Chapter 47

Wil stepped into the bedroom, the darkness broken only by the light of a single candle, burning on a table by the bedside. The curtains were open, revealing the now peaceful grounds of the Brookmoor estate. Although, he could spot several groups of armed guards patrolling, the routes marked by blazing torches.

He drifted across the hardwood floor like a spirit, not making a sound, his white robes and hair giving him an ethereal appearance. In his hand, he clutched the talisman taken from Moloch, the key needed for what he planned next.

Reaching the bed, he gently sat on the covers, careful to not disturb the figure sleeping there.

Serena Brookmoor’s injuries had been healed, but traces of her confinement and treatment by the Cultists were still present. She was thinner than he remembered, her malnourishment evident in her cheek bones and collar.

From under the covers, a tail peeked out, grey skinned like the rest of her body, while a pair of small horns curved gently from her forehead. Her ring of illusion had been taken from her when she was abducted, allowing her true self to be visible to all.

Wil sighed deeply, running his hand along her hair, brushing it from her face gently. His emotions, so carefully controlled since his consumption of Mammon, threatened to rage once more, forcing him to clamp down on them aggressively.

Serena stirred in her sleep at the touch, a frown appearing across her brows, before she slowly opened her eyes. Blinking, it took her a moment to adjust to what she was seeing. The last she remembered, Mara had been fighting against cultists, and she had tried to run before being captured.

Finding herself in an unfamiliar room, she spotted Wil sitting beside her.

“Wil? Where are we?” Serena asked, a slight sense of panic growing in her as she saw the changes in Wil. He looked the same, but his hair was white! She could also feel that he was different, but she didn’t know what it meant.

“Shh. It’s alright. We’re in Brookmoor. You’re safe.” Wil said softly, placing a hand gently on her arm to settle her.

“You rescued me? Where’s Mara?!” Serena said, bolting forward in her bed and looking around for the woman who fought to protect her. Wil felt an almost foreign feeling to him now, sorrow and loss, heavy enough in his heart to drive away the rage and hunger.

“We did. The cultists won’t be a problem anymore. You can rest safe here, no one is going to come for you again. Mara is…” Wil hesitated, seeing the look of concern and fear of his answer in Serena’s eyes.

“She’s fine. She’s helping me with something. As soon as we’re done, she’ll come back to see you, right as rain.” Wil said in an assuring tone, smiling at the girl beside him as he lied.

“Thank Secundus. I thought they would kill her.” Serena said, settling back onto her pillow. If Wil said it, it must be the truth. She never doubted otherwise.

“I have something for you, Serena.” Wil said, handing over the token he had received from Moloch. Serena was confused as she picked it up from his open hand. It was a simple round piece of metal, almost like a coin, with a crimson drop in the center.

It wasn’t until she grabbed it that she could feel the connection between her and the object, something in her blood linked them, the coin like item and herself. It was similar to the feeling Wil was giving her, a bond that she couldn’t explain.

“What is it?” She asked, lifting it up to the candlelight for a better look. Wil frowned when he saw how shaky her hand was, the tremors obviously a result of her rough treatment.

There was no inscription on the small coin, or words of any kind. The crimson drop at the center reflected the light like a jewel, sending streaks of crimson shining across her face.

“I received it from Moloch, the Archdevil that your ancestor once made his covenant with.” Wil said simply, watching as Serena jerked abruptly at his words, dropping the coin as if it were poison. Not surprised, Wil snatched it out of the air with shocking speed before it hit the bed coverings.

“Why would you have something like that!?” Serena whispered harshly, looking at Wil’s hand as if he held a viper.

Opening his palm, Wil elaborated.

“When your ancestor forged his Pact with Moloch, a part of the Archdevil tainted his bloodline, ensuring that his descendants would always be tied to him. It is something your born with, that you had no choice in, and can be used against you. Whether by Moloch himself, or his followers, or even those seeking power through your blood.” Wil said gently, tilting his hand to allow the light to play on the crimson blooddrop.

Despite knowing what it was, Serena was fascinated by the object, she found it difficult to tear her eyes way.

“This blood drop, if consumed, would replace that link between you and Moloch…with mine.” Wil said, lifting his eyes from the coin and focusing on hers. The words took a moment to sink in, the gravity of what he was saying left her stunned.

“What…what do you mean?” Serena stammered, tearing her eyes away from the coin and meeting Wil’s. In the candlelight, they seemed reddish rather than their normal blue, like the embers of a dying fire.

“I’ve raised you since you were a child. Watching over you, protecting, I’ve tried to keep you safe, teach you everything that I knew. I think of you like you are my own. By consuming this drop of blood, we would be connected, as if you truly were my own. You wouldn’t have to worry about Moloch’s influence, I would continue to watch over you.” Wil said, holding her gaze.

“But it would need to be your decision. You would be giving up a large part of what makes you…you. You would no longer be a Tiefling, this would sever that heritage. It’s not something to do lightly, Serena.” Wil finished.

“Do it!” She said, excited. She nearly leapt forward, her injuries forgotten. “You would be my father? We could be a real family?” She whispered in awe. Her dreams were finally coming true.

“We are a real family, Serena.” Wil said, a small grin on his face. Heavens, it felt like eons since he had last smiled.

“This would just remove Moloch from your bloodline. Even if you rejected this, our being a family would never change.”

“Please, Wil? I’ve always felt like I was cursed. Being a Tiefling isn’t a gift.” She paused, hugging into his arm. “If we were a real family, we’d need a real home… could we live in Aachen? Mara said we could stay with her…I like it there.” She murmured, her voice soft.

For a moment, the feeling of grief and pain that had been absent in Wil’s new body threatened to overwhelm him. It was as powerful as his hunger and rage. His eyes changed from red to their original blue, before he squeezed them shut. Taking a deep breath, he wrestled his emotions back under control before Serena could notice.

“Of course.” Wil lied. “We can live in Aachen. I’m sure Mara will be thrilled when you tell her. But for now, you’ll stay here with Markus and Kathryn. Your Aunt and Uncle will look after you.” Wil said. Serena smiled at the titles given to Wil’s brother and sister-in-law.

“So, are you sure?” Wil asked, waiting once more for her to nod. He lifted the coin, holding it up to his lips. Inhaling deeply, the blood drop turned to a reddish mist, curling above the coin for a moment, before entering his mouth.

The change in him was subtle, a growing connection to Serena, a call from a single part of his mixture of bloodlines, to hers. For Serena, the change was much more pronounced.

Her grey skin faded to pale white, her hair long and black. The pair of horns on her forehead shrank and disappeared, the same as her tail. Her purple eyes darkened to indigo, before changing to a bright blue, the perfect match of Wil’s original.

To Wil, the young girl beside him was nearly his exact copy, a young, female version of himself. Giddy, Serena leapt from the bed, running to the mirror to observe the changes. Silently, Wil crept from the chamber, leaving his daughter alone. He could already hear the others in the manor approaching, coming to investigate the girl’s excited shouts.

Not willing to confront the others, and answer the difficult question of what had happened to him, Wil disappeared from the estate. There was someone else he had to see this evening.