Acceptance

Chapter Four

Acceptance

 

Opening the small journal, a musky scent filled my nostrils. The paper was thin scritta paper, the pages holding a light-yellow hue due to age. Every page was handwritten in swirls of splotchy ink. The first page lied a passage, it read;

 “In this journal lies the st'ries of our kin, only those with the blood of the king may readeth the st'ries yond art did hold within”

 As I began to read I couldn’t make sense of why my father held onto such a book, the handwriting continuously was changing from one person to the next. There lied stories upon stories of other demons and the demons in which they had met or defeated, some were gruesome, where others were simply just ramblings.

                       After hours of reading, I was nearing the end of the journal. The handwriting had once again changed, but I recognized this handwriting, it was my fathers. The date was set back twenty-five years ago, yet the book had already aged the pages as if they had been there for as long as the others. As I looked at the scrawled ink that bled across the thin pages, I felt a sense of unease. I knew without a doubt my father was not human. After all he’s written in this book from the previous owner, whom I am to assume to be my grandfather.

                       Abruptly, a loud knock resounded through the house, cautiously I stared at the door, hoping that whomever it was would leave. But the knocking persisted, wrapping myself up with the blanket once more, I gently placed the journal back in to the box hiding it underneath the couch. Opening the door slowly, I peeked out to see Celeste breathing heavily on my doorsteps, her normally perfect hair was a complete mess. If it wasn’t for her upset expression I would have laughed at the sight.

            “Celeste, what’s wrong?” with this she merely hugged me in response, she gripped me so fiercely I felt as if she were going to break me.

            “I’m so glad you’re okay.” As she pulled away from me I could see there were tears in her sapphire eyes. After much reassuring, I was able to bring her inside without her fussing over my health. Having made us both a cup of tea I returned to the living to find a much more cheerful and composed Celeste.

            “So, why were you so upset?” I tried not to prod too deeply into her personal affairs, but I had never seen her so visibly upset before. With this Celeste simply sighed and slumped her shoulders, she explained that she had been worried due to me not attending classes, admittedly this was out of my norm. I quickly thought up a lie of how I had gotten sick, so I had been bed ridden until the virus was gone, skeptic at first, with much persistence I was able to convince her of this. I felt terrible for lying to her, but how was I to explain to her all the things that have happened these past few days. That somehow there were demonic creatures chasing me, that my father is a demon. Not just any demon, he’s the prince of the Underworld. How was I to explain to her, that my world has been turned completely upside down?

With the big question of my “disappearance” taken care of, we had begun to idly discuss the variety of gossip that occurred at school in my absence. A sudden knock on the door halted our conversation, leaving Celeste behind in the living room, I headed for the main hall. Placing my hand on the knob, I had just begun to open the door when it was forcibly pushed open, the brute shove causing me to stumble backwards. Standing there were two people I’d hoped to never see again. Abraxus, his green hair swaying in the light breeze, his grey eyes piercing me behind his glasses. Then Pazuzu who was the one who had pushed open the door, he was smiling down at me his brown hair ruffled from the breeze.

                       “I told you we’d find her here!” Pazuzu exclaimed excitedly, with this he placed a gentle hand on top of my head ruffling my hair, on instinct I swatted his hand away, producing a light laugh from Abraxus.

                       “Seems like we’ve finally found our little mouse, you hurt my feelings running off like that, y’know.” As he spoke he calmly walked towards me. With ragged breath, Celeste rushed around the corner to see what the fuss was about. In that instance Abraxus and Pazuzu’s faces grew malicious, looking over at Celeste I could see an angry scowl on her face.

                       “Why is one of them here” Abraxus spat out the words with clear displeasure, although Pazuzu said nothing his expression showed that he felt the same.

                       “What is going on here, why are you here in the first place?!” I grew angry at their clear disrespect towards Celestia who seem surprisingly unbothered by their hatred. Abraxus turned his cold gaze towards me, a deep scowl on his face.

            “Do you realize what she is?!” his voice deep as if he were containing a deep rage. Frightened I began to back away from them. Without hesitation, Celeste stepped forward.

            “You have no business here. You should leave before things escalate.” She spoke calmly but there was something behind her words. With this Pazuzu stepped forward, placing himself directly at eye level with Celeste, he smiled. But it wasn’t his normal goofy grin, it was mocking, almost as if she were his prey.

“Why don’t you tell Nora. What you are. I don’t think she would think too highly of you if she knew what it is you do.” With his words Celeste clenched her fists, her lips set into a thin line. Confused, I began to look between the two. What does he mean “who she is”? I pushed between the two, looking directly into Celeste’s eyes, but she cast her eyes away from mine.

            “What does he mean.” I asked her as calmly as I could manage, but she just shook her head, running her fingers through her long blonde hair with frustration.

            “Nora. It doesn’t matter, okay? None of this matter just forget about it. I should get going.” With these final words Celeste made her way to the door.

“You’re just going to let her walk away? How weak are you!?” Feeling a wave of dizziness, my world began to spin. Groping for a support, I felt myself slipping through my subconscious. My breath ragged and knees weak, I fell only to be caught by Pazuzu who had been standing idly nearby.

“If you won’t get answers for us, then I’ll get them!” With this I felt one final shove against subconscious, my vision began to become blurry, the last thing I saw was Celeste running towards me, then it all went black.

 

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(Point of View of Pazuzu)

 

                       Holding Nora in my arms, she simply laid there motionless, the blonde woman was trying to get to her, but Abraxus held her back.

“What happened to her?!” The blonde girl screamed at me, as if I had the answers, I simply glared at her careful not to drop Nora. During the chaos, a small laugh came from below. As I looked down I could see Nora smiling, but her smile held something dark and menacing.

“Oh well isn’t this interesting.” As she spoke her voice was noticeably deeper, it held a bit of a sultry tone. Slowly she began to stand up, all of us passed wary glances to one another. At her full height, I noticed her demeanor had changed, there was something powerful about her aura, she stood with full confidence in her own abilities, a small smile on her face. She slowly began to look over her body, as if she were seeing herself for the first time.

“Nora?” The girl was the first to speak up, Nora looked at her, her smile not once wavering.

“Ah yes, you.” With a cluck of her tongue, she bore an annoyed glare towards the blonde.

“Someone’s, keeping secrets.” As she spoke, she idly made her way to the blonde.

“Your name…. right…Celeste?” Celeste’s eyes darted to me, seething with rage.

“What did you do to her?!” with her exclamation, Nora placed a hand to her head, her eyes wincing in pain.

“Quiet, you imbecile!” Nora immediately silenced Celeste. Nora closed her eyes and slowly inhaled as if she were under a great deal of stress. After a few moments, she slowly opened her eyes, her sultry smile set perfectly into place. Turning back towards Celestia, she clapped her hands.

“So, listen closely everyone, cause I’m only going to say this once, yes?” she spoke in a cheery sing song voice, Abraxus who hadn’t said a word simply glared at her.

“I am Nora. But there is one little difference.” With this we all held our breath to hear what she had to say next, but instead of speaking any further she began to walk towards me, placing her index finger underneath my chin. Not completely against her touch, I was still confused.

“You, you’re the one who caught me right? Thanks mutt.” With this she simply grinned at me and tapped her index finger on my nose. Abruptly Abraxus grabbed Nora’s wrist pulling her away from me, with this she simply laughed as if she were thoroughly enjoying herself.

            “You’re not Nora.” The statement seemed to have struck a nerve, for her expression darkened, a fierce look in her green eyes. Having had enough of the games, she violently pushed Abraxus away from her, causing him to slam roughly into the door.

“No, you waste of space, I am Nora. I’m her demonic side. I’m sure you’re all aware, I’m a half breed. Well, take a good look.” With this Celeste glowered

“You see, I’ve been locked away, for a very long time.” With a pout she glanced at me through her thick lashes.

“Do you realize how lonely it is to be on the inside, trapped, always observing, but never truly existing. Do you know what if feels like, to watch this pathetic host waste our life away?” As she spoke, the air in the room grew tense, almost suffocating. Suddenly, Nora grabbed Celestia by her wrist abruptly bringing her arm back causing Celeste to fall to her knees.

“Tell me who you are! You’re a worthless human, I can smell the awful stench.” Nora spoke in a low growl a crimson red color taking over her green eyes. Abraxus and I attempted to pull Nora from Celeste, but with a flick of her wrist, a blunt force threw Abraxus and I against the banister, splinters of wood scattering the floor.

“No interruptions!” she fiercely screamed. Turning back to Celestia, she once again began adding pressure, immediately followed by a loud crack that echoed through the hall.  With a fierce scream, Celeste fell to her knees. Her wrist thoroughly broken, Nora began to reach for her neck.

“You dare disobey me?! Answer me!” with a fierce growl Celeste spoke through gritted teeth.

“I’m a demon hunter, I was paid to kill you!” With Celeste’s confession Nora tossed her to the ground releasing her hold on her neck. A cold smile on her face, she stood there looking completely satisfied with herself.

“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” with this she laughed while Celeste laid breathless on the floor. Just then a low laugh rumbled throughout the house, Nora looking just as surprised as us, whipped around towards the open door.

“Well this, was indeed worth the trip.” The mysterious man had a low voice that was laced with malice. As Abraxus and I brushed ourselves off we quickly readied ourselves for a fight. Another powerful aura swarmed the house mixing with Nora’s.

“Who the hell are you?!” I called out to him, but he simply stood there his silhouette hidden by the shadows. A small gasp distracted us from the man, Nora was knelt to the ground grasping her head with both hands. She began to hysterically sob but no tears were to be seen.

“What’s happening?!” Nora called out between her ragged breaths, I quickly ran to her side, with a shaky hand, she did her best to push me aside. I could hear footsteps approaching, looking up I could see the strange man perfectly. He had deep red hair that was held in a long ponytail down his back, a streak of silver laid in the front following downward. He had sharp grey eyes, that showed he feared no man nor demon.

“Who are you?” Abraxus stood head to head with the man, his hands clenched into fists. With this he merely smiled at Abraxus, before any of us could get an answer Nora began gripping my arm, her nails biting into my skin. She began whispering quietly to herself, as I listened more closely I only managed to hear one small sentence.  With a childlike voice, she raised her deep crimson eyes to me, tears streamed her porcelain face. Her once haughty smile replaced with innocence.

 “Please, I don’t want to go back…” with one last sob her body went limp as she fell into a deep slumber.

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(Point of View of Nora)

 

                       Lost in my subconscious, I once again stood before the same mirror. I remembered everything, from the moment she pushed me out. Seeing from her perspective, I could feel the pleasure as she brought Celeste to her knees, smell the scent of freshly splintered wood. Everything. I felt, saw, and heard everything. Celeste. Remembering her betrayal sent a sharp pain to my heart. Were all these years of friendship, a lie? A mixture of emotions coursed through me. Staring into the mirror before me, I could easily see the world as she saw it. I was a spectator of my own life, trapped in my own mind. My fingers tingled on the hand that had just moments before been around Celeste’s throat. As if something was pulling me back, I could hear a loud scream echo throughout the darkness, a violent pain filled my body, grasping my head with both hands I fell to the floor, my eyes squeezed tightly shut. I felt as if I were sinking. Looking back into the mirror I saw the other “Nora” there, I scrambled towards the mirror. She didn’t look like before, this time she looked exhausted, her beautiful eyes had dark shadows underneath and her hair was in messy disarray.

“Nora.” She was breathing heavy when she called my name, her eyes lacking the fierceness of before.

“Nora, I’m sorry. But, this is what we are. You and I…” slowly she reached her hand out to me through the mirror, but the fear I felt from the first time she had done this, was nowhere to be found. Slowly I took her hand, a slight shock coursed through me, in unison we both flinched a small gasp escaping our lips. Looking back at me with her crimson eyes, I felt like I finally understood who I was.

“We are the same person Nora, just different sides of the coin. But heed my warning, we cannot stay in this state forever, eventually one of us will no longer be here. But it’s up to you to decide which of us will stay.” With these final words, she let go of my hand, she slowly laid herself down onto the floor and fell into a deep slumber. After watching her small form for a few moments longer, I felt a shock surge through my body, I screamed loudly the sound echoing around me, and I too lay motionless lost in a deep slumber.

 

********************************

 

                       Jolting awake I realized I was still on the floor in Pazuzu’s arms, above me was another man whom I never had met, he stood there grinning at me, his arms folded across his wide chest. Confused I carefully sat up, all eyes watching me with caution, Celeste was still rubbing her neck and cradling her now broken wrist. Locked in a stare down, she slowly began to speak.

Buried in my subconscious, I could still see, feel, and hear all that transpired. Celeste. She, betrayed me. With furrowed brows, I bit my lip, attempting to hold back my tears. Numerous feelings flooding my mind, I was overwhelmed with the desire to be alone.

“I’d like if you all would leave.” After many loud protests from both Abraxus and Pazuzu, they reluctantly left, the sound of the door leaving a soft echo in their wake. With an exasperated sigh, I threw myself onto the couch where just moments ago, Celeste and I were living our normal lives.  I had left unopened

 

Ms. Parker, what’s easy to get into, but hard to get out of?

The answer is trouble. And that’s what you are in.

I am the only person who can help you. If you seek my aid,

Simply call my name and I will be there.

-Astaroth

 

                       “Trouble huh? It seems the only trouble here is me existing.” With a sigh, I quietly tossed the strange letter onto the table, and simply stared at it. Astaroth. Come to think of it, who was that man who was here when I woke up, I even remember seeing him through the other Nora’s eyes. But he didn’t speak to me, just stared at me, with an evil smirk. Call his name, I wonder. Quickly standing I went out the back door to the small yard we had, looking up I could see the moon has full tonight, the stars were shining brightly tonight as if mocking me.

                       “Astaroth?” I spoke quietly into the night, a soft breeze rustling my hair. I stood there for a couple minutes longer, with no one in sight I sighed softly and began walking back into the house. I was hoping that maybe like in the movies, as I began walking away that someone would mysteriously appear and say, “here I am” but that didn’t happen. Closing the door behind me I walked the steep stairs to my room. Slowly shutting my bedroom door behind me I began to undress.

                       “Oh well I wasn’t expecting this kind of greeting.” Startled by the low voice behind me, I gripped my shirt to my chest and whipped around towards the voice. There stood a tall man, he looked to be in his mid-twenties, he had long red hair that ran down his back, a think silver streak ran down the front of his hair. He wore black pants with a white tee and leather brown jacket. For some reason his voice pulled at something in my memories, but I couldn’t quite place it.

                       “W-what? W-who?! T-turn around!” I yelled loudly at him in which he chuckled lightly but obliged to my request. Quickly throwing my shirt back on, I began to stare more intently at him, as he turned I could see a faint smile on his face. He was handsome, he had chiseled features and a full mouth. Although I still couldn’t see his eyes, I could only assume he was Astaroth.

                       “You’re Astaroth, right?” with this he began walking towards me slowly, as he grew closer I had to crane my neck up to see him. Slowly he brought a hand to my face, once his face grazed my skin I felt a burning sensation that cause me to inhale deeply. Shocked I stepped away from him, my back hitting the wall. It was that man from before! And just like then I was backed into a wall with nowhere to run. As if seeing my realization, he laughed at me, finally able to see his eyes, they were the same cold grey eyes as before.

                       “Ah, it’s a pleasure to see you again, that was quite a performance I saw earlier.” As he spoke he sat on my desk and began playing with the various things that were there. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do, now that I knew who he really was, I had many questions, such as how he knew my father and what he meant by me being “in trouble”.

                       “I’m sure you have many questions, but before we get to business.” His tone had a lightness to it that was lacking in our first meeting. He was still playing with various objects on my desk.

                       “I’m starving. Shall we grab a bite to eat?” I was dumbfounded, food? After the past three days of confusion, this man, leaves me a letter, appears in my room, and now is suggesting we go out for dinner?! Without waiting for an answer, he simply walked past me and began his descent down the stairs, with quick steps, I swiftly followed him. Once at the front door I found him leaning casually, he had a small bag with him this time. Noticing me, a wicked smile appeared on his face. Should I really be with this man, after all he hid his identity from me until now. Not to mention the envelope, he had to have been here while my attention was elsewhere. As I was deep in thought, I didn’t notice Astaroth had come closer to me.

                       “Well, are you coming or not.” Startled by his hot breath near my ear, I looked towards him only to see we were just a few inches apart. I was reminded of our first meeting once again, his cold grey eyes never once wavering from mine.

                       “Nora, he’s our best chance of getting the answers we want.” Hearing the other Nora’s words, I nodded my head slowly.

                       “Yes, let’s go, shall we?” speaking slowly we quietly made our way downtown, the hues of the street lights cascading along the streets. Glancing briefly at Astaroth, I could still see his unwavering grin. Even standing from afar, I could feel a powerful aura protruding from him. Nothing about him screamed “trustworthy” but so far, he’s the only shot I have at getting the answers I want. I have no choice but to blindly follow him.

 

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(Point of View of Astaroth)

                       Making sure not to stray too close to her, I put distance between the nuisance and myself. The scent of roses filled my nostrils, from afar the scent was pleasant, but close its strong enough to make anyone gain a splitting headache. In deep thought, I recalled the series of events that had just moments ago transpired. Nora’s sudden split in personalities was indeed an unexpected problem, the power that exuded from her body was not something one could easily tame.

            Peering over my shoulder, I made eye contact with the girl. She walked with her head down and arms wrapped around her, as if to protect herself. A small grin formed on my lips, it was quite clear I was not welcomed nor trusted.  Though she spent her life wrapped in her innocent bubble, I had to admit, she had good instincts. If I can gain her trust, she will make for a great ally.

The word allies reminded me of two certain pests I’d much rather see dead.  That mutt and pathetic little incubus will be tagging along around her, that may be troublesome.

                       “Astaroth.” hearing my name quietly called I halted mid step, looking her over, she quietly bit her bottom lip. Though the action was innocent, I felt something stir as I gazed at the young girl. A feeling of irritation wavered over me, trying my best to rid myself of my usual scowl. I calmly waited for her to speak.

“What is it?” with this she stepped a few inches closer to me, her scent wafting around me.

“I would like answers.” although there was still some shakiness in her voice, there was a fierce determination in her brilliant green eyes. Repressing a sigh, I calmly walked closer to her so that we were an arm’s length away. Picking up a strand of her long hair, I rubbed the lock between my fingers, savoring the silky texture. Though she flinched at the contact, she never took her eyes away from mine.

   “Nora, if answers were so easily given, why would there be questions?”  with a smile, I set the strand back into place and continued our descent. Although I was only a few feet ahead, I heard a small growl of annoyance behind me, my smile not once wavering. This might be of more entertainment than I first anticipated.