007

Martius placed an herb pot on the fire and sat on a wood beside it.

A minute later, his body vibrated, alarming him about a bad thing that had happened.

“What's going on?”

He tried to think about what happened for a minute and his mind went to Arram. “Did something happen to my lord?”

The clouds turned dark, and a tornado appeared.

The reaper walked out of the tornado and walked into the hut.

“What's going on?” He raised a rhetorical question, keeping his mouth densely ajar till the reaper took Arram's soul and walked out of the hut.

Martius wanted to stop the reaper. He took three steps towards him, but paused and watched the reaper walk back to the tornado and disappear.

“I need to do something…” he thought. He bit the left side of his lower lip for a few seconds.

He concluded and quickly stretched out his left hand. He drew a sign on his palm and closed his palm.

“The incantation.” He chanted some incantation and opened his palm.

He moved his palm to his mouth to blow it to blow, but stopped to have a second thought.

“Is this the right thing to do?”

He sighed. “If I don't do this, there's no other way.” He concluded and blew air into his palm, turning around till he got to where he started and he stopped.

Immediately as he stopped, a heavy wind blew and Lilith, the demon queen, in her black flame dress with fire blooming at its edge, appeared in front of him with a firestick in her hand.

“Long time,” Lilith let out, grinning. “How have you been?”

Martius wasn't on good terms with Lilith, so he bothered not to reply to her. Instead, he nailed the main point. “I summon you to ask for your help.”

Lilith scoffed. “It's so unusual for you to do business with a dark force. It seems you are about to lose someone dear to your heart.” She let out in a mocking tone.

“Are you doing this or not?” Martius questioned.

“Why not? I'm always in for business as long as you are ready to pay the price.” She uttered.

“I am ready to pay the price. Help me.” He assured.

Lilith beamed. “What do you want?” She interrogated.

“I need you to help me get my lord's soul from the reaper.” He stated.

“Martius, had it been you listen to me back then, you wouldn't have paid a dime for this.” Lilith let out. She has wanted to talk about the past, and Martius was never in for it.

“Not again. This is supposed to be a purely business and attach nothing else,” He indirectly shut her up. “Help me and I will pay you back.”

“What if I refuse to help?” Lilith raised a question.

Martius raised his gaze and looked at Lilith in the eyes. “I-” he wanted to speak, but she cut him off.

“This is supposed to be a pure business. You're paying me so I see no reason for you to beg if I refuse.” she voiced out.

She exhaled deeply and declared. “I am not doing this. Look for help elsewhere.”

“There's no other person.” Martius let out.

Lilith chuckled softly. “I don't care if this saddens you, I am not not doing it!” She yelled and turned her back to him.

Martius tried to hold her back. He grabbed her dress and his hand burned. He fell to the floor and screamed in pain. “Ah!”

Lilith quickly turned back. She walked closer to him and bent before him, holding his injured fingers with concern roaming around in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” She cared. She quickly called herself back and aggressively released his finger.

She wore an emotionless look and stood up. “I don't care.”

Martius quickly went to his knees. He bent his neck and pleaded. “Please, help me and I will do anything you want.”

A smug smile escaped Lilith's lips. “Anything I want?” She repeated his words.

“This isn't your first time making promises, but never fulfill them…” she let out. “Even the last time, you vowed with the lives of your entire race.”

“If I cannot fulfill my promise this time around, do anything you want,” he permitted. “You can even curse my soul.”

Hearing his last line, Lilith smiled, excited. “Okay. Let me quickly go after the reaper before he passes the hereafter gate.”

She hit her stick on the ground, and a tornado appeared in her front. She walked into the tornado and disappeared with it.

{Hours later}

After hours of going front and back, walking in and out of the hut, waiting for Lilith, she finally appeared in front of the hut.

Martius ran out to meet her. “How-” he wanted to talk, stretching out his hand to collect the soul.

Lilith ignored him. She walked past him into the hut and Martius walked behind her.

Lilith eyed Arram and Desdemona for a minute. She slightly looked at Martius, inquiring, “don't your lord know who she is? Doesn't he know she is his fated calamity?”

“He doesn't know her as his calamity yet. He only recognized her as his fated mate.” Martius responded.

Lilith looked shocked. “His mate!” She let out in disbelief.

Martius nodded. “Yes.”

“Wow! That's deep…” Lilith admitted. She thought for a second and came up with an idea. “Don't let him risk things by making her stay by his side. You can kill her if he can't.”

“That's what I planned to do, but she has received his relic. I can't kill her now, else, he will also die.” Martius poured out.

“What do you plan to do?” She inquired.

“I will wait till they wake up and separate their hearts and once that is done, I will end her.” Martius said his plan.

Lilith couldn't help but crack up at his ideas. “How great will it be if everything can be done nicely and easily as your mouth pours them out…” she uttered.

Martius looked unclear. “What do you mean?”

“You won't know yet,” she responded. “Future is the best teacher. So everyone will have to patiently wait and watch to be tutored…”

“Before you take any step, I hope you know everything that happens to them is a punishment for their sins,” she disclosed. “This is karma and there's no escape route from it.”

Martius understood none of her statements, but there would be no point in asking because he knew she wouldn't say more than that.

Lilith paced closer to Arram's side and hit his soul on his chest.

The soul disappeared into Arram's chest, and he instantly moved his hand.

“Your lord couldn't make it back because he is holding her hand, and holding her hand is equivalent to her embarking on the journey with him,” Lilith disclosed. “And being with him, calamity befell him…”

“I help your lord earlier on his journey because the future won't be interesting without him,” she proclaimed. “But now that you are also in debt to me, the future will be more interesting than I predicted.”

Immediately as she completed her statements, she burst into a loud demonic laughter that echoed the air for a minute.

She stopped laughing and locked eyes with him. “See you again.” She bid farewell and turned her back to him.

“Till when?” Martius threw a question.

“Till when the future is getting interesting. We will meet again when it is the payback era. The time when you and your lord will pay your prices.” She replied without turning to him.

“Lilith-” Martius called, but without hearing him out, Lilith vanished into the air.

Immediately, as Lilith disappeared, Arram opened his eyes. “Martius.” He called in a weak voice.

Martius turned to Arram. He walked closer and helped him to sit up. He quickly put his hands on Arram's shoulders and transferred some energy to him.

“You will be fine…”

{Later in the midnight}

Arram moved Desdemona to the middle of the bed and covered her face with white silk.

Martius entered with a water bowl in his hand. He put the water down, picked a bottle from the ground, and poured the liquid substance in it into the water.

“Are you ready?” He asked, and Arram nodded.

Martius lengthened his right hand. “Let me have the flower.”

Arram stretched out his right hand, expecting the flower to appear in his palm, but instead of the flower, the feather and pin that Martius gave him appeared.

“Thanks for these. You can have them back.” He wanted to return it.

Martius took only the pin. “You can keep Hopi.”

“No, I-” Arram said and paused. He wanted to decline Martius's offer, thinking about how Hopi, the feather, frustrated him after it transformed into a bug during the journey to the Abyss, but recollecting how helpful it was, he accepted.

“Okay, thanks. I will keep it.” He let out. He closed his palm, and the pin disappeared.

Arram stretched out his left hand, and the flower appeared on his palm.

Martius took the flower from Arram's palm and made it stand in the air, directly on Desdemona's chest.

Martius picked up the water and sprayed it on Desdemona from head to toe.

Martius began incantation, and as he was chanting it, the flower fell to Desdemona's chest and disappeared.

Desdemona opened her eyes and Arram splatted blood. He fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

Looking at Arram on the floor, Martius nodded. He stared at Desdemona's face and a smug smile escaped his mouth.

“This is the perfect time to separate your hearts and end you.”