My Demon

18. Whispers in the night

Peace, tranquillity, warmth...

These were the sensations that the brunette was able to feel. It was the calm of the waters after a horrendous stormy night.

In that calm, the female was able to hear a sweet, soft and mellifluous voice. One that guided her through the gloomy and lonely darkness, guiding her to take the right steps to not stumble.

That voice was soothing, like a mother's voice on dark nights to calm her little one, who had been having nightmares and was telling her that everything was all right.

It's time to wake up...

That angelic voice whispered in the distance, and soon the light began to bathe the night in a pure white.

[...]

In the meantime, the raven-haired boy had been waiting since he healed the younger girl, her injuries had been far more severe than he could have imagined.

As soon as he reached her room, he had tensed up, and when he didn't see her, he could tell that something wasn't right. He was anxious and upset and there his tattoos began to glow brightly.

“Damn it Caeli, what the hell happened?” The man growled and digging his claw into his palm, he drew a pentagram and sentencing a phrase in a language humans were never meant to hear, from his palm a thread emerged and he created a portal, allowing the same thread to pass through it and go through the space-time between realities. «You’d better not be too hurt».

After that, all is history, the demon rescued the young damsel and took her to her bedchamber to restore her wounds, as well as the energy she lacked.

From then on, the man had merely hovered beside the girl, staring at her, waiting patiently for her to awaken from the lethargy she had been induced into by the loss of blood.

The cat stood there, looking expectantly at the child, who showed no sign of wanting to wake up. She just lay completely still in her place.

Her skin had regained its neat shade of cinnamon, with a faint reddish tinge to her cheeks. Her wounds had finally healed thanks to his magic, and her face showed an expression of peace and calm that at night he was able to see, as she did not push him away.

The only thing that worried the demon was the fact that the girl did not wake up, something he would never say out loud. His brow furrowed softly and he clicked his tongue with a hint of annoyance. In the end, this human was more than just a measly contract.

“I don't understand why,” the man muttered to himself, and gently stroked one of the woman's brown locks behind her ear and brushed the annoying ones away from the girl's forehead. “But please, angioletto... No, Caeli. Wake up.”

He said softly, lowering himself to lie beside the younger girl, gazing with those green eyes at the mortal who had managed to steal his interest.

Yes, someone had managed to make him care about someone other than himself, and at that moment, though he was somewhat annoyed, he feared much more that this girl would not wake up.

Luckily, the brunette's sweet scent relaxed him, and that was one of the few things he was grateful for, as the confusion he felt about Caeli was making him angry and overwhelmed.

His eyes, after a while of being there with her, had begun to weigh with the warmth of the girl's body that lay next to his own, he leant the girl's head against his chest and when he heard a quiet moan, he squeezed her gently and sighed closing his eyelids.

All he could do was wait for Caeli to wake up…

º º º º º º

At that moment I was really comfortable, although that voice in the darkness had asked me to wake up, in that deep and comfortable sleep, I didn't feel any need to do so.

That was until the moment I smelled an inviting scent and a warmth that sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember who. The feeling was comforting, I didn't want to open my eyes, but my body was no longer asking for it.

It was relaxed, I felt no pain, and it seemed that all my energy had been restored.

Then, the memories of what happened assaulted me, my heart began to race, I feared it might burst out of my chest, anxiety and fear attacked my mind without any mercy and so, I stirred nervously in my place.

There I noticed how someone squeezed me gently, and that was the instant I opened my eyes, realising that the one who was hugging me was none other than Tom.

«What?» I thought, blinking in surprise at having his lips right in front of my eyes. I shuddered softly at the closeness, the memory of my skin betraying me as I remembered that day when those lips had brazenly roamed my skin, just like those big hands that now, were gluing me to the warm male body.

I swallowed thickly at that and shook hard. As slowly as I could, I turned to give myself a slight escape route. I couldn't face him in that position after all. My body and mind would betray me and after what had happened I had no time for any games.

Instead, no sooner had I moved a measly millimetre, a low, guttural growl escaped from the depths of the man's throat and he caught me in his arms again and pressed me to his body to prevent any chance of escape.

I shivered shallowly at that. But in time, I remembered the crucifix I used to wear around my neck. Too bad that before I could use it, a hand larger than mine gently grasped my wrist, Tom's warm breath gently caressed my skin, making my cheeks burn hotly.

“You've woken up,” he whispered in a relieved tone that made me open my eyes in surprise and turn to look at me.

“How did you...?” I stammered, not understanding what he was doing there, or even how I was alive.

“The mark”  he said, caressing the area on my hip where the tattoo was, which at the time, hurt like hell.

“Wait a minute, that means...” I whispered, raising my gaze to his, noticing how those elliptical pupils had dilated as they looked at me, making my heart pound in my chest. “Did you save me?”

º º º º º º

The question hung in the air for a moment. Neither wanted to speak, the words had slipped from their lips, choking deep in their throats.

They both shifted anxiously at the situation, averting their gaze with a faint blush on their cheeks.

And by those actions, she already knew what the demon's response was, who, to her surprise, showed that faint crimson on his cheeks, making Caeli's burn with the same.

«So, it wasn't my imagination... that blurry creature was him,»  she thought, raising her bluish gaze once more to the man's face, who this time had returned it to her. To his surprise, the girl carefully broke away from him and looked up at him, averting her gaze, and in a trembling voice whispered. “Thank you, Tom. For saving me, but... I...”

With that simple word the man felt his body, for some reason, tense up. In his mind the storm was beginning to worsen. The girl noticed how the man's hands had begun to tremble shallowly, and when he brought his claws closer, she pulled away in fright as the man tensed.

“You should not thank me,” he said, stopping his gesture as his ears ducked subtly. “It is my duty to protect you after all.”

“Your duty?” She asked, looking at him curiously, not quite understanding what he meant.

“Well, you and I made a contract, so it's understandable that I would save you, I wouldn't let another demon devour you,” he said speaking calmly while his eyes didn't meet hers because he had averted his gaze.

She, at that moment nodded softly as she sat upright in her bed while they both felt a pressure in their chests. And as they both looked sideways at each other... they both seemed to be pulled away in an impressive way, only aggravating the situation on their chests.

At that moment the man could only sigh as he stroked the back of his neck and snorted without understanding what was happening to him, but... he couldn't look weak, much less in front of that tiny human.

“I understand,” the girl whispered as she stroked her arm and squeezed her wrist tightly.

“I know you understand, you're a smart human... sometimes,” the man said and soon asked a question in the air that made the girl tense up. “And who made those marks on your wrists?”

The brunette then fell completely silent as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“It was no one, you don't have to worry about me, you’re only interested in my soul, nothing else,” she said calmly. “How did you know it wasn't that fox?”

“Because Zitu wouldn't do something like that, she likes to play with her prey,” said the demon as he sharpened his gaze and the girl tensed at the coldness in the man's eyes. “But you're right,” he said, rising and standing in front of the woman to smile in her direction, a smile that made her senses tingle. “I'm only interested in your f*****g soul, nothing else, you're just another human who's going to die sooner or later, you'll end up dead, and I won't need you to make any f*****g wishes. Then we'll both be happy, you won't be in a stupid f*****g depression anymore, and I'll be able to leave this shitty place so I don't have to put up with you anymore,” he nodded, bringing his face closer to the girl's face. “Isn't that what you want, not to see me anymore? Then die as soon as possible.”

He said with the most contempt with which the man had ever spoken to her, feeling her body tremble.

And both of them, feeling totally obfuscated. He, because of his rage, was not thinking clearly what he was saying, or rather, he let his rage speak for him. And the girl was only able to keep quiet, while her eyes began to water, hurt by the man's words, and she pushed him hard.

“Go away! Get the hell out of here and don’t come back, you f*****g demon!” She shouted as he took a step back the moment he saw the crucifix. “I don't want you to come back! Just disappear from my life! Only horrible things have happened to me since I've known you! And that fox attacked me! And you knew her!” Said the girl, feeling her throat hurt as she began to push the boy harder. “Go away! GET OUT!”

She shrieked and soon, the demon having nothing more to say about it, simply created a portal to go through, but not before giving one last look at the girl and both feeling their hearts, for some reason, cracking.

After the demon disappeared, the door to the girl's room opened, revealing a surprised redhead -who had just arrived-, together with the brunette's mother, who had heard the screams, and the moment they saw the girl fall to her knees and hug herself with her eyes watering, they ran to embrace her while the younger girl choked with sobs.

[...]

And as the brunette found herself trying to explain the situation to both her best friend and her mother, the words choked in her throat as the two tried to calm her down.

The demon had gone to the place he knew so well, to look for something to calm him down.

There were many things to sort out, especially in the head of that demon and that artist. In the brunette's house, on the other hand, everything was different. Or rather, much calmer after she had been able to talk calmly with the redhead, since her mother had had to go to work - reluctantly - although the journalist promised her that she would stay to take care of the child, so that she could tell her everything that had happened.

When that happened, the journalist didn't understand why the demon had done that to her friend. There was something wrong, but... looking at her friend, she understood. She didn't quite trust a demon. And no one could blame her after what she'd been through.

So, all Akane could do was stay with her to accompany her and help her prepare dinner for when the florist arrived.

After that, the younger girl, exhausted by what had happened in such a short time, went to rest and was followed by her friend, who came to tuck her in and give her a tight hug to caress her head and give her a resounding kiss on the forehead to leave, because it was time to return home and after closing the door, the younger girl closed her eyes. Not for long, though.

Get out of bed

A voice whispered around her, causing a shiver to run through her body. That voice... was different from the one she had heard in her dream.

A soft, mellifluous tone that made her look around. She gently arched one of her eyebrows and shook her head.

«It's just my imagination. Lately with all the paranormal stuff I'm not focused», she thought softly sighing and when she got up she was about to head to the toilet in her room. She stood completely still in her place.

Caeli.

The voice spoke to her again, causing her to tense up noticeably and turn around in fear. What if it was like last time?

«N-No way, no,»  thought the girl trembling softly and soon denied to go to her bed but... the window of her room opened and she, for some reason, calmed down.

And she became much calmer the instant the voice spoke to her, asking her kindly not to be afraid.

Come Caeli. You need not fear, just follow the sound of my voice.

For a moment, her gaze blurred and before she knew it, she had begun to walk in complete silence through her room, heading towards the open window. Silence pervaded everything, only the girl's footsteps echoed in the place, although more like a murmur that was gradually moving away.

She walked towards the large window, which was wide open as the curtains moved softly in the night breeze. She rested her hands on the edge of the window, her house was not very high, but the fall onto the small fountain they had in the garden could be fatal... Calmly, the voice asked her to climb over the edge kindly, and the girl, confused in her senses, heeded it without a moment's hesitation. Standing on tiptoe.

Now, stretch out your hand. Soon I will be able to reach you...

It whispered softly and she listened, stretching out her hand and almost falling to the floor.

A little more...

It said again, making her smile and put one foot off the edge. She knew how to keep her balance thanks to those years as a youngster in rhythmic gymnastics. But a soft touch on her back made her lose it and soon, her eyes widened in surprise. A scream choked inside her and the only thing she could do was to close her eyes tightly, waiting for the blow, which would mean her end.

This was how she would end up, dead in her own garden, chasing a voice that perhaps only she could have heard. It was simply madness, but it didn't matter. Nothing would stop it.

Or so she thought, because then she felt arms grab her again and pull her into her room, closing the windows behind her so that she couldn't get out.

Her ears were ringing loudly, she felt herself being shaken hard, a voice could be heard in the background. She couldn't make out clearly who it was. Until she heard that sweet and worried voice, which woke her up from her trance.

“Wake up at once! How the hell could you jump out of the window! What would have happened if I hadn't been there because I forgot my wallet?!” Before she could finish the sentence, all she received was a strong hug from the girl.

At that moment, the red-haired girl sighed and returned the embrace of the trembling girl who didn't say anything. For the same reason, the journalist only climbed onto the bed with her, laying her down and hugging her friend tightly in order to calm her down, as she was trembling.

After a few minutes of quietly stroking the younger girl's head, exhaustion began to take its toll on both of them. Neither said, asked, or answered anything, they just let their bodies relax as they lay with each other - and Akane had already warned that she would not be returning to her flat that night, as she had told Curt-.

And while the journalist had been able to rest as she was calmer, the brunette couldn't rest at all, after what had happened with Tom, and also that she'd almost died...

It was difficult, and the compliance in her body was latent. Still, Akane being with her had relaxed her quite a bit.

But before the arms of Morpheus took her away, a question kept running through the girl's mind: «Who could be the owner of that voice?»