Of Light And Shadows

Jia stood alone in her room, gazing out of the window as thoughts scattered around her head like dried leaves on a breeze. She needed time to adjust. She felt like she’d barely had a moment to stop and process the things happening around her.

Being back in the Demonic Realm was wonderful; she’d missed the brothers immensely, but it left her mentally exhausted. So much had happened and was still happening that she was starting to feel like she was sinking. So she stood and she stared out the window at the city in the distance until her mind grew quiet.

She could see tall, twisting buildings that looked like a cross between the gothic design of the academy and the stalactites she’d seen jutting up from a cave floor in a nature documentary once. They were tall with spiked tops, laden with ornate buttresses and rising spires that she was sure must have taken years to construct.

The city stretched for miles, disappearing over the horizon. Apollyon was bigger than any human city could ever hope to be by many, many leagues.

Somewhere in that city, Satan sat plotting in his tower. She wondered idly if he was planning the best way to kidnap her. She half expected him to be able to sense that she was thinking about him and step out of thin air right beside her. The idea made her shiver but she didn’t turn away from the window.

Several days had passed since Lucifer’s warning. He was back on his feet and at full health but she’d been avoiding him. In all honesty, she’d been avoiding everyone except Evan while she got her head straight.

She spent a lot of time talking to him through the door. She found he was the only one that didn’t send her brain into a panic, and besides, he needed her while he tried to figure out life as a Vampire.

“Jia?” Her name and the quiet tap at the door made her turn. “You have a visitor.”

“Come in,” Jia said. The door opened and she saw Sellik’s bright green hair and wide smile.

“There’s somebody very eager to see you,” she said, and then she skipped aside and Jia’s eyes widened.

“Hey, doofus,” said a familiar male voice. She crossed the room at a run and slammed into Evander’s chest hard enough to knock him back a step. He chuckled and wrapped her in a tight hug, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around in a circle as though she weighed nothing.

“I take it you missed me?” He set her back down and she beamed up at him.

“I can’t believe you’re free!” she squealed.

“Sort of. I still have an escort and your Prince made me wear this.” He held up his wrist to show a black bracelet covered with faintly glowing red runes. “If I get out of line he can basically taze me.”

“It’s for a good reason,” Sellik answered. “Stop complaining so much and enjoy your newfound freedom.” She nudged him and grinned. He returned the expression with a friendliness Jia didn’t expect. She felt a pang of jealousy that she shook off as quickly as it came.

“I know, I know. I’m lucky to be alive.” He rolled his eyes, feigning irritation. Sellik raised an eyebrow at him before turning to Jia.

“You and Mammon are his handlers for the day.”

“Lucifer didn’t want to watch Evan himself?”

“They don’t like each other very much and Lucifer knows you’re avoiding him,” the attendant replied with a shrug. She saw Ev’s head tilt out of the corner of her eye but she didn’t meet his gaze.

“If Mammon is a handler then where is he?”

“Beats me,” Sellik replied. “You know what he’s like. He’ll probably be out shopping for clothes but you might be able to get Bee to help if you know where to find him.” She waggled her fingers at them and bounced down the hall, heading back to the Infirmary before anyone could stop her.

“The one rule she was given was to not leave me alone with you,” Evan frowned. “She was told that before they even let me out.”

“Sellik pretty much does what she wants,” Jia chuckled. She was nervous about being alone with him, since the last time they’d spoken without a door between them was when he’d broken her arm. She squared her shoulders and pushed her features into a smile.

“Come on, I know where Bee will be.”

“Who’s Bee?”

“Beelzebub. He’s the Demon of Gluttony. If you’re ever worried he doesn’t like you, give him food and he’ll be your best friend.” She took his arm. “This way.” He let her tow him out of the room and lead him towards the kitchens.

“So. You’ve been avoiding the Prince?” he asked as they walked.

“Don’t call him that.”

“Sorry, Lucifer. Why are you avoiding him?”

“Things are confusing for me right now and the brothers just confuse me more. There’s a whole lot going on in my life.”

“Oh yeah, the whole Satan wanting to collect you thing. What was it like to be smooched by the devil himself?” he goaded. She elbowed him, drawing a chuckle from him.

He had a way of teasing her that immediately made her feel better, like maybe things weren’t so bad. She felt him hesitate and looked up to find him watching her.

“You sure you’re alright being this close to me? I seriously hurt you last time.” His brow furrowed with guilt.

“You didn’t seriously hurt me,” she snorted. “A broken arm isn’t even nearly serious. I’m fine, Ev. I’m just glad to have you back. Are you out just for the day or do you have a room of your own?”

“I’m bunking with Belphegor right now, since he’s pretty much guaranteed to be in his room when I’m in there. All he does is sleep.” Jia laughed.

“When I’m out and about I’m supposed to have at least one Demon escort, and the One Big Rule was to never be left alone with you.” He gestured at the space between them and the empty hall they stood in. “As you can see, that part is going really well.”

“You’re not going to hurt me,” she replied, looking up at him with a smile. “Not this time.”

“I’ll never hurt you again, I promise.” He took her hands in his and looked her right in the eyes, trying to convey how serious he was. “What I did was wrong and blaming it on being a Vampire is no excuse. I will never harm you like that again.” He squeezed her fingers and her smile softened.

“I know, Ev.” Her stomach growled and he laughed. “Come on, I’m sure wherever Bee is, there’ll be an abundance of snacks with him. I’m starving.”

She started towing him along again, happy to be in his company at last. He felt like her old friend again. There was still an intensity to him that she hadn’t expected, but she could get used to it.

They found Beelzebub in the kitchen. He was sat on one of the counters with a sandwich in one hand and a phone in the other. Jia sidled up to him and jumped up beside him as he started laughing at something on the screen.

“Hey, check this out. I found a human world animal in a jumper,” he said as she settled in place.

He showed her the phone, and while she watched a video of a baby goat making a fuss he dropped a large hand down on her shoulder and looked up. His eyes fell on Evan and he frowned, looking the Vampire up and down.

“And hello Jia’s friend.”

“Hi,” Evan answered warily. He was very obviously looking at Bee’s hand where it rested on Jia’s shoulder. Beelzebub noticed and cocked his head, sliding the hand to her other shoulder so that his arm was around her.

“You look like you’re about to bite,” he said, drawing her in protectively. Her eyebrows crept upwards, the video forgotten. “You’re also not supposed to be alone with her.”

“You can blame the silver haired demon for that.”

“Mammon,” Bee muttered, shaking his head. “I should’ve guessed he’d ditch his job as soon as he saw a chance.”

“Bee, can you let go of me?” The large Demon was reluctant. He shook his head and Evan’s eyes narrowed fractionally, though she saw him take a sensible step back to put some space between them.

“Please? I know you’re trying to protect me but Evan is really alright.” She slipped out of his grip and jumped down again, moving to stand beside her friend and taking his hand. The Vampire relaxed immediately. “See?” Beelzebub studied Evander for a long, silent moment before nodding slowly.

“I see,” he said. “You’re territorial. I’ll remember that in future and try to accommodate for it.” A bright grin broke across his cheeks as he hopped off the counter and stuck out his hand. “I’m Beelzebub. You can call me Bee.” Evander shook it tentatively, a faint smile appearing on his face.

“I thought you might attack me for a minute there,” he answered.

“Everyone says that,” Bee frowned. “I’m really not that scary. Am I Jia?”

“Not after the initial shock,” she grinned. She slipped her hand out of Evan’s and tossed Bee the phone as she headed for the large fridge, sticking her head inside to look for goodies.

“Bee, do you mind being Evan’s handler until we find Mammon?" she asked. "He’s not meant to be alone with me and Sellik had to go back to the Infirmary.”

“No problem.” He smoothed his long blonde hair back and sauntered over, automatically dropping a hand on her shoulder again as he peered into the fridge beside her. “Oh, you should try one of these. Bell made them this morning.”

Jia heard the quiet sound of Evan’s knuckles cracking as Bee touched her again, but he stayed back and said nothing.

Bee made a point of ignoring it as they located a few snacks. When they were done he let go of her and shut the fridge, his other arm laden with food.

“Are you really going to eat all that?” Evan asked, eyes wide.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Bee frowned. “I’m hungry.”

“Did you forget the part about him being the Demon of Gluttony already?” Jia teased, taking a bite of the cake Bee had recommended. It was deliciously sweet. “He could eat enough to feed six people and still be hungry.”

“It’s a talent,” the blonde Demon agreed. “You know what we should do now we have time?” His eyes were bright as he turned to Jia. “We should watch that movie you promised.”

“I told Bell we’d watch it with him too.”

“I’ll text him.” Bee took out his phone and tapped out a quick message before slipping it back into the pocket of his jeans.

“You guys have TV and mobile networks here?” Evan asked.

“Who do you think gave the human realm the idea for their technology?” Bee snorted. “All that stuff came from our realm. Of course we have TV. That reminds me, I have a phone for you Jia.”

“You bought me a phone?” She blinked in surprise.

“No, Lucifer did. Yours won’t work here and since you’re staying he figured it made sense to have one. There’s one for you too, Evander. They’re in my room.”

“That’s really kind of him,” Jia grinned. Evan nodded his agreement, though he didn’t smile.

“Come on, I have a cool new zombie flick from the human world to show you.” She chuckled and followed him out of the kitchen with Evander in tow.