20. Lucifer

The royal cruise came on the seashore and they all boarded on it along with Niya. Sun started going down and it was a beautiful twilight time. 

Archie was lost somewhere in his thoughts because he was still unable to digest the fact that Niya created the whole river, along with turning a desert into a forest. He had never listened about such powers in his lifetime. He looked at Niya carefully, who was taking pictures on her phone along with William. She seemed like any other normal bubbly girl to Archie but what she did back in Shanayra was not normal at all.

On the other side, Niya too had some idea about Archie's discomfort as it was so clearly visible on his face. She knew he was upset. 

*I know dad, what I did today, was a mistake and it could have revealed my identity but I couldn't just stand there and ignore the shit humans were going through. They were the humans who gave us the place to live in their world. I can't just ignore their problems*, she looked at the sky, which was now full of little pink and purple stars, and thought.

Andino was talking about his city to Edward and George about the resources and his community's needs. Archie was still sitting alone, lost in his deep thoughts while William went inside to check up on the dinner preparations and Niya remained standing alone, watching the waves in the sea peacefully. 

Niya looked at the pendants she was wearing, the flute pendant given to her by Andino and the other one by her mother. They were shining under the moonlit. 

*It’s so beautiful*, she smiled looking at it when suddenly someone tapped on her shoulder from behind. She turned to see the person.

"Archie?" She furrowed her eyebrows and smiled.

"We should go in, it's almost dark and it's not safe to be outside in the dark." He said, looking at her. She was looking divine under that moonlight. Every feature of her face was glowing, her big brown eyes were shining and her honey-brown hair was dancing to the rhythm of the cold winds.

*Archie! Stop staring at her, she is not right for you. It's in your DNA to feel for her in this way idiot, it's a trap*, he mentally scolded himself and broke the gaze to look on the other side.

"Sure, let's go in." She smiled at him and all of them went in, Edward locking the doors behind them.

The interior of the ship was beautiful and was looking so royal like a palace. Golden floors with silver walls and huge chandeliers were making it look more royal. There was a silver dining table placed in the middle with silver matching chairs and as usual, there was a chair bigger than others.

Of course, Niya knew it was for her.

"Check all the windows and the gate, no sound should enter in." Edward ordered the man who was probably in charge of the room service here.

"Sir, all the doors and windows are closed and soundproof, no sound will enter the ship." He declared proudly, looking at him.

"Let's have dinner then." Archie sat on the chair, right next to Niya and they all started eating. Dinner went well and everybody enjoyed it. They talked about mundane things, well, mostly William, Edward, and George. Archie remained silent but Niya knew he was taking everything in. Luckily, nobody brought up what had happened with the humans and Niya couldn’t be more grateful for it.

"So? I'm gonna collapsed now, I'm so tired." Niya declared after finishing her meal.

"Be careful, don't open any window or door. There are mermaids in the sea and they can compel you with their songs." Archie told her, looking at her with the utmost seriousness.

"I know, I know. Stop repeating the same thing over again." She rolled her eyes at him while getting out of her chair.

"Good night everyone." She looked at everyone sitting there and smiled before leaving.

********

Archie was laying on his bed, looking at the big glass window. The sea was looking beautiful, waves were making the cruise a little bit shaky, the bright moonlit coming through the window made his room more beautiful and calm but deep down, inside his heart, nothing was near to calm. His thoughts were hovering over his mind. The flashbacks of Niya creating that river, that dessert turning into a bushy green forest, was playing in his mind continuously. 

The only creature capable to create something is the Angel of Creation and angels are now just a myth. They are extinct, they have been for as long as Archie could remember. *Niyanica can't be an angel but then… how did she create the river and the forest?*, he thought while looking at the window. He was restless, he wanted to sleep as his body was tired but couldn't sleep because of those unnecessary thoughts hovering over his mind.

Suddenly he saw a shadow on the front wall of his room, a big manly shadow. He sat up straight on the bed with a sudden jolt as he was very well aware of the identity of that shadow.

"Arch! How are you? It's been long, no see?" That shadow said in his deep husky voice and chuckled. 

"I, uh,... what are you doing here Lucifer?" He got out of the bed and looked at the shadow carefully.

"It doesn't matter. But what are you trying to do kid? I warned you not to fall into that trap. But it seems like everything is now out of control." The shadow replied in his deep husky voice.

"What? No, everything is under control. It's just a matter of time. As soon as I will get to know her DNA, the kind she belongs to, I will figure out the way to suck every bit of her powers from her body and kill her. I promise." Archie said with confidence in his voice.

"No, you will not kill her because you are too afraid to hurt her. It is clearly visible by your actions, Archie." The voice said with a little bit of an angry tone.

"Seriously, Lucy? Who has filled this poison inside your brain? Elena? That bitch?" Archie gritted his angry teeth.

"Does it matter? I told you that it's in our DNA to fall in love with that girl. It is pre-written that as soon as the sons of Azazel will see Niyanica's face, they will not be able to resist the attraction towards her. This is not love that you are feeling, this is a trap, kid, and you are happily letting yourself to be held in that trapped. This girl is going to be the destroyer of our world." Lucifer's shadow said in a very cold tone. 

"I know, I know all of this. But this will not work on me. I have this to protect me." Archie showed him a strange eye-shaped golden pendant hanging around his neck.

"I know, but even this pendant is not completely working against her charm. I haven't seen her face because I do not want to be another one of his puppets.  He created her just to destroy us. How can a human be this powerful? She is powerful because he created her for a purpose,  a purpose to kill our kind." 

"Don't worry, Brother. She will never win this game." Archie looked at the shadow and smiled to assure him.

*******

 Next to Archie’s room, Niya was sleeping peacefully on her bed and suddenly someone knocked at the window. She woke up with a jolt after hearing the weird knock as it sounded high-pitched. She looked around the room but nothing was there except darkness. She walked to the window and tried to look outside. The beautiful sea with dark blue waves shining under the bright moonlight. She smiled at the beauty of nature and about to turn but something caught her eye, the small silver bracelet hanging on one of the railings of the cruise. She looked at the bracelet carefully and realized it was her bracelet, the one William gave her.

"Oh my God, that's my bracelet. No, I don't wanna lose it so soon." She whispered and ran to open the door of her room without even stopping to think about Archie’s warning for a second. She opened the door without any noise and closed it immediately once she was out.

As soon as she stepped out, she ran to the railings and grabbed the bracelet, and smiled.

"Thank God." She whispered while putting the bracelet back on her wrist. She was walking back when she heard a beautiful humming. Someone was singing. Her eyes widened with shock as soon as the realization hit her that it could be a mermaid. She tried to run towards the door but couldn't move, that song was attracting her towards the sea. She wanted to float on the beautiful blue waves of the sea. She turned her face to look at the water.

A man with pointed years, dark blue long wavy hair, and dark blue eyes appeared out of that blue sea. His whole body was covered with a blue shine and he was literally sparkling under the moonlight. He looked at Niyanica with those dark blue eyes and his light blue lips twisted into a beautiful smirk. 

Suddenly, a girl with the same colored hair but longer, and dark blue colored eyes, appeared out of the water. Her ears were a bit longer than the man’s but the color of her lips was the same. They both were humming a beautiful tune and dancing in the water. Their lower half of the body was of fish, shining green and yellow. They were dipping in and out of the water like dolphins and continuously humming the sweet captivating tune.

Niya looked at them and smiled. They came closer to the cruise and smiled at Niya’s back. The man's eyes were glowing. He held out his hand towards Niya and Niya bent down to touch it.

Archie's room was just in front of the place she was standing so if he looked, he could clearly see her bending to the water.

"Arch, please be careful. See you soon." Lucifer's shadow said and disappeared. Archie sighed while shaking his head out of frustration. He took the water bottle to drink some water when suddenly he saw Niyanica bending down on the railings to touch something. His eyes widened with shock and the water bottle collapsed on the floor as he ran outside his room.

"Niya! Stop! What the hell are you doing?" He yelled at her and everybody present there in the nearby room came out to see what was happening. 

Archie ran towards the door to open it but as soon as he put his hand on the lock to open it, someone grabbed his hand to stop him from opening the door. Archie frowned and turned his face to see. It was William. 

"What the hell, William? Can't you see Niya is out there? Let me open the door." Archie yelled at William, looking at him with angry eyes.

"No. I will not allow you to open it." William said with a poker face, looking directly into Archie's eyes.