Lita, horrified, pulled herself out of Taiken arms and backed away from all of them. Holding her throbbing arm.

Clophas didn’t seem to need recovery time. He smoothly transferred his attention to the newcomer.

“Well, if it isn't the unnatural. Come to do a show, young one? I hear you can juggle knives.” Clophas grinned and indicated his friends. “We have a theory. We think you let the knives stab you in the skull and that's why you're such a moron.”

Taiken smiled and waved an airy hand. “You caught me, Clophas. I even practice in private and drink the blood and brain fluid after.”

Lita was not the only one to blanche and her stomach heaved.

Clophas scowled, showing fang. “You're sick, unnatural.”

Taiken bowed melodramatically. “It's what makes me so interesting.”

“Why are you here?” One of the friends scowled at him. “You're not allowed in the Capital Palace without an invitation.”

“Unfortunately for your efforts to remain uncontaminated, I have such an invitation.” He held out his hands and shrugged.

The friends scowled but Clophas laughed quietly.

He stepped forward until he was nearly nose to nose with Taiken.

For an instant Lita was struck by the differences between their human forms. They were both muscular but Clophas was big and Taiken was slender. The only real physical advantage Taiken had was half a finger of height.

An advantage Clophas promptly removed. He distorted his legs, morphing them halfway into monster until Taiken was forced to look up. His boots bulged and twisted with the change of shape.

“Get your business here done, unnatural. If you linger longer than necessary I'll drag you out myself.” Clophas grinned. “Or, since you’re causing a disturbance, I might just get you frozen instead.

Taiken didn't flinch, coolly meeting the other demon’s eye.

“I don’t plan on staying any longer than I have to. Wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable.”

Clophas snorted and smiled triumphantly. Then he waved to the other two. Lita silently watched as the three demon stalked off toward the front doors. Then Taiken suddenly whistled, catching everyone’s attention.

“Oh, and Clophas.”

The other demon turned a glare on Taiken, who smiled. Lita involuntarily took another step away from him. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever seen such a scary expression on Taiken’s face.

“Next time, before you threaten to sick the Brethren on me, you should remember that they’re not likely to give me more than a wrist slap. It would be… dangerous to do more than that.”

Clophas' eyes lit up with rage and he allowed his fangs to grow to his chin as he snarled back at Taiken. Taiken only continued to smile. Then the half transformed monster turned, grabbed his friends behind their necks, and dragged them out the front door.

It banged closed with an echo.

Lita waited for the onlookers to stop staring and find something else to do before spinning on the demon.

“I was fine!”

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “You’re welcome and good to know.”

“I have a Contract.” Why am I trying to convince him?, she thought furiously. “They can't hurt me directly.”

Taiken rolled his eyes. “I've read some of those Contracts. There are plenty of things they could have done without actually hurting or raping you.” Red hot heat rose up her cheeks and he narrowed his eyes. “Have they touched you?”

“No!” When his eyes narrowed more at her lie she raised her chin. “You’re not my master anymore. It's none of your business. Nose out of it.”

A muscle clenched in his jaw and he waved a hand. “Fine. I will stay clear of your business.” He looked around. “Since you’re here, I assume you’re my escort?”

She scowled at him. “Yes.”

“Well, escort. Lead on.”

“You know my name,” she muttered, clenching her fists as she took the lead. Heading for the stairs leading to the upper floors.

“I'm not your master anymore, remember? I don't have the proper permissions to use your name.”

What proper permissions?! She rolled her eyes and shot him a glare over her shoulder. He smiled brightly in return.

It took a good ten minutes to get there. Aridon’s room was located at the very end of the last corridor in the central wing. The doorway was molded into the wall but currently had no opening.

She stopped and folded her arms.

“And…?”

“I was told to wait here for Mistress Diana Veran.” She lifted her chin. “Problem with that?”

Taiken held up both hands. “No. I just wondered.” He paused and nodded to the blank doorway. “I could always open it.”

“Lord Aridon would make you regret that.”

Taiken shrugged and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Fine. I’ll wait.”

Silence. Lita looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling tired as she listened to the only sound in the hallway. The demon’s breathing. Ugh.

“Lita-”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”

Her head whipped up and she stared at him. “What?”

He spoke slowly, emphasizing his words. “I’m. Sorry.”

“For what, exactly?”

He shrugged. “For existing, I suppose. For being the reason you and Sheldon aren’t together.” Pause. “For Kelly.”

She breathed in sharply and looked very hard at her toes. She hated how her lip trembled and was glad she hadn’t had time to fix her hair. It hid her face nicely. “That’s it. Just an ‘I’m sorry’? You realize there’s no way to make that right?”

“I know.”

“Good. Then you should also know that you’re not forgiven.”

Long pause. “Alright. I just had to try.”

It was a very long wait. Lita fought anger and tears, the old emotions stirring up. How dare he! He’d stolen her friend, stolen everything, and all he had to say was, ‘I’m sorry’?

Voids on him! And every damn demon!

She was relieved when she heard Diana Veran’s boots. The ones that jingled with loose stones when the demoness wanted to be heard.

When she glanced up she did a double take. The demoness hadn’t just grabbed something from her room. Diana had changed clothes, wearing a simple gray dress, and had even put on jewelry. Jewelry! Lita couldn’t remember the last time the demoness had put on jewelry.

Diana was almost pretty like that. Almost. Her scowl was as prominent as ever and ruined the effect.

The bracelets and earrings tinkled and clicked softly with her boots as she came and Lita respectfully bowed. “Would you like me to wait here? To escort Master Taiken out?”

“No.”

That’s fine, thought Lita. I’ll just wait by the front doors-

“You’ll lead the way with that lantern.”

Lita started in surprise. But, only hesitated a moment before retrieving the indicated lantern from where it hung on the wall.

Meanwhile, Diana, without so much as a glance at Taiken, put a hand on the blank doorway. The wall melted inward, lining the inner hallway with the displaced stone and making the opening smaller than it would be if the stone had just been removed.

Lita heard that Aridon’s rooms were actually at the end of a long corridor that extended straight into the mountain. She had to just believe that because she could see almost nothing beyond the doorway. She shuddered at the idea of walking into that blackness.

“Is Aridon so paranoid that he won’t arrange for lighters?”

Diana rolled her eyes and shot her first real look at Taiken. “What do you think?”

He pretended to think then smiled. “Hmm. Yes.”

Lita looked sharply at the demoness when Diana snorted a small laugh. The creature even almost smiled back. Just a twitch at the corner of her lips while her features visibly softened. With a small nod, she turned forward. “Lead the way, Lita.”

The hallway indeed led deeper into the mountain. It gradually dipped down and switched backed occasionally. Until she was pretty sure they were lower than the entrance hall. Perhaps almost as low as the lake or close to.

Only at the very end was there any light besides the one they carried. Light that wavered like fire instead of magic.

The room they stepped into was large and the flickering lights cast eerie shadows. Tables were scattered around the room and the walls were lined with shelves. Shelves filled with a variety of objects. Many of those objects she couldn’t see distinctly but they included some blocky objects that Lita didn’t have a name for.

At the other end of the room there were a couple of doors. She assumed one of them led Lord Aridon’s actual bedchambers.

She stopped right outside the entrance while Diana Veran strolled right in. Followed by a cautious Taiken.

“Aridon!” Diana’s call echoed around the room and Lita grimaced. Diana half turned to shrug at Taiken. “He’ll be out when he’s ready.”

“So dark,” Taiken muttered back.

He moved to the wall, out of Lita’s sight, and an instant later there was a brighter, more stable light. The demon proceeded to walk around the room, lighting and adjusting lanterns that Lita hadn’t seen in the dim candle light.

Diana sat on the edge of a table and crossed her arms, watching Taiken. She was scowling but not showing fang.

“If he doesn’t show up, can I go home and pretend nothing has changed?” Taiken lit the last lantern and sat on the edge of a table diagonally across from Diana.

“I don’t have the authority to answer that.” Diana snorted and shot a thin eyed look at Taiken. “Except maybe to smack you for your impudence.”

He shrugged and looked around.

“So, this is where the old devil plays. Are those books? Haven’t seen-”

“Don’t touch.”

Taiken held up both hands innocently. “Does it look like I was planning to touch them? I was just commenting that I hadn’t seen a book in two hundred years. Where’d he get them?”

Diana waved at the wall that the entrance was on. “Same place he got that one.”

Cautiously, Lita leaned her head in to see what they were both looking at. She sucked in a surprised breath to see the man. A blonde haired, sickly man. He was wrapped tightly in a blanket but that didn’t seem to be enough because he’d shiver occasionally.

He didn’t raise his head to look at any of them.

“I wondered. He's an outsider.” Taiken shot Diana a cautious look. “For some reason I thought they’d stopped catching outsiders.”

Diana shook her head. “Never stopped. Just every twenty years or so.”

“We have to know what’s going on out there.”

Lita jumped and yanked her head back. She noticed that Taiken, too, had jumped and gotten instantly to his feet.

Aridon. He stood at the other end of the room, in one of the other two doorways. Both male demons watched each other with obvious loathing.

“You’d be surprised how much it’s changed out there. For example.” Aridon turned to the nearest shelf and picked up something. “They make such beautiful contraptions like this now.”

He strode across the room and before reaching the two waiting demon he threw the thing he was carrying. Taiken caught it easily.

Taiken turned the thing over in his hands. From her vantage point she was sure it was some sort of bracelet. Not the kind with beads on a thong but a solid ring.

“I don’t recognize any of these markings.”

“Of course not. Many of them have been developed since the Separation was created.”

Taiken raised only his eyes and his tone was dry. “You want me to ask what it does.”

Lord Aridon smiled. Showing fang. “Are you asking?”

With a dramatic sigh, Taiken leaned back onto the table and twirled it on one finger. “Fine, I’ll play. What does this pretty ornament do?”

“Compulsion,” Aridon said as he came to stand next to Diana, “forces a demon to keep our Contracts. That thing was made for slaves on the outside and it works like Compulsion.” He grinned. “Except the slave doesn’t get to agree to the arrangement.”