Page 45 of Two Who Live On

I opened the front door and collapsed onto my front porch. No. I…wouldn’t allow…

I followed Milo’s frantic thoughts.

Enchanter Evergreen’s thoughts screamed with fury and rage and hate. Three powerful emotions Milo had almost never felt. I lingered in the doorway, wanting to help, knowing I needed to make up for my failures before.

No. No. No. Not now. Not when Milo was presently in danger.

My younger self scanned the abandoned building searching for Finn’s thoughts. Even unconscious, there should’ve been some trace of thought. I knew that much then but was unwilling to accept what had happened. I deluded myself into believing it was Milo’s infuriated emotions that blocked Finn’s thoughts, that it was my fright which kept me from controlling my telepathy enough to pinpoint Finn.

It wasn’t. I knew how this story ended, and I hated every second of this nightmare memory.

I had to wake up. I had to find Milo. The Milo of now, not this hellish memory.Dammit.

My younger self took weak, shaky steps through a corridor. A lump grew in my throat. The creek of the floorboards didn’t distract from the agonized roars of the demon. Each step brought me closer, helping me see flashes of Milo’s fight then. The demon lay on the ground as Milo repeatedly punched him. His knuckles were bruised, bloody, and split with cuts. It didn’t stop him. Didn’t slow him. He continued attacking, banishing pieces of the gorgon and unleashing all his anger.

After what felt like an eternity of standing outside the room, my younger self finally entered. The gorgon’s limbs had been broken off, banished, leaving a few stray wisps to bounce around the bare room, their light illuminating the thick coat of dust freshly splattered with tar and blood. The demon’s blood. Milo’s blood.

“Killing me changes nothing,” the gorgon hissed.

“Changes a lot of fucking futures, you goddamn monster.” Milo squeezed his hand closed, banishing the rest of the gorgon, shattering the demon into hundreds of wisps, which Milo quickly removed.

“I will not… I am… I…”

And with that, the demon’s thoughts had ceased. With the body banished, I recalled believing that it made it easier to latch onto those dying thoughts. It didn’t matter then; it didn’t matter now. We had scoured that building for the faintest traces of demonic energy. The gorgon had died. And yet, he had somehow returned and was currently in the midst of ambushing Milo while I was stuck reliving the worst day of my life. I screamed internally as my younger self fretfully took in each slash across Milo’s bloody clothes.

It was one of the few memories I had of him working in sweats. His hair was damp and curled—no product, no time. When Finn had vanished, he worked around the clock in pursuit of the demon that’dtaken him. No time for his image or other cases or his behavior. It’d almost cost him his guild position.

My younger self approached, hesitant and holding onto a fiber of hope. I reached out to console Milo, but he slapped the hand away. He didn’t want my comfort then. He didn’t want the physical contact because he knew what it’d mean. Even in all his fury and rage and hate for the demon, he did well to hide the horrors in his mind. But in that brief second when his hand met mine, I’d seen the image he longed to hide.

In the next room, Finn lay lifeless. His body broken and contorted and missing parts. Blood splattered everywhere. His face anguished beyond any expression I had ever believed humanly possible. And his…

I had dropped to my knees, hyperventilating.

His eyes had been gouged out.

I sobbed on the floor. This nightmare was never-ending. That pain stirred inside me for years. I couldn’t return to guild life after finding Finn’s body. I couldn’t do anything for so long.

I snapped my eyes open, refusing to relive that horror, that failure, again. I wouldn’t let anything happen to Milo.

The dream-state memory clouded my head, and wind slapped my face. Where was I?

Outside. Even unconscious, I had felt the tug of Milo’s thoughts, and they drew closer with each propelled movement of flight. How had I managed that? Sheer will. Force. Protection. It didn’t matter. I’d reached the entrance of La Maison de l’Infini. Milo should only be a few blocks away. Channeling sensory, I searched for the gorgon. The demon wouldn’t catch me off guard. I’d stop it no matter what.

I flew fast, tracking the swelling demonic energy. Turning down a street, I found Milo winded yet unharmed. His outfit was shredded in a few spots but there was no visible blood aside from a few lightnicks and scratches. He’d grown so much since the last time he’d encountered the gorgon. Descending, I spotted the gorgon, arms gone, chest impaled or banished. I couldn’t be certain. What I knew was Enchanter Evergreen had once again stopped this demon.

“Dorian.” Milo’s calm, tired expression shifted. Stunned eyes with a half-smile, almost hiding his sadness because without asking, he knew what’d brought me here. “We agreed—”

“That was before this…this bastard.”

“Dorian.” The gorgon chuckled; black tar spurted from his lips. “Dorian. Dorian. Dorian. That’s a name I recall quite fondly. It was one of two names I remember a certain someone—can’t recall the human’s name—screaming out for.”

My blood boiled. All the telepathy in my body quelled. The world fell silent. Everything except this demon’s laughter.

“Dorian will find me. Milo will find me. They’re, they’re,” he mockingly imitated Finn’s voice, stopping only to laugh. “You didn’t, though, did you? Shame, really. The Ubiquitous Present and The Inevitable Future. Terrible names for pathetic witches. That one took a few days but he shared all his secrets in the end. Love when they do that. Time spent cracking that witch’s noggin open, though… Guess you boys really decided to drag your feet in the whole investigation. So much for three meant to be.”

“Shut your fucking mouth!” I channeled everything into my fist, stepping forward.

“Dorian, don’t.” Milo moved to stop me. “He’s goading you.”

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