Footprints in the snow [19]

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A FATAL ACCIDENT

Holding the little wet fur ball in my arms I approached Eve’s front door. Noir was reluctantly following me, doubt written all over his face. I could understand his anxiety, for demons aren’t exactly the most desired visitors for humans.

“Are you really sure she will let us in? No, scratch that! Are you sure she will let me in? I wouldn’t be surprised if she just starts to panic. It would be quite understandable indeed.”

“She was really nice to me last time, and she seems to have an affinity for cats. But if you really are this concerned how about we cover your ears up. Back when I met you I didn’t discover your true origin right away. In fact I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all, if the incident at the riverside hadn’t happened.” I tried to reason with him and calm him down. He acted like Eve was a demon-eating monster.

“That might be true, but I know that there are humans who will look through this disguise right away. Covering up my ears is not something I started doing yesterday, and I know that some people are able to just see through it. They probably start to feel uneasy when a demon is around. Who could blame them for it?” he started to mutter at the end.

“We have no proof if Eve is one of them, and you’ll never know before you try.” I stated while turning around to knock on the door.

From the corner of my eyes I saw Noir rolling his eyes before he tore his sleeve apart using the sheet of fabric to cover his ears up.

“Where did the fabric go you used to use?” I wondered.

“Left it at the riverside. I was too focused on rescuing you, princess.”

His answer caused my cheeks to get a pretty scarlet colour. Focusing my attention on the door in front me I let my knuckle softly beat against the wet wooden door. Still the thud resounded ghostly around us, echoing away as if we were standing inside a corridor.

A shadow shifted among the window before the door was opened a crack, revealing one of Eve’s eyes. At the same time a huge amount of yellow smoke escaped outside from the little opening. I couldn’t help but stare at it. Chloe, who was resting relaxed in my arms before, suddenly started to wiggle out of them, desperate to get away from the smoke. Nonetheless I held her close and tried to ignore her little claws digging into my skin.

“Mia? Is that you?” Eve’s voice made me refocus my attention.

“Yep. It’s me. Erm… May I ask what you’re doing inside?” I questioned her pointing at the yellow smoke.

Blinking twice she answered with one little word: “Cooking.”

Behind me I could her Noir mumble silently: “Rather looks like she wants to set the house on fire.” I had to bit my bottom lip to suppress the chuckle rising in my throat. I had to admit Noir had a point; it really looked more like the house would burn up from inside any moment rather than cooking.

“May I and my friend come in? We’re already pretty soaked and don’t want to catch a cold.” I said cheerfully trying to erase all evidence in my voice that Noir could be considered dangerous. Opening the door a bit wider Eve stepped outside to take a look at him, for a very short moment I thought I saw something flash in her eyes, but then she smiled and with a friendly gesture of her hand she welcomed us in.

As soon as I entered Eve’s home I noticed the yellow smoke filling the ceiling of the whole house, and weird enough the origin really was a cooking pot on the stove. Whatever it was she was broiling, I wasn’t sure if I had enough courage to try it.

Finally I let go of Chloe who instantly holed up under the dresser. The only thing I could make out from here where two orange eyes looking back from the shadows. Apparently for Chloe the situation was a bit fishy.

I turned around to face Noir and Eve who were standing behind me. Noir just started thanking Eve for giving us shelter for today, when he stopped midsentence a shocked expression on his face. Within a slit second he collapsed, lying on the floor rigidly.

Over him stood Eve a smug smile on her lips when she looked down on him.

“Don’t worry. He won’t be a danger to us anymore.” She stated with satisfaction in her voice, but I listened just half-heartily. While Eve was still talking to me, I had already rushed to Noir’s side running a hand over his cheek.

“What did you do to him?” I sobbed, praying that she only knocked him out. He suspected Eve to act this way, he sensed it. Why didn’t I listen to him? He knows better than me how people react to his appearance. With trembling hands I searched for his pulse on his neck, sinking on my knees in relief when I felt a soft beating against my fingertips.

“What do you mean Mia? I gave him a strong sedative to knock him out. I had nothing more effective within reach, but don’t worry! We have enough time to kill him before he wakes up, and he won’t even feel pain.”

“Kill? No, you won’t!” I shrieked, leaning over Noir protectively. I wouldn’t let that happen. Why does everyone want to put Noir to death? Is there something wrong with them? Or am I the one gone crazy?

Eve kneeled down next to me, covering my head with a towel to dry my wet hair and patting my shoulder to give me comfort. “Don’t worry; his effect on you will fade away soon. It never lasts long, when they’re knocked out.”

Rubbing my hair dry I only stared at her not understanding a word she was saying.

“Trust me, Mia. I know the tricks this kind of lowlife pulls. They lure you in with their physical features. You feel unnaturally attracted to them, it comes from their pheromones. Every average human would fall for it, so there is no need for you to blame yourself. Look I show you what kind of guy he really is.” Her soothing voice whispered next to me. Then she leaned forwards and removed the sheet of fabric covering his white cat ears.

“See. He’s a demon. I know that’s kind of hard to believe for he surely told you a lot of very sweet things and made himself look like the most desirable man in the world, but you need to see the truth. He is dangerous; you need to get away from him. We need to take him out to be one hundred percent sure to be safe.”

“What are you talking about, Eve? I knew he is a demon! I already knew when we met back then! I suggested covering up his ears for he wasn’t sure if he would be welcomed here. I should have listened to him; he already suspected you might see through the disguise. It’s my fault to try and get it my way. Still I won’t allow you to simply kill Noir! He can’t even defend himself in this condition. Please, Eve, please give me a chance to explain things.” I spluttered hoping to change Eve’s mind.

“Did you say Noir?” Looking up at her I nodded.

Hiding her face in her palms she mumbled to me: “He’s the stray cat you were talking about?” When I nodded in agreement Eve scanned me with a weird expression in her eyes. Sighing she requested me to explain whatever I wanted to clarify, she would listen. Plus the sedative she gave Noir was strong enough to buy me the time to make clear what exactly happened. Nonetheless I kept a hand on Noir’s wrist to immediately notice any changes in his condition.

Sitting at Eve’s living room floor surrounded by weird yellow smoke I acquainted Eve with the facts. I made sure to tell her everything from finding Noir in the snow to discovering his demonic nature to escaping the cat demon clan. I tried to stay objective, but noticed at the same time how often I emphasized that he helped me. No, I didn’t need to underline it, recapitulating everything I noticed how often he actually helped me survive. I would have been long dead if he weren’t around.

When I finished Eve sighed and leaned back supporting herself on the armchair.

“Okay… This really isn’t an ordinary case. You are sure he doesn’t lure you in with any tricks? He didn’t approach you in any way? Or touch you in inappropriate places? Being all cuddly or something?”

I negated her questions. “There was only one time when he actually asked me to be close, and that was when he was on the brink of dying. In general he rather shied away from me, especially at the beginning. He wouldn’t even talk to me when we first met. It took me several days to even get to know his name. Sorry Eve, but he’s not at all like you expected him to be.” I replied.

“Well, if what you say really is true – and by now the effects of every pheromone should have been faded – then he seems to be a huge exception of your usual demon. Still it’s hard for me to accept that there should be a demon that doesn’t try to take advantage of others. On the other hand I’m no expert when it comes to demons,” Eve said, suddenly deep in thought, “Excuse me for a moment, I want look through some books.”

Nodding I let Eve disappear behind her bookshelves while I stayed by Noir’s side. Gently I turned his body around, so he would be lying in a more comfortable position. Then I started to gently dry his hair as well. He truly was an unlucky character; it seemed as if wherever he went all he was attracting was misfortune.

I didn’t know how long I sat there by his side waiting for the sedative to lose his effect. After what seemed like an eternity Noir’s eyelids slowly opened. He had to blink a few times before he could take in his surroundings.

Groaning he asked me what happened and I answered reluctantly that he was put down for a while.

“Well, I should have expected something like this…” he trailed off. For a few minutes he just lay there motionless, gathering his strength to stand up. Still he was a bit shaky on his legs.

“Oh, so you woke up again.” Eve’s voice resounded through the room. “Just so you know, don’t think you will get away this easily!”

Noir mumbled a “whatever” and tried to take a few unsteady steps. Just in this moment little Chloe decided to get out of her hideout and run directly in front of our cat demon. Avoiding stepping on the kitten Noir lost his balance and crashed down next to the stove. Due to the eruption the cooking pot fell down and its contents spilled over him. Talking about attracting misfortune.

Suddenly the smoke seemed to have gotten even thicker – I couldn’t make out Noir’s figure anymore.

Then I heard a deafening scream, but not from Noir who got soaked by something boiling hot, but from Eve.

“NO! It took me so long to get the ingredients!” she whined.

Not really caring about the ingredients of whatever Eve cooked, I made my way through the thick yellow mist to get to Noir. But what my eyes landed on shocked me to the core.

“EVE? What happened here? What the hell was that?” I cried in horror. In front of me sat a little boy on the floor – a boy with the same green eyes and white cat ears that were Noir’s prominent features. But the boy was no grown man; he looked rather like a five year old who tried wearing his father’s clothes.

Insecure and terrified he watched how I came closer only to crawl backwards trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

“Well, the thing I cooked was a youth potion,” Eve answered nonchalantly, “but it wasn’t finished yet, so it affects his body differently than actually planned.”

“He turned into a five-year old!” I yelled.

“Well, it will most likely wear off after some time.” Eve answered in the same indifferent tone before returning to her books, still muttering something about the effort she put into this potion.

But my thoughts were of a completely different nature. We couldn’t let Noir stay in this condition, right? What should we do? Is there a way to return him to his original form?