Chapter 14

Liara had told Kyla's parents everything and to her amazement, they only exchanged a look. They didn't panic about their daughter's disappearance, nor did they blame Liara in any way.

That one had more than enough to do in the last two weeks. She had inquired about all sorts of demons, from all sorts of religions. But she hadn't found anyone named Devon anywhere. It was also necessary to arm herself, because she didn't know what to expect.

Liara glanced at the clock. She would have about an hour before the moon reached its zenith. Hoping that she wasn't just imagining it, she changed her clothes. Then she packed up Kyla's favorite things. Garlic, a vial of holy water, crosses of various sizes, silver bullets and last but not least Kyla's atame followed.

She had taken up smoking, even if she had always resisted it. Since there was still some time, she took a seat in the living room and lit one. Her gaze was directed to another time. A time when she and Kyla still laughed together.

The face appeared, right in the right wall next to Liara. "Are you ready?" it asked and Liara saw the same good nature in her eyes as she had weeks before. She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, grabbed her backpack and stood up.

"Let's go."

The face disappeared and what remained was a circle that appeared to be made of water. Liara gently touched him with her fingertips. She whispered, "I'll bring you back. And if it costs me my life.” She took a last deep breath and stepped inside with her eyes closed.

Liara felt a dull impact and for the first few seconds she couldn't breathe. But when she heard the chirping of birds around her, she opened her eyes. She was in a small green meadow surrounded by a large hedge. She got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. What would Kyla think of her if she stood in front of her completely dirty?

Then she heard voices. A man laughed and she followed her. She peered cautiously past the hedge. She saw him sitting there at a small, round garden table. He was middle-aged, his hair raven black, and his tenor-like voice caught her ear. A woman sat on his lap. Almost half naked, as Liara discovered. "Well, I won't go to your tailor," she whispered to herself. She decided to watch the two of them for a while longer.

The man whispered something in the woman's ear and she giggled, her ample breasts bouncing. A moment later she moaned and Liara saw that his hand had wandered between her thighs. Liara sucked in her breath and looked away. The blush was written all over her face and she admonished herself: "Something like that is not right! Watching other people have sex is just not right!”

Again the moaning of the woman reached her ears and she risked another look, fascinated. Then his eyes met her and she stumbled out of the hedge.

He pushed the woman off his lap and stood up. He licked his fingers lasciviously, which had been between the woman's thighs a few seconds before, and slowly walked towards Liara. "Look who we got there?"

Liara, arms behind her, stuttered, "Uh... Eh... Ehehehehe... W-how are you?" The man was standing right in front of her now, looking down at her. His eyes twinkled and finally he crouched down and leaned forward. Liara involuntarily held her breath and closed her eyes.

She heard him noisily inhaling her scent. "A human," he finally said and cautiously opened one of Liara's eyes. The smile that met her literally blew her mind. She lost consciousness.

When Liara later opened her eyes, she found herself in a large bed that was flanked on the sides by blood red velvet, plunging her into complete darkness. She tried to sit up, but in that moment, a jackhammer seemed to turn on in her head. She let herself fall backwards and closed her eyes again.

A voice woke her up and she turned her head sleepily in the direction she was coming from. It took a while for her to find the strength to open her eyes and she looked straight into the face of the man she had seen before. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her hair and a smile played on his lips.

Lips that could drive you into lust, thought Liara, only to shake her head immediately afterwards. What was she thinking?

"My name is Beleth," he finally introduced himself and dropped his hand. "H-Hi." Was all Liara managed to say. Beleth tilted his head slightly to the side and black strands fell into his face, from which his ice-blue eyes stood out. Liara tried to sit up again. When Beleth saw how difficult it was for her, he helped her. She thanked him with a nod.

"I know why you came. You want to get your girlfriend back.” Liara just nodded again. Beleth sighed. "But that's not as easy as you imagined, Liara."

She looked at him with big eyes: "Where from...?", But he interrupted her: "We knew that you would come. And we know why just as well.”

Liara hesitated for a moment, finally she asked: "Why us? And what are you doing to me?"

"We will help you. We, that's my brother and I."

"And who is your brother?"

"You'll get to know him. But now you should rest. Your body will take a while to get used to this world.”

Liara watched him for a moment. Finally she nodded to him and lay down again.

As soon as Beleth had left her room, he returned to the garden. The woman was still sitting there, chained to the chair. Beleth sat down on it and at his signal, she sat down on his lap again. Although he wanted to indulge his lust, his thoughts turned to Liara. He had already agreed everything with Xarfai and now it was a matter of sticking to the plan. You couldn't make a mistake.