Chapter 16: Chapter 14

At the end of the T-hallway, I attempted to turn right, but Abble grabbed my arm and dragged me inside.

Abble tossed me into the centre of the dimly lit room, slamming the door shut and locking it. There was a pause as she held the knob for a moment before turning around. 

She clenched her fists, almost giving me a snarl. 

Abble was terrifying. 

“Your cute innocent face was your only endearing feature,” Abble yelled, raising her hands toward me in anger. 

“I am—”

“Why would you be that fucking dumb? I shouldn’t have let you get so close to him. Now we…” Abble said, tailing off into a mumble.

Abble put her hands over her face and yelled into them, stomping her boots.  

I glanced over at the body mirror next to the toilet door. My face was practically hanging off my cheek. Blood soaked my shirt, and I could already tell that the puncture wounds beneath it were going to be bad. 

The bone in my cheek was exceptionally white. In a different circumstance, I would want to touch it, but that seemed like a good way to make Abble even more irate.  

Surprisingly, I wasn’t in much pain. It stung but was a three or four out of ten. 

“Oh… wow.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Abble said, walking to me with aggression in every step.

Abble pushed me, and I took a step back. 

“That’s unnecessary.” 

“My concern for some boy I met hardly two weeks ago is unnecessary.” 

“What does that even mean?” 

Abble grabbed my shirt, yanking it over my head.

“Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.”

Abble threw the bloody shirt on the ground with unnecessary force.

“Good. You deserve nothing gentle after being an idiot,” she shouted, stepping over and pulling a gem from the black oak desk before roughly setting it on top.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

Abble grabbed the chair from the desk and slammed it down in the middle of the room. “Sit on it backwards and don’t move. I’ll be back with things to clean your fuck-ups with.”

“I am really—”

“Sorry? Yes, I understand. I just don’t believe you.” 

Abble stormed out, not letting me finish. She slammed the door so hard that it would surprise me if it weren’t broken now.

I tossed my arms up at the door. “Why wouldn’t you believe I’m sorry? Fucking lunatic.”

Keeping my mouth shut on her return would be a wise move right now. If I spoke wrongly, she would probably beat my head in. If she had heard that comment, I am sure I would've regretted it. 

With my tail between my legs, I sat in the chair, placing my arms on the backrest. 

I stared at the glowing orange gem for some time. Abble’s absence for almost an hour worried me. It didn’t take that long to get supplies. 

God, this was a total disaster.

I wasn’t as afraid of Neal as I should have been. My only concern was killing him. Neal felt inferior to me the whole time. I would like to blame that on Abble being there, but it was my undeserved ego pumping me up.

Not only did I not see him as a threat, but he wasn’t human. He was just a rabid animal that I could murder for XP. My moment of empathy after killing him was short-lived. I had none for him now.

Absolutely zero.

This was so uncharacteristic of me. In all honesty, I was a tad self-centred, but not this much. I wasn’t feeling like myself anymore. 

In the past, I would be bothered by killing rabbits that the traps failed to kill. Today, I chew through a man's neck, and my only thought was, ‘damn, I wish I had more XP.’

I sighed, staring at the moon coming up from the horizon. This might be what Cain was talking about. In addition to controlling my emotions, I may also need to feel them and decide whether to act in a certain way, based on the situation. 

Where the hell was Abble? 

Maybe they were planning on killing me. They either thought I was already a demon after tearing into that man's neck, or they were convinced I would turn into one. 

Fuck.

The crew was trying to convince Abble to do it… I knew it… this was going to be the end…

No!

I wouldn’t roll over. Even if it were Abble attacking, I would fight to the end. 

Screw these damn pirates. I didn’t come this damn far to be executed on a hunch. 

If I could somehow kill her, I wonder how much XP I would get for it.

What the hell, Kade… what is wrong with you? Abble wouldn’t… She probably would. 

As Abble said, she had only known me for two weeks. That didn’t deserve loyalty. Especially since it’s likely she has known Wrecky her whole life. Abble didn’t seem to respect her father, but I don’t think she would do something like fight this crew for me.

As soon as the thought concluded, the door flew open, and I glanced back at Wrecky, who stepped into the room with rags in hand. Abble came in behind him with a bucket, setting it down next to the chair before stepping between Wrecky and me—It was like Abble was trying to block him.  

Abble snatched the clothes from Wrecky. “Leave.”

There was a long pause before Wrecky spoke. “It’s better if I stay with you.”

“If he turns into a revenant, I. Will. Take. Care. Of. It,” Abble said, staring up at Wrecky. “I have told you many times already.”

The two of them were discussing killing me. Abble seems defensive towards Wrecky, so perhaps she is trying to put her foot down. Soon, we would learn if Wrecky fears a Demon or the Princess more. The odds seemed in favour of Abble from my perspective. 

“I won’t turn into a revenant. I would need to die first,” I said, resting my chin on my arms.

Tossing a dash of reassurance into the discussion seemed like a smart idea.

Wrecky submitted to her stare and left the room with only a tsk. The poor door got another slam, but not quite what Abble did the first time.

I was disappointed to find out that Wrecky wasn’t on my side. He seemed like a good guy, or at least as decent as someone who robs people for a living could be. In fact, we had even bonded on the railing that day. I would be slightly offended if he intended to kill me. 

Abble came around, looking at my face with a blank stare. “You are horrible at lying.”

“What am I lying about?”

“Really, Kade?” Abble said, folding her arms and stepping over to the window. She stared at the rising moon. “You’re not looking for medicine.”

“I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Abble I am—”

“Kade, I don’t need you to tell me the truth, because I already know it. I just want you to say it.”

Did she know? Just in case, I would wait to spill the truth. She could just be trying to get me to admit anything. This paranoia could just be a test. 

I sighed. “What do you think I am hiding from you?”

Abble turned around with her hands behind her. “How long did you think you’d fooled me?”

Fuck. She was convinced about something.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The smell of her blood randomly drifted into the air, and my mouth salivated, but I kept myself under control.

“Oh, really?” She nodded towards the mirror.

I looked slowly over at my face, which was already healing. My skin had pulled the slices shut considerably over the past hour, and the wounds on my side from Neal’s claws had shrunk. 

But that wasn’t the most damning thing. The blue of my eyes was an orange colour that faintly glowed before returning to normal. 

Well, that facade didn’t last long.

I stood up, causing the chair to fall over. “I have done nothing wrong,” I said, backing up towards the door.

Abble’s eyebrows raised. “Is that even possible with what you are?”

“I haven’t killed anyone!” I shouted as Abble sprinted to the door, putting her back on it.

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“How long were you planning to wait before you attacked me?”

I frowned. “Abble, I never intended to do anything to you.”

“You turned that man to cover your tracks. You want everyone to see you as a hero. I heard his words, Kade. He knew you, and you were adamant about taking care of it yourself.”

My fist clenched. “I didn’t turn him.”

“Is this your thing? The weak, innocent boy. Gets everyone to let their guard down and then eats them?”

“I’ll stay in my room. You can board me up there, and we will go our separate ways when we get to Endeavor. You don’t need to take me to the capital.”

Able’s face was stone cold, not showing any emotion. “What, so you can kill someone? Turn them into an animal like Neal?”

I dropped my head. “I never asked for any of this. All I want to do is kill the original demon of my bloodline and return to my family.”

“Demon? I thought you were a vampire… or a revenant. Why do they have so many fucking names?”

“Different names in different cultures, I guess,” I mumbled.

Abble remained silent for some time before I looked up at her.

“So this Kade is real?” she asked, and I nodded. “You’re really… my friend? You’re not pretending to like me.”

I would be honest, so it didn’t seem like I was lying. Overplaying our friendship would make me seem like a kiss-ass.

“Hurting you would… it would bother me. It took me some time, but I do like you now. At first, I was using you just like you were using me.”

Abble hazel eyes wandered over my face, trying to find the lies in its blood mess. “You swear? Kade, I… please don’t be fooling me,” she said as her eyes teared up.

The look she gave me put a lump in my throat. This girl really liked me. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but it was flattering nonetheless. 

“I am not fooling you.”    

Abble face scrunched. “They want to throw you overboard. Wrecky is torn on the subject. Like I told you at Lockward, he is a softie but doesn’t want mutiny.”

“What do you want?”

She flipped around, putting her forehead on the door. “I don’t want this adventure to end, and you have done nothing wrong. You’ve really tried to be my friend, and I appreciate that… but I am not sure I can trust you.”

“Tell me how I can earn that trust. I will do whatever is required.”

Abble turned around and walked over, looking me in the eye for what felt like a minute. 

She shoved her thumb into the gash on her hand, twisting it, which made it bleed again. Red dribbled down her palm, falling to the floor. 

I attempted to step back, but she raised her palm towards my face. My eyes focused on the cut, and my mouth started drooling. 

It felt like my back was pressed against a wall, preventing me from retreating.

The smell became too much to handle, and I grabbed her wrist. My fingers trembled as I stared at the crimson leaking from her palm. The redness of the cut made me want to lick it. 

Just a small taste wouldn’t hurt anything…

Don’t do it, Kade. You can resist.

Abble pulled me towards the bed, and I tried to resist, but her tugging and my hunger dragged me along.

Neal had done nothing for my thirst. My hunger ached like I hadn’t eaten in months. 

As we walked to the bed, she sat down and yanked me on top of her. 

My face landed next to her neck.

I could hear every beat slowly becoming faster. Every pump sent a whooshing noise through her body. The rhythmic sound of her heart caused the hair on my arms to stand up… there was some shameful arousal, but it wasn’t for anything but her blood.  

My teeth brushed against her neck, and my drooling was a bit gross as it poured out. I couldn’t stop the river from flowing out of my mouth, soaking the maroon covers and her shirt. 

“Why are you doing this? Abble, please push me away. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I heard her heartbeat pick up as my mouth opened and my teeth pressed against her bronze skin.

Abble wrapped her arms around me. “I’ll forgive you if you do. But, honestly, my whole life has been a shit show, so you will be doing me a favour by ending it now. I deserve it.”

“Abble, please…”

Abble remained silent for a moment. “No secrets from here on out, okay?”

“No more secrets… I promise.”

“Alright then, get off me,” Abble said, letting her arms fall to the side.

“I can’t,” I said as my breathing picked up and my throat started burning in its yearning to just…

Abble patted my side. “You can. It would be a shame to eat me after resisting for so long. I probably taste bitter anyway.”

I put my palm on the bed and pushed away everything I had. It took me a minute to pry myself from her, and I had to clench my jaw the whole way.

A few drops of blood landed on her face from mine. She stared at me with a hint of sadness as my blood rolled down her cheek. 

Abble maintained eye contact the whole way, which made it so much more challenging.

I sprang up from the bed and stepped back.

Abble sat up. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to hold back.”

I sat down on the window seat, breathing hard for once. “Why the hell would you do that?”

“Because I needed you to prove you could hold back. The crew would have ensured you didn’t make it to Endeavor if you killed me. You resisted, proving I would not be unleashing a monster into the world’s fourth-largest city.”

“That was risky. It’s still dangerous.”

“I had this hidden under my covers every time you came to my room,” Abble said, holding up a pearl-white piece of wood with an iron tip. “Not that I was intending to use it on you. As I said, you will be doing me a favour.”

What do you even say to something like that? I didn’t—I didn’t like that she felt this way. 

“Abble—”

“Anyway. My mother had this in her things”—Abble tossed the spike next to her—“she had a lot of useful things hidden.” 

“Why a piece of wood and not just a knife?”

“My mother told me a bit about your kind. You must be decapitated or staked in the heart with wood from a tree grown in heaven. I never believed that where it came from, but now… if there is a heaven—I wonder if Mom is there.”

So did that mean if I hit zero health, I would not die or that just getting decapitated or stabbed by the special wood is a one-hit kill, no matter what? 

This was an imperative question I couldn’t test. Cain would know. This was critical for when I found my first sire. 

“What gave me away?” 

“There were a lot of red flags, so I played the idiot. The first thing that got me thinking was the fact that you were spending minutes without breathing. You also stared at my neck a lot. If you were not making eye contact, you were gazing there. I even unbuttoned my shirt to where my tits were almost out, and all you did was stare near my neck.”

Damn it. I thought I was doing well with that. And I don’t remember her unbuttoning her shirt.

Ah, maybe that proves her point. 

“I thought I was doing a rather good job hiding it. You had me fooled.” 

Abble sighed. “My mother used to tell me that a man’s greatest weakness is a pretty face with purpose. My friend Kade is, unfortunately, still a typical male.”

“I never thought you were dumb or just a pretty face. I just thought I was clever, which was not true, apparently.”

Abble stood up. “You are a bit slow”—she smirked—“I’ll just have to help you with your schoolwork.”

“I am not applying to that school. Clearly, I can’t keep this a secret. I’ll be murdered in no time,” I said, shaking my head.

Abble came over, sitting next to me. “We’ll keep the secret together.”

“Why?”

“Because we are friends, and that’s what friends do”—she patted my thigh, letting it linger for a moment before removing it—“As long as I am not hiding any dead bodies for you at college… okay, you got one freebie, but that’s where I draw the line.”    

“You’re insane… you know that. Who just accepts all this like it’s normal? You have known me for what, two weeks?”

Abble smirked at me before making a biting motion at me. “Like I said before, most definitely. So how did this all start? How did my innocent Kade become a demon?”

I sighed. “A lot has happened. I don’t know where to start.”

“Why not start at the beginning?” I heard in the room’s corner, and Cain spun the gem around on the desk. He picked it up with a grin. “How is my lil’ demon doing?”

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