4_Finders Keepers.

FINDERS KEEPERS.

Present Day.

"We should kill her," A demon said. He had crazy eyes and a tongue hanging down his mouth.

"Yes, she belongs to us now." Another one said as they circled over her pale body.

She looked too white and dead.

"Stay away from her," A young demon said.

"Here comes the party pooper," The first one scoffed.

"She is ours now, she's already dead." The second demon flew around her. "Finders keepers," He crazily laughed.

"She belongs to the owner of the valley, Raul. Back off." She threatened and slowly landed beside an unconscious Keondra.

"I'll rip you apart Hilda!" Raul angrily said and was about to attack her but his friend held him back.

"Chill, Belphegor will never let her live." His friend laughed and it echoed in the valley. "We got a present and we shall keep it." They both cut open a portal and disappeared into it..

Hilda cautiously poked Keondra but she didn't move.

She carried her and headed for the palace.

"Why did you bring her here!?" The king shouted. "Do you know what you have done!?" He sat on his huge throne. Two horns grew out on each sides of his head. He had six eyes and two huge fangs hanging out of his mouth. He was huge and red.

"She is still alive and she needs our help." Hilda said with a bow.

"There is a reason why she was abandoned here. The intent was to kill her, and she will die." He stated.

Some demons rejoiced and laughed.

"I'll take care of her, your highness. We need more souls by the way." Raul said.

"Please my lord, reconsider this. We don't know why or how she appeared in our land. Maybe she was a victim and she is innocent." Hilda begged.

"And when do we care about the innocent!?!" A demon shouted.

"She might be a criminal or a fugitive for all we care!" Another said.

"And we do not care either! She is here and she is ours!" Raul replied.

"She is ours." They all chorused.

"My lord, I beg for your favor. Let us help her." Hilda begged again.

"Demons do not help anyone! Definitely not werewolves." Raul stood up.

The demons murmured.

“Lycan!” One spat.

"She is a werewolf!" The king stated.

"But she has pointy ears." Hilda added.

"Elves!" The demons hissed again.

"Silence!" The king roared. After a long silence, he stood. "For the sake of Casper, we will save her life."

"But your highness…"

"Enough Raul!" The king flew down the aisle. "Dismiss!" He ordered and disappeared into a portal.

Two demon soldiers picked Keondra’s body and took her to a room and Hilda followed behind.

"Thanks." She said to them and looked at Keondra.

Hilda placed her palm on Keondra's forehead.

"Legilemens.." She whispered into her ear.

Hilda closed her eyes and saw blurry visions of a masked man killing and terrorizing people. She also saw how he threw Keondra's body into the valley.

Hilda jerked her hand away in a fright and moved back.

"Stop taking advantage of the fact that you're his niece to gain favors, Hilda." Raul came into the room.

"That is not true." Hilda turned to him.

"Oh please! Very soon Hilda, I'll take care of you." He threatened.

"I want to see you try." She grunted.

"Stop it!" Someone said from the door.

"He started it sire," Hilda gave the old demon a bow.

"Leave from here, both of you." The man said to them.

"Yes sire."

Hilda waited for the sire to finish the treatment on Keondra.

She paced back and forth outside the room for hours but finally, the medicine man walked out.

"How is she, sire?" Hilda asked.

"I'll have a word with the king. Gather everyone." He ordered.

Hilda impatiently sat in the front row waiting for the medicine man to say what he has to.

She couldn't even guess what the problem was and why the sudden summon.

"Go on sire," The king ordered.

The old man stood up from his seat and the hall went quiet.

"We don't only have a werewolf on our hands but an elf too," He said with a brief silence. "I have treated her but she is cursed as well," He added and the hall became noisy as the demons murmured and whispered.

"Silence!" The king hit his sceptre on the floor with a loud thud and brief lighting. "Carry on." He ordered when everyone was quiet again.

"We can't have her here because she is a danger to our people. She needs to be thrown out immediately!" He added.

"We can kill her and imprison her soul." Raul suggested.

"Her soul is not of this world. Her soul is far more dangerous than her being," The old man said. "We can't have her here, times have changed, as we all know. And I've never felt anything more in all my years. We can't have her here." He concluded and disappeared.

"She shall be thrown out!" The king stated and disappeared too.

"Congratulations Hilda! You brought a monster into our land." Raul gave her push and flew away.

Hilda stalked the soldiers that took Keondra's body away.

They took her out of Assyria and dumped her on the outskirts in a forest that separated Assyria from Kraxuris.

Hilda made a kachacha house in the forest and placed Keondra in it.

She made a fire to keep her warm and brought a pot to boil water.

She towel Keondra everyday and made her take a portion.

On the seventh day, Hilda sadly sat beside Keondra, wiping away the sweat dripping down her body. Although all the wounds on her body were already healed, she was still unconscious.

She decided to keep her in the forest because she didn't know what happened or what to expect because the person who did this to her was still out there. He probably thinks she is dead now and if he unfortunately finds out that she is still alive, he might come back for her life.

Keondra suddenly jerked her head to the side which made Hilda move away from her. She waited for another movement but her body went still again.

Hilda patiently took care of Keondra for the next two months and finally, her eyes flew open.

Hilda dropped the portion she held and flew to the other side of the room.

“Hhhhhhh..” Keondra's chest went up in a deep gasp as her eyes widely opened in horror.

She wailed in pain and hardly sat up as she looked around the poorly made room and spotted the portion on the ground, but nobody was around.

"Hello?" She breathed in pain.

Keondra tried to stand up.

"I'll help you." Hilda said which frightened Keondra.

"Who's there!?" She asked and cautiously looked around.

Hilda became visible and moved towards Keondra but she held up her hand to stop her.

"You are a demon." Keondra stated, swallowed and stood to her feet but fought to gain balance. Sweat dripped down her.

Hilda hasn't heard any other creature call her that in a long time. She is indeed a demon.

"I won't harm you." Hilda said with a smile.

Keondra took another look at her. Her brown hair was weaved into two bold braids and she had noticable identical tattoos on both arms.

Her clothes were leather; the shirt was a sleeveless corset with leather vambraces around each hand.

"What am I doing here!? Why am I here?!" She asked with fright. "Who are you?...The masked man…argh!" Keondra fell to the floor and held her head in pain.

"Careful! You are safe here." Hilda helped her back to the small straw bed.

"I'm Hilda. Yes, I'm a demon but I won't hurt you." Hilda reassured her. "Not all demons are evil you know."

"Isn't that the point?" Keondra laid back. "How did I get here?" She asked.

"What can you remember?" Hilda asked and sat beside her.

"Um...there was a war...a masked man…" Keondra wailed. "A valley…" She stopped as tears dropped down her eyes. "He killed my father." She said.

"Everyone calls him Verdugo. He wears a mask and terrorize people." Hilda said. “Those were stories told to us when we were younger, you probably had a nightmare.”

"How did I survive?"

She prayed to rot in hell but here she was, still very much alive! While everyone died because of her! Her family, her people.

"I took you to the palace and pleaded with Belphegor to help you. He did but…" Hilda stopped.

"But what? He ordered for my death? Are we in Assyria?" Keondra sat up.

"No! We are in the outskirts." Hilda said to her. "Although most of the demons wanted your soul, they couldn't possibly have it because you have ‘the cursed venom’ which is very deadly to both spirit and being." Hilda explained with the roll of her eyes. “I can't believe they are still so superstitious!”

"What is 'the cursed venom'?" Keondra frowned.

"I don't know exactly what it is but it doesn't have a cure. But it's all a myth, I can't believe this is real.”

“I don't understand what's happening.” Keondra frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Verdugo is a myth. A monster who possess the cursed venom. History has it that he once attacked the whole Vroudia, and won. How is that even possible? But then, we were meant to believe they are only stories, we were told they were lies. Parents tell their children these stories to entertain them, after all these years, how is this even possible?” Hilda studied her like she was some kind of experiment.

Keondra quietly watched her as her heart slowly sped up. “How long has this myth lived for?”

“A century, I think, or more.” Hilda shrugged. “Why?”

Keondra looked at her. “They are not myths.” Tears filled her eyes as she slowly shook her head. “They are not myths.”