Page 14 of Demonic Affliction

Dagny chuckles. “I suppose they are a bit creepy. They’re wild creatures, and I have a soft spot for those kinds.” She gazes down at Kevin fondly while I glance around the room, homesickness settling in my chest as I take in the carefully selected furnishings and the trinkets lining the shelves, each carrying its own significance and memory.

"This place is really nice," I say. "Very comfy.” My smile falls slightly as I remember the home my mates and I shared. It wasn’t as put together as this place, but if we had time to grow together, we would have made a home of our very own.

All of that is gone now.

“What’s wrong, Willow?” Dagny asks, leaning forward to give me her full attention.

“Nothing.” I glance down at my hands, noticing that my knuckles have gone white from how tight I’m clenching them. “It’s just… being here reminds me of everything I lost. Everything we lost.”

Dagny doesn’t say anything. She just waits, listening intently.

“We lost our home in an ice wyrm attack not too long ago,” I explain. “I hadn’t lived there for very long, but it really started to feel like home. I’ve never had one of those, not really. I was engaged before, but the way I felt with my ex doesn’t come close to how I am with Rhune, Nyx, Dravik, and Cin. And now… I’m just sad that we lost it.”

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Dagny is quiet for a moment. “All is not lost, though. You can make a new home, with new memories. I know it doesn’t make anything better, and it doesn’t give you back what you lost, but it is a way to look forward.” She stops, placing her hand gently on my arm.

"My mates and I lost our home a long time ago too. We used to live in a castle, if you can believe it. The tunnels aren’t quite the same, but they’re safe, and we have each other. As long as you have each other, the rest can be endured.”

"What happened?" I ask. “To your castle.”

Dagny leans back, considering how much to say. "It’s a long story. The short version is that there was a war between the two kingdoms in the north of The Far Place. There was a demon named Slaine—powerful, cruel, and the kind of creature you don't forget once you've crossed him. He tried to kill my mates, but we fought back. We killed him for it. Reduced him to ash." Her jaw tightens. "We thought that was the end of it. When Malice saw your Cin, my mates were certain Slaine had somehow survived. Thankfully, that’s not the case."

Dagny's voice is calm as she continues. "I knew as soon as I got close enough to feel their energies that they are nothing like him. But… I still don't understand how they're alive. I saw Slaine turned to ash and blood myself. There was nothing left of him to save."

I take a deep breath. “Well, you see…”

Trying not to leave out any details, I reiterate what Nyx told me about the mystery surrounding their resurrection. All the while, Dagny listens without interrupting, her frown deepening with every new piece of information.

“So… they just awoke one day, as separate pieces? No one used magic to bring them back or bond them to their familiars?”

“Not as far as they know. The way Nyx tells it, they just… woke up, and that was the end of it. They have some memories of their past life—Slaine’s life—but it’s in pieces.”

"Fascinating," she says. "I swear, the more I learn about this world, the less I understand..."

"How long have you lived here?" I ask. "In The Far Place?"

She takes a moment before answering. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you exactly. Time works differently here. If I had to guess, though… probably somewhere around a quarter century, in human years."

“Jesus… Don’t you miss anything about Earth?”

Dagny shrugs. "Honestly, not really. This world has grown on me immensely. I wouldn’t choose to be anywhere else. I can fly anytime I want, wherever I want, and now that we’re settled here, we always have someplace warm and safe to rest.”

Her eyes darken as she mumbles, “At least, it used to be safe…”

I don’t like the way she says that. “What do you mean, used to be?”

She lets out a long sigh and stands from her chair, gesturing for me to follow. “It’s better if I show you.”

I trail her out of the cozy room and down the long stretch of tunnel, the comforting light and fur rugs giving way to cold, bare ice-rock. Dagny turns down a passage she neglected to show me during the tour, and I follow at her heels, careful not to slip as the floor slopes downward, taking us deep into the ice.

As we descend, the walls close in and the light changes as the gaps between the lanterns widen. Dagny stays eerily silent as we walk, one hand trailing along the wall while her cunning eyes scan the shadows ahead.

Finally, the tunnel opens, and we step into a darkened room. My footsteps echo through the air, sounding smaller and farther away than they really are as they bounce off the walls of the massive cavern.

I blink against the shadows, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. But as soon as they do, I wish I hadn’t.

“H-holy shit.” I stumble backward, my eyes widening in horror as I stare at the massive pit sitting in the center of the room. It’s wide enough that the far side is barely visible from the doorway, and the bottom is nowhere to be seen.

Roots crawl out of the darkened mouth, some thick as my arm, others as thin as thread, all tangled together in impossible knots that cling to the walls and spread across the floor in every direction.