Chapter 106 Chapter 106
Valerie cursed her bad luck. She tiptoed to the stairs and peered down. There was darkness below, sparse sunlight falling through the windows. She concentrated on the other being but found that she couldn’t sense them anymore. They appeared to be gone.
A bitter smile formed on her lips. Of course they weren’t. The demon most likely had decided on another approach, waiting for her to be lulled into a false sense of security. They were probably waiting for the right moment to strike, like a snake sitting in front of a mouse.
“Shit, if only I hadn’t come here,” she cursed silently. “Or at least asked Travis to accompany me.”
Should she descend the stairs and risk it? Should she take the other stairway? Or wait here? Waiting wasn’t an option, and she knew it. If she waited, she would lose her mind in fear, and the being would probably take it as a cue to come up here and kill her faster.
Valerie decided to use her magic to shroud herself in darkness, bending the light so it never reached her form. Like this, she could not be seen, and perhaps it would be enough to fool the demon. Luckily, this kind of magic wasn’t draining, so she would be able to keep it up for at least fifteen minutes.
Sneaking to the stairs, she descended them quickly and dove behind the next corner, hiding and hesitating. Again, she tried to locate the other presence within the building, but the being hid somewhere just like her. Nervous beads of sweat formed on her brow. Her pulse spiked.
She peered around the corner and saw a dim hallway that led straight to the exit. The doors were wide open, beckoning her to come closer.
She clenched her jaw and decided to risk it, running around the corner and towards the door, using the cover of darkness to her advantage.
It was a mistake. She had done exactly what the demon had waited for, and she was nearly thrown to the ground when overwhelmingly strong magic flared directly behind her. She was petrified and turned to glance in the darkness. A glowing pair of red eyes glared in her direction, but since she suppressed all the light around her, they didn’t see her. Still, the demon knew she was here.
Her breath hitched, and then she was faced with an explosion of magical power, a blinding whiteness that shot towards her. She didn’t even have time to scream, shielding her face with her arm as she willed her magic to form a shield consisting of pulsing light. It was hardly enough to stop the attack, and she felt part of her sleeve be burned by the heat and devastating strength behind it.
As soon as it stopped, she turned around to run, not wanting to stay here a second longer. Desperately, she shot beams of light at the demon, hoping to slow them down, but the magic didn’t faze them at all; they seemed to absorb it, rendering it useless. Her eyes widened as the red eyes got closer, the demon keeping themselves hidden in darkness.
She was forced to go on the defensive again when another powerful beam of magic was sent her way. This time, she screamed, barely able to hold it off. Her knees were shaking, nearly giving in, and she lost control of her magic. It vanished.
Instantly, she became visible as the light reached her form and revealed her location. To her surprise, the demon stopped their attack, the flow of their magic calming around her.
She let out a breath and straightened up, ready to face whoever it was, but she was met with an unexpected sight.
“Valerie?” she heard his silky voice say, the sound sending shivers down her back. He looked exactly like she remembered him, not a single thing had changed. Her heart began to hurt, aching and stinging. His eyes faded from red to blue as he came closer, soft light flooding the hallway.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, standing only a few steps away from her. It was too close. She wasn’t ready for this yet. Was he not fazed at all? Did it not bother him to see her after so long?
“I could ask you the same,” she replied bitterly. “Why did you attack me?”
He was silent and watched her, his eyes taking in her disheveled appearance and the tired paleness of her face, as well as the singed clothes. Something in his expression changed, but she couldn’t tell what it was. “I didn’t know it was you.”
“Yeah, right,” she spat, stinging pain invading her heart.
“It’s true. You were hiding, how should I have known?”
“Why are you here?” she asked.
He didn’t answer, staring past her towards the exit. The silence between them grew heavier, to a point where it was stifling and uncomfortable. She didn’t know how to act around him, was torn between hating him for leaving her and being happy to see him again. There was a spark in her heart that just waited to be ignited, but she fought against it, scared to be hurt again. Undoubtedly, he would leave in a few moments and stay gone. She clenched her hands into fists.
“I was hunting down a demon and followed him here,” Maxwell eventually said. He seemed angry for some reason, though he kept his rage hidden behind a mask of indifference. Only the red hue in his eyes gave it away. “I’ve been after him for a while, and when I sensed demon magic in here, I was sure I caught up to him, but then it turned out to be you. He must be long gone by now… I lost him.” He sighed frustratedly.
“What did that demon do for you to hunt him down, huh? Must have pissed you off,” she said sarcastically and crossed her arms, concealing the curiosity within her well. She yearned to find out what he had been doing in the past month and how he was, but at the same time, she had too much pride to ask.