The Demon Within

Chapter Sixteen

Mei sat in the cage with her legs pulled up against her chest, her face downcast. All along, the one man she despised the most was the one who had actually helped her and knew the most about her. Mei looked over and saw Taichi, his teeth gritting together and his eyes red, cursing over and over again as he looked to the side of his cage. Mei could understand his pain; he had been deceived from the beginning. Taichi had hopes in saving his family, but Osamu took that away too. False hope, Mei thought. Seems everyone clings to it now-a-days. Mei hoped Kazuma would continue on without her there and mobilize the forces so they could take on the Empire. The sooner the Empire fell, the better.

"I'm sorry, princess." Mei's head shot over to where she was looking at Taichi, and saw he was looking at her gloomily from the corner of his eye. Pain stabbed at Mei's heart from his expression, but part of her didn't feel like being forgiving. Despite Mei's own bitterness, Mei breathed out a sigh and half-smiled at him.

"You were trying to save those dear to you. I wish I could've done the same," Mei replied softly.

Taichi tore his gaze away from her. "That mongrel is right though. What kind of demon am I if I betray my princess?"

"You haven't betrayed anyone. Deceived, yes, but you haven't betrayed your kind. I would've ended up here sooner or later to take him on." At that moment Taichi turned and looked at her, his eyes glimmering with hesitation.

"You don't understand want he wants, do you?" Taichi asked carefully. Mei shrugged her shoulders and rested her chin on her forearms.

"He wants me locked up so I can't kill him. That part is obvious," Mei answered him. Mei could feel Taichi's eyes on her, like they were digging into her skin.

"Wow, you are naïve. That's not what Osamu wants, princess. To gain the power the Desani house holds, he's going to devour your soul, just like he did with your grandfather." 

"What?" Mei said, looking over at Taichi, bewildered. "That's ridiculous. I thought he had at least a part of that power when he drank his blood?" Taichi snorted before responding.

"Apparently that's not enough for his plans," Taichi said closing his eyes. He opened them and stared right at Mei. "He wants to reopen the chaotic abyss, and release Certo from his slumber. He wants control over both worlds; human and demon alike. Which is the last thing you need, princess."

"Certo can only be controlled by the Desani house," Mei stated as she narrowed her eyes slightly. "He has my grandfather's power. If he can't open the portal with that, then he certainly can't do it with me. Besides, he couldn't possibly open the portal the way things are now. That's why we haven't gone back! He holds a seal on it, preventing anything from—"

"How naïve are you princess?" Taichi said raising his voice. Mei was taken aback by his tone and looked at him confused. Taichi looked away, sighing heavily. "It appears your memory hasn't even begun to fully recover. Of course that's not your fault, but you would've thought your mother would've put more thought into this. I'm surprised you even remember Certo."

"Who could forget Certo?" Mei mumbled. "He's a savage, bloodthirsty demon deity." Taichi sat in silence for a moment, letting Mei's bitter response roll over him. After a few moments, a small smirk appeared on the corners of his mouth.

"Humph, forgive my boldness princess, but Osamu is going to get the best of us if you don't pull your act together. We can't necessarily win without you."

"What do you mean exactly?" Mei asked dangerously, feeling like Taichi was belittling her.

Taichi gave her a sarcastic expression as he rolled his head to the side to look at her. "You are from the Desani house, and I am from the Paradomic house. I believe the Pureblood beside you in the courtyard is part of the Sanataic house. With the three houses working together, there's no way Osamu should be able to win. In order for that to happen, you need to get a move on. And I say this with the utmost respect."