Alphonse paced, a rhythm in the quiet night. Things were progressing much faster than he'd planned for.
The appearance of illfate monsters could only mean one thing. The involvement of his greatest enemy.
Those lousy monsters that preys on fear and doubts in humans and their services can only be afforded by one person he knew.
"What now?" Karma's voice drifted over to him, calm and complacent.
She sat primly on the chair, her knees tightly cinched together. Nothing betrayed her initial fear, her fingers were laced together and her eyes were sharp and focused.
Her brown hair was the color of burnished copper in the golden light, her strawberry pink mouth pursed with displeasure.
Alphonse took a deep breath and sat down on her bed. The attraction between them was potent and palpable.
His fingers itched to trace the sensitive skin on her neck, to trail his tongue and scrape his teeth on her skin.
He rubbed his face.
"You need to leave this place. It's not safe at the moment." He told her, his voice steady. Betraying the underlying reluctance.
He has this irrational urge to keep her within his reach. To keep her right where he could monitor her behavior, or so he told himself.
To examine her body closely to make sure she's safe.
He was probably running mad.
Her perfectly winged brows were raised with inquiry and she stared at him.
"Why must I?" She asked dumbly.
Alphonse wanted to shake her silly. Why must she evacuate the building?
Could he tell her about the fear that gripped his heart when he heard her scream? Or the red haze of violence that fell over his vision when he thought she was hurt?
No. He didn't think she'd want to know about that. He wasn't sure he wants to think about it even.
"There'll be more attempts. These ones are amateurs and their attempts were rushed and unprofessional."
He had an inkling as to why the timing was now.
"Why were they after you?" She inquired, her voice slightly edgy.
She stared shrewdly at him. Her blue eyes seemingly seeing through his woven webs.
But no. That was impossible. No one could possibly understand the complicated game of life and death he was playing with his captor.
"Because I have something they want." He answered simply.
He should have known she wouldn't be satisfied with such an answer as she stood up swiftly, standing between his open legs.
The contact of their skin sent shards of delicious electricity down his spine. It was ferocious, this roaring need inside him.
He was speared with a desire so hot he was fairly singed.
"You will tell me what this is all about, Alphonse and you'll do it now." She breathed hard. "Make no mistake, anything that has to do with your life has to do with mine."
"And I will not die now. I won't let you die until our deal is satisfied."
Her eyes flashed with anger and frustration.
"The seven jewels of hell."
"The what?" She spluttered.
"The seven jewels of hell. The wielder of one of the Jewels will be extremely powerful and fortified." He glanced at her to see her stare riveted on him.
"And the one wielding all the jewels will be invincible. The Demon world is a world of hierarchy. Each family strives to be better than the other."
She went silent, her eyes staring intently at him.
"I left the world for this reason," And many more, he added silently in his head.
"What has this got to do with anything?" She asked, looking incredulously at him.
He wanted to laugh at the genuine shock on her face. How could she be smart and dumb at the same time?
Pink tongue poked and retreated in the side of her cheeks.
Images filled his head. Of her stretch on the bed, back arched, perspiring and moaning with abandon.
Her lithe legs wrapped around his shoulder as his tongue suckled on her petal of life.
"Alphonse? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. "You're not suffering from side effects or anything?"
"Why?" He said, his voice harsher than he intended.
He cleared his throat and wished he could clear his head as well. What was wrong with him?
At a crucial time of carefully and surreptitiously placing his chess piece on the game board, the delicate time of steering the situation to fit into his intricate design, and all he could think about was the feel of her soft lips on his.
"It's fine. I'm fine," he waved off her concern.
He saw her clench her fist beside her, but she nodded curtly.
"What exactly are the seven jewels of hell?" She asked incredulously.
"When demons were initially created, chaos and destruction was the sole reason behind their creation. Their creator used them for all sorts of things, wreaking havoc on the greater heavens, shedding innocent blood."
"To what end? Nobody knows. Not even the first of my kind. As time progressed, the demons got powerful and wanted freedom from their creator. They wanted to be free to do whatever they wanted to."
"So they got to plotting."
She listened carefully and attentively, her eyes strained on his mouth. Alphonse felt like a ridiculous story teller.
He was spinning his web deeper, cinching her tighter. Making her more invested. But only lies closest to the truth go undetected for a long time.
And for this reason, his story is a product of both. The lies and the truths.
"Their Creator had a way to control them. To get them to do his dirty work for him. And that was true of the originals. Also called the Jewels of hell." He finished softly.
Yes
"That's…that's..quite possibly the most unhinged thing I've ever heard." She shifted on her seat, adjusting her pajamas. She's probably scared now.
"So,
connecting the dots reveals that you probably are in possession of one of the most sought after Jewels?" She surmised.
"Bingo." He said with a chilling smirk.