Chapter 7

Erutis paused before entering the kitchen, seeing a flash down at the end of the hall. She drew her sword and quietly approached the bit of color, then frowned when she realized it was a letter. There was a pile of letters, actually, all of them in grey envelopes except this one. This one was fiery red.

She gathered them all up and went back to the kitchen, setting them on the table and going to survey Chris's work. He was carefully tilting a little vial over the powdery concoction, and when a few drops tipped out he set it down.

"Okay, it's almost done. I'll add water and boil it so he can drink it," Chris said, walking to the stove.

"Good. Poor Rae's gonna blow something in his brain if Eclipse isn't back to his old self soon. And I'm worried too, he looked terrible… and right when there's another Lord trying to take over Rae's territory too."

"What?" Chris yelped.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," Erutis said absent-mindedly, confused by the smell of perfume that seemed to be coming from the table.

Chris began ranting behind her as she lifted the red envelope, sniffing it. It smelled like a woman's perfume, and Erutis raised an eyebrow. She looked at the door, then stuck a finger under the flap and loosened the wax seal.

"Hey! You can't open the mail, Eclipse'll kill you!" Chris warned, standing beside her.

"Boil the herbs," Erutis snapped, annoyed.

"I already am," Chris returned.

The flap opened as the wax gave, and Erutis pulled out pink stationary. There were vines crawling up the sides of the note with roses budding on it. It made Chris gag.

"What is that? A love letter? Is it to Raenef?" Chris asked, trying to snatch the letter.

"No, it's to Eclipse. Listen," Erutis commanded, slapping his hand.

The letter read,

To Demon of the Third Order Eclipse,

It is in my greatest wishes to procure you as a servant. I've heard tell of the Lord you serve now and it sickens me to see you with such an undeserving child. I would go to many a great length to have you, Eclipse; indeed, I will do whatever it takes. I'm sure you receive many letters of inquiry, and so I must tell you that being in my service will most certainly come with… benefits. I can have your current Lord out of the way any way you please. You need only write back your wishes, and I will fulfill them. I await your response,

Lady Odassa

"Desperate much?" Erutis scoffed, jealous and angry at the offhand way the demon had intoned she'd kill Raenef.

"You're just jealous. Rae, what is it?" Chris asked, halting Erutis's fist before she could slug him.

"He won't talk to me. I called his name over and over and he won't answer me," Raenef sniffled, hugging himself, "I think he's gonna die."

Erutis quickly stashed the letter, taking Raenef's hand.

"Eclipse won't die, Raenef. He made you a promise, right? He has to protect you from that demon Lord trying to take your lands, and he can't do that if he's dead, can he?"

Raenef shook his head, then teleported out of the kitchen. Chris came up alongside Erutis and she noticed the sorry state of the kitchen. They'd made a mess, and Eclipse wouldn't be there to clean it. She'd have to make Chris do it later…

Raenef landed on the bed, hitting his head on the post and yelping. He recovered and crawled to Eclipse, laying beside him and hugging him.

"Wake up, Eclipse. Please don't die," he said softly, burying his hands and face into the older demon's hair.

It comforted him, and when he felt Eclipse's back moving with his breathing it helped even more. He heard the door opening and looked up, sitting up as Chris and Erutis came in. Chris set a steaming bowl on the table beside the bed, eyes widening when he saw Eclipse.

"He really is bad," Chris murmured.

Raenef felt tears well up in his eyes and he brushed them away, feeling angry suddenly.

"He got sick because he had too much work! And he had too much work because of me, because I'm so weak and he has to take care of me all the time!" Raenef sobbed, digging fingers into Eclipse's hair.

Erutis and Chris looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

"He's too busy taking care of me and you both that he doesn't take care of himself. And I don't even help him and I'm so stupid in his lessons and I make him have to repeat everything!"

Erutis climbed onto the bed and tried to reach for Raenef to comfort him and he scooted away, then laid down beside Eclipse again and hugged him. He wept softly into his silky ebony locks, and the powerful demon stirred.

"My Lord? Are you hurt?" Eclipse whispered.

He opened purple eyes, swallowing painfully, then reached a shaking hand back and touched Raenef's head. Raenef gave a loud sob and jumped on him, hugging him tight and nestling his head under Eclipse's chin.

"You're not dead!"

Eclipse closed his eyes again wearily, gently holding the little Lord to him with one arm.

"It's alright, my Lord. I'll be fine, I just need to rest," he said softly.

Raenef pulled back, wiping his eyes and smiling a little.

"We'll clean the castle and I'll read the next chapters in the book you're teaching me from! And I'll try and do the paperwork too so you won't have so much, and you won't get sick again."

Eclipse didn't respond, but curled a hand gingerly around his throat. His face tightened a little and he started shaking harder.

"He's hurting pretty bad, Rae. You better get him to take what Chris made," Erutis cautioned, starting to worry again.

Eclipse was in pain enough that he was showing it even in front of her and Chris. When he got better he'd be mortified…

"Okay. But you two have to get out, he needs to sleep."

Chris scoffed a little at the surprisingly assertive tone, and Erutis shoved him out of the room.

She caught a glimpse of Raenef lifting the bowl from the table, speaking softly to Eclipse, then the door closed.

"I'm gonna open the rest of those letters," Erutis told Chris, and they started back down to the kitchen.