Little mushrooms that grew on rotting trunks, purple and white, speckled with yellow. Green bulbs that grew just below alluvial silt in forest streams. Delicate pink flowers that grew on the corpses of dead deer and squirrels. Plants known only to Imps, scholars and those who lived deep in the Brimstone Woods. To touch, poisonous. To eat, poisonous. To cook, poisonous.

But when cut, boiled, reduced, simmered and diluted, they formed a much gentler toxin. One that deadened the nerves and sent the body to sleep in almost an instant.

Mother's favourite.

Elya never learned the recipe. It was just forced into her mind, and she obeyed the instructions to the letter. Her hands were raw and blistered from digging through the undergrowth, and her body was spattered with burns from the boiling process, and her eyes stung from the countless nights spent lying awake. She cradled her prize in her hands as she rode the winds high above Brimstone; a dirty syringe, crammed full of her creation.

THIS IS LOVE.

Of course. It's all come down to this. There was no more need for a clinical facade. No need to hide any longer.

THE STAGE IS SET. THE PATH IS LAID CLEAR. ONLY ONE PIECE REMAINS.

"My love..." the Fallen murmured, her voice cracked and painful from lack of use.

Her gaze flitted down, to the campus far below. Her old place of work. In the back of her mind, she could feel tiny flickers of emotion. The good memories she had there, working a daily nine-to-five alongside-

FOCUS.

Elya shook those thoughts out of her head and folded her wings, diving down towards the twin dormitory buildings. She had a mission. A goal. Everything she ever wanted was so close, at the very tips of her fingers. She just had to enact the final part of her plan; to make Cobalt walk the path, and finally see past the foolishness that had blinded him for so long.

To see that they were both bound, and have been from the start.

She touched down upon the roof of the boys' dorms, her bloodied feet scraping against the stonework as she landed. Her body was weak - crying for relief - but Elya couldn't rest, not while she was so close. She forged on through the pain, jimmying the roof access door open with Immoderata and descending the staircase.

She glanced down at the dagger in her hand. When was the last time she put it down?

FOCUS.

Elya stopped thinking and kept moving forward.

Dark footprints followed the Fallen as she crept down to the fifth floor, clinging to the shadows all the while. The dried blood and dirt clinging to her body flaked off and scattered to the floor with every silent step she took, and with the late hour, nobody was awake to notice or stop her approach. She continued unharried to the room she was looking for. Door number 521. A door bearing a bronze plate. A bronze plate bearing a name.

A name that was soon to be hers.

"It has been far, far too long, my love..." Elya breathed, placing her hand upon the door handle.

Locked, but that didn't stop her. All she needed to do was force Immoderata into the doorframe and pull. It snapped open, allowing her to slip inside.

The Incubus' room... she could spend hours in there. Every inch of the place was suffused with his scent, every object graced with his touch. Elya could taste him in the air, and as she crept further in, she heard a soft mumble from the bed.

There he was, tangled up in his duvet, sleeping like a rock. His face was twisted with discomfort, and both his eyes and his pillow were damp with tears. For a moment, Elya stood and stared at Cobalt, feeling her heartbeat quicken at the mere sight of the Incubus. Surrounded by his smell and faced with him lying before her so... defencelessly... she had a hard time controlling herself.

ALL IN GOOD TIME.

Of course.

Approaching the bed, Elya knelt down next to the Incubus. The urges were overwhelming. She could see every detail of his face; the slight discolouration on his cheek from the wound Durnall gave him all those years ago, dark rings around his eyes, the glint of sharp ivory in his mouth whenever he took a breath... She slowly reached across and stroked the Incubus' face, leaving a dark smear.

FOCUS.

Wincing, Elya produced the syringe and gave it a few flicks, watching intently as a few drops of liquid oozed out of the needle's tip.

"We shall be together soon, my love. Now and forever..." she breathed, gently turning Cobalt's head.

She pierced the needle into the supple flesh of his neck, her free hand stroking his hair as she depressed the plunger. The Incubus flinched and tensed up, but his body soon relaxed as the drug's effect took hold. Flutters of excitement stirred in her chest as she lifted the Incubus into her arms. Now all there was to do was take him back, let him walk the path, and have him submit to her, mind, soul and body.

Just as Mother did.

"You'll see, my love," Elya breathed, crawling out of his window onto the support strut.

She spread her wings and gazed up at the night sky.

"You'll see..."

 

-----

 

Cobalt was adrift in an ocean of deep, cold nothingness, numbed to the world around him. He felt at peace, and that set him on edge. He shouldn't feel like this, not after everything he had done. In the past few days alone, it had taken everything he had in him not to completely break down in front of his class. That cold, hard facade he had shown to Izzbelle was wearing on him, and the looks the Oni gave him...

It hurt.

It hurt him so much.

Like a pointed, stabbing sensation right in the centre of his forehead.

Wait.

No, that was actually happening.

Frowning, the Incubus blearily snapped his eyes open, shivering as an unexpected gust of wind suddenly blew across his body, causing him to shake uncontrollably. The smell of fresh loam and decaying plant life filled his nostrils, and he could feel twigs and leaves stab through his nightclothes. His vision was filled with grey feathers as a bird stood upon his face, repeatedly pecking his forehead.

"Ow... ow! Stop that!" he grunted, swiping at it.

The bird fluttered back, but didn't take wing. As Cobalt's eyes adjusted, he squinted at it.

"... Columba...?" he murmured as Elya's pet pigeon slowly came into view.

She stared back at him with her beady little eyes.

"What are you doing here...?"

"Better question would be what are we doing here, kid," Lilith murmured, sounding uneasy.

Rubbing his eyes, Cobalt slowly stood up, only to find his legs weak and shaking. There was a dull pain in the side of his neck, and as he tried to correct his balance, he was forced to cling to a tree in order to steady himself.

Wait, that wasn't right.

Rubbing his eyes again, the Incubus found himself in the middle of a dense, dark forest. There was barely enough moonlight to see by, but everything he could see shifted and twisted at the edges of his vision. All he could make out was the dirt path beaten into the undergrowth before him, and the pigeon staring into his eyes.

"This whole thing... smells like that Fallen," Lilith murmured.

"Elya? No-one's seen her in weeks," Cobalt responded, stumbling forward.

Columba hopped out of the way as he tripped through the leaves, following behind him as he blindly staggered around.

"Why do you think that is? The bitch was clearly planning something."

"Hey! Don't call her-!"

"Why are you defending her, kid? Seriously?"

Lilith leaped out of his body, landing unsteadily by a tree and startling Columba. Wiping herself down, she folded her arms and fixed Cobalt with an irate stare.

"Look, I've come around on a lot of your little gaggle. But that Fallen? There's no redeeming that," she told him.

Cobalt frowned.

"Elya... she's just..."

"She's just what?"

"She's just sick, okay? I don't know with what, or how, or when, but at one point she just... I mean she..."

Lilith put her hands on Cobalt's shoulders, startling him. The look in her eye was intense, enough to send a shiver down his spine.

"Kid. Listen to yourself," the Devil said, stooping down to meet his eye-level.

"What...?"

"You're tripping over yourself to make excuses for her, and all she's ever done is hurt and terrify you."

"Elya's-"

"Elya's not a good person, kid! Why can't you see that?!"

"She's sick, Lilith!" Cobalt snapped, almost involuntarily.

"Why do you keep saying that?! Why can't you see what's right in front of your fucking eyes?!" Lilith yelled back, throwing her arms wide.

Cobalt balled his fists.

"Well if I'm so blind, then do be so kind as to enlighten me!"

She pounded a palm against her forehead.

"Oh for the love of- the knife!"

The knife. That twisted, iron dagger. The one Lilith told him was cursed.

"It's a Curse! It's gotten its hooks into her and twisted her into something she's not! That's what they do to people, kid!"

Cobalt slowly shook his head. That just didn't make sense. He could fathom why, it just... didn't.

"I- I don't... I don't get it," he mumbled, furrowing his brow.

Lilith stepped back and took a deep breath.

"... Fuck. Okay. We don't have time for this right now. Wait here."

Leaping up, she grabbed a hold of one of the lower branches and began to clamber up the tree. As she did so, Columba fluttered up into Cobalt's face, landing in his arms and settling down before he could react.

"Woah, are you okay there?" he asked, peering down at the bird in his arms.

The pigeon glanced up to him and cooed quietly.

"... You don't believe all that, do you Columba? I mean... it just doesn't make sense."

The dagger. Elya's eyes. How he felt when he touched that blade. There... There had to be a rational explanation. Cobalt had borne witness to a lot over the last few months, but this was a step too far.

Elya Yalfre was suffering from mental illness. It frightened him, and drove her to do some erratic things, but none of that was her fault. It couldn't be.

She was his friend.

More than his friend...

... wasn't she?

"Middle of the woods. Lights out east, must be Brimstone. Too far to walk, though. That bitch must have flown you out here," Lilith called from the top of the tree.

"I told you to stop calling her that!" Cobalt yelled back angrily.

"I call it how it is, kid. Ask anyone."

He bared his teeth, causing Columba to puff up in his arms.

"Anyway, there's a path leading from here further in, north-westward. Structure beyond the treeline; looks like a clearing."

In a shower of leaves and twigs, she slid back down the bark and landed at Cobalt's feet.

"Two options, then. We spend the night schlepping back to town, or we head further in. Pin the bitch's wings while she hides in her nest."

"ENOUGH!"

An involuntary flash of rage. Blood sprayed against the forest floor as an array of teeth and bone shards tore through Cobalt's knuckles, aligning and forming themselves in order to maximize potential damage. Lilith took a step back, her single eye flitting from his balled fist to the veins glowing beneath his skin.

"I don't get it, kid. Why are you so diehard for her? Unless..."

Her eye widened, and before Cobalt could do anything, she joined back with him, seeping away into a cloud of grey magic.

"... Let's just press on. I got a couple of things I need to work out," Lilith murmured, sounding pensive.

"You're keeping something from me, aren't you?" the Incubus muttered, stroking Columba's head.

"Of course I am, but you're too obstinate to hear it. Far more than normal, anyway."

Cobalt clucked his tongue. Despite her accusations, she raised a good point; walking all the way back to Brimstone would be a slow and painful process. His best option would be to head towards the structure she mentioned. Should Elya be there - if she even is responsible for all of this - he could maybe get some answers out of her. Hellfire knew he was owed more than a couple.

"Fine. I'll prove it to you; she just needs the right help."

"... Right."

Shaking his head, Cobalt forged on through the forest, squinting at his feet to ensure that he kept to the path. Sharp stones and thorny twigs stabbed at the soles of his feet, but as his eyes adjusted, he found that the going got just that little bit easier. He was deep in the Brimstone Woods, but it was clear that he wasn't alone. Strange charms made from twigs and string hung from the branches along the path, acting as guides as such, while many odd little symbols had been carved into the trunks.

Eventually the path bent to the left, curving around a large tree. Cobalt paid it no mind, until Columba suddenly chirped and pecked his arm, forcing him to stop. Squinting at it, he saw that there were words carved into the bark, forming a long, winding message.

"PLEASE understand why I must do this, my love. Why I must have you walk this path. Apart, we are lost and alone, blindly stumbling through the darkness. I fear you will lose sight of me. I cannot let that happen.

There was no doubt about it. This was Elya's doing.

"Please..." Lilith murmured.

"What?"

"Can't you see it? In everything she's ever written to you?"

"See what? Lilith, what the Hell are you talking about?!"

"Kid, you can't seriously be that-! Ugh, never mind. Just... keep going."

Lilith was really starting to get on his nerves, now.

Onward he walked, clutching his arms as the chilling wind cut him right to the bone. The trees grew taller and more sinister, their roots churning up the path and tripping the Incubus more than a few times. The symbols cut into the wood were growing more frequent, and he began to notice his name carved alongside them, dozens upon dozens of times. When the path made another bend, he was presented with a second message, written more manically than the last.

SAVE your energy, my love, rest if you must. We have all the time in the world here. Take this place in. It was my home. It can be your home, too. And if you finally rejoin me, it will be our child's home in time.

"Again with this..." he breathed, running a finger along the last few words.

"This is all so familiar."

"Lilith, if you're not going to say anything useful-"

"I knew someone like this, once. A long time ago. I'm seeing a lot of pieces connecting."

Enough of this. Cobalt had to focus on the task at hand.

Step-by-step, the path gradually grew more twisted and sinister. Cobalt began to notice the bodies of small animals lying in the undergrowth. Just rodents and rabbits at first, but they became impossible to ignore once he noticed an entire brimcerv corpse. The twin-headed deerlike beast lay splayed out amongst the leaves, skinned and flayed. And it wasn't alone. Deer, squirrels, rats, wolves... and all around them, Cobalt's name, engraved into the trees.

"Psychopath..."

The Incubus ignored her and kept his eyes down, jogging through the gauntlet of slaughtered animals until he almost ran headfirst into the third tree.

It was a horrorshow; a huge pine, almost completely covered in the skinned corpses of squirrels. They had been nailed into the bark with crude stakes, save for where Elya had carved her third message.

ME. Mother. My father. We were a happy family. This forest saw to that. But they both made selfish choices one day, and the love we shared was forever shattered. We can build it anew. Whether I devour you. Whether you devour me. Whether we both devour each other, we will do so because we love each other. In mind, soul and body.

"What is this?!" Cobalt cried, staring at the gory sight.

Those poor animals... they had all been slaughtered. Blood oozed from huge gashes in their bellies, and the smell was horrendous.

"What does she want from me?! Why leave all these warnings?!"

"These aren't warnings, kid. It's a cry for help."

"How?!"

Lilith took a deep breath, and did not answer him.

Irritated and frightened, Cobalt began to run, pushing through clawing branches and stumbling over roots as he clung tight to Columba, the only friendly thing about this damned forest. Right as he thought his heart was going to burst, Cobalt abruptly toppled out into a clearing, bathed in the light of the moon.

It was clear of trees, but the length of the grass and shrubbery told him that no-one had tended to it for quite some time. The structure that Lilith mentioned was here; a large wooden house, half-collapsed from disrepair and completely swathed in shadow. The smell of decay hung on the wind, and as Cobalt stared, Columba fluttered out of his arms and towards the house, disappearing through a broken window on the top floor. The dirt path led through the grass towards its front door.

The Incubus took a moment to steady himself.

"She's in there, isn't she?" he murmured, clenching his fists.

"Last chance to back out."

"I need to talk to her. To find out what's been going on."

"Get ready for a fight, then. Only thing worse than one person being in denial is watching two of them argue."

He gritted his teeth, prompting Lilith to sigh.

"... Whatever you decide to do, I've got your back, kid."

He nodded slowly.

"Right..."

He couldn't shake the feeling that conflict was inevitable.