Chapter 47: Chapter 20

With my back to Abble and my arms folded, she began unwrapping her breast bindings.

“Will you be okay sewing with blood?” Abble asked, as I had to think about that for a second.

The urge to attack her had gone away, but touching her might send those feelings rushing back. I just needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Abble required my help, and I couldn’t let my demon side control me.

You’re in control of your actions, Kade. Everything will work out… hopefully.

“I’ll be okay. The blood you gave was enough to hold me over.”

We both remained silent while Abble unwrapped herself, and I contemplated what to do after the disaster on the deck.

The tide incident would have happened no matter what, and with how that turned out, I was glad Abble and I had already talked about the demon thing. If we hadn’t, who knows if she would’ve saved me after taking a sword to the chest. I might've found myself swimming in the ocean. 

Abble coughed. “I’m done taking the wrapping off.”

I turned to Abble facing the wall, still in her leather pants but topless with her non-injured arm pressed across her breast.

Abble's back was incredibly muscular. It looked like she was chiselled from stone, as every muscle had its own powerful outline. Her shoulders and arms were strong looking, but her back was astonishing. Abble was so impressive. She was what I would picture a Valkyrie would look like; Powerful and majestic.

I hastily filled up a bucket of water from the drinking cask in the room’s corner and grabbed a shirt from Abble’s dresser to use as a rag. Nothing about this was hygienic, but I could at least clean her wounds a bit before stitching.

“Where are the thread and needle?” I asked, setting the bucket and shirt next to her.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Nightstand.”

I walked over to the end table and rummaged through it. There was an unopened letter in here with Abble’s name on it. The paper appeared aged and yellowed, but the red wax seal wasn’t broken.

Why hadn’t she opened it yet? It was clear she had been in the drawer before.

Returning to minding my own business, I grabbed the needle and thread, along with the glowing orange stone. It was going to get dark in here soon, and while my sight was good at night, I didn’t want to risk messing this up.

I walked over with supplies in my hand and knelt beside her. “This might hurt a little. I’ve never done it on a person. My sister was always the one stitching my father and me up.”

Abble glanced down at me. "Is it okay that I'm topless?" she asked, and I felt there was a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

That was an odd question. With the possibility of bleeding to death, modesty seemed low on the priority list.

“I think, given the circumstances, yes. This needs to be closed soon—I didn’t take you as the modest type.”

I dipped the shirt into the bucket of water, trying to clean the cut the best I could. Abble flinched a couple of times when I pressed too hard. Luckily, there was no dirt or anything in it, so rinsing sufficed. 

A small amount of blood was still leaking from the deep cut.

At least she hadn’t lost over three health points. Abble had also levelled, and there was red in the stamina bar. It probably meant she couldn’t regain it. Presumably, because she was exhausted?   

The ability to regenerate health was probably the greatest benefit I gained from becoming a demon. I could heal myself in hours after taking a blow that would normally take weeks to heal. My durability was definitely going to help me level fast. 

Jordan’s weird licking was helpful, too. Though I rather avoid the uncomfortable itch that came from it. 

I should have controlled myself earlier and avoided drinking so much from Abble. She needed all her blood right now. It was shocking she was still standing. Abble was tough, and I admired her for that. She was definitely becoming a role model for me.  

The risk she took motivated me to do my best. I was going to make myself as helpful as possible to make up for the fight.

“Why would you think that?” Abble asked with a significantly delayed response.

I licked my finger before pressing the thread and running it through the needle loop.

“Because you’re bold, and I can definitely see you saying ‘they're breasts get over it’ or something along those lines.”

I pinched the gash together at the corner. This cut had to be at least an inch deep, but it didn’t appear to hit anything vital.

“I’m still a woman. I care a little about those things,” Abble said as I pressed the needle into her skin, and she clenched her jaw.

Simple was the logical route here. I would do a zig-zag stitch.

“I am just saying this is a tad uncharacteristic from what I’ve seen.”

Abble huffed. “You are my friend now. So it’s a little different. I have to look you in the face after if you see anything.”

I smirked, glancing up. “So you show yourself to strangers then?” 

Abble gave a small chuckle. “Yeah, I deserve that one—I noticed you were staring at first.”

Oh, her back.

“Yeah, your back is impressive. I was a tad stunned by it. You’re an incredible woman.”

Agh. I don’t know if I wanted to say it like that. That was a bit much and might seem like I was into her. 

As my eyes skittishly glanced up at Abble’s face, she looked away as we made eye contact. “Can you not flirt when I’m a swollen mess?”

I’ve never flirted before, but I can see how that came across as flirtatious. There was no motivation behind it, though. It was just a compliment. My admiration was not sexual.

"I'm sorry, I didn’t mean for it to appear—”

“Thanks for finding me impressive”—Abble glanced back down at me—“I think you're impressive too. You have all the courage in the world for people you care about, and it’s really an honour to have you fight for me as you did on the deck.”

“I didn’t help any, though.” 

I was really getting into a rhythm with the sowing. This was much easier than I thought it would be.

Abble shook her head slightly. “You charged at him knowing he could kill you. You entered that barn at home when it would have been easier just to stay in the house. That determination is impressive to me, and I don't want you to feel like it was wasted. What happened on that deck won’t ever be repeated. You have my word.”

“Don’t get yourself killed. My life is not anywhere near as valuable as yours. So don’t waste it.”

“Your life is valuable to me, and that is all that matters.”

I really wanted to move on from this conversation. It had long passed the point of embarrassment. While… I like she felt this way. It was awkward as hell for me to digest. There was too much happening at once.

“Done”—I grabbed Abble’s switchblade from her pant pocket and cut the thread—“Let’s do the shoulder next.”

I pulled the desk chair over, and she sat down slowly, grimacing the entire way. It was clear her whole body was aching. Abble was going to need a lot of rest after this. She would not fight off a boat of pirates like this. That was a tall order fully healed.

Abble’s shoulder had been sliced badly, and when I cleaned it, I noticed the white of her shoulder bone under the cut. I was a little surprised she could still move it.

Having cleaned and stitched the wound the best I could, I gave her a fresh shirt from the dresser pressed against the door.

I turned around, facing the window so she could change.

The sun was about three-fourths below the horizon. It would be dark soon; hopefully, the men would choose to sleep rather than come in here with my level 408 friend. I felt quite confident with her around. The only issue was that we needed enough people to steer the ship, and Jordan’s fighting might turn into a massacre.

Abble tried holding in her moans of pain, but a few escaped as she put the shirt on.

“It’s on—my face needs stitching, doesn’t it?” Abble asked, and I turned around, looking over her eye and cheek gash.

It was amazing with how brutal those punches were that she wasn’t worse off.

“Yeah. It would be for the best.”

The cut above her left eye, and the one on her cheek, were pretty severe. I was saddened to see this since Abble had such a gorgeous face. It was like a work of art had been damaged. Abble would bear scars from it, no matter how well the stitching was done.

After washing the split skin, I tried to be as precise with the stitching as possible. Abble eyes teared up, which made me feel terrible, but I had to continue.

Upon finishing, I step back with a smile. “I think you’ll still look like the prettiest woman I’ve seen.”

Abble sprung to her feet with newfound energy, giving me a tight hug. 

My hands joined behind her with a new quickness. I hope this was me genuinely liking her and not my demon self wanting to feed because I was getting really attached to her. We hadn’t known each other for long, but a lot had happened, and she had been on my side through it all. 

This loyalty wasn’t something I could ignore.

Abble’s smell was potent right now, but I was in control. I could stay in command of my actions. My urges would never hurt my friend. I would not let what happened earlier be repeated. As Cain said, it all depends on my willpower, and my will was strong for her.

“I am going to sit towards the wall. You should wash yourself off and change clothes before lying down. The cleaner you are, the better. My sister was adamant about hygiene, and I’ve only been sick a few times in my life. It seems to work,” I whispered into her ear.

Abble nodded, breaking the hug, and I took the chair facing it towards the wall. I sat down and closed my eyes, resting for a few minutes. 

I hadn’t really slept the past few days, and though I felt like I didn’t need to sleep for survival, nagging exhaustion was encouraging it now.

Jordan, who was on the floor, snoring up a storm, appeared to have no cares in the world. 

Somehow, I made a friend and adopted a dog while travelling from Draycott. Both were weird, but I wasn’t normal, so it all worked out.

“Finished,” Abble said, stumbling as I had just turned around.

I rushed over, helping her to the bed. I folded the covers over and held her hips as she crawled into the bed. Abble lay down, trembling, and I draped the blanket over her.

Abble smiled at me. “You really are my friend. Your face had so much concern for me it made my heart ache just now.”

I averted my eyes. “Of course I am. I am not faking this.”

Abble pulled the covers under her chin as my eyes wandered back. “Sorry, I keep talking about us being friends. It appears repetitive and desperate, but sometimes I need to say it out loud to remind myself—Thanks, Kade, for saving me from Lockward.”

“I didn’t save you. You would’ve left even if you hadn't met me. You had plenty of confidence for this journey.”

Abble closed her eyes. “I am not as tough as you think I am. I was scared shitless about leaving home. This hard-ass thing I do is just an illusion.”

“But you made it on the boat, and we are heading for the College of Guilds. You’re the one that made this all possible.”

“If you say so,” Abble mumbled.

I watched her slowly drift off. “I’ll tell you as many times as you need me to that we’re friends,” I whispered.

Abble must have still been awake because I saw her give a small smile before her face fell still, and she slipped off to sleep.

I dumped the bloody water Abble used to clean herself down the toilet closet before filling the bucket up again with fresh water and wiping myself off.

There wasn’t enough water to be used for bathing, considering we couldn’t leave this room for another cask. However, I felt disgusting and could ration my liquids if need be, so Abble had plenty.

Afterwards, I made my way to the dresser naked, praying Abble wouldn’t wake up. She would never stop teasing me about that.

I grabbed one of Abble’s cross-string shirts and linen trousers from the drawer, switching out my tore attire.

Jordan was now awake with her head on the ground, watching me the whole time I changed.

I frowned at her. “Are you a perverted wolf or something? You were sleeping like two seconds ago.”

She gave a low growl at my words, but kept her red eyes focused.

Jordan and I had a staring contest for a moment before I moved over to the window and took a seat, watching the sun drop below the horizon.

I hope Wrecky is okay. Losing a hand was severe, and I wasn’t sure if someone could survive that. Abble should have worried more about him than me, but she was pretty attached to me for whatever reason.

Maybe she was drawn to me because I was a demon. I wanted to believe she liked me, but it was difficult to tell since she had known something was up for a while. Cain said demons appealed to mortals, but I don’t know if he meant it as an ability or just curiosity.

This was a worry for another day. Abble needed to rest, and we had more significant problems to tackle outside.

I opened my menu.

They’re all gone… except the bag and the hammer. I’ve been waiting so long time to see this tree button. 

My finger hovered over the icon.

You are reading story Awakened [Vampire/Demon LitRPG Series] at novel35.com

Wait, holding my finger over the object gives me the description… how did I not think about this before…

I am an idiot.

There was a knock at the door, which I ignored. However, the banging continued, and I humoured it after the fifth time. At least they were asking and not barging in.

I proceeded over to the dresser. “Yeah?”

“Wrecky wants to see you.”

He sounds like William.

I paused. “Anthony wants to kill me, so that’s a firm no.”

William sighed. “I will be honest with you. We were going to kill you, but Wrecky has ordered us all to stand down, and many of us believe you will not be a problem. You haven’t hurt Abble, and she doesn’t seem concerned, so I don’t see the need to make this any worse.”

This sound like a lie.  

“Why would I believe that?”

“Because you clearly were fighting to protect Abble, many of us saw you get stabbed through the heart for her. That doesn’t seem like something a rabid demon would do.”

I paused, still not sure about this. Although this could be a trap, they would probably not do anything if I brought Jordan along. But at the same time, they didn’t really know how strong she was. So the crew might think they could overwhelm her.

“I’m bringing my wolf. If anyone even glances at me wrong, there will only be a skeleton crew left to sail this boat.”

“Bring… the wolf,” William said with his nerves leaking through his tone.

See, Kade, you can be intimidating… with other people backing you up.

I glanced back at Jordan, slowly standing up. “You gonna come?”

Jordan sauntered over, sliding the black dresser out of the way with her snout, before stepping back and waiting for me to open the door.

This animal knew everything I was saying for sure.

I opened the door to William with his hands up, holding a lantern in his left one.

William was in his late thirties and definitely wasn’t as rough looking as the other men. He could pass for a shopkeeper or something rather than a violent pirate. Average was the word that described his appearance well. 

“See, no weapons,” he said, looking down at Jordan, poking her head out from around the door.

I gestured for him to lead the way. “Let’s go.”

Williams took me down towards the end of the hallway, where two men stood in front of a door with their cutlasses drawn. Their eyes immediately darted to me before moving on to Jordan. 

Why were they protecting the door like that? Were they worried about me or a mutiny? The latter seemed more likely. If Anthony had most of the crew wanting to kill me, Wrecky's orders probably aggravated them. 

Ugh. That’s all we needed was a split in the crew.

They stepped to the side as we got close, and Jordan walked behind me so close I felt her snout touch my back a few times.

William nodded at the men before opening the door, and Jordan pushed me out of the way as she entered the room first, sniffing the air intently. 

Jordan was almost too wide to enter the entrance. This boat was not big enough to accommodate a two-hundred-pound plus wolf.

I walked into the officer’s room to Wrecky without a shirt, lying on the bed, sweating profusely. His abdomen was wrapped and saturated in crimson. The veins on his neck were an off-blue colour.

Something was wrong with him, that wasn’t just a fever.

The door closed behind me, and I walked over to the bed, looking down at Wrecky.

Wrecky eyes slowly glanced at me. “Kade… listen to me”—he grabbed my wrist—“Abble is going to get sick. You must make sure she doesn’t die, you understand. Keep the fever down.”

Jordan growled, but I gently swatted her snarling teeth away.

“Is that because Alexander’s blood got into her mouth?”

Wrecky nodded before coughing roughly. I glanced over to his arm, which was missing a hand with blood soak bandages wrapped around the nub. 

“I got the Tide, too… and I will not make it.” he wheezed after finishing his words.  

My eyes returned to him. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, mate. Some important things got stabbed in my stomach. I saw many men take a sword to their abdomen, and not one lived. The tide fever will not help matters, either.”

Wrecky was a mess. He was right about not surviving. I would be surprised if he made it to sunrise.

“Abble is okay. Nothing serious was damaged, and I stitched up the wounds. She hasn’t shown signs of a fever.”

Wrecky swallowed roughly. “She will, and you need to make… sure you do everything possible to keep her alive… you understand?”

I nodded. “I do.”

Wrecky coughed a few times. “I will die and come back… There will be enough time for me to get you to Endeavor, and then Nicholas will need… a new captain.”

Jordan sat staring at Wrecky intently.

I glanced over at Jordan. “Can you help him as you did me?”

Jordan didn’t acknowledge my question.

It was worth an ask.

I returned to Wrecky. “What will you do after?”

Wrecky paused, closing his eyes. “I hope I have enough of my mind left to make a deal with Poseidon… on Harper’s behave.”

“That he would take you and not him.”

Wrecky let go of my wrist. “Right.”

“If this works the same way as vampiric revenants, there is a problem. I do not think you will make it for twenty-four days. I was about to lose my mind before the end of the week. That leaves much time without a captain.”

“William… will sail the boat,” Wrecky said, breathing heavily between words.

I glanced back at him standing at the door. “Why would they even take me that far?” I asked, returning to Wrecky. “There’s no reason for them to listen after you’re gone.”

“There’s going to return this boat. Knowing this ship is a gift from Poseidon, none of them is eager to sail it… They wouldn't hold on to it for long.”

I really didn’t have a choice here. We needed to get to Endeavor.

Wrecky brought his bloodshot eyes back to me. “If Abble dies, they're unlikely to finish the trip.”

“I know,” I said, turning around for the door.

I didn’t want to leave Abble alone for too long. If she was going to start a fever, I needed to ensure she drank water soon. 

“Kade,” Wrecky said, and I glanced back. “What are you?”

“A demon.”

Wrecky laughed, holding his side in discomfort. “I really thought you were… a werewolf before Alexander.”

"Why is that?"

Wrecky gazed up at the ceiling. "What is your last name?”

“Sterling.”

Wrecky shook his head. “God, this just… keeps getting better.”

I walked back over, looking down at him. “Why would you say that?”

Wrecky weakly turned his head to me. “You don’t know what your last name signifies?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“You’re a Sterling, one of the two Lycan houses… Your kind pretty much runs… the guild.”

What? My kind? This was ridiculous. Mother and father were of no importance. We just lived quietly out in the woods, keeping to ourselves. Nobody was turning into wolves. 

“My family lives near Lockward. They’re nothing special.”

Wrecky huffed. “You’re from a Lycan bloodline… and from the hair and eye colour… I can take a wild guess and say you’re… an Alpha.

“Alpha?”

“It means first or something. They use it… for people that can become wolves.”

I gave a suppressed laugh. “Me? Become a wolf? I don’t think I am this Lycan you’re talking about.”

“At any rate, I don’t know how you became a demon with the bloodline—Wrecky Face grimaced—“I heard Lycan bites can kill demons… and even injure the Fallen.”

There was some processing needed for this. 

A Lycan? This had to be a coincidence. There were probably plenty of people with my last name. If my family was such big shots, why were we living in the middle of nowhere? 

“I am heading to check on Abble. Try to hold on as long as possible.”

“Kade… can a Fallen’s blood turn you into a demon?”

My head tilted. “Yeah, why?”

Wrecky nodded. “Just going through my options.”

“That means?”

Wrecky swallowed. “Alexander had a vial of blue blood in his pocket that I think is Poseidon’s. He would’ve likely made Nicholas take it if he was on the boat.”

“You sure you wanna do that?”

Wrecky coughed. “You seem fine.”

“Yeah, but I am a different type of demon. I stay rather normal looking. The Tide looked like rioting corpses.”

Wrecky said nothing for a moment. “If it gets Abble safely to Endeavor, I’ll do it.”

“If you decide to follow through with it, I can't judge. But, remember, this is permanent, even more so than death, and there is no promise you will survive. I’ve heard some people… explode.”

Wrecky nodded his head. “I’ll make sure I use it at the last second.”

I stared at Wrecky for a moment. “Can the tide walk in the sun?”

Wrecky gave a slight nod. “They just can’t stay out of water long… the cloud they brought was just to keep them from drying out.”

That makes sense. 

Being stuck underwater was much worse than burning in the sun. Vampirics had it way better.  

“Good luck, Wrecky,” I said, leaving for my room.

Wrecky said nothing more, and I walked back into Abble’s room to her sleeping sound.

Hopefully, she stayed like this.

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