Caught in the Devils' Hand

by Ruby Duvall

  “Perhaps another week,” Vallen commented.

  “Vallen?” she softly whispered. Both demons jerked slightly in surprise.

  “Sorry, did we wake you?” he responded.

  “I need water,” she said, swallowing around the itchiness in her throat. She felt Rosuke swiftly vacate the bed and slide the bedroom door open as he left the room in search of water. Vallen pressed a kiss to her temple.

  “How are you feeling, love?” he asked, his voice low and soft. She smiled in the darkness and felt her skin goose-bump despite the warmth.

  “Thirsty,” she jokingly replied. “But otherwise fine. Why have I been asleep so long?”

  “Your magic worked pretty hard yesterday to give Rosuke the energy he needed, and you’ve already fallen into a dead sleep twice trying to memorize that damned circle for the ritual, only to wake again a few hours later, so your body needed to refresh itself,” he explained. She got a whiff of the spicy soap he used in his baths and turned toward him to get closer.

  “Then I assume Oka was taken care of, right? You fed him and explained my…state?” she said.

  “I recounted what had happened when you removed the draining spell from the village leader’s wife, and said that doing magic like that takes a toll on beginners. He assumed you waved your hand over Rosuke to heal him, and then fell into bed in exhaustion. He doesn’t know what really happened in this room.”

  “That’s good. He’s not yet ten, as it is.” She breathed a sigh of relief, snuggling close to his body.

  Rosuke returned quickly, bearing one of the estate’s elaborate wooden cups, and though she didn’t need any help, both demons pulled her to a sitting position. She gratefully downed the water without stopping for breath, and the cup was taken away from her before she could even ask.

  She was feeling like a pampered princess and she wasn’t sure if she liked it.

  “Do you want to sleep longer?” Vallen asked. Her sleep-heavy eyes were finally strong enough to stay open now, and she saw that both of them were wearing only pants. Rosuke was wearing new ones though. She looked down at her clothes and saw what looked like some sort of silk robe meant to be worn under a real dress, but it was nearly see-through. She quickly covered her exposed chest with the blanket, looking around.

  “Did you…clean me yesterday?” she asked, looking at Vallen.

  “Rosuke wanted to,” he said with a cocky smile, “but I wouldn’t let him. He took care of the bed instead, but only on the condition that I dressed you in that.”

  “I’m not a doll,” she insisted, her face stern. Neither of them seemed to react very much to her anger.

  “Would you have preferred that we put you back to bed naked? Many black-haired nobles slept as such, including me,” Vallen suggested. Shumei ignored him, wondering where all his appreciation from yesterday had gone.

  “I should be awake when Oka comes to breakfast, dressed appropriately. After that, I’ll start studying the ritual to cure you two. What you do with your day is up to you, obviously,” she said, tossing her mane of hair over her shoulder. Both demons watched the gesture in appreciation.

  “I guess we are dismissed, Vallen,” Rosuke joked, sliding off the bed again and making a show of it as he flashed a sultry look at the girl under the covers. Vallen rolled his eyes at his friend, knowing that he was just joking when he flirted—it was Rosuke’s way of coping.

  After they had put Shumei to bed, they had quite a long conversation with Oka concerning what had happened to his older sister. The young boy had been much more suspicious than she believed, but they seemed to successfully quell his concerns.

  It was after that intense inquisition that Vallen was finally able to tell Rosuke of the news about finding their cure. Rosuke had cracked a joke then, certain that his friend was surely kidding about finding the Devil’s Hand, and it wasn’t until Vallen pointed out the open spell book on the table in the sitting room that his friend believed him.

  Rosuke had lost the ability to speak and then lost the ability to stand, falling to his knees in shock. Vallen watched with amazement as his friend swore on his own life that he would protect Shumei from any and all harm for what she had done for him.

  The rest of the day was spent preparing a separate bedroom for Rosuke and cleaning the inner ring of hallway, but one of the three of them felt the need to check on their slumbering witch more than a dozen times. As they worked, Rosuke had him and Oka laughing several times, his spirits higher than Vallen had ever seen in the time when they were cursed.

  Vallen was now bemused to see that Rosuke had not yet used his bedroom, preferring to stick next to Shumei’s side and discuss the ritual to be performed soon. It was obvious, though, why he wouldn’t wish to make use of his room just yet. As a demon, he didn’t sleep and with tidings of an end to their curse, who could sleep anyway?

  Looking at Shumei who was regarding Rosuke with a bit of feigned anger for his cheek, Vallen realized just how much she had given to both of them and how much more she was going to give them.

  He wondered how he could ever repay her.

  “Well, then. There are some dresses to choose from in the cabinet over here,” he instructed, getting off the bed as well. Her head turned to look at him. “You may join us for breakfast in the sitting room in about an hour, I would estimate.” He headed toward the bedroom door through which Rosuke had already exited, and she watched his finely sculpted torso in the dim light of predawn.

  Though she hadn’t mentioned anything about her dream yet, she had dreamt it again last night, and it was longer this time. More details about the land had become clear to her, and it just wasn’t the foggy memories of dreams that one usually has after waking from such events.

  She still remembered the dozens of vistas she had passed through, the faces of kings, overlords and chiefs, and even the dress she wore as she passed through all these realms. Coming upon Vallen’s estate again at the end, she recognized one of the black-haired people who came to greet her. The smiling face of Rosuke was right behind Oka as both ran up to her, including a third person…a woman with a pair of exotic eyes.

  “V-Vallen,” she started, rising to her knees, though she still held the blanket in front of her. He turned back to her, his eyebrows raised as he waited for her to say something. She watched him for just a couple of seconds, the words she wanted to say on the tip of her tongue.

  “It’s…it’s nothing. Never mind,” she said, sitting back on her ankles again.

  “Well, take your time,” he smiled, turning away again. He slid the door shut behind him, and she heard his fading footsteps as he walked down the hall.

  “I dream about you,” she whispered, looking at the closed door. “And in my dreams, you’re dead.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Everyone had just finished the midday meal, and Shumei sat on the porch in her newest dress, her legs swinging slowly. The dress was deep blue with a goldfish pattern all over it from collar to hem and her dress was held shut by a turquoise belt so long that she had difficulty tying the knot so that the ends of the belt didn’t touch the floor as she walked. She rather liked the effect, though, for it looked as if she had a bright blue tail flowing down from a large blue bow sitting in the small of her back.

  Vallen and Rosuke had liked it very much as well, but Oka had simply rolled his eyes. At present, the three of them were engaged in sword practice. Oka was only watching for now, and Vallen and Rosuke were showing off some of their rather impressive techniques using real swords. Her brother’s face had never looked so in awe as it did then, and it made her smile.

  She, however, was busy trying to memorize the ritual circle. She looked down at the spell book again, which lay across her lap over a wide cloth to protect her skirt from the chalky black residue. A frown marred her features as she scrutinized the complicated pattern. There were sharp angles in some of the intricate arrow shapes pointing toward the center, but not in others, and there was absolutely no symmetry for m
ost of the small frills making up the sides of the arrow shapes.

  She was only grateful that there was no specific order in which to draw the circle, and the dimensions didn’t have to be exact. Vallen told her of spells where the time limit was even smaller, and the circle could only be successfully drawn if you never lifted the writing instrument you were using.

  She wished she could just bring the spell book into the room with her, but having another representation of the circle within the ritual space was prohibited.

  Placing both hands on the pages in front of her, she leaned down, staring closely at the now hated circle, and wished with all her might that she knew it by heart. She wanted to be able to draw it in fifteen minutes, eyes closed. She felt her vision begin to blur, as if her eyes were crossing, but she couldn’t get her vision back, so matter how many times she blinked.

  That’s when she lost her balance.

  It was as if she fell off the porch, but even more than that. Her hands suddenly sank into the book, through her legs, through the porch, and then her head fell inside, and her shoulders. Her whole body was getting sucked into the book.

  She felt a moment of panic and tried to open her eyes, but all she saw was blackness. In the blackness, she couldn’t even see her own hands, but there was a faint outline in front of her. It looked like the figure of a man, but it had no clean shape, as if it weren’t solid.

  Then the circle appeared in front of her, giant and glowing. The glowing was so bright that a strange humming noise buzzed in the air, and she slapped her hands over her ears even though the sound wasn’t that loud. The humming abruptly ended though and she watched with wide eyes as the circle burst into a thousand pieces, all jagged shapes like broken pieces of glass. She screamed in fright as the pieces flew at her, but she couldn’t move. She could only float there as they came zooming at her.

  The first one pierced her body, warm and liquid, and she felt no pain. Her screaming immediately ceased as she realized that she wasn’t being harmed. All the pieces fell into her, fell into place inside of her, and she watched as her mind’s eye traced the circle over and over again, starting from a new spot every time. She watched it being traced hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times, and felt as if she would never forget its shape.

  Then a new circle appeared in front of her, and she somehow knew it immediately as the circle drawn to invoke the Incubus Curse. It burst as well, flying into her body and forcing her mind to memorize it.

  Another circle appeared, and then another. One for curing disease…one for creating whole forests…one for casting a defensive shield over a city thousands of miles away…one for a ritual to pay homage to the Divine One.

  A hundred circles, a thousand circles…they all appeared in front of her, so bright was their glow that she had to shield her eyes, and yet they continually fell into her, like sand sifting down to the base of an hourglass. She felt herself twitching as she took them all in, and the warmth of all the circles was making her overheated. She felt as if a few days slipped by and could only tell that fewer and fewer circles waited by the fading glow all around her.

  Finally, the last circle appeared in front of her and she knew it as she had known all the others. It was a circle that no one but she could draw. It was meant only for her and would work only for her. She memorized it as well, a tear falling from her eye as she realized its significance. It was the last circle, and yet somehow, she knew that was just the tip of the knowledge she was meant to learn.

  It was dark again then and she floated there alone, her body covered with a fine film of perspiration. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she once again saw the figure of a man in front of her. He had been there all along, watching her absorb the circles. She saw him move forward, his body barely visible, like smoke hovering in the dark of night. His hands, foggy and unclear, reached out to her, and she felt his cool touch on her face.

  His figure seemed to solidify just a bit, glowing from behind as if the sun were rising beyond his outline. He leaned forward, his barely discernable face coming closer to her.

  “Very soon, my chosen one,” he whispered. “I am already proud.”

  She fell asleep then, her head rolling back as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and all was quiet for a long while.

  “Shumei! By the gods, Shumei, please wake up!” a familiar voice begged.

  “Sister! What happened? What happened to her?”

  “We don’t know, little one. Go fetch some water quickly,” a third voice said to the second.

  She groaned, feeling as if she had been lying there for a week. The back of her head throbbed with pain and her throat hurt.

  “Shumei! Thank the gods,” Vallen said, his lips touching her forehead. She realized that he was holding her, though she still sat on the porch and slowly opened her eyes.

  “What happened?” Rosuke asked, kneeling on her other side. His face was a mask of pained concern as he looked at her, and she tried to speak, but her throat was too dry.

  “Mizu…mizu hoshii,” she whispered. Both demons gasped, and she heard Vallen ask, “What did you just say?”

  “Want…water,” she whispered again, wondering why they hadn’t heard her the first time.

  “Is she talking?” Oka panted, returning with a whole jug of water and a cup in his hand. He looked down at Shumei who had to look up and behind to see him.

  “Give her some water,” Vallen said slowly, his face the picture of surprise.

  “She just spoke Mahou, Vallen,” Rosuke whispered vehemently. His face was just as shocked as Vallen’s. They both looked down at her again, watching as she gratefully gulped down the water.

  “Shumei, what happened?” Vallen asked again once she had caught her breath.

  “I was…studying the circle and watching you. Then…” she began, wondering how to describe what had happened to her. It was just as strange as the dream she had had and though she was now certain that both her dream and her blackout were obviously more than what they seemed, she was hesitant to give too many details. She felt as if she were going crazy.

  “I remember wanting to have the circle memorized, but I suddenly fell into the book. I think I just fainted but…the dream I had felt so real,” she said, snuggling closer to Vallen.

  “What happened in the dream?” Rosuke said, his voice soft and even.

  “I saw the circle, and it broke and fell into me. It was so warm. …And then more and more circles appeared, and they did the same. It felt like forever passed and I was ready to faint from the heat,” she described.

  She watched as Vallen and Rosuke exchanged a look, one that she couldn’t read at all and she tried to sit up.

  “What did you see happen?” she asked, realizing that she had simply fallen back from where she had been sitting. The spell book was even sitting in her lap still.

  Vallen sat more comfortably next to her, and Oka squeezed in next to her as Rosuke stood upon the ground again in front of her.

  “I was watching them fight,” Oka began, “and I heard a thump or something. I looked back and saw you lying on your back. I called your name, but you didn’t answer.”

  “Rosuke and I got distracted then because Oka called your name a second time, so we stopped and looked as well,” Vallen said.

  “That’s when you screamed,” Rosuke said.

  “I’d never been so worried in my life,” Vallen said in a low voice, his arm coming around her shoulders. Oka also hugged her, his smaller arm wrapping around her waist.

  “We all ran over to see what was happening, and by the time Vallen picked you up, you were convulsing, and your cheeks were bright red,” Rosuke explained.

  “Well, the point here is that whatever happened just made it possible for me to draw that damned circle and I could do it with plenty of time to spare. I could do it with my eyes closed,” she boasted, straightening her spine.

  “Really?” Rosuke asked with excitement, leaning down and placing his hands on her kne
es. Even Vallen and Oka squeezed in really close, and Vallen echoed Rosuke’s excitement.

  “Can I watch you do the spell?” Oka asked. She gasped and looked down at him, realizing that she had no way to explain that it was a ritual he really wouldn’t want to see.

  At once, both demons said “no”.

  “What? Why?” he asked. “You always tell me to leave the room or go somewhere else. What’s going on?” Rosuke, still propped on her knees, looked over to Oka.

  “Vallen and I have to be naked for the ritual and I’m too embarrassed to be naked in front of a child,” Rosuke said in explanation, though it was far from the truth since their nudity had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with sex. Her mouth fell open at how quickly Rosuke had revealed such a damning fact.

  “Huh? But you’re a guy. I’m a guy. Why does it matter? And why do you have to be naked?” Oka asked.

  “Rosuke,” she said, her tone warning him. He didn’t look at her though.

  “There’s plenty of time when you’re older to look at naked men,” he said to the boy, trying to distract him from his line of questioning.

  “I—I don’t want to look at naked guys!” Oka said, trying to defend himself. “I just want to watch some magic!”

  “I’ll show you something else then, okay?” she promised, latching onto that last statement.

  “Really?” he asked, looking at her expectantly.

  “Sure,” she said, thinking quickly. She had never tried to perform magic on command and was hoping that one of the circles she had memorized would surface in her mind.

  On cue, the perfect circle appeared.

  She scooted forward and all three of them made room for her. Setting the book on the porch behind her, she slipped her sock-covered feet into her new dark blue, backless shoes sitting on the stone block just below her and stepped onto the ground. They all watched as she searched for a piece of clear ground, and she picked up a stick lying beneath a tree a few yards away.

  She knew that this circle merely needed to be traced over the ground without leaving any lasting marks, whereas other circles had to be actually drawn. Those kinds could be washed away later though, whether drawn with chalk, coal, blood, water or any other substance that could act as ink.