Page 128 of Reflections of Peonies
I froze, clenching my teeth, as I stood by, unable to do anything, while Bianca stood knee-deep in dark water and stared at the surface.
But that wasn’t what caused my heart to race—bad as it was. It was the sight of the demon hovering in the air in front of her. The creature’s green skin glistened in the moonlight, and its eyesclosed as it played a flute. The eerie, lilting melody broke through the otherwise quiet sounds of the night.
We could only hear the music becauseshecould. Otherwise, the sound would have been unnoticeable to us. Adults, after all, were immune to the piper’s spell. The water rippled from where Bianca stood, and I knew—from legends—that she was captivated by the kappa’s illusions.
Many demons lured children to their deaths, and each had their reasons: loneliness, revenge, or evil intentions. I wasn’t sure of this one’s history—this topic fell more into Bianca and Damen’s realms of expertise—but it was easy to see that it wanted Bianca dead.
I glanced around the darkening space, fury lacing through me. Where was Kieran? Hadn’t someone else been in the house, too? There had been multiple voices present in Bianca’s earlier memory.
Why was she out here? He was supposed to be protecting her!
Bianca moved, stepping further into the water. My heart raced.
This was only a memory. There was nothing I could do.
But then Bianca paused and raised her eyes. There was no fear in her gaze, only mild curiosity as she spoke to the giant, long-limbed demon. “Why?”
The creature’s yellow eyes popped open, and it lowered the instrument. Its shoulders dropped as its mouth thinned. It’d never been questioned before.
“You can see me?” the kappa asked.
“You’re lonely,” Bianca said, her tiny fist clutching against her chest. “But you have so many people with you. So why are you sad?”
“Perhaps there’s many,” he said, raising the flute to his lips. “But there’s not quite enough. I have to fulfill my contract.” He seemed to state this more for himself than her and began to play the instrument once more.
But for Bianca, the pull had been lost. Such power lost its potency once the spell had been exposed.
“I can’t go with you,” Bianca interrupted his song. “I need to go home.”
He paused, his eyes narrowing as his form tensed.
“But I’m sorry you’re sad,” she said, turning away from the demon. “Goodbye.”
Bianca hadn’t even taken a step before the monster moved. The flute was thrown aside, and he lunged across the surface of the water, claw-like fingers reaching for her.
“I just need one more,” he said. “I can’t wait anymore. I’ll just drag you with me myself.”
My throat closed as the demon reached Bianca and wrapped his fingers around her neck. He couldn’t have known it would work. There was no way he’d known that he could touch her while she was alive. He was simply acting out of furious desperation.
However, he didn’t let his surprise stop him from continuing his assault.
Instead, he smiled.
She reached for its hands as her features were cloaked in fear, and an instant later, she’d been pulled backward into the water. I stood, unable to move as the swell of pained helplessness threatened to choke me.
She was drowning, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.
Everything else disappeared as the kappa’s face transformed into something even more sinister and dark. The creature remained unmoved as Bianca flailed, trying to escape. To breathe.
I held my breath as her movements slowed and his teeth bared.
He didn’t win. I knew this because Bianca was relatively safe with us in the present.
But how? No one was here to help her. Any longer and—
A whirlwind of movement rushed past us, and the demon was thrown back. A second later, Alyssa carried Bianca to the shore, looking darkly toward where the creature had fallen.
But when it didn’t resurface, she focused back on her daughter.
