The sound of the doorknob rattling drew me from my stupor and I sat up straighter, waiting. The rattling continued for a while until finally there was a click and the door swung open. A boy who couldn't have been any older than fifteen walked into the room but when his eyes alighted upon my master's corpse, he quickly retreated back outside. After a few moments, however, he came back in, though his steps were hesitant, almost reluctant.
I watched detached from my seat across the room as he walked over to the bed and prodded my master's side.
"Are you...okay?" he asked. A stupid question, considering the amount of blood on the bed, which although wasn't actually my master's blood, would appear that way without further inspection.
The boy's hands fluttered over my master's body, like he was unsure of what to do, and then he finally checked for a pulse and of course, found none. For a moment, the boy was completely still, and then his hand moved from my master's neck to his pockets.
The boy searched them quickly but the stiffness of his posture told me that his thieving skills were new. Or he simply wasn't used to looting a dead body, though the fact, he hadn't noticed me sitting in the room yet pointed to the former.
I watched as the boy proceeded to search the bed, even sliding his hands beneath the mattress, though he let out a near-breathless yelp when my master's body shifted as the mattress was raised. Once done searching the bed, the boy's attention turned to searching the rest of the room, and finally, he caught sight of the knife where I'd thrown it to the ground. He picked it up, the blade still glistening with my blood, and I wondered if I should reveal myself, frighten him into dropping the knife and leaving. I didn't want such a pathetic creature as my master--how insulting!--and yet manipulating him would be simple.
The runes on the dark metal glowed brightly and the boy shrieked, dropping the blade to the floor with a clatter--but the damage had already been done. As the runes on the knife brightened, I could feel the matching rune on my back begin to burn, carving a new bond into my flesh. Similarly, a mark appeared on the back of the boy's hand, gleaming brilliantly in the room's dusky interior.
I watched him shrewdly as he gaped at the rune on his hand, rubbing at its silvery lines like he could just erase it. Finally, he looked up and his green eyes locked with mine. There was a moment of complete silence, and then he let out a shriek to rival the one he'd released when the runes had first flashed to life.
He stumbled backward, reaching behind him, probably searching for the door without wanting to take his eyes off me.
"Calm yourself," I said. "I'm not going to hurt you." Not yet, at least.
His expression was dubious. "Why should I believe that? And where did you even come from?"
"You should believe that because I'm honor-bound not to lie to you." A blatant lie, of course. I gestured to the knife on the floor. "Do you know nothing of cursed-weapons?"
He glanced briefly at the blade and then back toward me. "I know they have demonic origins."
I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he connected the supposed demonic origins with me.
"You're a demon," he said. He didn't sound particularly afraid, but he continued to inch backward.
I smirked. "Indeed," I said, rising to my feet. "And you are my master."
His hand was on the doorknob, but he didn't turn it. The desire to rule over someone completely was human nature, and he was obviously tempted, as well as suspicious. We stood in a stalemate for a minute before I bent down to retrieve my knife. I held it out toward him, hilt first.
"As long as that rune remains on your body," I said, "I can offer you unbelievable power. You can slay your enemies; gain the greatest riches; reach the highest heights this world has to offer." When he still didn't move, I stepped closer, until the hilt nearly touched his chest. "You will never have to be afraid again," I added.
He slowly reached forward but stopped before grabbing hold of the knife. "What's the catch?" he asked.
"There is no catch."
His eyes flashed to mine, all the suspicion and disbelief he'd shown previously overshadowed by the distrust now on his face. "There's always a catch."
I pressed the knife into his hand. He flinched back but took hold of the hilt without fighting.
"If you want a catch," I told him, "then I will say the catch is having to spend the rest of your life with me." Not that it would be very long.
I stepped backward, pleased when the boy didn't throw the knife away from him. Instead, his eyes roved over it, as if he was trying to grasp the idea of what it could bring him. Of course, the knife itself was meaningless; all the power came from me, but that was an insignificant detail for such a dull mind.
The boy's attention rose back to me. "Okay," he said. "Then I accept your proposal."
I nearly laughed at his words. It wasn't like there had been any chance for him to refuse me once the bond was set. Had he walked away without the knife, something would have ultimately made him come back to retrieve it because even as I was cursed to be bound to the blade and whoever claimed it, my master was also cursed in his own way. Not that any had cared--too obsessed with the power they wielded until they were near death and realized that the demon-human contract was simply too much for their bodies to withstand.
The boy's eyes settled on my wounded stomach and then flicked to the bloody knife in his hands. He seemed caught between wanting to question my injuries and not being brave enough to ask. Eventually, he pushed through his cowardice.
"Is that--I mean, your stomach--are you going to die?" he asked.
"Of course not," I said, offended by the question. Did this child know nothing of demons at all? To think that a few simple stab wounds in my stomach would kill me!
The boy looked almost relieved, and after a moment of silence, he held his hand out towards me, looking awkward and unsure.
"Um...my name's Koel. What's yours?"
I ignored his hand. "You may call me whatever you like."
"But that... Don't you have a name?"
I gently pushed his arm back down, and his face flushed red.
"I've had many names given to me," I said. I realized that I was practically looming over the boy, whose back was pressed against the door, though he looked more uncertain than scared. I didn't need him to fear me, of course. Sometimes fear was simply an annoyance.
"But--"
"Give me whatever name you please or don't give me a name at all. It hardly matters."
He pressed his lips together, his attention flickering briefly to the body of my previous master, jumping slightly as if he'd forgotten the corpse was there. His eyes flashed back to me.
"Is that--"
"My last master, yes."
"Did you--"
"I didn't kill him." Not directly, at least.
Koel's face flamed red, and he scowled at me. "Why do you keep--"
"Because you're predictable. If you want me to stop interrupting you, say something a trifle more unexpected."
He glared, nearly as intimidating as the corpse on the bed. Actually, he was quite a deal less intimidating than my last master's dead body. At least, the corpse still elicited bad memories. This child in front of me, on the other hand, probably didn't have the means to truly wield the power he held over me. He was too simple, too naive, and I would use all of that to my advantage.
The boy's face softened a little, like he couldn't keep his angry expression for long. "What did..." He glanced at the body again. "What did he...name you?"
I stared at him in confusion and scowled, not liking that he'd actually managed to say something completely unexpected. "What?"
Koel looked like he wanted to crawl under the bed and hide. "Well...it's not like I want to give you a name like some kind of pet, so I just thought...if there was a name you've gone by before..."
"I see."
My last master had tended to call me simply "demon" or often times something more derogatory and vile. Had he ever called me by a name? I thought back to when the contract had been struck, but couldn't remember for sure one way or the other. And I certainly didn't see why it should matter. Why were names so important to humans?
"I don't think you want to call me what he did," I said. "My last master...didn't get along well with me." A vast understatement, but I had no desire to explain my relationship with previous masters to this human child.
Koel's eyes widened, and he looked honestly sad at this news, as if he actually cared about me, rather than the power I offered him. He stared at the corpse for a moment, and then his face paled. He cast a glance at my injuries again.
"Did he--"
"But if you insist on naming me," I said before the child could ask a question I very much did not want to answer, "I had a master once who called me Alios. You may call me that if you wish."
His face scrunched up slightly. "Alios like--"
"The ancient monster that slew thousands, yes."
He didn't look very pleased with this name. I guess, naming me after a murderous monster was taking it too far for him.
"Why would someone call you that?" he asked.
I sighed, realizing this might take far longer than I'd expected. I went back to the bed and sat down on the edge, barely even noticing the way the body shifted when I set my weight on the mattress.
"My master was part of a cult that viewed the beast as a god." I waved my hand in a dismissive manner when Koel's face twisted up in fear. "The cult no longer exists; it was a long time ago. But my master adored Alios, so when she acquired me, she named me after the creature." I pushed the corpse's leg away from me.
Koel looked sick. "I don't want to call you something like--"
"Then don't," I snapped. "I told you, you can call me whatever you wish or not call me anything at all. Just hurry and make up your fickle mind because you're beginning to piss me off."
He shrank backward. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," I said, realizing that I was all but snarling at the boy, but not being able to help it. At least, I was able to keep myself from standing up, stalking over to him, and smashing his head into the wall. "Just decide. You're my master; the choice is up to you, so choose."
He continued to stare at me with wide, horrified eyes, like I was asking him to murder someone. Why was this such a problem for him? I stood up, slowly since I didn't want to scare him, but it seemed as if my caution was a waste of effort. As soon as I rose to my feet, Koel scrabbled at the doorknob, yanked the door open, and ran outside.
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