Page 7

Six

Sebastian

T his entire place was a fluke, but I couldn’t tell Marla I was meeting with the Lords instead.

I rake my fingers through my messy hair before peeking into the bedrooms. Each contains a makeshift bed, with hoodies scattered around, giving a sense of comfortable habitation. She’s right. People made this a home and lived comfortably for a while.

“We won’t mess anything up, only fix the few things we can see broken. If they return, we’ll leave. Otherwise, it’s ours. Think that’s fair?”

“Agreed. Let's tackle those rocks, because someone is going to get hurt. Maybe you two can work in here?” Sid glances at the women before heading toward the front door.

“Fine, but we’ll have to go out and welcome new souls soon. The air has shifted and they’re coming,” Marla says.

“Deal. I promise we’ll leave if they come back.”

She grins at me, and it fills my heart with warmth.

I join Sid in the front yard, and together we heave the massive boulders, creating a rocky barrier, the scent of turned earth thick in the air.

“It works. The logs hold the house, and these are more decorative. We know we can’t keep anything out if it wants in bad enough,” Sid mutters. He grunts as we lift another large rock and set it next to the others.

“True. I’ll be happy to have a space again.

Even if people were here before, they aren’t coming back.

It’s too overgrown. Our tunnel will be reclaimed in time by others as well.

It’s the circle of life here.” I stand and stretch out my spine.

As much as I keep active chasing after everyone, it seems like I’m always sore.

After we finish, Sid stares at me, then shakes his head, indecisive, it appears.

“What?”

“Just wondered where you went all night. I don’t mind keeping watch, but being held in the dark isn’t a good time.”

I sigh and sit on one boulder. “Do you know what it’s like to want to do anything for the one you love? As if you’d offer yourself as a sacrifice to keep them safe?”

Sid leans against the rock opposite me and scratches his ear. “I have a sense, similar to how I’d protect Chloe with my life if it came to it.”

A grin spreads across my face—I am so happy they found each other. Being alone here is soul-crushing. It quickly reduces people to empty shells.

“Yeah, so I was doing what I must. I’ll tell you when I know more, because if I have to disappoint her because you blabbed? I’ll kill you myself.”

“Thankfully, we rapidly heal,” he chuckles.

My bitch demon raises its hackles. My anger is a white-hot current, and I clench my jaw as I fight to keep my temper from exploding like a shattered vase.

Rage burns at the unfairness of it all—her unjust imprisonment, the Lords’ callous indifference, and my frustration at their slow response.

“If I cut you into small pieces, do you think they’ll find themselves back together?” I whisper into Sid’s ear as I go to collect the women.

Walking out, Marla sinks into my arms. “Ready?” she asks. The sparkle has returned to her eyes.

“Let’s go welcome the new souls,” I say.

We head out of the pathway, Sid and Chloe trailing behind us. It’s always the same song and dance. I’m glad to help where we can, though.

Welcoming newcomers is exhausting. Each interaction depletes me, as if I've been squeezed dry. Dragging my feet, Marla’s hand in mine as we shuffle along the dusty path toward our new home.

Passing the cabins of the Lords, I glance around, but they don’t step out and I slowly exhale. I want answers, and even though it hasn’t been long, she deserves this request.

Marla stares up at me, and it’s then I realize I had stopped walking.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. I don’t understand it,” I tell her. Sid and Chloe are in the distance, strolling ahead of us.

“Being nice drains the life out of you.” Marla giggles, and I nudge her playfully as we continue to walk.

“Sebastian,” a deep voice calls from behind me.

I square my shoulders, straighten my posture, and turn back to face Berimund. His dark robe brushes against the red dirt road of his laneway, leaving a faint mark in his wake.

“Sir.”

“We’ve discussed amongst ourselves the deal you have brought to us.”

Marla tenses beside me. I couldn’t have told her anything.

“And?”

I stare into his eyes, and he nods his head.

“When will it start?”

Giso walks along the path until she’s at his side, her long blonde hair coiffed. She offers me a small smile.

“When will what start?” Marla asks in a soft voice next to me, touching her fingers to her lips. “What did you do, Sebastian?”

“A few days at most,” Berimund says. “We’ve redirected the camouflage shadow demon to train his sights on you. She’ll be free from it within a week. I hope you know what you’re doing, son.”

“Thank you, sir, ma’am.” I tip my head at both of them before guiding Marla away.

She bombards me with questions, her words a relentless volley. I continue our walk home.

“What the fuck did you do?” she asks, tears well in her eyes. My dove’s grip tightens on my shirt.

I grasp her shoulders, the warmth of her skin searing through my fingertips, pulling her close. “The best I could,” I whisper.

“Sebastian?”

“I pled our case. This place is unfair as it is. However, I barely qualify with the sad-ass demon that chases me. I visited the Lords to demand they give me one of yours, but also to ask about the portal and how other realms work.”

Marla pulls back, her eyes wide with an anguish that chills me to the bone, and I can’t bear to look.

“The window I watch the other realm from?”

“It’s not real. It has never existed. Your shadow demon devised the sick joke. There are alternate realms, but none you can see from Cavum Terra,” I tell her.

We’ve reached the outside of the treehouse. Footprints in the dust leading inside confirm that Sid and Chloe must have gone in. I pull Marla’s hand to enter.

Orange and red light, like stained glass, streams through the canopy, illuminating the makeshift house in warm hues.

I swing the door open for her to the first bedroom and see how she’s created cozy spaces for us with old hoodies and bark.

She lays her head on my chest as we lie against the soft clothing. I would, without a second thought, carve a space inside my body, a sanctuary within my skin, to keep her safe from the world.

“What did they mean by the camouflage demon?” Marla pulls at a loose string on my collar, a nervous tic of hers.

“I took him on. You’ll be free from it in about a week, I guess.” I stroke her hair as sobs wrack her body, and the warm tears soak my shirt.

The decision was effortless for me. I’ve always had tunnel vision with her. If easing one of her demons after decades of torment means she might breathe a little easier again, at least I can save her a small amount, even if it has to be in the afterlife.

“Why?”

“I told you, pain doesn’t mean shit to me. Witnessing you in the grips of torture day in and day out? I can’t do it.”

“How will I ever repay you?”

A humourless chuckle escapes my lips, a dry, rustling sound in the room. However, I’m not able to go back and kill the people who tainted her mind again. The family whose love seemed conditional, laced with criticism and expectations. I shake my head.

No, she deserves to know, deep in her heart, that she is enough, capable and worthy of devotion and happiness.

“Your affection has always been abundant, my dove. The way you look past my flaws and choose the soul attached to my body is all I need.”

“Thank you,” she murmurs against my chest.

“My dove, I’d do anything for you. Forever, you are mine to protect, love, and cherish.” I hold her closer before exhaustion takes over.