The Second Name (Part 2)

"What happened?" Came the question she had expected from Klaus.

"Inquisitors," She croaked in reply.

Klaus nodded, "Figured. What about Aldric?"

"Fled."

The conversation then quickly shifted to the chauffeur and what to do with him. Dravisha continued to advocate for his death. Jenny wasn't quite lucid enough to chime in much. And Klaus felt bad about offing someone who was simply doing his job and whose only crime was being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Dravisha, ever the cunning demoness, decided to drop the bombshell that she could simply wipe the chauffeur's memories if she wanted to. This delighted Klaus until she stated that she wouldn't do it without proper compensation.

This enraged Klaus so much that he nearly lunged at the demoness until he realized at the last second that attacking a demoness is a terrible idea. "What do you want?" He managed to ask through gritted teeth.

"Only one more syllable of Jenny's name, of course," She shrugged.

Jenny's eyes dilated in fear, "Absolutely not."

"Then the chauffeur has to die," Dravisha chirped while shrugging. "You wouldn't want your dear Klaus implicated in your crime, would you?"

Jenny gripped the side of the sofa hard. She had an entire young life in her hands. Could she give up part of herself to save a young man? Could she risk him spilling all their secrets to the Inquisition? To that question, the answer was obviously no. She couldn't live with herself if something happened to Klaus, but could she live with herself if she knowingly killed someone innocent? Also no. That meant she had only one option. But revealing more of her name was one more step towards losing complete autonomy. Her morality conflicted with her desire for self-preservation.

Fear flooded her system. She was already delirious and the ongoing emotional turmoil added on to her worsening condition. "I can't," She whimpered.

"Then we have to kill him," Dravisha purred nonchalantly.

"No," Jenny croaked, her bloodshot eyes wandering nervously, unfocused. "Remember… Remember the deal that we had. The one where I'm exclusively yours. I want those terms."

Dravisha considers before responding, "I want the syllable." Dravisha knew Jenny was about to crack due to her morality. There was no reason to waste an opportunity like this.

"No, I will take care of this mess," Konrad interjected. "Don't do something stupid, Jenny." He clutched her hand tightly. 

Sweat poured down Jenny's temple as she contemplated, until she finally gave in, "I'll do it. I'll tell you."

"Yes."

"No."

Came the two simultaneous utterances from Dravisha and Konrad.

Konrad looked from Jenny to the Demoness and then to the Chauffeur. The poor Chauffeur was sweating volumes. For him, this discussion itself served as torture. The uncertainty about his own life weighed heavily on his mind.

"Please just let me go," He pleaded.

Letting him go was off the table for everyone in the room, so his plea was quite useless. Konrad slid down his sleeves, showing determination. "I will handle this. There will be no more deals, understood?" He looked at both Jenny and Dravisha.

"How will you handle this?" Jenny asked in a murmur. "You are going to kill him, aren't you?" Jenny's question was met with silence. It was clear what was about to happen. This was her mess and she was the one who had to take responsibility. She turned to Dravisha. "I accept your deal."

The demoness summoned a contract.

Konrad lunged to grab the paper, but Dravisha restrained him with tendrils. "As you wish," She purred.

Jenny read the terms of the contract in detail. She took an obsidian dagger from the demoness and pricked her thumb before pressing it down on the parchment. The contract glowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Dravisha assumed her full demonic form, a small groan escaping her lips from the effort. Her tail wagged excitedly behind her as she approached the pale-faced Chauffeur. "You are a lucky man today," She purred as she circled his chair. "You get to be spared."

She stopped behind him, dragging her claws through his hair as she spoke a silent incantation. Dark tendrils seeped into his head and he screamed from sudden agony. Dravisha held him steady as she searched to annihilate his memories of the past few days. A dark fog spread over his mind until he eventually succumbed to unconsciousness and dropped to the floor, like a puppet that had its strings cut.

Dravisha finally turned her attention back to Jenny. Silently, she moved up, her knees buckling slightly from exhaustion. She fell into an armchair. "That took more out of me than I expected," She groaned as she settled down. "Now go ahead."

Jenny knew the consequences of breaking her promise were immense. With some hesitation, she muttered, "Andra. My second name is Nyxandra." 

She could feel the demoness' control over her solidify further, and then Dravisha spoke, "Jenny Nyxandra Nachtdorn."

A shudder went through Jenny as her name was spoken. There was almost a temptation to submit fully. She felt compelled to obey anything out of the Demoness' mouth, but held herself back through sheer iron will.

"Jenny Nyxandra Nachtdorn," Dravisha spoke again, basking in the control she now held.