GILDEON
As soon as Arah drifted off, he slipped out and hit the road. Her Clover Wish tattoo and Plumber Paul's death might’ve been a coincidence, but he had to be sure.
“Where to now, Master?” Ghulik asked in his tiny, raspy voice. “Ghulik's tired, Master.”
“You wouldn’t be tired if you didn’t provoke the dog,” Gildeon shot back, glancing at the two-foot, gray-skinned creature beside him.
Barky's restlessness had kept Arah awake longer than usual, so he had to wait before leaving. His destination was opposite the tourist area, but the locals were early risers. There was always the risk of being seen even before dawn.
So far, the streets were deserted.
“But that mutt is wicked, Master. Always angry. It wants to eat Ghulik,” the goblin snarled, scratching the air with his sharp nails. “Can Ghulik eat the stupid dog once we're back home, Master?”
“No,” he said firmly, turning onto a dimly lit street.
Ghulik grunted, slumping against the seat.
“You’re supposed to hide when the dog's around,” he reminded him. “Arah's getting suspicious.”
“Why is Master worried? The Sylph Lady will not see Ghulik. No one can see or hear Ghulik but Master.” The goblin scrunched his wrinkled face and crossed his scrawny arms. “And Barky.”
Ghulik’s grudge against the dog ran deep, which was almost laughable considering the horrifying monsters they’d faced in the past.
But Ghulik had a point. Arah couldn’t see him. Still, the last thing Gildeon needed was for her to get curious and start believing in supernatural things. He had no idea how long her memory loss would last or if it was permanent, but it was safer to keep her away from anything that could awaken her true nature.
If she remembered, his entire plan could crumble.
The air reacting to her emotions, like what happened at dinner, was already setting off alarms in his head. Soon, Arah’s powers would start manifesting without her knowledge, and he had to find a way to keep them in check.
After a few more turns, Gildeon parked the car a couple of blocks from the coroner's office. He stuck to the shadows, walking along the side of the street that wasn’t illuminated by lampposts, with Ghulik trailing behind. When they finally reached the facility, he ordered the goblin to reposition the CCTV cameras to create blind spots.
Not a minute passed before he heard snapping gears and wires. When Ghulik returned, Gildeon shot him a disapproving look. “I told you to just move them,” he hissed.
“Forgive Ghulik, Master.” He cowered, ducking his head, but Gildeon heard him snicker.
Shaking his head, he strode toward the front of the building. With a flick of his wrist, his right hand morphed into its dragon form—golden claws gleaming, black and golden scales snaking up past his wrist. He conjured fire and grabbed the padlock and chains with his flaming hand, melting the metal.
Behind him, Ghulik gasped. “Master must not use power. Why is Master using power now?”
“It’s fine,” Gildeon reassured him. “This isn’t enough for the hunters to detect.”
As his hand reverted to normal, he put on gloves before pushing the doors open. He didn’t need to do so, since no human instrument could trace his fingerprints, but he’d rather not give the police something to scratch their heads about.
Inside, the cool air rushed out to meet him. It was dark, but his inhuman vision cut through the shadows. He navigated past empty desks and through hallways until he found the room where the corpses were stored. The smell of chemicals and decay grew stronger, and the chill hit him like a punch as soon as he entered.
Wasting no time, he pulled open one of the steel compartments with the name Paul Hernandez etched on a small plaque. He slid the tray out and removed the cloth covering the body.
Plumber Paul's skin was pale, with red welts crisscrossing all over. They looked like jellyfish stings, but Gildeon knew better. The air around the body had a faint, acrid smell of dark magic.
He hated to be right.
Searching Paul's body, he rolled it to the side and found the Clover Wish tattoo on the back of its right shoulder. The ink was faded and distorted, but he could still make out the image of a three-leaf clover atop a four-leaf one.
Arah got most of her flash tattoo ideas from dreams. Gildeon figured it was her subconscious slightly recalling the sigils she’d crafted for their sylph army. He recognized some of them from battles, though her tattoo renditions were more artistic impressions. They missed the precise details needed for the magic to work. Arah would have to regain her memories for them to get perfected.
But this Clover Wish... It was completely new. When he touched the mark, he sensed the residual magic still clinging to the skin, confirming his fear.
“Damn it, Arah,” he muttered with a sigh, shaking his head. “What have you done?”
GILDEONBy the looks of it, the tattoo's magic had been drained, siphoning Paul’s life in the process. Whoever did this staged it to look like a jellyfish attack.“Ghulik, can you trace the source?” he asked urgently. The goblin clambered over Plumber Paul's body, sniffing around.“A witch, Master,” Ghulik said after a moment. “Ghulik smells the powerful kind.”“Are you sure?”The goblin nodded, stroking his pointed ear. “Ghulik lived with witches and faes long time ago,” he said somberly, his face twitching as if recalling a painful memory. “Ghulik knows who are friends and who are enemies.”Ghulik had been his secret companion for a thousand years. They knew everything about each other, except for this. Once, he’d tried asking the goblin about his past on Earthland, but Ghulik had begged him not to pry any further.He respected that.“This is not friend, Master,” Ghulik said, lifting his face to him, his crimson eyes bulging in terror.Gildeon stepped back, pushing a hand through hi
ARAHLater that night, she woke up in a strange land. Her muscles ached, and it felt like her bones had been shattered and reassembled. Maybe this was what it felt like to be struck by a ship or to fall from the sky. But how was she alive? Her head throbbed, and the only thing she could remember was her name.Panic rose in her chest as she looked down to inspect herself. Her skin, decorated with odd blue marks, was pale—almost translucent—blending with her silk dress. Her body felt light as if she could easily float and disappear into the wind if she wanted to.Behind her, a towering wall of black rock loomed, stretching along the shadowy horizon. The only exit was a vibrant wall of pulsating lights ahead.“Am I dreaming?” she muttered, feeling as though her mind had been caught between two worlds, two fabrics of time and space.The wall before her buzzed with energy, making her skin prickle. She struggled to her feet—every movement was like wading through chest-high water. She teeter
ARAHUnable to get back to sleep, she climbed out of bed and stepped out of her room. Barky’s ear perked up, but he stayed snoozing on his cushion. She was about to head to the kitchen when her gaze flickered toward the window. Gildeon’s car was missing from the driveway. Had he left? Where could he be at this hour?She shook her head, sighing. Why would this even surprise her? This wasn’t the first time her husband had disappeared into the night and returned in the morning without explanation.Arah grabbed a glass of water, the cold liquid offering some relief as it slid down her throat. Her gaze drifted toward the dark hallway, lingering on Gildeon’s study. She had planned to break into it tomorrow while he was at work, but since he wasn’t here now, why wait?Without thinking twice, she retrieved Tonio’s toolkit from under her bed and made her way to the study, switching the lights on. She knelt before the vintage-looking door lock, heart pounding as she tinkered with it.Tonio had
GILDEONHe had always known Arah could shut out the world when she needed to focus, just as she had a minute ago. She’d remained oblivious even as he parked the car and walked through the door.But her picking the lock on his study had caught him off guard. This was new. A black box lay sprawled on the floor, its contents a jumble of instruments. Where did she get them?Just when he thought he had Arah all figured out, she found new ways to surprise him.But this time, she’d crossed a line, and he wasn’t about to let it slide.“I’m ready,” Arah said, a bold expression etched on her pretty face. Her chest was out, deliberately drawing his attention to the curves of her breasts, their buds poking hard against her nightdress.Lust surged through him, his pulse racing in anticipation. The thought of stripping her and making that tight body squirm under his touch made his cock twitch.He could take her right then and there, but he restrained himself. He had promised not to touch her until
GILDEONPleasure aside, he had to remind Arah of her place. Fixing his stern gaze on her flushed face, he rasped, “Pull that stunt again, and you’ll be sleeping in my bed.”Deep down, he was counting on it. His lust for Arah—everything about Arah—hadn’t waned. Not even a bit. He wouldn’t show it, but he was truly counting on her breaking more rules in the days to come.When she didn’t respond, he tipped his head and said, “Do you understand, Arah?”Her eyes remained locked on his, unblinking. The way she wiped her lips with the back of her hand was pure seduction, and he wanted that heavenly mouth to drive him mad again soon.Arah sprang to her feet, her expression almost unreadable. His body stiffened as she edged closer. He could smell his cum on her breath.“Do you really want me to be just an obedient wife to you?” she whispered in a challenging tone, tilting her head back, a small smile shaping her glistening lips. Fighting the urge to kiss her in this proximity was maddening.“I
Long ago, mindless beasts from distant realms breached this world. They were ravenous, draining the air and water, turning the planet into a wasteland.To resolve the crisis, the Shining Keeper, a being from the celestial planes, descended to the mortal realm. The plan was to craft vessels to house souls pivotal in sealing the cosmic breach. Those vessels would later be known as Lower Mortals, identified as Humans.To make the world habitable, the beasts had to be exterminated first. So the Shining Keeper created the Salamanders—Higher Mortals born of fire—to fulfill this task. They succeeded. Yet, she deemed them too barbaric and unfit to become the guardians of Humans.She fashioned a gentler and more docile successor. The Sylphs—Higher Mortals born of air—were tasked with eradicating the first race and replacing them as guardians.But the Salamanders defended their existence.Now, through ages untold, the Salamanders and Sylphs are engaged in an endless war, trapped in a fragment o
Six Months Ago (Part 1.2)GILDEONHe sprang to his feet, slipping into his trousers before joining Kohina outside. They stood together, looking down at their camp in the ravine below. Captive sylphs lay scattered around like cattle awaiting slaughter. Compared to their state, the cattle would’ve been more fortunate to meet a swifter and more dignified end.They said the Shining Keeper had shackled the sylphs’ emotions to maintain control over them, rendering them docile. But beneath the moonlight, Gildeon could see how those sylphs’ eyes, varying in shades of blue, glimmered with unease. Their lithe bodies shivered. He could smell their suppressed terror from atop the cliff.His gut twisted as he watched the scene below. Male and female sylphs lined up against the ravine wall, clothes torn, backs bared. Lash after lash from spiked whips tore into their skin, nearly flaying them alive.Some might argue this was mere retaliation for what their comrades had suffered. But as the acrid ste
Six Months Ago (Part 2.1)GILDEONHe smashed through the metal gates with a deafening roar, turning the garrison entrance into a chaotic mess of stone and steel. Towers crumbled, columns toppled, and bodies were trampled under his feet as he charged ahead.His dragon was hungry for destruction.His senses sharpened, locking onto the warrior sylphs and spellcaster sylphs in their whites and blues. They stood frozen, trying to maintain stoic faces, but he could see the confusion in their eyes, could practically taste their fear. This was likely their first time to see a dragon up close. Baring his teeth, he snarled, sending another wave of terror through them. Behind him, he felt the salamanders crashing through the wreckage, knocking down enemy sylphs. Some fought with blades, while others had shifted into their beast forms, slashing with claws and whipping their tails around. Before him, the spellcaster sylphs reacted first. Their hands formed reverse triangles in front of their stom