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Andrea licked her lips as she patted her bulging belly, lying down on her back while staring up at the ceiling. Cleo had fed her another one of those eggs, and though she didn’t usually feel full, this time she did. Her body was filled to the brim with … something. A warm cozy feeling spread from her chest to her toes as her eyes drooped and her breathing slowed. The fire pit beside her flickered, tempting her to curl up beside it and fall asleep. She listened.
Cleo stared blankly at the curled up demon before scratching her head. Usually she’d have to feed Andrea a week’s worth of food before she was satisfied, but this time, Andrea had fallen asleep after one egg. Why? A whispering sound caused her to turn her head. In the corner, Sariel was lying down on her stomach, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. The angel’s lips moved and Cleo had to strain her neck to hear her words, “Cleo the Magnificent. Let’s make a deal.”
Cleo frowned at the head of the angels before sneaking over, careful not to disturb Andrea’s nap. “I don’t think you’re in any position to make deals,” she said and glanced at the angel’s arms. There were holes in the angel’s elbows with a giant lizard’s tendon threaded through them, binding them together behind her back. Sariel had escaped from her bindings once, but Andrea acted immediately as if she had been expecting that and filled the angel’s body with arrows. Sariel had fainted from the pain. When the angel had woken up, her hands were gone, severed at their wrists, and the bindings moved to her joints.
“Are you sure?” Sariel asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Despite my appearance, I’m still an archangel. Help me and I’ll form a contract with you. I can make you powerful without any effort on your part. What do you say?”
“I refuse,” Cleo said. She shook her head and turned her back on the angel.
“Why!?” Sariel shouted. Well, she tried to shout, but her voice ended up cracking as she broke out into a fit of coughing.
Cleo didn’t answer as she sat beside the fire, sticking her legs out to keep them warm. She pulled out a fluffy blanket and wrapped it around herself while shivering. It got awfully chilly at night in Eljiam. One of Andrea’s eyes opened and stared at Cleo. “Good choice,” Andrea said with a nod as she yawned. She sat up and rubbed her belly which had shrank to its original size. “You should never make a deal with those devils. Palan did and he disappeared to the moon.”
“The irony…,” Cleo said and tilted her head. “Are you hungry?”
Andrea shook her head as she picked up her bow and arrows. She didn’t have to hunt because Cleo brought an endless supply of food, but she wanted to keep her archery skills in shape. She nocked the arrow and pointed the bow at Sariel, releasing. The angel whimpered as the arrow lodged itself in the ground an inch away from Sariel’s nose. Andrea fired arrow after arrow, outlining Sariel’s body, but not actually hitting her. Andrea sighed when she ran out of arrows. She glanced down at her glowing stomach. Glowing stomach? “Am I … shining?” Andrea asked and poked Cleo who was preoccupied with skinning a dead body.
Cleo raised her head. She blinked. “You’re glowing,” she said and tilted her head. She covered the fire with a sheet of metal, drowning the cave in darkness. Andrea’s stomach was pulsating with a white light, casting shadows on the cave walls. Cleo stored the sheet, and the fire returned. “Why are you glowing?”
“I don’t know?” Andrea said with a questioning tone. She placed her hand on her belly. It was warm. “This has never happened before. Maybe I’m evolving? But I’m still a child.”
“I know what’s happening,” Sariel said from her corner. “Do you want me to tell you? We can make a deal.”
Cleo stared at Sariel as if she were an idiot. Andrea walked over and picked up one of the arrows embedded in the ground. She coated it with poison that she retrieved from her pouch and traced the tip along Sariel’s skin. “Here’s the deal,” Andrea said with a smile. “You tell me, and I won’t stab you.” She tilted her head to the side. “Okay?”
Sariel sighed. No wonder why Cleo had looked at her like that. “Even if you kill me, I won’t tell you,” she said and bit her lower lip. “Unless you—”
Andrea plunged the arrow into Sariel’s thigh, causing the angel to shriek. She retrieved the arrow and spat in Sariel’s wound before rubbing it. Sariel’s blood coagulated in an instant, leaving a black blotch on her leg. “Is that the way you want to play?” Andrea asked.
“Why…?” Sariel whispered. “Why is a child so cruel?”
“Eh?” Andrea asked and tilted her head. “You think I’m cruel? I’m flattered, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop.” She traced circles on Sariel’s body with the arrow. The glow on her stomach was becoming brighter and encompassing a larger area, spreading to her chest and legs. At least it wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling.
“I underestimated Eljiam,” Sariel muttered to herself. “I should’ve waited for Headmaster to recover his strength. Creator, why have you forsaken me?”
“What are you blathering on about?” Andrea asked and furrowed her brow. She lightly pierced Sariel’s arm, causing purple tendrils to spread along the angel’s red skin. “Tell me. What’s with the glow?”
“You’re evolving,” Sariel said. Her eyes were unfocused, her expression blank.
“But aren’t I supposed to form an egg?” Andrea asked. She had seen one of Abaddon’s subordinates evolve. She had also tried to eat the egg during the evolution but had chipped a tooth instead.
“That is how demons evolve,” Sariel said. A single tear ran down the side of her expressionless face. “You’re evolving like an angel.”
“Ew,” Andrea said and wrinkled her nose. The glow had spread to her neck, arms, and knees. She instinctively felt something would change when the glow fully encompassed her body. “So that means—” Andrea stopped talking as her ear twitched. Something was coming. Something heavy. A king lizard, maybe?