Chapter 10- A little spark

That woman was kinda confusing me... What was I picked for and who do I have to be good for? I didn’t realize it was so late, looking at my watch it had already surpassed 7:30- the parties were starting to begin, their loud music heard in the distance. I looked both right and left- trying to see if Nsokohir was here to walk me home. I felt a slight ping in the pit of my stomach when not a single person was in sight. No cool breezes, no warmth of his hand, his voice, his breath...

I began the walk home. It wasn’t a very long one, but it was not the most safe. I decided to take a longer way home, going through a little courtyard to avoid the increasing traffic on the pathways, and to avoid the party houses. As I walked forward, I kept my head down. I didn’t hear any footsteps until feet came into my view. I snapped my head up, just in time to see Alin take a hold of my wrist.

“Come, Leigh, we’re going to a party.” He said, his mouth twisted in a sinister grin. His eyes were fully dark, radiating no life nor no spark- this was not my brother. I planted my feet into the ground, burying my heels so his strong pull wouldn’t take me as far as he hoped. This was a shell of my twin, not the one who I parted all my secrets, all my life- whom I would take a bullet for! This was not him, but an imposter!

“No, I’m not going to any parties..” I said, my voice wavering with increasing emotion as he attempted to pull me harder, his grip on my wrist tightening until it was almost painful.

“Come one brother, live a little! We can go to a party and get smashed- hey, maybe you’ll even meet a cute guy to take your first time!” What seemed impossible happened, his eyes turned even darker than they were. I gasped, pulling my arm back with the little strength I had- though all it ended up doing was bringing him closer to me.

“Who are you? Is there any bit left of my brother in there? In this shell of you? Do you still hold any humanity? Where is my brother Alin?!” I shouted, my voice breaking, the emotions I was feeling come to surface as tears pricked my eyes.

“I’m right here Leigh, have you been up all night studying again?” He asked, his grin turning more into a snarl as the humor previously there faded. “Now, We’re going to this party!” His grip on my wrist now turned painfully tight.

“No, my brother wouldn’t bring me to this, my brother would know I don’t like this, you’re not him, you're a shell of who he was!” I shouted right in his face, his snarl turning deadly before his fist collided painfully to my jaw, knocking me back and onto my butt. I felt the tears escape through my eyes, as I looked up to see his shocked face. His soulless eyes began to change more lively as his hands covered his mouth.

“N-No, Leigh, I-I didn’t mean to hurt you...” He took a step towards me, causing me to scramble to my feel, holding my throbbing jaw. I was trying to get as much space between us as possible.

“Don’t you dare say you didn’t mean to! You fell into their grasp, you’re turning into them! Just like our soulless siblings! What’s next, you’re going to began to taunt and torment me too? Are you going to leave me residing in piles of blood and tears? Are you going to try and rape me too?!” I screamed right at him, the pain coming back immediately of all those years. When I blamed Nsokohir for what they did, just so he didn’t lose his siblings, even if they were cold, heartless monsters. I had to live with the fact that they hated me- but they tolerated Alin. He took a step back, his hands covering his mouth, his eyes turning back to his own light grey ones, yet they remained wide.

“L-Leigh, I’d never-”

“Don’t you dare go on, you’re becoming like them, you’re already soulless! You let them get to you, and now you will never be the same! Never be my brother no- No... Alin is dead..” I turned around and began walking, yet after a few steps I felt my knees grow weak, the emotional exhaustion beginning to affect my weak body. I felt strong hands lift me up, carrying me bridal style down the courtyard. Everywhere our body touched left sparks in between us. I looked up to see his concerned white eyes staring back down, as he held me tighter to his bare chest.

After a walk which past in a blur, Nsokohir finally set me down on a blanket outdoors, away from the pumping sound of the parties, away from cars, away from people- it was secluded quiet spot, one not often taken, for no buildings recided near it. He placed my backpack away, moving himself next to me. I took my chance for comfort and rested my head on his chest, feeling almost hollow inside. My tears had previous dried, the current adrenaline turning into coldness... His hand released my long hair from it’s ties, and began running his fingers gently through it, those sparks going to comfort- not to arouse me.

I looked down on his chest, seeing the faint lines of his markings decorating his body. They lit up when he got very mad, or when he was using his powers in a strenuous ways. I absentmindedly began to trace the delicate lines with the very tip of my finger. When I went over his perky n****e, I felt a shiver go through his body, as well as his hand waivering for a moment in my hair.

“Do you feel it too?” I whispered, continuing to trace the marks all the way up to his arm, tracing it gently, a featherlight touch. I felt as if I spoke too loud, the moment would be ruined.

“Yes.... I do.” His soft response shocked me- at least I was not alone on these feelings.These tingles, these sparks- they ignited our arousal when kissing, yet calm our emotions when touching. I closed my eyes, continuing to feel my way around the lines. My mind was focused most on Alin- my best friend, my brother, my twin....

“T-Tell me... Did he do it.. On his own accord?” I asked softly, tilting my head up to see his eyes, measuring if he will tell me the truth. He looked down into my eyes, before tilting his head back onto the blanket and looking up at the starry night sky. I followed- seeing the very few stars above us. It was slightly depressing knowing that everyone we see shining has long since died..

“No.... They pawned him into it...He was easy to mold, needing their acceptable.. Therefore he did it. They arranged it.. yet he allowed it. Unfortunately, his soul was taken by my rival, Aicoria. He is heartless, cold, and very competitive. We both are in a competition to gain the most power... But he took your brothers soul to smite me. Trading deals for soul is a lot harder and more time consuming than bonding with a human, like I did to you.”

“But.. you’ve been with me for 10 years, it takes longer for deals?” I asked confused, deciding to learn about his world and ways to try and forget about my own. When I mentioned my curiosity to him before, it began to bring unwanted emotions to the surface.

“Well... When you get to my level, we don’t bond with human. It’s very uncommon for a demon without their horns to bond with a human under puberty age... though the only thing that is needed is the human’s digestion of a demon's saliva for them to get in.. Anyway, what it normally takes when bonding is as little as a year. You bond to the human before their 18th birthday, you seal though sexual relationship, and then you kill them right afterwards- claiming their soul with no problem.”

My heart practically stop, my blood growing cold. What did he mean ‘kill them right afterwards’ I sure didn't want to die. He seemed to know just what I was thinking- especially since he could read my mind, and shook his head gently.

“No... I don’t plan to do that with you. You can have my word. If I wished to murder you in cold blood, I wouldn’t have invested so much in developing you right... I am risking losing my edge for you.. That, as well as I wouldn’t want your blood to be on my hands..Besides the point, when a demon does a deal with a human, before the soul can be rightfully claimed, they have to fulfil their part of the deal. Normally it is a request for power, fame, fortune, talent- things that can take a while before they are satisfactory enough on our terms. Like your brother derek, his demon might be stuck to him until he is in his 30’s, until he is compelled with a famous career... And that is a dwindling process, yet most do that if they just need to gain access to earth for a while.” This some of the most that he explained to me about the demon world. He never really talked much about it, though I have been there while I’m sleeping.

He says that when humans sleep, our souls are so easily taken from our bodies, though normally our minds keep us there with pointless dreams. Why lucid dreams and nightmares can be so horrid, because it’s your soul reliving or creating experiences to make sure your soul doesn’t wander off. So, while I’m sleeping, Nsokohir can lead my soul to the demon world without consequences of remaining there. I was sworn to secrecy though, not that it was a problem. With my track record, it would just end me up in a white jacket. But Nsokohir was never very vocal when it came to his ways of living. Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about him, other then he was very old, very powerful, and very smart. Thinking of demons brought me back to the substitute.

“Oh!” I turned my body so I was more laying on him, turning so I could see his face and eyes. He looked down at me before looking back at the sky. I smiled, liking how we were like this, so calm, so open, so relaxed. I just needed to keep my mind off of a certain area. “I think my substitute was a demon. She called me human. She was really confusing though, like, she looked nice and talked nice and all but something about her just made me... uncomfortable .Do you know her?” I reached into my pocket and took out the card, knowing better than saying the name out loud. That granted any demon access to your soul power for a temporary time. He looked at the card for a moment, his brows furrowing before a large smile filled his features.

“You can trust her, my pet. She is an acquaintance of mine. I had gone to her partner before, to speak of official terms, and she was there. We spoke on light words and she is very interested in you... but what made you uncomfortable was her comfort color. If you haven’t noticed, ours is purple- that color brings us comfort and confidence. Her and her partner have yellow, which is on the opposite side of the “color wheel”. It makes us feel out of place when around it.” I put the card away and sighed happily. It was nice to actually have a demon on my side, to keep me informed and protected from all of this weird stuff happening. I laid back as I was before, curving my body up to his, cuddling my head onto his chest.

“Demons can have partners?” I asked softly, returning to trace the marks on his chests.

“Yes, we have many sexual partners, some just fancy the company of others.. Yet, they have a special case..” He said, the pause afterwards leaving me questing if he would continue. I heard him intake a sharp breath before he let it out.

“She was just a human, yet their souls were bounded together to be one...” What did he mean by that? That, she was human and turned into a demon, because she was soulmates with a demon? Did they even have souls to be able to mate with each other? I always remember Nsokohir calling himself heartless, soulless...

“You might be questioning if demons have souls, yet it is very true. Ours are very weak, that is why it takes much for us to regain power, we have to devour the energy of others just to be able to sustain. I will no longer have to feed on you after we complete the ritual, yet until then it is how I am able to stay on their earth- our bound giving me reason, your soul giving me power..” He spoke softly, seeming like he was avoiding the question. I always read about soulmates before, in those romance novels that lingered in my mothers bookcases. How when they first met, they both were attracted to each other quickly, how after that it hurt for them to be away... How, when they touch it was filtered with sparks, how without one another, they felt incomplete...

My body went tense. Was there a hint on this? How every place on my body that touched his lit sparks between us, how when I’m without him I feel wrong, almost miserable.. How, when we are together, like this, I am happiest? I opened my mouth to speak when he continued on.

“That’s why you need to be most careful. Because Aicoria and the others know that you are still up for grabs. The ritual only works when the human is a virgin at the time, so if they take you before we are able to get rid of the parasite, it will make your soul ‘up for grabs’ when you do pass on. “ He said, almost as if he was telling himself, staring up at the stars unwaiverly. My mind was still swimming with thoughts of soul mates. He says he’s killed people before for their souls, why not me? Was it because he knew we were soul mates?

We sat in a comfortable silence as I went over everything in my head. How, when we first met at that playground, I looked right at him and walked waverly to him, not questioning if he was there for me or not.. How I trusted him from the very beginning, even though I knew better than to trust strangers (I was raised better than that). He had always been there to help me, and even when he hurt me, I could do little to hate him. I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried. No matter how many times he striked my skin, no matter how many scars lingered on my body, I couldn’t hate him... I closed my eyes, cuddling into his chest more. I felt most comfortable right here, this close to him...

I finally realized why I was thinking so hard on that, because I was avoiding thinking of my brother. My brother striked me just as the others. He was becoming just like them, he would soon try to take advantage of my body and mind, he would try to hurt me and torment me, he would try to make my life a living hell, just like them. By twin, my brother, my best friend...My only friend... The emptiness regained itself in my stomach, causing a deep depression to warp through my body. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to keep back the tears, yet soon they were freely flowing. My body began to shake with my sobs as I was brought closer to Nsokohir. He held my face gently in the crook of his neck, allowing me to a shoulder to cry on.

“Why my only brother? I-I loved him, he-he’s.. he’s...” I shook with sobs, hardly able to get out what I was trying to say. Though he knew what I wanted to say, I still tried to get it out. He just held me protectively in his arms, his hand rubbing up and down my back in a comforting way. He even began saying comforting things in my ear, just the right things to get me to calm down. It took over 30 minutes before my body finally stopped shaking, until the tears finally stopped flowing.

“Shh..... You’ll be alright.. You have new people who are willing to be there for you, new people who will love and support you but.. You also will have me..” He spoke softly, finally getting me to raise my head and look up at his face. He was looking at me with his eyes filled with emotions, of sympathy, of concern.. or something else that I couldn’t name..I moved up and placed my lips against his softly, my eyes still locked with his. He returned it, yet kept it very sweet and gentle.

It only took a minute before the sparks took over, deepening and intensifying our kiss until I could no longer control it. Nsokohir licked my bottom lip, gaining access into my willing mouth quickly, creating the intoxicating dance between our tongues once again. His hands went onto my butt, kneading it forcefully as his mouth claimed mine. My hand went to behind his head, keeping us close together. I almost cursed my human body when I removed my lips from his, filling my torturous need for air. I was panting, ever so often a moan escaping my lips- especially when he placed kisses on my neck. He turned us around so I was laying on my back and he was ontop of me, his lips trailing down my clothed body, his eyes looking at me with pure lust.

Suddenly, his body went rigid. His eyes went wide, a sound obviously catching his attention and waking him up from his passion. I laid beneath him, his chest moving up and down as he attempted to regain his composure. He moved himself off of me, watching as two students walked across the pathway in the distance, laughing loudly. I sat up, smoothing my hair back in an attempt to calm myself down as well. I looked over at Nsokohir, catching his light lavender eyes look lost in thought. He stood up, offering a hand to help me. I took it happily, not only getting my needed assistance but also allowed to hold it as we began the track back to my dorm. My backpack hung on the back of Nsokohir, in true gentleman fashion.

After a while of walking, I heard my name called behind me. I turned around, catching eyes with Ethan and Terrance, who quickly walked over. “Leighh~ I’m glad you're here, wanna go to this great par- oh.” Ethan said, before his eyes went to Nsokohir. I looked over at him, almost laughing when I saw him in a very...’normal’ looking appearance. He had short black hair, brown eyes, and actually wore a shirt. The markings that trailed up his neck and into his hair were no longer there.

“Who’s your friend?” Ethan asked, Terrance looking at me, then at our hands, then back at me, then at him, then at Ethan, then me again. His face looked really confused. I let go of Nsokohir’s hand to run a hand through my dark hair, feeling nervous. How was I going to introduce him? I sure can’t say his name unless I’m asking for trouble. I opened my mouth, not wanting to leave them hanging for an answer too long, before I got interrupted.

“I’m Noah, I’m an old friend from back home. I came here to see my buddy Leigh.” He put an arm around my shoulder, bringing my persons close into his embrace. It made those tingles to come back with vengeance, yet it made me even more uncomfortable since Terrance was right here before me, watching me practically squirm under his scrutiny.

“Noah, these are my friends, Ethan and Terrance.” I said, as if I needed too. Nsokohir stuck out his hand towards Terrance, yet I saw the challenging look on his face. Terrance immediately responded, placing his hand within Nsokohir’s for a very strong shake. His eyes then went to Ethan’s with a slight grin, taking and shaking his hand as well. Ethan looked confused for a second before his eyes lit up with understanding. Their eyes locked for a short moment before Ethan finally looked away, their silent conversation leading Ethan to squirm now.

“Come on Terrance, unless we want to be left with the cheap beer we needa get to the party soon.” Ethan stated, looking at us with a slight smile. “Have fun you two, I’ll probably be back for lunch tomorrow, I gotta work in the morning.” I giggled lightly, Ethan always doing that. Staying out and partying all night then going right to work in the morning. Terrance gave me one last look before joining Ethans side, continuing their walk towards one of the partying frat houses. He hardly said anything other than a quick ‘bye’.

“Well, that was pleasant.” I sighed, taking Nsokohir’s hand once again as he lead us inside my dorm, and up the stairs. I still refused to take the elevator, even if Nsokohir wasn’t in the mood to scare me or torment me.. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been in that mood for a while. Since the bathroom, and the shower, he’s been pretty...Docile. Its kind of weird. It’s even been like he is avoiding me. I just wondered what was going through his head.

As soon as we walked in, he went straight to my closet and threw my pajamas at me. “Put these on, and get to bed. Tonight I’m taking you to the demon world, so as soon as you're out for the night, we can go.” He commanded, his voice full of authority. I knew better than to deny him it. I was kind of excited, I haven’t been there for a while and I always looked at it as a little vacation when I couldn’t physically leave my room.

I soon was dressed in my night gear, sitting in front of my mirror as I ran the brush through my hair a couple of times. I saw in the mirror Nsokohir standing with his arms crossed, his eyes lost in thought as he watched me brush my lengthy hair. When I was satisfied I wouldn’t wake up with a rats nest, I walked over to him. With a gentle peck on his cheek, I walked over to my bed, laying down, hugging Soko against my chest. His features lightened as he kneeled next to my bed, caressing my cheek gently.

“You know... My teddy is named Soko.” I giggled like a school boy, getting comfortable. A smile made its way on his face, as he simply looked at the light switch and the lights turned off. I felt like a little kid like this, him next to me, hugging my stuffed animal- back then I had a blue rabbit- as he sent me comforting waves to help me to sleep. Soon enough, I was taken asleep by the idea of Nsokohir with a cute, little purple hair child, reading him a story as he once done for me. I didn’t have enough time to even process the thought as the darkness overtook me...

_________________

When my eyes opened once again, I was laying in the middle of a poppy field. Nsokohir was next to me, chewing on a flower as he watched me. “Well, good morning. “ he joked, taking the flower stem out of his mouth. I giggled (I had been doing lots of that lately), sitting up. Another rule here was I was not allowed to eat or drink anything, nor put anything in my mouth.

Nsokohir raised to his feet, offering his hand for me. I placed it in his own, that warmness filling me deep inside, the tingles shooting through my hand and into my core. I allowing him to lead me out of the field and into the dense city-like environment. The field was there because not only did these demons like to eat the flowers, it was also the only place that human souls could arrive at. It was placed thusly near the deep intercity. He held me close as we walked down the streets, gaining the respectful distance between us from every demon we walked past. I saw most of them had horns- Nsokohir didn’t at all. Neither did that other demon that my brother had sold his soul too. I would bother Nsokohir about that later. Now I was focused on keeping myself as close to Nsokohir, and as far from the others, as possible.

We continued to walk until we arrived to a row house, just like all of the others around it. I never really liked being in the city, but since walking was the only way of transportation for those who were not royalty, or advanced enough to be considered it, we had to walk. It sometimes took a long time to get out of it. It reminded me of an article I read on New York- how it was full of tall, tall buildings and people walked in lines because of how many there were, the close proximity of everything convenient and inconvenient at the same time.

With a few raps to the door, it opened up to produce Annabel- a smile lingering on her beautiful face. She would catch the eye of every man now- she was twice as beautiful then when she was my substitute.

“Lord, Leigh- please come in. It’s good to see you.” She said with a slight giggle, looking at me happily. I followed the guiding hand of Nsokohir, being ushered in and to the living room. This entire place gave me that feeling that I had before, but other then that it was very homey and well decorated. I never was a fan of yellow.

As Nsokohir and Annabel spoke in soft voices, a buff, attractive man with bright yellows eyes and matching hair, and long as two long horns coming from his forehead, entered and took a seat across from me, his face hard. He didn’t lose that seriousness in his face as he spoke. “You must be Leigh. I am Mechtilde, a lesser demon to your own. Do you know your reason for being here?” He spoke softly, his eyes showing no emotions. He maintained that stony expression as Nsokohir joined me on the couch.

“No, we are about to speak on his parasite, as well as an introduction. I see your partner has already met him.” Nsokohir spoke with a deep authority, which lead Mechtilde to obey fully, yet I didn’t feel that need. Here I felt like I was above him for some reason, though I knew very well that he could still tear me to pieces without any recognition.

Annabel returned with a large book in her hand, sitting down on the seat adjacent to my own. Mechtilde watched her with amused eyes- amused eyes full of love. I giggled, finally remembering that these are the two soul mates. I really liked that idea, they did look cute together. Annabel opened up to a page, taking my hand gently.

“Now, this is going to hurt a bit, okay hun?” she said very calmly, motherly. She took a blade from the side of the book and sliced the palm of my hand. I didn’t so much as flinch- this pain was not the type to get a rise out of me. She seemed generally surprised as she placed my hand onto the page of that book, before slicing her own with the same blade and placing it on the page right next to it.

Her eyes went wide and I kept my hand there, watching her facial expression turn from shock to full annoyance. I laughed- that was the look she had given the boys whom were seriously after her phone number. When they didn't drop it, her face turned horrifying and then back off completely. Why would you even want to look at another man when you have your soul mate right before you?

Then, her face turned very confused. Her eyebrows were screwed together, her eyes closing tightly. I looked at Mechtilde, seeing that he himself looked concerned, that stony look off from his face. Nsokohir, though, looked restless. “What are you seeing?” He asked, a tone of annoyance in his voice.

“T-This is confusing, I-I don’t know what I’m sensing, it’s... It’s... Theres more than just A Parasite keeping you back, there’s something more. This is very wrong- very, very wrong. I-It’s like it’s blocking me out from seeing whom is also within connecting to it but.. but... it isn’t good, I’m not high enough power to reach it.. We would need to go to the human world and bring in a stronger witch to try and break this lock...” She spoke softly, opening her eyes. Mechtilde was at her side in a  second, a hand rubbing her back comfortingly. I took my hand away, looking at the still-bleeding wound. Nsokohir took my hand, gently rubbing his rounded claw over it. The simple touch made it begin to heal.

“But, I can very well sense that you-.. that what we spoke about previously is true. Mechtilde, I do wish to help them. I am currently dealing with that human teacher, so I can aid in finding a higher level witch who can maybe help us out. Though I can tell you they won’t do it for free, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. I sensed one on the school campus, so we won’t have to look far...” She said, looking loving at her partner. He looked back, though he looked concerned.

“I understand your draw on helping them, Annabel.... but please, do be careful. Lord Nsokohir, you will protect her as long as she works under your vessels wing, am I correct?” He asked softly, his yellow eyes sparking up with thought. Nsokohir just nodded slightly, his eyes focused on me. I blushed and looked away, towards Annabel who looked at me with a cute smile.

“Now, for the parasite it will take a detachment ritual to get him to even loosen up. This mysterious being that is there has been edging him on tighter and tighter. Plus, whomever it was that summoned him did it before his birth even happened. This makes it more difficult. I am concerned that if we do it before learning the second source, it might just cause more.. Unneeded pain. But I feel on the way it is now, it is of most urgency that we get him going. He is being sought after by many people. “ Annabel said, very seriously. My eyes were wide. Who would want me?

Nsokohir nodded his head slightly, looking at her seriously. “I will need as many eyes on him as I can receive. If you keep to your word on protecting him, I will protect you.” His voice rang his authority, receiving a hesitant nod from both of the two. “Now, come with me Leigh.” Normally, I would be up and quickly out, listening to his words carefully to avoid punishment, but I didn’t feel the pull. The need to follow his orders, the need to please him so I wasn’t hurt . Actually, it kind of annoyed me that I was given orders. I didn’t even know this side of me existed.

“One second.” I said, getting a confused look from all of them. I walked over to Annabels side, giving her a gentle hug before  allowed Nsokohir to bring me anywhere. That was a weird thought from me. That I would allow him to bring me anywhere. Not the other way around. When we left the building, those feelings quickly defaulted to my average ones, as I clung to Nsokohir’s side.

We spent the rest of my time there walking around with Nsokohir before we spent my last hour in the field, just enjoying the weather. Though I did have a question in my mind.

“Why is it.. When I’m here I always feel like... less weak?” I asked softly, sitting back, looking up at the light orange sky. It was always this color, yet it didn’t give those whom color is blue an uncomfortable feeling at birth, it was just there. It was pretty much just there for appearance, since most people don’t enjoy to look into nothingness. I hear, that if you wonder out of the boundaries of the city, you lose all of the appearance of matter and it is rather horrifying. But those are just rumors that I overheard while Nsokohir and I were waiting for our turn to walk the street, or waiting for the royal carriages to pass by.

“That is a good question.. I hope that we can discover this soon.. It is very... interesting, to see you suddenly so willful.. Reminds me of the run in we had with the police and the demon hunter. You much were the perfect little brat for that.” he said with a smile, lightly bumping my shoulder as he chewed on his flower. I giggled, remembering that. I was really annoying, but it was fun anyway. To piss off John’s dad like that- even Carter... I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. Nsokohir lightly took my hand, kissing it, allowing that to help me back into my own body.