The fear that it could all be an illusion gripped his heart. That fear urged him to recede back inside where it was safe, just as he’d done all of those millennia ago. But as he stroked the white strands of hair falling around Xia’s shoulders, he knew that it was a worry for tomorrow.
Brooks tucked his nose into her hair and inhaled deeply. She smelled just as she had the night they spent together in their dreams– sunshine and sea water.
A loud gurgle broke the silence and his middle cramped.
“The fuck?” he whispered into the darkness.
He’d ignored the growing feeling of emptiness in his stomach since falling into the daemon plane and it seemed it wouldn’t wait much longer.
As if she’d heard his bodily grumbles from the common room, the short haired pixie turned the doorknob and poked her head in. “Hey,” she whispered. “Are you awake?”
He debated not answering. She was shrouded in mystery and Brooks didn’t like the unknown, especially where Xia was concerned. He was still trying to determine what her motivations were. Soft footsteps crept toward the bed and a possessive instinct forced him to lash out. Brooks sent his shadows flying like daggers through the air and stopped them just short of piercing every major organ.
“One more step and you’ll be a permanent bloody fixture to the wall.”Chaos’ menacing voice echoed in her mind, but never left his lips. He could tell her bravado was fake as she forced her breathing to ease, but the pounding of her heart filled the silence.
“You’ve been in here for nearly twelve hours. You need to eat, and we need to talk.”
Leaving Xia was the last thing either of them wanted, but if he didn’t take care of this newly manifested body, it may wake her. Xia needed to rest, and heal.
He nuzzled her hair once more and placed a soft kiss on her temple. “I’ll be back, sunshine.” He slipped from the bed, careful to not jostle her head as he pulled his arm out from under her. Brooks wrapped Xia’s prone form in shadows and didn’t step from the room until he was satisfied the inky shield was enough to keep her warm and safe. If anything or anyone so much as stepped in her direction, he would know. And he would kill it with no questions asked.
When the strange girl moved to shut the door, he stopped her with a silent warning. Her hand shook as she said, “I just didn’t want to wake her while we talked. It would be more quiet with the door closed.”
“The door stays open.”Her eyes widened further at Chaos’ intrusion to her mind, but he didn’t seem to give a fuck.This is my world now.
They walked down the hall to the larger room that acted as both a central gathering space and the eating area. To the left was a hearth and fire, wood crackling in the dingy space. Tattered cushions were laid about with daemon, young and old in a range of disarray, doing their best to rest. None of them were clean, and their clothing was just as torn as the ragged furniture. What had his world become?
In front of the fire sat a mother and her child. Her golden curls were untamed and frizzed as if they hadn’t been washed in a while. Unlike the others, though, her skin was mostly clean. In that moment, the small daemon looked to him, her bright blue eyes glistening in the fire, and he lost himself in her innocent stare. Her smile radiated outward, filling his icy heart with a spark of joy. Even Chaos seemed to sigh.
The girl tugged on her mothers sleeve and pointed to Brooks. The woman glanced his way and tensed, weariness plastered on her face as her grip tightened.
“Are you coming? Or are you going to stand there like a dumbass all night?” His host stood in the door frame, the outside a darkened blur behind her.
Brooks grit his teeth, but didn’t say anything as he followed her out into the chilly night. He’d barely noticed the state of the village as he’d carried Xia through it. His only thought had been getting her somewhere warm and safe where he could assess any injury. With Xia safely tucked away under the protection of his chaos, he focused on his surroundings. What he found was dreadful. Ramshackle buildings, dead soil, ragged clothes hung to dry over string woven from foliage, and a musty smell hanging over everything like a plague.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” Her voice was a soft whisper as she stood beside him. She, too, looked over the village, but the look in her eyes didn’t mirror his own. He found a fondness in her soft purple stare with a tinge of sadness creeping in around the edges.
“A millennia worth,” he sighed.
She nodded, but didn’t say anything as she waved him forward. Behind her home was a winding river that rushed steadily along the village edge. She sat on the bank and curled her knees to her chest.
Brooks reached for his chaos to ensure Xia was still resting securely. When the heartbeat thrummed soft and steady down their shadowed bond, he sat. Muffled clicks sounded from her direction, and he glanced to see her picking at her fingers. The nails were chewed down to stubs and the scarred skin ringing them bled in several places. She caught him staring and stopped, a flare of embarrassment shading her cheeks in the moonlight.
She passed a shallow wooden bowl with an assortment of food. Brooks remembered eating in the asylum, but never felt the pangs of hunger. He ate because that was what he was forced to do three times a day. Before he’d lost himself, he didn’t have toeat. He just… was. But something had changed. His well of chaos was drained, and he was in a body that breathed and withered. His muscles ached from the action of the night and he was overwhelmingly exhausted.
“What is this?” He poked at the food and rolled it around.
She pointed at every item as she listed them off. “This is bread. This is cheese. And this is cured meat.” Everything was hard and smelled unappetizing. “It's not much,” she said. “But it’s all we’ve got.”
Brooks raised the bread to his lips. Green spots dotted the middle and he tried not to taste it as he bit into it. The cheese and meat weren’t any better, but as he continued to fill his stomach the grumbling and aches stopped.
“What’s your name?” He asked around a mouthful of cheese and glanced toward her. She hesitated, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as she picked at her fingers again.
“Don’t lie,”Chaos whispered into her mind. “I’ll know if you do.”
Her eyes bulged as her head whipped toward him. “How would you know?”
He huffed a laugh. “Don’t you know who I am? What I am?”
