Ari tried to wrestle out of his tight confines, but it was useless. His hands were tied around his back so tight Ari felt the rope pinching into his skin. It was dark and he could not see. The sounds he did hear were short screams and blood pooling into throats making the voices guttural as well as choked. He pressed his face to the floor, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the images from coming to mind. He had known this would happen, but he did not think it would be so sudden.

It was silent after a moment. He could not hear anything but the sound of his own breath. His heart was drumming inside of ears as soon as he heard footsteps on the creaky, wooden floorboards headed in his direction. The door swung open next causing Ari to flinch away out of instinct.

Candles were lit around the room as he approached closer. He bent down next to him causing Ari to turn his head away from him muscling down his fear. All he smelled of was iron. It was blood.

"Ari."

Ari bit down on his bottom lip and squeezed his eyes shut, but the demon's hand yanked his head up back in his direction. Blood smeared on his face. It was cold against his skin. However, the demon paid no attention to his discomfort. Ari knew he liked to see him suffer and in pain.

"Do not be so angry, Little Ari," he laughed. "Do not act as if this was unexpected."

Ari opened his eyes and was greeted by the same molten honeyed eyes he had grown used to over the long weeks.

"A few rocks and pebbles would not keep me from taking back what is mine," Auovin said as he turned Ari's head left then right. Ari swallowed the lump growing in his throat as one hand left his chin and trailed down his neck.

"Oh, what is it? Do you think I had killed them all? No," Auovin shook his head, "I had not."

"Then Freir and Rein—"

An amused smile splayed across his face causing Ari to stare with morbid fascination at his long pointed fangs before looking up into his assessing eyes.

"I cannot say the same for Cyrus."

Ari's face paled causing the demon to burst into laughter again chilling him to the bone." He saw the blood soaking into his shirt and glared into his eyes.

"Yes, that is it. Hate me, loathe me. Wallow in your own self-pity." Auovin's grip on his chin tightened. "Or become someone strong who can do more than just hate. If you want to kill me... become someone who can."

Auovin sat him up and pushed him against the wall. Ari tried to turn his head away as tears massed in his eyes. As he blinked, they fell down his cheek. He felt Auovin's thumb on one cheek before both of them were wiping away his tears as soon as they came down causing him to break out into a sob.

"To throw away their lives for someone like you... truly, you must be special. Precious," Auovin mused.

Ari did not know why the demon liked to torture him this way, like this. It was as if he wanted him to hate him.

"I did not kill them."

Ari's eyes went wide just as Cyrus stepped inside the room and threw two people inside.

"Why are you doing this to me? I do not deserve this."

"You are weak and I hate weakness." Auovin wiped away his drying tears roughly. "This is weakness."

"Killing them— Killing everyone here. You had done nothing but murder— "

"Do not be so angry because you are the hunted and not the hunter. When you hunt deer or eat fish, it is the same."

"It is not," Ari hissed.

"Oh, because you are enlightened beings and they are not?" he laughed. "I almost had forgotten." Auovin tapped a finger against his lip before sighing out. "What am I to do with him? Pain always seems to work well with these things," he said to Cyrus causing Ari's eyes to narrow.

"A finger or a toe, which do you prefer to have lopped off?"

Ari spat on his face causing Auovin to wipe it away and smile at him.

"Perhaps a head or tongue?"

Cyrus stood Ari up as Auovin rose and walked over towards Freir.

"Or you can tell me just what it is about this little human that is so important to this order and no one else will have to die. Maybe."

Ari's eyebrows furrowed as Freir continued to look away from both him and the demon.

"Tell me why his blood is so interesting. He is a human, but his blood is saying differently. Somehow, I believe you know why."

"Damn you to hell."

"Oh?" Auovin grinned before walking over to Rein.

He was covered in blood. Ari noticed a deep gash on his right arm gushing out blood. With that amount of blood loss, he would not be conscious for long. Ari's eyes went back and forth to Rein and then to Freir. Auovin would kill him. He would.

"Do not dare say a thing, Freir," Rein admonished before Auovin grabbed him by his neck.

"You should not be lying to him. Raising him up as if he were like any one of you." His grip tightened causing Rein to gasp. Ari could see it in Freir's eyes. His resolve was lessening by the seconds as his grew.

"Do not act as if you do not care for him, 'oh holy protector'. You are not so holy after all, now are you?" Auovin's grip lessened as he looked to Freir for his expression. "Your only lover should be your god, is that not right?"

Ari's throat had long since gone dry. His head was pounding and his heart hurt. He was there that night just as he had thought. Watching and waiting until their guard was down. Ari tried to move away from Cyrus, but he grabbed him by his arm and yanked him back towards him like a rag doll.

"Do not make me do this," Freir broke as Auovin tightened his grip around Rein's neck again.

"Do you sneak it inside of his drinks?"

Freir could not meet his eyes no matter how much Ari stared.

"Do you lace it inside his food?"

"You truly are a demon from the deepest wretches of hell," Freir seethed causing Cyrus to push Ari on the ground and punch Freir across the face.

"You took him in because you wanted to—"

"If you know then do not say it!" Rein yelled.

Ari blinked incessantly as unshed tears blurred his vision. Just what was he?

"Oh, what lies you humans tell," Auovin laughed before he clapped and walked over to Ari. "I suppose you get to keep your head for today, but I am not so sure whether that is as important right now. Do not go on and have an existential crisis, little human."

Ari squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away from Auovin causing Auovin to grab him by his arm and put him back on his feet. Cyrus did the same with both Freir and Rein before walking out the door. The hallway was covered in blood and bodies of his fellow brothers. Ari had almost slipped, but Auovin was quick to catch him. He wanted to throw up everything he had eaten at the sight.

"This way." Auovin turned him down another corridor, but this time there was no blood or bodies. Everything was as it was before Auovin had shown which struck Ari as odd. As they entered the main hall, he saw many of the Sanclii tied up against the beams supporting the structure. Others banged on the doors locked by chairs under the handle.

Clement, the chef, rose his head and stared into Ari's eyes with such hate and animosity Ari knew he had wanted to kill him then as he does now. It was not his fault. He did not want any of this to happen but it did because no one would listen.

"Get yer thing and be gone, ye foul creature of hell," Clement hissed causing Cyrus to walk up to him and knee him the face.

"See what kindness brings out in people like you?" Auovin asked as he brought Ari close to him. "See how they are when their true colors are shown?"

Ari tried to pull away from the demon as they exited the church but Auovin continued to bring him close. A scoff of laughter came from him making Ari become more and more frustrated by his strength over him.

The was right. He was weak. He wanted to become stronger, strong enough to kill him.

"Do you want your pets or not, Little Ari?"

Cyrus stopped with the two of them in each arm.

"If I say no?"

"I will kill them."

Ari shut his eyes for a moment before reopening them again.

"And if I say yes?"

"They will tell me all that is to be known. One way or another, I will find out and I rather hurt one of them than you."

Auovin's eyes did not waver from his for a second. There was security in his voice. There were no lies and that somehow discomforted Ari more than he could imagine. He had that sickening way about him. It was true. He was intrigued by him and it drove Ari insane at the mere thought.

"Choose."

"Alive... I would like for them to be kept alive," Ari finally answered.

As they continued to walk farther away from the church Auovin spoke again.

"You see all of the lessons I had taught you? I said I would give you knowledge and here it is right in the palm of your hand. All you need to do is accept it and learn from it."

"I will not hear another word come from your wretched mouth."

"You may lie with your words but your eyes says something much different."

Ari looked at Auovin stopping in his tracks causing Auovin to stop as well.

"Admit it now or admit it later, you are quite curious. You are quite intrigued and wanting to know more. As much as you do not want to admit it, you did not care about the men back there, now do you? Never had they once respected you."

Ari's body wracked with shivers.

"You do not want that kind of life but you feel as though you are indebted to someone to want no other thing but this. Admit it."

Ari shook his head.

"Admit it."

"I will not listen to you."

"I will not hold you captive," Auovin responded in an even voice. "I will allow you to go where ever you so please." Ari blinked a couple times not knowing how to react to such a statement.

"Because... like you... Ari, I am quite curious and intrigued by you. And unlike you, Ari, I quite willingly admit to it."

Ari's eyes lowered. He did not know what to think. His mind was in the midst of processing all of what had happened and now the demon was throwing questions at him he did not want to answer for fear of what he might say.

"Say you want to know more. Tell me that you are curious. Say any one of those things and I will gladly open the door of knowledge to you. Or rather you live in the darkness as your friends back there will have you be in?"

"... I am... curious..."

"Of what?" Auovin broke out into grin as he bent down close to his face.

"Everything."