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Chapter 40

“Should we check his pulse? I mean would it not be a big loss if he was still alive and we just got rid of him?”
“You should bite your tongue, you know he holds the royal blood.”
“But he lost the Reilena! I think it is reasonable, I mean that’s why Deleo lost his family. Don’t you think justice should remain balanced for prince as well as pauper?”
“No, because it was Deleo’s fault that she is gone from us now.”
“She’s gone now, our king is gone now, and to top it off we lost eighteen guards tonight, seven Sendrah are blinded, and eight guards wounded.”
The voices echoed around him, all familiar but indistinguishable as they echoed in the caverns of his cranium.
“But don’t you see, this is the time to act now, he was attacked, he is all alone, it seems that we could kill him and make the empire great. Do you agree my noble friends?”
“He is of royal blood, the kingdom may not be watching but surly the gods are. Do you want to be cursed?”
“We are already living in a curse!”
Noctom began to recognize one of the many voices; it was Lady Oliviah, the female leader of the Serps. She never had a fondness for Noctom. In her words, Noctom in power is like having a mindless strutting peacock in a prince’s position.
Another voice in that conversation was burly, he knew it was one of the Brothers of Terren, but he could not place whose it was. They always enjoyed his company, they thought Noctom was the life of the Adrayos that it had been missing; they were truthful friends to the empire. His torso began to feel again, he could only wait for his arms and legs to gain the ability to move.
Suddenly he heard the annoyance of Caedo’s androgynous voice, “I agree with Oliviah, I mean look at what the empire will become, we already suffered with my father’s curse, we don’t need to suffer from a curse derived out of arrogance and narcissism. The empire is already dieing! Think of the war!”
This next one he recognized to be Nique, “But will the citizens listen to you? You are freighting and you know this. Will the daemons adhere to someone so cursed by physical limitations?”
“There are ways to work around it.” Caedo gazed down at his brother, “I will tell no one if you take his life, I can guarantee that I will get the Reilena back for the empire. Noctom, I know, will struggle. I have spoken with the Reilena on several occasions, she is a fiery soul, and Noctom knows not how to handle her. I promise you I could retrieve her and make this empire taste the greatness of a golden age. All we have to do is end the life of this despicable prince in front of us now. Please, if you know what is good for your kingdoms, if you know what is good for your children? We must end his life to save our nation.”
The Brothers of Terren pondered in the silence, “I have noticed that he contributes to the empire as much as Cassius, may Lyss finally take him, maybe Noctom should pass tonight to keep his father company.”
Noctom could not believe what he was hearing! Truthful friends indeed, he was surrounded by people who were debating to end his young life. He felt his toes and fingers coming back from their deep numbing.
There was a silence about them as they contemplated what they were about to do. He could imagine Caedo and Oliviah disliking him, but it was beyond his comprehension that it was so easy to convince the Brothers of Terren to end his life. Noctom’s blood boiled with treachery, his heart was on fire.
“Lets have a vote, anyone in favor of keeping his life says aye.”
The wind beat the curtains of the window, their peaceful fluttering caused Noctom to panic.
Alright then, all in favor of Noctom passing say aye.”
The room unanimously agreed.
“That settles it, now who would like to do the honors?
“No honors will be done!” Noctom sprang up from the ground and grabbed for his brother’s throat. In that instant Caedo vanished into the shadows faster than the eye could catch. The crown fell from his head at his disappearance; it rolled over to the other side of the room.
Instead of going after that rolling crown he grabbed for the throat of Oliviah and threw her down on the bed, determined to end her life as well. “Is this what you wanted for me? I’m just a peacock am I? Believe me Haratin I am more than just a strutting peacock! My name is Noctom and I am king! I carry holy blood! You are just a mere cold mistress here to die before my very eyes as is see yours choke!”
“Noctom!” Coo screamed in fright, “Get off her!”
“Quiet you treacherous fool,” thankfully he let go of her throat before he crushed her wind pipe. He snarled to the crowd, “You are all treacherous fools! I should have you hanged for your disloyalty! You should all choke! If not by your words by my own hands.”
They stood dumbfounded to his personality change, or was this his true self?
He laughed with sarcasm as they wallowed in fear. Olivia coughed as she held her throat; thankfully it was still intact. She wished could have killed him when she had the chance. He commanded Nique to retrieve his crown, and Jahr to pull up a chair. With haste the two tasks were carried out. Noctom took in the moment; his long awaited inheritance was finally his and his alone.
The golden Adrayos legacy slowly was fitted upon his head. The jewels did not shimmer so brilliantly in that room, nor did the gold have a shine. In that moment, the beautiful night changed to a haunting darkness that engulfed the palace. What had they done?
“Don’t just stand there, have respect for your king.” He became mad with power, “Bow you indolent fools!”

Against the numbing, the ride became rough. Her fingers could not grasp onto the saddle in order to achieve a better hold nor could her legs clamp onto the waist of the moving beast. The wind whipped against her hair as her cheek rested on the feathers of the queal.
Reilena swayed slightly on the beast, the panic filled her as she began to fall. Luckily as she slipped, the leather straps caught her wrists. A large hand quickly pressed onto her back just to make sure she would stay. Reilena knew the hand very well; its strength gave him away.
No! This can’t be!
Her spirit struggled beyond belief, however she only moved a fraction of an inch.
She could have screamed.
Just then the queal flung itself about as if some supernatural force had spooked it. His feathers bristled up and its legs danced about as if the beast was treading upon burning coals. As Red squealed in horror and thrashed about, Deleo held on to the saddle for dear life covering the Reilena to prevent her from any major damage. “Arket, Arket, Arket!
Just as the queal was finding peace from its scare, the Reilena screamed again. The queal raced in swerves, suddenly stopping to whip them off, whisking and lashing its head and body about. “What has gotten into this thing?” Deleo was spooked out of his mind.
Instantly Deleo heard the scream, it burned his ears and raced his heart. The shock took his breath momentarily. It scraped his spine with a quick and sudden scratch; his tongue reclined in his mouth due to the sheer power of the sound.
Both Deleo and the queal fought off this invisible force; Deleo tore at his head while the queal whipped his neck side to side. By this time Jouanpae and Frey saw that their companion was lagging behind. In an instant they tugged on their reins. The desert sand that Red stirred became a hazy midnight cloud of late summer. The queal in desperation began to flip himself in the sand. Quickly Deleo put his own suffering aside and grabbed the Reilena as they fell to the sand so she would not feel the full impact of the queal. As they tumbled he braced the Reilena’s head in fear. In her numbness she could carelessly snap her neck if it was thrown in the wrong way at the wrong time. The queal was heavy as it rolled, but with its forceful turn, became even heaver then expected. His breath escaped him as his ribs held off the force of the queal by protecting Thea from the damage.
The queal flailed itself about. He tried to reach his own feet but the weight of the two people on his back kept the beast down…at least momentarily. Deleo panicked as he looked at the straps entrapping Thea. The queal will instinctively run to shake the two of them off; he could see it in his aggressive movements. He had to get her off fast.
The first strap came off with ease, it was already slightly broken, all he had to do was tear at the remaining strap and the first arm was free. The second one however was not so trouble-free. On her left wrist leather constricted her pulse, somehow it was pulled when the queal rolled over in the sands. The knot was strung too tightly; it caused her hand to flush red. Deleo tried desperately to loosen the knot, but it held tight. He only had so much time to remove her from the saddle before the queal went crazy.
Red screamed in pain as it heard the sound again, that sound that originated at the very core of the shrieking vocal cord. It resembled a child screaming merged with the high vibrations of a played wine glass. Or a harp that was scratched along its cords rather than being plucked. Whatever the sound composed itself of, one thing was for sure. It drove the queal to the brink of insanity.
Deleo grew sick of the knot; he pulled out his knife and acted with his adrenaline. He soon found the serrated edge and began to saw through the restraint. Thankfully he made quick progress.
Once her hands were free he set forth to the feet. This part was relatively easy despite the restless queal that continued to struggle, impatient to silence the voice. Deleo held down one of the legs, the last thing he needed was a queal running with the Reilena loosely bound by her ankle only to be taken under by dangerous footing.
The muscles of the queal were hard to restrain, especially while detangling a paralyzed woman. He resisted covering his ears when the sound grew louder, and sure enough after a moment of screaming hell, it passed. Within that moment, he freed her and the queal ran and panicked in nearby sands. Red rolled and tumbled just to get rid of that mysterious shriek.
Deleo placed her safely on the Adrayos sands and combed aside the hair that blocked her serene face. Her beautiful features were now tainted with the paintings of the empire. Though it was attractive upon her complexion, he wished for nothing more than to wash the dark makeup off her lips and eyes. Suddenly out of the two black slits her glossy green eyes shimmered like falling stars. Deleo could not help but stroke her cheek tenderly, those petal soft cheeks. Her womanly lips were painted with the shade of a deep ruby; against her emerald eyes she was irresistible. Thea remained there, so limp in his arms. He pressed his forehead against hers as if he was trying to read her mind, her very thoughts. Deleo’s eyelids fell as he pulled her warmth against his chest.
“I am not yours…”
She struggled against him as much as the numbness would allow her.
“I am not yours!”
These words wounded him. He checked those ruby lips but they did not utter a word, the only communication the two shared came from her uncanny eyes that lacked focus. “Thea… come back to me, please.”

He had everything, all the tangible pleasures of this world, all the foods an appetite could crave, textiles of all expenses, even all the women of perfect size and beauty were at his very clap. His own complexion held wonders, his charisma could charm anyone male and female alike. He had all the lands a lord could want, he had an entire palace to call his home, and thousands of people at his disposal. For most who could not afford a simple instrument, he had an orchestra. For religion, he had his own temple and hundreds of Devines following his command. Yet he was not happy. He owned not only cities, but kingdoms, nations, mountains, lakes, not to mention the desert. All the power anyone could ever want was at his beckoning call.
He had nothing
There comes a time when the tangible pleasures become empty, where food loses its taste and nice clothing is equal to the look and texture of tattered rags. Where the luxuries of beautiful women lose their lustful quality and a palace loses it grandeur. Even beauty is a curse; he became a shallow shell of himself, letting people listen with their eyes rather than their ears. With so many citizens to rule over, people become mere shadows. Even angelic music becomes noise in foul moods. Religion becomes unbelievable like a fanciful tale and land becomes a waste of space, Deserts and deserts of useless sand.
He had nothing.
Noctom gazed deeply into that fire that licked up his fireplace in his tall chair. He recalled the story of Marr and Sene as he watched that blaze rise and flicker. Marr danced for her, he danced forever for her, hoping that one day she would pay mind to him. Sene however is too intelligent to express lustful love, knowing that in the end it only tears your wings. She is along the wind; she is in every breath of insight, every mounting epiphany. Marr was denied love long ago however he is diligent for her to see him so he continues to flicker and dance in every flame, every blaze of fire. What many do not know though is that his show does not remain unwatched. There is a closely guarded secret kept amongst the highest Devines regarding Sene. Though she may be intelligent, her downfall, as of many blessed with her gift, is burning curiosity. When Marr and Sene come together they will make a child spirit, that child of course was the Reilena who would be marked with a symbol of their unification. Sene’s stem serrated with Marr’s thorns, bringing about a rose of a child, a child who could bring reason and tactic to these blind and rueful attacks. He had her in his clutches, she was there in his grasp, but like her spiritual parents it was as if she slipped away like the wind or disappeared into nothing like the fire.
He needed her back, he needed her now. All the previous pleasures of life he had before were nothing. Without her he was empty, ugly, and poor. Like her powerful father Marr, he wanted this feminine spirit all for himself. Deleo was back after death again, stealing his woman this time and winning.
Noctom slammed his fist on the table, almost causing the objects to fall over and some to spill. His headache worsened, his heartache deepened, his hatred burned in his chest. Being king gave him no pleasure, only she gave him that satisfaction, her presence, her aura, her smile. Noctom was crazy; he wanted to drink in that essence, he wanted that power on his leash. It was not as easy as he thought. He shifted his position in his chair as he leaned forward to evaluate the situation. It was too easy in the beginning; the fates had made it too easy just to tease him. Now it was all just a test to see if he could grasp the intangible prize waved in front of his eyes, close enough for him to smell but not to bite.
That fire taunted him. He took the nearest object remaining on the table and hurled it into the fire, the bottle shattered into a million shards of glass and the alcohol ignited in a great uproar. He wanted no more of it tonight, no more. The fire remained scattered as it burned the droplets of ethanol. “Marr send your daughter to me,” He screamed as he rose from his chair. “I am more than worthy, send her to me! You call yourself a great spirit! Show me! Show me how great you are by putting your daughter in power, then I will believe!”
The fire remained unresponsive.
He paced the intricate rug in front of the chair. “Its like you, to abandon the world, that’s why we live like this! It’s because you abandoned the world. Give the Reilena to me and perhaps Sene will come back to you!”
Nothing spoke out from that fire; the only spark that was added to that room was a spark of annoyance. Noctom screamed in pure rage as he clinched his fists. “Why don’t you answer me! Have I not shown my power? Give me an answer if you claim to be so great, respond to my commands!”
His right hand leaned on the mantle of the fireplace while his other clamped onto his hip. Noctom was getting nowhere. He glanced at the mirror behind the mantle. Looking past the trinkets on that ledge, he could see his reflection in the glass. “What am I doing?” he laughed to himself, “I’m screaming at a fire.” With a smile he concentrated deeply into the flickering light, his body felt the sweet warmth within the fire’s embrace.
Her image ingrained itself in his memory, her plump lips and soft skin, the curvature of her feminine figure, and the sweet smell of her hair. Most of all those eyes, haunting eyes that burst into flame in midnight, toxic like venom.
As he thought deeper into his desire, he came to the realization that Deleo had her and could do whatever he pleased with her. He had the eyes too, glowing eyes of an inferno, yellow like extracted fear. Noctom then realized that the other two that accompanied them also had burning eyes. The young man had an oceanic blue about them while the older man had a paler green. Where could have they come from? So many of this supernatural kind.
Noctom watched the warm light flicker upon his own eyes in attempt to illuminate them in the night; they were glossy but not as piercing as the Reilena’s or Deleo’s. They were not neon like the Jouanpae or blue like the young man’s. They were not bright and haunting like Stella’s. Where could they have originated? Where did they come from? He stared back into the fire; the answer danced upon his face the whole time.
A shock shot through his body as he gazed back into the mirror at his own darkly illuminated eyes.
Stella of the Devine.

“Get off me!” the Reilena screamed as well as she could. Hopelessly, she tried to thrust her body away from him. The effects of the dormant poison quickly wore off their full power, however remainders of the seed’s toxin still coursed through her veins. She hated this, to be a prisoner of her own body. Now she was stranded in the middle of the desert with a daemon she should have never looked kindly upon.
Deleo was afraid to touch her, there was something that was not right. He could still read her, she was still Thea, however there was something else in her, another soul in her that was not the Thea or even the Reilena. It was something completely intangible for the average mortal, yet her dark aura could be picked up easily witnessed by clear sight itself.
He finally built up the courage in himself to hesitantly brush her cheek. Unlike before, her flesh was as cold as a forgotten corpse left in ice. Instantly he held his body heat close to hers. “Why do you feel as if you walk with the dead?”
“I said get off of me!” her skin almost burned him as he held on to her.
“Listen to me! Don’t grow cold! You can’t while it is the night. The desert will kill you!”
Frey was overwhelmed with befuddlement. “Deleo, stop shaking her!”
“She’s falling away!” he rested his head on her chest to check her heart.
“You make no sense she is there in your arms.” Frey was disturbed by his sister’s uncanny actions, but even more terrifying for Frey was to helplessly watch Deleo panic. They all knew how to achieve the kidnapping. Merely sneak into the castle, pick up the Reilena and hightail it back home. But where would they begin with this? She hated them, and all it took was one week with the desert prince, how would they change her back to the Thea she once was. Frey did not know where to commence.
The Reilena remained still, as if she did die in his arms, or she fell into a deep trancelike sleep. Either way it was apparent that her body was completely limp and cool. Deleo stroked her angel like hair, “My dear Thea, come back to me.”
Meekly, Frey approached her, with his arm outstretched to touch his sister’s cheek. It was all true. She was falling away. This woman had the cool skin of hopeless souls choosing to take their final rest within the embrace of a forgotten city catacomb. So hopeless these souls, in order to find comfort they would curl up next to a long forgotten skeleton and will themselves to die on the stone bed. This was her skin, so cold a winter could not compare. Yet it was warm enough to sustain a few droplets of life.
Frey pulled his hand away, “so what do we do now? What do we do now, Deleo!”
Deleo was lost for words; his initial shock absorbed any thoughts.
“Have an answer Daemon! What do we do now!” Frey screamed.
He slid the Reilena down off his lap and onto the sands. “What did you say? Daemon was it? How dare you speak to me in such a foul tone after everything that happened tonight. What in your right mind gives you an authority to insult me, boy!” Deleo approached Frey with a threatening force. He took Frey’s shirt and threw him down to the sands. “You open your mouth again, just try me!”
“You two need to lighten up,” Jouanpae mumbled as he lit his pipe.
“Lighten up! Lighten up! How can you just say lighten up, old man, she is dieing. Our world dies with her and all you can say is lighten up! Any more comments like that and I will have your throat.”
“Now you wouldn’t fight a man who honored your father would you, Deleo?” he took a long smoke of his pipe and let the smoldering air pour out of his nostrils. “What would you think if his spirit was right behind your back at this very second? What would Sancho say? I know what Sancho would say, he would be shaking his head at you right now, saying what happened to that boy I thought I raised. I thought I raised a good boy.”
Deleo agressively turned his head away in shame.
“Now calm yourself down,” Jouanpae commanded.
“And what do you suppose I do?” he threw his hands up in the air and paced for a moment, “She has changed so dramatically it is overwhelming.”
Jouanpae gazed up into the wasteland skies, and within those blue and violet swirls of the Milky Way and between the brilliant dots that ornamented the sky he found an answer. “It took Noctom seven days to domesticate her, spoil his efforts in six.”
Deleo thought for a while as he pondered the sheer simplicity of this. “Even the tamest wolf holds a wild heart.”
“Prove yourself that you are better than him.” Jouanpae smiled, “I have faith in you. Now get some sleep while you have time, I’ll keep watch for you tonight.”

Deleo turned over on his furs as he slept in the comfort of his den, however these furs were not soft. He grabbed for his companion who slept beside him every night, but as he reached out for her, he found himself with only a fist full of sand.
As he grew less drowsy he realized he was nowhere near his bed, let alone Thea. He dusted off the sand from his cheek and scratched away the grains on his arm. He could not wait to get out of this hellish wasteland; he was so tired of the sand. It was always on his clothing, or sticking to his skin. The sand was always stuck in his mouth and between his teeth, in his nose and eyes. Why, it was laced with the very air they breathed. He missed the water already and they were not even a night into traveling yet.
Around them a sleep had settled in. A pool of drool glimmered on Frey’s forearm as he dreamed soundly. Deleo dug aside the sand that formed a blanket around his legs and he slowly rose from his quiet spot. He could see that across from where he stood, Jouanpae strummed a light vocal cord with each breath as he watched the backs of his eyelids. So much for a watchman…
However, in this small circle he could not find Thea. A shock of fear flashed though him. But as quickly as that fear entered, it had ended when he saw that the three queals they had, all slept quietly chained together. If the queals were all there, she could not have traveled far. At least she was moving now. He looked out over the hilly desert horizon in the developing moon. To his surprise he found deep tracks engraved into a dune not too far off from their camp. And up that hill he followed that ripe moon until he saw a dim flickering flame in the middle of the bleached sands. There he saw an outline of a woman against the deep night. Deleo almost slid down the incline while he ran to the shadowy figure who tended that small fire.
Her green eyes flashed upon his. In an instant, she quickly abandoned her fire and ran away along the sands more towards the moon. She was running; this was a chase. He sped up his pace; throwing his feet faster than his heart could beat. It did not take long for Deleo to catch up to her. With his speed, strength, and just a spark of instinctual playfulness, he pounced on her. She screamed in defeat as he caught her on the ground, “Why! Why do you make me suffer like this! Just let me be!”
“You have to come back to the woods with us Thea!”
“That is not my name!”
“Then what should I call you by? Not the Reilena, the Reilena is too cruel, I will call you Thea because that name is soft and sweet.”
“You know me not Deleo! I am not who I use to be, even though you would quite enjoy that wouldn’t you? Keep me stupid and in a state of naïve bliss so you could control me and use me in the way you want. No, I am not Thea anymore; I am the Reilena, the beautiful and strong!” She squirmed as she struggled to get out of his arms.
“You are more like the Reilena angry and blind! Can’t you see that this rage makes you ignorant!” he strengthened his pin hold on her. “I will not call you the Reilena, because you are still Thea to me.”
“And I will not be called Thea, because that refers to me as a brainless t**t!” with a quick maneuver of her hands she was able to throw off his weight. As Deleo fell over in shock, she scrambled to get out of his grasp. But before she could get away, Deleo snatched her arm.
“Where would you run to? Answer me that?”
“Anywhere would do as long as you aren’t there, the farther the better!”
“You know nothing of this desert. You run that way you will die!” he clumsily stood up and ran after her in the deep sand.
“And what is so wrong with that?” she sharply turned in response.
“Would you stop this childish behavior!”
“I’m not being childish, I am being honest.”
“Honest? You would honestly go out there and die? Would you let the fate of the world suffer from your stubbornness?”
“What do I care of how the world fares.”
In a voice that was lower than disappointment he let out a pitying sigh, “selfish fool.”
“Murdering lair,” she snapped, “how can you, such a murdering liar, try to talk lowly of my actions.” She chuckled with disbelief, “how can such a person of stumpy standards call me a selfish fool.”
“Such a selfish little fool! A little fool in a big political position! You are a puppet and you don’t even realize it. He loves you only for his own power. To make you believe he bestows gifts onto you. You don’t realize though, you are just a doll to dress, a doll to paint on, a doll for Noctom to play with. The Reilena is just a toy, he views you as just a puppet for his own control. But you, you are not a doll; I know you have a free soul, a fierce spirit. Why do you let him control that?”
“Because, he is not a murderer like you. Besides, he does not control anything. I stay at may own free will. Get your hands off me.” she trusted her shoulders away.
“Come back with me!”
“No!”
“I mean it!”
“You insult my fiancé of being controlling, but look at you.”
Deleo’s emotions overflowed with hate. He shoved the Reilena back to the area where the she was attempting to burn a pathetic little fire. In that fire a little flame struggled as it burned up the last ripped piece of cloth. “You were burning your dress weren’t you?” He noticed the tattered hem of her gown was torn unevenly across the bottom.
She answered him with another rip on the hem on the backside of her dress.
“Why are you burning your dress?”
The Reilena spat at his feet.
“You should not waste your water like that, you get equal rations of water. If you waste it you will die.”
She spat again at his feet.
He tried to keep his patience, but it was wearing thin, “why are you burning your dress?”
“Why do you care?”
“You are trying to get attention aren’t you, trying to get someone to see the smoke.”
“I am the Reilena, obviously I am being looked for.”
“And with all pilgrims in the desert, do you not think that they have fires for camp. Your fire is nothing.”
“I can at least try.”
Deleo kicked sand onto her suffering fire. Reilena planted her forlorn and silent self in the sands, there was no point in restarting the fire. She stared blankly into the ashes of part of her dress. Deleo sat down beside her to look her in the eyes, but she refused to turn her head. The tension in the air was so thick that one could almost drown in it.
Deleo’s eyes filled with quiet rage, “I have never heard you call him by such a name.”
“We are going to…he is my…”
“But you don’t love him.” Deleo stated, “I know you don’t because…”
At this line she was able to catch his gaze with hers, “better then you.”
“You can’t mean that!” Deleo screamed, “After everything we have been through!” he began to tear up in rage. “You can’t mean that! Does it only take one week to destroy it all?”
“I know what you did. What you did could destroy a lifetime of love.”
“But you don’t know what he did.”
“My fiancé?”
“Don’t say that”
“That I love him”
“Don’t say that!” he was practically screaming,
“I love him! I love him! I love him!”
“Cease this behavior, Thea!”
“I am no longer that naïve girl! I am the Reilena, there is no Thea.”
He was holding back his tears as much as he could; this was all too much to take in. “there may no longer be a Thea but I know there is a lovely angel.” instantly the constant yelling ceased and they saw each other as just people again. “Be the lovely angel for me, what you use to be. Can I call you that? The cruel Reilena is the lovely angel, as was the sweet Thea who was with me before. The Thea wears the same rose as the Reilena, why should you change now. What is in the name Reilena, victory and splendor? All I see is winter! A cold barren winter with no food or warmth, just pain and sorrow. Reilena is the extreme starvation that comes with a hardened heart. But what was in the name Thea? Why, a beautiful spring with blossoms painting the landscape. Thea was the comforting sun in the meadow field, your name was simplicity, it was the cool drink under the shady tree near the clear flowing springs. I can just see your smile underneath the sun filtered through the fine leaves crowning the tree. I long for that spring again, I long for the sweet floral aroma that carries on the gentle breeze, I long for your warm, touch, and your rosy skin.”
It was only until Deleo had began to dream in his own thoughts that Reilena realized that she was holding his hands eagerly, she had a desire to return to those naturist riches with him.
“Now there is a look I have longed to see, your softened eyes. The sweet Thea eyes that bring me back to those peaceful days. But I lose myself.” Deleo released her hands from his. “You have become tainted and bitter. All you wish to see now are these sands of death, and for what. Riches, possessions, fame, so lame are these wants compared to what you had!”
Her gaze filled with tears, but as fast as they appeared with her sadness, they overflowed with hate. “What cares do I have for you, you are a past I never wish I had. A dangerous daemon, that is all you are, a selfish daemon who wanted me at your side for your own benefit. You killed my family.”
“No it was Noctom who killed your family and it was Noctom and Cassius that killed my family! But what care have you for that; why waste your time to listen. I am just a mere daemon who is selfish and dangerous. From all my brothers and sisters to my father, to my mother who slowly and painfully died before these very eyes.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“As I said a waste of time for you to listen! Well I have no time to waste, I’m going to get some rest.”
“I will run away.”
“No you will not, I know you better than you think.”
“I will.”
“Then go!” he opened his hand to the desert, “you can go die like my mother, but take my word, it is not a pretty scene. Especially when your lips break and your tongue turns as coarse as sand. I’m not keeping you back by any shackles or chains, you are free to run as you please. However if you want to stay alive that is where I suggest you still come with us, after all I’m the one who knows the way and I have this.” he shook the water in his canine back and forth.
Regretfully Reilena followed Deleo back to their camp, perhaps she did need them now for water. However as Deleo did mention there were religious travelers heading to the Adrayos, they surly have water and a better destination in mind.

Chapter 41