I sighed, staring up at the ceiling from the comfortable bed that I lay in. Should I stay, or should I go? I had done what I’d said I would. I’d gotten Callie to see the demon King, ensured that the alliance between Hazuzu and Selissa was still valid, saving the Kingdom from certain doom. Now that war was no longer looming above us, what was the point in staying here? I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to return to the Hunter’s Guild. I’d never liked it there. It was always stuffy and filled with people that didn’t like me. The last few days, despite all of the danger and nonsense, had been the most fun I’d had in my entire life. It was as if I’d finally gotten a breath of fresh air, and I didn’t want to give up that freedom.

I tossed and turned, unable to sleep despite the exhaustion weighing down my eyelids. It was late, now, and I still hadn’t decided. If I were to go with Callie, they were leaving in the dawn. But what would I do there? Escort her back to Selissa? But what then? It wasn’t as if she was staying at court there, as far as I knew, she would be returning to Hell, to her rightful place as heir to the throne. There was no place for me in her future. I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but I liked being around her. There was no avoiding it, now. She and I had forged a kind of friendship through the adventures we’d gone on, but there was no place for it now.

The only thing left for me to do was to return to where it all started, to see my mother, and make her see reason. I’ve been told that closure is an important thing. Perhaps I need to get some of my own, at the very least. Whether or not they reinstate me into the guild, I needed to see my mother, and demand why I’d been treated so poorly for all those years. Despite all of the lessons, all of my hard work, I’d never been able to succeed as a Demon Hunter. Which, I suppose, was the whole point of training. I see why she would be disappointed. I was disappointed. But even if she’d shown me an iota of understanding, a bit of encouragement, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad. Maybe we would’ve had a better relationship, at the very least.

I envied Callie and her multiple parental figures. First, she had the Queen and King, her foster parents. Then, she had Hazuzu, and wherever her mother was, I was sure they were more supportive than mine had been. All I had was a mother who didn’t support me and would never speak of my father. I knew nothing about him, only that he’d died when I was an infant. Why couldn’t I have been as lucky as Callie? She had so much at her disposal, so much support and love. Even though she often had a prickly exterior, I’d realized that she also had such a big heart, and a kind soul. She was braver than she thought she was. Everything we’d been through had shown us that.

I guess I was also not as much of a failure as I’d been told my whole life, either. I had succeeded in what I’d set out to do, despite the setbacks and obstacles we’d encountered on the way. I had guided Callie to Sage, where we got the map. We followed the map, thanks to me, through the caves. Even though my confidence had been entirely false during that whole escapade in the caverns, Callie had trusted me, and we’d made it out alright. Of course, we wouldn’t have made it out alive without her. I even got a souvenir, though I’d pay just about anything to not have met the Ahool. But I didn’t regret going on this journey. I felt different, like I’d grown, like my confidence had improved. I’d done something and succeeded. But now I had to return to reality. I’d finished what I’d set out to do, and now I must come home. Or whatever I call it.

I tossed again, throwing off the blanket from the massive bed, all at once too hot to sleep. I got up and began to pack. I didn’t have much that I wanted to take. Mostly, I just wanted to make sure I had what I came with, which was the Ahool’s claw around my neck, and the clothes I’d been wearing. Since I’d decided to return to the Guild, I figure I probably shouldn’t show up in traditional demon’s clothing.

I didn’t want to kill demons. I was a failure at demon hunting anyway, and now, having met some of them, they just seemed like humans. Well, in some ways. The ones I’d met weren’t monsters, they were simply just a different brand of sentient creatures. Maybe if I did become a demon hunter, I could only hunt certain ones, like those followers of Zaavi that had kept giving us trouble. I dressed in my old clothes. They’d been freshly cleaned and pressed since I’d gotten here, which I greatly appreciated.

A rustle made me stop in my tracks. What was that?

I turned around slowly…

…to see an envelope had been shoved hastily under my door.

I heard the door next to me click shut. That must have been Callie, with her recommendation to the Guild for me. I smiled sadly. This really was the end of the road. I walked over to pick it up, noting that on the outside of the envelope, my name was written in exquisite calligraphy.

“Princesses and their beautiful handwriting,” I said quietly, smiling to myself.

I stowed the letter in a pocket, deciding to read it later when I was of a sounder mind. Right now, I was so tired, I was more likely to fall asleep standing up. Although, given how I’d been tossing and turning in the comfortable bed for the last several hours, it would be highly unlikely.

I left my room, turning around and around until I happened upon a guard. His cat eyes were wide pupils with the late hour, and he leaned against the wall.

“Excuse me, sir?” I asked quietly.

“I was awake!” he said loudly, looking around, half dazed.

“Of course,” I said. Was he sleeping with his eyes open? “Anyway, could you help me find Haz – I mean, the King? It’s urgent.”

“Uh, sure. If you say it’s urgent. I’ll take you to him. You’re an honored guest here.”

We walked together in relative silence, the guard occasionally stifling yawns. It really was rather late, but I had made my decision, and I couldn’t stay here a moment longer.

“He’s in his office, just beyond the library. Make sure you knock,” advised the guard.

I nodded. Rather informal for a King, but it made things easier for me.

I walked through the door and was immediately astounded. All around me were massive bookcases, reaching an impossibly high ceiling. It reminded me of Old Sage’s cottage, filled with all sorts of strange objects and souvenirs, books upon books filling the shelves.

I spotted a door through the large archway across the library. That must be his office, I concluded, and began to make my way there, winding in between bookshelves and stepping over messy piles of parchments and inks. Hazuzu’s library was certainly not organized.

He sat behind an L shaped desk, writing something down. The desk was covered with books, haphazard mugs and teacups everywhere, precariously placed on towers of more books; his paperwork slung all across the desk. The walls were lined with bookcases, and a large map of the realm hung on the wall. On the opposite wall, hung a map of the human realm.

“What brings you here so late?” he asked, poring over some documents at his opulent desk.

“I was wondering if I could ask a favor,” I said, standing at the door still.

“Ask away,” he said, shuffling the papers and looking up at me. “I owe you one, considering you brought me my daughter safe and sound.”

I tapped my fingers together, gathering the courage. “Could you… send me back to the human realm?”

“Of course,” he said, pushing the documents away. “Got a particular place in mind?”

“I’d… like to go back to the Guild.”

“Very well,” he breathed. “I’m well acquainted with where that is. I would advise not to share your mode of travel.”

I nodded, both fear and excitement rising.

“Okay then. Stand over there.” He pointed to the corner of the study closest to him, conveniently out of the way and with enough space for him to form a portal, I guessed.

I obliged, and Hazuzu stood up from the desk to fulfill my request. He closed his eyes, concentrating, and summoned the pinpoint of light. The light became a door, one that I could walk through. I told myself I was making the right decision. Callie would be fine without me.

~

I fell out of the portal, my eyes blinded from the sudden light, dizzy and disoriented. I tripped over my own feet and fell flat on my knees onto the ground, my hands landing on cool stone. I blinked quickly trying to recover my senses. In front of me was a set of steps, cool gray stone. My fingers felt the stone in front of me experimentally.

“What the fuck was that?” said a voice from above me.

I looked up to see who had spoken. Ahead of me, at the top of the steps, was a familiar looking Hunter. Zel. He leaned up against the wall, next to the large front doors, smoke rising from a cigar that he took a large puff from. He stared down at me, clearly bewildered, but so nonchalant despite the odd circumstances of my appearance.

“Uh, hi,” I said, standing up carefully. My knees throbbed from their sudden greeting to the dirt. At least I hadn’t smacked them on the stone steps. I wiped my palms on my shirt, looking around, reacquainting myself with the fortress-like mansion that was the demon Hunter’s Guild headquarters.

“Pleasant day to just fall out of nowhere,” said the hunter conversationally, taking another puff from his cigar. “Tomas, right?”

I swallowed thickly. I had been exiled, told never to return. I wasn’t sure what sort of greeting I would receive.

“Um, yeah. Could you get my mother out here? I need to speak with her.”

The hunter stared at me, tilting his head and dragging on his cigar, rolling the thick band of tobacco in his fingers.

“Fuck it, I’m curious,” he said, putting out the cigar on the stone railway next to him. He tossed the remainder stub. “Might as well bring you inside. There’s lots going on right now, I don’t think anyone will mind.”

I sighed in relief. “Thanks,” I said, climbing up the steps and following him inside.

He opened the door for me, and immediately, a wave of nostalgia and a sense of anxiety washed over me. This place was a prison. I wished I’d never come back here. I stuffed my hand in my pocket and felt the unopened letter in there from Callie. I hoped it was enough, whatever my final decision was.

The hunter led me to my mother’s office. I knew it well; it was there where we usually interacted. Those moments were mostly made up of reprimands for my lack of progress, or lectures about how disappointed she was in me. I dreaded that room.

I stood in front of the door and stared at it. It seemed like the height of the wooden door grew taller and taller, myself growing smaller and smaller, the longer I stared. I shrank before it, and suddenly, I was a small child again, hoping for nothing more than a little bit of affection and encouragement that I was destined never to receive.

I knocked.

“Come in,” answered a mellow voice. My mother.

I tentatively opened the door, the hinges creaking.

She looked up at me, and for a moment, her face showed no expression. Then, she looked me over, her features lighting up in surprise, confusion, then ultimately, a calm poker face.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Hi mom,” I whispered.

“Tomas.” She stood up from the desk. “I thought I told you to leave and never come back. Who let you in?”

“Does it matter?” I asked. “I’m here now, aren’t you glad to see me?”

She tilted her head, watching me carefully. “Why have you come?”

I pretended like her response hadn’t wounded me. It wasn’t the first time; I should be used to it by now. But the small absence I’d spent from her company had the insult stinging worse than it usually would have. With practice, I shrugged it off.

I fumbled for the envelope in my pocket, smoothing the corners that had folded from its prison in my pocket. I held it out to her.

“What’s this?” she asked, puzzled, turning the envelope over in her hands. “It’s addressed to you, not me.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve not read it, actually. But it’s from the Princess Callisto, daughter of Queen Selissa. She formally wrote a letter to recommend my reinstatement into the guild.” I chose not to reveal the newest development on Callie’s heritage. It wouldn’t have been very helpful to anyone.

My mother didn’t speak, instead, opening the envelope and reading it. When she finished, her eyes peeked up over the top of the letter, examining my person much more thoroughly.

She set down the paper on her desk. “What’s that around your neck?”

“Oh, this?” I said, touching the Ahool’s Claw. “Nothing. A souvenir.”

She paused before speaking, her eyes flicking back and forth between me and the letter. “Tomas, dear, this letter has explained everything. We were rash to cast you out.” She gestured that I come around the desk, arms open wide. “Come, give your mother a hug. I’ve missed you so.”

Awkwardly, I stepped around the desk, unsure of what to do with this sudden mood change. It was not like my mother to insist on physical contact, and I didn’t think I’d ever received a hug from her. She hadn’t even really said hello to me, wasn’t even happy to see me. This felt strange, but numbly, I accepted the gesture, unsure what else to do.

She embraced me, arms encapsulating my person, her head coming up to my nose. Our limbs jostled each other in the awkward hug, her bony arms squeezing me both too tight and too loose. It was awkward.

She released me, holding me at arm’s length and examining me once more. Her eyes lingered on the Ahool’s Claw. “Ah, look at you. So grown up. I’ve a meeting to attend in a moment, won’t you come?”

“You want me to come to a meeting?”

“Of course! You’ve proved yourself worthy. Everyone will want to hear of your tale.” She let go of my arms and stepped back, serious and composed once more. “Follow me, dear.”

Blindly, I followed her out into the hallway, and down several more. This was the strangest experience I’d ever had, and I’d been to hell. She walked in front of me, silently leading the way. I knew these halls, grew up running around them as a child, but I had no idea where she was taking me.

We stopped suddenly at a very large portrait of some elder Hunter in the middle of one of the halls. He stared down at us with an iron like stare, his stiff pose demanding respect. It gave me shivers.

My mother looked over at me with a sly smile. Then, she slipped her fingers behind the edge of the gilded frame, hands running delicately over the edges of the painting. I heard a click, faint, barely audible. She did something behind the edge of the frame, and it swung open into the hallway as if it were a door.

It exposed a hole in the wall, a dark cavern that ominously reminded me of our treks under the mountains. Instantly, I missed Callie.

“Well, aren’t you coming?” my mother whispered, already having stepped inside the odd entrance.

I followed suit silently, stepping over the ledge and into the abyss before me. My mother leaned behind me, grabbed a handle on the back of the painting, and closed it shut behind her. She drew a rune on the back of her hand with her finger that she had dipped in ink, generating a magical orb that emit a surprising amount of light considering its miniature size. I found myself envying her talent to do so, as I always had.

She led out in front of me, holding the magical flashlight, and led me further down the secret passage. We walked onwards, my dread growing by the minute. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but my gut was swirling with anxiety. I felt sick. We passed several twists and turns before the cavern became more decorated and furnished. The walls were lined with bookcases, a desk and some paintings hung from the stone. I realized this was the secret archives, a place only the elder council was allowed to be. I’d only heard of it in whispers and rumors, overhearing my mother mention her work when I was a child. She must be taking me to an elder council meeting. I couldn’t fathom why. There was a door just as we turned a final sharp turn, the tallest and oldest ornate bookcase I’d seen so far edging the corner. It had cabinet doors instead of open shelves, the handles elegantly and extravagantly filigreed.

My mother opened the door by drawing another rune, this one with chalk, on the front of the door. She returned the chalk to her pocket, where she kept all of her tools for such things. I heard locks slide in the door, and it fell ajar. She grasped the edge of it, pulling it open for us.

“You’re late, Minerva,” said a voice from around the corner.

We had happened upon a large circular room, open, lit with torches placed along the wall. Inside were a group of the elder council of hunters, people I’d known, since I’d grown up here, but had never been brave enough to speak to. They stood in a wide circle, lining the edges of the room. There were at least twelve or thirteen of them spaced throughout. In the center of them was a large rune, with complicated swirling patterns, carefully painted on the meticulously smoothed floor. Whatever they were doing, it was a large piece of magic. I felt uncomfortable that I was present. Surely, I shouldn’t be here. This was the entire elder council. These days, there weren’t many other members in the Guild, just a handful of straggler trainees and guards, like the one I’d met outside. Unless they’d suddenly recruited a lot more hunters, more than half of the whole Guild was in this entire room, and that included me.

“I think you’ll forgive me when you see what I’ve brought,” she said, pulling me closer to her.

The elder council just stared with blank faces. I avoided their eyes at all costs.

“The boy was exiled,” said one. “Why did you bring him here, now?”

Voices, indignant, shouted their protests most unprofessionally. If my mother’s less than enthusiastic response to my return hadn’t hurt, then this small dismissal certainly did. Unfortunately for me, both rejections stung rather fiercely. I looked down at my feet, unable to meet the disgust in their eyes.

“Calm down, everyone,” commanded my mother. Her cold tone demanded that they follow her instructions, and the elders settled themselves, watching with wary expressions. “My boy has brought us a gift.”

I turned to her, startled. I didn’t mention anything about a gift. What was she talking about? The letter?

She shoved me before her. “He’s brought an offering to our cause, the final ingredient.”

“The what now?” I stuttered, the words tripping over my tongue. Was she going to burn my letter that Callie had written for me? That didn’t make any sense.

She leaned in close. “Do as we ask, and I’ll make sure you’re an honored member of the Guild, not just a member as your princess promised,” she said. “You know, I’m proud of you for doing this,” she whispered into my ear.

I swallowed thickly. She’d never said those words to me before. A part of me rejoiced at them, though another part just felt disappointed, as if it was too little too late. But I was in this now, and finally had the chance to be accepted, to be what I’d dreamed of being for years and years, my entire life. I couldn’t walk away now.

“Present the claw, and you’ll be an honored member, set for life,” she whispered.

Stunned, my fingers automatically felt for the leather strap that hung around my neck. Slowly. I lifted it from my neck. I didn’t know what was to happen here, but somehow, I’d become attached to that stupid claw. But, if it made my mother proud of me, I would give up whatever I had to hear those words again.

“Hold it up,” she whispered again.

I followed her instructions, starved for approval, lifting the claw above my head so that they all could see.

Gasps and whispered echoed throughout the cavernous room, all astounded at what I held in my hands.

“Bring us the claw,” said one of the elders closest to me.

My mother nudged me forward. I took hesitant steps towards the frightening elder who had spoken, still holding out the claw dangling from the leather strap. He held his palm outstretched, and I placed the leather strap in it, the claw swinging from it as I did so. The sinking feeling in my stomach grew as I released the makeshift necklace.

The elder nodded to me, then looked to my mother. “We accept his offering but will not allow him to view the ritual. Take him into the hall,” he demanded.

My mother nodded in agreement, then gestured I follow her back out.

Numbly, I stepped after her, unsure of what had just happened. Did I do the right thing? I didn’t even get to see what I’d contributed to. A sick feeling entered my stomach, making it feel as if it now hovered somewhere about my toes. My mother led me towards the door where we’d entered and had me stand outside.

“It’s better if you know less,” she said. And for the first time, her eyes looked sad.

I avoided her gaze after that, unsure what to do with her sudden pity for me.

“Wait for me here,” she said, her hands on my shoulders as she looked into my eyes. “We’re going to solve everything. The world will be a safer place when we’re done.”

With that, she reentered the circular room, shutting the door behind her and leaving me alone. I didn’t know what those cryptic words meant, but there was little I could do but sit outside the door and wait. I slid down onto the floor; my back leaned up against the wooden planks. I leaned my head against it and sighed. What was I doing here?

Nothing, it seemed. I would have to wait until my mother was done with her meeting, whatever they were doing in there. I bristled when I thought of them stealing my Ahool Claw. I didn’t know what they were going to do it, and I felt strangely naked without it. My eyes lit upon the bookcase with the curious cabinet doors on it. It was the only one among the numerous shelves lining the hall that had doors securing what was inside. I might as well pass the time exploring. I wondered if they were locked.

I walked over the heavy bookcase. It was taller than I was, the doors reaching from my toes all the way past my head. I could fit inside if I really wanted to, not that I did. Experimentally, I tried the handle. It wasn’t locked – I guessed whatever was in there, you had to get through to it from the secret passage, which only elder council members knew about. They must figure the contents were secure enough from that regard.

Opening the doors revealed a multitude of scrolls. What made these different? I leaned in closer, noticing that each scroll had labels. It looked like numbers. Were they… years? Maybe this was a record of the Guild’s history. I didn’t like history; it was usually pretty boring. Somebody said this, another person did that, blah, blah, blah. I’d never paid much attention to it from the Guild tutors growing up. Although, I hadn’t paid much attention to them in any subject.

I closed the cabinet doors, still bored. I glanced in the direction of the room where the elder council was, just around the corner. It was silent, or at least, I couldn’t hear what they were doing in there. I sighed. It didn’t look like they were finishing up anytime soon. Unsatisfied, I reopened those cabinet doors and grabbed the very first scroll with the earliest year. Twisting the scroll open, I straightened the old parchment, expertly preserved in the cabinet’s embrace, though the paper was yellowed from age.

What was this?

The words were elegant, sharp calligraphy, the edges of the paper decorated with elaborate designs. In the center was a small paragraph and a handful of signatures at the bottom. I was confused. Was this some sort of certificate? I peered closer through narrowed eyes. The script was small and artistic, the wording extensive in centuries-old speak.

I blinked. What I’d read was the strangest thing I’d ever set my eyes upon. It implied the strangest of things, something I never would have imagined. The origin of the Guild, its original purpose, was always to stop Zaavi the Cursed from decimating the human realm. But we had always been taught that the humans had banded together, collecting the finest of human sorcerers, and come together to form the Guild and magically imprison Zaavi. They would go on to rid the human realm of demons, heroically saving the human race.

But if this scroll was what I thought it was… it implied something a little different.

I flicked my eyes to the bottom, reading the signatures. The first few were recognizable through the curving letters as the founders of the Hunter’s Guild. But the one below was one I hadn’t seen before. However, I knew the name.

It was unmistakably Hazuzu of House Runia.

I shivered, re-reading the paragraph above, what they’d agreed to. The founders must have thought it useful to have a binding contract, sealed in magic. It wasn’t uncommon for important agreements to sealed with a bond, similar to the treaty that Selissa had broken. Whatever happened to those who broke the magical bond would be specified within the spell, unique to each one. The magical binding was probably why this scroll was still in such good shape, I realized. It would be indestructible, as strong as the magic behind it.

Something rumbled in the room next to me. My attention turned from the scroll to the source of the trembling. What were they doing in there? Hurriedly, I stuffed the scroll in my pocket, curious. Yet, I was too afraid to approach the door. I stood frozen in front of the cabinet doors still ajar, the scrolls rattling in their shelves. A few dropped down onto the ground, rolling down around my feet as the rumbling continued, increasing in intensity.

“ZAAVI! BE FREE!” came a sudden shout from the next room. It was all of the elder council together, yelling against the miniature earthquake they’d surely created.

My eyes widened – that was what they were doing?! They were undoing everything the Guild had been created to do?!

The rumbling stopped; the silence filled immediately with a sickly, eerie cackling. I paled, shrinking back into the cabinet doors as if I could hide there. I peeked down; with the doors nearly as tall as I was, I wondered if I could fit if it weren’t for all of the scrolls on the shelves. The cackling subsided, and I thought I heard murmurs and whispers. Was that the elder council speaking to Zaavi? Was that disturbing laughter coming from him? I both needed to know, and at the same time, wished to stay in that peaceful bubble of blissful ignorance. The quiet deepened, and from within my almost prison of the cabinet doors I leaned forward, unable to quell the curiosity and fear welling within me.

A deafening roar of an explosion burst through the hall and slammed the cabinet forward onto the floor, scrolls bouncing off of me and the walls, smashing and crumbling into dust under my weight. I fell hard onto the ground, the cabinet on top of me. My head knocked onto the damp rocky ground and bounced backwards and smacked the cabinet. I guess I was right; I could fit. That was my last coherent thought before everything went dark.