Page 20 of Shadow & Stars
We reached the first gate. Xavier fiddled with some buttons in a recess near the lock. The gate opened half a minute later. We filtered into the space between the first and second gate, Butterfly pulling the first one closed behind us.
“Finding it was an accident.” Xavier carried on with his story, working through the next gates. “We used to come to Level 88 all the time to get away from our families.”
His parents had been a particularly nasty pair of demons who ate humans. They were killed by the lost magic of Arcana way back in the day.
“This is an irrelevant level to every other demon, but a haven for us. One day, Rae, my friend, decided to start digging for treasure. She was convinced we would find beautiful jewels under all the dead ugliness. Instead, she found the entrance into this place.” He opened the final gate. “Magically, it attuned to us, our essences seeping into every part of it. It only opens for either Rae or me, which I’ve never been able to explain. I wasn’t sure if it would open without magic, but here we are.” He glanced at me.
“Thank God it did open,” I said.
I watched him nod under my glittery light.
He took us down a curved corridor.
“What happened to Rae?” I asked.
“Killed by a witch,” he answered.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
He didn’t answer. Arcana had been a serious risk to life for demons. Then it vanished, leaving them immortal. Now they faced death square in the face once again.
I’d do everything to keep Xavier from meeting his friend or his parents again. He had to live so I could live. I needed him, and I didn’t care how selfish that sounded. We’d only just found each other. Losing him to this chaos was unthinkable, so it was not happening on my watch.
No fucking way. I slathered more determination on myself like a salve, ready to take on the world.
That’s better!
Be much better if you make a wish…
“Rae loved to sing,” Xavier said, taking me surprise.
“She did?”
“Yes. Badly.”
I laughed, feeling a little guilty after. “Sorry.”
“So were my ears for putting up with it.”
I laughed again, his words a sugar rush. I loved his cheeky side, his smile, his strength. I loved… I loved…
“Here at last,” Xavier said, snapping me out of a sweet drift into a potential…
…confession.
He opened a heavy wooden door, my light showing off its knots and scratches. Dusty air wafted in my face and I coughed, clearing my throat.
“Sorry, it’s been a while since I cleaned,” Xavier said.
“It smells like cheese,” Darcy chimed in. “And not in the good way.”
“That’s always been a problem.”
Unable to help myself, I let out a sharp laugh. “Do you make brie down here?”
Xavier offered me a smile, which set my pulse on fire.
Man, what was wrong with me?
