Chapter 7.

Gavin opened his eyes as the sun was just beginning to stretch up and over the distant hills. Standing up, he gently shook Aeiln awake. "Hey, it's time to go." Time to change their entire lives, hopefully for the better. In response, her eyes snapped open in fear, and she began to back away from him before she realized who he was.

"Oh, it's you," she said, in a friendly manner. "Sorry, let's go get our stuff from the house and be on our way."

Rather than be put off by it, Gavin grabbed her hand and started to head back to the house with her. If her emotions were any indication, she had had some bad dream, probably something about her past, and had mistaken him for someone else. He decided not to question it and instead hold her hand, because that was said to make people feel better. They reached the house in little time, and Aeiln walked in first, looking around and making sure that no one was there. "Here, come with me," she called, bringing him towards the back door.

"Since I'll be quieter by myself, I'll go grab your stuff and mine, that way we can leave while Rowan and... her... are still sleeping."

"It's not much," he mumbled, "just my weapons. What are you bringing?" he asked, a little louder.

"I'm just bringing what I can."

"Like what? Your own weapons?" The thought had just occurred to him; he was curious to know what she would use. She seemed more of a sword person, but who knows. With her powers, she probably didn't even need to use any.

"Those, and more." She paused to peek around the door. "Vesper."

*{What is with this girl and cursing? Gavin, I don't know if you're old enough to handle this amount of profanity. You might need to find someone else to journey with.}*

*Yeah, because you have the sweetest mouth out there,* Gavin joked back. To Aeiln, he whispered, "What is it?"

"Well," she answered, "My sister's awake, and if you don't want her to spend an hour trying to stop us from going, you have two choices. You can hide in here and make sure she doesn't see you, you teleport with me to my room, or go back outside."

"First of all, that's three choices, genius. And out of those, I think I'll stay here and do the hiding thing. I'm good at that."

"Fine, Lazy," she shrugged, disappearing around the corner.

*{Ah, lazy. Another one of our brave hero's many amazing attributes; not to mention the ability to hide, lie, cheat, and the total willingness to attack from behind, if necessary. If only I still had fingers... I could count off each one for you... but I digress...}*

*Hey, Drazi? I don't remember asking for your opinion,* he replied, looking around him. The lounge inside didn't offer up many hiding places, but he did see a large chest at the end of the room, so silently, he crept over to it, and slipped inside. A slight pinch with the few books packed inside, but he could deal.

A few minutes later, Aeiln's voice piped up in the back of the room. "Come on Gavin, I know you have to be in the chest. Come on out!" Her voice faded, but he could still sense her energy, and it was now atop the chest lid.

*You seem to have forgotten that I can tell that you're on top of the box, as well as hear you. So nice try, but no.*

"What? It's just a matter of figuring out how; unless you like it in there?"

"Well, what if I don't want to?" he asked, pressing his mouth to the crack in the lid so she could hear him better. "Maybe I do like it in here; it is pretty warm, after all. And I thought we needed to be quiet?"

"Nah, she left, but you can't," Aeiln taunted.

Crying out in exasperation, he laid down on the bottom of the box. He curled up his legs and quickly kicked them upwards, connecting with the top of the chest. Hearing a crack, he continued to push as hard as he could, but Aeiln wasn't budging. He brought his legs down in defeat. "And here I thought you wanted to get going."

She sighed in disappointment, as she got up. "Come on... get out."

Sensing her annoyance, he climbed out of the box to find her in a completely different outfit. Giving her a quick once-over, he could see that she was in a tight, black shirt and pants, as well as boots, with several buckles. Overall, he could tell that they were the type of clothes you would wear under armour. "Oh, here," she said, handing him a new cloak, "make sure it fits. You need to wear this over your other one. It's for something that... well, you'll find out later..."

"What does the cloak do? I swear to the gods, if it is for a glamour..." He took it anyway, but he shook his head, refusing to put it on. "Not until you tell me what it does." He was not going to get nearly killed again because of a piece of clothing.

But all she did was smile and tell him to put it on again. "I need to see if it fits before we leave."

Cursing under his breath, he put it on. It laid on top of his other one nicely, and it made his body extra warm. Still, he liked his old one better. Even though both were gifts from people he cared about, he wasn't going to see the first one again.

"Do you want a different color? That black color doesn't look... okay on you."

"Of course it does. Everything looks good on me," he paused for a moment. "No, you're right, black isn't my color. But grey, brown, and green all work fine." He didn't know what colors she had, but he hoped she at least had green. Needless to say, it was his favorite; maybe because it had saved his life all the times he had had to hide in a forest.

"Umm, okay," she answered. But instead of leaving to get another one, like he had expected, she simply snapped, turning the entire garment green with a chocolate brown underlining, matching it to his old one. "Now, let's go."

Suddenly, standing by the front of the house, he turned to her. "Shall I suggest we head to the Human Empire first? It will probably be the easiest place to start, and it's not that far from here, unlike the others."

"That's a good idea. Do you want to go by foot, flying, or teleporting?"

"I'd rather not teleport. I'm fine with short distances, but I don't want to risk anything farther. As far as flying goes, I don't do that. Not that I can anyways, but I want to stay on the ground, if you don't mind." Unless it was up in a tree, he didn't do heights. Not that he was afraid of falling, but the thought of staying up there, with the spiteful, cold wind, just didn't sit well with him. "But you're welcome to fly though, if you can." It wasn't meant as a challenge, he simply hadn't seen if she had wings yet. But then again, with her glamouring skills, you never knew.

"No, I'll stay with you. If I'm correct, the Human Empire is in this direction," she said as she pointed West. "But come here before we go." Pulling him over to the side of the dirt road, she lifted her pointer finger which had a small spark resting on its tip. "Now, put your hood up."

Although he had a bad feeling about this, he pulled the hood up anyway, and immediately experienced the feeling of magik running through his body, much stronger than when they had teleported. He could feel it seeping into himself, weakening the very bond he and Eldrazi shared, the link that they had spent their entire lives fighting to keep alive. They were never meant to be separated, and the further Eldrazi slipped, the louder the sound of his heart became in his ear, the more his body shook with the pain. As a lump formed in his chest, he coughed, raising his hand to his mouth. Pulling it away, he saw it covered in blood. The last straw was hearing Eldrazi scream in pain, the sound of it becoming quieter and quieter, as he slipped away. At that, Gavin ripped off the cloak, throwing it to the ground, along with whatever Aeiln had tried to make him look like, whatever she had tried to make him be.

Without the fabric to cover it up, Aeiln could see that every part of his body that had been touched by the cloak was now covered in red burns. Still fighting off the body aches and strain, he screamed, "I told you not to glamour me! My body cannot deal with magik. It hurts me, even when it's my own. Are you trying to kill Eldrazi and me?" He turned his face away from her. "I thought I could trust you to not do that, after I told you so many times..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he tipped over, his own weight now suddenly too much to bear. He fell to the ground, the grit rubbing hard against his face and knees, but he could barely feel it through the rest of the agony.

"No! I wasn't trying to kill either of you! You two are the only people that understand even a little about me," she cried, sweeping her hand in front of her. Her voice then softened. "But it's okay, I can fix this." Slightly cracking open his eyes, he could see she was about to place her hand on his forehead, her fingers glowing again.

He jumped back from her touch. "Haven't you done enough? I can't be healed either." Not that he needed it anyway. His skin was already knitting itself back together and the burns fading, just another friendly reminder of how far from Human he really was. His mind now clear, Gavin looked up at her face, towering far above him.

"But why?" She had already known, and yet she had gone and done it anyway, then tried to heal him. At least the other two people hadn't known... but she had no excuse. He had warned her against it countless times. He slowly stood up, wobbling on his feet as he took a few steps. He knew that he would be fine in a few minutes, but he was still angry. Now he wouldn't be able to transform into his full Demon form for at least three days, which was his one back-up plan and constant reassurance, should anything go wrong. Things had a habit of doing that in his presence. "Don't ever do this again," he spat, and with a quick turn to heel he spun around, walking away towards the Human empire leaving the crumpled cloak behind him. At least he hadn't had the heart to leave his old one behind.

"Gavin, I... am so, so sorry. My best friend was almost like you and that had worked on her. I'm so sorry."

Stopping in his tracks, he swerved his head over his shoulder. "Was she also a Devoln?" he asked, "because that doesn't make a difference. I'm the only Devoln that can't deal with magik."

"Yes..."

He slowed down his brisk pace, falling in line with her slow trudge. Not that she was completely forgiven, but she had his interest perked. Devolns were extremely rare to begin with, and the few that existed were almost always killed at birth. If it wasn't for his mother, he wouldn't be in this world either. The fact that there were more out there gave him a small amount of hope for his own future.

"Do remember Tachir'?" (As if he could forget!) "After he destroyed that Human village, he moved on to the Demon Empire, and she followed him. I think she wanted to help, but I haven't heard from her since.

"Oh." He didn't know what else to say. He could feel her quickly becoming upset again, but had no idea how to respond. She had no idea if someone she loved was alive or dead. He knew how that felt. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

A total lie.

"I've gotten used to it."

A lie she'd made herself believe was true.

"We're almost there," Aeiln mentioned, trying not to be solemn and looking up towards the sun. "Come on."

Gavin also snuck a glance at the sun, and before his eyes burned, he could tell that it was much lower in the sky. Only about an hour before the night settled in. He just hoped this town had a good inn. This brought to his mind another matter, one that surprised him in the fact that he hadn't already thought of it. *Damn it! I always keep track of these things. How did I manage to forget?* "Aeiln, did you bring any money with you?" *Because I know for a fact, I didn't.* The final cent of his last odd job had been spent buying the meal he had had the day before they met. It really wasn't all that long ago, but it truly seemed as though ages had passed since then.

"Yes, of course," she assured him while walking into town. She was about to enter the inn, when he noticed she wasn't glamoured.

His left hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, which rested on the door handle. "You wanted to glamour me so badly, but you don't bother about yourself?" he probed, a thin smile sliding across his face.

She paused for a moment. "You are someone I care for," was all she said, before brushing him aside to enter.

The inside of the tavern smelled like meat, like fresh, raw-cut, bloody steak, and Eldrazi was hooked. Smiling as he felt Eldrazi's excitement in his chest, Gavin looked around to see what else there was. A bard was curled up in a corner, half of his dark face obscured in a disturbing mask. The song he played, however, was a lively tune, and those who were drunk, or foolish enough, were dancing to it. The bartender was a large man with an eye patch, along with other scars. Although his looks were imposing, his bearded face broke into a grin at the sight of the two new customers.

"Well, hallo to the two of ye! Wotever can I get ye?" he called out to them in a thick Durnish accent, and any trace of a sour mood Gavin might have had, melted away as he stood before the man. Aeiln however, just walked forward, her face blank and mind in the clouds. She sat down on one of the stools by the counter, with Gavin following in her stead.

"Go ahead and get whatever you want, Gavin," she said, deciding to order a bit of food for herself.

*{I want the steak! I want the steak! I want the~ }*

*Yes! I know what you want, okay? By the gods, how is it you're centuries old, and yet, you act younger than me at times?*

"Excuse me, bartender?" The man turned to him, the smile still on his face; Gavin doubted that it rarely ever left. "I would like to have a steak, with a side of garlic bread, and oh, some water please. Thanks." He had barely finished getting the order out, when he could feel Aeiln giving him a questioning look.

"Mah pleasure," the man nodded in return, and left to go prepare it.

*{Wait! Wait! Wait!}*

Gavin sighed. "Wait," he called. The bartender looked back. "About the steak, please don't cook it." Now this man raised an eyebrow at him too, before shrugging and heading back once again.

Gavin turned back to Aeiln. "What?" he demanded.

Aelin sighed. "Nothing. I guess, it's just weird to see you with... manners.... that's all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aeiln only rolled her eyes.

A few short minutes later, the man was already back with their order.

"It's all yers," he said, and Gavin could hear the disgust in his tone. It was aimed at what he was eating though, not at him. Aeiln took a quick breath and got up from the table. He ignored both of them and began to eat anyway. *I hope you're happy, 'Drazi, tonight we feast alone,* even though he secretly enjoyed the meal too.

Finishing the steak, he moved on to the bread. For some reason, warm bread always improved his mood, but garlic bread by far was his favorite food, just as Eldrazi's was steak. With both of them sated, Aeiln came back, a pair of keys swinging around her finger.

"I just wanted to get us a room really quick... You know, before they filled up," Aeiln informed him. Gavin narrowed his eyes at her. She continued, "Luckily, I got one before some of the rest of the people in here did." She sat down again and began to eat her own dinner.

"Where is it?" he asked, with subtle urgency. It wasn't that he didn't want to sit with her, but he could feel his time as a Human was running out, and he didn't want to have to push it, not with all he had been through today. Better to just go to bed and get it over with.

"It's up the stairs and three doors down, on the right," came her answer.

"Okay, I'll go get everything set up then," he said, grabbing the keys and heading up the stairs. He was on the last five when the world spun and his vision blurred. Come on, it's only ten feet away. You can make this. Gritting his teeth, he thrust the key in the lock, turning it and quickly shutting the door behind him, before leaning his back against it for a minute to breathe. There were two wooden beds, nothing special, but they worked as well as any for him. Pulling off his belt and tunic, he slipped into his other form and threw himself on to the bed, barely covering his body with the coarse sheet, before passing out for the night.

⛤

Aeiln watched him go up the stairs before turning back to her own meal, a bed a vegetables that had managed to avoid being trampled by soldiers, when she felt a pair of eyes watching her. Even so, she pretended not to notice as a man with the features of a drunk weasel walked over to her. "Well, hello there miss. I was just wonderin' if you are an Angel, because you..." he stopped suddenly as she rounded on him with a death glare, her eyes shining violet. Seemingly out of nowhere, the man dropped to the floor, holding his throat, gasping for air. Realizing what was happening, she quickly looked away. She could hear the man's breathing return to normal. Aeiln shoved the table back and ran up the stairs to her room, bolting the door behind her. Silently, so as not to wake Gavin, she made her way to her own bed, and prayed that she wouldn't have Hell to pay tomorrow.