Chapter 396: Childish Demon

It was almost evening. Night was coming, and they were almost at the location.

The sun slipped lower behind the tall pines, casting long, dark shadows across the dirt track. Cold air settled over the forest, making the leaves rustle as the wind picked up.

Faye kept her head down, her shoes kicking up small puffs of dust with every step.

Faye’s mind had been on what Peamah said about Kiara being stronger than Princess and Beam.

It just didn’t make sense to her.

She shook her head, pulling her hoodie tighter around her chest to keep out the chill.

"Okay, I still don’t understand how on earth Kiara Petro is stronger than an Alpha. That is not possible," Faye said, still walking.

Peamah didn’t even slow down. His legs kept a steady, effortless pace through the overgrown brush.

"Well, not stronger in strength or combat, but she possesses something greater than anyone could imagine," Peamah explained.

"How do you know about what she possesses?" Malo asked. He was also confused about what Peamah was saying.

"My dad once mentioned it, and I know the council are scared of that family, they are secretly powerful.."

Faye let out a soft breath, her eyes narrowing as she looked back at the path ahead.

"Obviously, that family is creepy, from their hot mother to the eldest daughter, who happens to be a villain in my life, and Kiara is like a fly who keeps buzzing, refusing to leave my peaceful relationship. And what do you mean something happens when she bleeds?"

Peamah stopped for a brief second, lifting his hand to push a hanging vine out of his face before moving forward again.

"Fire. Flame... Her blood is like lava and bends into something terrifying," Peamah tried his best to explain.

Sasha raised an eyebrow, stepping around a patches of thick mud on the ground.

"Have you witnessed it?" Sasha asked.

"No, but I’ve heard about it... and she also gets possessed by an evil, childish demon."

Everyone had to pause and look at the big boy. Silence fell over the woods, save for the distant hum of the drone hovering somewhere above the canopy.

They didn’t know what to say to him because he wasn’t making sense. Either he was bad at explaining, or he was just talking gibberish.

Henry shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his thumb gently stroking the cool scales under Kali’s chin.

"I know a child demon. My mommy used to tell me many stories about demons before bedtime," Henry said.

"Maybe you are a demon because you are more mysterious than anything imaginable, a fetish demon..." Malo muttered, looking at Henry and Kali.

That snake leaned on Henry more than she ever did on him, and Malo happened to be the one who fed that snake back in the day.

Malo glared at the reptile, his bottom lip pushing out in a quiet pout. Kali didn’t even look at him, simply resting her cold nose against Henry’s throat.

Faye hit Malo’s shoulder, forcing him to stop his jealous stare at Henry.

The impact made Malo stumble forward a step, rubbing his arm with a quiet hiss.

Faye turned her attention back to the quiet boy.

"What demon story does your mom tell you before bedtime?" Faye asked.

"There are many demons out there. The one Peamah is talking about is the Hungry Demon who turned into a pool of fire," Henry explained.

Faye found the name familiar.

She stopped in her tracks, tapping two fingers against her chin as her memory searched for the title.

"Hungry Demon or Hungry Fool?" Faye asked. She had to make sure.

"It’s Hungry Demon. It’s about a little boy who was starved for many days and thrown inside a volcano as a sacrifice to the goddess. Then the boy swallowed all the liquid fire inside the volcano and killed everyone in the entire village. Mommy says the boy called the fire, hot liquid soup. At the end of the story, a witch sealed the demon for eternity,"

Faye snapped her fingers.

"Your mommy’s story is similar to the Hungry Fool play. The volcano, the goddess, and the village, sacrifice..."

"That is the thing about history. It has so many points of view," Sasha muttered.

"But how does that have anything to do with Kiara? Is she a reincarnation just like me?" Faye asked, looking at Peamah and expecting him to explain.

"You know your girlfriend dated the girl, and my sister knows her secret, which also means your girlfriend knows. So when you see her, ask her. I’m not your girlfriend," Peamah said with a straight face before walking away.

Faye blinked, her mouth opening slightly in surprise as she watched him brush past a low branch without waiting for an answer.

"I think your Beta needs some taming lessons. He is rude," Malo whispered to Faye.

Faye just shook her head, letting out a frustrated breath through her nose.

Malo moved over to Henry.

He leaned sideways toward Henry, lowering his voice into a softer pitch as they walked side by side behind the rest of the group.

"So, tell me more about the demon stories your mommy used to tell you."

They all followed the drone monitored by Haley, and it led them to a wall made of concrete bricks.

The trees gave way to a cleared dirt trench, exposing a towering barrier that stretched out into the gray evening twilight. The red indicator light on Haley’s drone flashed twice from above, signaling that they had reached the boundary.

It was the fence of the fortress.

"We’re here," Bambi announced.

The girl hadn’t said anything during the walk. She was still grieving the loss of her brother and didn’t feel like engaging in a conversation.

She stood near the base of the wall, her knuckles white where her fingers gripped the steel barrel tucked into her jacket. Her eyes were blank, fixed entirely on the concrete in front of her.

"Okay, this is where I come in,"

Malo dropped his bag to the ground with a thud, pulling out three thick cylinders wrapped in brown paper with small fuses poking out from the top.

A wide grin spread across his face.

"What is that?" Sasha asked, pointing at the sticks.

"Dynamite. We’re going to blow this wall and get in," he happily said.

Sasha’s face instantly went pale, her eyebrows shooting up as she stepped back away from him.

"That could attract attention, and the bad people will know we’re coming for them," Sasha said.

Malo rolled his eyes, holding the sticks tightly in one hand while waving his free hand dismissively through the air.

"Well, how are we supposed to get through the wall? Phasing? Do we look like people with superpowers or..."

Before Malo could finish talking, Peamah and Henry punched the wall, and it came crashing down, loud crunch echoed through the forest as two massive fists slammed into the heavy masonry simultaneously. Cracks shot through the mortar like spiderwebs before the center collapsed inward, sending dust, flying stones, and heavy rubble tumbling onto the interior lawn.

Malo just stood there, looking stupid.

He looked at the gaping hole in the wall, then down at the red sticks in his hand, then back up at the cloud of dust clearing in front of them.

They stepped over the shattered blocks, moving carefully through the opening and onto the fortress grounds.

"Come on, buddy... let’s go." Faye tapped his head as Malo shrugged and put his dynamite back inside his backpack.

Malo muttered,

"A day will come when none of us will have wolf strength or supernatural abilities, and we’ll have to rely on gadgets and flashlights... one day."