[img=http://imageshack.com/a/img708/835/o5e6.png]

Maroon and Lily

A tap on the window dispersed the dark haze of dreams. Slowly opening his eyes, Maroon awoke, only then realizing he had fallen asleep. A small bird was tapping its beak against the cold glass adamantly demanding his attention. Rubbing his eyes lazily and yawning Maroon got to his feet and wobbled to the nearest window - a few rooms away from his secret study. The bird flew in and landed on his palm impatiently, flooding his mind with images that jolted him awake. 

“For Gods’ sake, Ambus, you didn’t have to show me the bodies.” Maroon grumbled squeezing the robin in his palm. It squeaked but complied to his will and returned to its original shape of a simple feather. The rest of the report invaded his mind. 

“There’s been an assault on Master Melody’s Academy for fine arts. 261 deaths, all human, ages 3 to 19, no injured ones and no eye-witnesses. Judging by the condition of the bodies it happened no more than 2 hours ago but even the angels in the area didn’t feel a disturbance in the aura of the facility. Traces of demonic taint, most likely of Nightwalker origin, were discovered in the courtyard but seem to be concentrated in one area whereas the bodies’ distribution resembles a pathway heading towards the main building. We couldn’t define the nature of the culprit, although judging by the slashes left on the bodies it appears to have been a demon. The protected demon and principle of the Academy, “Lily Quarin” is missing… And so are the essences of all the deceased.”

That’s it? That’s all they have?

“So you heard.”
Maroon startled and looked in the direction of the familiar voice. The ‘missing’ protected Lily Quarin was sitting on the window-sill, invisible for the dozens of alarms and traps that were supposed to annihilate any creature that was to set foot on his grounds uninvited. 
“How--”
A bemused look fluttered on her lips. 
“Not many demons could boast about seeing that dumbfolded expression on a seraph’s face.” She teased. “You let me in, remember? Centuries ago. You invited me in your life, allowed me to share your house, your life… your dreams…” The wink completed the embarrassment making Maroon blush and Lily snicker. Toying with people was long gone from her daily routine but she couldn’t help it this time. The way angelic immortality worked left them with the curious disadvantage of having not one, but multiple “young and innocent” periods which always lead to more than one naive mistake. And unlike regular angels, Seraphs were privileged to suddenly remember near all of them. “Once invited I’m always welcome, wherever you go, whatever’s protecting you, remember? We sealed that pact with blood, and just because you’ve changed bodies or houses doesn’t mean the deal is off.”
Maroon cleared his throat and rested his hand on Jeks’ head, more out of habit. That only irked him further - the doberman didn’t seem to mind the uninvited visitor one bit. 
“I’m glad to see you’re alive. Maybe you can tell me what happened in Master Melody’s. ”
“Indeed I can.” Lily confirmed and slipped inside. She made herself comfortable on one of the chairs and braced herself for Maroon’s intrusion in her mind. He’d ransacked her memories on a regular basis when they first met, suspicious of everything she said or claimed to have said, and he used to be so clumsy at it that she’d often felt not only a strong mental, but even physical pain. In comparison when he stood in front of her now and placed his palm on her forehead, it felt like nothing more than a hazy flashback awoken by a dream. A much more unnerving feeling. 
Maroon seemed pale as he removed his hand from her forehead, clearly shaken by the fact that the culprit was one of his own. To Lily’s knowledge a massacre like that only happened a few hundred years and were always foreseeable.
“It wears the body of an angel but fights like a demon…” Maroon read her thoughts out loud. Lily gave a nod. “And you didn’t happen to salvage any of her essence?” Lily shook her head.
Maroon sat down next to her and crossed his arms, staring at the opposite wall. After a moment he looked back at her.
“I’m going to ignore the fact that you’ve interacted, and quite happily so, with the Chimeric Lord, who seems to be residing in Loom currently...”
“As you should, he hasn’t done anything to provoke the Council just yet. If anything, one of his subjects has aided in the resistance against the flesh construct in Thorpe.” Lily assured him, noting that he hadn’t intruded in her thoughts more than she was allowing him to. If he had, he’d have noticed that by “just yet” Lily only meant the current visit of the Lord. And she was well aware of his past deeds.
“… and I will concentrate on the angel. Have you ever interacted with her?”
“No. Have you?”
“No. I have seen her in our last meeting, however, and I do know that she’s been submitting feathers for the Book of Fate as she should.”
“Well, then, you better check what those feathers hold. Clearly there’s something wrong with them if no one noticed her affinity to slaughter children with demonic weapons growing out of her hands.” 
“No shit, Sherlock…” Maroon mumbled and got to his feet to get a sheet of paper and a pencil. He divided it in two columns and titled one “characteristics” and the other – “actions”. In the first column he wrote: “black wings”, “Battle”, “extends her claws?”, “can’t tell demon from human”. Under actions he put “obeys a demon”—he paused and looked at Lily. 
“What about the essence of the human children? Who consumed that?”
Lily’s face twisted. “It must have been her. You saw it in my memories, it wasn’t me, nor the Chimeric Lord.”

Maroon frowned and stared at the sheet, tapping the pencil on the table. The time it took for the essence leave the body was anywhere from a few seconds to a few days, sometimes even years. That was the reason weak demons often hung around graveyards or funereal homes, scavenging the bits of energy. However that rate was different for everyone and it was highly unlikely for 261 to all depart within 2 hours. If no demon was around to consume them, that is. Maroon’s frown deepened and he added “consumes essence” to the “actions”.
“Can angels even do that?” 
“No…” he admitted grimly. “However, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. There’s no way known to either man, angel or demon, to destroy essence, and the vials we distributed only accept essence willingly given away by the source. Unless all victims willingly surrendered their lives to Hazumi we must conclude that she isn’t an angel at all.”
Silence set in the room as they both considered the possibility of something existing that defiled all logic. 
“Is it possible that she’s an angelic child, possessed by a demon that lay dormant and feeds on the essence of her victims?” Maroon asked after a while.
“What is she, mid-twenties? I’d have to say no, angelic essence is irresistible. A demon in an angel’s body would have consumed her soul long ago.” 
“I thought so..”
“What about a Tamer, who trapped a demon in her own body?”
“Impossible. No one would be crazy enough to do that, and even if they did, once the demon’s essence starts to mix with your own, it would be impossible to control. That’s madness, and a deadly one.”
Lily didn’t fail to notice how his feathers bristled at the thought but resisted the urge to smirk.
“…A human witch…?” She offered, feeling ridiculous voicing out that possibility of a human having enough skill, knowledge and stamina to become something so much… more. 
Maroon frowned, doubt clear on his features. 
“…if that’s possible, then it’s beyond my knowledge and comprehension.” 
“Humans can lean either way, right? Become angels or demons.”
“But can they stay something in between?”
“I know of two peculiar cases that could give us some leads. Solus Grim - a sane human possessed by a demon, and Devin Windsler – a sane human possessed by both angel and demon.”
“I am aware of Devin Windsler’s case, we keep her under surveillance. However when she is using her demonic skills, her angelic wings disappear. She is a fascinating study on her own but I have a feeling Hazumi is a little different. Still, it might be worth seeking out both Solus Grim and Devin Windsler.”

"Why don't you just summon her and ask her personally? You could even invade her mind if she refuses, I'm sure."
"I'd rather know what I'm up against before I approach her. Her actions defy logic, I can't make sense of them. She battled the flesh construct yet attacked a protected demon - why? Whose side is she on? What powers does she hold? I'd rather get some information on her before I act. Furthermore... if she isn't really an angel, what is to say that the rest of the Council don't know what she is?"

“Aside of what she is, what can you tell me about her past?” Lily asked. Maroon looked at her and smiled grimly. “Are you officially Watson now?” “Might as well be, if you let me.” “Why not. I can always hunt you down. The pact works both ways, remember?” Indeed, it did. They had both sold their souls to the devil, hadn’t they. 
“There are few Council records of her. She is 24 years of age, child to the fallen Kristine and an unknown father. Being a Dark angel she was denied access to the Council Building and only attended the annual feather-gathering. She didn’t stand out until she turned 13 and slayed Kristine who she was living with. The reasons for that remain unknown as the Council didn’t deem it important enough to investigate.”
“But slaying a human is a sin and a fallen is practically human, aren’t they?”
“Biologically, yes…”
“I get it. Traitors. The lowlifes of the angel world. Being let to live is the last grace they get.”
Maroon bit his lip and remained silent. Lily’s tone was matter-of-factly but that didn’t make the truth any less harsher. After a moment he continued.
“After the incident she visited the Council Building for the first time. She begged for a master but she was denied one. We decided to ignore her mother’s death and pretend it never happened. We believed that was the best punishment while still allowing her to live.”
“Well, that’s cruel. To refuse to even acknowledge her deed. And you never worried you might be overlooking something significant?”
“She never gave us a reason to worry. She has always served us since, always submitting feathers, her aura was clear on the Big Gathering day… We struggled not to judge her and she struggled to fit in.”
“Yet you always kept her at a distance.”
“As we do with all dark angels. They have no official education and are highly unpredictable.”
“Yet you never try to integrate them.”
“Every pack needs an omega to hold it together, Lily.”
“I’m not judging you, Maroon, all I’m saying is you made a mistake and it cost human lives. Those are the sins of the Council.”
“And it’s up to the Council to deal with them. A demon hardly has any right to talk about supporting their own.” 
Bringing forth the age-old debate? He must be more aggravated than he ought to be. Maybe he hasn’t outgrown his human past after all.
“No, but at least we don’t pretend to. But enough of that, as you said, it’s your own problem. All I’m worried about is your precious Council coming after my ass for answers.”
“They won’t. I’ve seen your memories personally and should they doubt you, they can read my own.”
“Good. I would still prefer you to talk them out of attempting that. As you saw, I’m indebted to certain individuals myself.”
“Yes, Szayeis. What is he up to on the Surface, then?”
“Sightseeing.”
“…sorry?” 
“The worlds are breaking apart and you’re asking why the Lord of Chaos is attending the party?”
The seraph didn’t seem to appreciate the sarcasm. 
“I can’t guarantee his safety should he decide to become more than a spectator.”
“Szayeis is beside the point. Don’t worry about him for now.”

Maroon got to his feet and went back to the window, plucking one of his feathers. Staring at it he deleted any personal information from its memory and left only his orders. 
- Track down Solus Grim and Devin Windsler and ask them to meet him at his mansion at 2 pm the following day. 
- Organize a High mass for the deceased children. Have the Purge squad eliminate any memories of the deceased children on sight as soon as it’s over. Seek out the relatives and friends that failed to appear and erase their memories as well. Put no markers on the graves and have a Protected demon age the soil. 
- Rebuild the Academy and hide all evidence of the accident.
Plucking a separate feather he repeated the procedure but added a different message. An invitation, to Szayeis, to visit him at his mansion at a time convenient for himself. 
Holding the ends of the feathers in place, Maroon gently blew them until their shape changed to that of twin albino robins. The birds shook themselves and spread their tiny wings, flapping them out of the window. 
“They’re so cute. Can I have one?” Lily joked.

“No.” was the predictable answer. Getting back to his seat Maroon noticed his note had changed. The word “Lord” had appeared after his “obeying a demon” and the minor detail of her presence being undetectable appearing on the other side. The seraph pointed out the first addition quizzically. 
“You would be obeying a demonic lord if you ever met one.” Lily shrugged.
“Doubtful.”

“Well, what now?”
“Now I’ll go back to the council’s building and obtain Hazumi and Kristine’s life stories. Meanwhile you can make yourself useful by extracting her essence out of the flesh construct’s sample. The vial is in my study.” He ordered and left through the window. 

“Yes, milord.” Lily muttered and got up, stretching. Maroon might have climbed up the ladder of power but his manners had gone down. As a good host he would usually offer her some of his blood – a refreshment she could definitely use after her ordeal earlier. But not today. Being a council member probably meant a ban on that practice as well. Well, at least he trusted her enough to let her roam his house and even go to his study and handle an official item such as that essence vial. Just make sure not to eat it. she reminded herself while she was following his aura’s mark back to his study. It took her a while to figure out how to pass through a solid wall but ultimately she managed. What she found on his desk stunned her. When she last saw the vial the different essences could clearly be distinguished like the colours in a rainbow. Well, that had changed. Now the liquid was homogenous – a dark red, almost black substance thick as tar. 

Carefully Lily sat on the chair in front of the vial and slowly opened it. Putting out her finger she used her allure to summon a droplet out. It rested on her finger and she brought it to her tongue… and all hell broke loose.

A million voices started screaming a million requests in her head, and a million emotions overwhelmed her own. Lily spit violently but the essence stuck to her tongue like glue, the torture carrying on for a small eternity until she managed to reach for the vial and offer it to the droplet. It slid off then, obediently reentering the vial as if nothing had happened. Lily was left panting on the floor understanding perfectly for the first time what it must feel like to be possessed.