A Demon's Past

Chapter 8

Andras couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't wait as he conveyed Violette over to his penthouse and walked back into the club to find him. He needed answers.

But first, he needed to set the scene. He walked into the back room, which was really more of an old storage room, with boxes of alcohol stacked near its walls.  As soon as he entered he put his finger in his mouth. Wetting it enough to start drawing a specific triangle, one that could make a certain someone tell him everything he needed to know.

He knew this triangle was stronger if it was made with blood, but he would have noticed that the moment he walked in. This was more subtle and even though he'd have to use his own magic to contain it, it would suffice.

He finished and just sat down on a chair, waiting. He knew he would come to him once he felt his presence. 

"Andras," a voice said from the corner of the room as a man stepped out of the shadows. 

"Flauros," he said, inspecting him. He had the same dark skin, the same freckles, and brown eyes that had a certain fire to them. If he stared into the man's eyes for long enough he could see the flames of hell reflecting upon them.

"I go by Darius, these days" he interrupted. "What exactly are you doing in my club?"

 "I came to have some fun."

"And?" he said, stepping closer, exactly where he wanted him. The moment he stepped into the triangle it started glowing with unholy light and he rolled his eyes, answering his own question. "You can't be serious." He wasn't angry, no, not anymore. He used to be, he would be if Andras was one of the few witches that had been able to outsmart him.

"I'm sorry, old friend," he said with an honest smile "But I needed to make sure you wouldn't lie." Flauros had been an angel blessed with the gift of truth, and after the fall he learned to lie. He enjoyed tricking humans almost as much as he enjoyed hearing himself talk. Few knew the secret to make him unable to lie, he might have been responsible for teaching a few humans his secret, and Darius knew this. He knew because he knew everything, and that was why he was there.

He crossed his arms "So, can we get this done? I have important things to do."

"I apologize, Your Highness," he said with a mocking tone and leaned in his chair. "You know why I'm here, you know what I want, start talking"

Flauros smiled "That's not how this works, you know that."

He cut to the chase "Why doesn't Lailah remember me?" there it was. The fact that made everything so much more complicated. She didn't remember him at all. That was not part of the plan, he would get to her, talk to her, and then things would be back to the way they were supposed to be. And he would get what he wanted.

 He expected her to be angry, to yell, to fight him, even kill him. But not this, never this.

"Ah," Flauros said with a smirk "It seems your schemes and plans failed you for the first time since the fall" he gloated at the fact and Andras couldn't keep the scowl off his face. "You have always been so powerful, so smart. But your lack of patience and wreckless impulsivity were and will continue to be your greatest weakness."

"That is not an answer to my question," he said, showing him how right he was about his limited patience.

"You were clever to place me in this triangle, because out of it, even if I wanted to, I couldn't tell you the truth" he suspected that, that curse on Lailah was too well done. "She was punished because of you, because she--"

"I know," he interrupted "She was sentenced to die a painful death a million lifetimes as a human," that was the extent of his knowledge, he had already fallen when she was cursed.

"That is but a small sliver of what happened" he stated "She was to die a million times and live a painful human life filled with uncertainty and fear of herself. She was to be at times adored, at times hated, at times burned, and feared for her abilities. But the whole point is she could never remember what she is, never be able to fully understand herself" Flauros spoke, but there was something he was holding back, he knew it.

So he just asked him, throwing caution to the wind "How can I break her curse?"

"The key lies in the curse itself," he said, and he just waited "Not up to a little riddle, my friend?"

"What do you think?" he grumbled.

Flauros merely laughed "It's simple, she can't know what she is. The moment she does, she gets her memories back, her wings back and her life back," he said "The same thing would happen the moment she dies her millionth death, her punishment being fulfilled."

"But I can't just tell her can I?" no, there had to be a catch.

"No one can, no matter how much they want to," he said calmly "She must realize for herself."

"And why send angels to guard her? Why keep her away from me for all this time?"

"Because you are part of her punishment," he didn't say the rest, he could see it in his eyes, and he knew very well why he was a part of it "What goes around comes around."

"What?" he asked, but the triangle stopped glowing as if it was purified by something or someone. Flauros simply stepped out and shrugged.

"I'm sorry my friend, but it seems someone wants the last part of the curse to be kept secret" Flauros came closer and clapped him on the shoulder.

He was exhausted, he was using his own magic to keep another major demon trapped. But he was also mentally spent. This was too much, everything was too much.

"I saw her today" he finally said, more to himself than to his friend who merely walked to a box in the ground and opened it, revealing expensive whiskey.

"I know," Flauros said softly as he snapped his fingers and two glasses appeared.

"It's going to happen again," he said, finally reaching the conclusion he'd been dreading. He didn't know if he meant that she was going to die and he was going to have to look for her. Or if he meant...

"Only Lailah can make that choice, Andras," Flauros said "If she allows it, it will happen, if she doesn't you can avoid it." He offered him a glass and said "Do you want it to happen again?"

"No,"

"Then stay away from her."

"I... I can't" he admitted. Not ever, and especially now that he found her, saw her, touched her. He'd been wanting to touch her from the moment he saw her. Only millions of years of will made him able to hold back for so long.

"You should've explained to her why you chose to follow the beautiful one," he said simply. "She would have chosen to do the same."

He was about to say he couldn't know that, but he could. But he had to know why he didn't tell her. So he just drank and said, "Why did you choose to follow him anyway? You knew how things would end."

"We all knew how things would end," he stated and Andras couldn't really say he disagreed. "I followed him for the same reason you did,"

"Who?"

He didn't answer. That was perhaps the only truth he did not want to twist and also the one lie he couldn't bring himself to tell.