At first Sam says nothing. He tilts his head, as if considering what would be the right thing to say; grief takes over his heart.Before he could actually verbalize his feelings, the red-haired demon takes the floor."He... He's not sworn to death."Sam looks at him. Shandra remains motionless."Not exactly.""Then... What's going on? Why can't he come back, and why did you call me a sacrifice?"The coppery-eyed demon stares at Julian:"Leave her out of it.""I didn't even know of this human's existence until I came here, Sam. She's already involved in this up to her neck. Did you even think of that when you did the blood fusion?""Please. Please explain to me what is going on," Shandra pleads. "Who is Eluna? And Julian, why did you need to come here? How do you know each other?"The scarlet-haired demon man sighs."I don't know if I'll have time to answer all your questions, girl.""Then just tell me who Eluna is, please."The boy's yellow eyes shine with genuine pain. Sam remains qu
Shandra feels her own heart heavy, her hands sweat, and an absurd tension take over her mind as soon as Julian finishes his sentence. But she knows that these feelings belong to Sam, who complains, indignantly:"What did you say?!"The red-haired demon doesn't look well at all either. His physiognomy is one of false tranquility but desperation is obvious in his frightened look."That's why I said you need to come back and help me. Help us."Sam paces back and forth, fiddling with his hair. Julian continues talking:"I told you it was urgent. Do you want me to beg you? To swear an oath to you? Maybe a fusion like you did with the human girl?""No. No, you don't need that. I'll go with you. Don't worry."Quickly Sam puts up his cocked finger, however, pointing sternly at Julian's face plunged in distress."But let it be very clear that as soon as I succeed in saving her, it's you who's going to hell. I'm not going to be hailed as a hero by those snakes. And I don't need them to withdraw
White sparks resembling lightning fires swirl through the air in a spiral pattern. Startled, Shandra gasps as she sees the pure magic coming out of her skin. The two demons take a step back and look at each other, talking silently.Before any of the three can verbalize what they are thinking, the itching and numbness in the girl's hands disappear as if they had never existed. Along with them, the white sparks also fade into thin air."What was that?" Shandra speaks softly."Magic," Sam replies."But I didn't do any spells!"Julian tilts his head as he says:"So that was the weird smell.""Guys, what's going on? Why are you guys talking to me if you knew exactly what happened?""We'll explain. But we need to clear up a little doubt first. That's why we asked you to take a look at those old books you talked about."Got it."Resigned, the girl climbs the steps of the staircase. With each step closer to her own room, however, she is reminded of the last time she saw her parents still aliv
Shandra is particularly startled by the tone of voice and expression on Sam: the half-sided smile didn't look like one of happiness, nor joy."What do you mean? What do you mean?" She asks, somewhat fearfully.Julian also seems intrigued by the books. He takes one of them from Sam's hands and looks carefully at the spelling on the cover. Then he looks at the girl, but does not smile. Instead he sighs through his nose."Have you read these books? I mean, have you read every page of each one?""No, although I have learned quite a bit from it." The two men widen their eyes. "But what's going on anyway? Why are they reacting this way?"They both go into a deep silence, thinking about the best way to start the subject. The dark-haired demon points with his finger to the black-covered book."That is a Grimoire of Dark Magics. You probably used some spell from here to summon me."Then he points to the other volume, the gray-covered one."That's a Grimoire of Arcane Magics."Julian completes:
Shandra takes two steps back."Sam?"The demon snaps its neck and stands in an attack position, as if it is going to strike at any moment. The girl feels her own heart in her throat.Had he not liked the direct order? Well, even if there was all that "freedom" talk, she could still exert some control on him, right?"Sam!" She shouts once more. As Julian had made a point of warning, no demon would be seriously affected by absolutely any spell that was cast by the human.The demon's frozen expression of hatred is one of the scariest things Shandra has seen in her life.She swallows dryly, however, and stares him in the face. Even if he wanted to cut her to pieces, the young woman would not die begging like a coward.Sam might be a demon, but she was a witch. A witch with magic latent in her veins, although she didn't know how, nor whose heritage it belonged to.His sharp, black claws were very large, sharp and disproportionately large compared to the size of human hands. Shandra wondere
Demons were fascinating creatures, or at least that's what humans used to say. Some ran away at the sight of them, others simply couldn't believe their eyes and chose to ignore them.And of course, there were those that the demons liked the most: those who purposely approached them.Contrary to popular belief, in no way did demons envy mortals. What was there for them that a fallen angel could not do? After all, apart from obvious characteristics such as superior strength and sharper instincts, the shadowy creatures were immortal in the strict sense of the name.However, this rumor had a certain foundation. Although they were naturally vulgar, monstrous, ghastly, and twisted into frightening shapes capable of provoking dread in anyone who laid eyes on them, all demons wore human skin, even among themselves.Some used the shells made by themselves, especially those of the elite. The lower class ones used the possessed bodies of their victims. It was comfortable to have so much power we
Shandra enters the principal's office unannounced. Beside her is a middle-aged, blue-eyed man, whom the secretary, Miss Stuart, immediately recognizes."Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry about everything. I'll get the principal right away." The woman looks at Shandra, who is wearing jeans, a black jacket and sneakers of the same color. Her expression is one of total apathy. "I'm sorry, dear."The girl makes an almost imperceptible head gesture. Soon after, the employee uses the answering machine to communicate with the school principal.Sam says in the girl's mind, "will you miss it here?""Not a bit," she replies, also mentally."Really? You don't have a single good memory of this place?""No. I've always hated this school, and I think I'll spend the rest of my life hating it."The chuckle he lets out in mental communication is so real that Shandra has to look at his face and confirm that he didn't do it with his mouth."I wish I had something as useless and simple as a school to hate."
Shandra is sure that her voice is not being noticed by Sam. The two walk back at a comfortable pace as the girl sends a mental message to the redhead:"Julian? Is that you?"And who else, little witch?""But how can you do that? I thought only Sam could get into my mind like that.""Sam has many tricks. I have powers. That's our difference.""So all demons can communicate mentally?""Not all. Only the strongest and most... Empowered."The way he spoke of others of his race sounded a lot like when Sam belittled demons who possessed human bodies. It was clear that strength, status, power and glory were things taken extremely seriously in Hell.She squinted at the man next to her. He really couldn't even imagine the parallel conversation that was going on. But how?"Isn't the merger we did supposed to make him listen to me?" the girl asks Julian."Even though you share many things in common, luckily, that's one of the ones not affected by the spell. So, no, he can't hear me. And he can't
The final walk along the last trail that would lead them to the Tenebris Mountains was much more tense and silent than Shandra had imagined it would be.Nervous, the girl was paying attention to the vegetation around her; the way the trees and plants looked now that she knew they were all interconnected with Gaia.And speaking of Gaia, the entity's words still rang in her ear constantly. She takes a deep breath as she gropes around in her pocket for the strange artifact she had been given as a gift.Would she need to use it that day?Sam's voice sounded in her mind:"Disturbed?"Shanda looks discreetly at him before answering mentally as well:"Evidently so. Don't you?"His fire-colored eyes, always so confident, were somewhat misty that morning. A few seconds later, he finally replies:"I'm more than disturbed. I'm terrified."The heartfelt answer takes the girl by surprise. He continues:"At some point, Shandra, everything... Everything will come to light. The fact that we are inter
Shandra was still absorbing the shock of Gaia's strange contact, as well as her sudden disappearance, when a low voice whispers behind her."Shandra."She turns around quickly. Julian is standing with a totally apathetic expression on his face."Did you see it?", she whispers.The redhead nods his head in confirmation."Was it an important errand?"Shandra bites her lip, thoughtful about what to say about Gaia's words. She decides to be subtle and direct:"Yes."Julian waits for the explanation, but the girl just holds the jewel tighter and starts walking back to the camp."Wait a minute."She stops. The demon approaches again and asks:"What's going on? Are you okay?""I am.""You don't know how to lie very well, you know that?"Shandra snorts."I just don't want to talk about it."Julian looks at the girl's closed hand and stares at her as if he is about to question her about it."Please, please, don't ask me questions," she pleads.Genuine anguish takes over his expression."Let me
Shandra knew she was awake.Therefore, what was in front of her could not be a dream. Considering all the stress she had been under in the past weeks, however, she thought she was suffering from a delirium.Everyone else was asleep, except, of course, the demons. Although they felt no sleep, both Sam and Julian liked to lie down, close their eyes and apparently rest. Caleb and Ezan are also immersed in a deep sleep.The girl keeps looking at what at first she thought was just a trick of light and shadow: the thin, unusual silhouette that strolled by as if it were a mere traveler.However, the energy of that silhouette, the way it moved... This was certainly no ordinary person. Then Shandra stood up to take a closer look.The person, creature or whatever it was didn't seem to be intimidated by being noticed. Its skin was transparent, almost ghostly, and a subtle blue light radiated from it.Strangely enough, Shandra did not fear it. No, there was nothing aggressive or strange coming fr
Shandra feels her heart resounding inside her chest. A small shiver runs down her arms as she slowly takes a step towards the final trail; the one they would make before finally arriving in enemy territory.Everything could end well: Eluna would be rescued, and everyone could return to their respective homes.Or...She imagines the bodies of Sam, Julian, Ezan and Caleb lying on the ground like a sack of potatoes; their throats slit. Was cutting throats an easy method of execution for supernatural creatures?Shandra knew that killing a demon was too difficult a thing to do, so she doubted it very much. Werewolves, on the other hand, seemed weaker in that respect."Let's walk some more and get camp up," says Julian, who until then had been completely silent and immersed in his own thoughts.Shandra nods, trying to push away the dark misfortunes troubling her, but it is incredibly difficult. She knows she cannot let fear take over. Together, the group continues to advance along the narro
Shandra knew that she would never, ever be able to fully recover from this.As the small group headed towards the mountain range, the young woman barely opened her mouth to say anything and ate only what was necessary. The magic was dormant, still ready to spring into action, but she deliberately ignored the feeling.Looking up at the pale dawn sky, Shandra huffed audibly. It was very soon before they finally put the plan into action. There was still no word from Marcus and his group.Not that she didn't trust the abilities and strength of the pack. They could take good care of themselves.But would she, Julian, Sam, Caleb and Ezan be able to single-handedly accomplish a mission of that magnitude and not get screwed in the process?"It's going to be okay," Sam's voice breaks into her dark thoughts.Annoyed, the girl looks at him, and mentally communicates as well:"Are you reading my thoughts?""I don't need to. Your expression already says it all."Irritated, Shandra just keeps walki
As soon as Caleb's huge sharp teeth dig into Elara's unprotected torso, the vampire screams terribly in agony. The bite causes her a stabbing pain.Elara lets out another scream when, after having her skin torn apart by the wolf, her body is thrown backwards by the impact of this attack... Julian also approaches quickly, taking the opportunity to strike a powerful blow against Elara, hitting her full on.Sam once again looks at Shandra, obviously proud to see what had happened there. Ezan, Caleb and the yellow-eyed demon continue to attack relentlessly; Shandra stays focused on her task of neutralizing the vampire's artifacts. With the items weakened, Elara is no longer invincible, but still poses a danger.Sweating, the young woman realizes that she needs to keep her own energy connected to Elara's items. There was no way, or at least no easy way, to permanently deactivate them.Although she was obviously weaker, Elara was not vulnerable. Even though she is suspicious as to why her t
Shandra feels a mixture of relief and gratitude when, finally, Julian takes flight and attacks Elara, holding her by the neck and throwing her to the ground sharply."You really think you can take me, you pathetic demon?" she sneers, probably ready to use one of her many artifacts.And that is exactly what she does. One moment, Julian is strangling her without a shadow of mercy. The next, he is breathing hard, gasping like a smoker after climbing two flights of stairs.Sam, focused on destroying the vampire, casts more fire elemental magic energy, but at the last second the girl flinches, causing the flames to only burn the tip of her hair."You bastard!" she shouts, leaving Julian temporarily behind.Shandra quickly raises a shield to protect him, but the wall fails.Ezan's voice sounds behind the girl:"Beacon of Light!"She widens her eyes and addresses the older werewolf. The girl is surprised to see him in human form. Caleb, unlike him, remains as a wolf."Beacon of Light, we are
Shandra panics as she sees the werewolves advancing towards Elara, ready to attack. She knows that a fight between the werewolves and the vampire can be extremely dangerous and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. With a mixture of despair and determination, she stands in the way, trying to prevent impending violence."No!" cries Shandra, her voice full of anguish. " Stop! It’s not worth it! Elara is not our enemy!"Useless. Completely useless, you know.The beautiful girl, seeing the two angry wolves coming towards her, drops her cloak, revealing pale skin like the moon and slender, thin and seemingly fragile arms and legs. Immediately Elara puts herself in a fighting posture, smiling as she feels the adrenaline taking over her body.Shandra can barely understand what happened when, out of nowhere, the vampire just disappears.But her energy was still there. Had she become invisible?The impact of a sharp blow to Ezan’s jaw, which makes him fly for a few meters, frightens the girl and gi
Shandra, Sam, Julian and the other members of the group stand on alert, watching for the approaching silhouette. Tension hangs in the air as everyone prepares for any eventuality.As the figure approaches, it becomes clear that it is a tall, elegant woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze. She seems to exude an aura of power and authority."Elara," Sam murmurs, with a mixture of surprise and apprehension in her voice.Shandra frowns from one to the other, wondering what could be happening, but doesn't have time to verbalize a single word.The werewolves transform into their lupine form and start growling loudly and menacingly. Elara doesn't seem to be upset or afraid of that sight."Interesting company you have arranged," are the first words she addresses to the coppery-eyed demon."Is that really serious?", Julian grumbles."Who are you?" asks Shandra.The questioning makes the woman laugh."Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Sam?"The prince from hell looks hes