She opens her eyes, hoping to find the demon dead on the classroom floor. Instead, she sees Aaron staring at her, the bullet caught between his fingers. He almost looked disappointed.

“Ladies know better than to kill men trying to help them,” he said.

“Well you’re not a man,” she said, firing another bullet. He dodges the shot this time, his face calm as if he had anticipated this. The bullet hits the board, leaving hairline cracks.

“Then what am I?” They stare at each other, neither willing to back down.

She fired another bullet at him in response. He sighs, smacking the bullet out the window, causing the glass to shatter. She’s surprised that no one has investigated the study room yet. They were causing quite the racket.

“Who sent you?” the butler asks, attempting another line of questioning. “Whatever they promised you, I can say with absolute certainty that they won’t deliver whatever it is you want from them.”

“Stay still so I can kill you!” she yells. Aaron was starting to piss her off, but she was also growing more desperate with every shot.

“You think a gun will kill me?” he said.

“This is a special gun,” she said, “for special creatures like you.” A gun that at the moment, wasn’t working.

“Is that so? I guess you’re just a poor marksman, then. I can tell by the way you’re holding your weapon that you’ve never shot a gun a day in your life,” he said.

She bristles at the remark. “Oh shut up, demon scum. You deserve death for what you did.” She fires another shot at him. This time, he lets the bullet hit him, all while holding eye contact.

“So that’s what you think I am. A demon.” He spits out the bullet, letting it fall to the ground with a clink. Her face pales, all the color draining out of it. Was there no way to kill him? No way back home? The faces of her family members flash before her eyes. Her mom, her sister - and who could forget her cat, Jessie, with cancer in his lungs? Would she ever see them again?

Suddenly, it was very hard for her to breathe. She lets the gun fall from her hands and curls up in her seat, pulling her legs toward her body. Fluorescent pink stars twinkle in her vision, her head getting dizzy. Oh god, was she about to faint? Not like her mental health mattered anyway. What was the point in being conscious if she was never going home again?

“Nicole,” Aaron said, grabbing her shoulders. “Breathe. Follow my lead. Inhale, exhale. Deep breaths.”

“I can’t,” she said, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. All thoughts of killing him abandoned her. “The air won’t go in my lungs.”

“Follow my lead,” he repeated. “Inhale,” he said, demonstrating a deep inhale. “I’m not letting go of this breath until you inhale with me.”

She takes a deep breath, mimicking his inhale and sucking the air into her lungs. She shakes a bit, trying to get a hold of herself.

“Now exhale,” he said, letting go of his breath. She releases her breath. After a few more breathing exercises, her vision starts to clear. But the tears wouldn’t stop coming. She tries to focus on the weight of Aaron’s hands on her shoulders, the hardness of her wooden chair - anything that wasn’t the panic in her brain.

The butler hands her a handkerchief, respectfully choosing not to comment on her endless stream of tears. He lets her sob into his shoulder, patting her back. They stay like that for a while, her crying and him consoling.

It occurs to Nicole that for a cold demon, Aaron actually had a warm heart. But then she remembered why she was here and what he had done. How could a killer pretend to be so kind? Yet it didn’t seem like he was faking his kindness.

“I’m sorry,” she blubbers. “I didn’t mean to break down like that.” Embarrassment floods her body.

He pushes the hair away from her face. “A lady knows how to ask for help.” He was remarkably understanding for someone she was trying to murder a few moments ago.

“I tried to kill you,” she points out. “Why are you so nice to me?”

“You’ve also tried to kill the Lord. At this point, I expect it from you,” he said, resigned. “It’s a good thing you failed, not like I expected you to succeed.”

“What are you?” She blows her nose into the handkerchief he gave her.

“I think I’ll be the one asking the questions,” he said, getting up. She begins to panic again, the pink stars appearing at the edges of her vision.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He sighs. “I’ll ask you after our lessons, Miss Walker. I won’t tell the Lord what happened here, for both of our sakes. You’re lucky that he rode out into the city for business today. Clearly, you have a lot to learn about being a lady.” He steps out of the room. “Martha! Send one of the maids up. We’ve got quite the mess up here.”

Nicole picks the gun off the ground, tucking it back in her pants. She was surprised the butler hadn’t confiscated the weapon, not like it could harm him anyway.

“Hand it over,” he said, sticking a gloved hand out to her. “I can’t have you carrying around something that could harm the Lord.”

“But I don’t want to hurt Cedric,” she said. “You were my only target. I promise I won’t use it again.”

“You called the Lord by his name,” the butler said. “Since when did you become so intimate with him?”

Her mouth hangs open. “Ced--I mean the Lord asks everyone to call him by his first name.”

The butler’s brows furrow. “He only said that because he thought you were a spy. Everyone addresses him as Lord Phillips.”

“He never told me that,” she said. “Say, didn’t he want to keep his last name a secret from me?”

“Yes,” Aaron said.

“Why is that?”

The butler looks at her strangely. “You really aren’t from around here, are you?”

“I think we’ve already established that,” she said, glaring at him.

“You really know nothing about the Phillips family.” He stares at her in wonder.

She sighs, fed up with the way Aaron was dodging the question. “I suppose the significance of his last name doesn’t matter,” she said. “He’s made it clear that he only wants me to call him Cedric anyway.”

“Did he?” His voice was full of doubt.

She smirks. “What? Scared that I’ll take him away from you?”

Aaron blinks, the question taking him by surprise. “What makes you think that? My relationship with the Lord doesn’t concern you. Now, I’ve entertained you long enough, Miss Walker. Hand over the gun.”

“Make me,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

For a brief moment, his reddish-brown eye glows amber, flashing like a warning sign. Nicole shivers. Just as he was about to grab her, Ruth comes into the room, broom and dustpan in hand.

The child maid gasps, looking around the room. “What happened here?”

Shattered glass littered the floor. The blackboard was pockmarked with bullet holes. And Nicole’s eyes were no doubt still wet from crying earlier.

“There was a small accident,” the butler said, ushering the maid in.

“But the board-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll fix it,” he said, speaking gently to Ruth. “All you have to do is sweep the floors.”

She walks by Nicole, noticing her wet face. “Were you crying?”

Nicole shrugs it off. “No, it’s just allergies.”

“But it looks like you were crying,” Ruth said. “Are you ok?”

Aaron glares at her from behind Ruth, daring her to tell the maid the truth. Nicole smiles nervously.

“I’m fine,” she said, reassuring the tiny maid.

“If you say so.” She starts sweeping the floors, collecting the bits of glass and the occasional bullet into the dustpan.

“Who fired the gun?” she asks Aaron. “Was it you?”

“Another robber snuck into the house,” the butler lies. “I had to scare him away.”

Ruth looks at the broken window. “Did the bad man jump out from there?”

“He escaped before I could catch him,” Aaron said, looking directly at Nicole. She gulps, avoiding his gaze.

“I’ll help you get him next time. I promise,” Ruth said. “No bad men will ever steal from the manor.”

“I’ll remember to ask for your help,” Aaron said, humoring the girl.

“Don’t you forget it,” she said, picking up the last of the debris. Ruth leaves, waving goodbye to the butler.

Instantly, the mood of the room changes. Aaron’s smile falls from his face, replaced by a serious expression.

“Who sent you to kill me?”

“I … I can’t say,” she said. “She won’t help me if I tell you.”

“She?” He raises an eyebrow. She quickly covers her mouth. She had said too much.

“What did she promise you? Money? Whatever it is, we can triple the offer.”

“It’s not money. It’s nothing anyone else can do except her,” Nicole said, agitated.

“The Lord is a powerful man,” he said. “Ask him what you asked of her and he can certainly grant what you wish.”

If only it were that easy. What was she supposed to tell Aaron? That she wanted to cure her cat’s cancer, who, by the way, was in another dimension? Did they even know what cancer was here? The only way to get what she wanted was to kill the butler. She pulls out her gun again, aiming it at Aaron’s head this time. He stares down the barrel, his face impassive.

“You’re not going to try that again, are you? I told you, guns can’t kill me.”

“You don’t have to be dead,” she said. “I just need your blood.” She stares at the gun and shifts it into a dagger. Aaron’s eyes widened.

“Lillian,” he whispered. “It can’t be.” It was the first time Nicole saw fear in the butler’s eyes and truthfully, it was unsettling.

She takes a step towards him, forcing him to jump back. “Guns can’t kill you but you’re afraid of this?”

“This doesn’t make sense. She fell. Lillian isn’t even a goddess anymore,” he said, ignoring her question.

“You’re going to pay for what you did,” she said, forcing him against the blackboard. “You had no right to kill the love of her life.”

“Is that what this is about? Tell her that she has no reason to kill me. He’s still alive,” Aaron said.

Nicole froze. Alive? “Where is he?”

“I’ll only tell you if you promise not to kill me.”

He’s bluffing, Lillian whispers, entering her mind. He’ll say anything to save his life.

“But what if he’s telling the truth?” she asks aloud.

And what if he’s not? We can’t take that risk.

“I’m not sure that he deserves to die, not if there’s a chance the love of your life is still alive,” she said.

“Tell her that I’m not lying,” Aaron said. “I never killed him. They never wanted that. They just wanted Lillian to fall. Tell her they tricked her.”

The fallen goddess lets out a scream of rage, filling Nicole’s head with the awful noise. Nicole falls to the ground, her body buzzing with pain.

“What are you doing?” she asks the goddess.

What I should’ve done earlier. I knew you didn’t have the guts to kill him.

“I tried so hard to do what you wanted. I’m so sorry. Please, forgive,” Nicole wails, tears springing to her eyes.

There, there. I’ll take it from here. Don’t worry, I’ll still keep up my end of the bargain.

“Do you love me?” Nicole asks her, asking the question out of the blue.

Yes, my child, Lillian said. I have nothing but love for all my creations.

With that, the fallen goddess shoves Nicole to the back of her own mind, taking over her body.