They used our powers part 5

Chapter 5: Hanging from a thread

‘’Was your latest mission tough?’’, Till asked, taking a sip from his cappuccino, eyeing Mia at the other end of the table with his brown eyes. The female demon shook her head negatively and gave him a smile.

‘’What about yours? You have yet to tell me what it was actually about.’’, she commented and lifted a brow, while playing with one of her long locks nonchalantly. The male avoided her eyes, recalling the abrupt twist that took place during the mission.

‘’I am not supposed to talk about it…’’

‘’Really now?’’, Mia interrupted him. ‘’We talk about things we are not supposed to talk about to each other constantly.’’

‘’This time it is official business.’’, Till told her, nearly scolding her. ‘’Should Gerald decide that you are a part of this mission, you will receive the appropriate information.’’

Mia chuckled and held her cup in her hands, closing her eyes to take a long whiff of the aromatic tea.

‘’I know one of you is gone…’’, she began, taking the male demon by surprise. ‘’I know what Richard did.’’

‘’How…’’

‘’I bought from him.’’

As soon as the words came out of her mouth Till felt his stomach drop. He gaped at her in disbelief and tried to think when she could have done the transaction.

‘’You knew who he was and never said anything?’’, the male demon tried his best to keep his voice down, since they were in a public place. When Mia shrugged her shoulders, avoiding his gaze, he stood up, taking a few dollar bills from his pocket. The woman lifted her grey eyes to meet his, guilt and hesitation clearly showing.

‘’You are going to explain yourself…Now.’’, he gritted through his teeth and Mia sighed before standing up, following him out the coffee shop and back in her apartment. She opened up the door willingly and silently, something Till hadn’t expected to experience.

‘’I am listening.’’, the male told her as soon as they stepped into the living room. Mia sighed once more.

‘’I used to buy my meals from time to time. I happened to fall into Richard a few times when doing it.’’, she began and Till frowned his brows.

‘’Why didn’t you share the information?’’

This time the woman was the one frowning in anger.

‘’How could I? As soon as he saw me I could sense his intentions.’’, she replied. ‘’When I realized that he was in your team as well, I had to keep my mouth shut.’’

‘’Why?’’

She rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the collar, forcing a shiver down his spine from her sudden advance.

‘’He threatened to kill you!’’, she yelled at him. ‘’And now he is free, but at least everyone targets him.’’ Till frowned, realizing her reasoning. His hands moved instinctively when he grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to relax. A faint shade of pink had colored her cheeks.

‘’Have you bought from him recently?’’

The female demon remained silent, making Till frown.

‘’Mia!’’

‘’Yes!’’, she yelled back, shutting her eyes. ‘’Yes I have…’’ A few tears gathered around her eyes, her head turned completely to the side, her body rigid like a statue. Till had no idea what to say, seeing her expressing such feelings of shame and sadness. He only moved in to give her a hug, feeling her body relax immediately.

‘’It’s so tough Till…I want to eat…’’, she murmured in his ear. ‘’This shit… the essence… it does nothing for me. I still crave it.’’

The male demon kept her in his arms, but his mind travelled to possible explanations for her situation. He recalled his own past and how easy it was to curb the hunger when using the essence.  

‘’Have you spoken to Gerald?’’

She took a sharp inhale of breath and shoved the male away from her, clearly angered by his words.

‘’Gerald has threatened to kill me, should I not follow his instructions.’’, she flatly said and Till knew how truthful the threat was. Yet the thought of him harming her, even if he was right to do so, created an itch inside Till’s body. He would never let it happen.

‘’He is not going to touch you.’’, came out of his mouth and he witnessed Mia widen her eyes before she scoffed in disbelief.

‘’Who is going to stop him…’’

‘’Regardless…’’, Till insisted. ‘’You should have told me… We can work this out…’’

‘’We?’’, she blurted out. ‘’There is no we in this… It is completely on me.’’

‘’Shut it!’’, he yelled at her and her eye twitched. Till hated his own reaction, but it was what came naturally to him. The female demon, his old friend, relaxed her stance and face immediately and remained there, staring right at him with eyes that had turned crimson.

‘’You have done enough for me.’’, she told him flatly. ‘’This is my own ordeal.’’

Till sighed.

‘’Gerald will keep his promise, that is true. It is the reason you must hide your situation until you have accepted the essence…’’

‘’Piss off, Till…’’, her lips curved into a smirk. ‘’Yeah I get it, you care…’’

‘’Yes I do care. So shut up and let me help you.’’, he interrupted her and she lowered her gaze in defeat. ‘’Stop being so proud for once. It’s me… Not someone you don’t know or someone who wants to hurt you.’’

Till had just realized how hard his heart was beating when it finally calmed down at the sight of her nodding positively. Having to leave her on her own in order to run another mission was tough, since his mind was on the possibility of her slipping out and feeding on humans. She had promised to keep using essence whenever she felt hungry, but the fact that it hadn’t yet done its job meant that there was something off about her. It wasn’t unheard off. In fact it was very common and the main reason for Gerald’s existence; disposing demons not made for the job in order to keep his area safe. Eighty percent of the demons Gerald had taken under his wing died by his hands for various reasons, one of them being their inability to use the essence.

Till was aware, yet decided to ignore the possibility. This time, though he could not accept it. Mia was an important person to him and he wanted her to make it as an agent. The male demon had no option but to research the agency files, fearing that a talk with Gerald might actually end up fatal. The same night, he decided to visit Mia once more, after spending some time researching the files of previous agents who had been disposed because of their flesh addiction. Till rang the bell by the apartment entrance multiple times, but oddly enough the door didn’t open. Mia was supposed to have returned by now, even though it was his first time checking up on her like that after her first few missions.

With a sigh of frustration, he checked on his phone only to see that his last message hadn’t been received. He sent another one, pacing in front of the building nervously, convincing himself that she might actually take her time with her missions now that no one is on her back about it. Even more minutes passed and he tried calling her a few times. Finally he broke, realizing how obsessive he was becoming, but having a hard time keeping himself from doing something about it. He turned to the side of the building and after making sure no one could see him in the early morning hours, he climbed up the iron bars, hoping no one was awake yet. His veins throbbed in his head, the worst scenarios replaying in his mind until the moment he reached her tiny balcony that led into her room, finding the windows closed, naturally.

A closed window was nothing to Till as he quickly pried it open with one of his blades and slipped in, his senses on edge when pure silence engulfed him. He searched around the house, finding no signs of her being recently there. Suddenly, a metallic noise was heard from the bedroom, as someone seemed to have had the same idea as the male demon. He hid behind the couch, holding one of his knives in his hands and waiting from someone to walk out of the room. Then the scent hit him and he stood up immediately.

‘’Till!’’, Mia exclaimed, seeming like she finally realized his scent as well. The male frowned at her, noticing her shining crimson eyes and a difference in her smell and energy. Mia felt like the creature he had seen in that alley, with blood smeared all over her face. Her expression darkened as well, as soon as her shock subsided.

‘’Why did you break into my house?’’

‘’You did not answer my messages or calls. You should have finished your mission two hours ago.’’, he noted and the woman lifted a brow.

‘’You are not responsible for me anymore, remember?’’

‘’You have a tough time using the essence and I said I was going to help you. So start talking.’’, he spoke flatly, wondering if she got out of line when he saw her eyes widen, the crimson still glowing. ‘’Did you eat?’’

The female demon chuckled and shook her head negatively with a bitter smile.

‘’I am actually trying, Till.’’, she pointed out and paced towards her kitchen, pouring herself some water. She downed a glass hungrily and turned around to face him again, her eyes having returned to their normal color. ‘’I had three vials in order to control myself…’’, she muttered and Till widened his eyes.            Three vials in such a short amount of time was unheard off.

‘’You’ll run out…’’, he commented and she hugged her torso, leaning back against the kitchen bench, avoiding his gaze. ‘’How are you planning to ask for more.’’

‘’I have no choice but to tell him… Maybe he will give me more time to adjust.’’

The male thought about her idea, considering the possibility of Gerald actually being the person he acted like he was.

‘’What if he doesn’t?’’, he wondered, mostly to himself, trying to come up with a proper solution.

‘’Guess I’ll run away.’’, the female shrugged off and Till narrowed his eyes, about to object to her words.

‘’No one is going anywhere.’’, a familiar voice was heard from the right where the window was, now open. Till’s heart nearly fell out of his chest when he was met with Gerald himself, standing there as if he had been in their presence for a long time. The younger male glanced at Mia, observing her stance as it rapidly changed to a fight or flight situation.

‘’I tried my best…’’, she began, taking a few steps backwards. Till felt panic. Should something happen was he going to defend his friend, a person he cared so deeply for, and possibly die with her, or follow his duty and step aside. When Gerald approached her with a smirk on his face, testing her reaction, his decision was already made. Nothing would make sense to him if he lost Mia.

‘’Stay calm, both of you.’’, he ordered, but neither of them moved an inch or relaxed their bodies. ‘’Your condition is nothing to fear, Mia.’’, Gerald added and Till couldn’t help but frown, suspicious of his words. He knew well how strict he actually was, despite his smiles and joking about.

‘’Please explain.’’, the female said, not budging from her stance.

‘’There is a chance you are resistant to the essence. It is a one percent possibility in the demon populace and the ones who fall under that category are used differently way by the union.’’

‘’Wait, so the ones you killed…’’, Till interrupted, making Gerald chuckled.

‘’Their failure was related to different reasons. ‘’, he replied and didn’t comment any further, signaling that it wasn’t his business to know about them.

‘’How can we be sure that I am resistant to it?’’, Mia brought the conversation back to the matter at hand. Gerald wore a cunning smile and stepped near her. Nothing but her hastened breath was heard as the blonde demon of old stretched his hand towards her, touching her cheek gently and staring right into her eyes with his bright red ones. At that moment, a vicious sensation of hate and jealousy dwelled within Till, twisting his stomach and numbing his jaw.

The female demon remained motionless, a rigid expression on her face, while Gerald leaned in, approaching her neck with his nose and taking an audible inhale of her skin’s aroma.

‘’There are two paths for you now, my dear.’’, his voice was sinister as his fingers trailed on the skin of her neck. Till could see the goosebumps on her and greeted his teeth as to not act against the elder male. ‘’You either become a breeding mate back in Europe, or you become my personal assistant.’’

‘’What?’’, she blurted through her teeth.

‘’You see I haven’t had someone with your condition. Mainly demons of old are resistant to the essence.’’, he explained and after stroking her cheek one last time he took a step back, crossing his arms in front of his chest. ‘’If you decide to go to Europe and give your body to the breeders, I won’t stop you.’’

Till could taste bile in his mouth. One of the choices presented to her was going to keep her away from him and the other way too far away. The reaction he had to Gerald’s advances had made him realized that there was more than friendship in his heart for the woman.

‘’I refuse to give my body and freedom away. And I refuse to stay away from Till.’’, she replied with a shaky, yet determined voice. She did not turn to look at her friend as she spoke those words, but Till felt his heartbeat elevate. Gerald smiled viciously, a gleam shining in his eyes. ‘’I will become your assistant.’’