Ma'oz 's POV
"FOOLS! They don't know who they are messing with."
I would love to kill off all these presumptuous fools. How dare they try to capture free beings? What right do the humans have?
A true king always holds the laws of his realm closely to his heart. To break them is to rip his heart from his body. Promise me, my son. Be a great king… My father's last words rang through my mind. I sighed and resigned my determination for vengeance.
"As much as I would like to make them pay, it is only talk and plans anyway. They have not taken actual action yet. By the Spirit Law, I am not yet allowed to defend myself." I reminded myself.
A trail of floral nodes flow through my nostrils. This scent mingles with the natural scent of the area as the air pressure intensifies.
I know this means the portal on Delos Island has torn a rift of the universe by a micro mini centimetre as Damon steps through. It is a friction of quarks (a group of atoms) from the different realms meeting and dispersing. An abnormally that should not happen.
The portal here has been defective since the Syrian King of Pontus, Mithridates VI tried to use it to mobilise his army through the different realms in 88BC. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of making a blood sacrifice, thinking that is what the demons demand.
This immoral act caused an imbalance of energy in the sacred walls. The easiest way to describe it is a clog in the perfect mechanism has been removed. Though the doors still work, it no longer keeps the non-thinking particles from clashing into each other.
Since then, it only been used twice. Damon's visit makes it the third.
"My Lord." Damon snapped a sharp salute when he appeared before me. "What does my Lord command?"
"We have a problem at hand. Find out who Naya Ishaan is. It seems he has been capturing beings of different realms for greed and selfish reasons. Wipe his memory of me and if its true he has enslaved various entities, free them." I commanded Damon.
"Right away, my Lord." Damon bowed.
"Don't use the portal. We can't risk another natural disaster here on Earth."
"I wasn't gonna. My many spies are still in place in the human realm." Damon shot me a smile and disappeared in puff of smoke.
While Damon connected with his network, I worked on the Lewis family.
First problem is the matriarch.
Approaching her cautiously, I held a hand over her head and ran through the library of memories in her brain, selecting only those that concerned my miraculous return and everything else that happened. Altering it slightly to accommodate my presence, I set it back in motion.
I did exactly the same to the two Lewis men, all their servants, and anyone else they have spoken to about me.
It is as easy as melting butter or raising the temperature in hell. This is among the first 3 basic spells every demon child learns.
Waltzing my way back to Journee's room, I find her sleeping on the bed. The sun is streaming in from behind the curtains, making it look like beams of light surrounding the human. I watch her chest rise and fall as her lashes move slightly ever few moments as her eyeballs shift behind her pale pink eyelids.
She is having an active dream. Easiest time to wipe her memory when her guard is down.
Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, I caressed her forehead, smoothing the lines of worry that appeared.
Don't worry. I'll blow away all your nightmares. You won't remember all that frightened you over the last few days.
I placed my hand over her head and threaded her memories. A pleasant experience where her worries are soothed.
"What are you doing?" Journee's voice is surprised.
"You're awake." I smiled warmly at her. She should now believe I am Montgomery Lewis Jr.
"Ma'oz…why was your hand over my head?" I nearly choked on my own saliva. It didn't work! How? It's impossible not to work!
"Say again? What did you call me?"
"Ma'oz."
I looked into her searching eyes, wondering where I had gone wrong. "You remember who I am?"
"Of course. Hard to forget the Demon King and everything that happened over the last few days…" she sighed.
"Impossible!" I spoke my thoughts out loud. "Just impossible!"
"What's impossible?" She closed both hands over her mouth and yawned. Barely keeping her eyes open.
"How do you feel?" I am going to pry into her brain. I have wiped memories from mass numbers of demons and even gods. She is just one human!
"Tired…uhm but rather peaceful. Much calmer compared to the past few days."
"Is that all, Journee?"
"What are you asking, exactly?"
"Summarise everything that happened from your wedding day." I folded my arms and raised a leg on to the bed to get into a more comfortable position.
"Damn…that's a tall order from someone who has just woken up. At least get me a glass of water before I start these engines." She tapped her head with a finger.
Snapping my fingers, I made glass of water appear in her hand. Her mannerism has changed. She is no longer afraid. She is so casual. Did I only remove her fear?
She dunked the entire glass in a single gulp and wiped the lone droplet that fell onto her chin with the back of her hand.
"Let's see. I bumped into you when I was heading out from the guesthouse, got married, Montgomery spent all evening chatting only with important looking people. Hmm…that night he left for Paris."
She stretched and swayed her body from side-to-side. "I had the most heavenly nostalgic breakfast. Found out how terrible the Lewis are, treating me like a birthing machine than a person, a daughter-in-law. Bumped into you again and we had a whirlwind of experiences."
"Experiences. Such as?"
"You are a Demon King bonded to me, we tried to break it using a 3rd wish which didn't work. I found out that your true form is a dragon!" She whistled. "Then I made a 4th wish for us to land safely during what must be the shortest honeymoon ever!"
She is too casual about all this. Did my powers malfunction?
"Oh yeah! There were those horrible koi. All dead or dying. Ugh!"
"Knowing all that, aren't you afraid of me?" I am curious. Could it be that my powers don't work on the one I am bonded to?
"I am! I'd be a fool not to fear you." This is a show of defiance. I am sure of it. "It is obvious to me that you just tried to wipe my memories. I…DON'T…LIKE IT!"
"What?!" My jaw dropped. How can she know?
"It's plain rude."
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Journee's POV
I woke up from my siesta to find Ma'oz looming over me. His eyes are closed, and hand is lingering above my forehead. There is a pleasant tingle rippling through my head, making my thoughts clear and sharp. I feel like I have awoken from a long sleep.
He is trying to erase my memories. Shit!
I feel violated and it angers me to the core. My hands clenched into fists, and I fight the urge to punch his perfect jaw.
I feel it in my bones that he only wants to simplify matters and make me forget he is Ma'oz. But why is that? Has he realised that he went overboard?
Running through every memory I have had over the past few days. Both amused and surprised to find nothing amiss, I smile. I remember every detail, every emotion, every word.
I guess the only thing that has happened is the bubbling warm light I feel overflowing from within me is giving me courage to face the Demon King. I no longer fear his tempestuous nature nor his overwhelming power.
Something has changed with in me. But what? I feel tiny bits of electric current-like energy flowing from my heart and forehead. It is coursing through my vein and arteries, rushing in like welcomed cool summer's breeze.
"This is…" Ma'oz holds his breath, and his eyes turn a bright golden hue. "What are you?" He whispers, looking into my eyes with wonder.
Tiny sparkles of light floats in the air each time I move my limbs. "They're beautiful." I try touching one and it splits into about 10 more mini sparkly things. Much like star dust but this is otherworldly.
"Whoa…what are these, Ma'oz?" He doesn't answer but closes in on me and I instinctively back away, hitting the bed's headboard.
I feel him taking a sniff of my neck then returning to his original spot on the bed. "Why didn't I notice that earlier? You're not fully human."
"Say what now?!" "I laughed hard. My voice came out in splutters of noises. I simply can't contain it. It is hilarious. Is he delusional? Or maybe I'm dreaming. "Come on now. Don't do this to me. I feel like I'll laugh out my intestines at this rate!"
"No human emits light unless they are being blessed. If so, then the divine aroma will fall all around. Not directly from your pores."
Ma'oz looks serious. I try my best not to laugh. "So what? One of my parents is not human? Who is it? My mother or my father?" I asked sarcastically.
If my mother was a divine being, she wouldn't have died so suddenly. My father on the other hand is too…human in every way to be anything but.
"It only makes sense that you are not fully human. Maybe not one of your parents but an ancestor." Ma'oz's eyes turned a deep red. In them, I see the eternal fire burning and, in the background, there are screams and pitiful cries.
He reached a hand up to wipe away a tear I did not know had fallen. "Oh! Thank you."
"Ma'oz, why do I feel conflicted when I look into your eyes right now? Why does part of me feel great sadness for those suffering, the voices I hear from your eyes. Yet another part of me feels it must be for the sake of millions others?"
"Because you now see the truth. Evil must be punished and suffer the consequences of their deeds. If they are allowed to roam the realms, the effect will be catastrophic." Ma'oz's voice is deep but gentle.
"Do you…feel the same way that I do?" I ask hesitantly.
"Yes. All the time."
I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry you experience this every second of your life. How horrible it must be." I gently soothed him with my fingers intertwined in his hair. It is so black and sometimes in stubborn mess, I am surprised by how soft and silky it feels. Like soft black clouds that will melt if I command it to.
I feel his arms snake around my waist, drawing me closer until I feel his heart beating against my chest.
It feels right. It feels like I truly belong for the first time. I don't ever want this feeling to go away. I just want to stay like this forever. This is all I need.