=::= Nina's PoV =::=

"Hey Nina, Willow," Cerys greeted us as she and Melanie approached through the crowded hallway.

I was just finishing up at my locker while the cute sorceress waited next to me. She nodded to the two wolfgirls, "Hey you two. What's up?"

"Not much," Melanie shrugged. "I'm glad it's Friday though. Hey Nina, are you coming back to the clubhouse with us?"

I closed my locker and nodded, "Yeah, if that's ok?"

Willow smiled, "Of course it's ok! I figure it'll be the usual stuff, right? Hang out, do some gaming, maybe order something in for dinner?"

"That's the plan," Cerys smiled.

With that the two wolfgirls turned and headed off, then Willow reached out and took my hand in hers as we set off after the others. My heart raced a bit and a smile appeared on my face as I tried not to over-react to the fact that we were holding hands as we walked through the halls then out onto the sidewalk.

There was some idle talk on the way back to the clubhouse, mostly about weekend plans and stuff like that. Then before I knew it we'd arrived. The others were already home, Cass and Kaylee were cuddling on one of the recliners like usual while Sasha was waiting for me and Willow to join her on one of the sofas.

Except before I could sit down with my two best friends my sister asked to speak with me in private. So while everyone else got comfy in the living-room I ended up following Cass into her bedroom, where she closed the door behind us.

Then she sat down on her bed while I sat on the chair in front of her desk. And by that point I knew it wasn't Cass who wanted to speak with me, but her goddess side Cassandra.

I asked, "So um, what's going on?"

"There's something important I need to talk with you about," she replied. "I would have liked to do it sooner, but with everything else we've had going on over the last two months this felt like something best left until we had some peace and quiet."

"Ok," I frowned. "But what is it?"

Cassandra hesitated for a moment as if she was gathering her thoughts. Then she began with a question, "Back when we first met, you told us about an encounter you had with another demon. It took place when you were only a couple centuries old, you described a big scary blue demon lady?"

"Yeah," I grimaced. "I was basically just a little kid, trying to find a friend? She attacked me and broke my horn, then she chased me away! She said the whole Mediterranean belonged to her, and told me not to even think about going to western Europe or Africa either. That's why I ended up spending most of my time in eastern Europe."

Then I frowned, "Why are you asking me about this stuff now?"

The chaos goddess looked thoughtful for a few moments, before she seemed to change the subject completely. "I encountered a succubus back at the end of August. Or more accurately, Cerys and Melanie stumbled across a succubus and our club leader got a little over-enthusiastic and tried to antagonize her. I had to defuse the situation, but before I escorted our wolfgirls to safety I happened to read the succubus's mind. Do you know anything about their kind?"

"Not a lot," I shook my head. "I honestly didn't think there were any left these days? I know a lot of the legends say they're demons, although if you read between the lines they seem more like cambions to me? They probably all came from the same demon."

"I don't think I've heard of any succubi around for at least a thousand years though? I've never actually met one myself. I thought maybe they all died out or something," I added.

Cassandra nodded slowly as she looked thoughtful again. Then she took a deep breath before telling me, "As I said I took the opportunity to read this succubus's mind before steering the werewolfs to safety. I found out where she came from, how she came to be, and what demon she used to be bound to. And where that demon can be found today."

By that point I was feeling anxious. I was sure Cassandra was about to tell me that scary blue demon lady was nearby, except I knew most demons didn't like to travel much. I was pretty much the only demon I knew about who was kind of nomadic, and even that was only because the scary blue demon lady chased me away from my original home.

I also remembered meeting that little cambion Jinx, and she claimed there weren't any other demons around. It's possible she was mistaken though, and if there was another demon nearby I figured Cassandra needed to be warned. Along with Cass and Kaylee.

"Is there another demon here?" I asked nervously. "They get really territorial, if they find out we're on their turf they'll probably try and attack."

"I'm fairly confident this one won't attack us," the chaos goddess replied. "From what I learned through her succubus, the demon in question has suffered some significant setbacks over the last thousand years. She doesn't even have her own body anymore, she's sharing with one of her daughters. And she seems to have turned over a new leaf in recent years. In fact she's been secretly helping trans girls, granting them magic transitions much like Cass and I have been doing with the plushies."

After another brief pause Cassandra added, "I've exchanged a few emails with Lily over the last couple days, and apart from a mild obsession with secrecy she seems rather friendly."

I frowned, "I don't know Cassandra. I'm not sure I'd trust another demon. I mean, apart from Cass and Kaylee that is."

"You haven't really had much experience with demons though, have you?" she asked. "Granted your very first encounter was obviously traumatizing, but I get the impression that since then you've done your best to avoid your own kind."

My frown got a little deeper as I nodded, "I guess so?"

Cassandra continued, "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that you've really only met three other demons? A big scary blue one, then Cass and Kaylee. So if we include yourself, out of four demons that's three who are gentle friendly people, and one who was nasty."

"Maybe?" I grimaced. "What's the point though? Why are we talking about this stuff?"

She sighed, "I'm sorry Nina. I suppose I'm avoiding the point while trying to soften the blow as best I can. The bottom line is the demon I've been emailing is the same one who attacked you all those years ago. Her name is Lily, and she used to live near Naples."

My eyes widened in alarm as I asked quietly, "Ok? Does that mean she lives around here now?"

"She does," Cassandra nodded slowly. "She and her daughters and some of her succubi live in a Toronto suburb. And I've arranged to meet with her in person later tonight."

Then the chaos goddess added softly, "And Nina? I'd like for you to come and meet her as well."

I felt a cold weight in my belly as I gulped. "You're not going to attack her are you? Or destroy her, for hurting me?"

"You don't have to do that," I added as I shook my head. "Please don't hurt anyone on my account."

Cassandra smiled as she slowly shook her head, "No sis, I'm not going to hurt her. And she's not going to hurt you either. We're just going to talk."

I still felt really anxious and uneasy about the whole thing. Knowing another demon lived so close by was scary enough, but knowing it was the one who hurt me and threatened me when I was just a little kid made it even more frightening.

On the other hand I trusted my sister not to let this other demon hurt me again now. And I was positive our parents wouldn't stand for that either, like if mom and mum found out the scary blue demon lady did anything to me they'd probably tear her apart. I knew from experience just how scary mum could get when she put on her halo and took up her holy dagger.

"All right Cassandra," I finally replied, although my voice was quiet enough to almost count as a whisper. "If you're sure it's safe, and you really want me to go, then I'll come with you."

She smiled, "Thank you Nina. I promise you'll be safe. The meeting is set for half past three tomorrow morning. If you want to teleport back here at quarter after three then we can go there together."

"I might just stay here tonight and hang out with Sasha and Willow," I told her. "Instead of teleporting home and back."

"Sounds good sis," she replied with another smile. Then she added, "We'll be meeting her in a Toronto park. There won't be any other demons or succubi there, just you and I and Lily."

• • • • •

"Why did she want to meet us in an empty park?" I asked quietly as I looked around. "And why at half past three in the morning?"

Cassandra and I were sitting together on a park bench next to a trail that ran north and south through the green space, roughly parallel to a large creek. The area we were in was mostly open grass, but there were mature trees here and there, and further up the trail it was more heavily wooded.

Houses were just visible through the darkness in either direction, the park was surrounded by residential subdivisions, and there was a main street that ran east and west a hundred meters south of where we were sitting. The bench and path weren't in total darkness either, in addition to lights from the houses there were actually small 'street lights' that ran alongside the trail, about twenty or twenty-five meters apart.

My goddess sister replied just as quietly, "As I mentioned, she seems to have a thing for secrecy. I got the impression she doesn't want her daughters or her succubi to know she's meeting with us. And since she doesn't have her own body, she has to borrow her daughter's when she's asleep."

"Is that like you and Cass?" I asked. "This demon shares a body with her daughter, the way you and Cass share your body?"

"I honestly don't know the mechanics or reasons behind Lily's situation," Cassandra replied quietly. "It may be similar, or it may be something else entirely."

After a moment she added, "I haven't told her about Cass and myself either, nor have I told her what I am. It's probably best for now to let her assume that I'm a demon like you. She'll probably sense that anyways, since our body is demonic."

"Ok Cassandra," I replied quietly.

As we waited I sort of snuggled up a little tighter inside my hoodie. It wasn't freezing out, but neither of us were dressed appropriately for this time of year. We were both just in leggings, t-shirts, and hoodies.

"I hope she's not going to be late," I mumbled. "Sitting around in the middle of the night like this isn't a whole lot of fun."

Cassandra smiled, "I'm sure she'll be along soon Nina."

Sure enough it was only about a minute later when I spotted someone approaching along the path. That surprised me, I was expecting the other demon to just teleport in. Then as the figure got nearer I realized it was just a human. Some guy walking alone through the park in the middle of the night.

He was staring at me and Cassandra as he got closer, but whatever he might have been thinking he wisely changed his mind. He suddenly averted his eyes then sort of hurried past us and continued on his way.

I was still looking in the direction he'd gone when I heard something in the air overhead. I felt a shock of alarm go through me as I looked up, in time to see the large demonic figure pass by less than twenty meters above us. With wings outstretched she pivoted and turned in the air, then swooped down to land on the grass a half dozen meters away from where Cassandra and I were waiting.

My stomach was doing flip-flops as the other demon approached us, and even in the darkness I knew it was her. I recognized the black bat-like wings that stretched out over a span of twenty feet. The iridescent blue skin. The completely black eyes that looked like two bottomless pools. The feline legs and feet. And the long spade-tipped tail. This was the figure who still sometimes haunted my nightmares even now, twelve hundred years after the fact.

She stood about eight and a half feet tall, and her long black hair was wild and unkempt. She was also completely naked, which would have made me blush and look away if I wasn't already cringing in fear.

As the demoness approached us her form shifted and she took on a human guise. She shrank to about average height, and clothing formed around her. When she stopped a meter and a half in front of us she looked like a typical human woman in her thirties. She stood about five foot seven, and instead of blue her skin had taken on a dusky Mediterranean look. Her hair was still long and black but it was smooth and straight rather than wild. Her eyes were dark but otherwise normal. And she was dressed in a pair of tight black jeans, black shoes, and a dark grey jacket over a purple blouse.

She looked back and forth between my sister and I then asked, "Which of you is Cassandra?"

"That would be me," my sister replied as she stood up. "And I assume you're Lily?"

The demon nodded, "I am."

Despite Cassandra's assurances I still felt really tense and anxious. The situation didn't seem friendly, and I couldn't help worrying that things were about to turn ugly.

Then my sister gestured to me as she stated, "This is my sister Nina."

I gulped but gave the demoness a nervous wave and said, "Hello."

Lily frowned slightly as she looked me up and down. I was still seated on the bench while she stood a couple paces in front of me, and Cassandra was on her feet just to my left. Then the other demon sighed and her expression shifted to something like regret.

"Nina I apologize for attacking you and hurting you when we first met," she stated. "While there's no excuse, I do have an explanation for my behaviour. I was still mourning the loss of my mate and my child, and the only other demons I knew back then were both awful influences. I knew if you remained in the area they'd either kill you outright, or they'd twist you the way they did me."

She continued, "That's why I tried to scare you away from my territory, and why I warned you to stay away from theirs as well. For what it's worth all three of those places are now free of demons. The one who lived in the UK and the one who lived in Morocco have both been defeated, and I've lost my claim to the Mediterranean."

"You have no need to fear me here either," she added. "I don't claim any territory as my own anymore. If you are willing to share this province then so am I."

After a pause she sighed again, "You were such a young demon when we met. I just want you to know that I'm sorry for how I hurt you, and I deeply regret those actions."

By that point I had no idea how to respond. I didn't even know what to think. I found myself staring at her as my mind spun around. One thing that struck me was how this was almost a replay of when Cass saved Sasha back in June, and how my friend got down on her knees to apologize.

Lily wasn't kneeling or anything, and she definitely wasn't a friend, but it was kind of the same thing. Once again my sister arranged for someone to apologize to me for things they'd done to hurt me in the past.

I finally just nodded and mumbled, "Um, ok Lily. Thank you for the apology. I'm not sure what else to say though? I didn't really expect any of this."

"So what happens now?" I asked a moment later. "Are we going to become friends? Will we start meeting up more and hanging out together?"

The other demon shook her head, "Perhaps someday, but not right now. I understand Cassandra and I are working towards similar goals, but we have very different methods. And I'm not in a position where I can be out in the open about my actions, almost everything I do right now is done in secret."

"And I'd prefer to keep it that way," she added. "I especially don't want to get my daughters or their polycule involved just yet."

Cassandra asked, "Do you think they'd try and stop you? Would they disapprove of your efforts?"

Lily grimaced as she shook her head, "The opposite. They'd insist on getting involved, and things would rapidly spin out of control from there. I'm afraid Mara is not the least bit subtle, and Mira is only slightly better."

"And on that note," the demoness added, "I should be on my way. Cassandra, thank you for arranging this meeting. And Nina, once again I'm sorry for how I hurt you in the past."

With that she turned and shifted back to her demonic form in mid-step. Her large black wings beat once and launched her into the air, and a few seconds later she'd faded into the dark night air. Meanwhile I sat there on the park bench feeling a little confused, but also strangely relieved. Like maybe Lily wasn't such a big scary monster after all.

"Nina?" Cassandra asked quietly. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged as I finally got to my feet, "I don't know sis. I'm ok I guess? Thank you for setting this up. I'm not sure what to make of it all, but I appreciate the effort."

She gave me a sad smile, "It wasn't quite what I was expecting either, but I'm glad it worked out ok. And who knows? Maybe in time she'll be more comfortable with us, then we can try and make friends with her?"

"Yeah," I nodded slowly. "Maybe."

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