Sebastian handed a scissors to Damon, "A binding spell. I need a little of your hair, and then I can bind the two of you together."
Damon raised his eyebrow, "How does it work?"
"It doesn't," the commander replied. He casually walked over to a chair, and sat down. "It's just your insurance. We're not doing an actual binding spell. You just need to have both of your hair in a bottle, and she'll have a mark branded on her neck."
"As far as everyone knows, it will be an actual binding spell," Sebastian added.
Damon glared at both men, "Wouldn't that hurt her?"
The commander gave him a cold glare, "She's stronger than you think. She was trained by the witches."
Damon sighed.
Echo glanced at the faces of all three men. 'What's wrong with the three of them? They always argue over something. So stupid!' she thought to herself.
Sebastian grabbed the scissor from Damon, and cut a small strand of hair. He proceeded to mix it with Echo's hair, and put it into a small bottle.
The commander turned his gaze to Echo who had been silent the last few minutes. "You ready?"
Echo nodded her head slightly. She was not afraid of the pain, in fact she was used to it.
The branded the back of Echo's neck, who did not flinch even in the slightest. Damon was agitated, and kept asking her if she was in any kind of pain.
The group came to the portal room. Echo sighed, as the brand on her neck kept stinging. She kept a calm demeanour despite this.
The commander walked over to the console. He found a location, and turned to Damon, "Do you want us to teleport you back to the mansion, or away from it?"
Damon thought for a while, and replied, "A little away from it would be better." It would be too obvious if they just teleported back to the mansion.
The commander nodded, turning back to the console.
"Are you sure this will work?" Sebastian asked. He glanced at Echo and Damon, and then turned to the commander, with a slightly raised eyebrow.
The commander turned to the group, "Honestly! I don't know. It could be a suicide mission." He had his cold glare, masking his true emotions. He was genuinely agitated. It would be a disaster if this did not go according to plan. He was putting so much on the line. At first he'll be berated by the other captains and warriors for being unable to keep a prisoner, and secondly the promised warrior was kidnapped too.
Echo watched the little conversations in silence. She glanced at Hunter, and then at the portal. She was about to go into Damon's world. The world of the demons. It scared her and excited her. Her chest heaved at the thought.
The commander looked at the glowing portal, "It's time for you to go."
Damon glanced over to Echo. She was rather calm than he expected. He turned his gaze back to the portal. It was an intriguing sight to him, but he couldn't admire the beauty of it, because his mind was filled with anxiety.
Echo ruffled the fur on Hunter's head, as she stepped towards the portal. It would be a lie to say that she was not afraid. She was worried about the whole plan going sideways, but she was not worried for herself but for Damon.
Before her mind drove her crazy with anxiety, she stepped into the portal with Damon and Hunter.
The world around them changed. Echo stared up at the sky filled with stars that were beginning to fade as a beam of light began showing from the horizon.
"The sunrise looks beautiful," Hunter gushed, staring at the horizon. "Everything is golden… whoa!" Her blue eyes twinkled with the golden hue reflecting off of it.
Echo smiled, "Remind me to take you to see the sunrise someday… when things are less crazy." She then turned to Damon, "Maybe you could join too?"
Damon's friendly demeanour had changed. He gave her a glare that made her gulp. He grabbed her sword from her hand. "It's better if you don't have this with you."
"Hmm." She replied, following his lead down the mountainous road, until they arrived at the gate of his mansion.
The guards stared at Damon in shock, "Sir!"
Damon's eyes turned dark as he glared at the guards. "Aren't you going to let me in?"
"Sorry sir!" The guards opened the gate immediately. Damon's eyes turned back to normal as he grabbed Echo's wrist, and pushed her into the mansion.
Echo turned to Damon with large eyes. What was he doing? She had no clue why he was being so aggressive. Maybe it was because he was getting into his role as a demon with her as his prisoner?
Deep down Damon hated being violent with Echo but it was necessary, especially if they wanted the other demons to believe them. He glared at Echo, and grabbed her wrist as they stepped through the front door.
"Damon!" a girl around the same age of Echo rushed towards Damon. She jumped and hugged him, almost dropping him to the ground.
Echo stared at Damon and the girl. The centre of her eyebrows were slightly raised, and her eyes turned droopy. It was such an involuntary action, that it took a while for her to change her expression back to a poker face. Her chest felt heavy, it was like nothing she had ever felt before.
Before her mind could race through the merciless thoughts building up, the girl kissed Damon's cheek and pulled back.
Damon had a slight smile on his face, which disappeared once he and the girl turned to Echo.
The girl kept talking, "I knew what they said was wrong. You'll never side with the Protectors… Who's this?" She glared at Echo, and crossed her arms on her chest.
Echo was silent. Her brain was not processing anything at that moment. It was almost as if she was on auto-pilot, and the only thing she could feel was her heavy heart.