The Star, The Demon, and The God - 9. The Line of Familiar Blood

Luno

“Did he really do that?” I gasp.

Vlad has been sharing the story of the Circle of Wolves as we have been walking to Halehigh. It is a bit strange to learn about the story of the city as you are on your way there.

“He did,” Vlad says. “He really massacred all those innocent lives, just to prove a point to some rulers.”

I frown and look up at Tobias. Surely he would have something to say about this.

Unfortunately, he holds a steady face that hides any emotion. He just stares at the back of Vlad’s head.

“Are you sure that is what happened,” I ask. “I mean, that was so long ago? The details could have been changed! Hundreds of people dying seems overdramatic. Right, Tobi? Raiyo would never do something like that!”

Tobias does not say anything. He looks at me from the corner of his eye and lets out a small shrug.

Seeing that alone makes something in my chest hurt. Not exactly an angry hurt, but more along the lines of, ‘this seems too insane to be true’.

“Not even the Demon knew his master could be so cruel,” Vlad chuckles. “Well is that not just pure irony.”

Surprisingly, Tobias does not even get angry with Vlad. He just stares forward as if he is in a daze.

I could tell that Raiyo was not entirely good. Well, it is also based on my knowledge that Demons are apparently evil, so hearing that he was the King of Demons, I just assumed the worse. I never expected it to be so bad that he murders innocents for no reason at all. It has pretty much changed how I think of him entirely.

“Don’t be so bummed out, my friend,” Vlad winks to Tobias. “I come from a line of sketchy rulers myself. The Circle did deserve to be put in their place, just not the way that Archdemon chose to do it.”

Biting my lip, I stare at the ground as we walk.

This is just wrong on so many levels. Who in their right mind would think that causing harm to those who are innocent is alright? Just look at now! There is some force out there that is killing all these innocent humans just to place them in the Middleplains?

Is this another God at work? I know that Raiyo is officially bad on my list, but I also know Morgoren is as well. That much mean that there are countless other Gods who cause harm for no reason.

Would Mother be like one of those Gods? Would she ever cause harm to innocents to push some kind of ‘lesson’ onto them?

Just the thought of that being true makes something in my gut twist.

“What has you down, little flower child?” Vlad smiles over his shoulder at me. “Did the story make you realize you were on the wrong side?”

Looking up at him and then Tobias, I sigh and let out a pitiful nod.

“Well, there is still plenty of time to join us,” Vlad grins. “The both of you could! The more help, the better; and we could use a lot of it.”

Tobias frowns in confusion. “Even me? A Demon?”

Vlad shrugs and offers his hand.

Oh. I remember learning about that.

“Sure, why not?” He smiles. “Demon or not, I see that you are trying to help us. That is enough in my book to trust you.”

Tobias hesitantly accepts Vlad’s handshake. He looks over at me with a hint of uneasiness in his eyes.

It must be strange learning just how messed up your King could be. You pretty much look up to them and are ready to serve under them, only to find out that they are actually a monster who preys on the innocent.

Tobias clears his throat and reaches for my arm.

“We will keep following,” He says to Vlad and his spies. “We just need a moment to speak together without others listening.”

They nod to us and we step a few paces behind them.

I am guessing this has to do with the whole, ‘wrong side, right side’ thing that Vlad said.

“So,” Tobias says slowly. “That was...an eye opener. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I let a short laugh. “Yeah that is a bit of an understatement; don’t you think?”

He lets out a shaky laugh and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

Frowning at his strange new mood, I link my arm with his. He should know that I will be here for him!

“Talk to me,” I say. “What are your thoughts about it? Should we really just...change sides like Vlad said? Would that even be safe? Raiyo would probably attack them and kill us if we ignore him.”

Tobias shivers and nods. “Ye-yeah. You might be right.”

Taking a deep breath, Tobias stands a little taller with his head held high. “Well, that should not stop us from using his help. We might not agree with his...choices...but we cannot just abandon this quest. We still need to bring back the humans. That is at least where I am willing to draw the line with working with him.”

My eyes widen at hearing that. It is rather bold of us to be saying such things out loud in all honesty. One of Raiyo’s wisps could be lurking in on our conversation.

Because of this, I whisper.

“So,” I say. “We keep in touch only for this quest. We use his help with the other Demons, and then we bring everyone back! What do we do after we are done? I do not want to just leave you alone after this!”

Tobias frowns and looks down at me. “What are you talking about?”

“You said that ‘this was where you draw the line with working for him,’” I say. “Would Raiyo even let you go? You would still be a Demon, right? I thought he has control of all Demons.”

He nods in understanding.

“Well, that is true,” He says. “Raiyo has control over all of us, but he has never used that power. He has never forced us to fight for him. Never made us do things that we did not want to do. He respects us...at least I think I do.”

“So,” I say. “What can we do to reverse it? How can me make you not a Demon anymore? Like a...Un-Demon?”

Tobias laughs and shake his head. “Sorry, Luno. I am afraid no such thing is possible. This is it for me. I am stuck as a Demon.”

I cross my arms and pout. Why does everything have to be so unfair to everyone around me? First Viktor and Moni; now Tobias and apparently every human in Thymestrys. Maybe the Angels too?

You know what? This world is just messed up. Why must the Gods rule over everything? They are not needed! They only seem to ruin everything they touch.

These are surprisingly hateful thoughts by me. I need to calm my anger down.

Glancing up at Tobias, I see he is staring down at me with a smirk on his face.

“What?” I narrow my eyes. “Why are you smirking?”

He shakes his head and turns to face the road. “Oh nothing. Just nice that you care enough to be angry about me.”

I groan and pull my hood on. He saw my flowers changing colors again. I never realized they were so annoying and make it easy for people to read me when they know what the colors represent.

My guess is that Tobias saw they were red for anger; and why can’t I be angry? Everything is just going badly for everyone else. I just wish I could make it all go away.

~~~
~~~

Tobias

I must say, it really nice seeing someone show genuine care for you. Those cute,little, red flowers that are on Luno’s head showed me that really does care for me.

Thanks to what Vlad has revealed to me, I do not think I can say the same to the King of Demons.

Sure, he has never harmed us in extravagant ways. At least not like he has with the Humans, but that does not mean he wouldn’t. For all I know, Raiyo could choose to massacre us all if we did something against him.

He sacrifices those he sees unfit to apart of us. The ones who break his rules. Is that not a bad sign already? Sure, Demons and Angels need rulers to pretty much exist, but what if Raiyo decides that he is annoyed with us or something?

I called him a loose cannon before, but I was just being dramatic!

Never have I heard of this. Does anybody else know? How has this information not spread among the other Demons?

Raiyo has told us time and time again, never attack the humans unless they ask for it. Never harm the innocent.

How am I supposed to follow him if he is going to break his own rules? It is not right.

One thing I can say, learning this has definitely changed how I view things. Mostly how I looked up to Raiyo, but basically towards everything. I know it is possibly considered crazy to look up to Raiyo, but there is just something there between us. Nothing romantic of course, or at least I think, but something else. I just can’t tell what it is.

Learning that he murdered so many innocents is really messing me up.

While it is making my head feel like it is being pulled like a rope in tug-o-war, it makes me want to help the humans even more. Once again, their history has a God putting their stain on humans. Why should I be surprised that Raiyo is one of them?

Vlad has said we could join their side in this time of death. I believe that Luno and I should accept his offer. Obviously I already accepted when we did the handshake, but we could easily just run away whenever.

We will not be doing that.

Unfortunately, there is the risk that Raiyo will try to kill us and all of the remaining humans that have survived this culling.

Because of this, Luno and I will still have to work alongside Raiyo for his quest. While I really do not wish to do that, the overall end game of it is in line with the Humans’ side. We will simply have work with both.

Mostly with the Humans now, but Raiyo will still have to be kept satisfied for this to work.

Honestly, the Humans want the same thing as him so this will actually be quite easy. Luno’s fear for the aftermath of this quest is something that I share however.

At the end of this quest, when all the humans are revived, Luno is free to go back to his sanctuary and no doubt live the rest of his life in peace.

What about me? I will be stuck as a Demon under Raiyo’s control. Not only him however, also Morgoren’s.

Lucky for us, that bond has pretty much been broken as soon as Raiyo was created. The pull of the Archdemon’s bond has made him the true King of Demons.

I bet if I was under Morgoren’s rule, I would have done many, many things I would have never wanted to do. Just the thoughts that come to my mind of all those possibilities sends a shiver down my spine.

Luno’s hand rubs my back. It leaves warm trails that somehow reach through my armor. It leaves me feeling warm inside.

Pushing his hand away, I side-eye him as we walk back closer to Vlad and his spies.

I know the little Star has been using magic to calm me down. As much as that angers me, I can agree that it has kept us from getting into too much trouble.

Having said that, I still believe that Vlad needs a good knock up the side of the head.

“We’ve arrived,” Vlad calls over his shoulder.

~~~

Well, it is pretty weird to see the place that Raiyo unleashed the Circle of Wolves.

You know, I have actually met the Circle. Raiyo never killed them off after...all of this. He calls them his pets. His little things that he uses on those who have truly crossed the line. Now that I know where they came from, the thought that they were once humans leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The fact that they are still here seven hundred years laters as a punishment for being full of themselves just does not feel right. They would have learned something by now.

Let us hope that whoever is in charge of this place is not incredibly bitter against Raiyo or other Demons.

That may be too much to ask for in all honesty.

“Hey,” Vlad catches my attention.

“Before we go in there,“ he knocks on the top of his head. “You think you can hide those at all?”

Huffing out a breath in annoyance, I run my fingers along the sides of my horns. They slowly fade away, making me look as normal as I can be.

Looking down at Luno, I jut my chin at him.

“How come he can keep his flowers, but I can’t keep my horns?” I roll my eyes.

Vlad chuckles before shrugging. “Flowers would not be entirely looked down upon, my friend. Also, they are not quite as noticable.”

I grunt and stand close by Luno, ready to protect him from any assholes past the city gates.

Luno bumps against my arm before beaming up at me. “You still look just as handsome without your horns, Tobi! You do not need to worry about anyone thinking otherwise!”

Looking up at Vlad, I see him raise an eyebrow before he turns around with a smile on his face.

Rolling my eyes at Luno, I grab his arm and pull him with me past the metal gates.

Before we get any further, we are stopped by some guards. Vlad tends to them.

“I did not know you could hide your horns,” Luno whispers next to me. “Are you hiding other parts of you too?”

Before I can answer, Luno gasps and grabs my arm in a tight grip.

“Does that mean you have a tail?” He whisper-shouts in excitement.

I give him a dead-panned stare before turning to face Vlad and the soldier.

“Aww, Tobi please!” Luno says. “I just got a little excited. Can you answer my question though? You can just choose one! I would prefer the tail question however.”

Maybe it is because it is him, but it weirdly pulls a smirk onto my lips.

“No I do not have a tail,” I whisper, still keeping my eyes on Vlad’s back.

Taking a chance, I look over at Luno and I see he has a pout on his face. Shaking my head, I decide to at least answer his other question as well.

“I do hide my actual Demonic features however,” I say. “I...I doubt you would want to see that. You have already seen how ugly the rest of us are.”

Luno looks up at me and he frowns.

“You have no right to believe that I would think you all are ugly,” He says. “I actually find you all pretty in your own way. You are all very different from one another. That cannot be said about everyone else.”

Huh. I never really expected this. Most consider Demons hideous. Even I consider us disgusting. I made sure to learn the magics that are needed to cover it all up. I even went back to my original human face.

For the first time in forever, I actually feel a push to share my true self with someone. I just...I am a monster. I truly am. I look like an actual monster. Surely if Luno were to see that, he would see that he was wrong. Not all Demons are ‘pretty’ or ‘different’. That I am the ugliest thing he has ever seen.

Still, the way he smiles that caring smile almost makes me think otherwise.

Vlad turns to us finally.

“Come,” He says. “The Royal Family wishes to see you.”

Royal Family? Perhaps these people did not learn from Raiyo after all.

Vlad leads us through the streets of Halehigh. They are full of cold stone streets, cold high stone walls, cold stone builds, and large bonfires every few paces.

Snow sits in random piles along the walls of the city. The streets are left empty because of this I’m guessing.

I can see the firelight in most of the windows in these houses, so obviously this place is filled with humans. It is just too cold to come out.

Looking over at Luno, I see he is shivering and hugging himself to keep warm.

Making sure nobody is looking, I quickly summon a cloak out of thin air and toss it around his shoulders.

Luno looks up at me in surprise before his face breaks out into a smile.

“Thank you,” He says while his teeth are chattering.

I nod and keep us following Vlad.

~~~

We reach a great castle that is built into a tall mountain. Supposedly it is the tallest mountain in Thymestrys, but I do not really believe that.

It does look old in some parts, but it also looks as though it has been rebuilt in some areas. Some of the stone looks nicer than the other parts.

We are quickly pushed into what looks like a throne room. Instead of one chair, there are four that face the door, side by side.

There are only three sitting on the throne. Two women and one man. Who could be the one that is missing?

“You may go,” Vlad nods to his spies. They quickly scurry away into another room.

Vlad turns and nods to the three royals in the chairs before walking up and sitting in the fourth chair.

Oh. Alright then.

Luno looks up at him wide-eyed before looking at me.

“Did you know?” He asks.

I only shrug in response. Maybe I did? I honestly do not really care for this. It is not like we could easily kill them or something.

Oh wait...we can.

“Sorry, my friends,” Vlad smiles. “Just wanted a small surprise on ya.”

The other royals rolls their eyes and smile at his actions. Still not entirely sure if they ignored Raiyo’s lessons. I would not be entirely surprised if they went against them in spite.

“We are each from the long line of royal blood,” A woman says. “Are you familiar with Violette Bancroft?”

Before I can answer, Luno speaks.

“I saw a poster of her,” he says. “And a doll. That is pretty much all I know about her. Tobi here told me that she was a warrior. One who brought everyone together to fight evil.”

The Queen nods at his words and stands from her chair. She circles behind her and walks up to a wall. It holds a stone tree that lays sideways. It’s branches hold hundreds of names. At the very top, I see Violette’s name and two men.

“We have made sure to keep track of everyone in the family,” She smiles. “You could say we might even be obsessed.”

She laughs at her joke, but I would actually agree with her. This is seriously weird.

“After the deeds she did for all the kingdoms, Violette’s bloodline was to be tracked. Her blood was to kept in rule. It was the people’s wish!”

Luno leans in at the base of the tree. Right where Violette’s name is etched into the smooth stone.

“Why is this branch so short?” He asks. “Laneer Bancroft? What happened?”

Vlad comes up behind Luno. I quickly shove my way between them and send him a glare.

“Just was about to give a history lesson,” He chuckles with his hands up in surrender.

“Nobody knows what happened to Laneer,” He says. “He was Violette’s first son but sadly there aren’t any records that tell us what happened to him. Some believe he died in the great Demon attack on Avelin. Others think he might have simply run away and changed his name? Other than that, nobody really knows.”

Luno has a frown at that. “That name seems familiar in some strange way.”

I sigh and turn to Vlad.

“Is there a reason we are getting a family history lesson?” I ask. “I would rather die than go through each of these sorry souls who died in unknown ways.”

Vlad chuckles before nodding. “Very well. There is something in Avelin that we believe will help us. Drulai herself has gifted us with that knowledge. She told us someone in our bloodline has placed a necklace beneath the city ruins. We could use your help getting it.”

I sigh and lean my head back in annoyance.

“You were going into a dumb monologue just to tell me that the Mother Goddess has found something that could help us?” I say. “Thank you for almost wasting time in my life.”