Not What It Seems
Chapter 15

My eyes were wide with disbelief. “What?”

“Since the moment I saw you,” Vudu explained. “I suspected you may be the pure soul.”

My hand went to my forehead. “Why do you think that?”

He sat down and looked at the ground. “There were a few indicators. First off, you can only use light magic. Secondly, your eyes change color according to your emotions. Even though it seems only demons can see that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this a long time ago?” I asked in retaliation. “You’ve known this long, and you just conveniently forge to tell me?”

He jumped up and walked over to me. “No, I didn’t tell you because I was worried about what would happen if you found out. I was… scared.”

My anger softened at his tone of voice. He was being sincere in his explanation. “Scared?”

He nodded. “I didn’t want to lose the only person I considered a friend.”

His hands went to my arms and gave a small squeeze. This was a new side to Vudu that I hadn’t seen before. I’d never seen him this vulnerable. His hand went to my cheek as he stared into my eyes one more. Genuine concern was etched across his features.

“Ripper is going to find a way to get you to where he wants you.” He explained. “He’ll find some way to pull you from this town. We need to make sure that those around you are protected.”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked, my hand grabbing his.

He froze. “I don’t know…”

His was trembling. His eyes went back down to the ground. Vudu was having his own battle in his mind on what to do. Panic set in is features, and I didn’t know how to help him through the anxiety. I did the only thing that came to my mind.

I hugged him.

His heart was beating at a fast rate, but I didn’t release him. Slowly, he placed his arms around me and accepted my hug. He needed this, and I was willing to give it. He needed to know that he wasn’t alone this time, and that I was there to help him. I just hoped that I didn’t run out of time before I could make a difference.

“Let’s not worry about this right now.” I offered. “Let’s just get some rest so we can think clearly tomorrow morning, okay?”

I felt him nod against me.

An idea came to my mind. “How about I make us some cookies? Would that help a bit?”

“Do we have some of that chocolate to put in them?” He asked almost like a child.

I hummed a confirmation and he pulled away. Letting out a breath his smile returned, and she followed me over to the kitchen to bake. With his help, we were able to make the cookies quickly and we were soon sitting in the living area. Vudu sat on the floor next to my legs. It seemed like he wanted to stay close to me. I had a book in my hand and read aloud the adventures that were written within the pages. Vudu refused to release my hand and his thumb constantly caressed the back of mine.

“The knight looked back at the fair maid and with sorrow in his heart, he left her at the kingdom to fight for his country. Knowing she would be safe from the invaders brought the only peace to his heart. His only dream being that one day he would return from battle to her embrace.” I read aloud.

“If he loved her so much,” Vudu interrupted. “Why would he leave?”

I looked down at him before I answered. “He loves he so much that he’s willing to risk death for her. He wants her safe, and so he leaves to protect her.”

“Protect her…” He repeated.

“Cookies should be ready by now.” I stated while standing up.

While I walked back over to the kitchen, I felt a small bit of resistance from Vudu’s hand as he held mine. But he soon eased his grip and allowed me to pull the desserts out of the fire oven. Placing a few thick layers of fabric between my hands and the hot metal, I grabbed the pan and placed it on the counter away from heat. I let out a content sigh as the smell of fresh sweets filled the home, and I soon heard Vudu behind me.

Without waiting, he reached over me and grabbed one of the cookies from the pan. It was quickly dropped as his skin came into contact with the pan and burned. He let out a yelp and withdrew his injured appendage towards his chest. I quickly turned around to look at him as he examined his red fingertips.

“Sorry,” I said while walking over to him. “I should have told you we needed to wait a bit for the pan to cool.”

Grabbing his hand with mine, I examined the burn to make sure that it wasn’t too deep. I felt his eyes on me as he watched me work. My mind turned back to the burns. I could normally heal this with my magic, but I didn’t know if light magic would actually hurt him because of him being a demon.

“Healing magic is technically Holy Magic, huh?” I asked as my eyes shot up to him.

He pulled back slightly and was flustered for a bit. His free hand went to the back of his neck as he thought. Before long, he gave me a shrug.

I gave him a crooked smile. “Healing magic. It’s the same as Holy Magic, correct? You didn’t hear me ask the question, didn’t you?”

A guilty smile came to his face. “Yeah. But about your question, I don’t know if it will affect us the same way as Holy Magic. You can try.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” I stated.

He shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t think that I could get burned, being a demon and all. This is the day for me to be wrong about things. There’s no harm in trying.”

My eyes scanned his face. He looked so sure and seemed like he was coxing me to try. Letting out a sigh, I reached over and grabbed my staff. Keeping his hand in mine, I summoned my magic to heal his wound. A small light entered the area over his burned flesh and grew to cover the injured area. Sure enough, it didn’t hurt him. Once the spell was completed, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

My eyes went up to Vudu as I smiled with joy for the success we had. His gaze transfixed me. There was something in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. Something so welcoming and caring. I took a step closer, and he kept his eyes on me. His hands went to my shoulders and we began to slowly draw closer to each other. My eyes closed and I waited for him to respond.

A sigh left his chest, and his hands pushed my shoulders back. My eyes shot open and I saw Vudu looking away from me. His features held shame in them, and my heart seemed to break a bit. And what was worse, I understood why he did what he did. An action like that, could destroy him. I didn’t want that for him, but it still hurt.

“I’m sorry.” He didn’t look at me. “It’s not…”

I placed my fingers on his lips. “I understand, Vudu. I do. I don’t want you to disappear either.”

Though my words sounded convincing, my heart still ached. Without saying another word, I turned and went to my room. I needed to be alone for a while. This sorrow would subside eventually, and I felt exhausted suddenly. Tomorrow things would be clearer.

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