Lialah made a tentative step toward the bathroom door, the pain on the young man’s face was made more stark by the fact that in most ways, he wasn’t bad looking. “Albaer?” She asked, she put her head to the door and rapped lightly with her knuckles.

He didn’t answer.

She glanced back at her sister.

Raziel shrugged, she knew the look on Albaer’s face from her own experience. Betrayal it seemed, knew no race.

“Albaer, can I come in?” Lialah asked, her voice melodic and gentle, Albaer tried to play it off.

“You want to come in while I’m in the shower?” He asked rhetorically.

“Yes… wait… no… I…” Lialah stammered, “Look you’re hurt!” She spat out, “I’m an angel for fuck’s sake… let me take care of you! Where were you today?! You were gone for hours!”

“At work!” He snapped, not giving her the permission she sought.

“Are you with a militia or… how does that happen at work?!” She said through the door, her wings trembling, her hand still only because she braced the door.

“This didn’t happen at work!” He snapped again, “Look it’s none of your business! It doesn’t matter! I’ll come out when I’m… when I’m clean, then do your angel thing or whatever!” Albaer shouted back.

“Okay then… Okay… I’ll wait here…” She said in a small, timid voice before she stepped back.

Things were quiet for a minute, just the noise of the water.

“Wait, I thought you weren’t working today?!” Raziel said, her eyes narrowed, her rough voice hard, her heart full of suspicion.

“Look on the bed!” He shouted through the door.

“What am I looking for?” Raziel asked a little louder than she had to, wallet, house keys, and a pair of square cards with rectangles etched into them.

“Ah… right… you learned a little about shopping while I was gone, right… cards and not coins… or do I need to teach you about that?” He asked.

Lialah glanced over at Raziel, and the demon nodded her sharp chin. “Yeah, I figured a few things out from the books, looked up a few words, I got a, what do you say here, a ‘crash course’?”

“Those two rectangles in there are disposable credit cards basically, I went to work today and got an extra shift. There should be about one hundred twenty dollars on there, between the two of them. You can use that to buy yourselves some clothes and hygiene items, tooth brushes, tooth paste, deodorant, clothing…”

“And what… what do you want for it?” Lialah asked while Raziel dropped the cards on the bed and stared down at them with absolute fury.

How much money that was, neither one was especially sure. But they knew it took Albaer all day to make it, and he came back beaten up for his trouble.

“What do you mean? You’ve got nothing to offer. Just stay in hiding until you work out what to do. Now would you mind shutting up? I’m trying to wash up in here and we can talk in a few minutes or… whatever.”

Raziel’s disbelieving stare was answer enough for Lialah. It was somewhere between an insult, and the greatest relief the succubus had known in quite some time.

The succubus stared down at the cards she’d dropped back onto the bed, going from a look of loathing to looking at them like they were precious holy relics.

She went from looking at them to the white door between her and Albaer, and back to the cards again.

“What do you think happened to him out there…?” She whispered to her sister.

“I think… what happens a lot of days… When I healed him last time, there were old injuries that still hadn’t healed before. What kind of monstrous place have we been trapped in…? He can’t be bad… So why… why?” Lialah reached down to pick up one of the cards off the bed and looked at it.

“He’s crying in there.” Lialah said in a tiny voice.

“I know. I can hear it too.” Raziel’s pointed ears wiggled a little when she whispered back.

“I’ll… I’ll go make something, there’s a recipe I want to try…” Lialah set the card down and made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her, while Raziel went to sit in the chair at his desk and turned it around to face his bathroom door.

The water finally went off after several minutes while Raziel steeled her heart against disappointment, her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her legs closed firmly together, her sharp ruby eyes locked immediately onto Albaer’s face.

“We need to talk.” Raziel said immediately when he closed the door behind him, his face and legs were clean of blood and muck, but it just highlighted the injuries she could already see.

“Can I get dressed first?” Albaer asked, looking down at his bare feet and white robe tied at the waist.

“If you want to do that while we talk, yes, but otherwise, this can’t wait.” Raziel said unable to completely hide the fact that she was breathing harder already.

“Fine.” Albaer said and went to sit on the bed.

It squeaked under him and he sank into it an inch. “I’m going to ask something… I want an honest answer, then I’m going to apologize for asking it, and then… if everything is how- how I now think it is? I want to do something for you, but it requires you to trust me. Do you understand? Raziel asked.

Albaer did not, not even a little, and said so. “Of course not.” Albaer snapped, his lips turning down in a little frown. “This is the strangest start to a conversation since you showed up here… which isn’t a lot, but it’s strange this happened more than once.”

Raziel tried to smile, but her ruby eyes were serious, “Demons tend toward the blunt side, so I hope I don’t offend my host by asking this. Am I a fetish for you?”

“I’m sorry?” Albaer did a double take and blinked several times, his mouth dropping open.

“I got on the computer the other night, after you were all asleep, I looked up my race. How humans see us- me. I know why you didn’t want to show me… and… honestly it’s the same back home. So… is that why you’re helping my sister and I? Her because she’s an angel you’re supposed to care for, and me because you lewded me from the moment I showed up?”

Albaer gave her a long, steady look. “This is about the way I offended you before, isn’t it? Not just what you saw on the computer?”

“I’m not as innocent as my sister, I’ve also seen your eyes, and whether you’re a human, or an orc, or a demon or what, I know attraction when I see it. So am I going to have to trade myself for your help at some point, or what?”

“No.” Albaer answered immediately, “I- you’re beautiful… my god you’re both… like something out of a character creation kit, sculpted out of the fevered dreams of a god of radiance… I won’t deny it. I’m a boy, and I’m young, I can’t help it… but I’m not going to extort anything from you in your time of need. What’s out there… nobody should have to face… nobody…” He hung his head and covered his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

“I’m sorry… so sorry…” Raziel replied, his hand was shaking, and she put her own over his knee, leaning forward to look at him. “I know being asked a question like that must sting, if you want to throw me out over it… I wouldn’t blame you, but please understand, I’ve been treated as a walking fetish for a… a long time. Then I found that… and I’m a slut or a monster in a world I don’t even exist in… I didn’t know what to think, what to say, what to feel. You’ve been nice to us, I’m grateful for that. I just didn’t want to go through that again where I had nowhere to go, or a sister to look after, and I didn’t want to really start liking you, only to find you betraying me when I needed you and had nowhere else to go.”

“Betrayal…” Albaer whispered hoarsely, “I know a thing or two about that… I’m sorry I made you feel that uncomfortable, it’s natural to look, though god knows I tried not to stare… this is still so unworldly to me… but no. I promise you in the name of whatever you think is trusty to swear on, I’m not… I’m not that man.”

“Again… I’m deeply sorry.” Raziel said, and then moved her hand to pick up the cards. “So… this is money… to get things for us to take care of ourselves?”

“Yeah, but today was my last day on the job, I quit.” Albaer smiled a little and winced, hissing in pain when that hurt too much.

“Oh… what happened?” Raziel asked.

Albaer pointed out the injuries. “Someone I worked with let… or made… this happen, I can’t look at them anymore. Don’t worry about it, I’ll find another job.”

“You’re lying.” Raziel said and crossed her arms again to glare at him.

“So?” Albaer shrugged, “I’ll try, that’s close enough.”

“Albaer… I want the truth, you being different and having… lost your father, that’s the reason behind all this?” She asked, her wings twitched again.

“No. It’s also being my father’s son.” Albaer replied, he saw her blank expression, what he took for confusion, or questioning, and sighed. “Go onto the search engine I showed you, type in ‘Nathaniel J. Lamark’ and confine your search to the last few years.”

Raziel did as he asked, and the results scrolled past her eyes, she went to the oldest, ‘Company finds cure for breast cancer…’ The demon read aloud, then at Albaer’s nod, she looked at the article.

“Go to the next date when you’re done, and keep doing that until you get up to his obituary.” Albaer said.

“Town selected for manufacturing new drug… after clinical trials result in approval…”

“You don’t have to read it so I can hear it, just get through it.” He said, and she began to read silently.

‘Factory breaks ground, mass land buys as town pins hopes on new industry…’ Then, ‘...clinical trials called into question…’ Then ‘...whistleblower reports payoffs to doctor results submitted for review…’ Then ‘...patients die after switching treatment…’ Then ‘… a major pharmaceutical giant rendered bankrupt…’ Then ‘...The doctor of death, corruption and Lamark…’

It got bleaker and bleaker, and she finally pushed herself back from the desk and turned to look at Albaer.

He nodded, “To me he was… dad. I used to play games with him, he took me fishing, hiking, horseback riding, he and my mom were happy. Go read the one at the top.”

She turned back to the computer, went to the results page and saw the top listing, ‘...Doctor behind major corruption in pharmaceutical industry takes life in prison… Doctor Nathanial Lamark was found hanging in his cell while awaiting trial on charges of fraud, insider trading, and multiple counts of negligent homicide for faking his research results for a drug that ultimately led to the deaths of hundreds of patients and caused the closure of Pharmitol Inc and the closure of the Wesington factory.’

She went back to looking at Albaer, “Yeah, he was my dad… most of the good memories I have are of him… and he did that. Then he died, he took his own life.” Albaer’s body began to shake, “He killed himself in prison rather th-than face up to what he’d done. This town depended on that factory, and he not only cost hundreds of lives, but ruined thousands more. Unemployment and poverty are high here, and some of the people in this town… they died because he told them to get switched to the drug he knew didn’t work. And of course… again… since he’s now dead?” Albaer bit the words off bitterly, “Nobody can punish him.”

“Leaving you.” Raziel concluded.

“Yeah. Me. I get beaten up, treated like shit, because of things I had nothing to do with… I tried to show I was good, that I’m not like him… but nobody cares. I’m the ‘Bad Seed’. My mom got thrown out of her church group, I got kicked out of all the clubs, they can’t kick me out of public school but they can make it hell there. We can’t leave because my mom can’t work anywhere else, she’s got a contract with the hospital. When that runs out, we’re done.” He explained.

“I didn’t do anything… not a damn thing… I just had to be his son… and I never did get to ask him why he even did it, we weren’t rich, but we weren’t poor either. Did he want money that badly? I just don’t know, and now I never will.” Albaer met her ruby eyes. “There, now are you sure you want to stay with the son of a mass murdering conman?”

“Yes.” Raziel replied, and moved from the chair to the bed, she moved the cards aside and sat behind him, her arm and wing went around to draw him into an embrace, the thick leathery bat wing pressed against him, and her arm, strong as steel, held him tight against her body. “Xvmkchlato mkdizlnchala dkdnoza Albaer Babtiste Lamark.”

His sobbing wasn’t loud, but he wept against her blood red flesh and it muffled it only in part. “Wh-What’s that mean?” He stumbled the question out.

“You’re not the bad one, Albaer Babtiste Lamark.” Raziel whispered, and kissed his forehead.

“That doesn’t matter here.” Albaer said in a weak, broken hearted voice.

Raziel put her forehead against his own and said with quiet reserve, “That comes to the next thing, I know you’re in pain… and I would have my sister take care of you right away, but that will make this easier. But, this part goes with being a demon. Soul sucking ‘is’ a thing that demons can do. But it is terribly taboo. The equivalent of rape. But we can engage in ‘sharing’. Or ‘mingling’.”

“Okay this is sounding ominous…” Albaer answered, but didn’t move away, her touch was welcome, a little warmer than that of a human. He did not want to pull away from it.

“I want to look into you, a part of you… I want to help you a little. But to do that, I need you to open yourself to me. I’m not sure if this works on humans, but my sister’s magic did, so mine should too… I think.” Raziel said and scratched one of her horns. “Will you let me try?”

“What do you want?” Albaer leaned back and looked in askance at her.

“I want to see the ones who did this to you. I can fly at night, I won’t kill anyone, I promise. But… just trust me. Will you trust me, Albaer?” Raziel asked and clasped his hands in hers.

“What do I need to do?” He asked, “I guess after all the trust you’ve put in me… sort of… I would be shitty if I didn’t return it at least some by now.”

Raziel snorted, “Just lay back, your pain will help me work, and I can even feed on it somewhat… Although succubi usually feed on desire, any demon can draw something from pain.”

“A-Alright… go ahead.” Albaer said, and he lay back on the bed, resting his head on the pillow.

Raziel looked down at the shut eyed boy, on the cusp of true adulthood, he was filling out well, and to endure the beatings he did, he must have been tougher than he looked. With the right training, he might have made a great warrior. ‘Poor unfortunate soul… not to worry, this is the least I can do.’ She lowered her forehead to his, and opened her mind, darkness enveloped her as she found before her an array of scenes in chronological order. Some were larger, some were smaller. ‘If this is like other races, then the larger it is, and the ‘cleaner’ it is without cracks, the more intact it is.’ She went through her identifiers and began to sort.

If he’d been a demon, he could have entered her mind as well, and this would be more intimate than the most soul consuming sex. Every memory Albaer ever had was bound up in here, he had no way to protect himself, no knowledge of mental defenses.

She began to walk through it, she touched one from a little while ago as a test. He was in the shower with his legs pulled up to his chest and his head buried in his knees while steaming water burned his flesh.

She abandoned the memory, ‘So, that works.’ She thought with horror and went back further, she didn’t have to go far, ‘Lisa.’ She picked up the references and more memories appeared that were connected to her, the memory web of the mind, each one connected to others, the thicker the line, the more important it was, the brighter the line, the happier it was, the darker it was, the worse it was.

Lisa’s line was now one of the darkest Raziel had ever seen, and unable to resist, she went to an old one she was bound to. Trading him an ice cream cone, a tiny Albaer crying with his cone on the sidewalk, and her handing him her own before waving goodbye and walking away with an older version of herself.

All the memories of her had become dark ones, Raziel touched the line, and the shade of the line began bright, a cheerful yellow, a vibrant green, a romantic red, and then slowly grayed as time went forward, until the present, when it was black.

The succubus went back to the most recent memory, and listened to what Lisa said, the emotions of hurt and betrayal on Albaer’s face, she could see reflected in a window beyond Lisa.

Looking at his blood on her shoe, Raziel shifted a little, she caught a face. Other memory webs connected to him. A good looking kid of wavy brown hair and a chiseled jaw, the dark haired girl had a web of her own, which Raziel resolved to return to.

She winced involuntarily at Albaer’s pain as he tumbled to the ground, she got better looks at their faces, and made note of the names. She became faster and faster at sorting through the memories of the young man, and conveniently enough. She found a house.

Raziel grinned, ‘Lisa… and Trevor… you’ll do for a start.’ She thought, and then broke the connection, allowing the room to come into view.