Chapter 56

ELIGOR.

How did I meet her? How did I find myself in this situation, feeling trapped with no way out?

As far as I can recall, it was just an ordinary night for me, doing my job as an incubus, needing to feed by engaging in intimate encounters with mortals in their dreams.

I used to visit women's dreams, seeking out new victims.

But I didn't know how I ended up in your dream. You were just nine years old when I first encountered you, drawn into your dream by another incubus who always kept an eye on you.

I wondered why they kept visiting a young girl like you, who only played in her dreams.

And that's when I learned about what your parents did and the reason they were there in your dream.

At first, I didn't care about them or what they wanted for a young girl like you. But as I spent more time inside your dreams, I found myself getting closer to you.

You seemed to have me under some sort of spell, and my curiosity about who you were grew stronger.

Your imagination was captivating, the way you controlled your dreams, and the world you created around yourself.

I kept watching what you did while the other incubi who used to watch over you grew bored and left.

And as I stood there, watching you sleep, it hit me—what kind of dreams would you have as you grew older?

Would your fantasies change? Would your thoughts eventually become a reality?

What if I could manipulate your dreams and taint that beautiful mind of yours?

All those questions consumed me; my desire to possess your thoughts and dreams grew stronger. I longed to play with you in my hands.

That's why I stopped letting any other incubus enter your dreams. I guarded you as you grew up, witnessing all your problems, thoughts, and aspirations.

I got to know you better, Kate.

And because of that, I wanted to claim you even more.

I didn't realize where my greed would lead me. I didn't know it would bring me pain and suffering now.

Yet, deep inside, I don't regret the time I spent with you. I don't regret what happened to me or my current fate.

"Kate..."

I want to see you again and hold and kiss you again. But I can't leave this place that feels incomplete without you until someone else takes your heart.

As an incubus, love is our curse. It destroys us and takes away our lives.

Because when an incubus falls in love with a mortal, they acquire a heart that only beats if the person they love loves them back.

And if not, you'll be trapped in eternal darkness inside the deepest corners of their mind. When I was imprisoned in this place, they also took away my horns and wings.

As a cambion and incubus, our wings and horns are our strength. And being just a half-demon, losing my horns severely affects my mental control.

Now, I find myself imprisoned, with no control over my own body. Even my thoughts are gradually slipping away from me, as if my memories are about to be erased, leaving me in a state of confusion.

My body is consumed by an overwhelming desire as if I might go mad if I don't release it somehow. If I manage to escape this place and encounter any woman, I fear I might end up harming her.

My skin turns a crimson hue; my veins pulsate with anger in my hands and forehead. My hands no longer resemble those of a normal person but those of a demon, thirsting to claim its victims. My black claws are sharp, and long fangs protrude while my eyes are veiled with crimson blood and darkness.

My once short hair has grown incredibly long and pitch-black, and my back is still bleeding from the removal of one of my wings, just as one of my horns is now gone.

In this desolate place filled with memories of Kate and me, I know I must await my end. The moment when Katelyn marries the man she loves, my heart will finally cease to beat.

I'm uncertain how much longer my mind can withstand this melancholic place that holds so many memories of the time we shared.

"Katelyn..." I call her name, knowing she won't hear me.

I long to see her one last time, to hear her voice and witness the radiance of her smile. I yearn to hold her tightly in my arms, kiss her tenderly, and claim her as my own.

My love for her is so profound that I am willing to endure this place, even though I know she won't find me here. I love her so much that I am content if she finds someone else and forgets me in this desolate realm.

If only I could erase the memories we shared, I would, as I don't want her to remember me in such a state. I regret that I deceived her to use and taste her, exploiting her status as a lucid dreamer, a delicacy for us lust demons.

I admit, that was my initial intent– to take advantage of her once I had her. However, I never anticipated that she would turn the tables and I would become entangled in her love.

"Argh!" I cry out in agony, feeling the heat overpower me, knowing it's devouring my sanity. Lust is slowly corroding my mind, making it difficult to think straight.

"Katelyn... Katelyn... Katelyn," I repeat her name over and over, letting out another anguished cry from the pain in my body and the torment in my mind.

***

Katelyn "It won't be easy, you know. It's not that simple," I opened my eyes as I heard the two of them arguing outside the door. I looked around and only then realized that I was no longer inside my apartment.

I slowly got up from the bed and rubbed my forehead. They glanced in my direction, and Loraine quickly approached me.

"Good, you're awake. You've been sleeping all day, and you haven't eaten yet," she said, to which I promptly asked her.

"Where am I?" I inquired, and Gadreel handed me a glass of water.

"We're at my house," Loraine replied with a weary look.

"Could you tell me how to find Eligor? I really need to talk to him, please," I pleaded with her, and she sighed deeply.

"You really don't know how to give up, do you? Fine, I'll tell you, but eat first. Take care of your body because I don't want to take care of a patient in my house," she answered, and I nodded.

I ate while Gadreel and Loraine joined me. After I took some medicine and rested, Loraine told me everything I needed to know. She called us to her office, and there she revealed Eligor's whereabouts.

"Why is Gadreel still here? Doesn't he already know too much?" Loraine asked Gadreel, who just smiled, using that charming grin he always used to deceive women.

"I do know a lot, so why don't you just tell me everything? After all, you can't erase my memory or enter my mind, right? Besides, you might be fooling my ex," Gadreel replied, causing a headache.

This guy's audacity knows no bounds, but I don't have time to get angry or annoyed with him. I need to find Eligor and tell him everything I want to say.

I can't afford to waste any more time.

"Okay, listen up," Loraine said, taking a seat in her office chair.

"Eligor is currently imprisoned," her brief explanation filled me with sadness. Where is he imprisoned, and is there any way for him to escape that place?

"Where? And why is he imprisoned?" I asked, feeling defeated, and Loraine let out a deep sigh.

"All incubi or cabins like him are bound to be imprisoned, especially if the person they love doesn't reciprocate that love. As long as you're not married or in love with someone else, he'll remain confined there, and his heart will only stop beating when yours does for someone else." Hearing that, I clenched my fist in anger; it was my fault because I wasn't truthful to him, and I didn't express my true feelings to him.

Anger also consumed me for what I learned about the past. That's why I couldn't make him feel what I truly felt or say the words I wanted to convey.

"Where is he imprisoned now? Can I talk to him? How can I tell him that I love him too, so he can leave that place?" I asked Loraine anxiously, knowing they could see the frustration written all over my face.

"I don't know where he is either. Only you and he know that place," Loraine explained, leaving me puzzled.

"Does he literally have to go there?" Gadreel asked, and I also pondered on it.

"No, he just has to visit it in his dreams. It's easy for you since you're a lucid dreamer; you can go to any place you want in your dreams," Loraine replied, but where is that place?

"But I don't know which place you're referring to," I said, feeling exasperated, and Loraine sighed again.

"It's a place that's important to both of you. Think hard about where that place might be. That's all I know, and that's all I can help with, so can you please stop bombarding me with questions?" she asked, and before I could ask again, Loraine snapped her fingers, and in an instant, I found myself sitting on my bed, inside my room.

I was amazed by their magic; even now, I can't believe what's happening to me, but it's not the time to dwell on that.

I need to find Eligor, and I need to tell him my true feelings because I don't want us to part ways like this. I want to be with him forever.

He's the man my heart loves, the man I've chosen and will choose no matter what.

I quickly searched for melatonin on my bedroom table and took it. I need to fall asleep again to find him.

After taking it, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. Even if I don't wake up, I have to find you, Eli.

After about half an hour, I felt myself gradually falling into my dream, and when I opened my eyes again, I was back in my room inside our old house in Brentwood.

I immediately looked for him all over the place, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I went downstairs, but he wasn't in the living room or the kitchen.

I paused for a moment and gazed around the house. In the past, whenever I dreamt of this place, it was always dark, with no belongings inside, obviously abandoned. But now, it's just like it used to be, our house filled with happy memories from my childhood.

For the first time, I stepped outside this house that I'd been imprisoned in for so long, but it felt like I was transported back to my childhood when I could freely travel to any place I desired.

I took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air as I immediately envisioned the spot where I might find Eli. As I stepped out of the gate, a mesmerizing expanse of azure sea greeted me, and I could feel the soft sand beneath my feet, warmed by the gentle touch of the sun.

I searched for Eligor in all the places we had shared memories – the Brentwood vacation, the camping site, his apartment, and even mine, but he was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, it hit me – the back garden of the school, our secret meeting place during lunch breaks, where we had long conversations and where I fell in love with him, in a place known only to the two of us.

Without a second thought, I ran, not realizing that my steps in the hallway of my apartment led me now to the school's back garden.

However, the serene surroundings swiftly transformed as dark clouds engulfed the once bright sky, and an eerie silence was broken only by a deep, guttural roar of an unknown beast.

My heart raced as my body shivered with fear. That guttural cry seemed to come from the depths of the earth, like a creature in agony and rage.

Despite the warning Loraine had given me about what I might encounter, I mustered the courage to move forward, step by step, closer to the place where I first met him, the man I love.