Heart of Darkness

Skender didn’t want to give Blayze the satisfaction he was seeking. Fights and anger gave him some kind of rush and probably made him feel strong or bad or whatever else twisted idea he had. And almost all of them enjoyed some type of pain even though he hadn’t seen Blayze inflict any pain upon himself except for running his mouth.

In the early days of their punishment, Lucrezia was his target. He somehow always looked for ways to annoy her until she one day chose a punishment for him that made him stop. No one exactly knew what she did until this day.

There was pain, then there was pain and they were different. Hopefully, this would be painful enough for him, otherwise, Blayze would be an exercise for him to test his new powers.

Skender was already feeling some strange energy flowing through him and when he spread his wings, he felt a power he never felt before. He felt as if he could bury Blayze and all the other lords with him without blinking, which now made him thoughtful.

He thought of his parents and how it was possible that they were killed by shades. With his new powers, nor could he only sense shades but he could also tell whether they were powerful enough to use other strategies or fight them head-on.

Constantine was powerful but not enough for Skender to worry. On the other hand, he had expected his father to be much more powerful but he wasn’t.

The difference in power wasn’t so vast. In the short moment before he killed him he had sensed his powers. It was not enough to defeat a defender. So if he was their leader, how could both his parents get killed at the same time by the shades?

He had also sensed something else that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but something didn’t feel right.

“It seems like I am missing many exciting things.” Lucrezia who arrived uninvited threw herself on his couch. “Death of shades, the birth of a baby, and the burial of a demon. That is a lot.”

“So where were you then?”

“Just busy.” She sighed. “Did you get any use of your guards?”

“We will see in the future,” Skender said.

Skender had asked Lucrezia where he could find demons to work for him. She suggested he should hire those living in the human world. Reading their minds, Skender had appointed the most trustworthy one to guard Roxana and two others to keep an eye on Constantine. He wanted to know what the shade would do once he healed.

“You said the arch killed the shades who killed my parents.” Skender began.

“Yes.”

“But they didn’t kill the leader of the shades. Constantine’s father.”

“Well, the arch thought killing so many shades would send a clear message to their leader, and their leaders are always hard to find. They have this hiding place that demons can’t find for some reason.”

Skender nodded thoughtfully. This only made him more suspicious. Constantine couldn’t fight his father without luring him out and he didn’t seem to know where his father was hiding. Now when he becomes a leader, how would he hide in the same place, or was the hiding place not somewhere physical but rather something they use to stay hidden?

“What is bothering you?” She asked.

“I don’t understand how the shades were able to kill both my parents. I can tell you that the shades are not so powerful.”

She leaned back with a smirk. “Power is here.” She said pointing at her brain. “Anyone can defeat someone much stronger if they have a good strategy.”

“Alright. Let’s say the shades had a good strategy but why would they kill my parents? The more I think of it, I don’t understand.”

And he had promised himself to leave the past behind but here he was speculating. He didn’t want revenge. He just wanted to move forward and live a good life with Roxana but even then he would have to speculate.

The shades could still be a threat. Constantine could choose to die now when he realizes the revenge he had been pining for was the only thing that kept him alive and now that it was done, it only left him feeling empty.

“Defenders are supposed to keep order by keeping the problems of our species away from the humans. They don’t take sides. Why would shades feel threatened by them?”

Defenders fought the ones that humans couldn’t fight on their own. They were created to protect humans from supernatural creatures. Especially back then when demons lived amongst humans on a larger scale and exploited them for their own benefits.

Defenders didn’t exist to establish justice and peace. As long as free will existed injustice would exist, and to interfere in human business unless it was to keep their own race away from it would be to play God and do exactly what they prevented to happen.

“Did my parents pick sides?” Skender asked.

“No. Not that I know.” She replied.

He could see her head spinning with thoughts as well.

“What exactly are you suspect?” She asked.

“I don’t know. It is just a feeling.” He would find out soon when Constantine healed if there was anything suspicious with the shades.

‘Your parents were killed by a demon.’ Suddenly the voice in his head spoke.

Skender stiffened. ‘What do you mean? How do you know?’

‘I remember the smell and the feeling. It was a demon. A powerful one.’ The destroyer could still speak to him. ‘An arch.’

‘An Arch? Are you sure? Why?’

‘I don’t know why but I am sure.’

“Is something wrong?” Lucrezia asked.

Skender was frozen for a moment but forced himself to move. “No. I should go back to work.” He said standing up.

If it was an arch, he wasn’t sure if he could trust Lucrezia.

‘It wasn’t her, but it could be someone she knows.’ The destroyer said.

Lucrezia stood up as well. “I will see if I can find any more information.” Without saying no more, she vanished.

A demon killed his parents. An arch. But why?

If it was an arch it would make sense to pin it on the shades and make it look like they took care of it. Could it be?

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