Devilla
"Lucy..." I whispered, my voice faint enough that I'm not sure even Bailey heard it, let alone Feyra who was laying a few feet from me. My eyes were locked upon the statue that had once been a living, breathing redhead. A statue with a smile on her face, and a thank you on her lips - though what she was thanking me for, I couldn't fathom. For failing to protect her? For daring to give thought to hiding my abilities when people were in
real
danger? What had I
possibly
done that might have deserved thanks?
A cough from the side gave me my answer, no matter how little I wished to accept it. Lucy had thanked me for saving Feyra. For defeating the cockatrice that had threatened her friend. For doing what Lucy would not be able to... because even as she turned to stone, she'd thought of others before herself.
"Wha..." Feyra started, then stopped, staring wide eyed at the petrified Heroine beside me. "What did you do?"
"I hesitated," I told her, my voice flat. Cold. "Something I won't do again."
Feyra shuddered when I spoke, though whether at my inflection or my words I did not know. Nor did I care. All that mattered to me was the splattered corpse that now decorated the wall. The corpse of the cockatrice that had turned Lucy to stone. That I had
allowed
to reach Lucy through my hesitance. If it could petrify her, though, then surely it could
depetrify
as well.
At least, that's what I told myself as I grabbed a feather off the floor and popped it into my mouth, washing it down with a bit of water stolen from the air. Yet even as the genetic material of the monster passed into my gullet, I felt... nothing.
No. Not nothing. There was
something
- an imprint, similar to what I had with Bailey, but... weak. So much weaker than it should have been. Was it the difference between monster girls and monsters? No. Impossible. If that was the case, then nobody would ever be able to get
anything
out of plants, which were the weakest of the three.
Though, speaking of plants... Yes. I recalled something, from Amessa's impromptu lecture upon potion making. That there were certain parts of the plants that were stronger. That contained more magical power. That could be used
better.
I wasn't sure if monsters worked the same, but... it was
something
.
"Feyra."
"What?!"
the green hair girl all but snarled at me, her face twisted by rage as she tore her eyes from Lucy to glare at me. "You want to kill me, now that you've taken the Heroine out of the picture? For
good,
maybe, considering she's not even
dead,
just-"
"I need you to use your powers," I interrupted. I had no time to listen to her tirade. As much as I might have deserved her anger - albeit not for the reasons she'd claim - I had no way of knowing what was going through Lucy's mind right now. Whether she was awake in there, screaming to move but unable to do so. Whether she was in pain, and suffering. Maybe she was merely asleep. Something to ask her when she was
back.
"I need you to find the parts of the monster that have the most magic."
"Why?" Feyra demanded. "So that you can destroy them? Make sure she'll never come back?"
"If I wanted to ensure she'd never come back, I would break her. Or maybe just take her, and burn this place to ash - it's not like you could stop me. I want to
bring her back,
but the damn chicken feather isn't doing me any good." Whether because monsters concentrated their magic more than monster girls, or because of the researcher's meddling with monsters, I had no way of knowing. Hopefully the former - if it was the latter, there was a chance they'd managed to breed something worthless for potions without even knowing.
"Like I'm going to believe that!" Feyra scoffed. "Even if you
do
want to bring her back, it's probably just to fuck with her some more, right? Break her heart, then turn her to stone again? Bet you have another of those stupid chicken monsters just waiting somewhere!"
"If that was my goal, then why did I kill the one splattered on the wall?" I queried her before holding up a hand. "No. Stop. I don't want to hear any more of your warped logic. We both know you can twist anything I say to make me the villain. To make me the one at fault. Maybe you're even right to do so - it was my hesitation that cost her. My desire to keep my secret safe that allowed all this to happen. My
idiocy
that put us in this position. Yet that won't stop me from bringing her back. So you can either point out which monster part I need to consume, or you can sit there and entertain yourself while I consume every damn bit of this bird until
something
changes."
Feyra didn't respond, at first. She just stared at me, eyes wide, like she'd never seen me before. It wasn't until Bailey growled in her general direction that she finally replied. "You need to drop your magic first, or I'll go blind trying to find it."
"...Right. Of course..." I'd honestly forgotten I was still spreading my magic out. It certainly hadn't done me any good when it mattered most. Great for holding back annoyances, and yet when a true threat came along... I sighed, shaking my head and allowing my power to disperse. "Done."
Feyra nodded, and as I watched her eyes began to shift, the pupils elongating like a cat's as she eyed the room around us. Eventually, she pointed to two distinct parts in the wall - one that looked vaguely like the snake's head, and another that looked like some sort of... goop. Studying it closely, I thought there was a chance that it was what remained of one of the creature's eyes. "There and there. Those are the two places I'm getting the strongest energy from."
I hesitated a moment, between them, before settling on the eye. It was the less tasteful of the two, but if the snake's poison was what petrified then perhaps the chicken's eyes were the key to undoing the petrification. Another portion of water was pulled from the moisture in the air, encapsulating the goop and freezing around it to form a perfectly smooth pill.
"Thank you," I said, popping it into my mouth and swallowing it quickly.
"Not like you gave me much choice," Feyra muttered, crossing her arms. "I'm surprised you didn't outright threaten me, though."
"As if I would have been able to face Lucy if I had," I replied, eyeing her stone form. "...I'm going to tell her everything after this."
"What?" Feyra asked, blinking at me in surprise. Even Bailey looked shocked, or as shocked as she could manage in her lupine form, at least.
"I'm going to tell her everything," I repeated. "Who I am. What I want. What I can do. Trying to keep secrets almost got her killed today. I won't let that happen again."
"You... actually mean that, don't you?" Feyra whispered. I could hear the incredulity in her voice. "You're actually worried about her."
"Of course I am," I replied, reaching out to touch Lucy's stone cheek. Her skin was cold to the touch. I tried my best not to compare it to that of a corpse. "I... don't know if I can claim to love her. I don't think I'm deserving of such a thing, in any case. But I do care about her, quite a bit. Maybe... more than almost anything else." The only one who could come close would perhaps be Abigail, who'd been with me since the start of all this.
Closing my eyes, I looked again for that which did not belong inside me - for the imprint of powers that were mine to borrow, if not own. This time I found them. Three, in fact - though two of them were much dimmer than the last, like... distant stars, compared to the ever present sun. Just as powerful, but much harder to access in a meaningful way. Not that it mattered to me right now. Not when the power I could most easily access was one of softening, one of restoration, from flesh to stone.
I opened my eyes again, aware of a faint glow building behind my irises. Instinctively, I knew that I could focus my gaze on a particular part of Lucy - that I could choose to restore parts of her, rather than the whole. The better to consume her, I assumed, considering the creature that had held this power.
Of course, I was far greedier than that stupid chicken. I wanted
all
of her
,
and all of her I would have. Already, I could see the coloration returning to her flesh, the pink of her skin and even the red and gold of her armor as flesh, bone, and metal were all restored to their proper states. A deep breath filled her lungs, her smile widened even further, and at last the words I'd read upon her lips spilled out audibly for me to hear-
"Thank you! I knew you could turn me back!"
"Well, that makes one of us." Though my words came out a grumble, my lips were spread into a smile as I stood before Lucy. A smile at seeing her restored. Knowing she was okay.
Now I could only hope she'd be okay with
me.
"Lucy," I whispered. "There's something I need... no.
Want
to tell you." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for another moment to prepare myself, before forcing them open so that I could look Lucy in hers. She deserved my full attention. "I-"
"Lucy already knows the Demon Queen killed her mom!" Feyra blurted out, freezing me in my tracks.
"What...?" I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper. She knew I did
what?
"Feyra!" Lucy exclaimed, a frown upon her lips, before she turned to me. "Don't worry, Eena. I already know you're a high ranking demon, but I'm sure you didn't have anything to do with that!" She paused, her smile suddenly fragile as she tentatively asked. "You... didn't, did you?"
"I... No... of course not..." My voice was stiff. Unconvincing, even to my own ears, and yet the look of relief on Lucy's face spoke volumes. She believed me. She believed me because I said it, and she knew I would not lie. And I
hadn't
lied. I really had nothing to do with her mother's death.
