A Loyal Companion
FIFTEEN: Trap

“I knew you’d come”

I turned and faced Ulyn standing by the broken cell door. His face held a winning grin. I didn’t care if I walked straight into a trap, I knew it already, but I did care when my friend was lying there holding on to the last strand of life he had, I cared enough to trade him with my own life.

“How could you do this to him?” I didn’t bother to bit back the anger that flowed with those words.

“He killed my family, Ondine, and now he’d suffer for all eternity for what he had done to me, to my family, hell, to everyone! Because gods know just how many others suffered because of what he did!”

“Even if he did kill your family, this wouldn’t bring them back! And maybe, your family deserved to die!” that last sentence triggered his rage that was shown in his eyes. That’s it! Be angry! It would be easier to beat him.

“Bitch! Don’t think I wouldn’t hurt you!” he charged towards me. I jumped to protect Gin and blocked his blow with Crimson Tears.

I kicked his stomach and when he bent at the waist, I hit him an upper cut, sending the man towards the wall. He bounced off and landed on his feet, his hand was holding the jaw where I my fist had hit.

“Is that all you’ve got?” he took his hand off his jaw and spat blood. I smirked at him, as I felt Crimson Tears vibrating against my palm, thirsty for his blood.

“I have all eternity to play with you, Ulyn. Trust me. For what you have done to Gin, I’d do worse to you” I moved in an inhuman speed towards him, he avoided my attack. Unfortunately for him, I was faster, and lucky that he had long hair, my freehand grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled him back, sending a blow to his chest before he hit the ground hard with his back.

He turned to his side, propping his body with his elbow, and started laughing

“Seriously Ondine… you think you can beat me? Antheon had given me power beyond imaginable. You were always stronger than I was, but now it looks like you could do your worst and still can’t beat me”

“Really? Are you forgetting something?” I reached my pocket and took a vial that contained a blue liquid. I had stolen Faye’s tears from his pocket during his fall. For a second his eyes widened, but a smile followed.

“What are you going to do with that? You know it wouldn’t be much use. Without powerful magic it wouldn’t do shit to me”

I was aware of that. I knew without any ancient magic I wouldn’t be able to activate Faye’s tears to do the job I wanted it to do, not to an immortal as strong as Ulyn anyway. Ulyn had used Faye’s tears on Gin with the help of Antheon’s old magic, and at the moment I had no one with old magic present in the room, but I trusted in the new powers Aranthias had given me. I closed my eyes and mentally summoned Faye into another realm, where I could meet her.

“Oh did you forget that little details?” he taunted before coughing up more blood. The last hit had damaged his internal organs, it would take him a moment to heal, but he wasn’t too worried, I guessed, thinking that I couldn’t really do much to him.

I let Faye’s presence filled me before I opened my eyes to see the horror on his. If I had a mirror I would’ve seen my eyes swirling blue and purple thunderstorm, and my hair had changed into the deepest blue of Faye’s color.

“Ondine isn’t present at this moment” I could hear Faye’s voice as the words flowed off my tongue.

I opened the vial before he managed to scrambled towards the door, but it was too late for him, the liquid had evaporated and nested into his skin. He immediately fell to the ground, his body jerked for a second and gone still. I felt Faye’s presence gradually fading from me shortly after I muttered a thank you, and let the vial shattered into a million pieces when it hit the ground.

There was a pregnant silence as Ulyn waited for the effect to take place. A moment passed, nothing happened. Even I started to wonder, and a grin broke on Ulyn’s face.

“You just wasted it” his grin grew wider when he realized he was still moving. But the smiled quickly replaced by terror, he screamed in agony as his limbs slowly became immobile. He murmured a chant. Unfortunately I didn’t have protection against old magic. I felt as if thousands of thorns pricking my heart, I fell to the ground as the sensation built up and my whole body endured the pain, though I knew if I hadn’t had any protection he would hurt me way worse than that.

“Enough!” from the corner of my eyes I saw Antheon stood by dying Ulyn. He glared at him and almost immediately, the prickling sensation gradually went away and I could breathe again. I moved beside Gin and took him into my arms again as Antheon put his foot onto Ulyn’s chest.

“We had a deal, Antheon” he writhed in pain, his voice was high pitched and coarse.

“We’ve completed our deal. You got Gin, did what you pleased with him, were placed as my second in command under my protection and I got Ondine here. But you betrayed me the second you laid your hands on Ondine!”

“Please my Lord… I didn’t mean to hurt her… please help me” his voice was getting weaker by the seconds. His legs were immobile and the spell crept up to his waist. I saw tears at the corner of his eyes. For a moment, I felt sorry for the man.

Antheon’s cold stare had sent chilled air around the room. He bent to press his palm onto Ulyn’s chest and drew the magic he had given Ulyn back into him.

“My Lord. Please don’t” Ulyn’s cry broke my heart. I held Gin tight in my arms trying to push away the pain I felt for Ulyn. Even he almost killed someone dear to me and almost killed myself, I was feeling sorry for him. Though I was the one who summoned Faye and I was the one who opened the vial, there was a tiny drop of regret for my action. Ulyn after all was family, I knew him for centuries, although never quite knew him. I shoved my pain away as I convinced myself that Ulyn had been planning to kill Gin all along, and took the opportunity when he had it. He was a man deserved the faith he was facing, a taste of his own medicine. Antheon took his palm off Ulyn chest and Ulyn cried in pain as now he had no old magic to lessen the pain. The spell crept faster, covering his chest, and moving towards his neck when he’d lost his voice. I shut my eyes tight as the spell covered the head and finally left him limp, almost in the same state of where Gin was, he was still there, his five senses still worked, his full consciousness was still there, but he had lost control over his body. In times he would lose all his senses like Gin did. I noticed the difference though, Ulyn’s body wasn’t in the color of Gin’s. I frowned at Gin and wondered if something else was there. Antheon grabbed the limp Ulyn to the chains and immediately restored the broken chains, replacing Gin with Ulyn. In an instant Antheon had stripped Ulyn from his clothes. Two other demons appeared in the room. They were both tall, bald with gleaming green eyes, their fangs were long that even with their mouth closed their fangs still visible.

“Do as you did to the previous one” he commanded them as he pointed towards Ulyn. I didn’t have the chance to see what they did, not that I wanted to see it, because I blinked, and I was in another room, the throne room.

“Why Ondine… Ulyn was right, you’d come even you knew it was a trap” he sat on his throne. One ankle rested on the knee, his arms folded on his chest. It was a stunning sight, he looked absolutely magnificent on the throne, his black armor covered most of his legs while his chest was left bare, only decorated by a gold necklace that sit perfectly on his skin. When he put both hands down on each hand rest of his throne, somehow he looked intimidating.

“Gin is my friend, how could you do this to him? And Aidan… ” I couldn’t finish my sentence, I was still holding Gin in my arms, I refused to let go just in case someone would take him away again.

“None of them are my doing, Ondine”

“I know but YOU made it possible… YOU gave the power to Ulyn”

“What happened to Aidan was an accident, Ulyn panicked when Aidan caught him in the act. What he did to Gin, however" he paused for a moment then continued "Everyone deserve a second chance and that’s all I gave him, a second chance”

“A chance to kill him you mean?”

“No, a second chance to take revenge for the day his family was killed by the very man who is in your arms now”

I grew silent as my gaze dropped down to Gin who was lying limp in my arms. The very man who took me under his wings and gave me a family had taken a family from another. I refused to believe that Gin could do such things. Even if he did, for what reason?

Antheon flicked his fingers and suddenly we were in another plain, in another time.

“Where are we?”

“We’re at Ulyn’s home, the day of the tragedy”

I saw Gin as a complete stranger, his raven hair was down to his shoulder, but the eyes were his. I could never have mistaken a pair of eyes like that. The Gin I knew then was different than the one I saw in front of me. He was full of rage, going after a man in his mid fifties, killing him mercilessly. When a woman came to him with a sharp wooden spear, he turned to take the spear into his stomach. The woman was horrified when she learnt Gin was still alive, and slowly took the spear out of his own body and beheaded the woman with his bare hand. I gasped at the very sight of it. Two children came running past to their dead mother, crying their eyes out. I didn’t want to see what happened next, but the image kept coming even I had closed my eyes, Gin killed the two boys without even winching. He turned as he heard a cry coming from inside the nursery. In there, was Ulyn as a baby. Gin took the baby into his arms, ready to kill him, but when the baby cried again, Gin shook, his rage faded, his bloodied hands fell to the side of his thigh. Instead of killing him, Gin embraced him and wept.

“Ulyn wasn’t lying when he said Gin killed his family” we were back in the throne room. Gin was still lying limp in my arms. My heart ached from what I just saw, but I didn’t feel disgusted at Gin’s doing, I didn’t deny him as a friend, I didn’t deny him at all. Though strong sense of guilt suddenly filled my very confused heart, guilt for Ulyn’s fate.

“Everyone deserves a second chance, including Gin” I whispered. I understood why Gin had told me that I would regret saving him, but I didn’t regret it at all.

“Well said”

Antheon stepped down from his throne to meet me. He went to his knees to look me in the eyes.

“Gin will have his chance” he ran his palm on Gin’s chest and he disappeared into thin air.

“Where did you send him?”

“To his mother. He’d be safe there”

His mother? I didn’t even know Gin’s mother was still alive. Gin never talked about his mother or family.

“Did he kill his own wife and children?”

“Yes” the answer was short and simple but yet hurt like hell.

Antheon cupped his hands around my face, and pulled me into a searing kiss. His thumbs wiped the tears that ran down my cheeks. I wanted to feel home, and strangely I found a home in Antheon’s arms as I would in Aranthias’. The sensation I felt did not betray me, I knew they were real. I knew I wasn’t just hallucinating and hoped I loved both men, everything was laid bare. I didn’t try to move away this time, accepting him as he was, I kissed him back.

“My Lord” a man’s voice interrupted our kiss. The man stood behind Antheon was almost human. He was one of the higher rank demons, there were no white in his eyes, the eye ball was all black, he had hidden his fangs very well, his white hair flowed to touch his shoulder. A demon like him could take a human form easily, and could maintain it for a very long time and fight well in it. Antheon stood and turned to face him.

“Speak” Antheon demanded. The man bowed.

“We have been breached” despite the bad news, his voice was still calm as if nothing happened. Antheon sighed at the news, clearly it wasn’t any surprise to him.

“Let him in”. He turned back to me as the other man quickly made an exit.

“Your prince of light is here, Ondine”

He turned away and sat on his throne. The heavy double door swung open. I fixed my gaze at the man who gave me all hope and home. The golden hair lit the room like a sun. I sank to my knees, between the two men. Aranthias had come alone. The dark army crowded themselves behind him, but no one dared to touch him.

Antheon waved his hand dismissing his army.

“Leave us at once!” The warriors looked at each other, confused, but reluctantly turned away and closed the door behind them.

“You’ve come to alone, I see” Antheon spoke without leaving his throne.

“Spare me your chit chat. I come for Ondine”

“Ah, but she came here to me”

“I came for Gin” I snapped at him.

“And expect to see me, did you not?”

I went quiet at his question, I did have a little expectation to see him when I came for Gin. Aranthias nodded knowing the answer.

“Would you come home to me, Ondine?” he offered his hand to me. I hesitated for a heartbeat, but before I realized it my feet made its way to Antheon. I saw a winning smile on his face, while I felt the hurting in Aranthias’ heart.

I closed my eyes and rounded my arms on his neck, with every fiber in my body, I felt Aranthias’ essence of life in him, I memorized it in my mind, and I spoke the words

At the very essence of him, filling myself with it. I placed a kiss on his lips before turning away towards Aranthias. He had lowered his hand he offered. I saw those golden eyes filled with sorrow, and he had surrendered to whatever I was going to do to him. He had suspected me to strike the killing blow on him. I took his hand in mine, and instead of summoning Crimson Tears to my hand, I closed my eyes and rounded my arms on him to pull him into a kiss. I searched for his essence and combined it with the one I had filled from Antheon.

“I have chosen” I spoke as I broke away from Aranthias.

When I looked up at Aranthias, his body sparked with faint light. I turned to Antheon who was having the same reaction. I could only pray that I made the right choice. I loved him, and he was trapped in the two men’s bodies. I was willing to take the risk to replace out whether it was true or not, and what I felt from both men confirmed it. I had chosen Aranthias, not as a person, but as a soul, which was embedded in Antheon’s body as well.

The two men dropped on their knees as their bodies jerked. Aranthias had clutched his hand on his own chest, while Antheon had his hands on the side of his throne, gripping as tight as he could before falling on the floor and stopped moving. I ran to Aranthias and held him in my arms, his silky golden hair spilled like a gold pool underneath his body. Then he stopped moving.