A Victorian-era setting. Everything in Gemstone City thrived on the hiss of steam and the clatter of iron wheels. Gas lamps lit the cobbled streets, and the chatter of finely dressed citizens was mixed with the shoeing of horses' hooves, pulling carriages around. The city was an industrial grandeur.
Deep in the woods, a young couple fondled; they were already taking their clothes off.
"Stop—not here."
The girl giggled and advised.
"Are you scared? Come on now… Nothing is out here."
The guy was assured.
"I heard people get lost in these woods, or worse… eaten."
The girl spoke with caution, all while enjoying the kissing on her neck. She couldn't resist.
"Says who?"
"Says the police force. Whom I trust."
She finally got over the sweetness of his touch and pushed him away.
"Let's go get a room or something."
She advised.
He sighed aggressively and zipped up his pants.
"You ladies are no fun."
Something moved in the bushes. They both froze.
"What was that?"
The girl asked in shock.
The bushes rustled again, and immediately, the guy took off, barely even dressed.
"You imbecile. Don't leave me here!"
She yelled and took to the floor, searching for her shoes.
"Oh my God. I'm going to die."
She put on her shoe and was ready to leave. A hand rested on her shoulder. She almost yelled, but another hand reached out and covered her mouth.
"You scream, and you may not know what will come after you. Trust me, the options are infinite."
It was Damian. She was safe.
.....
Damian escorted the lady back to the city with her arms around his.
"Thank you very much. Kind gentleman. I was beginning to worry that people like you may have gone extinct."
"Don't go into the woods at night."
"Trust me… Never again." "Farewell."
The young lady made her way into the city.
.....
Damian came back into the woods and walked in deeper. Creatures lurked in the dark. Goblins, vampires, and some of unknown origin. But they dare not attack; they knew what would become of them if they did.
Deep inside the woods was a great house. A large, luxurious building with many rooms. It held many secrets and tragic deaths.
Damian shut the door behind him. The hall was a beauty of a sight to behold, with a large golden organ underneath the mighty stairs, a wide table which had the map of the entire city lying on it, and three long sofas arranged around each other on the far end.
A head poked out of nowhere. It was Lucien Hendrickson, young. Aggressive and overly agile.
"He's back!"
Lucien's voice was loud enough to fill the entire house. He ran around, yelling at the top of his voice, awakening everyone.
"He's fucking back! He's gone and had all the fun, and he's come back to us with nothing!"
Lucien was angry; he had the will to fight, but his colleagues treated him like he was underage. Even though he just turned 18.
Iliana Trovey, Damian's little sister, fierce and fearless. She rested on the railings and peered down at Damian. She gave him a disdainful look and walked back inside.
Irene and Doug Mason descended the stairs. Irene was a damsel who preferred to dress in revealing outfits. Doug was equally attractive. They were both light-brown-skinned in complexion and twins. Young, in their 20s.
"Welcome back, Captain."
Irene always spoke in a seductive tone.
"What did you fight this time, a unicorn?"
Doug was always witty and sarcastic. He was the team's jester.
Irene and Doug sat on the couch and laid down their cards.
"I'm winning this time."
Irene was confident.
"We'll see about that."
Lucien made his way down the stairs and went down on his, holding on to Damian's coat.
"Next time. Take me with you. Please… Don't leave me here and go and have all the fun."
Lucien begged.
"I wasn't having fun, Lucien."
Damian moved aside and headed upstairs. Lucien lay on the floorboards in dread.
"This wasn't what I signed up for."
.....
Damian knocked and entered the study. It was also a large room with shelves of books on the far end of the walls and tables with towers of books on them.
Damian searched for Iliana. There was no sight of her.
"Usually, when you enter a room, you say, 'Hello, is anybody there?' Or you call out the name of the person you're looking for. 'Iliana? 'Are you in here?' Not mope like a confused dog."
Iliana had a sharp tongue. She was a rebellious teenager.
Damian found her sitting on the chair, legs crossed on the table, behind some books. She was engrossed in one, barely even giving him a look.
Iliana had a necklace around her neck, it was to her, what Damian's ring was to him, and artifact keeping them from going berserk. The Crystal pendant on the necklace was as purple as her hair.
"What demon was it this time?"
Iliana asked.
"A devourer. Goes by the name Zeraphon."
"Interesting."
The silence that followed was deep. Both siblings played a quiet game of who would speak first.
Damian just turned and looked out the window.
Iliana's eyes caught a glimpse of him; she saw a little opening on his forehead.
"You turned?
Iliana shut the book and got up. She moved closer to Damian and saw his eyes; they were pinkish-red.
"You turned!"
"Of course I did. I had to fight off the demon."
"No! My point is, you were in that state for way too long that you turned."
"Not fully. Just a little."
"It means you had a tough time."
Iliana was furious.
"What is wrong with you? Why do you have this stupid idea of going off to fight alone?"
"This was dangerous."
Damian was calm. This was only one of many arguments he's had with his sister.
"You had a tough time and actually needed help. What if you fully turned?"
"But I didn't."
"I wanted to be there, with you. We shared a similar history with those girls. Chaos had befallen our orphanage home; only the two of us were survivors. I wanted to be there to help just as much as you, and you took that from me."
"I was protecting you."
These were his go-to words whenever they had the same argument.
"I hate you!"
Iliana walked away and slammed the door behind her.
How do you convince your teenage sister that everything you do is for her own good without getting her mad? Damian wandered. A question he always asked himself.
.....
Damian walked down the corridor, straight to Salvatore Richard's room. He knocked and opened the door. The room was dark.
"Leave me out of it… I've had enough drama for the day."
Salvatore spoke underneath his thick blankets.
.....
Damian and Salvatore settled at the end of the hallway. Salvatore pushed the windows open and lit a cigar.
Salvatore was much older than all of them. He was a 40-year-old man with grey hair on his head and face. He would often be mistaken for a much older person.
"All he wanted was supernatural powers to save people. But what he got was a demon who devours."
"The Domain was but a perfect one. At first, I thought they were flaws, but it was all carefully crafted by the demon." "Doors appearing out of nowhere."
"Opened doors where there were none."
Salvatore had been filled in on the story. He just followed along.
"The sealed roof with sunlight inside the hallway."
"Light in the dark."
"The hands reaching out from the door."
"My hand will guide you through the paths."
"It brought me to the realisation that all the cracking on the reliefs was done on purpose to obscure the truth from us."
Damian deduced.
"How did the detective do?"
Salvatore asked.
"Better than I expected. She wants to take on more cases."
"Do you think she's up for the task?"
"I believe so."
"So you agreed?"
Salvatore wondered why Damian made such a decision.
"Yes. Yes, I did."
Damian was certain of himself.
"It's easier to protect her when I'm with her than when I am not. Had I refused, she'd have gone ahead to take on more cases."
Salvatore understood. He just glanced at Damian.
"And your sister?"
"Iliana doesn't need protection. She needs restraint." "Today, in battle. I turned more quickly than I used to before, under 30 minutes."
"You've overused your abilities."
"That's what I don't want for her. Thrown in a corner, she's ready to take off her necklace, when she can easily tackle the situation without…" "And most times I can't stop her."
Salvatore sighed. Once again, he was left to daddy all of them.
"Let me handle it. She listens to me better than she does you."
"Thank you."
Damian was grateful. Even though he was tough and could handle a lot on his own. He always found himself going back to Salvatore for advice. Salvatore was like a father to all of them.
"Next time. Take the others out with you. It's obvious you're not a good lone wolf."
Salvatore headed back to his room and closed the door.
Damian smiled.