Chapter 4

“Where have you been?” Clara demanded. “I’ve been feeling so lost.” 

Caiden had the grace to look guilty. Clara noticed that he was no longer wearing his cloak and was instead wearing a leather jacket and black jeans. Despite the oddly human attire, his horns were still visible and there was still an unearthly vibe to his appearance.

“I had to be somewhere else. I knew the transplant was successful and this was the first opportunity I’ve had to come here. Demons don’t belong in the human world you know. I have a ruler to answer to.” 

The mention of demon life was intriguing, but Clara wanted to know more about her personal situation rather than his. 

“What happened to the owner of the body I’m in right now?” she asked in a calmer tone. “The doctor wouldn’t say.” 

“That is a conversation that we can have when we are completely alone,” Caiden said. “The nurse will return very soon and I don’t think it’s the best thing to talk about demon related things with someone else around.” 

Clara knew he was right, but she folded her arms anyway to let him know that she was still annoyed with him for the lack of answers. She got back into bed as Anna came in with a tray. 

“Dinner is served,” Anna announced cheerfully. “I had to pick what was available, however you can choose your own menu tomorrow.” 

Caiden was still standing in her room and Anna hadn’t said a word despite having a clear view of him. Clara could only assume that Caiden wasn’t visible to other humans.  

She switched her attention to the contents of the tray. British cuisine wasn’t something she had experienced much in her previous body. The school lunches at Trinity Academy had occasionally included British style desserts, but the main courses had been mostly French and Italian. 

On one side of the dinner plate was mashed potatoes, on the other was a collection of peas and three sausages. The other plate on the tray held a trifle. Clara frowned at the selection and reminded herself that hospital food was never meant to be on a Michelin star level and at least it wasn’t mac and cheese. 

She never wanted to go anywhere near mac and cheese again.  

“I’ll come back later to get the tray,” Anna said. 

The nurse left the room and Clara waited for the sound of her footsteps to fade away. She didn’t want Anna to hear anything from the corridor. 

“Are you not visible to humans?” she asked. 

Caiden shook his head. 

“You can see me because we made a contract. Other demons will be able to see me. To everyone else, I am invisible,” the demon explained.  

Clara didn’t mind that. It would be useful if she could have someone invisible at her side when she got to the point of obtaining revenge. 

“I’ll let you eat first before the food gets cold,” he said. “You still look weak.” 

Clara picked up her knife and fork. Now that there was food in front of her, she was feeling very hungry. The food tasted bland, but was effective in filling the void in her stomach. 

“I’m ready to talk now,” she said after moving the tray to her bedside table. “Whose body am I in?” 

Caiden came to sit down on the edge of her bed. 

“An 18-year-old called Clarissa St. Clair.” 

Clara turned that name over in her mind. It sounded like the name of a rich heiress. Clarissa was similar to Clara so assimilating to her new name wouldn’t be too hard. The surname was much fancier than her real one. 

“Why am I in hospital now?” 

Caiden pointed to her arms. 

“Clarissa St. Clair slit her wrists at the same time as you did. She was found much quicker than you. You were dead when you were found. She was still alive when she was found so it was possible for doctors to save her. That’s why her body was available for you.” 

Clara realised she should have guessed it sooner. The bandages and the doctor’s reluctance to tell her anything were hints that Clarissa had tried to commit suicide.  It was an odd coincidence that they had both attempted suicide at the same time in different countries. 

“Where is her soul then if my soul is in her body?” she asked. 

Caiden frowned. “It’s not in her body. It seemed like her body was still alive, but her soul gave out and faded away. I’m still a new demon so there’s gaps in my knowledge.” 

Clara was perturbed to find out that Caiden was a new demon and she was in a contract with him. She didn’t like knowing that she was trusting someone who had potentially never made a contract before. 

“Is this the first time you’ve been contracted to a human?” she questioned nervously. 

Caiden held up two fingers. “You are the second. I swear I’m competent and won’t let you down.” 

Clara narrowed her eyes. He wasn’t inspiring much confidence right now. 

“Just know there’s no chance her soul is coming back,” he added quickly. “You are the new owner of this body and will keep it to the end.” 

That was a relief to hear. She was committed to the idea of getting revenge by any means and didn’t want to lose her chance. She moved onto other things she was curious about. 

“Will I ever get her memories?” she asked. 

She was going to have to pretend to have amnesia for the rest of her life if she was never given Clarissa’s memories. It was going to be hard to navigate life in this body if she only knew Clarissa’s name. 

“I can give you her memories,” Caiden replied cautiously. “I’m unwilling to right now though. Receiving 18 years of memories will be too overwhelming for you for now. You need to get acquainted with Clarissa’s life first.” 

He had a point; Clara couldn’t deny it. The addition of another person’s memories would be too much for her right now. She had only woken up two hours ago in her new body. 

“Fine. You have to give them to me at some point. Could I at least have her most recent memories so I’ve got some idea of what to do when I leave hospital?” 

Caiden shook his head emphatically. 

“No. You killed yourself not very long ago. I cannot give you the memories of someone who tried to do the same. It will be too much for you.” 

Clara wanted to assure him that she was fine now, she had accepted her death and her last memories weren’t bothering her, but she knew she wouldn’t convince him successfully. He was actually right about another set of memories being too much for her. She didn’t want to feel like she had gone through another person’s attempt at suicide. 

“You’re right, I’m not being practical right now,” she said with a sigh. 

Caiden took her hand. “You’ve adjusted to this well. I noticed you were very cool in your previous life despite everyone who was bullying you. It was a shame that things became too much. I look forward to seeing you get revenge.” 

Clara was surprised by the hand holding and she was also surprised to find that she could feel the softness of his hand. His eyes were wide and earnest. Now that she wasn’t in purgatory or feeling panic, she was able to appreciate his good looks. 

It was a shame he wasn’t a human; he would have been scouted for modelling so many times. He had a perfectly proportioned face and was better looking than any human she had ever seen. His compliments were helping as well. She had never expected someone would think she was cool for not letting the bullying get to her until the very end of her life. 

“I will give the memories to you at some point, I just don’t feel it’s right to do it now,” he told her gently. “You look tired, I think you should relax now. I will see you when you wake up in the morning.” 

“I’m not tired,” she protested. “I didn’t wake up that long ago.” 

Caiden patted her head. “You look exhausted. I will disappear and leave you in peace. Sweet dreams.” 

He disappeared a second after that line. Clara was left staring at empty space. She didn’t know what to make of Caiden yet. He was a demon who had offered her a chance at revenge, didn’t seem to know what he was doing, but he was oddly caring and admired her. He was also annoyingly right about a lot of things. 

She was tired, her body was heavy again and her eyes didn’t feel like they could stay open for much longer. She lay down and adjusted the bedcovers so they were covering her. Now that she was alone, it was clear that a hospital wasn’t a quiet place to sleep. There was constant noise in the corridor outside her room. Hopefully she would be able to sleep through everything. 

She quickly dropped off to sleep despite the noisy surroundings and when she woke up, Caiden was standing by her bed. 

“Good morning, Clara,” he said.  

Clara took a brief moment to remember why a demon was standing by her bed with a friendly smile. At least she remembered everything within a few seconds this time. Waking up from the coma had been much worse. 

“Hello,” she mumbled. “Is the hospital breakfast good?” 

“It’s passable,” he told her. “Are you properly awake yet?” 

“Why?” she yawned and sat up slowly. 

Now that she was waking up, she could feel pain from the slash marks in her arms. There must have been painkillers in her IV that was taken out when she woke up before.

“You have a visitor today,” he said. “It’s Clarissa’s grandfather.” 

She snapped fully awake when he told her that. She sat up slowly, being careful to not let her arms and wrists touch the bed.

“Could you tell me about him?” she requested. “I don’t feel ready to meet Clarissa’s grandfather without knowing anything about him.” 

Caiden sat down on her bed.

“He is called James St. Clair and is the founder and CEO of a major fashion house called St. Clair. He is not a billionaire, yet he will be before he retires. He doesn’t have any titles, but he is well respected in higher circles.” 

Clara was beginning to see the true benefits of being transferred to Clarissa’s body. She was well connected and was potentially rolling in money. That was the opposite of her previous life. There was something important she need to know though. 

“Is he a loving grandfather?” 

Money and connections were one thing, familial love was something much more important. 

“I can assure you; he is a loving grandfather. The drawback to him is that he goes away on regular business trips which was a problem for Clarissa because it left her alone a lot,” Caiden told her.  “He did his best to be caring and replace her dead parents, but fell short.” 

Clara digested that thoughtfully. She was beginning to understand Clarissa a little without her memories. She had no parents and only had a grandfather who didn’t have a lot of time for her to fill the gap. It was similar to her situation. She hadn’t ever had any parents and her foster mother hadn’t had the time or resources to focus on her. 

It was odd that they were so similar. 

“He should visit after breakfast if nothing changes,” Caiden said with a glance at his watch. 

Clara was now very curious about Caiden’s abilities. Some of the things he said sounded like he could foretell the future and see the past. 

“Can you see into the future?” she asked curiously. 

“A little. It’s not entirely accurate, things can change quickly after I’ve looked into a certain thread,” he explained. 

“Can you see me getting revenge?” she asked immediately. 

Caiden’s gaze was serious when he looked into her eyes. 

“Right now, I can see you successfully getting revenge and giving up your soul to me.”