The smell coming from the vase nearly has my head spinning. Wow... Kian knocks the gla.s.s back and goes to fill another gla.s.s as I eyeball the vase asking "What is that?" He fills the gla.s.s once again and knocks it back before saying "This, is demon whiskey, and before you ask, no. You can't drink this without pa.s.sing out and possibly dying."

I make a mental note as he says "Only demons can drink demon alcohol without dying and normally I wouldn't even drink but after the things I've just discovered today, I need it." I frown at him and sit at the table as I ask "What other things have you discovered?"

After his third cup, he looks to me and says "I thought tracing demon essence here would be child's play but I had no idea... no idea this world is so saturated with demon essence. I see humans but no humanity... what has the world come to?"

I feel my shoulders sink a little when I know what he says is indeed true. There's humanity though... it's just sometimes hidden behind all the ugly stuff. You just have to know what to look for. I forgot how long he's been gone... when he last walked the earth... time was a lot simpler and a lot more peaceful. There wasn't corruption and other things like there is now.

Even children can be cruel... He knocks back another gla.s.s as he says "It's only a little better here than it is in h.e.l.l! I can't find anything like this and the only reason I knew you were in trouble was because I felt the demon essence through the blood bond on your hand."

I give him a small smile and say "Thanks for coming to my rescue and all but I can handle myself." His dark eyes find mine as he quietly says "You forget, dollface. I can even feel your fear through the bond. You and I both know you were in trouble. h.e.l.l, even Binx showed up."

I grit my teeth but I can't deny anything he's said. "I know you're used to doing things alone and normally I would let you. You know this but... this is different. I'm not trying to do anything for you or lock you away, even though it's tempting, I just want to be there with you so that I can 'have your back' as you've said." He says with a lazy smile.

The way he leans back in the chair, his black hair a little messed up and falling to the side while that lazy smile tugs at his lips... I quickly blink and look away before grabbing a gla.s.s of water. He always seems to have that effect on me! I feel like slapping myself...

When I turn to head back to the table, I jump and suck in when I nearly run into him! He lifts a finger and catches the water about to spill on me and puts it back in the cup. All while leaning against the side of the refrigerator with that same lazy smile in place.

The way his long-sleeved black s.h.i.+rt hugs his frame, it leaves little to the imagination as he crosses his arms over his chest. He tilts his head to the side and rests it against the refrigerator as he says "What are you so afraid of?" The question could be because I just jumped but I know it's much, much deeper than that.

We stare at each other in silence as I try to answer that question myself. Why am I so afraid of being intimate? Why am I afraid of letting someone in and why am I so scared of loving and being loved? While looking straight into his eyes, I lower my cup and say "The h.e.l.l if I know... But I'll have to figure all that out later. For now, I need to stay alive."

I walk over to the table and say "If I live through all this, I promise to look into that and get back to you on that." His low chuckle has my stomach filling with b.u.t.terflies but when my phone starts ringing, I pull it out and answer it immediately when I see that it's Harris.

"Harris, what's up?" I say in greeting but when I hear yelling and sirens I feel myself reaching for my keys. "Eris! I... I've got a house in flames and your name burned into the yard... I... I'm gonna be honest. This doesn't look good, Hallows."

When he tells me the address, I feel my heart drop and turn cold. I tell him I'll be right there and jump in the car. Kian appears in the pa.s.senger seat when I'm halfway down the street and even though I know he's asking me what's wrong, I can't answer him.

I break nearly every traffic law known to man in order to get there in ten minutes and when I pull up, I nearly stumble out of the car as I walk up to the burning pile that was once a house. I can even feel the heat from the fire from the street as I step up to the sidewalk.

When Harries sees me walking up, he quickly makes his way over and says "I can tell you know them by the look on your face but it's too late, Hallows. They're... there's no way they'd still be alive." I feel my heart breaking as I watch the home of the Lewis' burn or what used to be their home...

The little old woman's smiling face comes to mind as the little old man shuffles around with his walker. I feel my hands shaking along with my heart as Kian walks up behind me saying "Demon fire..." Rage boils within me as I struggle to control myself.

My name "ERIS" still burns brightly on the lawn as the fire department tries to put the house fire out but the water seems useless. Kian walks up next to me and says "Nothing will put out demon fire... I can try and put it out but if the demon is stronger than me, I may not be strong enough to do it."