Red listened intently to the sound of heavy footsteps that reached him through the wood floor.
(Are we in trouble?)
[No]
Red flexed the muscles on his shoulder and it sent a stab of fresh pain across his nerves. He wasn't exactly defenceless but the weight holding him down proved to be a hurdle that impeded any productive movement.
Sensing the sharp edges of aggravation through their mental link, Luci fretted for Red. (Is there anyway that I can help us?)
[No, don't worry. I've got a plan Luci. I got us into this, and I'll get us out of it too.] The red head planned to cut off the spider leg by transforming his claws. Red stopped what he was doing and looked up at the ceiling though his gaze was blocked by the dead woman's chest.
[Good timing.]
(What?)
The ceiling above them suddenly exploded into a scattering of debris that landed everywhere. The cavalry had arrived.
Syryn stretched his massive black wings and jumped into the hole he had made. The smell of blood, ancient magic, and something a touch sweeter drifted in the air.
"Syryn get this off me," the half dazed alchemist heard Lucien's voice. It came from under the corpse of the dead shapeshifter.
Realising that Lucien wasn't at death's door like his runaway imagination had suggested, he felt a rush of intense relief that released the heavy weight of worry in his chest. It had been gnawing at him from the moment he had found Lucien missing.
Syryn hadn't wanted to worry about Red but the other Lucien had gotten under Syryn's skin enough for the older boy to consider him close kin. It was this disappearance that really hammered that fact in for Syryn. Red wasn't just an inconvenient addition to their motley crew, he was also family.
Lifting the corpse like it weighed nothing, Syryn flung the body into the wall behind him, and it landed with such great force that the stone wall collapsed.
"Syryn, my shoulder is ripped up. I need your healing touch." The red head was supine on the floor, covered in gore.
The dark haired half demon had flown all the way to the mansion to cut down on travel time. Making use of his wings for an hour was causing untold amount of stress to his control. Syryn, though, still had enough self restraint that he could examine Lucien's stab wound without harming him.
"Syryn?" The lack of admonishment from the older boy sent a wave of trepidition into Red's heart.
"Shut up." The older boy cast a cold gaze over Red and began to pull out medicines for the injured red head. The reply had been growled out, a response that indicated how deep his change went.
Red obeyed without another word. Syryn in his demon form was not be trifled with. Red had heard from other demons in the past about Syryn's savagery and he didn't want to have that kind of ire focused on him when he was all out of fuel.
The older boy methodically cleaned the wound and then poured an alcohol based potion that stung Red's shoulder like nobody's business.
(Syryn is beyond furious. Let me talk to him, Red.) Luci wanted to leverage Syryn's good feelings for him to bail out his partner. He understood that Syryn's fury was like ember when it smoldered, and that it too would cool down and turn to ashes given enough time.
[No]
(No? Why?)
Red didn't want Luci to feel the physical pain that he was blocking from the boy.
[Just because.]
(Come on Red..)
[Later Luci]
The younger Lucien felt a flash of annoyance at Red's mulish behaviour. Why couldn't he let Luci help him this once? It was always Red protecting him, and it made Luci feel like he was completely useless.
(You're a selfish person. I won't talk to you anymore!) Luci escaped to his corner of their mind on opposite corners where neither of the two could intrude. He had never wrapped himself up in silence so complete that when it happened, it was unbearably strange. Red felt like he was all alone in his head and it was terrifying. Would this be Luci's fate when Red disappeared? He would be left feeling like an empty cavern had appeared inside him.
[Luci! Come back]
[Please]
"Does it hurt?" Syryn's voice had gone back to normal. Having his focus diverted to the wound had helped the boy's mental faculties regain ground. Unavoidably, there was still a loud of buzz of disturbance that came from his demonic needs.
[Luci]
[Luci]
[Luci]
[Luci]
"Are you deaf?"
[I'll tell Magnus that you're secretly putting more food in his hidden stash.]
(You won't!)
Red smiled when Luci came back. [Ok I won't]
"RED!" Syryn shouted into his ear.
"Its me.. Luci." The boy winced at the sudden onslaught of pain and the deep weariness that came from exhausting his mana to a near completion.
"Luci, does it hurt?" Syryn softened up to the boy. The desire to kill something was peaking even though he appeared to be in control of his mind.
"A little bit. Thank you for coming to rescue us, Syryn." Luci knotted his fingers into the edge of Syryn's shirt, anxiety in his body language broadcasting everything he was feeling.
"I'll always come for you Luci," Syryn replied, worried for the day that he might lose the boy to Traxdart. "Let's go home."
The weight of his inner demon's struggle for violence spurred Syryn into arson. Heat licked across their skin. A breath of fiery wind blew inside the confined corridor, sucking oxygen towards the corpse where a spell was growing. After the span of a few breaths, the spider was set alight in a blaze so high and hot that the surrounding walls caught fire immediately.
Red was dismayed by Syryn's decision to burn the house down.
"No! I wanted to loot this place first! Why did you start such a big fire?!" The tiredness vanished when he thought about all the good things that a 300 plus year old blood mage would be hiding in the house, all incinerated by Syryn's spreading fire.
"Loot?"
"Yes Syryn, loot! Loot the 300 year old blood mage. That spider must have stashed precious treasures somewhere in this giant mansion."
"Correct. I can sense something." Syryn replied as he looked towards a specific part of the house.
He swept Lucien up in a princess carry and leaped out of the sky hole above them. Dark wings spread out like beautiful fans, Syryn readied himself to fly around the mansion in search for the scent that was elusive.
"Where are we going?" Red curled into a ball and squinted against the dust laden wind.
"There," his winged demon brother pointed towards a room that was far from the fire. Red couldn't sense anything but he trusted the other's senses.
Syryn then dove down and smashed right through the window while protecting the excited red head inside a cocoon of his folded wings. "This place. There is something I want in here," Syryn spoke very slowly, looking around and exploring the luxurious room with his eyes.
Red also scanned the room but he couldn't catch ahold of lingering magic signatures that could help him identify important items. His gaze landed on a wooden chest in the room that was made of polished rowan wood. "Look, its your boyfriend's wood!" Red pointed to the chest. He recieved a withering glare for the terrible joke.
Rowan trees were believed to afford protection over the dwellings by which they grew beside. Wood from it was used for religious rituals and for the protection of lives or items against the attack of dark magic. Because of the protective nature of the rowan wood, Red was sure of the chest's contents being important. The lock on it was magical in nature which meant that it had to be carried away for scrutiny. Red cradled the chest in his arms and it was surprisingly light.
"Syryn?" He turned around to find the alchemist staring at a bookshelf that covered an entire wall of the room. Red held onto the chest and backpedaled away when he saw what Syryn was about to do.
With a mighty punch that was backed by his demonic strength, Syryn turned the bookshelf into kindling. The stone wall though remained impenetrable.
"What's behind the wall Syryn?" Red asked the mage who was eerily staring at the wall. "Syryn, snap out of it!" The red head had begun to worry now that his brother's eyes had taken on a glow that was demonic. No longer was his humanity in control. In his gaze, something crucial was missing - like a house where the stoves and taps were on but bereft of its occupants.
Red could sense the insane amount of magic that Syryn was gathering. He dove behind the bed when his brother assaulted the wall with unfiltered magic that weighed the air down with its denseness.
A loud boom reverberated in the room and the magic protecting the wall fizzled out in the face of a demon's desire for the thing it protected. Red poked his head out and watched the dust settle heavily on the floor.
"For fucks sake Syryn!" And then the smell hit him. Nothing in his life had ever smelled so good! Red let out a gasp and scented the air, taking in more of the delicious scent of a meal that promised sweetness and power. Syryn was already walking towards the food, throat bobbing from swallowing the saliva that his mouth was producing.
Red rushed over, not wanting to miss out on the meal of his life. What was it?! He took another breath and peeked from behind Syryn.
"What?" he was flabbergasted, mouth open in disbelief.
Red caught Syryn's arm in a tight grip the moment he realised what it was that he had smelled. A person, a whole human person, smelling like a luxurious buffet, half submerged in clear water. From the man's wrist, drops of blood dripped into a glass bowl. A thin webbing of skin between his fingers alluded to his watery origins.
The man opened his eyes to reveal a beautiful sea green color. He had no fear of the demon that wanted to eat him. Surprisingly, he looked to be at peace with his fast approaching end.
(What's wrong with Syryn?!)
[He wants to eat that man]
(You do too! If he tastes as good as he smells, I'll only half regret eating him.)
[Luci, that's not helping my resolve] Red wasn't quite as conscientious as Syryn but he could not allow themselves to eat a person. Syryn would feel so guilty if he came to his senses and found himself with the devoured remains of a selkie, likely one of the last of its kind. Red had never tasted a selkie before but he had read accounts of how the creatures were hunted to extinction by ravenous demons.
"Syryn, I know you're in there. Wake the fuck up!" Red stood infront of the boy and blocked his path
"Let him end my life," the selkie's clear voice said with cool detachment. "It'll be a mercy killing."
"You, shut your mouth!" Red growled out without turning back. Syryn was staring at him with murderous intent. Then with a knock of his arm, Red was flung into the water where the selkie grinned rakishly. "Welcome to my home, demon."
Red had no choice. He had wanted to avoid what he was about to do. His entire person revolted against it but there was nothing else to be done.