Chapter 44: The Scent Of Roses And Salt
In the dimly lit suite, Gavriel sat leisurely on the sofa with his legs crossed. One arm was stretched along the back of the couch, while the fingers of his other hand tapped a slow rhythm against the armrest. His cold blue eyes remained fixed on the hooded figure before him.
The figure knelt on the floor, head bowed low as he waited for his master to speak.
"Explain yourself, Reve," Gavriel began, his voice low and dangerous. "Did you get careless and allow yourself to be seen in the corridor?"
Reve could tell his master was displeased. Without lifting his head, he responded in a voice that sounded like grinding stone. "No, Master. I did not make myself visible to her. I had no idea she was capable of seeing ."
"So, you are telling
a human could simply see a hell demon? Without a summoning ritual or any intention on your part to be known?" Gavriel asked, his tapping finger coming to a sudden halt.
Reve nodded slowly. "Yes, Master."
A heavy silence settled over the room before Gavriel spoke again. "And what have you found out about her?"
"She seems to be a special type of human, one who has been haunted by spirits day and night ever since the accident in which... you saved her, Master. After asking around, all the spirits said the sa thing. They gravitate toward her because they can sense she holds the power to release them," Reve’s raspy voice echoed through the room.
"Has she shown any signs of holding such a power, or anything unusual apart from that?" Gavriel questioned. He tilted his head slightly, his sharp eyes never leaving his loyal servant.
"No, Master. I have watched her from afar ever since you asked
to find out more about her. So far, she has shown no signs of possessing such power or practising any dark rituals. I have only seen her grow more frustrated... as the number of spirits haunting her increases. They follow her everywhere. The dead do not leave her alone."
At his statent, a slight crease ford on Gavriel’s forehead, as though that information alone displeased him.
He rembered the desperation and helplessness that had flashed in her eyes when she had demanded answers from him, answers he could not give. He drew in a sharp breath, causing Reve to stiffen instantly at the sense of his master’s growing irritation.
Clicking his tongue lightly, he turned his focus back to Reve. "Order the spirits to stay away from her, unless they wish to suffer my wrath."
"I will follow your command, Master," Reve replied reverently.
"Also, continue to keep an eye on her. I know that even if the untainted spirits listen to my command, the notorious ones may not," Gavriel added.
"Yes, Master." Reve rose from his place. Just as he was about to disappear, Gavriel gave one final command.
"Find
any books related to special humans. I need to know exactly what she is."
With a final bow, Reve vanished, leaving Gavriel alone in his room once again.
Rising from his seat, he looked up at the sky and noticed it was not far from the full moon.
As he continued gazing at it, his icy blue eyes flashed bright red as the horrible screams of people echoed in his mind. His jaw clenched tightly at the surge of an unpleasant mory, the muscles in his neck tensing in restraint.
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, only for his lungs to fill with the salty sea breeze that did little to ease the chaos rising within him.
Suddenly, he felt the urge to return to his sanctuary, to be surrounded by roses once again... the very roses that always seed to calm him, for reasons he did not understand.
Before he knew it, darkness hissed and coiled around his form, swallowing him whole. The next second, when he opened his eyes, he was back in his garden.
He took a lungful of the heady scent of roses that he had been craving.
Yet, as he did, he realized the effect was not quite how it used to be. His sharp eyebrows pulled together in displeasure. Annoyance built within him as he failed to find the satisfaction he always managed to discover here.
Unable to understand the shift, anger rose within him.
His hand shot out to grab one of the blooming roses, only for the petals to turn from bright red to black before crumbling to dust.
His breathing grew harsh as the screams in his mind began to magnify.
Before he knew it, darkness coiled within him once again, and in the next second, he found himself back in a hotel suite.
Only this ti, it was not his own, but... soone else’s.
??His bloodshot red eyes, blazing with rising rage, fell upon the evil spirit of a man who was raking the appearance of a defenceless woman on the bed, with lust thick around him.
Just as its filthy hands reached out to grab the woman’s thigh, Gavriel moved like air, his elegant fingers straightening as they transford into elongated, deadly claws.
In a single, swift motion, he drove his hand through the evil spirit’s chest while his other hand clamped over its mouth, suffocating its scream before it could escape.
The spirit shuddered violently, its form flickering and breaking apart before dissolving into fine dust, vanishing into the air and leaving the room in silence once again.
Only then did Gavriel’s gaze slowly shift to the delicate, alluring figure lying asleep on her bed, blissfully unaware of the danger that had lood over her re seconds ago.
His hauntingly beautiful eyes drifted from her milky, exposed thigh that peeked through the slit of her white nightgown.
They did not linger there, instead travelling slowly upwards to her upper body, where her back lay bare beneath the deep cut of her gown, and further to her beautiful, peaceful face.
She looked so innocent and untouched that the re sight of her began to calm the raging storm within him.
He took a step closer until he was standing at the edge of the bed, right next to the bedside table and briefly closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, inhaling her intoxicating scent that was heavy with the aroma of roses, and finally felt his entire being begin to calm.
The hand that had transford into deadly claws slowly returned to normal. And when he opened his eyes once more, they had softened back into their usual icy blue.
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