Glass Arrow

Chapter 20

            Waking up to a dark sky and a heavy arm around you isn't necessarily a pleasant nor unpleasant way to wake up. Was it a new experience? In this regard I suppose. Sitting up I half-heartedly toss his arm off me and rubbed my face with a sigh. No, it was unpleasant after all. I was stringing him along. "Lilith?" Came a groggy voice as an arm wrapped around my hips, unbothered by my having sat up.

          Looking down at the devil I created I gently took his wrist and removed it a second time. Pushing to my feet I stretched while he sluggishly sat up, resting his head in his arms while they rested on his knees. "It's late, come back to bed," He yawned tilting his head and dozing off. Completely off guard. Very unpleasant.

         "... I'll be right back, just go back to sleep," I decided, pulling my hair up and watching him from the corner of my eyes. He mumbled incoherently before dropping back onto the harsh ground like it was the softest thing ever. The sight making me frown but with a gentle shake of the head, I was stepping out of the tent that was supposed to be his. He got one to himself after all. Didn't want to risk a demon killing someone.

       It didn't take me any more than five minutes before I had found just who I was looking for. "... Master," I called, earning a hum as the circus master didn't even look my way. Busy dancing with one of its humanoid wooden golems without so much as music to dance to.

         "Merger," They called back, entertainment in their voice. "Or, well, abomination, correct?" They dipped the doll, looking up and meeting my gaze with a grin. Not failure. Abomination. I couldn't help the sigh that fell past my lips.

       "More like mortal,"

       "Mm, I suppose that too," They returned to their dance, tossing the doll aside and taking my hands. Following after the taller person I didn't say anything and merely matched their steps. "You know what they do to mergers, don't you?" I was getting teased, cruelly with the implication I knew.

         "Unfortunately, however, I don't live in the Crystal Empire, I live in Saning of the seven kingdoms." They laughed, twirling me into their arms.

         "I take it you've only known for sixish months?" My feet faltered gently, with a quick tug I was rolled into their arms, my back pressed into their chest. Making me shiver with the words they whispered into my ear next. "You are a merger of the highest quality, you can bind even holy beasts and command creatures so horrid they were sentenced to the pit-" Breaking out of their arms I glared at them, they just mockingly raised their arms but continued.

        "You came here, alive, with a creature I take you created, going past whatever people powerful enough to possess something that shouldn't be possible. Saning, the seven kingdoms, doesn't matter much. You've done an unforgivable act, you've scorned those likely still debating protecting you. Proven to them that you are more dangerous than they had already thought, even with some half-bred demon following you around. You'll be cast out and sent off to those that know how to keep a proper leash on something like yourself,"

        Glaring harder, knowing Miss H wouldn't stand up to tell them she was the one to inform me of such a thing, leaving it as I find out. Leaving it as I was the one that not only stole their grimoire, one I had yet to earn the trust of and couldn't even read, but used information they wouldn't know where I got from to do one of the biggest taboos. What they were saying made sense. What they were saying was something I hadn't even thought of. I had simply given some hundreds of potions and left a cute note thinking treason of that level could be forgiven.

       "... I did not come here to talk about that," I growled, clenching my fists as I could only turn my gaze to the ground. It was true and I had no rebuttal.

         "Mmm... I imagine you want to know if I'll let the mortal you, the abomination you, to remain with my group?" Opening my mouth I closed it and turned my downcast gaze to the side with a clenched jaw. "Adorable response, truly, but a creature as dangerous as you running around my people would be quite the liability," They hummed, stepping forward. "But, well, we are a circus, the bigger the freak, the better the audience," They grabbed my face, forcing me to look up at them, a grin carved into their face.

           "... I'll work for my stay,"

           "Oh, of course you will, everyone does, the living are not exemptions to that rule." Ripping my face form their long and thin fingers I wiped the grimy feeling away with a scowl. " If you keep reacting like that, I'll get hurt you know." I just glared harder. "Keep it up and not even the angels will accept you as their own."