Among Demons : A Siren's Voice

Ch. 33 : Reunion

*Lora Nex*

I couldn’t sleep at all after everyone came back. My mind was just too full of ‘Ifs’ and ‘Maybes’ that frightened me and filled me with panic and worry.

There were just too many possible scenarios that continued to flash through my mind. Too many things that could go wrong when it was just Nick and Alder, all alone. No backup. No way to communicate with anyone. And more than likely disarmed as well. It all filled me with endless fear that refused to let me rest at all. So I was left pacing in the dark in my soft pink night-shirt, tugging at the ends of my hair in an effort to calm myself.

At some point I stopped and rushed towards where my phone sat charging next to my bed, groaning when I noticed the time. It was barely 2:47 in the morning, yet I was under the impression that the sun was about to come up. Leaving me frustrated and deeply annoyed on top of the still clinging worry that surrounded my heart.

Devin and Nyla had offered to drive me back to Nick's house, telling me that it was perfectly fine for me to stay there now, being his Match. They’d also said that being in his home surrounded by his stuff and sleeping in his bed would help soothe me and allow me some time to rest too. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave the office building, not when I believed that this was the first place that Nick would stop at once he escaped with Alder. So I was in no rush to leave at all and planted myself in the same room I had woken up in a little long ago.

The sudden aching growl that came from my stomach made me stop again and I hugged myself as I sighed. After hearing what had happened from Devin and getting more details from everyone else, I had refused to eat dinner and just came straight to this room, needing a moment alone. And now it seemed like my hunger had moved past my overwhelming emotions and was now demanding that I find something to eat.

I stepped out of the room barefoot, tugging on a lock of my hair again as I made my way towards the lounge. My eyes moved towards the large windows that looked out into the woods, slowing down as I once again wondered if they were both ok right this minute. Stopping next to the window right across from the doors to the lounge, I stared up into the sky, closing my eyes and praying to the Fates that they would both come back unharmed and safe.

As I entered the large and dark space, I flicked the lights and started thinking about the Fates themselves, pulling out a plate and all the things I needed to make a sandwich.

Demons, from what little I was taught, didn’t believe in Gods of any kind like Humans do. Instead Demons hold sacred gatherings in reverence to the Fates that are said to create every Demon soul, guide it through its life and decide how that soul ends. Some have said that the Fates are the true original Demons; Hybrids that created each Race that morphed, changed and branched off into multiple other Races. They were similar to the Fates that Humans used to believe in a very long time ago, representing the Past, Present and Future; Life, Death and Rebirth; Innocence of Childhood, Challenges of Adulthood and Wisdom of Old Age.

My dad had told me that after the Portals trapped our ancestors here a few centuries ago, many Demons just stopped praying, speaking and all out believing in the Fates anymore. There were also far too many Demons that didn’t even know anything about the faith of our homeland either.

I sat and started digging into my food as I thought of this, hoping, somewhere deep down, that this subject kept me from dwelling on Nick and Alder. But it only lasted for a short while before I sighed into my sandwich, once again thinking of them and feeling my emotions stir within my chest. I had to force myself to keep eating, knowing that I was only going to feel worse if I stopped after only a few bites. And once I was done with that sandwich I cleaned up and grabbed an apple, then washed a small bowl of strawberries, finally feeling full after all of that.

I flicked off the lights once I was ready to go back to my room, pausing for a moment to grab a water bottle when a beeping sound echoed in the darkness. Freezing beside the fridge, I gripped my water bottle to my chest and stared at the door. For a second I thought that maybe one of the others had come back, but it was the middle of the night. Sammy and Izaak had their little ones to look after and Nyla and Danny were freshly married, so I doubted that either would show up so late here. And Devin and Marcus had looked so very exhausted before they left, having spent so much energy afterward going back and forth from the Village where the children had been taken. They had also met up with the volunteers after everyone was checked for further injuries, making sure they jotted down anything important they might have seen during the chaos.

I could hear muffled sounds out in the hallway, dropping to my knees and looking out from around the kitchen counter. A twinge of fear touched me with the sound of footsteps drew closer, stopping right in front of the door.

The doorknob turned, I could see it move before the door was pushed open, the faint light from the windows across the doors casting shadows that blended into the darkness of the room. My ears were filled with the loud thumping of my heart, my mind instantly thinking the worst possible scenario, picturing that bastard's face appearing from somewhere close to me. The very image that popped into my head made my head spin and my hands started to tremble, not wanting to focus on such a possibility.

I reminded myself that there were biometric locks on the doors to the third floor, so no one outside Devin, Nick and their closest friends could enter.

But my frightened mind convinced itself that that monster Mitch had found a way to waltz right in.

I told myself that this office was not only hidden deep in the woods, but Humans completely avoid it, so there was no way he had found this place or been willing to set foot on it either.

But the terror of all he had threatened to do to me before gave me reason enough to think that he would do just about anything to find me.

I chanted to myself that everyone had done their absolute best to keep me hidden, even when we’d drive out of the parking lot to run errands I was asked to duck down or use a blanket or hoodie to hide my face, so my exact location couldn’t be pinned down so easily.

But the darker, more terrified part of my mind pulled up the moment in the flower shop… how he’d found me so quickly… managed to get to me when I was completely alone… like I am right now…

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” A soft female voice cut through the horrid thoughts that were filling my head, making me freeze. “I’ll grab a few things before I wake her up and bring her over.” Footsteps moved around the dark space, stopping just as the lights flicked on, making me jump. “No, no one was really badly hurt other than Danny and me…” She paused, chuckling a little while I finally moved from my hiding place, slowly rising to my feet. “Oh, she’s still pissed at him, won’t stop complaining about how stupid he had been to step in the way during a fight.”

To my utter shock I found Arima walking around the pool table talking on the phone. She had pulled out a canvas tote bag from the hidden wall closet and was putting in a couple small things from another, smaller closet next to the first that I never realized was there.

I let out a staggeringly shaky breath, bracing myself on the counter as I felt every last shred of coiled fear and panic immediately leave me. My head was even spinning just a bit harder than it had been earlier and I nearly laughed at my own stupidity, blinking away the tears I hadn’t even realized were close to spilling from my eyes.

“Holy f**k!”

I jumped at the shout and looked up with wide eyes, finding Arima standing next to one of the large pillars that framed the T.V, a hand over her heart and the tote bag sliding down her arm. She looked to be breathing hard as she stared at me, her hand moving the phone it still held back to her ear.

“I’ll see you in a bit.” She huffed, hanging up and folding her body forward, bracing her hands on her knees. “You scared the s**t out of me.” She muttered, shaking her head while a soft chuckle shook her shoulders. “Were you hiding back there?”

I felt embarrassed now that the danger I had imagined was gone, feeling my cheeks heat up considerably as I stood there, unsure of what to do. A long second of silence passed before Arima gathered herself and moved towards me, smiling and seeming much more relaxed. I could see through the short sleeves of her shirt that the wound on her arm had been pretty large and was still wrapped tightly with gauze. She saw me looking and shrugged, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the door.

“It’ll heal.” She said simply, looking back at me with a bright smile. “C’mon, you’ve got somewhere important to be.”

I raised a brow at her, but followed, feeling curious.

We reached her car, climbing in and pulling out of the parking lot before I realized that I was still in my nightshirt. The hem of my dress-like nightwear climbed up my thigh, exposing a fair bit of my legs. I panicked a bit, feeling even more embarrassed that I was heading out to who knows where in just a nightshirt, no shoes and ratty, messy hair.

“You look fine.” Arima chuckled as she drove, smiling at me when I found her looking my way. “They’re going to be happy just to see you.”

‘They?’

I stopped fidgeting and sat back, wondering who she was talking about, while hating that I had forgotten my phone back in the room, leaving me unable to communicate.

My confusion soon turned into soul crushing hope when she rounded a corner in a neighborhood and instantly parked in front of a very familiar house. I struggled with the seatbelt, my fingers shaking with too much desperation to clammy push the damn button hard enough to release me. When I was finally out of my way, I bolted out of the car and raced to the door, finding it cracked and pushed it out of my way.

“Does it feel comfy enough?”

That voice brought tears to my eyes that quickly spilled and trailed down my cheeks. I froze at the sound of him in his home, hoping and praying that I wasn’t dreaming while my heart hammered in my chest. I also fully realized just how much I had missed him, even though he hadn’t been gone that long. It amazed the much calmer part of my mind that our Bond was already as strong as it was, though I was struggling now to even move closer to where he was, needing a second to try and calm myself.

But the small voice that answered him made me gasp and dropped me to my knees.

“Yeah, I like it.”

I blinked through the tears, no longer wanting or needing any more time away from either of them. I now wanted to see that little boy whose very well-being and happiness had been my entire world since the day he appeared on my doorstep. I could feel a deep tingling in my throat take over out of nowhere, weighing down on it and forcing me to swallow hard multiple times to clear it. Once it was gone, I opened my mouth in an attempt to call to him, both of them.

“Alder!” The hum of my own voice, my deep power as a Siren, exploded to life within me, buzzing and thrumming in my chest as I finally regained the ability to speak. “Nick!”

Something loud shattered somewhere in the house I had yet to fully explore, running feet echoing immediately after the sound. Then, a second later, I watched from my kneeling position as Nick appeared in an archway, a bright smile on his face when he found me.

My heart ached when I caught the faint bruises on his face and what I guessed to be a small piece of gauze poking on from the back of his neck. He was wearing striped pajama pants and a t-shirt, his hair damp from a shower and a light scattering of scratches and more bruises sticking out of his sleeves and on his feet. Another little presence joined his side, his ringed eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears when he found me.

He looked a little bigger to me now, his hair was longer and covered the top of his eyes. I whimpered when I caught sight of a few healing bruises that centered mostly on his little arms. And even though he did look taller than I remembered, it didn’t seem like he was well cared for and fed. There were circles under his ringed eyes and he appeared thinner than he should be too, the clothes he wore seeming a tiny bit too big for his frame. It looked like he had taken a shower too, with his hair still damp and a spec of dirt clinging to his skin.

“Lo-Lo!” He shouted, bolting for me and practically tackling me as he dove into my chest. “You’re here… you’re really here…”

I sniffled and couldn’t help rubbing my face into his hair, hugging him tightly, too anxious to let him go even a little bit. After a short while though, I looked up and smiled at Nick as he stood close by. He then kneeled behind Alder and reached out an arm to me, my body mimicking him and pulling him close. He chuckled a little at how impatient I was being, but let me pull at him, wrapping an arm around him to keep him close to me as well.

“I missed you.” I told him, sniffling when he used his free hand to wipe my tears away. “Both of you.” I added, looking down to find my precious little Alder looking back up at me, visibly trying to erase his own tears.