Mortal Wounds

Chapter Seventeen

Davian's POV

It is no longer a conjecture: the demon's true name is Invidian, the boy who died in the apartment fire two years ago. I pace around Ascanius' coffee table, dreary from lack of sleep and shaken by the memory of his words.

"There is no escape from the hole I dug for myself."

He sounds like me, cornered by the world, wanting to surrender to the unfairness of it all. I should have guessed as I saw the news clipping he left on the side table of Cosmo's spare room. It was about the incident two years ago. He showed me the paper, and now it makes sense. He's looking into the death of Henley Price. My sympathy for Cassiel wanes as I realise he must be somewhat involved in her death. Why else would Invidian be hellbent on taking him down?

"Why keep this a secret from Lilu?" I ask Ascanius, who sits on the couch reading a book, and Vanitas who paints his nails red.

Lilu adored his brother from the sounds of it.

"He tends to be mushy about these things," Vanitas explains, "He will turn this all into a Shakespearean drama and nothing will get done. Blood will spill, to the disapproval of Ascanius who wants Invidian to take a pacifistic approach."

Ascanius lowers his book and arches a brow.

"Brother, would you prefer him to go on a blood-thirsty, revenge-driven rampage?"

"Pacifism isn't strength, it's subordination."

"He'll get himself killed!"

"At least if he does die, he'll die with honour." Vanitas turns his anger on me, his eyes narrowing with seething hatred.

"Invidian is so adamant he can't be helped. Why is that?" I ask.

I look over at Ascanius for help. He offers me an apologetic look.

"Sorry, but you will have to get that truth out of Invidian."

"Things can't be as hopeless as he thinks it is. I promised I will help him and I'm done letting any more people down."

Before anything else can be said, a heat wave of power erupts behind me.

"My, the worried glances, the tension, was there a disaster? How dare I miss it," a stranger says.

I look up to see a strikingly attractive guy who seems to be of Japanese descent. Lilac hair brushes against my cheeks as he rests his chin on my shoulder. I look to the others to see how they react, but they avoid eye contact, suddenly fascinated by the coffee table.

"Um, excuse me, but who are you?" I ask in plain confusion.

The man pouts, pretending to be hurt. Vanitas clears his throat and stands up.

"Lilu likes to study potential lovers and shapeshift into what he guesses what attracts them," Vanitas explains, prying him off me.

"What is your natural form anyway?" I question.

"Hm. It's been so long I don't actually remember," Lilu admits, tapping his lips before showing off a grocery bag, "Anyway, I'm going to drop some stuff off to our beloved, Eden. Does anyone wish to tag along?"

"I don't want to see that creepy bastard. I already have a hard time pretending I give a damn about you two. Don't make me overexert myself," Vanitas snorts, waving his hand to dry off his nails.

Lilu chuckles at him as if he's a child throwing a fit. Ascanius casts Vanitas a sour look and rolls his eyes so hard I'm surprised his eyes don't get stuck that way. Poe the raven wonders into the room and caws with joy. For some reason, he wears a mini sombrero like the strange and wise creature he is. The raven nods in agreement as if he can read my thoughts and jumps onto my lap.

"Davian can come with you," Ascanius offers, making me blink at the offer.

Lilu's face lights up at the offer and he drifts off to me.

"That would be incredibly sweet if you came along. Eden doesn't talk much and he gets awkward when there isn't anyone else for me to talk to," he encourages, holding his hand out for me.

I consider the pros and cons then figure "Why the hell not?" I'll probably be spending the rest of my day with my head running in circles about how I should get Invidian to open up to me. What better way to do that to investigate who were his influences growing up?

I touch his hand. A moment later, we appear in front of a small house sitting in the middle of a sullen forest. This must be the most mundane house I've seen in Hell. Icy winds cause goose bumps to rise on my skin.

"So, this is Eden's house?" I ask to confirm.

"I know. The place is so small. He likes cosy places. I won't judge him but I'm a firm believer that bigger is always better," Lilu muses, knocking on the door, "Excuse him if he acts a bit weird. If he comes off rude, it's just him being shy. I blame his lack of social skills on the fact he never leaves the house."

"When was the last time he did?"

Lilu hums in thought, counting on his fingers.

"A few centuries."

"What?! How is that possible?! Doesn't he at least get bored?"

"I've tried to get him out of the house. No dice. It's only gotten worse since the internet was invented," Lilu shrugs, conjuring a key when we get no response, "I have to bring him food just to make sure he doesn't starve. He's such a child."

He throws the door open.

"Eden! It's Lilu! I've brought food!" he calls out, having his voice echo back at him.

I examine the place with interest.

The place looks like my dorm on its good days. Unwashed dishes clutter the sink. Random objects are strewn all over the place. Most of the furniture isn't tended to, most covered in dust or partially torn up. Someone has taken a texta to the walls, making nonsensical quotes and random drawings. I must say some of it is artistic in an 'I have a messy mind' kind of way. My favourite is the cartoon skeleton with bone puns under it, my favourite being 'What is a skeleton's favourite bone?' and there is a skeleton holding a trombone made of bones. I'm not one to judge. I couldn't draw a tree to save my life.

"I sense he's in his art room. Please ignore the mess. Eden isn't particularly good at cleaning up after himself. His mind is normally too lost in the clouds to realise there is a garbage dump forming around him," Lilu chuckles, dropping his bag on the kitchen counter.

He leads me down the hall and throws open one of the doors. I pause at the entrance, fascinated yet scared shitless by the paintings on the walls. They are strangely macabre paintings that are creepy as f**k, but I can't look away. They are mostly of people but with gruesomely distorted faces and dismembered body parts all done in dark colours. It reminds me of Guernica, a painting I was taught about in art class. Some figures look like they are casually tearing their skin off. Some scream with twisted limbs. Some appear to be eating themselves up.

How... meaningful?

They're so realistic I can imagine them in motion. If only they don't feel like they are staring right into my soul. The only picture that doesn't have shock value is a mural of an Asian woman that takes up a whole wall. It is rather beautiful, nothing like the rest of the paintings. The background is a dark pastel purple with stars dotted on it. Half of the woman's face is engulfed in smoke, fading into the background, almost as if she is wisping away. One of her eyes has degraded into an empty socket.

Who I assume is Eden is working on that mural. He hums to his music through earbuds, using one hand to paint and the other to drink some red substance out of a cup. Eden seems engrossed in what he's doing; he doesn't notice Lilu sneaking up behind him.

With an innocent smile, he captures him in a hug. Eden snaps around, caught off guard. Eden glances around with eerie, lime irises with black slits for pupils. His skin tone is an uneven pale as though bleach had been poured onto his skin, which looks a little strange given his Native American features. I realise he must be albino. His hair is silver as moonlight, falling around his back in thick curls. A scar resides diagonally across his face and neck as though someone had once slashed him there.

A tiny tattoo of a cross is on the webbing between his thumb and pointing finger. His black sweater and sweatpants easily engulf his frame. He glances at me then immediately drops his eyes, chewing on his finger.

"It's ok, he is a friend. His name is Davian."

"Hi," I greet.

Eden gives me a timid wave.

"Oops, I forgot to put your food in the fridge for you. I'll be back," Lilu chirps before murmuring in my ears before walking off, "Stay and make friends. He'll warm up to you."

Eden watches me out of the corner of his eyes as if assessing whether I am some sort of threat. After a few minutes of staring me down, I begin to get twitchy. I dare avert my eyes to his paintings, deciding to examine one. It's what seems to be a man with a face made of glass. He stares at a mirror, but his reflection shows him covering his face with his hands.

"You like that one?" he whispers after a while.

Eden's voice is quiet and raspy, likely from the lack of use.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool."

"Why?"

I scratch the back of my head wondering how I'm meant to answer this guy.

"It kinda reminds me of Vanitas," I decide to say.

After a moment he calms down, turning back to his painting, probably deciding I'm not a threat. I sigh in relief. I guess I passed his little test. Thinking it's safe, I step foot into the art room and towards the mural.

"What you're painting is pretty. Who's that?"

"My wife. And she's not pretty, she's gorgeous, resplendent. No god, man, or star can compare to her," he corrects me with a calm that betrays his shyness a few seconds ago.

Sounds like she gives him a lot of confidence.

"Sounds amazing," I agree, gazing at the other paintings.

I stand in front of another, large painting. Even though it's big, it's mostly filled with black, empty space. Only at the bottom, there is a figure that seems to be a teenage boy. One-half of the boy is doll-like, staring at me with a blank expression. The other half is made up of white scribbles.

"What does this mean?" I ask, feeling a little dumb but fascinated.

"I see, you found the sequel to the other painting you pointed out," he seems intrigued by that, running a finger under his chin, "It's not Vanitas if you're wondering."

"Who then?"

"My youngest brother, Invidian. He likes to put on this cold persona so no one can tell how emotional he really is. The last time I saw him when he saw this picture he yelled at me. He almost burst into tears and left. He is probably still angry at me. I feel like it's been a while since I've seen him."

Wait, did this painting really make him cry? I stare at it, trying to figure out what else this painting could mean. I feel like I'm missing something. I glance at Eden, noticing how he's watching me. I notice how Eden talks about him in present tense.

"Um, don't you think he's dead?"

Surely, like Lilu, he must think he's dead.

"Dead? Aha, are you in for the rests' prank? They tried to tell me he was dead too."

"But—" I stop myself, my chest aching for him.

Denial. He never acknowledged the fact he died or thought he died. I'm still confused about why everyone thought he was dead in the first place. Did Invidian's soul go on to possess another body after he was killed? I have so many questions.

"Yeah, um, he's doing well," I tell him, causing him to perk his head up at me, "Er, maybe well isn't the right word. He's functioning and as confusing as you probably remembered him."

He c***s his head to the side and invades my personal space, getting close to the point all I can see is his eyes. I gulp, wondering what is going through his head.

"You're both romantic partners," he concludes.

"What?! No!"

"You seem to have a passionate opinion about him. It shows on your face," he mutters, making my face light up, "What is he up to these days anyway?"

I fold my arms with a pout. There is no way that I can be that readable.

"He's on some crazy revenge plot."

"Justified crazy or legitimate insanity?"

"Uh, justified crazy, I guess. I'm afraid he will do something he will regret like murder a bunch of people I know for the sake of revenge. I don't think he is stable."

"As they say, a sick thought can devour the body's flesh more than fever or consumption," he murmurs as if reminiscing about something.

I frown at his wise words realising how true that can be. During my bad days, depressed thoughts always hurt worse than a cold or my depressed thoughts would make me sick enough I would catch a cold. I remember not knowing how to get out of that. I scan the painting again, wondering how I can get Invidian out of the dark pit his mind has fallen into.

"The best thing to do with him is push. Normally people need patience and understanding but he is the type to walk away if there is a chance someone will walk from him first," Eden advises with a shake of his head, "Silly boy has always been stubborn, always wanting to figure things out himself."

"He let someone in. Someone named Henley. What do you know about that?"

"Invidian had a bargain with her," he answers, continuing to paint the mural.

"A deal? Like one in exchange for her soul?"

"No, he wasn't interested in taking her soul. You see, as a cambion, you don't grow up the first few years of your life feeling anything. Pain, emotion, they are all foreign. Invidian was no exception but when he met Henley, he was curious. He said she was a mess. She cried a lot and had tantrums. When she saw him, she clung to him."

"Saw him? I thought she was human." I would assume Invidian would have stayed in the Veil when meeting her.

Unless he was in the mood to scare humans shitless with his demonic appearance. Huh, I wonder how he would have looked if his appearance fit his personality better than Virgil's body. Virgil's dewy-eyed getup glows with way too much innocence to suit Invidian.

"Some humans can see the Veil for a short period after a near-death experience. She mistook him for a reaper at first. Asked him to take her life. He told her no. Then she begged him to make a deal with her."

It sounds like she attempted to take her life. I wonder what pushed her to do that.

"What sort of deal?"

"She asked for friendship. Asked him to take her loneliness away."

That's something I could relate to sadly enough. When I was younger, right after being relocated from my father, I would have been that desperate. After falling out with Beau I realised I'd rather be alone than have fake friends.

"If he didn't want her soul, why did he accept?"

"He wanted to understand the human part of himself and she was as human as it got. As he grew, he began to develop feelings."

"He fell in love with her?" I ask, my heart pounding for some reason.

I don't want him to say yes. A broken heart is hard as hell to mend, especially if she is dead. Eden searches my face.

"Oh, of course not. It was platonic. He developed other feelings like happiness, anger, sadness, fear and the lot. He wanted to both bury it and understand it. The last time I saw him it seemed like he wanted to suppress it all."

All that would drive anyone mad. I commend Invidian for not blowing a gasket and destroying everything.

"Do any of your siblings know that it's a painting of Invidian?"

"No. They didn't even recognise how some of the paintings are of them."

"Can I have this one?" I blurt out.

He arches a brow with surprise and turns to face me.

"I know this might seem rude to ask and I don't have any money, but can I please have it?" I need more time to understand it.

His lips curl up into a smile.

"It's yours."

*

I drop the painting off at Ascanius' house before entering Virgil's bedroom. I travel through the Veil and in the dense black and white world, there is no sign of Invidian. I peer out the window. There is no going back. Screw this place and all the time wasted here. I'm not going to miss anything—aside from the scenery, the town's diner' kickass mashed potatoes and all my stuff. Even if my name is clear of assault charges, I bet they have found the bud in my room. Courtesy of Cosmo when I tricked him I would help him get closer to my brother if he would give me some of the devil' lettuce. Of course, I told him Kellin had an interest in everything he actually hated. Damn, I'm going to miss my bud. It's the only thing that seemed to calm me down in this town. Oh well, new life, new stuff, I guess.

I try to figure out where Invidian could be. I search around the room until an ember light catches the corner of my eye. I thought the only colours I should see in the Veil is black and white. I run to the window where it came from. I don't find the source but instead, there is a blood-curdling scream which evolves into screams.

I rush outside, towards the source of the screams, keeping an eye out for Raguel and Cassiel. I make it to the church, almost vomiting from the way almost everyone else is. This included Beau who is on the floor. A crowd of townspeople stand near the church and it looks like utter panic. I widen my eyes. A bunch of guards block the church door along with Cassiel Evanderous. I curse under my breath, blending into the crowd when he turns to address everyone.

"You all need to navigate into the assembly room for safety as it would be highly unlikely that they would attack in a group full of people," Cassiel tells everyone, trying to calm everyone down.

"Is this God punishing us?" one of the parents blurts out, gripping their rosary beads with trembling fingers, "It all must be because we let that devil stay here when we should have seen the signs! We knew Davian was bad news and should have kicked him out!"

Yeah, well, f**k you too, you rotten sultana.

I sneak off the back of the crowd, working my way to the side of the church. I pause when Dwaine, Invidian and Morgana approach the church to see what's going on. I touch Invidian's arm, hoping to catch his attention. He doesn't react in the slightest, continuing to walk on. His eyes slightly narrow when he sees Cassiel but to his credit, he masks his hatred well. I guess I'll have to talk to him later. Deciding to see what everyone is freaking out about, I walk through the church's walls and walk inside.

Big mistake.

I stiffen, a scream forming my throat as I take in the scene that is making everyone freak out. A river of blood trails from the entrance, leading to the altar like some sick, red carpet. Sitting on top of the altar is a head that stares into my soul. Her face is screwed up into an everlasting scream. Her torso sits behind the head. Her legs and arms are pinned to her back, stretching out like wings.

I stare at the sight, unable to look away. Her pink hair is unmistakable. Someone slaughtered Candy.