Marked

by Jasmine Derriman

  “Okay, so there are two types of demons, like categories, and only archaic can possess people,” I confirmed as I ran it over in my head.

  I saw Eve nod at me before I spoke again. “So, how do I identify which is which?”

  “Well, the easiest way is just learning the demons,” Seth answered me.

  “But, there are certain shortcuts,” Eve interrupted Seth with a little eye-roll. “For example, any demon in animal form will always be a shadow demon, like the lupus demon that attacked you. It’s harder to identify an archaic demon, but usually the have a physical form, and tend to be more powerful.”

  “When you say they’re more powerful, do some demons have different abilities than others?” I asked them slowly.

  “They do, but not like we have different abilities, theirs are a little more generalised,” Eve explained. “A primus demon is one of the, if not, the most powerful archaic demon that exists, and unlike weaker archaic demons they have shields that take time to break down, extreme strength. It ranges depend on the demon.”

  “So, I really do need to read a book or two to figure this out, don’t I?” I guessed.

  “It can be a little complicated,” Eve agreed.

  “We still haven’t even scraped the barrel,” Seth told me. “We haven’t even mentioned about their poison.”

  “Poison?” I frowned.

  Eve sighed. “Most demons have a bite that is poisonous that will kill both a human and an insigne and whilst we have figured out a cure, there’s not a vast amount of it to just carry around. So it’s best to avoid being bitten.”

  I felt myself nod at them as I titled my head at the book and read some of the words Seth and Eve had both just spoke to me.

  “Are you okay, Lily?” Eve asked softly.

  I felt myself breathe sharply and jump to glance at both Eve and Seth who were slightly starting at me. “Yes, no, I’m fine. It’s just a lot…I’m thinking it over.”

  “Do you want me to repeat any of it?” Seth asked slowly.

  “No, no,” I shook my head. “I got it, two types of demons, archaic and shadow, some are strong, some aren’t, and their bites are poisonous.”

  “Well, you were listening,” Seth said with a shrug.

  “There is more,” Eve said with a small smile. “I mean, we still have to get around to each individual demon, and their weakness and strengths.”

  “Of course,” I nodded. “So like the lupus demon, it was a…”

  “A shadow demon,” Seth finished for me. “Hence it’s animal form.”

  Eve rolled her eyes a little as she leant over to the book in front of me and flipped through a few pages for me.

  “Isaac was telling me about some of the demons you’ve seen…and I think you saw this one?” Eve said, holding the page down for me.

  I frowned as I stared at the picture of the demons before me. “It’s the first demon I saw; I think…they said it was a smoke demon?”

  “Smoke demon is its nickname, it’s a fumi demon and it is a shadow demon,” Eve nodded, “and it’s not surprising it was following you. Smoke demons are known to track and even go unseen to Insigne.”

  “But it’s those archaic demons you’ve really got to watch out for,” Seth warned me.

  “All demons are dangerous, don’t listen to him, Lily,” Eve said. “He thinks that shadow demons are useless, that they can be killed easier than breathing. One day, Seth, a shadow demon is really going to hurt you and you’ll regret those words.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Eve,” Seth said as he laughed.

  Eve rolled her eyes at him again. “I’m not, you are.”

  Eve however still smiled at him even though it was clear she was annoyed at him, but it didn’t both her in the way she was letting on.

  “Why…do you have to stab them…in the heart?” I frowned slightly as I read through the page in front of me, coming across the line about how to kill them, and remembering how I had killed two. “It doesn’t actually look like they have hearts.”

  “It’s true,” Eve shrugged. “They however do have hearts.”

  “Literally though,” Seth nodded. “Like, I mean, I don’t think it actually makes demons feel anything, or even beat for that matter.”

  “Like most things, they need some source of power,” Eve shrugged. “It just happens to be there heart, but I guess it’s not really heart, it’s a power source. That burst of light you see when they die, it’s their bodies, they spirit just breaking into pieces…they disappear into thin air…because demons aren’t human, they don’t leave a body.”

  “They almost don’t seem real,” I whispered but shook my head realising what I was saying, “but I guess that’s just because up until a few days ago, to me they weren’t.”

  “They are unnatural,” Seth nodded at me in a firm voice, “but you are right. They don’t seem real, and that’s because they shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t exist.”

  “But that’s why we exist,” I said vaguely.

  Eve nodded at me as she glanced at Seth. “It’s the only reason we ever will.”

  Eve and Seth sat with me, as they pulled a few books off the shelf and we started going over the different demons. We touched on another demon I had seen, the rock demon, the real name being petram demon was an archaic demon, and its strength was literally its strength and its weakness was that it wasn’t a smart demon, it could easily be tricked. There were more demons than I could wrap my head around all at one time, but I had to try and learn.

  During our whole demon lesson Seth had to excuse himself. He had a meeting with council or something like that, but it didn’t surprise me, they probably wanted to check on any progress I made while here. I wouldn’t be surprised if Eve and Seth were meant to report on anything I said about the dagger.

  “How long have you known Seth?” I asked Eve as she picked up a different book to show me.

  “Oh, about three years now,” she shrugged, “since we both attended here together when we got our marks.”

  “And you both just stayed?”

  “Our marks aren’t exactly designed for combat, we’re better off here, teaching what we know,” Eve said, sitting back in her chair.

  “Okay,” I nodded. “And you are Seth aren’t…like… you know…?”

  Eve looked at me confused as I spoke, however the moment she realised what I was implying it clicked on her face. “What? Oh…god…no.”

  “But you…want that?” I guessed, turning my head slightly. “You like him.”

  Eve sighed as she sunk into her chair. “You can tell?”

  I shrugged at her. “I’ve always been good at noticing things like that.”

  “So you would notice he doesn’t think the same,” Eve said softly.

  I swallowed slightly. “He cares about you.”

  “Like Isaac cares about you?”

  I froze slightly, surprised Eve had even snuck Isaac into the conversation. I felt myself even hesitate to speak and I wasn’t sure why. Did Isaac care about me? Why would he? He’s only known me for a few days and I’ve been nothing but a burden that he’s had to save more than once.

  “Isaac and I barely know each other,” I spoke quickly.

  Eve smiled slightly. “Doesn’t mean he doesn’t already care about you. You didn’t see him the night you guys came in. He was worried about you. I mean, he knew you had just exhausted yourself, but he kept checking on you. He feels some sort of responsibility towards you.”

  “Well, he doesn’t have to,” I said quickly. “Besides, he doesn’t really want me around. He just keeps saving me; I am becoming a burden to him.”

  “He enjoys fighting though,” Eve told me. “It’s what he’s known for really, which is surprising. His mark, it does nothing, no one has ever seen it before, it’s practically useless, but he never let that stop him. His combat skills are the best, better than anyone else. He is one of the best because he doesn’t let that one little thing bother him, he always fights.”


  “I think he does it for his mother,” I whispered as I brought my hands together to fiddle with my fingers. “He told me she died, protecting him.”

  Eve nodded at me. “He had it tough. He was young when she died and he never really had a father, well he wasn’t there at least. He lived with his grandparents and they died too. He always had Felix though, and he was like a bother the moment he came to stay with Isaac.”

  “So he really doesn’t know anything about his father?” I asked surprised, turning my head more towards Eve.

  She shook her head at me. “As far as I know he’s never even seen a photo of him, he has no idea who his father is, which I don’t think bothered him honestly.”

  “Why wouldn’t something like that bother him?” I asked her, realising that it would’ve bothered me.

  Eve shrugged. I think he thinks that because his own father didn’t bother, then why should he? Besides, he had his grandparents, and he if he really needed to know they would’ve told him.”

  “So he really trusted his grandparents then?”

  “Yeah, loved them. They died while he was here though. Well, he grandfather died just before he came here, and the grandmother held on for a while and died just before he finished here. He knew it was coming though,” Eve told me calmly.

  What Eve was saying made sense to me. It was hard to explain, but I think I wouldn’t be the same person right now if my parents were here, in a strange way it all made me stronger. That’s how I saw Isaac, strong, independent, and he was independent, he had to be.

  “Isaac will protect you,” Eve said leaning away from the book and looking directly at me. “He sees some need to keep you safe, I don’t know what it is. Maybe he’s interested to see if you are this chosen one.”

  “I think everyone’s interested in that,” I said bluntly.

  “I’m not,” Eve admitted, and as I looked at Eve confused she smiled before she explained. “You’re strong, even without this chosen thing looming over your heat. I don’t think this dagger is what will end this war, I don’t think anything can end this war if I’m honest, because we don’t know what’s fuelling it really.”

  “I thought it was just a power thing, you know?” I shrugged at her. “The demons want to hurt humans and have power.”

  “They do,” Eve nodded. “They want to be the main occupants of this world, they always have wanted to, but I don’t understand what commands them, or who for that matter.”

  “You mean like a leader?”

  “Yes. I mean, we have leaders, the elders are our leaders, and as far as we know, demons tend to act alone. You will never find more than three demons together. They don’t rely on each other, they’re more lone fighters, and they act alone. But there has to be something…or someone commanding them, making sure they go for us before they go for the humans.”

  “You don’t think it’s a demon commanding them?” I caught on to her.

  “No,” Eve shook her head, leaning back on her chair. “I mean, there is an order to demons, the more powerful ones will tend to have authority, but not over all of them. There is no real superior super demon or anything like that. Whoever it is, has something strong on their side, something that demons are either scared of or respect and I don’t know what it is, no matter how hard to try to figure it out. Not to mention no one really thinks I’m right.”

  “I think you’re right,” I spoke plainly. “I mean, it makes sense. That room I saw at the house, it was more than just a room of research, and there were maps and locations. They are seeking all of us out for a reason, it’s not totally random.”

  “Yes, exactly!” Eve said, moving forward on her chair. “It’s not random, it’s calculated, and demons aren’t the calculating type.”

  I just nodded at Eve as she sighed but leant back on her chair again. She smiled slightly at me then before she spoke.

  “I like you, Lily,” she told me, “and trust me when I saw I don’t take fondly to people so easily.”

  “Why not?” I frowned.

  “My mark allows me to really see the truth in people,” she shrugged. “I can tell someone’s personality from the moment I meet them, from their body language, I can tell when they’re lying, when they’re not real. You are honest and real and kind, and there isn’t anything fake about you.”

  “Really?” I asked surprised.

  She smiled at me again. “Yes, really.”

  “Thanks,” I said quickly, even though I wasn’t sure if I should be thanking her. “I like you too. You’re the first person who hasn’t spoken to me like I’m some precious little girl with no clue to what’s going on.”

  “You’re not,” Eve said quickly. “For someone who’s been thrown into this, you understand it and you accept it.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  I ended up staying up most of the night reading some of the demon books Eve had given me. I wanted to sleep but every time I thought about sleeping my mind jumped to demons and finding out more about them. Eve and Seth had really gone over the basics as they had said, and the basics helped me understand everything I was reading.

  Turns out archaic demons really were the worst of them. They could take on different forms if they needed to, some could shapeshift. For example the formidulosus demon, also known as the fear demon could figure out your deepest and darkest fear and shift itself into that very thing. Archaic demons also had elaborate forms of delivering their poison that wasn’t with a bite, such as spikes, and spikes that acted as darts and poison that was like acid. I was starting to hope that most of the demons were shadow demons instead.

  Shadow demons, whilst they were still demons, weren’t nearly as terrifying. Most of them tended to be in animal form, but there were some like the smoke demon, or the fumi demon as I learnt it was called, that resided in different forms. Their poison could only be delivered by a bite, and no other way. They had their strengths though, they tended to heal quicker, have more stamina. What I was realising though, is both demons could kill me if I didn’t learn how to fight.

  I fell asleep with the boxes on my bed and me curled around all of them. I woke up when I knocked one of the off the bed. Once I saw the time I realised I had overslept again and rushed to get myself ready and made my way to the kitchen.

  “Oh, there you are, Lily.”

  Eve was perched on the chair in the kitchen, eating what appeared to be a bagel. She had her glasses on her because she had a book next to her. I looked around the room and realised she was the only one in it.

  “Where’s Isaac?” I asked her.

  She glanced up at me and she shrugged. “I don’t know. Haven’t seen him today. He’s probably busy, like you are today.”

  “Am I?” I said surprised.

  “Yes,” Even smiled, as she shut her book and got off her chair. “I’ve arranged for you to meet with one of the elders today, and don’t worry, he’s the youngest of the elders, but he’s being studying what he could about Annabeth for a while now, and I just thought…”

  “If I’m like her, then it might help, right?” I finished for her.

  “Best to be safe than sorry,” she nodded at me. “Alright, let’s go then.”

  I followed Eve as she took me down a hallway we had never been before, but we also went down a few sets of stairs, and into a new section of this place. Unlike upstairs everything here was made from those grey stones, and it was colder down here too. We stopped in front of a small wooden door and Eve knocked and we both waited.

  Quickly enough someone answered the door. Considering I had never seen any of the council elders I didn’t know what to expect, but Eve was right, and he was young. He had to be in his mid-twenties at least though. He had dark brown hair that was kept and strong jawline, and with light brown eyes. All that wasn’t the first thing I noticed though. The first thing I noticed about him was his mark on the left side of his neck.

  “Time manipulation,” I whispered, suddenly realising I had said that out loud.

  T
he guy gave Eve and a look and she just smiled at him.

  “I told you,” she shrugged.

  “Incredible,” he nodded slowly and then breathed out. “Right, come in then.”

  “Ah, I won’t be joining you two, I’ve got a few things to sort out but I’ll be back in an hour or two,” Eve said, looking back to me.

  “Right then,” he said, “just the two of us. Come in, Lily.”

  I followed him in as Eve left and was surprised by the room we were in. There was a light in the room, and it came from whatever mysterious light was at all the windows. It had curved roof, still made from the grey stones and on either side of the room were bookshelves, covered in mostly books, but also little ornaments as well. There was a table in the middle of the room with a few chairs around it and he had books all over them.

  “Sorry about the mess,” he apologised. “I guess this is kind of my private study, and I say private because no one else actually comes in here.”

  I smiled at him as I stood near the door still looking around.

  “Oh, my name is Henry by the way,” he told me, “and please sit.”

  He gestured me towards one of the cars and I sat myself down. When I glanced at his books I was surprised to see they weren’t about demons or anything similar, instead they were either history books, or what seemed like personal diaries.

  “Eve said…you’ve studied Annabeth,” I stated as he walked around to sit on the chair opposite me.

  “Yes, I have,” he told me with a smile. “Granted there’s not a lot about her, I’ve studied what I can. That’s what all these books are anyway. Accounts from people who knew her, from their journals or throughout history. She’s a hard woman to find.”