"Kalika~~! Kalika~~!!!" Donovan searched around their campsite, looking through the tall yellow grass and behind the large rocks and magic crystals that littered the wide-open landscape. With no sign of Kalika's blue skin, he retreated to their flattened campsite, where everyone prepared to depart.
"Did you find her yet?" Bjorn asked.
Donovan lasered his eyes at the demon. "Does it look like I found her?" He sat down, tired of searching.
Bjorn, using his arms, sat himself up and looked around. "She couldn't have gone that far…"
"Yeah… hopefully."
"
"
"Argh! I don't understand what's up with her! She's been like this for the last two days now. She doesn't wanna talk, She doesn't wanna pay us any attention! I-it's Like… She turned herself off… Completely." Donovan flumped onto the soft bed of yellow grass.
He looked at the pit, now filled with layers of different forests and rocky landscapes above them. If he didn't feel alien to the world of demons before, he did then.
He forced himself back up, looking at the enormous natural stone pillar in the distance. With just a simple gaze, he could make out the outlines of buildings in the far-off distance built into the pillar. "So that's Oar's, right?"
"Yeah," Bjorn said. "We're not too far now. Another day's travel, and we should arrive by noon. There's an Inn by the entrance, so we can rest there once we've arrived."
Donovant stood and stretched. "Really? That's good to hear. Now, if only we could find Kalika so we can go."
Zelak jumped from the cart and prepared to take down his tent. But to his shock, he found an intruder sitting inside. "Eehhh?" He froze in deep confusion.
"Is something wrong?" Donovan asked. He joined Zelak and stared inside, utterly in disbelief.
Inside, Kalika sat in the hole dug by Bretta, eating jerky, staring at her. All the while, Bretta pressed herself against the wall, trying her best to keep her distance as she shook.
Kalika took a piece of the stolen jerky and threw it at Bretta.
"
"How did she get in here, without us noticing …" Zelak questioned.
With pleading eyes, Bretta looked at Zelak. All the while, Donovan could only sigh from exhaustion, shaking his head. "Kalika…"
Kalika glanced at the two men. "Hmph!" She turned annoyed and continued to chew away at the jerky.
********
The cart moved steadily through the unnaturally smooth dirt-paved road. Kalika, peering out of the cart, was mesmerized by the scenic view of the pit's layered levels. It was like different memories and dreams coming together to form one big world. "This dream is so weird…" Kalika muttered. She turned to Donovan, watching as he tried to empty the already emptied bag of jerky supply.
"Dang it, Kalika. Why'd you take it from my bag too?" Annoyed, Donovan tossed the bag to the side, by the other assortment of bags and supplies.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Kalika looked back at the yellow plains and the broad view of the pit. "I'm hungry…"
"So am I Kalika. So am I." Donovan leaned back, next to Charla, exhausted. "And now we have to wait until we reach Oar's before we can get something good to eat…"
Zelak laughed, hearing the commotion from the driver's seat.
Donovan glared at the demon, but just as quickly calmed, seeing that Zelak was more tense than expected. "Hey, Zelak, are you alright?"
"I'm just fine."
"Hmm… If you say so…." Donovan glanced at Kalika, watching as she gazed out of the cart. He tensed up, unsure whether to talk to Kalika or not. "Seriously. What's with her? Those bags were supposed to last us another three days. And she ate them all in one night."
"Donovan, Kalika." Bjorn called. "Since you're both doing nothing, you two should be practicing controlling your magic."
"O-oh, yeah."
Charla, being convenient, held out the pouch of their crystals, happily.
"Oh! Thanks, Charla." Donovan quickly took the pouch.
Charla brightened up and watched as Donovan slowly filled the grey crystals with his magic.
"Here." Donovan pushed the crystals to Kalika.
Without even looking. Kalika picked the first crystal. Keeping her gaze fixed out of the cart as she continued picking one crystal after another, draining the magic from them.
It was like no one else existed to her.
Donovan felt at a loss for words. It was as if they were invisible to Kalika.
Charla, using the opportunity, quickly gathered the crystal and continued to assist Donovan as the acting middleman.
Eventually, Donovan couldn't take it anymore.
"Stop, Charla." Charla ceased and looked at Donovan, confused.
"C'mon Kalika. Are you really going to keep ignoring us?"
Kalika gave a simple glance, staying silent.
"You gotta say something at least. Anything!"
"Anything," Kalika said.
"Seriously?"
"If you two have time to argue, you have time to practice," Bjorn scolded. "There's no point in talking if she doesn't want to talk."
"And now you're taking her side?"
"I'm on the side of having a quiet ride," Bjorn said sternly. "There's no need for pointless arguments when we're so close to reaching Oar's."
"Fine… I get it."
Kalika watched as Donovan, frustratedly, picked a crystal from the pile and continued the cycle of filling the magic crystals for her. She turned her gaze back out of the cart, watching as the city slowly grew in size as they approached its walls. Her eyes then traced the Bretta who clung to Zelak's arm.
Her stomach churned seeing this. Her head suddenly felt as though it would splinter apart. An unwanted memory resurfaced. "Rrr… I-it's just a lie…" She told herself.
Suddenly, a rattle of the cart, followed by a strange whirling sound as the road seemed to smooth over.
"Huh?" Kalika glanced at the ground outside the cart, finding that they were now on a strange stone road. Tracing her eyes further up the road, it felt as though the path was made from a single slab of stone.
Slowly, the cart came to a halt, surprising everyone.
"Hey Zelak, what's going on?" Donovan asked.
The cart quickly pulled to the side of the road without warning.
"We should reach the main gathering in a few hours…" Zelak said.
"Yeah, and?"
Zelak, for a moment, remained silent. He then faced them with an unreadable. "Before we move on, I have to release Bretta from the space contract."
Zelak jumped from the cart and circled to Bretta. With some confusion, Beretta looked at Zelak, who assisted her down. "This should only take a second…."
Everyone watched as Zelak took Bretta further and further away from the cart.
"He has to… Release her from her slave contract?" Donovan asked. '
"Yes," Bjorn affirmed. "She marked it with the symbol of a slave under the influence of the Zorbian contract. You may not be aware of this, but our previous King outlawed the use of the Zorbian contract for slave-making. So a master caught holding a slave is to be put to death immediately. So Zelak needs to free his mate from their contract before we reach the gates. But ..."
"But what?" Kalika asked.
"The woman must not be aware that she was enslaved."
"What do you mean by that?" Donovan pressed.
Bjorn glanced at Kalika and Donovan, unsure whether to tell them. After a moment's hesitation, he sighed and spoke. "Demons that were typically enslaved, unaware, are usually less aware of what they did as slaves. For the m it's like a long sleep. As for those aware, it's much the same, only they can see what they did."
"Wait, so you mean-"
"She has an idea that happened to her this entire time?" Kalika interrupted. Her gaze grew cold as she watched Zelak and Bretta move further away.
Donovan panicked, a moment of realization. "W-wait a minute! Doesn't that mean I can get in trouble too with Charla!?"
"You'll be just fine. The guards don't determine a demon as a slave through crests alone. Your typical slaves look lifeless, like a body with a will that's easy to push around. But since your succubus slave has a will that succeeds your own, she doesn't carry that issue."
"R-... Really…? Isn't that a bit…. You know… reckless."'
"What do you mean?"
"W-well, if the slaves always have a crest, wouldn't that be proof enough?"
"We did at one point, but then the king learned of a coalition of Sucubi that were exploiting this rule. They used it to have demons they disliked executed by the guards. At the time, it was a complete disaster."
"Jeez…" Donovan turned to see that Zelak had finally stopped. He watched as Zelak brought out a black parchment. Seconds later, the parchment erupted into flames as he held it in front of Bretta until it eventually turned to ash.
In an instant, Beretta's entire body shook. Zelka, acting fast, rushed to her, catching her in his hand and lowering her to the ground.
Beretta tore into a blood-curdling scream.
The symbol on her chest turned a deep crimson, catching Donovan and Kalika by surprise. "H-her crest… It turned red!" Donovan noted.
"It's official then. She's freed," Bjorn said.
Beretta, in a deep panic, started to try to push Zelak off her. "
"
"
Zelka held her close, trying to comfort Bretta as she continued to cry.
Dononvan, now leaning at the edge of the cart, couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to the scene."What happened?"
"What do you think happened?" Bjorn turned away from the scene, unwilling to watch it further. "She regained her will."
A pain struck Kalika's heart. She clutched her chest with a well of emotions she'd forgotten resurfacing as she watched. All the while, Charla began to shake and tear up from watching the exchange. She wiped a tear from her eyes, confused by her own reaction.
Bretta continued to cry, eventually calming down long enough for Zelak to speak softly to her in their native language. He said and pointed directly at the city. A nod came from Bretta. And she stood, still shaking, she held her stomach, unsure.
Eventually, after a while of just standing, Zelak spoke again as if posing a question. She shook her head 'no'.
With a deep understanding, Zelak escorted Bretta back to the cart. However, to their surprise, Beretta was escorted to the back of the cart and settled right beside Kalika.
"Zelak?" Kalika looked at Zelak, just barely catching a glimpse of his pained expression.
Zelak entered the driver's booth, preparing the reins in his hands. And staying silent, Zelak whipped the reins, continuing their ride to the main gate.
Cart once again grew silent, with Donovan too distracted by Beretta to practice. Even Charla seemed distraught, deep in thought.
The silence was much too awkward for Kalika's taste. She glanced back at Bretta and watched as she curled on the ground, hiding her face.
Drawn to the woman, Kalika reached out her hand. Bretta flinched at the brush of her hair. Painful memories rose within Kalika. An intense headache struck at once, unwanted images invading her head. More visceral. More painful.
Kalika reeled over, alarming everyone as she gasped for air.
"Kalika!?"
Just before Donovan could move, Kalika finally spoke up.
"Leave me…"
"Huh?"
"Leave me alone." Despite the painful struggle Kalika was clearly in, she put on a brave face and turned her head in objection.
Silence grew again. And just as Donovan reached to pick up a magic crystal, Kalika spoke.
"I remember… I remember everything."
Donovan, surprised by her words, glanced back, only to find her peering back out of the cart—her expression more distant than he had ever seen before.