THE DEMON IN ME

ASHES OF DOUBTS

By the time the hunting party stumbled back through the gates of Eldervale, dawn was breaking. The sky was gray and heavy, a pale wash of light that did nothing to ease the fear clinging to the men's faces. Villagers rushed forward, voices rising in alarm at the sight of torn clothes, bloodied wounds, and shaken hunters.

"They came from the forest," one man rasped. "Not wolves, not anything I've ever seen before."

"They moved like shadows," another whispered. "And their eyes red, burning like coals"

The murmurs swelled. Mothers pulled children closer, and elders exchanged grim looks. Fear was already spreading like wildfire.

Arden kept his hood low, his head bowed. He could feel eyes on him, hear the words hissed under breath.

"He froze out there."

"I saw him fall to his knees."

"Like he was listening to something the rest of us couldn't hear."

Maya stayed close to him, her arm brushing his as if daring anyone to speak louder. But her silence was sharp, heavy, and he knew her thoughts weren't far from the others'.

At the center of the square, Elder Bran raised his voice. "What you saw in the forest was no beast of this earth. We must prepare. Double the watch, fortify the gates, and pray the shadows do not follow us home."

The hunters nodded, weary, and began to disperse. Arden turned to leave, desperate to slip away, but a voice rang out.

"Wait." It was one of the hunters, a man named Garrick. His eyes narrowed on Arden. "Tell them what you heard." Arden stiffened.

The crowd's attention shifted like a wave.

"I saw him," Garrick continued. "In the clearing, clutching his chest like something was speaking inside him. Don't you all wonder why the beasts stopped when they did? Why did they look at him before retreating?"

The villagers murmured, fear sharpening into suspicion.

Maya stepped forward, fire in her eyes. "Enough, Garrick. He fought alongside us and he saved lives out there. If you're afraid, say you're afraid. Don't look for scapegoats."

Garrick scowled, but the elder silenced him with a stern glare. Still, the seed had been planted. Arden could feel it in the air the way eyes lingered on him too long, the way whispers clung to his name.

When the square finally cleared, Maya grabbed his wrist. "Come with me."

She dragged him away from the crowd, past the watchtower, and toward the river, where the village fell quiet. Only when they were alone did she release him.

Her eyes burned into his. "Tell me the truth, Arden. What happened to you out there?"

He looked away. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Her voice cracked, fierce with both anger and worry. "I've known you since we were children. I've seen you fight, I've seen you bleed, but tonight" She stepped closer, her fists trembling at her sides. "Tonight, you looked like a stranger. You heard something, didn't you? What was it?"

His chest tightened. He wanted to tell her wanted to confess everything about the demon, the voice, the hunger clawing at his soul. But fear strangled him. Fear that if she knew, she'd look at him like the others did. With dread. With disgust.

"I can't," he whispered.

Maya's jaw clenched. Hurt flashed in her eyes, hidden quickly behind anger. "Can't… or won't?"

He said nothing.

For a long moment, silence stretched between them. Then she shook her head, stepping back.

"If you keep pushing me away, one day I won't be here to catch you when you fall."

The words cut deeper than any blade. She turned and walked away, her figure retreating into the mist.

Arden sank onto the riverbank, burying his face in his hands. The demon stirred, its laughter soft and cruel.

"She'll leave you, boy. They all will. And when she does… I'll be the only one left."

Arden clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. The village might have survived the forest that night but he knew the shadows weren't done with him. Not yet.

The river whispered as it wound through the stones, the sound almost mocking in its calm. Arden sat hunched on the bank, the weight of Maya's words pressing against his chest harder than armor ever could.

His reflection stared back at him from the water pale, hollow-eyed, foreign. He barely recognized himself anymore.

"Pathetic," the demon sneered, its voice curling like smoke through his thoughts. "She pities you. They all do. You think that girl will save you? No one saves a vessel. They only use it until it breaks."

"Shut up," Arden muttered, throwing a stone into the water. It skipped once, twice, then sank into the depths swallowed without a trace.

The laughter echoed in his head. "Oh, but I'm right. Why do you think she looks at you like that now? She suspects. Soon, she'll fear you. And when fear takes root, love dies."

Arden pressed his palms to his ears as if he could block the voice out. But the demon was inside him, it always had been.

"You're wrong," he whispered, though the words tasted weak. "Maya isn't like that. She's different."

The demon chuckled, low and cruel. "Keep telling yourself that. But mark my words, boy when she sees what you really are, she'll run. They all will."

The current surged stronger, rippling against the bank. Arden swore he saw shadows moving beneath the surface, darker than the water. He blinked hard, but the vision lingered black tendrils swirling, curling toward his reflection. And then, he heard it again.

Not the demon. Not his own thoughts.

The other voice.

"Vessel… you cannot hide from what you are."

The water trembled as though the river itself had spoken. Arden staggered back, heart hammering.

"Who's there?" he gasped. "What do you want from me?"

No answer. Just the soft gurgle of the river, innocent and cruel all at once.

But the demon inside him went utterly still. For the first time since it entered his life, it didn't laugh. Didn't taunt. It only whispered, almost reverent "…It knows you."

Arden's skin went cold. He didn't know which terrified him more, the unknown voice or the fact that his demon feared it too.

He dragged a hand through his hair, staring at his reflection in the water. It warped in the current, his face twisting, eyes darkening, almost demonic for a heartbeat. He jerked back, his chest tight.

"No," he whispered. "I won't let it take me."

The river only whispered back, as if mocking his vow.

A twig snapped behind him. Arden spun, blade half-drawn but it was only Maya's scarf caught on a branch, fluttering in the dawn breeze. She must have dropped it when she stormed away.

His hand trembled as he lowered the weapon. He picked up the scarf carefully, holding it to his chest. The warmth of her presence clung faintly to the fabric, a fragile reminder of the life he was still fighting to hold onto.

But even as he clutched it, the river hummed with that hidden voice, distant yet patient.

"Vessel… you cannot run forever."

Arden closed his eyes. For the first time, he realized the truth. The demon inside him was not his greatest enemy. Something else was waiting, something older, darker, and it already knew his name. And it would not stop until he answered.