Lottie recovered, thankfully. From what Cobalt had heard, she was exceptionally lucky. Elya's arrows had missed hitting anything vital, mostly thanks to the Golem's naturally tough skin. She returned to school a few days after classes started up once more, smiling as she always did, none the worse for wear bar a few marks upon her back. The Incubus wanted nothing more than to check in on her and see if she was alright, but he restrained himself. Partly because he was insistent on maintaining his distance, but mostly because he knew that Quinn wouldn't let him within an inch of her.

The Imp stayed true to the annulled blood bond; in class she refused to answer Cobalt's questions, outright ignoring him in most cases and occasionally reacting to him with open hostility in others. Out in the canteen or the hallways, she would greet him with glares and muttered curses before swiftly changing direction, often dragging her confused girlfriend along with her. The others noticed immediately, and though Whitney and Jelli would ask Cobalt what was wrong, he wasn't able to provide an answer.

He knew it was his fault, losing Quinn's trust like that. But for her sake, he had to stick it out. It wouldn't be long until the end of the year, after all. Once the final exams were over with and his core class underwent the Rite of Maturation, they wouldn't be his responsibility anymore. They would leave to travel, or enter the workforce, or progress to university. And he would be stuck back in B.I.D., teaching a new class.

If he was lucky enough to last that long. To be honest, Cobalt didn't have high hopes for his own longevity. Lilith had been trying to keep his spirits up, but all things considered, now that the rush of getting Brass home had worn off, those age-old fears returned with a creeping vengeance.

Incupsychosis was going to claim him, one way or another. There was little he could do but pray he could stick it out until the end of June.

They all were picking up on his change in behaviour, but none of them seemed to know what to do about it. All except Karazelle. She kept trying to speak to him, but the Incubus would just find one reason or another to turn her away. It was a game they had played before; one the Succubus was determined to win, but this was no longer a matter of Cobalt's own peace of mind. It was a matter of her - and everyone else's - safety. Even on the nights where she came to his window, he would clamp his pillow around his head and block out the sound her taps on the glass made until she eventually gave up.

It broke his heart to do it.

But it was the best way for her. For all of them.

"Boy."

The Incubus gasped as he was snapped out of his reverie, dragged back to the land of the living by the sudden commanding voice. He was standing in the middle of an open-air market in one of Brimstone's many plazas, staring directly at a traditional Oni butcher stall. Blinking a few times, he rubbed his eyes and averted his gaze from the many cuts of meat on display, doing his best to ignore the protests of his stomach. He didn't remember coming here; he had been shopping for his weekly essentials when he got caught up in his thoughts, and...

"Stop ignoring me."

Eyes wide, he whipped around, nearly blundering into another early-morning marketgoer. Mistress Viola stood beside him, dressed in a thick coat with a shopping back slung across her shoulder. Her gaze was as flinty as ever, and her lips were thin with dissatisfaction.

"Mistress Viola..." the Incubus breathed, feeling the beginnings of fear spark deep within him.

But they never bloomed into the usual terror that gripped him when faced with the Succubus. Instead, he felt irritated by her.

"I need to ask you something," she said curtly, folding her arms.

"Can't it wait until Monday? I'm busy," Cobalt lied, searching for a way to flee the conversation.

"This isn't a question I'm posing as your employer. This is a question I'm posing as a mother."

His heart froze up.

"Where did you take her, boy?"

"... What?"

"Don't play the fool. I understand you have your resentments, but this is a new low for you. I know you took Karazelle somewhere over the break. I want to know where," Viola repeated, her eyes narrowing.

Feeling his mouth go dry, the Incubus straightened his back and looked her right in the eye.

"It's none of your business," he told her, clenching his fists.

The corner of the Succubus' mouth twitched.

"Of course it's my business. She's my daughter."

"She's a grown woman, Viola. She can do what she wants."

Viola quickly closed the distance and clasped a firm hand upon his shoulder, leaning in close in order to whisper into Cobalt's ear. At one point in his life, such a gesture likely would have made him collapse on the spot, but he held firm.

"You're on thin ice already. Don't test me," she breathed, her voice as cold as ice.

"If Karazelle wanted you to know, she probably would have discussed it with you already."

"I'm not an idiot, boy. I know how she stares moony-eyed at you. I saw fit to excuse a young girl's fantasies given the situation, but if you dare even think to take advantage of that-"

Reaching up, Cobalt grasped her wrist and pried her hand off his shoulder. He glared at her, his temper stoked by her accusations.

"I would never dream of doing such a thing. Karazelle has done more to help me these past few months than you have ever done in all the time I've known you."

Her fist clenched as she glanced over at the butcher's stall.

"She's not on the table, Trayer. I hope you understand that."

Cobalt bared his teeth.

"What goes on between Karazelle and I is our business, not yours. I hope you can understand that."

"I can have you fired for this. I won't have you going down the same road as Whittaker."

"Then it's a good thing I haven't stepped foot on that path. Karazelle is a close friend. Whatever you think is happening clearly isn't. You can ask her yourself if you'd like; she knows where we stand, and she respects that."

Taking a deep breath, the Headmistress met Cobalt's gaze, glancing from one eye to the other. A brief look of confusion, followed by concern flashed across her face.

"When did your eyes start burning again, boy...?" she breathed, slowly turning her head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"It... it's nothing. Walk with me. I have much to discuss with you," Viola quickly said, adjusting her bags as she marched between the stalls.

"Why? Today's an off day," the Incubus called after her.

She shot him an annoyed look.

"Don't play the charming rogue, boy. It doesn't suit you anymore."

Anymore? What the Hell did she mean by that?

Shaking his head, the Incubus sighed irritably and trotted after her. He didn't like a lot of what Viola often had to say, but on the other hand, he didn't want to worsen their relationship any further. He was already on his final warning.

Perhaps this was an opportunity to smooth things over with her. Hopefully.

 

-----

 

It was election season, apparently. Isolated from the rest of the town in B.I.D., Cobalt had absolutely no idea.

The main streets of Brimstone were ablaze with all manner of political canvassers and election posters, each plastered upon whatever walls, telephone poles and lampposts were available. People wore t-shirts depicting whatever mayoral candidate they backed, and often wound up getting into screaming matches with those who didn't agree with them. Demons in shiny suits with shiner smiles stood on street corners, handing out pamphlets and buttons to those who passed them by, and cars emblazoned with slogans slowly patrolled the streets.

As Cobalt and Mistress Viola gradually made their way into the centre of town, the Incubus found himself marveling at all the posters lining the footpath. Many depicted a pudgy Glutton man with a thin moustache and a receding hairline; the current mayor, Quincy Hanlon. He was a fairly weaselly individual, from Cobalt's personal experience. After all, it was his decision to bury the memory of Brass Trayer only to backpedal as soon as the Devil Diate reemerged to take revenge upon his son, and now - according to his campaign promises - the man was pledging to 'Devil-proof' the entire city-state.

What a tool.

Still, politics wasn't Cobalt's game, so he kept pace with Viola. At one point they passed an alley where he caught a glimpse of a trio of Sulfur Bloods setting fire to a bunch of torn posters, and at another he spotted a group of Iron Hound Faithful loudly demanding that the Incubus himself be placed in the mayor's office. He kept his head down when he passed them.

"Elya's disappeared," Viola said curtly, checking her watch.

Cobalt frowned.

"I know."

"She attacked a student."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Of course I know that for sure. That girl has always been volatile, and now she's crossed the line. I need her found so I can deal with her. Properly."

He glanced down at him, prompting the Incubus to scoff.

"I don't know where she is, if that's what you're asking. Elya disappears all the time; no-one knows where she goes."

"Mm."

They turned a corner. The entire main street of Brimstone had been cordoned off from traffic in order to make way for a massive stage, emblazoned with pro-Hanlon propaganda. Hundreds of demons surrounded it, with many more watching from the windows of the surrounding buildings.

"She dropped off the face of Hell when you left. She didn't even attend all of her own Rite of Maturation; she disappeared once it was over with. Four years, between then and your first week as a teacher. Four years of unaccounted time, and yet she turns up with the exact qualifications needed to become a school nurse," Viola said out of the blue, her gaze set dead ahead.

"What are you getting at?" Cobalt asked.

"I hired her on because I was desperate. City-state law requires every primary, secondary and tertiary school to employ at least one medical professional, and prospective hires were scarce after Nurse Keating's departure. But I still find it suspicious, don't you?"

Cobalt didn't answer.

"It's no secret why she signed on, boy. She was after you. Always after you. The pair of you were a nightmare to school, and now you still insist on causing me problems, long after your graduation."

"Enough of this. Ask me what you really want."

"I want you to draw Elya Yalfre back out of hiding and tell her that her time as a nurse at the Brimstone Institute of Demonics is over," the Succubus said resolutely as the approached the crowd.

Cobalt's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

"What?! You can't be serious!"

"I am deadly serious, boy. I've finally found a suitable replacement. A stable replacement. I won't have the health and wellbeing of hardworking B.I.D. students put at risk by some deranged madwoman's unrequited fantasies."

He bared his teeth.

"Elya's just-!"

"I told you not to play the fool with me!" Viola yelled, turning back to face him, "But there you stand, trying to redeem the unredeemable! I thought you would understand at Magnus Rost's trial! Some people are simply rotten to the core! And I will not stand to have them taint my school!"

She winded herself briefly, forcing her to lean against one of the metal barricades cordoning off the street in order to catch her breath. Shaking her head, the Succubus readjusted herself and fixed Cobalt with another cold stare.

"It's on you to deliver the bad news. Do that, and prove to me that you're ready and able for this job. Now be quiet; I want to hear Quincy's proposals."

As she turned her attention to the stage, the Incubus felt his heart sink deep within his chest. Elya was going to lose her job. Perhaps the reasoning for her dismissal wasn't directly his fault, but that didn't ease his conscience much. The Fallen clearly cared about the medical profession; outside of her odd behaviour, the Fallen was an excellent nurse.

Before the year was out, was he going to wind up hurting everyone he cared about?

As he stewed in his own thoughts, the mayor himself suddenly took the stage, much to the audience's adoration. Quincy Hanlon's posters made him seem taller than he actually was. The Glutton looked as though he had been pressed down from above, and the tweed suit he wore was a rather unpleasant shade of yellowy-brown. He laughed and waved to the crowd as he stepped up to the microphone.

"Good morning, my dear Brimstone! How fares the day?" he chuckled.

As the crowd called back, the Incubus winced. Having lived in England for a while, he had grown painfully aware of people attempting to feign a British accent.

"Aha, that's lovely to hear. Now, as much as I would love to chat with each and every one of you, I'm afraid there just aren't enough hours in the day. Now, as you all know, soon the time to vote shall be upon us, and it is my hope that you shall all..."

His voice bled away into nothingness as Cobalt slowly zoned out. Beside him, Viola folded her arms and muttered beneath her breath in response to the mayor's incessant waffling. He turned his gaze to the ground, feeling doubt grow in his heart.

Elya... he can't imagine she'd take the news of her dismissal well. As insistent as she was that she was sworn to protect Cobalt, she was not without her moments of madness. Quite a few moments, actually. He still remembered the day they reunited, when she kidnapped and subsequently attempted to murder both Cobalt and his students.

He'd have to prepare himself, though the thought brought him no pleasure.

"... understand that you all have questions, so I would like to invite a few members of the populace up on stage to voice your concerns. Everyone, give them a hand!"

The audience exploded into applause as a trio of demons walked onstage from stage left. They were dressed like common people, but the Incubus was more than certain that they were just members of Hanlon's staff pretending to be random citizens employed to make him look good.

"You there, sir. What concerns have you?" the mayor asked, cocking his head.

"Thank you, mayor," the first man said, speaking into a headset as he discretely glanced at the notes on his hand, "I'd just like to know about Brimstone's stance on extending the cross-continental railway to extend as far as Furnace. Hasn't City Hall approved the plans yet?"

Hanlon chuckled, clutching his stomach as he did so.

"Oh, of course! How could we forget about our good friends up north? Yes, the Furnace railway is in the works, and while there have been delays, believe me; they are for good reason. Under my guidance, City Hall is planning on refurbishing Brimstone's entire fleet of trains with brand new, top of the line sleeper cabins, so each and every traveler can cross our fair Aporue in style!"

Everyone cheered and applauded, save for Viola and Cobalt, who both just sighed and rolled their eyes. Furnace - a massive city-state straddling the border between Aporue and Silatned - was wealthy and well-connected. No doubt the mayor was hoping to appeal to the many social elite that lived there so they'd travel south and spend their brands in Brimstone.

"Thank you for your question. Now you, young lady; what's on your mind?" Hanlon asked, turning his attention to the second guest he had onstage.

The woman laughed and fanned herself. They were really hamming this up.

"Mr. Mayor! What's your plan for the Devil situation when- if you get into office?!" she asked, stumbling over her words in an effort to get them out.

"Ah, the Devils. My dear people-"

Here we go.

"- it's no secret that our fair home has a problem with those iron-horned fiends. But I promise you that I already have plans in the works to protect each and every one of you should they ever think to return! Our military is strong, and our faith in our city-state is even stronger! Believe me, we won't need to rely on any Iron Dogs or whatever he calls himself should I be re-elected!"

The audience burst into fits of laughter, much to Cobalt's chagrin. Leave it to Quincy Hanlon to make a joke at the Trayers' expense.

"Heh, rest assured, this will be the safest town in the world with me in charge. Now, last but certainly not least, you there," the mayor laughed, gesturing to the final demon.

She beamed and began to speak, but her voice was suddenly drowned out by horrendous feedback, spurring everyone to cry out and cover their ears.

"Oh yeah, I got a question! Tell me, Hanlon; how's the wife doin'?" called a brash voice through the speakers.

"What? Who is that? What's happening?" the mayor called, blearily looking around.

"Sorry, misspoke! I meant the mistress. Not the first one, the other one. You two still have your date nights, or has your old lady finally put a stop to that?"

"S- Security! Someone find who that is now!" Hanlon yelled into the microphone, pointing at the security guards around the stage.

"But I asked your tech guys and they said it was fine!"

"Who the Hell are you?!"

"Here, I'll fuckin' show you!"

A series of bangs, crashes and screeches echoed from behind the backdrop before another demon suddenly rolled onstage. This time, the audience didn't cheer. The air was sucked out of the street as everyone gasped, Cobalt included.

There, seated in a brand-new wheelchair, was Brass Trayer. He had been cleaned up since returning from the Undercroft; he had been given a good wash, his beard had been shaved into handsome stubble, and his hair was tied back into a ponytail. Gone was his tattered jumpsuit, replaced instead by a shirt, jeans and combat boots. Over it all he wore a black denim battle jacket; the very same that Jezebel had showed Cobalt all those months ago. The Incubus was wearing a wide grin as he spoke into the headset hanging around his neck.

"Surprised to see me, Hanlon?" Brass asked, his grin growing wider.

What the Hell was he doing?!

"Wh- What...? That... That's not possible..." the mayor breathed, staggering back.

"Oh it's possible alright. I'm a lil' light on legs and a lil' heavy on equipment, but it's me. Back from the dead, despite your best efforts, am I right?"

Beside him, Cobalt heard the sound of glass shattering. He glanced to his right to see Viola's shopping bag lying on the ground, leaking spilled wine and shards of broken glass. Looking up, he saw a look upon her face that he had never seen her wear before. Eyes wide, mouth agape, breath caught in the throat.

"No..." she murmured, her voice unusually weak.

Up on stage, Brass pulled off his headset and rolled over to the microphone stand, winking at the mayor as he passed him. Lowering the mic to his level, he tapped it a few times and leaned in close.

"Howdy Brimstone. Been a fuckin' minute, huh?" he spoke, his voice echoing throughout the entire town.

He received no response.

"Honestly, I'm kinda disappointed in y'all. Electin' this fuckin' moron? Really?" Brass said, gesturing to Hanlon.

He tutted and shook his head.

"I know I ain't much for law and order, but seriously, c'mon. You want my advice, maybe vote for someone who can keep it in their pants."

"S- Slander! Baseless slander!" Hanlon cried, pointing at the Incubus.

"Baseless? Only thing that's baseless is your pullout game. Does your old lady know about the kid yet? He's gotta be in college now, right?"

As Brass continued to berate Hanlon in front of the entire town, Cobalt was suddenly knocked aside as Viola charged past him. She tore through the crowd, shunting demons left and right in an effort to reach the stage.

"You! How?!" the Succubus shrieked, startling everyone in attendance.

Brass leaned forward, squinting at her in an effort to make her out.

"... Vio? Is that you?" the old Incubus murmured, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed.

"Heh, sweet hellfire, you ain't changed a bit! That bun still givin' you headaches?" Brass joked, gesturing to her hairstyle.

"Stop playing with me, boy!"

"Boy. Ain't been called that in a long time. Almost refreshin' in a way."

"BRASS!"

"Alright, alright, keep your tits on! I was hopin' to educate the fine folks of Brimstone on my good buddy Quincy's indiscretions, but sure, I'm down to talk."

The old Incubus grinned and gave her a wink.

"Coffee sound good?"