Chapter 20: Demon.

It is time for Drac, Marina and Bob to leave Furling. Luggage packed and covered with a tarp, the group gets ready to go after a quick goodbye to the town's residents. They crowd around the entrance of the town. People saved from the wolfman, the families of the Controllers victims, the refugees from dyce, They are here to see them off.

"Well that's it. Sure we don't need more stuff." Marina wipes her brow.

"We already have enough alcohol." Drac says as he fastens his equipment on the carriage. 

"What do you mean? There is never enough!" 

A small hand grabs on Drac jacket.

OH the kid from before. The one you nearly killed with an arrow.

Healthier and less sooty from the night before, the boy smiles at Drac. His eyes squint from happy cheeks. "Thank you Sir." the points to his mother. A girl around his age with the same light brown hair, holds the mothers hand. They wave. Drac ruffles the boy's hair. "You're welcome. Now run along to your mum." The boy ran back waving. A whistle and Mist comes trotting. Drac mounts, his heart feeling lighter than ever before. 

Capital? Finally?

Yes. but let us see what may come our way.

**********

Inside a cold stone room, corners are littered with webs and surfaces covered in dust, stands an old man. Pepper and salt hair grows down to the shoulder. Goatee black with a white stripe in the middle. Blue eyes sag with sadness. His son lays on a table. White cloth covers the naked body in the middle of a bloody pentagram with candles lit around. Rubble Clutters the ground.

"Baron. The church. They are proving to be difficult to manage. But I could distract them with a few extra coins." A bald skinny with pallid skin walks past an open doorway. Door chips lay on the floor.

"Use my funds." Voice dried as he looked down at his boy. A sword to the heart they say. But no one was there around to see his son be killed. Jac Stalwart Looks up at the mirror at the wall. 

"When?" Jac scowls "When?!" 

"PATIENCE HUMAN. HE CAN RETURN. BUT I STRUGGLE TO FIND THE NEED FOR HIM." A humanoid face blurs in the mirror. As wide as the mirror itself. 

"He is my son!"

"YES… YOUR DEAR SON. THE ONE THAT HAS FAILED ME QUITE SPECTACULARLY. HE NOT ONLY EXPOSED THIS PLACE, BUT ALLOWED THE BOOK TO BE STOLEN. HE IS MY SERVANT. REMEMBER THAT YOU AND YOUR USELESS SON SHARE THE SAME MASTER!"

"I understand… master." Jac kneels, head touches the floor. "I have been a good servant haven't I? I have built wonders in your name. Brought many sacrifices to your altar. I have and will give you my all. All I ask for… is my son." 

Candles combust, their flames climb high. Jac lifts his head up, surprised by the commotion. He looks at the table, and scrambles up to check on the body. An inky black aura permeates the lifeless body. Skin gets its colour back. The hole in his son's heart closes up. Blue eyes snap open. The son sits up frightened, scanning around for threats. 

"CAL!!" The Baron cries, grasping his son's hand. The flames quiet down and return to how they were. 

"IT IS DONE. GET THE BOOK. CONTINUE THE WORK." The head fades into a reflection of Cal waking up from his slumber. 

"Cal, it's ok." 

Cal looks at his father. 

"Father… You should be at the capital. How… are you here? Why… ?"

"My son was attacked. Left to bleed to death. Why would I not come? Teleportation is just a few thousand gold coins." Jac holds his son's hand, smiling with tears flowing down his tired face. Cal takes his hand from his father's and touches his chest. 

"It's… gone…"

"Yes and the assailant has gone as well."

Cal balls his hand into fist till it bleeds. His Aura explodes with hatred. An ink black aura replaces his old. "Drac."

"The Black boy from the outskirts? He caused this?!"

"He was involved. Worked together with a man in a black hood." 

"Lark you heard that right, Locate a foreigner of dark skin and a man with a dark hood. Offer up a good reward for their capture."

"Yes baron. I will do as you ask." Lark bows.

Cal puts his hand on his fathers shoulder. "Father, send me."

************

Drac lies down on top of the tarp on the Carriage. Tired from riding, he hitched his Mist to the coach. In Drac's hands is the book he swiped from Cal's creepy room. Many things are noted in the book about Sacrifices and soul collecting. Scribbles made by the previous owner about their attempts at human experimentation. Detailed drawings fill the book about Human anatomy. Organs, muscles and the aura pathways are meticulously noted. Diagrams about monsters were also drawn. Notes about their physiology, habits and diet. The last part of the book was dedicated to one subject, Demons. A encyclopaedia of Demon knowledge. It feels taboo enough for Drac to even hold this tome. But what's in this book could get him burned at the stake. 

"Still reading the scary looking book?" Marina peeks form inside the carriage. Bob looks around from his driving seat. 

"Yeah, makes for quite the relaxing read." 

"I'm sure it does. Get your buttocks in here, it's meditation training time."

Drac looks down from his book. "Now? On the road.?

"Yes, now. Come on, lazy. Aren't you the one who lectured me on hard work?"

"Alright." Drac voice from behind the carriage. A Drac runs up to Marina at the coach door. "Hey." Drac jogs along with the carriage, matching the horses' pace. Another Drac is created. It jumps through the open door to greet a surprised Marina. 

"I thought I was lazy." Drac grins.

"You still are, weird multiplying man."