Secret of The Night

I stop screaming and get out of bed, frantically searching the room for something to throw at my closet, where the sound had originated. The closet has no door, and I thought I saw red eyes staring at me nestled in one of the cupboard-like compartments, so I grabbed my shoe and threw it. My aim wasn’t all that great, so the shoe’s trajectory went way off target but at that specific moment, the rodent jumped down from its hiding place and scuffled on the ground, no doubt startled by my yell. Which put it directly in the path of my flying shoe. The shoe hit the small thing squarely, and with a squeaky yelp, it fell back.

Darren burst into my room, waving a desk lamp. He flipped on the switch for the overhead lights in a terribly aggressive manner and held up his weapon (the desk lamp). If I weren’t breaking out in cold sweat, I would’ve laughed at the ridiculous sight in front of me.

“What’s the matter?” Darren shouted. I pointed, and when he saw the tiny rat, his shoulders came down from a defensive position. He came over to where I stood near the bed and enveloped me in a hug. That’s when I realized I was trembling, enough to rattle the rock mountains surrounding me. “Shhh,” Darren whispered in my ear. “It’s dead, or knocked out, or in a coma, or something. It’s fine, Vivi.” He smoothed my hair with a gentle hand. The repetition of the strokes relaxed my tense shoulders and I rested my head against his chest, breathing out deeply.

I pulled my head back and looked up at him. “Thanks,” I mouthed. He looked down at me, eyes crinkling kindly. Darren raised his hand and brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear tenderly. Then, with his fingers he pushed the straps of my tank top down and kissed my bare shoulders slowly.

Wait. Wait. Hold up. What is he doing?

Darren led me back to my bed and threw me down on the sheets. He crawled over me and hovered for a moment before swooping down to kiss my neck. He sucked in a breath with tremendous speed. And hesitated.

Ok. That’s good. Hesitation is good. I definitely don’t want this now....

He pushed himself back up and got off the bed. I stared at him, obviously relieved but feeling a sense of something missing. Darren gave me a signature nerdy smile, this time with a twinge of regret and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

I nudged up my straps and pulled the blanket over me so that only my head popped out.

What just happened? I’m only 18! That moved way too fast.

I shook my head and told myself to forget the incident. What’s past is past, right? I forced my eyes shut and drifted off. Before I lost consciousness, a beautiful face with dark blue eyes floated into view. I was so mad at him; it was his fault I was here.

It was all his fault. Right?

I swam into consciousness, my mouth feeling like the Sahara Desert. I rolled to one side, stretching, only to roll off the full-size and land harshly on the floor. Entangled in the thick comforter, I was protected by my shield of fluffy blue down, but the jolt was enough for me to pop my eyes open and keep them open. I pushed myself up, and plodded over to the closet with no doors. Someone had come into my room during the night when I was sleeping and stocked it. Floor length gowns and sparkly prom dresses lined the previously empty closet and I sighed.

Navigating through the sea of sequins, I came across a light blue shirt with a sparkly crop top attached to it. I grabbed the scissors from the nightstand and cut the connection between the bejeweled crop top and its plain underling. That and a pair of denim shorts completed my look, and I went outside to see if the bathroom was in working condition.

I opened the door, and the steam hit my face so hard it fogged up my glasses instantaneously. When they cleared up, I saw that Yoru was by the mirror, a towel around his waist. And nothing else. My eyes widened and I turned around quickly.

“Lock the door next time, pervert!” I slammed the door shut and ran back to my room, jumping back into bed headfirst.

A few moments later, I heard the bathroom door creak open again and footsteps to my room. They stopped outside the door. Without turning around lest my red face be spotted, I said, “Look, I didn’t know you would be in there. Sorry.” Then I realized I was talking to a demon, and that he should be sorry, not me. “But it’s your fault. You should’ve been more careful.”

Silence.

I turned around. Those blue eyes looked back at me. He wore a black shirt now, not as tight fitting as I had remembered. His hair was still damp from the shower; it created a startling black frame around his face. All Yoru did was smirk at me. Once. Then he turned on his heel and went downstairs.

I used the bathroom, fulfilling my morning wash up routine, and waited as Darren did the same (he was awake when I went into his room). We went downstairs together, and then ate some eggs and toast. They were offered to us by mute servants who trailed up and down the dining hall like they had somewhere to go, but nowhere to be. The food seemed legitimate, and both of us were starving after a week surviving off dried fruit.

“So what do we do now?” Darren looked at me, puzzled.

“Find Yoru and talk to him?” I answered his question with one of my own. A tap on my right shoulder bade me turn around. One of the servants stared back at me. She was a short girl, even shorter than me, standing at about 5 feet. She was pink-cheeked, something I did not expect to see in a person down here.

“Hello. My name is Tomorokashi Demona. Master Yoru has instructed me to take you to meet with Sibyl.” The girl repeated to me, robotically and quietly.

I looked at Darren and he looked at me. He shrugged and I nodded to the girl. We followed her to an opening with a bead curtain in the palace. She opened it and went inside, but Darren pulled me back.

“Wait, Vivi. Look,” the trepidation in his voice made me stop. I looked where he was looking. The curtain wasn’t made with beads, as I had thought, but rather with small pieces of bone. I gulped.

I really hope those aren’t human bones.

The girl popped her head back outside, with an annoyed face that instantly transformed her from cute to slightly rabid.

“I think we should follow her. She might kill us on the stop if we don’t,” I hissed at Darren from the corner of my mouth.

He squeezed my hand. “Ok.”

We brushed the “curtain” away and kept the back of the servant girl in our field of vision through a long hallway. We came to its end and encountered an old lady sitting there cross-legged. She had a large mane of gray hair, which covered her face entirely. Our pink-cheeked guide bowed to the old lady and backed out, leaving us alone.

“Um. Hi. So, I think Yoru asked me to meet with you.” I said the words proudly, disregarding the skulls in the corner of the room or the fact that the only light came from a few candles on the mantel.

“Yes. His Highness has asked a favor of me. I am to inform you,” the lady moved her hair aside and looked up at me. Darren tightened his hold on my hand and I moved back a few steps. The kind manager who had given the both of us supplies for the journey and had acted so sad in front of me now grinned maliciously at me.

“You,” I accused, not knowing what I was accusing her of exactly.

“You are right, child. I lied to you. I have no brother. It was my life-blood they stole, my journey to make. But I did tell you the truth when I said my brother did not come out of here alive. I didn’t. I’m a half-demon now,” the old lady cackled at me. “This is what you become when they take your life-blood and you fail in getting it back!”

I moved back even more, betrayal stinging my heart. “The lesser demon with Yoru told me you die when you don’t get your life-blood back in time. Why are you still alive?”

Darren looked at me, startled. “Wait, you’re going to die?”

I ignored him, focusing my attention on the old hag.

“Because, dearie, I made a bargain with them. If you run out of time, give them a piece of your life that was meaningful to you and they’ll turn you into one of them. You’ll be a half-demon. You can still live your life, but you don’t have their powers. And your life is bound to them. Forever.” She cackled at me again. It was getting annoying.

“Great. Anything else I need to know?” I asked, knowing there was more.

“Oh yes. You need much more information. That useless lesser demon back at my cafe didn’t uncover half of what you need. Let’s see here,” she beckoned the two of us to sit on the ground. There was no harm in doing so, so I tugged Darren down beside me.

“Yoru is the prince of this place, first heir. That means he controls everything. And sees everything, so don’t try any funny business. His father is King Shita Tomorokoshi,” she says. I stare at her. “They overthrew the last king. They’re from Japan.” Which explained the Asian-style paintings hanging around.

She took a breath, continuing where she left off. “This world is pretty much the same as the upper one, except without color. It’s the same size as the Earth. Literally an underground. You go to any other planets, and there will be an underworld like this one the same size as the one humans roam on. This land is chained to its brother reality. One cannot exist without the other. The only beings who can travel between this world and the upper world freely are half-demons, because they have traits of both species, the ruling family, and anyone who the ruling family chooses to bring with them. All the other demons can too, but they have to pay a toll. Not money. A possession. Then they can go there and eat whatever they want. Like a buffet. With humans.” She laughs madly and I squirm in discomfort. I feel Darren next to me ready to bash this lady’s head in for her gruesome topic, but I put a hand over his arm to calm him.

“If you’re not a half-demon or a royal or a royal’s companion, then you can only stay up there for a certain amount of time. Demons can only filter the air for so long. Then we die. It’s the opposite for humans. They can come as they please, but weapons can’t. The Barrier senses evil intent in such things like guns or machetes and acts like a filter. Those things don’t make it down here. It’s for the protection of both our species. We all know a war would be devastating. The ruling family members are the only ones that can take life-blood. I’m sure the eunuch explained to you what exactly that is.” I nod. She picks up, “Of course, everyone who gets his or her life-blood taken comes down here to get it back. They all hear that they just have to kill the royal who took the life-blood from them to get their years back and go back to their normal lives. They’re right, but once they come down here, they’re either dead or here to stay like me. But there’s something special about having your life-blood taken away from you. One interesting fact that, if those other children had known, they might not have died. Of course, it’s still highly possible that they would’ve died.”

I sit up straighter. “Enlighten me.”

Half-demon lady stands up and begins dusting off her mantel with a single long-ass sleeve. “Oh yes, Vivi dear. Yoru has your life-blood, which means he has you. Part of your soul is inside him, fueling his life. That means he can’t do things that you really hate. He can’t kill you. There will be two sides to his heart, girl, and you control one part. He can’t order people to kill you. Now that’s great and all, but all it means is he can’t do things you don’t like. He can’t do things you want. He can’t return your life-blood of his own volition. He can’t give you eternal happiness or something silly like that.”

I glance at Darren. “That’s good, right?” I ask my informer.

“Yes, in a way,” replies the Sibyl.

Darren squeezes my hand in happiness and we smile at each other, pleased with this new information. I pause.

If Yoru can’t order people to kill me, then I can make it so he can’t order people to kill Darren, either!

I smile at my own revelation, when the Sibyl speaks again.

“One more thing, child. There’s another way to get your life-blood back. No one ever tries it, because it’s a lost cause for most people and you end up squandering your remaining years away. But Shita, the King who stole my life-blood, told me. And I almost succeeded. Had it not been for his allegiance to his kingdom, I might have won,” she spoke bitterly. I was intrigued, but knew better than to ask at this moment, and simply waited for her to go on. “Make him fall in love with you. You don’t have to fall in love with him, but make it so the prince falls truly and utterly in love with you. Then you will get your life-blood back.”