DARKNESS

The portal left us to a bright hall, only to notice one elegant short woman rushing toward us from the other side of the portal. Her alarming tone didn't go unnoticed nor did it made the woman look any less strange. Instead of fear marring her aura, she only held anger as if...

"Chi sei-" Her rambling stopped suddenly, her gaze leaving Mikhail's to meet with someone behind him. Mikhail along with I turned to look who just made her pause when she let out a heavily tinted English. "Oh, it's you. Should have known you'd bring hell with you once again."

Lana grinned at the woman. "And I see you are still your charming self, Allegra."

"Can't say the same about you." The woman, Allegra let out a sigh. "A clan from nearby needs our help, so please, whatever reason you came here can wait."

I could wait, heck, that would be the right thing to do. But when it came to my little soul, I was never too careful, was I? So, I stepped forward with venom in my gaze. "It can't wait, little witch."

She held my gaze with a clenched fist. "It's quite bold of you to be in a territory and threaten its leader, Darkness. Oh, yes, I know who you are. While you may take a skin of a mortal, your shadows cry to be recognized. If I wasn't in a hurry I might have entertained your plea but alas! I need to go so if you can kindly step aside..."

I let her have it, still quite surprised that a Volkios had known of me when I tried so hard not to be recognizable. Before she could leave though, Lana hurried to match those steps. "Tell me, what's going on?"

"Oh, for you to leave us shattered again?" Allegra smiled, mirth washing over us in volumes. "No, thank you."

"Oh, for the love of the devil, let us help. Have you see their faces?" Zed, who finally joined us yelled out in an urgency. In the haze of finding Emie, none of us noticed how many people had been running around us, scared of their minds. So, something had to have happened that concerned even a Coven who always held their head high when it came to danger.

They needed help, whether this woman in front of me liked it or not. 

Allegra did stop but she didn't turn her head to look at Zed. "You have the aura of a clan leader so I hope you understand-"

"I do understand." He replied, walking as close to her as he dared. "That's why I'm asking you to think clearly. To tell us what happened there. Your members are scared right now. Even we can see that."

She looked like she couldn't wait to run any faster. But instead, she turned back with no emotions on her face. "From what I could gather, there was a celebratory function going on but some people crashed it. The people who ran for help said that..." She paused, looking at Lana with a smirk. "Now that they described how the girl looked like, it awfully reminded me of you, Lana."

Shots fired.

I felt that fire went through my vein again. The same one I felt the day I met Emie on her knees near my grave. She was near, it had to be.

"Where is this clan of yours?" I didn't care that I was cornering a Volkios. I could feel my shadows urge me to go there, to find her. It was the only thing I could hear, the only thing I could breathe out.

"Where!"

"The next town." That's the only confirmation I needed to nod at Zed who quickly opened a portal and when I finally jumped into it, I didn't expect to hear those familiar screams. To feel that dread again as she fell into water like her limbs didn't exist anymore.

And for me, nothing existed either.

I could only remember going after her.

I didn't notice the chaos around me nor did I notice Lana, Mikhail, and Zed finishing off every creature who dared to go after my little soul. She was mine to take, not theirs. How dare they push her?

I was angry. No, I was lividly pissed off. Whoever did this was going to pay, right after I made sure that she was alright and out of harm's away. 

"Can you help me?" I couldn't help but notice her voice trembling a bit. Was she afraid of me? Her red and black hair phase was over and she was back to having her natural auburn hair. Her brown eyes looked darker but they still had the same fierceness in them. Everything was the same. But no one could ignore the fact that she had become drastically thin. Her skin was also filled with so many markings. 

Was she short of souls? 

Malnourished would be the word I was looking for, I realized after staring at her form. But I wasn't the only one staring, she was too. 

I tried not to wither under her scrutiny. I knew what she saw standing in front of her. A man in his mid-twenties, with dark black hair, anger barely able to hold in as he ground his molars. A person who looked more like a nightmare than trustworthy.

"Are you hurt?" I asked as gently as I could without scaring her off. She shook her head and stepped back. I took a step ahead and she matched mine by backing out.

"Stop!" She yelled out looking at me with those scared little eyes. Why was she so afraid of me? I tried to see what she was feeling but it was as if something was blocking our connection. Was it possible that she remembered me? No, it wasn't possible, Zach was so sure of it. Then why was she backing out from my touch?

"I'm not going to hurt you." I promised, taking a step closer to her and this time, she let me. Her stare was unnerving but it was better than her escaping my sight again.

"Your eyes."

"What about my eyes, little soul?" I asked, smiling. I could still remember how she hated that name. Every memory, every touch was just a haunting melody now. Had it been that long?

"It's so dark...I saw it before." She frowned as if she was unsure of what to say. "And don't call me little soul. It hurts my head."

"OK, I won't. Now come with me." But she shook her head again.

"Demos is somewhere over there. I need to find-I need answers." My blood started to boil again hearing that good for nothing demon's name from my wife's mouth. Clenching my fists, I gave her a tight smile.

"He was there when a warlock pushed you away. If he really cared about you..." I trailed off, unable to hide my anger any longer. "He wouldn't dare to let you go. He would burn everything down to come for you, little soul. Everything."

That's when her eyes got that fire I had come to see many times. She was defensive. "He's not-you don't know him, you don't know what he has done for me. And, he's my fiancé for God's sake!"

Another sneer left from my lips. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that and he might become good in a clap." 

"Who are you even? I don't have to explain to you just because you saved my life." Even as she looked at me with hate, she couldn't hide the relief. Fine, little soul, even I could play your game.

"Fair enough. I'm Alexei. But, you can call me Lex. I'm a...I'm Darkness." The same man she could never trust if only she remembered. 

"Darkness? What kind of creature is that?" She mumbled frowning but I heard it anyway.

"Don't worry. It was a title bestowed upon me without my choice. If you feel any different, you can say I'm a warlock."

I lost that term so long ago that it was laughable now. I didn't hold magic in my hands like she did. I even forgot the taste of it. But Zedkiel was still my master and I was living in the Moon clan so she ought to trust that if not a thing. 

Her eyebrows lifted up. "From a clan."

"Yes, but you don't seem too happy to hear it." I hesitated to say anything further. If she didn't believe me, then she'd never go with me and I couldn't just leave her here, not after finding her in my arms again.

Hell had to open again to stop me from taking her. 

"We demons have a rivalry with witches." She said it so casually with disgust in her voice that I couldn't hold on to the snicker from escaping. Even if she was a Reaper now, she was born as a witch. A pure one. And for her to deny that...

"What's so funny?" She hissed.

"No, nothing at all." I hid the amusement with a cough. It was going to be so much fun once she remembered. I could already feel the way her nose would wrinkle if I taunted her with it. 

"I'm Emeline by the way. A demon." She introduced herself, her hands half-raised as if to shake with mine but at the last moment, they fell on her sides. 

"Nice to meet you." I said nonetheless. 

"I-I need to go then." She stumbled over her words seeing me take her wrist, obvious to what's going inside my mind. Never.

"Yes, with me. You said you needed answers. I will give you those answers, Emeline because we know much more than your demon King will ever do." 

"Oh?" She challenged me. "And how do I know that you are not one of those warlocks who want to kill me." 

"Oh, m'lady. I just saved your life if you didn't notice. A little thank you would be chivalrous. But again if you need confirmation, here it is." Before she could scream, I dug my nail into my own skin until blood came from it. I smeared it into her skin, my stare on her so fierce that she had to swallow hard.

"I promise on my blood that I will never hurt you. And if I do, you can take my life as you wish."

She didn't know what to say to that. And when she saw that gorgeous smile on my face she had no choice either.

She was going with me. 

***

"Darkness, you can't be serious. You can't just keep lying to her." Allegra had just finished learning anything that was for her to know about her new companions and her attention was now on Zed and me. Well, more especially on me.

"Stay out of it, Allegra." I whisper-yelled, trying not to wake Emie up. As soon as she reached the manor, she was out cold. I didn't blame her, anyone in her position would lose it after just what happened. 

"There's no way I would let you two do it. Either you are going to tell her the whole truth or I do." Her eyes were blazing with anger, she jumped from the sofa and rounded on Zed, who looked more interested in the books around him than to listen to the Volkios.

"Give some common sense to your friend, Zedkiel, before he ends up losing her for the second time."

Zed raised his hands in surrender. "You have lost me on common sense. It's Lex, he doesn't have one."

I flipped him off. "Haha, very funny." 

"What?" He chuckled, ignoring the way Allegra was still fuming in anger. "She's your wife. Have you had any say to this?"

"I can't just flat out tell her that I married her when she was out killing off an entire town. Not only that, I lied to her about the prophecy. All that time I knew how we were going to end but I hid and hid until she was on the brink of death. Now to let her know that...you think she'd want anything to do with me?" I spat out, forcing a pained groan from him. 

"You sure you don't know why she doesn't remember us?" Zed asked the same question I had been wondering since I knew that she landed on earth. Instead of answering, Allegra threw a book on demons in front of us which showed the same markings that Emie had on her skin.

"What the-"

"I had to call Eros and tell him about the emergency. He's shocked to hear about his brother's return to earth but he was generous enough to lend us some information. It's an aftershock of having too much demon blood." Demon blood? I recoiled in shock. How did she survive, having that much poison for this long? "That demon king must've been giving it to her for a long time to make her think that she's a demon. Not only that, if you mix demon blood as pure as the King has with nightshade, you can remove her memories to replace them with new ones. My guess? She was hit with both."

"Shit." Zed cursed.

"Shit indeed. We've to make sure she doesn't have any more of that and I'll find something so I can wash it out of her body." I nodded absentmindedly. 

"Hey, where's my sister?" Someone asked suddenly. I looked at the door to see Lana and Mikhail both hand in hand waiting for my answer. 

"She's sleeping." On a second note... "And it will be best if you don't see her now."

"Why the heck not? She's my sister, if anyone, I deserve to see her first. Not her lying piece of a shadow, husband." She stomped her way to stand in front of me. Even if I had bad interactions with fate, I could thank it a hundred times to give me the sane twin.

"5132...I think he's right. She doesn't remember anything and seeing you will be overwhelming." Mikhail spoke slowly, his silver eyes gleaming in the rather dark place. 

"Oh shit! I forgot about that." She cursed before looking up at me. "I'll stay away but not for long. Now tell me, how is she?"

"All I know that Demos, the demon King did this to her. He poisoned her to the point that she doesn't remember any of us." She couldn't have looked any more shocked.

"He did what!?" She screamed and Mikhail put a hand on her mouth so the sound didn't reach Emie. She screwed her eyes shut tight and then opened them to look at me again.

"Tell me you have pulled out his spine as a souvenir." 

I smiled, the sight of it more terrifying than comforting. "I have not...yet." From my voice, anyone could detect that it was only a matter of time before I would kill that demon for what he did.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly hit me before I could voice out my thoughts. I grabbed the corner of the closest table to steady myself. I didn't understand the reason for this sudden exhaustion until I realized that I was getting what she was feeling. It had been so long that I almost forgot I could do that.

And that's when a blood-curdling scream came from her room, sending me to run toward her.