The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty Four pt 4

Grabbing Vrona by the neck of her cape, Drokn dragged her to a corner of the room, away from the other demons whose eyes still locked their way. "Why can't I just go in and fight him? We don't need all this planning!" Drokn yelled in a whisper, his voice booming against Vrona's eardrums.

"The king is a strong opponent. His magic is unimaginable. We need to work together and strategize or else it won't work. That's why overruling him earlier was not easy or an option. That's why we've spent years—"

Interrupting the demoness, Drokn hissed, his eyes turning red, "Then why the fuck did we spend all that time training if I wasn't going to be the one to defeat him?"

"You still need that training for protection!"

"I don't need protection!" Breath quickening, the demon bared his teeth. "Tell me, why am I even here? Am I just a pawn for your plans?"

"Everyone here is a pawn of the plan, Drokn. You're important, but so is everyone else."

Teeth still revealed, Drokn could not retort further. Deep down, he understood what the demoness said was true, but even deeper, he could not help but feel the burns of his past sear forward.

At the end of it all, he still truly wanted to be special.

A face fleeted across the demon's mind, eyes that cooled the worst of his fears, his desires. Blushed cheeks that made his world fill with gold. That's right, where was his elf?

"I need to cool off," Drokn mumbled, letting go of Vrona's cape. Without him even realizing, the demon's red eyes blended back into amber.

Sighing, Vrona nodded, letting him have his space to think. As Drokn stormed off, Vrona rejoined the planning group. Her attention was refocused, as her input and knowledge were greatly valuable for the planning.

Five times at the least, Drokn made quick glances at everyone in the room, trying to match them to the face he had in mind. When there was no luck, he checked yet once more, he looked into the corners of the room, under anything where his companion might have hidden, until suddenly, a wash of dread filled him through the bond.

With a great amount of ease, Drokn was able to get past the guards of the cell doors and move upwards, the way they had come down from. His steps were quick in pace, matching his pounding heart. At the last door left unguarded, he was led into a hallway, the long, empty stretch greeting his eyes.

At least, when his eyes looked right. As the door closed behind and his left was revealed, he saw the blooming presence he had been searching for.

"Eial!" the demon exclaimed in a soft voice as to not echo down the hallways. "Why are you here?"

The elf had been sitting on the floor, cloth around his eyes removed, knees and palms to the ground, focused. As his gaze shifted up to meet the demon's, the demon noticed the expression of unease struck in the pinched brows.

Immediately joining the elf on the ground, he reached his hand to cup the elf's cheek. "What's wrong?" Drokn asked, searching from one eye to the other.

Gently grabbing Drokn's hand and easing it down, Eial hesitantly spoke. "There's an unusual spike of elemental energy. It's all moving and changing and I— Something is wrong. It's like the crater in the other town. I feel like something awful is going to happen." At Drokn's unsure silence, Eial continued, "I'm sorry Drokn, I can't be with you today. I have to go."

Immediately, the face of concern on Drokn contorted. "What do you mean you have to go?"

"I don't think this city is safe. I'm the only one here who can detect the elemental energies. I have to help, I—"

"You said you would help me! That I was priority!" Drokn's voice was no longer hushed and his voice echoed down the bare walls. He snatched his hand away from the elf's hold, his eyes returning to a red.

"You are, but... I can't let all the demons in this city get hurt if I know I can stop it. You're so much stronger, now, Drokn. You don't need me to defeat the king." Eial smiled sorrowfully and stood up, preparing to step back.

Quickly, Drokn's hand snatched onto the edge of the elf's sleeve. He was leaned in, his other hand on the floor for balance, begging. A pitiful look for someone with so much dignity. "I do need you," voiced the demon, his throat cracked in the surprising admittance, a vulnerability none could have predicted he would or even could display. His heart pounded with so much vigor despite the sinking darkness in his chest.

Just as Eial's wavering mouth opened to speak, his eyes burst open, looking distant, as if sensing a distress in the distance. Bringing his attention back to the demon, he breathed in slowly. "I believe in you, Drokn." Carefully, Eial moved his wrist away and the small amount of fabric the demon had latched onto became free. "I'm sorry."

Eyes locked on each other, as Eial started to take a full step back, Drokn pushed himself up to reach again. However, just before the demon grabbed his arm, just before Eial's foot touched the ground,

The elf vanished.

Like he had trained, without a hint he was leaving, without a trace of where he had left to, he successfully teleported away...

...leaving only Drokn's shadow to remain in the bright lit hallway.

~~~

In the midst of planning, Vrona took a moment to glance around to check on how Drokn was doing. To her concern, he was nowhere to be seen. In the search, she also noticed the absence of the elf. Asking about the demon to the first guard at the cell door, the guard made a questioning face.

"He left after talking to you. I thought it was a part of the plan, so I just let him leave..."

"How about the other one who was with us? The smaller one?"

The guard looked around the room. "I thought he was still here..."

Pulse racing, Vrona swore under her breath and ran past the door, past the other guarded doors, until reaching the final unguarded door.

Swerving it open, she saw—

...No one.

"Fuck!" Vrona hissed and dragged her fingers through her hair. Rushing back down the steps to the other demons of the rebellion, she sighed in frustration.

"Alright," She announced. "Change of plans."