Taking the taxi back home, I had some time to think about my conversation with Caiden.
I wasn't prepared at all for what seemed to be coming towards us.
The Kasho I knew was just an illusion, but... they way Caiden talked about our time in the fake world created by Lucifer made me think that maybe not everything was pure fiction.
However, because the circumstances were different, maybe his weird fascination regarding me was not bound to happen. I nodded to myself while looking through the taxi window at the calm clouds floating on the dark sky. It was already night. I sighed.
The fact that I was 'touched'... made me a sure target for him. Nonetheless, to ask if Kasho would come after me or not was plain stupid. The right question was when.
I sighed, stepping out of the cab in the forever agitated night of New York City. With the moon shining brightly over me, I walked in front of the tall building in which my flat was located. I tried to take out my keys, but a sudden movement behind me made me turn around with fear clenching my heart.
There was no one. I sighed. Probably the demons Caiden told me about were following me only to make sure I was fine.
I opened the door to my flat and with a sigh, I turned on the lights. It seemed like years passed since the peaceful morning when Emily woke me up from sleep so I could go to the first day of our new year of university.
I turned on the lights in my room, ready to take my pajamas and head for a shower, but I froze looking at my bed.
There was a huge, white box placed carefully on it.
With my head spinning around because of paranoia, I approached the box with trembling hands and frowned. It couldn't be Emily, because she didn't have a key from my apartment. Actually, it couldn't be anyone, as nobody could enter my flat...
With a curious hunch, I opened the box and there was a Nikon camera with all the accessories a photographer could dream of.
My frown deepened. Except for Emily, nobody knew I wanted to buy myself a camera these days.
It was very, very weird.
I took the camera in my hands to inspect it closely, and then I noticed something inside the box, which was placed underneath the camera.
A birthday card.
I took it quickly and read the first line.
"Happy birthday, Ivy."
The elegant handwriting sent shivers on my spine. Could it be... Kasho? Did he find me already? Was he mocking me?
I stopped breathing for a few seconds.
My eyes fell a bit lower and then my heart started beating so fast that I was scared it might've tried to get out of my chest.
"Until I see you again,
Caiden."
***
Two weeks went by without me even noticing.
Because I had to cancel my club night with Emily due to... supernatural problems, I had to take her and Jason out three days continuously, and only then she seemed to be pleased.
Emily knew something was up with me, but I tried to brush it off like I was totally fine and nothing was wrong.
Caiden continued teaching, and, even though it was weird to see him explaining calmly in front of dozens of students, I kinda got used to it. My projects also ran smoothly and I had nothing to complain about.
"Don't you think this new teacher seems familiar?" Emily asked me after a week from my encounter with Caiden and I grimaced and shook my head.
"No, I think he's just a random dude. A handsome random dude."
"Hm."
I didn't know how effective Caiden's memory wiper was, but, given Emily's reaction, it had a few glitches. I sighed.
Halloween was coming soon, and, of course, Emily wanted to go clubbing. Because I was kinda bored at home, I agreed to go with her and Jason.
But, right before Halloween, a note inside my backpack told me that my plan had to change.
Walking towards the huge mansion, I pressed the buzzer and the entrance doors opened.
"Lovely night, isn't it?" Caiden asked me with a big smile, while I was walking towards him on the narrow path, in between the carefully planted flowers.
"It's quite cold, actually." I replied, trying to make my heart beat slower while looking at his handsome, pale face.
He probably heard it already anyway, so what was the point?
Even if he did, his expression didn't betray him, so, with a sigh, I entered his house, led by him.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please."
Even though the mansion seemed huge from outside, I could see that the interior seemed even granter. There was a big, white piano placed next to a wall made only with windows, in the living room. There was also a huge plasma on the right beige wall and a bit further from it, on my left, there were a big white sofa and an armchair next to it, with a small coffee table made from glass in front of it.
"Make yourself comfortable, I will go to the kitchen to bring the tea." He told me, gesturing vaguely towards the sofa.
I nodded, even though he already left the room. I sighed, sitting down on the cozy sofa. After a few minutes, he came as well with a tray with two teacups. I tilted my head, taking the teacup that he offered me with a small "thank you".
"Where are the maids?" I asked him, sipping the hot, aromatic tea.
"We've caught a trace of the demon stalker, who might be Kasho or not, and they are headed there to investigate." He answered simply, sitting down on the armchair and spreading his legs while his shoulders fell forward.
'He seems really tired.' I thought to myself, and he caught my eyes, knowing I was analyzing him. He gave me a small smile and I couldn't help it but smile back.
"I know I didn't have the right moment to say it so far, but thank you for the camera. I didn't expect that you would give me a gift."
"You are welcome. It only seems fair as I am basically using you as bait."
I frowned. I knew what he said was true, but the fact that he seemed forced to act nice towards me because he was using me to catch Kasho annoyed me. Couldn't he say 'well, I'm glad you like it, Ivy!' or something simple?
Noticing my change of mood he cleared his throat and took a sip from the teacup.
"Do you have any plans tonight? Actually, no. For the next few days?"
My frown deepened.
"Yeah, it's Halloween? I promised Emily I would go out with her." I answered, not sure what he was thinking.
Caiden shook his head and threw a hand through his messy, white hair.
"Cancel them."
My eyes widened.
"What do you mean? What's going on?"
"I want you to stay here. It's getting worse. The demon who might be Kasho... is smarter than I thought. I think he might really be Kasho."
I took a deep breath. It wasn't that big of a shock as I already was certain that it was Kasho. I had a hunch that he really did survive. He seemed too sneaky to just die back in the Edo Era.
But the shocking part was...
"...you want me to stay here?" I repeated, not sure of what he meant.
"Yeah. Sleep here this weekend. You don't have classes tomorrow, right?"
"... I have a lecture in the morning with Mrs. Thompson."
"Don't show up. It's too dangerous. If he tries to come after you while you are at university... it might get uglier."
I trembled, understanding his reasoning.
"...but staying here? What am I supposed to do? Wait for him to show up?"
He shook his head, massaging his temples.
"No. He won't be able to sense you at all because I have a spell placed on this mansion. I just hope that my demons will find him this weekend so we can do something about this whole situation. It annoys me so much, I feel like I'm blind. He always seems to be two steps ahead of me."
"So more likely he's Kasho." I said firmly.
He nodded.
"That's what I think. I'm 99% sure he's Kasho. And he was pretty powerful in the past, but now... with the Demon Destroyer... he might be unstoppable. I called Xsilia and she might arrive here next week. The UK problem can wait... Kasho became our first priority."
I shivered.
"I can understand why... ugh."
Why was everything going wrong again? I felt so frustrated that I couldn't be happy that I was spending time with Caiden because of an ancient demon ready for revenge.
Caiden sighed.
"You are doing quite well at university. I'm impressed."
I narrowed my eyes.
"I don't wanna talk about school now, Caiden."
He shrugged.
"What else could we talk about? You've changed quite a lot in these two years. I don't feel like I have something to tell you."
I bit my lip. I knew I changed a bit and maybe, from his perception in which two years seemed like two seconds, me becoming more mature was quite sudden. But... it was still me.
"And yet, you knew I wanted a camera."
He threw me an amused smirk.
"My demons can hear you as well, you know. And I've been following you for a while, not gonna lie."
I blushed. How much did they hear? How much did I say? I was feeling embarrassed because I wasn't sure how much he knew.
"Don't worry, I haven't heard much from them. But, one time, and this is quite funny, a demon seemed to be very reluctant to tell me what you did on one day. I forced him to spill the beans and, oh well... do you really think I'm a 'pretty jerk who just shows up whenever he wants'?"
My whole face became red. It was probably after the first day we met after I moved to NYC.
I lowered my eyes and his laugh made me so ashamed of myself. I should have known better. Of course the demons would've heard me!
"... no comment."
"Well, I guess it's true anyway. You say I am a pretty jerk and your friend calls me a dickhead. Ah, it's so nice to be loved by humans!"
I grimaced and my heart started beating faster. Well, he did say it with a sarcastic tone, but there was a bit of truth in there.
"You still didn't move on, did you?"
His sudden question made me raise my head, to look at his curious, black eyes. For a split of a second, his eyes seemed to be snowy, like how they were when he was showing his demon power. But I blinked quickly and the illusion was gone. He only had the white hair which seemed to remind me that he was a demon.
"Why do you wear your hair white now?" I asked him, changing the subject.
I was not prepared to talk about my stupid feelings which came back the moment I saw him in the library.
He touched his hair, surprised I would ask about it.
"I was a bit too sensitive to the high-ranked demons in the UK, and I just let it stay like this. Nowadays, everyone dyes their hair, so it wouldn't be a problem, fortunately."
I nodded. It was a plausible explanation.
Because I didn't know how to add follow-up questions, an awkward silence came above us and I sighed.
He tilted his head, watching me with his interested eyes.
"How can you not move on even though years passed by and you changed so much?"
"Because it's not that easy. I don't know the full answer myself, either, okay? I don't want to talk about it. I wouldn't do anything about it anyway. So rest assured."
He raised his eyebrows, watching me with an amused expression.
"Do you really think you could do something to me?"
"..."
My mouth became a thin line while he bores his eyes into mine. I was at a loss of words. What could I say more? I was already feeling embarrassed because of him bringing up this subject, so why was he insisting?
"Ivy. If you really want... I can make you feel good. I can do you at least that."
My eyes widened so much I was afraid they would just fall out from the sockets. I blushed and lowered my eyes.
How could he say something like this without even batting an eye? And besides... how could he offer this when he knew I had feelings for him? It was different if I found him just a bit attractive... but having feelings was another thing.
"The way you say it is like you find me so pitiable that sex is the only thing you could give me to feel a bit okay? Did you even hear yourself when you said it? You know I don't just find you attractive, that I have feelings for you. How can you suggest that? Do you even think about how I would feel like?"
He seemed taken aback by my angry rant. He blinked slowly and opened his mouth and closed it, not sure of what to say.
I shook my head and stood up. He was watching me with a confused expression and I narrowed my eyes, facing him.
"I want to go to sleep, can you show me my room?"
His mouth became a thin line and for a second I thought he was embarrassed.
'Good.' I thought to myself. He needed to revise the way he was approaching my problem. Did he actually think that his suggestion would solve the problem? I scoffed and turned my back to him and he sighed.
"I think you keep forgetting I'm a demon in a human body who has no clue whatsoever how to deal with human emotions."
"Well, this doesn't make me feel less angry so I want to spend some time alone if you don't mind." I continued with a cold tone.
I knew that what he said made sense, but I was still angry. I needed to sleep. I didn't want to be there, to begin with. I just wanted to go to Halloween parties with Emily and get drunk until I would pass out.
Not to sleep in a house with my immortal crush who started pitying me. I sighed.
Without any other words, he led the way towards my room, which was upstairs. The room was black and white, decorated with modern furniture and a huge king-size bed was in the middle of it. On the bed, there were some pajamas, which looked awfully similar to mine. I frowned.
I knew he was watching me closely, but the way he would remember some details made me feel weird. Why would he care so much to remember them? I sighed.
"I hope you will sleep comfortably. I will go to meditate so, if something happens, I might not hear you unless you come to my room. I am searching for Kasho's energy as well, so that will take all of my attention."
I nodded, entering the room. There was a small bathroom attached to my room, so I didn't have to step out of it for anything else. I felt like I was kept in prison.
Without saying anything else, he nodded as well and closed the door to my room.
I took a hot shower trying to calm down.
I wished that this whole situation with Kasho would be over. I was happy to see Caiden again, but I just realized now how sad he made me feel. No matter what, my feelings had to go away. I had to blend with the humans, as I was a human. I couldn't wait for Caiden to be my prince charming. Because he wasn't. He was just a demon like he said. A demon who used me once again because of the circumstances. I sighed, getting out of the shower. It didn't matter that he felt sorry for me. Actions were more important than words.
My phone started ringing and I picked it up, answering with a tired voice.
"What are you doing? We were supposed to meet up at the club thirty minutes ago!"
I couldn't hear Emily well, because of the loud music which came from the club. I sighed.
"Something came up and I don't think I'll be able to come tonight. Or this weekend."
"What?! What came up?! What's going on, Ivy? It's HALLOWEEN! How can you miss it?!"
I took a deep breath, watching myself in the rectangular mirror on the wall in front of me. I was wearing only the towel from the bathroom. I could dress up quickly with my clothes, go to my flat, pick up the sexy vampire costume I already prepared a week ago and go have fun with Emily, while Caiden solves the Kasho issue.
No... what if Kasho showed up at the party?
But what could he do? I was in a public place. If he was stupid enough, he could make a commotion. But he wasn't stupid at all. And why would he risk everything to kidnap me in the middle of a party when he has stayed under the radar so far?
"... give me 20 minutes."
"Great! We are waitiiiing!"
I ended the phone call, dressed back in my clothes, and, with small and silent steps, I've left the mansion, ready to have an unforgettable night.