Uncertain Fate Pt. 2

“Is that a joke?”

“Far from it. Centuries of research has been performed on golden seeds, and we still have no real understanding of how they work.”

Yssa’s eyes drifted to the bident levitating behind Lady Venna’s desk. “But your catalyst is covered in them. How can you not know anything?"

"That was a spoil from my final adventure, a trophy taken from the last Demon King. It was already embedded with those seeds and even I am unsure how the three seeds in the prongs grew so large."

“Those are seeds too?”

“They have the same properties at least.”

“And what of me? Am I eventually going to turn into a tree?”

“Presently that seems unlikely.” Lady Venna shrugged and pulled a worn leather book from a nearby shelf. She flipped through it, stopping three-quarters in before turning it to show Yssa.

"Golden Seeds

Believed to be formed from the scattered remains of the progenitor of the demon race, these rare artifacts have…"

“Remains?!” Yssa’s heart pounded and every breath she took made her dizzier. It had to be wrong. The progenitor of demons was the God of Bloody Sacrifice, brother of the Goddess of Magic, Bahln.

“You know the story, do you not? Of how the God of Sacrifice descended to our world ten thousand years ago?”

“I do,” Yssa said, her voice cracking from her dry throat. “He came to our world in mortal flesh and tried to assimilate it into his realm. Those who submitted offered their souls and sipped his blood, casting aside their humanity to become demons.”

“And it was only through the grace of his sister, the Goddess of Magic and Arts, Baehla, that those who resisted managed to triumph. I am glad you remember your ancient history.”

“Only because my master repeated it constantly. He probably knows more about the history of the demon race than demons themselves.”

Lady Venna chuckled and clapped the book shut. “For someone with a head as hard as a rock, he does love stories. But do you understand what this means?”

“I’m going to become a demon.”

The words were sour on Yssa’s tongue. Her chest was tight and she had to continuously swallow down the vomit fighting to escape.

“That is one possibility. Yet, here you are, neither a tree nor a demon. For now, your light affinity has mutated to counteract the demonic aspects of the seed.”

A miracle. Yssa looked down at her hands as they began to glow again, flipping them over like they were someone else’s.

I’m still human, so that’s a positive. But for how long? If I keep using my new powers, will I eventually transform? Then the logical step would be to cut it out, right?

“It cannot be done,” Lady Venna said as if she could read Yssa’s thoughts. “The seed is fused to your core like a tumor and you will die before anyone could cut it out.”

***

“Cut it out!” Remmi yelled after pushing me off of her. Her eyes were puffy and red, but a playful sparkle had wormed its way in along with a small smile. “I was just a stupid child.”“Who tried to smother me during the darkest part of my life!”

We wrestled with one another some more until we finally exhausted ourselves and laid on the bed panting. Remmi rested her head on my chest and I stroked my fingers through her silky black hair. We hadn’t goofed around like that in years and I’d forgotten how cathartic it was.

“What now?”

“What do you mean?”

Remmi looked up at me from my chest, her tired jade eyes peering into mine as if they were searching for something. Her long dark lashes fluttered when she blinked and for the first time since I could remember, I realized how enchanting she was. With people around the school constantly buzzing about how beautiful she was and being around her nearly every day for the past twelve years, her attractiveness had become so normalized I’d forgotten.

With every second that passed, I could feel my heartbeat accelerate until I forced myself to look up at the ceiling and try to think of something distracting.

“So, um, I guess you have a new pet, huh.”

“What do you mean?”

“The slime.”

“Oh, right.” Remmi’s head shifted and when I glanced down I could see her light brown cheeks were flushed. “Do you want it back?”

I shook my head. “I couldn’t put it back into stasis if I wanted to. Now that it’s absorbed so much of your Aethik energy, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to feed it enough to keep it calm.”

“Then should we kill it?”

“We could ask Lady Venna, but she seemed to want you to keep it. Why else would she test you?”

“I can think of some reasons,” Remmi mumbled into my robe. “I just hope that I stay more agreeable when I reach her age.”

“’I stay more agreeable’. Stop talking like that. It’s just us, no one is around to judge you.”

“Fine. I don’t wanna be an angry old hag who looks like a shriveled up dirt mole when I grow old,” Remmi said emphasizing the informal parts of her speech. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

I stifled my laugh not wanting to embarrass Remmi. It was always a struggle to get her to drop the act she had adopted when we enrolled at the academy. Her quiet, reserved demeanor mixed with her talent had given birth to the apathetic, serious facade she kept on around everyone but me. I was the only one who knew the village farm girl who used to run around barefoot until the bottoms of her feet were black with dirt.

“I definitely prefer it. I think everyone would if you’d be more open. Yssa would love it.”

“Never! She’d never let it go and then the mystique I’ve built up over the past two years will disappear.”

“Fine. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you. Just think about it. I feel bad keeping things from her. I don’t want her to feel like a third wheel or that we’re keeping her at arm’s length just because she didn’t grow up with us.”

“Yeah, yeah.” A tentacle of black goo wormed around Remmi’s hand, slithering between her fingers like a slimy snake. “I know. As much as I fight with her, I know she’s a good person. Her hero complex just gets exhausting. Why should I feel bad about worrying more about you than people I don’t even know?”

“Are you talking about the dragon?”

Remmi nodded, transforming her slime into a curved knife before letting it liquefy again. “You didn’t see the look she gave me when I tried to run with you. It made my skin crawl.”

“Was she mad?”

“I wish. I’m used to that straw-haired saint getting angry. No. The only thing I saw in her eyes was disappointment and for the first time I felt like I’d lost to her at something.”

“Aw, look at you two bonding through a traumatic experience.”

“Shut up! And now Venna wants me to go on a royally sanctioned assignment with her…”

***

“You want us to investigate the border?” Yssa stifled a sardonic chuckle. Of course that’s where they were sending them. Why not send the person fused with demon remains to the border of the Demon Kingdom.

“Wipe that look from your face, Alucant. This was decided well before your… affliction.”

“Is that why you were testing us?” Yssa asked incredulously. “To make sure we’re strong enough?”

“Your powers of deduction are truly remarkable. But if you truly feel that you are being punished, consider that the dragon that attacked came from the south.”

Yssa’s jaw clenched. “I thought all the dragons in the southern mountains had been exterminated. You and the rest of my Master’s party butchered the beasts to the last, didn’t you?”

“That… was a rather embellished tale spread by your master and the king. It is true that we ended MOST of the southern dragons, but for every dozen bodies we left in our wake, how many managed to fly away and hide in some remote cave in the demon kingdom?”

“Tsk. I can understand that, though hearing you refute the stories that made me idolize you and the other heroes doesn’t make me feel great. You know Remmi won’t go without Alva, right?”

“She will do as she is told if she knows what is good for her,” the Headmistress growled. “And it will be your responsibility to make sure she follows orders.”

“I’m not—“

“It will be your responsibility. That said, the King has requested an audience with you, Remmi, and Baehla curse her, Alva, in a week’s time.”

“The King himself?!”

“Yes, yes, the King himself. Until then, you and Remmi will be taking specialized courses on envoy etiquette and battlefield combat. Now go and tell your friends. I have a night’s worth of letters to write to soon to be grieving families.”