Daegelus | Book 1

Chapter Thirty-Four | Maverick

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Elijah didn't mean to fall asleep. He found himself in The Darkness, and a horrible feeling of angst gripped him. What happened last time still had him on edge; he didn't know nearly enough about this place to be wandering around, least of all getting too close to the things he saw. He didn't want to see that distorted man again, nor did he want to risk him seeing him this time.

But it was too late for him to try and wake up.

He heard the faceless man's echoing voice behind him.

With a cautious frown, Elijah turned to face the sound and set his amber eyes on a torn curtain which acted as a makeshift door in a crooked, cobwebby doorway.

"This is seven doctors now," the man said, sounding frustrated. "It's not a coincidence. It's him. He's coming, and he's getting close."

Elijah slowly prowled towards the curtain.

"Whether that's true or not, little one, you need to be patient," the same woman from before replied. "We have to be careful; we only have so many cards to play."

"Just let me kill him!" he insisted.

The woman snarled irritably. "Settle down."

Elijah reached the curtain and stared through a rip in its seams. The woman was sitting next to a burning fireplace, and the faceless man was standing in front of her.

With an angry huff, the man descended onto one knee, resting his arm over the other. "I can do it, Mother."

Mother?

"I know you can, my dear boy," she said as she patted his head, sending ripples through the distortion which smothered his face—but it didn't reveal any more than one of his black eyes. "But he isn't alone anymore."

The man scoffed. "That doesn't make a difference."

She frowned disapprovingly at him. "It does make a difference. That girl is still one of them. You must be very careful around all of them."

He scoffed again.

Elijah still didn't know who either of them were, but they were certain that they were talking about him. He'd killed seven of the Lyca Corp. doctors. And if they were talking about him, then they must also be talking about Zoe. But who was she one of? What were they talking about?

"Wait," the man then said skeptically and turned his head towards the curtain.

Although he couldn't see the man's eyes, Elijah knew that they were looking directly at him, and it sent dread spiralling through his tense body.

"Someone's...here again," the man said as he got up.

Elijah backed away from the curtain, but the man stepped out of the room and followed him into the dark. He didn't know how to react, and when he closed his eyes and tried to wake himself up, it didn't work. He was still stuck there, and the faceless man was moving towards him.

"I know you're here," he drawled.

The demon's heart started racing. A part of him wanted to attack, to defend himself, but he didn't know what that would do. He didn't know what interacting with someone he saw through The Darkness would do.

"I'm going to find you," the man said, still moving closer.

"Maverick," the woman called from behind the curtain. "What are you doing out there?"