Devil in Shepherd's Robes

Ch 7: Reunited

1213 Crownpoint Avenue, Oregon. Our home. Ephram played these words on repeat in his mind, feeling his very soul connected to them. He feared forgetting those words and the people in the photograph, so he had tucked the picture back into the watch and hid it within his left breast pocket once more.

Since returning to Hell via the sigil in Aberlain's study, something had been bothering him. It was no mere coincidence he had passed out after the watch had opened, revealing the picture within. There was more to it, he knew that within his heart. But why the picture caused such a reaction from him, he had no clue. The only explanation he could hope to find would be to visit the address scribbled on the flip side of the photo.

As he walked through the hall, following a few paces behind Aberlain, an idea sprung forth. If he could convince both May and Silo to accompany him to Earth and find the place mentioned on the photo, it would be easier for him to find any clue as to why he fell unconscious. So far those two were the only ones he knew he could trust, knowing that if things go wrong they'd have his back.

"E, you go on ahead. I have a meeting to attend and would like to prepare for it. I'll have Restavel here see you to your room. It's just across the hall from... Silo, was it?" Aberlain said, pointing down the corridor to a tall dark female demon.

She was dressed in a long frilly maids uniform, her shoulder length dull gray hair flatly pressed to her head covering the majority of her face with her choppy bangs. She was almost as tall as Ephram and seemed to be speaking to a few other shorter demons in similar dresses with similar hair and slim figures. As soon as she caught sight of Aberlain, however, she dismissed the other maids. Ephram noticed something odd about her, she seemed to walk with a very slight limp dur to her left leg. Now that he paid closer attention, he noticed all of the shorter maids walk with the same limp as they scurried through the corridor, passing both him and Aberlain quickly. They all wore long skirts that just barely touched their ankles, making it impossible to see what was causing the odd limping phenomena.

"Restavel, could you please see our guest to the quarters across the hall from the field mouse? I'd really appreciate it." Aberlain said, dawning a suspiciously kind tone with the maid.

She nodded in obedience, beckoning for Ephram to follow her without any hesitation or response to the Rootlord.

"Oh, and E! One more thing..." Aberlain yelled as he began hurriedly walking in the opposite direction, "as long as you stay within the palace, you don't have anything to worry about! You're safe here, I promise, so catch up on some rest if you'd like!" The Rootlord proclaimed cheerily as he waved goodbye.

Ephram thought to himself why Aberlain would say such a thing, it had become increasingly obvious that he was just trying to keep an eye on him. It bugged him why the Rootlord still didn't seem to trust him fully, even after everything he'd done to prove his trustworthiness. Looking towards the maid now directing him through corridor after corridor, he wondered what she thought of Aberlain.

"Restavel, right? What do you think of him?" He asked, and was met with a sideways glance from the confused maid.

"Clarify." She said, but her voice sounded more robotic than demon.

"I mean... do you think he finds it hard to trust others?"

The maid showed no indication of thought whatsoever as she continued limping down the hall, the clicking of her short black heels echoing through the air.

"Don't know." She said, ending the conversation then and there.

Ephram took this as his cue to stay silent, not sure why Restavel had no intentions of speaking anymore with him. Perhaps she just wasn't the talkative type, he thought, as he gave her the benefit of the doubt.