"I heard that you had quite the adventure these past three weeks. Can you tell me about it?"
Amara's voice was mellifluous like honey. Trinity could see now why she might have such a strong effect on someone just meeting her for the first time.
Despite the fact that Zyxel was quite frequently being hot-tempered and aggressive with his words at times, she never truly felt afraid of him. Amara's voice however, was the exact opposite. It was like music to her ears, with a very subtle and pleasant tone that gave you the sensation of peace and serenity. However, it was only due to Zyxel's warning, that made her even begin to wonder just what might possibly be hidden behind that sweet voice.
"That is a very unique way of describing it." Trinity replied back. "It certainly didn't feel like an adventure."
Amara smiled at Trinity. "Yes, I imagine that it must have felt more like a nightmare. You must have been so scared being stranded with that demon all alone. But you're safe and sound now back home!"
Trinity kept her eyes on Amara the whole time, while still trying to avoid making eye contact. She remembered just how strong Zyxel's influence had been over her when he was testing how strong her mind was. But she didn't want to risk testing how strong Amara's influence might be.
Amara went to sit next to Trinity on her bed. "I can only imagine some of the foul things that he must have said about me! I understand your distrust. Know that I only want what is best for you, and maybe we can undo all of the negative thoughts he has clouded your mind with!"
"I do not distrust you, but you have not yet given me a reason to trust you either. I'm sure you can understand me not wanting to just blindly accept something just because I was told to accept it." Trinity commented.
"You are wise, indeed! You are right, and I cannot fault you for wanting to seek out the truth! There are not many who will question something. Although I do hope that given time, you can come to realize that I only wish to help. To guide and nurture you and everyone else here, on a better path to a brighter future." Amara replied back with a warm smile. Her words seemed genuine, and she could not detect any malice behind what she spoke.
"However, to answer your comment. Your brother," she made sure to stress the word 'brother', "didn't say all that much about you." Trinity tried her best not to laugh as she noticed Amara's eyebrow twitch with annoyance at the mention of the word 'brother'. "But I am curious. How is it that twins can be so vastly different? I mean, I've heard of differences in personalities before, but the difference between an angel and a demon is as pretty vast as it can get."
Trinity's dad stood there with his mouth open, looking between Amara and Trinity. "Brother?" he arched an eyebrow at this information.
Amara closed her eyes briefly and let out a sigh. "Yes, well he has been quite the rebellious one. Always getting himself into mischief. I do not normally disclose this information about my brother. He can be a monumental thorn in my side when he wants to be. However, seeing as you seek the truth, I will oblige. Have you ever heard of a cosmic balance?"
"Like the yin and yang?" Trinity asked.
Amara nodded her head gracefully. "A cosmic balance must always be maintained. For every light, there is a dark."
Father Kiran looked in disbelief at hearing Amara's words. "Are you telling us that every angel in the heavens has a twin demon running around?"
"That's exactly what I am saying! However, they will not be identical to us, always fraternal; and it is not something we like to admit. Unlike a human, when we were created from the divine energy of the cosmos, for some reason we were intentionally split to keep a balance. While the angels could use the divine energy for creation, demons could use their energy for destruction. However in the end, the power to destroy eventually corrupted them. They eventually developed an insatiable hunger."
"Hunger?" Trinity repeated. She had never noticed it before, but now that she thought about it, in all of the three weeks that she had spent with Zyxel, he had always gathered food for her, or cooked for her. However, not once had she ever seen him directly eat any of the food himself. What was it that he ate?
~*~*~*~*~
Pacing back and forth inside the cave, Zyxel debated on what he should do. He wanted to avoid having to resort to extreme measures, if at all possible.
"Maybe if I just got closer to Trinity's location, the link would take effect properly." Although, with the amount of divine energy she had recently absorbed through him, distance shouldn't have been an issue. Something else must have happened that day to cause their link to malfunction.
He focused on bending the light around him so that he could fly undetected through the city. For a brief moment, the air around him shimmered and flickered as it attempted to do what he was commanding of it, but then it went back to normal and he was still visible.
Growling, he curled his claws like he wanted to rip into something. "What the hell is going on?"
Looking out past the cliff, he watched as the rain continued to fall heavy onto the ground below. "Well, I guess with the cloud cover, I won't be seen as easy. There will still be a risk, but I'd rather take this chance than be forced into something else."
Hoping that decreasing the distance between him and Trinity would allow the link to work properly, he leapt off the cliff and into the air. Soaring high up above the clouds to hide his demonic figure from the view of anyone below. Flapping his wings hard, he raced towards the church.
A few minutes later, he dived through the clouds, as he glided down to the house behind the church.
He landed silently on the rooftop above her room; the pelting rain was beating against his scales. He was instantly disappointed when he still felt no magic from their link taking effect. Was Trinity maybe not here after all? What if she left to visit elsewhere?
He was just about to reach out with his mind to sense if Trinity was home, until he heard a voice below that filled him with rage. His eyes glowed a bright red as he realized that Amara was in Trinity's room. Crawling silently along the roof to get closer to the cracked window, he crouched down low and listened intently to the conversation below. He settled underneath the limbs of a nearby tree, to keep himself covered and out of the falling rain.
~*~*~*~*~
"Despite the length of time you have remained captive by him, I doubt he would have told you about the thousands of souls he has tortured over the years, before he was banished."
Hearing Amara's loathsome words, Zyxel dug his claws into his own hand to restrain himself from flying in and confronting her directly.
Trinity looked away. The topic had come up, but he didn't seem like it was something he had enjoyed, and she never did let him explain his side of the story. But which version was the truth?
"No, I don't imagine that he would have mentioned that, would he? I can provide you with the gory details, but that type of gruesome details shouldn't be something you should concern yourself about. He is a demon, it is only in his nature to be violent and aggressive."
"He..." Trinity looked down at her bed. "It's just, I don't believe he is as bad as you are insinuating. Besides, weren't the angels also banished?"
Zyxel perked up and smiled when he heard Trinity defend him. After her past actions with trying to kill herself inside the forest after learning about his past, he didn't think she'd wanted anything to do with him. Nor could he blame her for thinking that way. His past had been a dark one.
Father Kiran narrowed his eyes at Trinity, but kept silent.
Amara raised a curious eyebrow at Trinity and just continued to stare at her silently for a few moments. "I imagine he must have worked some sort of charm over you so that he could influence your perception in some way. It'll be alright though. We can fix that. I do not believe that there is any permanent damage that has been caused by him. We can all be thankful for this, at the very least! If you don't mind, can you tell me anything about where he kept you? I will be able to gather a more detailed investigation if I knew where he might be hiding."
Trinity shook her head. "I cannot tell you this information."
"Now listen here, Trinity-" her father spoke up, but was silenced when Amara held up her hand.
"It is quite alright. Do not be angry at your daughter. I did expect this after all. My brother is sneaky, and is good at covering his tracks. He spelled your daughter with a silence spell so that she cannot say anything against him that he doesn't want spoken."
Understanding washed over Father Kiran's face. 'That must be why she is being so protective over him! I feel horrible for ever doubting my daughter now.'
"If you would allow me, I can take a peek inside your mind. Once I know where he is hiding, we can get rid of his influence, and the better off you will be for it." Amara smiled sweetly and brushed the side of Trinity's face lightly with her fingertips, but as soon as she touched Trinity's skin, she flinched her hand away quickly. "Damn him! That devilish little demon! He placed a protection spell on you!"
Above, Zyxel smirked as he heard Amara's reaction.
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Books I am currently writing:
- The Forbidden Luna
- Divine Banishment