THE DEMON KING WHO WAITED FOR HER
by C.G.
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The Path Home
Linah did not tell anyone where she was going.
Not her friends.
Not her colleagues.
Not even the silence that followed her like a shadow.
Something inside her had already decided.
The dream would not leave her.
The river.
The blood.
His pale face.
At dawn, she packed a small bag and boarded a bus that carried her away from the city — away from the life she knew — toward the village she had not returned to in years. With every mile closer to home, her chest tightened, as though her spirit recognized the road long before her mind did.
The land changed as they traveled. Tall buildings gave way to red soil, concrete surrendered to trees that whispered old names when the wind passed through them.
By the time Linah stepped off the bus, the air already felt heavier.
As if something had been waiting.
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The One Who Sees
The witch doctor's hut stood at the edge of the village, half-hidden by ancient trees whose roots twisted like sleeping snakes. No one needed to guide Linah there.
Her feet knew the way.
Before she reached the doorway, a voice came from inside.
"I have been watching your footsteps long before your feet touched this soil."
Linah froze.
"You walk with two shadows," the old man continued. "One from this world… and one from beneath it."
She swallowed and stepped inside.
The witch doctor sat beside a small fire, his eyes clouded with age yet sharp with knowing. Bones, calabashes, and charms hung from the walls, humming softly as Linah entered.
"You are late," he said calmly. "But you have arrived."
Her voice trembled. "You were expecting me?"
He smiled faintly.
"I saw you coming years ago. In visions. In blood. In water."
He lifted his staff and pointed to the ground.
"Your footsteps carry the echo of the one I have waited for."
Her heart pounded.
"I came because I'm worried," Linah said. "The man I love is in danger. I see him in dreams. I feel him fading."
The fire crackled sharply.
"Not fading," the witch doctor corrected. "Fighting."
He threw herbs into the fire. Smoke rose — thick, alive — shaping visions in the air: a forest burning, a gate of bone, a king bound in chains.
Linah gasped.
"That man," the old healer said softly, "is bound to you across lives. You have met before. You have loved before. And you have died before."
Tears filled her eyes. "Who am I?"
The old man looked at her with reverence.
"You are not only Linah."
He leaned closer.
"You carry power hidden by kindness and fear. Power sealed so you could live as human — until the moment the world needed you to remember."
Her bracelet grew warm against her skin.
"Your soulmate is a king born of bloodlines at war," he continued. "And only you can reach him where warriors and spirits will fail."
Linah shook her head. "I'm just a woman."
The witch doctor's voice hardened.
"No. You are the balance."
---
The War of Bloodlines
Far from the village, deep within the forest of ancient crowns, the drums of Mako's mother's bloodline thundered for the first time in centuries.
War had been declared.
Warriors painted in ash and red earth gathered beneath towering trees. Spears blessed by ancestors glowed faintly. Elders called upon spirits that had not tasted battle since kingdoms fell.
"The son of our blood has been taken," an elder thundered.
"The king we crowned bleeds."
The forest answered.
Trees bent.
Roots tore through soil.
Shadows sharpened into weapons.
Across rivers and valleys, Mako's father's bloodline felt it — a pressure like approaching thunder.
The war had begun.
When the elders reached the territory where Mako was imprisoned, they struck first — killing the guards who watched over the captives. Lyold and his people sensed the danger and armed themselves swiftly.
The uncles of Mako fought with every ancestral power they carried, but Lyold's people were malicious, wielding dark charms that drained strength itself. Many of Lyold's men fell, yet in the end, Mako's uncles were seized.
Mako burned with rage at the sight. He tried to rise, to fight — but the evil charms stripped him of his power.
He closed his eyes.
He regretted not telling Linah the truth of their past. Now he would die and leave her alone once again.
Then he heard his name — spoken softly.
He opened his eyes.
The mysterious woman stood before him.
She gave him a silent warning and whispered that she had been listening.
"Your stepbrothers believe only Linah can save you," she said. "They know she carries hidden power."
She promised to go to the human world to bring Linah.
Mako shook his head weakly.
"That is their trap," he said. "They want to lure her beneath this world to kill her."
---
Awakening
Back in the hut, the witch doctor pressed a charm into Linah's palm.
"Your power will awaken when you choose him fully," he said. "Fear will delay it. Love will unlock it."
She stood — steadier now.
"Tell me how to save him."
The old man nodded.
"You will walk where no human woman has walked. You will cross blood, water, and fire. And when you reach him—"
He paused.
"—you must be ready to lose the life you know."
Linah did not hesitate.
"I already have."
That night, as the moon rose, Linah fastened her bracelet, tied her bag, and stepped onto a path that shimmered faintly beneath her feet — a path only those claimed by destiny can see.
Far away, in chains and shadow, Mako lifted his head.
And for the first time since his capture…
He felt her coming.
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END OF CHAPTER NINE