'So you're telling me, the anger I just felt, was some kind of manifestation.' Lisa said to Ezra in disbelief. 'I've never felt anger like that before.'

'Whatever it was, it was powerful.' Ezra replied. 'Powerful enough that I saw him, and he spoke to me. However, it is worrying that you reacted like that.'

'What did he say?' Aster said. He looked at Lisa and spoke again 'Yeah, that's weird that it presented that way, that anger, that's not good.'

'He just said I'm here, help me.' Ezra said. 'And he was in Hell, where I thought he might be, but I don't know where. I wonder, if Lisa is somehow connected to him, maybe we could use that to find him.'

'There's a problem with that though.' Aster said.

'What problem?' Lisa asked.

'Humans can't travel to Hell.' Aster said.

'Surely there's something we can do.' Lisa said, looking between the two of them. She watched as Ezra and Aster exchanged glances, it seemed as if there was something something they weren't telling her and she spoke again and asked 'What? Is there something you're not telling me?'

Aster looked uneasy and Ezra remained stoic.

'Achilles would never agree to it.' Aster said, not answering Lisa and continuing to look at Ezra, 'You know for a fact he would not allow it.'

'Allow what?' Lisa was totally confused.

'I think we should drop this for now Lisa.' Ezra said quietly. 'You need to let me think about this.'

He turned and walked back into the study and then Lisa looked at Aster.

'Why are you both being so vague? What was that all about?'

'Lisa, this, I can't tell you I'm afraid.'

'But-'

'Lisa, please just drop this, okay?' Aster looked pleadingly at her.

Lisa had no idea what was going on. 'Fine.' she said. Aster left soon after their brief conversation and while she was playing with the children , she had tried to dedicate some time to thing about what had happened with Alison. Now that she was not feeling thar irrational, she started to question some of the things she had said.

Maybe there was something wrong with her. She'd be feeling these bursts of rage far too often and she hadn't really explored the possibility of what that might actually be. Maybe she didn't want to, maybe it would lead to her discovering something about herself that she wouldn't like.

She let the relief that she felt over Achilles subside the negative thoughts. He wasn't here but he was still alive and she hoped there was a way they could find him.

Later that night, when Lisa was trying to sleep, she was considering the events of the day that had just passed. She lay in bed for a moment, just trying to process it all and she became more agitated trying to get the thoughts of Achilles out of her mind. Maybe there was something she was missing? Ezra had been able to make some kind of contact with him and she knew there was something Aster wasn't telling her. She needed answers and she needed them now.

She got out of bed and softly crept down the hall. There was a that study that Ezra spent so much time in and she wondered why. What could an incubus that old possibly need to learn? She tried to open the door quietly.

To her surprise, the door creaked open.

She had been in the room before when she had first met Ezra and he'd asked her about her eyes turning red while she was pregnant. That had been a long time ago and she hadn't set foot in it since. She hadn't taken all the details in properly that time and the one thing her eyes were drawn to was a glass case, with a strange looking golden necklace with a gaudy oversized cross lying in it.

'That's a blessed Maltese cross. Putting that on an incubus would paralyse it instantly.'

Lisa flinched at the unexpectedness of the voice and turned around.

'Ezra.'

'Lisa, what are you doing in here?'

He didn't look angry or anyway emotional at all. Lisa always had trouble reading his emotions and he was still a mystery to her after all this time.

'I was just....I don't know...looking for answers I guess. I'm sorry for invading your personal space.'

Ezra sighed sadly and motioned towards one of the desk chairs. 'Sit down, Lisa. What do you want to know?'

She sat and gazed into the distance.

'What was Aster talking about earlier - about me not being able to go to Hell?'

Ezra grimaced slightly and said. 'He was right Lisa, humans can't go to Hell. Not without giving up something.'

'What do you mean?'

'Your soul Lisa. That's what I mean. For most humans, their journey to Hell is when they die. However, there's something Aster doesn't know that I'm regretful to tell you now.'

Lisa was apprehensive. Ezra looked at the wall and was visibly uncomfortable.

'What is it?' Lisa asked.

'Your soul's already been marked Lisa. When you have sex with an incubus, part of your soul belongs to them. Hence the possessive nature.' He paused, sighed and continued. 'However, this mark would probably make it possible for you to travel to Hell. My main concern is what we would find when we get there.'

'Well' Lisa said. 'That's a lot to process.'

'Yes.' Ezra replied. 'I don't doubt that Hire an Incubus had that in very fine print on their advertisements.'

'But aren't most humans going to Hell anyway? If we're speaking Biblical terms?'

'Well, I would disregard a lot of that. Various pockets of information in it is true but the vast majority is human-written, so it's not exactly accurate.'

'So, what is the criteria for admission to Hell then? Relations with unholy creatures? Being a millionaire? Not paying a parking ticket?'

'Unforgivable acts.' Ezra replied. 'Like murder for example.'

'So where do incubi come into it?'

'Well when soul is marked, in unholy terms, you belong to whoever marked you. Even if Achilles didn't see it that way, there'd be a part of you connected to him. That's why I think you are having these episodes of rage. You're connected to someone who has a very splintered identity. There's a lot of unrest inside of Achilles, Lisa.'

Lisa took a long breath in. This conversation had revealed a lot to her. The idea of belonging to someone, even someone she loved, was a lot.

'Lisa, I mean this in the kindest way possible but I question how much of your attachment to Achilles has been influenced by factors outside of your control.'

'What?' Lisa. 'But you're in love with a human? How is that any different?'

'I know that it sounds like I'm being hypocritical Lisa but I did not have the troubles that Achilles has had. There's a part of him that doesn't control his actions rationally. He's not been stable in a long time.'

'But I love him.' Lisa said quietly.

'I think you need to evaluate where these feelings are coming from though Lisa. I love my son but between you and I, I don't doubt that there are dark parts of him.'

Lisa sat back in the chair and folded her arms. 'So he's been manipulating me into loving him? That's what you're saying?'

There was a defensive edge to Lisa's tone and she didn't exactly know where it was coming from .

'Not exactly.' Ezra raised his eyebrows. 'Being in a relationship with an incubus has inherent risks. Part of those risks is that an incubus is always going to have a possessive edge, no matter how hard we try to bury it, it's always going to be there. I'm not denying that you and Achilles have feelings for each other but I'm also not denying that part of the reason for that is because he wanted it that way.'

'Now you sound like Alma Stack!' Lisa laughed.

'I don't like those people or what they did Lisa but on some level you must know that not everything they said was a lie. I've seen the videos.'

Lisa stopped suddenly. Surely Ezra hadn't seen the videos from Hercules. When everything had happened a year ago, the facility had been shut and everything had been seized by law enforcement.

'How?'

Ezra turned away from a second and leaned down to unlock a drawer of his desk. He pulled a hardrive from it and held it up in his hand.

'I had to protect him Lisa. Do you think if this had gotten out then the media would have portrayed him as the misunderstood anti-hero that they did? I destroyed all those files but I kept a copy.'

Lisa looked at Ezra. She hadn't expected this from him. He was so quiet and mild-mannered that she didn't see this coming.

He saw the look on Lisa's face and spoke quietly, looking serious.

'I've had centuries to cultivate my image that I show to the world. I've made decisions in the past that I'm not proud of. If there had been a concrete record of it, I doubt I would be in the position I'm in now, with my beautiful family. I want that for Achilles too, but I also can't deny that those videos worry me and that maybe he may never be stable enough to have that.'

'So what do I do?' Lisa said sadly.

'I think you should proceed with caution Lisa. If we go down to Hell, I don't doubt that the Achilles we find isn't going to be at all close to the one you are familiar with.'

Lisa sat in silence for a few moments. She was sure if she had been ready for such a long conversation and she felt she had come away with a lot more information than she had expected. She was surprised by Ezra's comments, that he could speak with such neutral clarity about something so emotionally connected to him. Maybe there was truth in what he was saying. Was he right? Had Achilles orchestrated parts of their relationship?

The thought disappeared almost immediately after it had appeared and Lisa snapped back her focus to the matter at hand.

'About what you said a few minutes ago - about me being able to go to Hell because I was marked or whatever, when can we go?'

Ezra looked confused, like he couldn't understand that despite everything they'd just spoke about that this was Lisa had chosen to focus on.

' Lisa I'm still debating whether you going is the best decision at all. '.

'What?' Lisa said, a slight edge to her tone. The familiar feelings of anger from earlier were returning and whatever rational breakthrough she had been experiencing just moments before was gone.

'I'm going back to bed, goodnight Lisa.' Ezra stood up and before Lisa could question him any further, he had left the room.

Lisa sat there, unsure of what to do next. Her eyes scanned around the room landing on the cross in the glass case.

If Ezra wasn't going to help her, she needed to help herself.

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