Iris peered at Annabelle, who was rummaging through her backpack in search of a water bottle, a frown creasing her face. She had turned the bag upside down, yet still hadn’t been able to find the damn bottle. It couldn’t have vanished into thin air, could it now? Or, yes, maybe it did. Considering they were in a haunted house, what couldn’t happen?

A look of annoyance flashed across Annabelle’s face, with a little something hard to decipher. It made Iris hesitate, unsure if she could even walk closer to her friend. For many reasons, she feared Annabelle would snap at her. She had been lying to her for years concerning her ‘brother’ and other little things, and she knew just how much the teenager hated lies.

With this in mind, Iris fidgeted for a good while. But ultimately, she decided to open her mouth, asking in a voice she hoped didn’t betray her rising anxiety:

“How are you hanging on? I know it’s a lot to take in.”

At those words, Annabelle stopped moving for an instant, sucking in a deep breath. A few more seconds passed before she replied, a discreet tremble in her voice:

“Are you seriously asking me that? Earlier, I almost died at the hand of a ghost, a freaking ghost. And if that wasn’t enough, your brother is not your brother, but your ancestor. He’s also not human but a demon. You know, the kind of things you only hear about in stories,” Annabelle paused to let out a self-mocking scoff, forcing out a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“It was a stupid question, sorry.”

“Please, don’t make that face. It’s not your fault. All of this just feels too unreal, and it’s hard to get my mind around it. So, give me a bit of time, ok?” Annabelle lowered her voice, adding for herself, “Anyway, it seems like it’s not the first time I’m caught up in some supernatural shit. Goddammit, Jules could have told me back then. The hell this idiot kept his mouth shut.”

“What…?”

Ignoring her friend’s perplexed gaze, Annabelle opened the water bottle that she had finally found and crouched to be on the same level as Melody. She worriedly looked at her friend’s blank face; her eyes seemed lifeless, dull like a doll’s, and drool was trickling at the corner of her mouth.

“Melo?”

There was no reaction. Still, Anabelle brought the bottle to her friend’s mouth, hoping she would instinctively take a sip. Unfortunately, Melody didn’t.

“Come on, drink a bit. Your lips look so dry it feels like they’re about to peel off.”

But once again, there was no reaction whatsoever. Melody had become an empty shell, her mind broken by the near-death experience.

Or was it the monsters?

Annabelle sighed, running a hand in her hair. She lowered her eyes, and that was when she noticed her friend had peed herself at some point. The wet spot on her pants could not lie, as could not the rancid smell.

“Maybe we should, hum, clean her a bit?” Annabelle suggested, glancing at Iris for approbation. “I think we have a few wet tissues left from lunch.”

Iris answered with a nod, reaching for the backpack Annabelle had left on the side. In addition to the wet tissues, she pulled out the spare clothing Jules had brought. He had prepared an extra sweater and pants in case his sister forgot that it was already the end of October, meaning that days had grown cooler, and decided to ride a roller coaster that doused its passengers in cold water.

—The teenager was like that, after all.

Clutching her clothes to her chest, Annabelle bit her lips slightly. Deep down, she entertained the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, changing Melody’s clothes into clean ones and wiping off the blood, pee, and whatever else there was on her body would help to ease her mind. Not being covered in bits of viscera should do her good, however small.

Thus, Annabelle prepared to undress her friend, not without throwing a glare at the two men. In a tone that promised hell if they didn’t obey, she said:

“Don’t you dare peek!”

“Why on earth would I? I’m not interested in little girls,” was Jules’s answer.

“And I’m more interested in your brother,” was Bastien’s answer.

“…”

There was a short silence, no one daring to utter anything as the words sank in.

Eventually, Iris grunted something about Bastien not knowing how to read the mood and thinking with his dick. That being said, she turned her back on the men with a huff. Annabelle soon followed up, also deciding not to comment. Instead, she put the water bottle aside and got to the task at hand. 

.

.

Because the mirrors in the vicinity were reduced to dust, there should not be any more dangers left—for the time being at least. With this in mind, Jules had chosen to take a break, letting the group rest for a while. He told them to drink and eat a few snacks, warning them that they might not have the chance to do that again.

Moreover, the girls first had to get their emotions in order before they ventured further inside the ghost wall, while Bastien needed time to digest the copious meal. Jules also wasn’t in top shape, the past few hours having taken a toll on his body.

Indeed, a breather was more than welcomed for everyone.

Only, Melody was still unresponsive, and her friends had to nurse her, down to wiping off her body and changing her clothes. She was like a doll, letting herself be manipulated without so much as a grunt. It hurt to see her like this, and the girls’ hands slightly trembled as they undressed her from her bloody clothes.

While the teenagers cleaned up Melody as they would with an infant, the two men sat side by side a few meters away. They perked up their ears and enhanced their senses, fully aware of their surroundings. So even if the teenagers weren’t in their line of sight, they knew everything that was happening.

If something felt off, even just a little, they would turn around and rush to the girls, whether Melody was naked or not. Safety before privacy.

“So. What’s your story?” Jules asked after a while, his voice just loud enough for Bastien to hear. “It’s not common for demons to stay with their human offspring.”

“Is it now?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

“Oh my, what a scary face,” Bastien’s hearty laugh resounded. “There’s no particular reason, really. I just felt like it, so I stayed.”

There was a second of silence before Jules smiled, a dangerous glint shimmering in the depths of his pale gray eyes. It was but a flicker that soon vanished, just like a fleeting illusion.

“I’ll kiss you one more time if you tell me the truth.”

“That’s… a very tempting offer, actually,” Bastien let out a chuckle, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. “You should be aware, though. No sane person would offer to kiss an incubus.”

Jules cocked an eyebrow yet did not deny it. Instead, he said with soft laughter, “As far as I know, you got to have a few loose screws to do my job. Since when have hunters been sane?”

“Fair enough,” Bastien nodded before licking his fangs that had yet to change back into human-like canines. “Are you that interested in my past?”

“Honestly? Yes.”

The demon closed his eyes and shook his head lightly, not having expected the man to be so straightforward. This youngster was surprising on many levels, always taking him aback.

“It’s a boring story, however.”

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll find it interesting.”

“Alright.”

Bastien took a few seconds to organize his thoughts, then half-opened his eyes again, a hint of nostalgia glinting in their depths. With a soft voice, he began:

“A long time ago, there was a young, naive incubus who fell in love with a human girl. She was a bright woman, always smiling and laughing. He thought she shone like the sun, bringing joy wherever she went. She had quite a temper, though, scolding everyone regardless of their species and age.”

The demon chuckled, seemingly thinking about one such scolding. Cloe really had never been one to mind her words.

“He wooed her for a very long time, and eventually, she reciprocated his feelings. When she accepted to be his, she gave the brightest smile he had ever seen, and his heart melted to a puddle. Years went by, and the time he spent with her was truly the happiest days of his life. But as you know, all good things come to an end sooner or later.”

A sigh escaped Bastien’s lips as his head fell onto the hunter’s shoulder. Jules felt his mouth twitch, but he did not push the demon away.

“The incubus had quite a few lovers before falling in love with his wife, and some of his exes weren’t happy with the break-up, even more so when they discovered he had left them for a human. One of them took it particularly bad. Unfortunately, they were also the vindictive type, and a few days before his wife gave birth to their first child, they cursed the love of his life and his offspring.”

Bastien paused, memories he did not want to remember flashing before his eyes. He buried the old feelings once more, and with a strained voice, he continued:

“The curse was a simple one, yet it was vicious like nothing else; his wife was cursed to die if she were to give birth. On that day, he was thus forced to choose between his lover and his unborn baby.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was as sad as it was amused.

“His stubborn wife did not allow him to say a word in the matter, though, and decided to give birth anyway.”

The image of a young woman dying in his arms, a tiny baby snuggled against her chest, crossed his mind. So many years had passed, and yet, he still remembered that night as clear as day.

“She made him promise to love their child and take care of her, for she was the product of their love. And so, the incubus did. He raised their baby girl with love and care, telling her stories of her awesome mother whenever he could. After his wife died, watching their baby girl grow into a wonderful woman became his sole happiness.”

Closing his eyes, Bastien seemed to be lost in thoughts for a second. His voice had grown distant, giving off the feeling that he was telling the story of someone else. That all of this did not concern him.

“But later, he discovered that her baby girl had inherited her mother’s curse on the day she also gave birth. He had to bid her farewell the same way he did with her mother. After which, generations passed, and every newborn was a little girl. They would grow up, then fall irremediably in love in their twenties. Though they knew they wouldn’t survive, they could never resist the desire to have children of their own. Every time, they thought that maybe the curse had faded, maybe they wouldn’t die.”

Bastien paused again before adding in a whisper, “But in the end, they all died. No matter what the demon did to break the curse, he never succeeded and could never save his family.”

A heavy silence fell, the atmosphere growing solemn. Jules opened his mouth but ultimately closed it, unsure of what he should say. In the end, it was Bastien who spoke up first, adding in his usual cheerful voice:

“See? I told you it was a boring story.”

Boring story his ass! The demon’s past was bitter, just plain sad. But Jules had never been one to comfort others and did not know how to react. Again, it was Bastien who spoke up first, breaking the awkward atmosphere with a chuckle. 

“So? Where’s my kiss?” He asked, his voice playful. He lifted his eyes to look at the hunter’s lips and added in a softer tone, “A deal is a deal.”

The demon hadn’t moved an inch since earlier and was still leaning over Jules, his head resting on his shoulder. His smile was languid, as was his gaze; he was beaming with joy and mischief, just like he always was. 

However, hidden deep in the depths of his eyes was sorrow and longing. It was something Jules hadn’t noticed before, but now, it was all he could see. 

“I know, I haven’t forgotten,” came the answer a few seconds later. As Jules spoke, he bent over, his lips brushing against Bastien’s. “I’m a man of my word.” 

The kiss that followed was light, tender even. It was unlike before, where Jules asserted his dominance and forced the demon to eat. This time, his mouth moved slowly, carefully. No tongues were mingled, no nibbling or biting was involved; it was but a soft kiss that carried a touch of comfort and gentleness.