~The Unseen Entity & It's Request~
The fire crackled between the cracks of the dry earth like scorched ground beneath Layla's bare feet in the demon realm. Since Emery's retreat from life in Theera Layla had toyed to her black hearts content with the Theera Elites till she wandered aimlessly ruled only by her COTCIV instincts back into the dark void that was the demonic realm and origin of the COTCIV. She now stood outside the throne room of hell and stared aimlessly into the nothingness for what may have felt like an eternity to any onlookers until a female voice interrupted the trance like state of hers. She didn't even bother to glace back at the owner of the voice.
"You should return soon."
Layla's eyes transitioned from green to white momentarily as she processed the thought of such a idea the voice offered her. She took a deep breath and let out a bored like sigh.
"Whatever for? I find it quite dull. I need new toys to play with."
With that she walked slowly away barefoot. The fire licking the flesh of the soles of her delicate bare feet as she went, did not phase her in the least. As Layla walked across the dry cracked scorched land barefoot, the fire between the cracks continuously burned away her flesh little by little. She kept walking lost in her thoughts and in the hive till she reached the partition, the shadows between the realms, that would take her to the demonic shadows should she cross the divide between them. Her feet now raw and in various stages of degrees of burns and rapid demonic healing sizzled as she stood at the border arguing with a unseen entity.
"Shut the fyke up!! Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?!?"
She stomped her left foot. As she lifted it, prior to making the resulting impact on the hot surface of the ground, flesh tore away from the meat of the bottom of her foot. As it made its impact a squish like noise could be heard as the meat and filet strip of flesh reunited. Layla rolled her eyes as she had finally made some kind of sign she acknowledged her current situation and wasn't as oblivious to it as she had seemed. She took a deep sigh as if the entity she was arguing with responded to her loud remark and Layla then responded again more calmly.
"Fine but let me ask you this.. what's in it for me??"
All was silent for awhile as she stood there in a similar trance like state she was in outside the throne room of hell earlier. She was listening and analyzing what the unseen entity was saying carefully. She then nodded slowly.
"Fine, but you better keep your end of the deal."
She then passed the divide. As her feet lifted up off the ground one after the other as she did so, her flesh now burned to char was left behind. Her last steps she took after that in the demonic realm left behind her own blood sizzling on the dry scorched surface to char as her flesh did.
~The Demon & The Dragon~
Time ticked on by. In the early dawn morning, a Theeran peasant farmer was clearing a field to prepare for the upcoming planting season when he is suddenly caught off guard by a peculiar scene. A barefoot woman in a blood splatter stained white gown was walking down the road, and six feet behind her followed a little blonde boy around the age of eight, in clothing fit for the son of a well to do Theeran Elite. He knew not what to make of the scene as he held a spade in his right hand, so he just stared momentarily then shook his head as he continued his labor in the field.
Layla and the little boy named Rayne had been walking for nearly two weeks since crossing the shadow realms after departing the demonic realm. Rayne hardly once muttered a single sound from his tiny little body so Layla hardly ever remembered the little boy even existed and was the reason she left the demonic realm. He had nothing to say of importance to the demon anyway. His senses were overstimulated by all the sights and sounds that were very much different from anything he had ever known. As he walked all day and night he just studied every detail as they went while lost in thought. The only sounds coming from either of the two in the past two weeks was Layla's mutterings and arguments with the voices in her head. Her feet still bare and now fully healed were aching for the scorching grounds of hell. They helped keep her anchored and her favorite method used to help keep her in the moment.
The sun had long set and as they crossed the boundary into Tir Na nÓg when a idea suddenly hit Layla and she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to the eight year old child Rayne.
"They say your useless and the result of a dud egg, extra flesh expelled from your mother's eggs, but I have a question, and if answered correctly, you could be useful to me at least for now that I think about it. I may then change dinner plans tonight if so... Your a Draclaw and can make fire right?"
Rayne stopped then dead in his tracks too and gave her a puzzled look. He was more puzzled about the dinner comment than anything else she said. Only one word, a question with one tiny sound is all he could muster as a reply.
"What?"
They stood there for what felt like a eternity staring at each other. Both held similar confused expressions as they did so. So many questions raced through Rayne's mind but he couldn't bring himself to voice them. Layla was one of the rare few in hell that he felt was a bit off putting. He always succeeded at avoiding her company up until now.
After a few moments he proceeded with the question that he kept cycling back to in his head.
"What exactly was your dinner plans originally.... Auntie Layla ???"
The honorific term auntie dripped with sarcasm. It was grilled into him from birth to respect the demons on levels above his own.. in his case that was every one of them because unlike his twin sister Phoenix, he was not of the COTCIV, he was a Draclaw. The Demons in his life had no problem reminding him of that fact when his sister was nowhere around as well. His mother Raven's once protective embrace, he would run into once, had become a not so fondly remembered distant memory. She should have protected him he felt, but didn't, and now death was a real possibility for him all because of her neglectful choices. Anger began consuming him and his little dragon fuse, as short as he began igniting.
"Well?!"
His stare was challenging and held no fear, as if he was challenging a small ant and not a demon much older and powerful than he.
Layla just giggled at the little dragons display of anger. She found it to be quite adorable. If he had been any older she would not have found humor in the situation and would have struck him down where he stood challenging her with his stare. She ceased her laughter and answered him honestly.
"Well you of course after simmering you on low for extra flavor."
She shrugged in a matter of fact manner.
"That's the circle of life kid, and your mother's fault honestly."
Her laughter and remarks angered him further, he responded quickly.
"To answer your question earlier auntie, yes I can make fire."
With that fire expelled from the little Draclaw as he attempted to set Layla ablaze in his fit of anger.
Layla was shocked by Rayne and how quickly he reacted and his short fuse.
"Chilllll, but yes that answers my question. Next time aim lower I kinda like my face."
Layla turned and continued the walk into Tir na nÓg. It didn't take long before she heard the foot steps of the eight year old boy following behind her all the while huffing and puffing. Layla thought it was quite adorable.
After spending awhile in Tir Na nÓg, Rayne had concluded Layla was quite insane. She developed a habit of poking at Rayne to anger him and lavished in the resulting fire Rayne sent her way as a result. It didn't take long before Rayne caught on and changed tactics. He would refuse a fire filled reaction as that is what she sought. This angered Layla and sent her on a ingredient search as she planned his death and her meal as the Demonic realm originally ordered. Rayne quickly escaped the castle of Tir Na nÓg and sprouted wings and fled leaving Layla none the wiser of his departure. Rayne then began his journey to Terranite. He was on a mission to make his mother pay for abandoning him and his sister, and causing his near death encounters that followed. First he would need to learn how this realm worked.
~The Nagging Voice~
Layla enters Terranite's Grand Hall with a annoyed expression on her face. She didn't say a word to anyone as she did so. She had failed. She did not complete the task given to her. She had a feeling the insanity plea would not work in the Demonic realm. What's worse, she lost the damn kid. The nagging voice in her head constantly reminded Layla that if the situation was not resolved quickly, another would have to take Rayne place on the death roster as a quota had to be met regardless. Killing Rayne was to serve two purposes for the COTCIV clan.
Suddenly the nagging voice was scolding her once more and then was cursing Layla's mental shortcomings, then threatened to fix her like they did Raven. Layla stopped in the middle of the hall and instinctively covered her ears not that it did any good. She was beyond annoyed now and screamed at the voice nobody else could hear.
"Shut up already! I get the fyking point, but I mean honestly I myself would have told you not to pick me for important tasks!! I mean who is crazy now? Obviously the person who said tell Layla to do it."
Layla rolled her eyes and then continued walking. She was headed to the balcony to be alone. She only chose Terranite because it was her mother's home and she planned to stay for a few days. Layla had created a mess and she didn't want to clean up the bodies in Tir Na nÓg from a mishap that was her fault as well. She had messed up and believed someone in the hive who convinced her the staff were all spying on her, that they killed Emrys, was plotting Layla's murder, and that they were hiding Rayne . Now there was nobody left to remove the mess except her. She was well loved by her adoptive mother Emilia and had maids and nannies growing up who took care of such things. She didn't even know how to operate or hold a broom. She didn't think she could sweep up the bodies if she figured it out anyway. After she had caught and killed the last, the one who convinced her to do it started laughing along with others in her head in the hive who found it quite entertaining. The convincer then spoke to her, and she was suddenly grateful the nagging voice had went silent. She did wonder however where she went when she wasn't nagging here lately. 🤔
The convincer in the hive whispered which made Layla giggle because he had no reason to be whispering. Nobody outside of her head could hear him.
"You could always just burn the mess away."
Layla debated on the idea but shook her head no as her response. Fires were a fun memory and she didn't want to enjoy such things without Emrys who was gone, burning stuff down was fun with her. The glow in Emrys eyes as the blaze consumed all in it's path was pure rare art to Layla. The convincer said no more as if he understood why she shook her head no. She instead spoke out loud and told him her plans to clean it up.
"No it's ok I will ask my mom to send some people to do it."
She sat on the balcony for awhile and all was silent and she was grateful for it but it didn't last long. The nagging voice returned again.
"Did you find him yet?"
Layla sighed very loudly and then groaned.
"NO I JUST GOT HERE CAN I ENJOY THE VIEW FOR ONE SECOND?"
The nagging voice yells right back and Layla can feel the vibration from the voice bounce off the inside of her skull.
"WHY ARE ALL WOMEN UNTOUCHED BY MAN SO LAZY! YOUR MOTHER SHOULD HAVE MADE YOU WED A MAN! LOSE THE FLOWER AND GAIN WISDOM AND THE WILL TO COMPLETE SIMPLE TASKS!!"
This angered Layla, she had no use for man and always preferred women. Her mother also didn't make mistakes in Layla's opinion. She countered with logic.
"Really? Because that obviously did you some good right? Now we are counting children to pay your price..."
(To be continued)
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