Zyxel laid on the stone bed, back inside the cave. He held the box in his hand that contained the gift he had left for Trinity, wondering if he had done the right thing by taking the gift back. Just because she hadn't taken it out, didn't mean that she had rejected it though. Right?
'What am I thinking?' he thought as he leaned his head back against the stone wall. 'Of course she would have rejected it! Who wouldn't have, after what Amara had shown her! I'm nothing more than a monster to her now. No different to her than the demon stories that she has grown up learning about.'
He had become overly emotional when he had seen the gift had been opened, but remained untouched. An experience that he wasn't used to feeling. It irked him that he was allowing his emotions to get the better of him. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand. That was destroying Amara so that they could both return to their separate realms.
Although Amara had assumed the other day that he was strong enough to take her on with how many souls he had eaten, the truth was that with the link broken as it was, it was requiring him to feed a lot more frequently. But he didn't want to give her the upper hand by letting her know that.
Right now, with how fast their broken link was leaking energy, he wasn't sure if he would have enough strength to defeat her, let alone kill her. However, he knew for certainty that if she defeated him, she would only trap him inside of a possessed body. And unfortunately because of his actions when they had both arrived in this world, she was already aware of a human whose body could contain his energy already. He couldn't risk that fate befalling Trinity, if he went up against her ill-prepared.
He took the lid off of the box, as he stared at the item inside, tracing one clawed finger delicately over the item. With an exasperated sigh, he closed the lid tight and walked over to set it on the stone shelves that he had carved into the wall.
There was no use debating about whether he should have left it or not. He knew there was no way that she would have accepted it. He would only be deluding himself to think otherwise.
Maybe if he hadn't returned her back home after the incident in the forest, and she was still living here with him, things might have been different between them. He would have been able to hide his darker side from her. But he hadn't known at the time that what happened in the forest would have disrupted the energies of their link. Something like this had never happened before, so how was he to know that their link would have become so damaged?
He had been attempting to do the right thing, by returning her to her own people now that she had been fully healed. He knew that his protection spell would protect her against Amara trying to feed on her, or reading her mind. The only concern was her influence skill. But in the end, Trinity had won the battle, and Amara hadn't tried to do so again.
If he had only brought her back here instead. Then he wouldn't have had to see the look of horror and disgust that reflected in her eyes when Amara had shown her what he had been doing lately in order to feed. She would still be here, and it could have just been the two of them. Amara would never have found out how much Trinity had grown on him over these past few weeks. And he would have had the time to mend things between them.
Zyxel let out a loud roar in his frustration. "Enough!" he yelled out loud. "Get a grip over yourself!" He swiveled around and lashed out with his claws, taking chunks of the wall. His eyes glowed a bright red. "There is no reason to think that anything could have happened anyway. She is a human and I am a demon! Why am I even allowing myself to become so conflicted over these emotions?"
He growled softly. "I can't allow myself to keep feeling this way, or Amara will just find a way to use this against me. Just focus on getting rid of Amara, then we can all go back to how things are supposed to be. I, back to the divine realm. Amara, back to the Void. And Trinity, will be free to live her life as a normal human should, unaffected by any divine forces. Whether it be angelic or demonic."
He ran to the entrance of the cave and leapt off into the air. Allowing the current to glide him, before he beat his wings to take him higher into the air. He angled his trajectory to take him back into the city. Just a few more days of feeding was all he would need. Then he would be ready to take on Amara. It was time to end this once and for all!
~*~*~*~*~
The following day ran a bit smoother, for Trinity. After the incident on the bus the previous day had reached the attention of the principal, all thanks to Rachael, he had notified management at the bus transportation terminal. It had been agreed upon that additional measures would be taken to prevent another incident from occurring.
Even things in her classes seemed to progress differently throughout the day today. Although she was still acutely aware of the stares that would be glaring daggers in her direction, no one seemed to act on their impulse. It almost seemed that most people actually went out of their way to avoid her today.
As she joined Jessica and Rachael at their spot under the oak tree for lunch, she noticed Jessica give a small shiver, as Rachael stared at her.
"Will you at least try to contain your excitement about this upcoming weekend?" Rachael asked.
Trinity blinked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Jessica pointed at Trinity, and traveled her up and down her body. "You're giving off a very strange aura today. It's like your excitement is being radiated out of your body, and everyone around you can sense it."
Trinity stared at both of them, dumbfounded. "You can sense my emotions? But how?"
Jessica should her head, a frightened look on her face. "I don't know, but it's scary! What did you do?"
Trinity looked at her hands, turning them over repeatedly in an attempt to somehow visually see what it was they were talking about.
"I didn't do anything. I don't know what is going on. I don't feel any different than normal, except that I am happier than I have been in a while." Trinity replied.
Rachael gave two very quick nods of her head. "Yeah, we can sense it. You really didn't notice it?"
Trinity thought about the question before shaking her head. "No. I can't even tell that I'm doing it. Why the sudden change?" She scowled as she attempted to feel what they were sensing from her. "I'm sorry Rachael, but if this is true, I can't wait for the weekend. I need to find Zyxel now, so that he can explain what is going on!" She made an attempt to leap up from the grass, before a hand grabbed at her wrist, pulling her back down.
Rachael held tight to Trinity's wrist. "Not so fast! What if he is the cause of this? He could have done something to you, and you wouldn't have even known it!"
"Zyxel didn't do this to me!" Trinity shrieked in defiance.
Jessica and Rachael both flinched at the burst of emotion that emanated from her, while two girls who had been walking by suddenly scurried off as fast as they could.
Trinity stared at the scene in confusion. "Was that really because of me?" She began to grow nervous. "When did this start?" she asked, staring at her two friends.
Jessica and Rachael both shook their heads.
"You were fine on the bus this morning." Jessica answered. "I think it started sometime during first period class. At first, neither of us were sure where it was coming from because it seemed to start very minuscule, and has gradually been escalating steadily throughout the day. Now, we're positive it's radiating from you!"
Trinity took a small bite of her sloppy joe sandwich from the cafeteria food lunchline.
It didn't make any sense to her. She was able to sense the energies of both Amara and Zyxel, so if she was radiating some weird energy, why couldn't she sense it?
Rachael jumped up real quick. "Hey, I got somewhere I gotta be real quick. I'll meet you both in class later." She turned to Jessica. "Don't let her go running off out of impulse. We'll get this figured out, together." She gave Trinity an intense stare to let her know that she meant it, before racing off.
"Well, Rachael has spoken!" Jessica laughed. "I don't think it'd be wise to go against her right now."
Trinity grinned and gave a nervous laugh. "I think you're right! Rachael is fiercely loyal if she cares about you, but she can be downright scary if you piss her off! I'm not about to risk that!"
The both of them finished off their lunch just as the bell rang to get back to class.
"Wait!" Trinity called before Jessica could jump up. She focused on burying her emotions so that she wouldn't be radiating her feelings. "Does this help any?" Trinity asked, trying to stay emotionless.
Jessica pursed her lips together. "Well, it does help, but I don't know for how long. Are you gonna be able to keep that up for long?"
Trinity gave a half smile. "I can try."
Jessica nodded and jumped up. "That's all we can do for now, then. Let's throw our trash away and get to class!"
When the two of them entered class, however, they both noticed that Rachael still hadn't showed up.
Trinity did her best to not worry, but it was proving difficult not to. She leaned back and whispered to Jessica. "Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"
Jessica shook her head and leaned forward to whisper back to Trinity. "Not at all. I wish I knew. I hope everything is alright."
Trinity nodded.
The teacher slapped his hand on Trinity's desk, snapping her back to attention and causing her to sit up straight. The startled reaction caused her to momentarily lose her control on her emotions, and the teacher jumped backwards as he was bombarded with a short wave of emotions.
He began his lessons, doing his best to avoid Trinity, and stayed on the opposite side of the room. Ten minutes later into class, the school principal opened the classroom door.
"Excuse me, but do you mind if I borrow two of your students for a moment? Jessica Torren and Trinity Nadeen?" the principal announced calmly.
The teacher looked relieved. "Yes, please take her!" He cleared his throat after realizing his outburst. "I mean, yes you can borrow them."
The principal raised an eyebrow at the statement, but just looked at both Jessica and Trinity. If you can both step outside the classroom and follow me, please."
Jessica and Trinity shoved their books into their backpack and hurriedly left the class. As soon as the classroom door shut behind them, Jessica spoke up. "Are we in trouble?"
The principal gave a small laugh. "Not at all. Actually, I was only planning on bringing Trinity, but I was advised to bring both of you. If you will please, follow me and everything will be explained soon."
Jessica and Trinity stared at each other briefly before quickly following the principal. Trinity was at least thankful that the hallways were empty right now. She didn't want to deal with the stares from other students. She was already feeling awkward with whatever reaction was occurring inside her.
They thought they would be heading towards the Principal's Office, but as they passed by the front desk of the school, Trinity found herself wondering where they were going.
The principal led them outside, and turned towards the football stadium.
"Sir?" Trinity asked in confusion.
"Just wait," he replied back calmly.
As they neared the bleachers, Trinity could sense a particular energy nearby. Her eyes widened in shock. "She didn't!" Trinity cried out loud. An assortment of different emotions began flowing uncontrolled through her. Anger. Worry. Fear. Panic.
"What's wrong?" Jessica asked, worried about why Trinity suddenly seemed so on edge.
Walking out onto the field, they could all see Rachael, and standing next to her was Amara whose beautiful pearlescent wings glistened and shimmered in the sunlight. She smiled warmly at them as they all approached.
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(Questions in the Author's Comments below!)
Books I am currently writing:
- The Forbidden Luna
- Divine Banishment