us were sure. It was best to rest up and eat before entering, just in case.
I wondered how long it would be before we reached Darkshire.
Hours? A day? I realised that I hadn’t really studied the map this far, I had left that to Lionel and Malakai.
They were better at navigating and Lionel was constantly scribbling down our journey on a piece of paper to keep track of our whereabouts.
But right now, we ate in silence, no one had the energy to have a conversation.
I glanced over at Ashley, and she was grinning at me, almost as if enjoying how uncomfortable I felt in this situation, waiting for something interesting to happen.
Caleb’s leg twitched, clearly stressed by the situation as Faelin cleared her throat, her eyes fixed on her soup.
“Well, this is… something,” Nate said, finally breaking the silence. I figured, he also thought it was painful whenever it was quiet around the squad—we were pretty similar in that manner.
“It’s odd,” Jaden agreed. “Ashley always has something to contribute, what’s the matter?”
“I’m simply enjoying the dramatic pause,” she snickered, like a child.
I rolled my eyes, but it was Nate who flicked her forehead this time. “Stop playing around.”
“Ouch,” she muttered. The air around her shifted in an instant, the childish smile gone, replaced by a nervous gaze into her carrot soup.