Chapter 10: Chapter 9

The barrel full of steaming hot water was amazing. I had soaked in it for more than an hour before it lost its warmth. It felt great to use soap for the first time in over a week, and I was grateful for the chance to remove the oil from my hair.

Although I was usually adept at maintaining myself, Yuridia often pointed out my lack of hygiene, even if it was frivolous. In spite of the fact that sometimes it annoyed me, I appreciate her keeping me consistent.

I sunk into the barrel, keeping my nose above the water even though I didn’t need to breathe.

The water had lost most of its temperature, but still felt nice in the cold cellar.

I was worried that, being… a demon, I would be more sensitive to heat, but it seemed the sun only did that.

Or the ring might have been helping.

So the fallen referred to the Nightstalkers as Revenants and the Daywalker as Demons. Calling myself that seemed odd, but I was one now.

I needed to find the end of this bloodline.

That task felt impossible. Everything was feeling unattainable.

Where was I even to look for them? Did I even want to find them? Maybe they would just leave me alone. I would not risk it and go back home now, but if my search was empty-handed in the future, I would have to give up, eventually.

I sat my arms up on the side of the barrel, glancing over at the silver piece on my middle finger.

My nail tapped on the edge of the wood. “I don’t know what I am doing.”

But I knew I needed to cut these nails somehow. It was bothering me.

Cain helped me, but he just left me with no real guidance. How could you give a sixteen-year-old something like the powers of a demon and just run off? He was a horrible demon parent. I was so unprepared to be on my own. This was so unfair—

Stop. You can’t be a spoiled brat anymore, Kade. That is all you do. Cry and feel sorry for yourself.

Grow up already.

I let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

Alright, starting now, I was determined to take things into my own hands. Not letting luck somehow save me like it always does. Instead, I needed to rescue myself.

I suppose I would just stay with Abble now. Would this college be a safer or more dangerous place for me?

They might somehow figure out I am a demon and kill me. I wasn’t sure about everyone’s opinion of my… race?—That is what the system called it—on the other hand, being around powerful people could deter the demon from coming after me until I was ready.

I had to ensure I didn’t put myself anywhere near people who may know I was a demon. The only problem with that was I wasn’t sure who would know.

It was possible that someone could sense me. So, I had to treat every new interaction cautiously, as if it was already known.

Wait! Were there demon hunters? Oh, no… I didn’t think about that.

One step at a time, Kade. You got this. Don’t overwhelm yourself.

My fingers ran through my hair.

Having daydreamed about it for years, I was now on my long and arduous adventure. Obviously, I didn’t want to die, and this seemed more than a tad dangerous.

This wasn’t quite what I was asking for.

Once again, I whined about the pit of misfortunate I dug myself into.

Not all of this was my fault. If I wanted to be upset, I could.

UGH.

What happened to my ‘Starting now, I was determined to take things into my own hands’?

God, I annoyed myself sometimes. I would tell myself to get my shit together and would cry about it In the same breath. I had such an unattractive personality.

I pulled myself from the barrel, steeping on the icy stone floor before changing into the simple linen clothes Nenia had left. They were oversized, but I couldn’t complain when she was cleaning all my stuff. I really hoped she could remove the stain from the fur.

Luckily, my bag didn’t get vomited on. So at least one thing turned out well.

Abble answered the secret door immediately, and I climbed the stairs into her room. As I entered the chamber, she dropped the door and stepped in front of me with her hands on her hips. She tapped her shiny leather boots like she was annoyed with me.

I had just got here. What could she possibly be mad at?

My gaze drifted back to the windowless walls. “Why does this room not have windows?”

Abble’s face appeared unamused by my question. “Are you ready? You’re going to have to talk to my father,” she said, walking into the centre of the room, stopping on the orange fur rug.

“Why is your torso wrapped up?”

“I bind my breasts because having them bounce around is uncomfortable. If you didn’t notice before, I am unwillingly gifted in that department,”—Abble sighed—“God, I wish I was born a man. Y’all got it so easy.”

“Are you to just walk around like that?”

Abble’s face lowered, and I sensed the disappointment. “No, I am about to put a shirt on and a jacket—are my bare shoulders bothering you?”

My head shook slightly. “I… I was just wondering. I didn’t know women did that. Sorry, I asked.”

Abble rubbed the back of her neck, glancing away. “Sorry… I should be nicer. You are helping me. I have a real shit personality, I know.”

Same.

“I think it’s a mutual benefit.”

Abble nodded, stepping over to the edge of the bed and grabbing a small sheathed sword. She pulled the halter strap through the Belt loops on her brown leather pants.

Her bottoms were padded in multiple places. They seemed like they were built for rough work. Whoever did the stitching did a fantastic job because they clung to her body perfectly.

“Wrecky is an intimating looking guy, but he’s a complete pushover, so don’t panic when you see him. But, my father, you should worry about.”

This was going to be a nightmare. My meek attitude was going to ruin all of this. Abble was strong and independent. She would never be with someone like me. Saying opposites attract wasn’t enough. There was just too much difference for this to be believable.

But I was willing to try for a girl I had just met.

I was too nice.

“Understood—Your pants are special, no? They seem like they have a purpose,” I said, gesturing towards them.

She nodded. “Yes, they were my mother’s. She was quite talented at making combat clothing—Abble pinched the thick leather—“these have a light layer of chain mail in the middle. It will stop the slicing of most sword swings. Stabbing, not so much.”

“They look durable. My father was good at making boots and coats.”

“Yeah, I saw. I was checking out your clothes while Nenia cleaned them,” Abble said, grabbing a white-sleeved shirt that was lying on her bed.

Abble pulled the shirt down over her head before picking up a short brown jacket and sliding into the arms.

"Don't you think you should bring something heavier? It's below freezing now, and it'll be much colder out at sea, no?"

Abble smirked. “I don’t want to carry it after we get to Endeavor, and if I need something heftier, I’ll just steal your excellent fur coat—If it survived,” She said, putting a small switchblade into one of the chest pockets of her jacket.

Well. I wasn’t looking for another sister, but she found me alright. This relationship was going to be of the sibling type. I could already tell. Meaning I was to get bossed around.

“How nice of you.”

Abble pointed at the dish on her bedside table with venison, and eggs stacked on it. “You should eat. It seems the only thing you ate last night was shit”—a laugh blurted out—“it’s funny cause you actually fell in shit.”

“What? I didn’t eat shit.”

Abble rolled her eyes. “It a phrase. Like you fell badly and ate—if I have to explain it, it’s no longer funny.”

“I am not accustomed to these city phrases.”

“Clearly.”

My attention returned to the dish with a metal utensil stuck into the meat. “Thanks for the food.”

Surprisingly, I wasn’t hungry at all, which was a bit concerning since I should be dying by now. Immediately after Cain left, my hunger disappeared.

Richard had only packed me enough food for a couple of days, but I lasted well beyond that without hardly any cravings…

Amazing… Richard packed me just a few bites of food with no means of boiling water. He a hundred per cent thought I wouldn’t make it but a few days. I was annoyed he pumped me full of hope when he himself assumed I was going to die. He no doubt tracked me for a while to make sure I made it far enough away.

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He was going to kill me if I didn’t make it a long distance from the village.

Since it was the right thing to do, I shouldn't have felt animosity, but I did, especially since I wasn't sure if he tracked me. But he was a hunter, so it was likely.

I sauntered over and picked up the dish. Abble stared at me a little too intensely, which made me worry about eating the food. It was like she was waiting to play a trick on me or something.

Sitting down on the wood floor, I leaned against the wall. The venison and eggs were delicious, and I might have teared up while chewing my food. The seasoning on this was something I had never experienced before.

The pungent flavour was intense but pleasant. Almost warm in my mouth. Yuridia had made nothing with such nipping heat before.

I wouldn’t mind it a tad hotter.

Being a demon seemed to have fixed my taste buds. I was afraid I would never experience the taste of food again. In terms of normalcy, walking in daylight and eating food were two of my significant concerns about becoming a demonic being. I didn’t want to trade those simple pleasures for anything.

Well, eating people was a problem, but that was an issue of a whole other magnitude.

There was worry that I would be unable to sustain myself on regular food. Ideally, I would never need to drink from anyone, but that hopefulness felt a touch unrealistic. If that were the case, the revenants wouldn’t drain the blood of their victims. My father had said they would eat flesh, but often left most of their prey behind.

Cain also told me I would need to learn to control my hunger, which meant it wouldn’t be as easy as eating regular food. I just needed to figure this out before it became an issue.

Before I became strong enough to hurt someone.

Could I just drink blood from animals?

I finished the plate, and Abble laughed. “I didn’t think you would eat it all.”

“It was good,” I said, setting the utensils down on the plate.

Abble smiled. “I’m glad. I cooked the venison. Nenia made the eggs.”

“Thanks, you’re a wonderful cook, Abble,” I said, and she glanced away from me.

The door was weakly knocked on, and Nenia let herself in, locking it swiftly behind her.

Nenia spun around, holding all my clothes that appeared to be of their original colour. She, however, had an expression on her face that seemed concerned.

There was something about Abble’s father in that look.

“They’re a little wet. I tried heating them with the fire, but I worried about ruining the coat,” Nenia said, setting the stack down next to me. She folded her hand in front of her, looking at Abble. “Are you sure this is wise?”—she glanced at me and back to Abble—“this Kade can be trusted? I vouched it had been going on for some time. But if something happens on your trip, Nicholas will kill me.”

Abble’s hand landed on Nenia’s shoulder. “Look at him”—they both glanced over at me—“Kade would lose a fight with a squirrel. There is no need to worry.”

I frowned. “Fuck you.”

Abble put her hand over her chest. “Oh, are your balls dropping? A late bloomer, I see.”

“I killed a revenant, thank you very much,” I said confidently.

I wasn’t that useless. Richard was impressed that I killed it with one swing. Slaying such a beast was an accomplishment I should be proud of.

Nenia and Abble both laughed at me in unison, and I dropped my head.

Wow, I wish I had kept my mouth shut. How embarrassing. They didn’t need to laugh at me. This was why my self-esteem was horrible.

“Oh, that was a good laugh. Get dressed so we can leave,” Abble said, picking up the large satchel next to the bed.

Abble tossed the bag over her shoulder as she and Nenia left the room, snicking about my comment well past the point.

I change into my original clothes, lacing my boots with aggression.

“If they knew I was a demon, they wouldn’t say things like that,” I mumbled, buckling my knife’s belt onto my hip.

After tossing my backpack over my grey fur coat, I came out to the two girls quietly waiting. “Let’s go,” I said, gesturing down the hall.

The three of us walked down the dimly lit corridor toward the bar. Nenia was fidgeting with her dress, and Abble was silent, making me fear the worst. This was serious if she had paused her witty remark.

This didn’t help my confidence.

We entered the bar, and Abble’s father sat in the middle of the empty room with his boots on the table, smoking a roll. Copper-coloured eyes framed his sharp brows. His skin was almost as dark as Cains’.

“So, Kade,” Nicholas said, motioning to the chair on the other side of the table. “Let’s have a chitchat.”

Nicholas put the tip of the roll on the table, twisting it before flicking it onto the floor.

I swallowed, glancing over to Abble, and she nodded slightly.

Saying no was not an option, so I walked over and sat in the overly creaky chair upon my arrival.

“That… um, the chair is really loud.”

Nicholas put his feet down and took his knife out of his black sailor vest, slamming it into the table before sitting back. He grabbed the brown bottle from the table, putting it to his lips, not taking his eyes off me for one second.

Was I supposed to like put my knife into the table also? This could be like a manly test or something.

You could do this, Kade.

I took my knife out, slamming the blade into the wood, and Nicholas glanced at its mirror blade and silver hilt wrapped in a black leather strap.

These little pep talks I was having with myself did me good.

His eyes crept back to me, and he set his bottle down roughly, spilling a little.

“So you’re not afraid of me?” He said, rolling up his sleeves and showing off his scarred tattooed forearms.

Due to how damaged his arms were, it was difficult to tell if the ink once depicted dragons, but that was my best guess.

Nicholas leaned forward and folded his hands on the table that was riddled with blade punctures. He was missing half of his pinky.

Shit. So that was a mistake. Should I take the knife back, or would that make it worst? This man was terrifying.

I hope my face didn’t show too much fear.

Father never told me about these things. He wasn’t really the macho type in the village. If anything, mother bossed him around.

So… that is where I got my submissiveness from… thanks, father.

Taking the knife back was a terrible idea. That would make me a coward. I had already made the gesture.

“No. The only person I fear is your daughter. She is quite scary,” I said, pointing my thumb back at her.

Nicholas remained silent for a moment before his head tilted. “You’re a smart man,” He grinned, sitting back and rubbing his grey stubbled chin. “You’re small, but you got some balls. Do you know who I am?”

Abble laughed. “Ah, that’s funny ’cause you know you don’t even have any, so technically he’s more of a man than you.”

Nicholas glared over at her. “Can we not bring that up every two seconds?”

“You should have thought about that before you traded a goddess for a fucking cow”—Abble folded her arms—“you’re lucky mom didn’t slit your throat.”

Nicholas tossed his hand at her. “I didn’t trade your mother for a… I was drunk,” he said, looking back at me. “You know what, Kade, have fun. I hope she burns out some of this energy before she comes home.”

Wait. Did they mean an actual cow, or were they making a joke? I didn’t understand.

I swallowed my nerves. “I’ll make sure to take care of her,” I replied, hoping that was the right thing to say, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.

Hold my breath… ah, funny.

Nicholas stood up. “Worry about yourself. She doesn’t need protection. I told her I would let her leave if she found a man because I had hoped one would settle her down a bit. Seems that was too much to ask for,” He sighed, walking toward the hallway in the back.

Abble spun around. “Bye, daddy, if you kill Nenia, I’ll do what mom didn’t when I get back,” She said, waving at him with a big smile.

Nenia glanced at Abble. “Don’t make him mad. He might change his mind.”

Abble picked up the brown bottle from the table, chunking the rest of it before tossing it on the ground.

The bottle shattered, and she spun towards the door. “Let's get the fuck on that boat,” Abble pointed at the door with vigour.

What did I get myself into…

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