I plucked at my oversized sweater while Matteo stood by the pump outside the car. We were headed for the hospital again this morning, but we had to stop at a gas station.

We actually had our suitcases in the trunk and our stuff in the back since we were heading home today. Matteo and I had already said goodbye to Sara and Markus, and the both of them looked disappointed that we weren't going to stay another day.

Sara was still confused about everything, but she accepted Tien's presence. Markus was content to be with Tien wherever he went and she was happy to be with him. It was a cute bond between the two—very strong, but still cute. I did say goodbye to Tien and gave her a gentle kiss to her beak. She chirped sadly, but I had reminded her that we would see each other again someday. Markus and Matteo had also swapped contact info, which made me quite happy.

I heard a clunk and looked over to see Matteo putting the nozzle back in its holder. He closed up the gas tank and the circular door for it on the side of the car, then climbed into the driver's seat.

Matteo reached over and stroked my cheek with a smile. "Do you want any snacks?"

"Snacks?" I asked, and my tummy rumbled.

He chuckled and kissed my cheek as he belted himself in. "We will grab something to eat from a cafe."

"Sara really doesn't eat much, does she?"

"No, in fact, Mark told me that he often goes out to eat before coming home from work, otherwise he'd almost starve." he paused, flashing his worried gaze to mine for a moment.

I giggled. "Don't worry, Mattie. I know he's just joking."

Matteo released a sigh of relief while driving down the road. "Good," he said softly. "I don't want to make you upset, Master."

"You're not upsetting me, so relax. Why are you so worried?"

"It just feels so surreal."

"What does?"

He shook his head. "Never mind. It's not something I can properly explain."

I puffed my cheeks out for a pout, and felt him poke my left one as he turned down a side street. I giggled, my tail wagging on my lap.

Matteo smiled at me as he pulled into a parking lot and parked in front of a cafe. He kissed my head and then got out of the car. With my tail wiggling, I waited patiently for him to return. Matteo came out a few minutes later with a couple of bags, and slid into the front seat again. I leaned over the console and kissed his cheek, my tail almost whipping back and forth as the smell of warm food filled the air.

"Thank you, Mattie." I beamed, which made him blush with a happy smile.

"You are very welcome, Master."

I opened the paper bags and my tail thumped against his hand on the console. Matteo gently patted it while he drove out of the parking lot. I pulled out a cheesy egg and ham croissant wrapped up, then looked into the other bag. It had a nice-looking salad, an egg biscuit with cheese on some kind of bread, and two apples.

"So you do eat eggs?" I asked, looking up at him.

He chuckled. "Yes, but my stomach can't handle meat like fish, steak, pork, chicken, and so forth. I usually have eggs and whey protein shakes to keep myself healthy in terms of protein amounts."

"Ooh, okay. I guess that's because of your bull side?"

Matteo nodded with a smile. "Aside from the eggs, I am a vegetarian."

"Are you bothered that I eat meat, Mattie?"

He shook his head. "No, I know my little carnivore needs protein to survive as part of your healthy constitution. And I know you like vegetables." he said with a laugh while I nodded.

"I love trying new things." I grinned, then wrapped up Matteo's food and set it on the floor since he disliked eating while driving.

I tucked into my meal and ate slowly, my tail tip wriggling around to show off how much I was enjoying the sandwich. Once I had consumed it all, I used a napkin and wiped my fingers. Matteo was just pulling into the underground parking lot for the hospital. He drove up a couple ramps and found a spacious spot.

"Bag, please." he said, and I handed his food over with a smile. He chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Master."

"You're welcome!" I giggled, taking off my seatbelt to clamber over the console and peck his lips.

Matteo blushed and ducked his head as I returned to my seat. He pulled out one apple and handed it to me. "Please eat, Master."

"Thank you, Mattie." I grinned, then shined the apple with my sweater and took a bite. It was crunchy, but my teeth sank in easily. The flesh was sweet, but had an after-note that was a bit tart. "Mm, yummy!"

"Good." he murmured, then started eating.

I used my magic to cut out a piece of the apple and chop it up into bitesize pieces. I brought Tien's copy out from where I had stored it, smiling at the bird. She chirped when I shrank her down a bit, then offered that piece of apple. Matteo almost flinched when he noticed Tien's copy, but he managed to stop himself. I giggled while I continued eating.

Tien Two happily crushed the apple bits into mush in her beak and ate it up. Her fluffy tail wiggled and her wings fluttered while she chirped. When she finished eating her little treat, she nuzzled my jawline.

"Tien Two, you are in charge of keeping Caleb Knight company while in the hospital. You are welcome to continue existing by his side if you choose to, but may return to Original Tien at any time after Caleb Knight returns home."

Tien Two chirped a melodic tune of acceptance and rested on my shoulder while I finished my apple. Matteo offered some hand sanitizer to get rid of the sticky juices from the apple, so I offered my hands to him.

"Such tiny hands." he murmured thoughtfully, gently kissing my palms. "My little master, so precious to me."

I blushed and squirmed closer to kiss his forehead. "I love you, Mattie."

He smiled and kissed my fingertips. "I love you too, Anwyll."

Matteo cleaned my hands until they were no longer sticky but just the tiniest bit tacky, but I knew that would wear off later. He kissed my head, then cleaned his own hands.

"Time to go in." he whispered, looking at me. I nodded in response.

__________________________

As usual, Matteo carried me. When we arrived at the Caleb's door, the doctor was standing beside him. A nurse rushed up to us and said we couldn't go in right now, but I flicked her forehead and she stumbled back, allowing us to go through.

Matteo was in shock. His father was pale-faced and his body was still.

"How did you get in here?" asked the doctor, turning in place.

I saw a flash of crimson and reached out, slamming the man down using my magic to manipulate gravity. Matteo put my feet on the floor and rushed to his father's side, where Caleb was flatlining on the bed.

"Now, what is a demon doing here?" I asked, lightening the gravity to let the demon raise his head.

That pair of eyes were crimson now, but the pupils were like cat eyes with slits. The demon was enraged; the white of his eyes as black as his hair.

"You have no right to interfere," he hissed. "He spoke the truth."

I tilted my head. "Not exactly, because I probed his mind and saw it for myself. Now that you've revealed yourself, surely you won't mind if I send you to someone to torture you after I strip the information from your mind."

The demon's mouth dropped open slightly. "Wh-what are you?"

I didn't answer him and forcefully entered his mind. His body writhed and a horrible scream died in his throat moments after it started. I kept him trapped in his own mind as I stood in there as well.

"When my master gets word of this—!" shouted the demon from behind bars.

I held up a finger and silenced him. "When your master gets word of this, he will either run and hide or foolishly confront me. Now that you have outed yourselves so wonderfully, do tell me why you hate this family so much."

The demon snapped his mouth shut and turned his head. I chuckled, then snapped my fingers. Memories flickered in front of me, and the demon screamed as I tore through his mind to find the key memories I needed.

One picture stopped, and I saw someone who looked to be from the fifteenth century fighting with demons. He or she held a staff of light, and as I looked closer, the person was a woman that looked a lot like Caleb. Perhaps his ancestor?

"Oh, so you've held a grudge with the Knight family for centuries. But you held back until you realized Caleb looked very similar to his ancestor, who likely wiped out a whole load of your kind."

The demon panted on his knees, clenching his fists. "That damn fortune-teller told that bastard his fate, and I was forced to hold back my hatred by order of my contract."

"Contract?"

The demon shook his head, so I took it as his silence was part of the contract as well. I hummed and kept flipping through his memories, then paused on another one. A familiar tattoo-like marking was placed on the demon's back, but it was enormous unlike the one I had on my inner thigh.

"Well, it seems that I have met your master before."

"Impossible!" he cried. "Anyone who meets with him either dies within a short period of time or is under his servitude."

I hummed. "It has to do with that spider web tattoo, doesn't it? Two kinds of venom."

The demon shut his eyes. "Yes."

"Yours was made with both. If you spoke of the contents of your contract, you would surely die in an extremely short period of time, but you are also under his thumb as both a servant and slave."

He didn't answer, but I wasn't surprised.

"Have you ever looked at him?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"I was always in darkness when I met him. But I always felt fear and a thick, heavy sensation of cold. I could hear skittering around my body, as though hundreds of little creatures were crawling on the walls and floor."

"Yikes." I shuddered, then sighed. "Well, I have a proposition for you."

The demon cracked one eye open. "And that would be?"

"Swear to work for me and I'll remove the marking."

He snorted. "I think you forgot that I aim to end the Knight's bloodline."

I snickered. "I can always wipe away that hatred and anger. Don't you want to live a full life without constantly thinking about revenge?"

"It's what I was born for. Without revenge in mind, my life is forfeit."

I sighed aloud. "You say that now, but that will definitely change. Look, just call me when you want out of your miserable life."

He raised an eyebrow, but both shot up when I materialized a blank violet card. "Take this, Demon. No one can see it nor use it other than you. Let me know if you want an exchange."

"I'm still not getting any freedom."

"No, not unless you swear to work for me. I'm not cruel. Just bear proof of being mine and you may walk the Earth with no threat of death hanging at your home. However, I do not tolerate violence nor intent to kill towards family, so you'd have to behave yourself. And again, I'll have to wipe your ridiculous ideals if revenge. Other than all that, you'd be free." I said, then backed out of his mind.

I opened my eyes and willed away the unconscious demon to a safe place for now. I'd deal with him later.

I believe only a minute or so passed inside that demon's mind, so Matteo was still clutching onto his flatlining father and staring blankly at his face. I hopped up onto the chair and placed my hands on his chest and where his soul would reside. I could sense that it was not his time, so he was still around.

"Matteo, breathe and calm down."

He coudn't hear me, so I had Tien Two slap his face with her wings. Matteo gasped and dropped down into a chair, shock still evidently overwhelming his mind.

"Matteo!" I shouted, and he slowly looked up. "Get your head out of your butt and calm down! His soul is still here, so I'm going to get him back. Stay with me, okay?"

Matteo blankly stared at me, then nodded and got back up again. I breathed out and focused my magic into a small rope of sorts, then caught hold of Caleb Knight and ever so slowly guided him back into his body. It felt like hours passed while sweat dripped down my face. A headache formed, but I was careful with Caleb's soul. Just as I cemented his soul back inside his body, there was a screech from the machines and suddenly there was a heartbeat.

I slumped over, my head pounding from how much concentration I had used to bring a soul back into a body. It seemed to take ages, honestly.

Matteo whimpered and grabbed my weak body into his arms, holding his father's left hand while clutching tightly onto me.

My magic amount never budged, but my head hurt so badly. I tucked my face into Matteo's shoulder and closed my eyes as I finally dropped the barrier barring the nurses and the real doctor from coming in.