Redhead was still upset and milked it to the T. She remained quiet for the night and summoned her own tent. It was much smaller than the ones Angel got, but it didn't bother her. She went in and never came back out. Since she was off duty, we had to eat bread and cold can beans. It was disgusting. She didn't even accept the share Angel spared for her.
I neglected the gnawing in the pit of my stomach. It did matter to me if she ate or not. That didn't mean I was going to succumb to my every desire. It would make me a slave to affection. I was no Kyleon.
"Lord Sabastian?" Leo called, gaining my attention. "You got the same powers I did, am I correct?"
It was our assessment time. Leo was a ghost bandit. All the powers he got would be converted to energy. However, with a little bit of my reaping powers, the energy could be restored to its original form. This helped to push his body out of the form it was stuck in. If he got enough power, he could transform from a ghost bandit and heal his soul.
If his soul was renewed, it would be a possibility that everything else would work itself out. So far, his hair and skin color was gaining their original color. The power of the Camouflage Kitty offered the ability to get rid of his soul-devouring abilities. However, that power was too useful to us at the moment, so he kept it and used the camouflage trick the Kitty did to hide the ability. Now, he would be able to look at anyone and do anything without the fear of devouring their souls.
Once I harvested a power, that power traveled wherever I wanted it to. Hence, if it came to me, I would be able to use those powers like they were mine. Everyone knew about the harvesting but none knew what it entailed, or how it worked. Heck, I didn't either until I did it. Now, I was just playing by ear.
I leaned back on the tree trunk. "Yeah."
Leo scrubbed a palm over his face, unsure of how to ask his question.
I propped up one of my feet. "Spit it out, Leo. It's kind of annoying waiting for what you have to say."
He raised both his knees and rested his hands between his thighs. "Did you see what I saw?"
He didn't have to clarify for me to know what he was asking. The powers the Detection Bug bestowed on us gave us the ability to detect power signals and auras. I could have sensed someone's power before but now it intensified and was distinct. It was like something tangible that I could touch.
It was easy to see why the bug grabbed Red first. She was blazing with anger. That anger converted to energy, setting off any power monitor. In other words, she was like a beacon, calling to every other predator.
The bizarre thing Leo was speaking of was not Red and her superpowers but Angel. I was not an expert on deities, but they were supposed to have a glow of light. That light was normally supposed to be pure. This Guardian was different. Her aura was dark. Her powers surpassed that of a normal angel. I didn't have any other angel to compare her to, so it was hard to tell if this was alarming or not. Leo didn't seem to like what he saw. Which meant it was not normal.
"Yeah, I did," I blew out.
He rubbed his nose. "Are you okay with this?"
It didn't matter how much power this Guardian Angel had. As long as she kept our deal, nothing else mattered. I was doing this for Kyleon. Nothing or no one was going to stand in my way of getting to that Mountain.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," I admitted. "So what if she has more power than she should. She might have powered up to get through this God-forsaken journey alive. Who is going to rescue the Goddess if the Guardian is dead? No one."
I sure as hell was not. My mission was to get to that mountain and into the pool of desires. The Guardian or her Goddess did not hold my interest and they never would.
"What if she turns on us?" he implored. "She has the power to at any time."
I couldn't say I expected any less from him. Leo trained all of his life to be the alpha for his pack. It was his duty to detect and analyze everything. He had made a mistake and it cost him his life, he was not going to let that happen again. So, he was going to acknowledge the simplest of things.
I eyed the ghost. "If she does anything that jeopardizes my plan, then there is only one way out. But, if she doesn't, then whatever she does is not my problem. She can even pray to the devil for all I care. It's none of my business. I have one goal. She is not in it."
The worry from his face didn't disappear. I left things at that. Being concerned about something other than his pack was good for him. It would help to keep his mind busy.
I switched to the next topic. "What other abilities did you get from the Detection Bug?"
My power level increased but other than the detection power, I didn't get much more. The powers wrapped themselves with my other powers, enhancing them. I summed it up as the beast we faced not being powerful enough to leave back a lingering strength that outdid the powers I already have. But, it was different for Leo. All the powers could be restored.
He scratched the back of his head. "Ah, I can now use the camouflage trick and blend in with my surroundings."
He couldn't illustrate that one. I would be able to see him whether he did it or not.
"My speed has improved," he beamed. "Also my vision. I can be able to detect anything, even the smallest of insects. I know how much power they have."
Common powers. I gained the same thing. My speed was the same but my detection skills mirrored his.
"Is that all?" I questioned.
He wiggled his nose. "Yeah, that's what I found out thus far."
Hmmm. It could be he didn't know the full extent of his new powers because they were not being utilized. I would have to make him take on one of these beasts, so those powers could show themselves.
It would be wiser to allow him to get more powers. Once his skin color came back, then I would allow him to fight. Until then, he would remain in the back seat.
"Okay," I resigned from the topic. "It's good for now. How is sleeping?"
He scratched his head again. "Due to the incident last night, I'm not too sure. I was still energized like always during the night. I was a bit weary during the day but not too much. Now, I'm energized again. I'm going to need that sleeping spell again."
I figured. It would take more than one or two days to change his sleeping habits. I was altering the characteristics that made him a ghost bandit to something else. It was going to take time to mold him into what I wanted.
"Okay, we should get to it," I straightened and stretched. "It's my bedtime. I need to sleep enough for all the rest I lost last night."
He stood in front of me. I swirled my finger in the air, collecting the essence of the night from the atmosphere. Once my finger touched his forehead, he staggered. I walked with him to his tent. As anticipated, he dropped on his bedding and that was lights out.
I zipped the entrance and made my way over to the witch's tent. It was a bit annoying how small it looked. I couldn't tell if we both could fit into that thing. Deciding to test out that theory, I bent and entered the damn thing.
This thing should be labeled a trap rather than a fucking tent. Who built things like these anyway. I almost thought she summoned this tiny thing to ward me out. It would have worked if my name was not Sabastian Anderson.
I forced myself into the opening. Red was sitting on a blow-up bed with a dairy in hand. A light levitated over the page.
I flopped down on the air bed with a sigh. The fact I couldn't stand in this thing was a nuisance.
"What are you doing?" she spat. "Don't you have a tent?"
I kicked off my shoes. "Are we still being angry at each other?"
She shot me a glare. "What?"
I blew out my cheeks. "Let's have a time out. Tonight we sleep. Tomorrow, we can go back to being upset with each other. Did you not know it's not healthy to go to sleep being angry with someone?"
If there was such a thing.
She observed me, contemplating whether to comply or kick me out. She could never do it even if she tried. Even if she asked, I wouldn't have left. It seemed she realized this because she turned back to her book.
I wrapped an arm around her lap. "Good girl."