Lek hugged Millie, also crying. "I liked Pinja... I thought she would be here when I got back... Has Aalyssa come back yet?"

"I don't know. I've been up here all day," Millie replied.

"Let's find her. Maybe..." Even Lek knew he was clutching at straws. "Aalyssa is an elf, she has magic."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:41, Mon 30 May 2016.

"Sometimes even magic is not enough." Millie got to her feet. "But all right, let's see if Aalyssa is back."

Lek headed for the spiral staircase. It wasn't fair. People who survived the raid shouldn't die now.

Millie followed him.

Wulfsen wasn't even winded when he reached the top of Garden Tower, Sileas still in his arms. The air was full of the scent of blooming flowers. Caught in the moment, Wulfsen pressed his lips to Sileas's.

Sileas kissed him back, letting her eyes drift closed for a second. Her fingers tangled in his hair.

"Sileas..." Wulfsen murmured, forgetting why they were there.

"Wulfsen," she whispered. "We...we can't. We need to bar the door in case Yehudit finds us. I don't think she can't hear through it."

Wulfsen sighed heavily and set Sileas down on her feet. He looked at the door. "Do you think she can handle all the stairs?"

"She's highly determined when she wants to follow me somewhere."

Wulfsen shut the door and barred it.

"Now what's this about her being a demon?"

"I was talking to Bai about Galina," which Sileas knew would have to be a whole other conversation. "And he said she sounded like a servant of this demon, Molech. And then he went on to say how Molech could...convince...his followers to create children who belong to him. He went on to say how this demon's children had uncontrollable, unexplained rages, and lustful. Yehudit has these rages that no one knows the cause or what to do for them. And she's always wanting to look at guys with their shirts off. Every thing that Bai said is a symptom, she has exhibited. At one point Galina had said both Yehudit and I were created to destroy the family, but I was able to fight her influence. Most likely the follower she sent didn't manage to create a child with she who gave birth to me, perhaps because she was already pregnant by Keegan Lowell."

"But Yehudit is... human." Wulfsen said, deciding to have a seat on the floor. "Her parents are both good people... Well, Mrs Buckley is... They're not demon worshipers."

Sileas sighed and sat down next to him. This really wasn't her place to talk about, and Aunt Lia would have her head...but then Aunt Lia hated her now anyway. "Uncle Aron isn't Yehudit's father. He loves her like his own, but...she's not."

"What? He dotes on her." Wulfsen said, then remembered he planned on raising a child that wasn't his own. "If he's not then who is?"

Sileas squirmed uncomfortably. "No one knows. Aunt Lia was attacked by a group of men outside the Black Raven when it was still open. Galina used the tavern as her headquarters. It could have been any one of those men. Uncle Aron adores her. It will kill him if we discover she is indeed a demon."

"Whoah... Is that why your Aunt has always been strangely protective of Yehudit?" That family had some serious issues, and this explained some of it. "So they don't know about this demon thing? Yehudit doesn't know?"

"They know what Galina said, but I doubt anyone believed her. And yes, that's why Aunt Lia is so overprotective of her." Sileas rubbed her arms. "Bai doesn't know if there's any way to fix it or not. It's not like the demon possessed her or something."

"What can we do?" Wulfsen asked, putting an arm around Sileas.

Sileas snuggled against him, leaning her head against his shoulder.  "I don't know. Bai is going to look in the books for any answers to that while we are looking for how to stop the mermen. Her rages are getting worse, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm frightened by the prospect of having to face a demon. Galina was bad enough, and she was just a follower."

"But she's still Yehudit." Wulfsen said. "What's it mean that she's Molech's child?"

"I suppose when the rage takes over, she ceases to be Yehudit and is a destruction machine. And if she is intimate with anyone, I suppose any of her children would be Molech's children too."

Wulfsen grimaced. "Do you really think that's going to happen anytime soon?"