13

Grace looked at her cross in surprise, but it looked the same as usual. 'It's not glowing,' she said. 'Why would it, anyway?'

'But it was,' said Lucien.

'Perhaps it was just a flash of light from somewhere,' reasoned Grace. 'A reflection!'

'Perhaps,' said Kuro suspiciously. 'Or perhaps not... time will tell, I suppose.'

Grace nodded awkwardly.

'In light of the extremely delicious dinner you prepared for me and Lucien,' announced Kuro, sitting up. 'I would like to invite you to play cards with me, Grace. And I'll teach you, too!'

'I would like that, indeed,' smiled Grace, clearing the dishes from the table.

'Let me wash them,' said Lucien, taking them from her.

'Oh, no, it's fine,' said Grace, taking them back.

'I insist,' said Lucien, pulling them back.

'Let him,' said Kuro. 'All he has to do is pop them in the dishwasher, anyway.'

Grace's eyes widened in surprise. 'You have a dishwasher?'

'Not the real deal you're used to,' laughed Lucien. 'Just a little machine I set up once to make things easier.

'My aunt always made me do them by hand, so I'm not used to that, either,' said Grace. 'But I'd like to see this machine of yours!'

'She sounds like the Devil's Assistant's sister or something,' said Lucien, shaking his head. 'I half-wish I had summoned her instead!'

Grace laughed in spite of herself. 'It's good that you didn't, after all,' she said, following him to the kitchen.

'Yeah, I agree, I suppose. She sounds like a real nuisance,' said Lucien.

'She'd really make your life Hell,' said Grace.

Lucien looked around him. 'Meh, it's not that bad! I don't know why you humans use that expression so much.'

'Says the person who tries to get out of here everyday,' said Grace.

Lucien grinned. 'Okay, whatever. Look, I'm about to get the machine going; stand back, please!'

'Oh, okay!'

Grace stood back and watched as Lucien lit what looked like a... stove?

'Are you going to cook them clean or something?' said Grace, bewildered.

'No, it's like a fire and water combo thing I have,' explained Lucien airily. 'Just put these dishes in the tube over the flame and... boom! Here we go!'

The fire blazed high and Grace was afraid the dishes in the tube would explode; but then a rush of water came through from the other end and passed through the tube. By the time it circulated again, it was steaming hot.

'The fire sterilises and stimulates the environment enough for them to clean better,' explained Lucien. 'And the water keeps the dishes from getting too hot and swishes everything off. By the time it circulates enough times, the dishes are squeaky-clean, and all you have to do at the end is soap them and rinse them with water once, and boom, dishes done!'

Grace gasped as the fire went out and the dishes tumbled out of the tube, apparently clean.

'Now, just a bit of soap... water... and... yep, done!' said Lucien, having wiped them clean. 'And it only took a minute, you'll note!'

Grace held up a plate, and sure enough, it was gleaming and smelt as fresh as though it had been stored in a box of lemony soap.

'Impressive,' she remarked, holding up another before putting it down at once – it was still too hot to hold.

'Thanks,' said Lucien proudly, washing his hands and following her back to the parlour. 'I put it all together myself, you know!'

'I didn't know you were an inventor, too,' said Grace, as they approached the parlour door.

'Not really,' said Lucien. 'It's the only thing I made, after all! – unless you count that chair I made from scratch once – though I broke it eventually... or that ink press I made, not sure where it is though... or the clay doll I made and painted...'

'It's still on the mantlepiece,' said Kuro, as they entered the room.

'Oh, yes, it is!' said Lucien, sprinting up to it. 'Look, Grace!'

Grace looked at the crudely made 'doll' with a wide smiley face and a long pink dress – and almost equally long hair.

'It's... nice. Is this your ideal girl or something...?' she said.

Lucien burst into laughter, and even Kuro closed his eyes and grinned.

'That's just a relic from those days when he tried voodoo,' said Kuro, slowly laying out a deck of cards on the table. 'Do come sit with me, Grace.'

'He tried voodoo?' said Grace in surprise, sitting opposite Kuro and arranging the cards he dealt her.

'He's tried everything under the big red sun, but to no avail; poor Lucien,' said Kuro sadly.

'Oh, I'm sure there are other ways,' said Lucien optimistically. 'I'll find them for sure!'

'That's Lucien for you!' said Kuro. 'Anyway, when that voodoo doll didn't work out, we both thought it was pretty anyway, so we decided to keep it.'

'It looks cute, I guess,' nodded Grace. 'By the way, what game are we playing?'

'We'll start with rummy because you know nothing about cards yet,' said Kuro with a sigh.

'Oh, I see...' said Grace, trying to hold all her cards, somewhat awkwardly.

'Like this,' said Kuro, collapsing and decollapsing his hand of cards like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Grace looked at him in surprise. 'You're good at this!'

'You bet I am,' said Kuro, looking pleased.

'Show her your shuffle too,' said Lucien, picking up a book from the mantlepiece and opening it.

'Oh, sure!' obliged the cat, and Grace watched in awe as he put all the cards together and shuffled them with the expertise of a magician – or a casino regular – before dealing them out.

'That was cool,' she said, impressed, gathering her cards once more.

'Ah! Put that queen next to the king,' said Kuro, glancing at her hand. 'And you have to organise them by suit, like this...'

An hour later, Grace had learnt the game completely. Kuro nodded approvingly.

'You learnt fast. That's good,' he said. 'If you win from me at rummy, maybe I'll teach you bridge next!'

'Teach her poker, so that we can place bets, haha,' grinned Lucien, putting down the book he had been reading.

Kuro rolled his eyes. 'Does she look like the gambling type to you?'

'It's not gambling, we'll just do silly stuff like who'll cook for the day or who'll dust the furniture,' said Lucien.

'Oh, about that,' said Grace, turning to him. 'I'll do it! I meant to already!'

Lucien looked at her, surprised. 'No, you don't have to, really,' he began. 'Not everyday, anyway—'

'No, I want to,' said Grace. 'You're already kind enough to keep me here with you, and I want to do my part.'

'Well, I brought you here, so I'm kind of guilty as is,' said Lucien. 'But if you're okay with cooking and stuff... I mean, I did enjoy tonight's soup so much...'

Grace smiled. 'I'm quite okay with it. But you'll have to let me shift things around a bit. The kitchen, for instance...'

'Ah, it's a bit messy, I know,' admitted Lucien. 'I just put stuff wherever I find a place for it, so it can be hard to find things later sometimes... go ahead and do whatever you like! Just don't burn the place down is all I ask of you!'

'Don't worry, I doubt she will,' said Kuro smugly. 'I can't say I didn't have that fear every day with you, though...'

Lucien looked at him dramatically. 'You've changed sides already, Kuro? Shocking!'

'You know how much I like good food,' said the cat in satisfaction. 'That's why I like to go to Earth!'

'For good food?' laughed Grace. 'Where do you usually go?'

'On the streets, sometimes,' said Kuro, stretching himself. 'Sometimes someone feeds me. Sometimes I go and eat what pet cats are eating. It's a varied and exciting journey.'

'How I wish I could go, too!' said Lucien wistfully.

'You will, I'm sure,' said Grace. 'One day!'

The demon smiled at her and his face lit up with a kind of soft joy. 'Thanks,' he said. 'It's that hope that keeps me going, day and night!'

'Speaking of night,' said Kuro, yawning. 'Good night!'

'Come near the fire first,' said Lucien. 'You know how freezing it gets.'

The cat sleepily walked over to the rug by the fire before laying his head on its paws and falling fast asleep.

'I thought it was hot in Hell,' said Grace quietly. 'But it really does seem rather cold right now...'

'Oh, it is hot,' said Lucien. 'But only in the day! At night, it's freezing!'

'I didn't really feel the heat in the daytime,' said Grace. 'Nor did I feel the cold yesterday night!'

'That's because you were so shocked by everything, I suppose,' said Lucien. 'And scared too... those feelings tend to make one oblivious to one's surroundings. As for today, though, it's because this castle is built in such a way that it traps the cool but keeps out the heat. That's why it's more or less pleasant in the daytime, but the nights are quite cold. If you had stepped out during the day, you would have known that it really is quite hot outside – just like you've heard about Hell.'

'Oh, I didn't know,' said Grace. 'I guess I won't be going out much, then – if I can help it! And – oh, that explains all the coverings on your bed!'

'Cold's no joke,' said Lucien gravely, before yawning himself. 'Now that you've mentioned it, I'd rather be in bed; what about you?'

Grace suddenly realised that she hadn't slept at all last night, and as she thought of a warm bed waiting for her upstairs, her body almost gave way there and then.

'I guess that's a yes,' grinned Lucien as he looked at her and guessed how she was feeling.

Grace nodded. 'Oh, I do really want to sleep! I'm absolutely exhausted.'

'Come then, I'll show you to your room,' said Lucien, leading the way upstairs. 'Like I told you before, it's right next to mine, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to knock – or just come in directly like Kuro does.'

'Kuro has quite a personality,' said Grace, almost laughing.

'He does,' chuckled Lucien, opening the door to the room she hadn't seen yet. 'There, is that okay?'

'Oh, it's lovely!' said Grace, looking around.

The bed had purple coverings made of satin that looked very inviting and comfortable, and the thick rugs on the floor and the heavy curtains draped over the large, narrow windows were of the same colour. There was a large dresser in the corner of the room with an ornate but dusty mirror attached to it, and next to it was a tall cupboard which Grace found, to her surprise, to be full of dresses and other feminine clothes.

'This... doesn't look like kind of room you'd live in, though...' she said, turning to Lucien with her eyebrows raised.

'You're right,' said the demon. 'This was my mother's room.'

'Oh,' said Grace, glancing at the cupboard again before turning back to him. ''Was"? What happened to her?'

'She passed away,' said Lucien sadly. 'Even demons don't live forever, you know.'

'Oh, I'm sorry,' said Grace.

'Don't be,' said Lucien. 'She was never that happy here, you know. She was from another realm – one of those shadowed ones from the book, but she only came here when she married my father. When he was swallowed by the flames, she said she had nothing left to live for, and she died shortly afterwards.'

'Swallowed by the flames?' said Grace, her eyes widening.

'Yes. I know he was my father, but...' Lucien paused. 'He wasn't a very good man, I guess. He brought it on himself.'

'That sounds... sad...' said Grace.

'No, it was only justice,' said Lucien. 'My father wanted to wreak havoc on the world or something like that – he was exactly the kind of demon whom the likes of Azel resent so much. One day, he tried to breach the main gateway for some nefarious reasons, but the guardians reacted on time, and he was swallowed whole by the flames they sent to stop him.'

'Well, I'm sorry anyway,' said Grace. 'You must miss them.'

'Not my father, really. But I do miss my mother,' nodded Lucien, and he stared at the dresser for a while before turning back to her. 'By the way, feel free to wear any of those dresses or move things about to your liking. I'm glad this place is being put to use.'

'Thank you,' said Grace.

'Don't mention it,' said the demon. 'Good night, then!'

'Good night!'

The door clicked shut and Grace was left all alone in the room. She walked up to the bedside table and picked up the brass candlestick set on it. The candle within was alight, its flame large and piercing, and she held it up at a distance to avoid its intense heat and the stream of smoke that burned her nose.

She glanced at the curtains, and thought it would be nicer to blow out the candle and let the moon light up the room instead. Yes, that would be nice, she resolved, and she walked up to the window, candlestick in hand, and drew back the curtains.

Sure enough, the moon was high in the sky, large and beautiful. She gazed outside and noticed the yard below. She would be sure to explore it tomorrow and see if anything grew in it. For now, it appeared quite barren, except for the black rose—

'Rose?' said Grace, and she squinted in the dim light as she tried to make out the object she had just seen.

Sure enough, it looked like a dark red rose, fallen on the ground. But the next thing she saw was even more surprising. A young girl walked towards it and picked it up with a gentle smile. She looked very pretty, but as Grace looked at her more carefully, she seemed to have tears in her eyes.

Suddenly, the girl looked up and spotted Grace in the window. And the next thing she did made Grace tremble in surprise and fear.

'Help me!' the girl cried out to her. 'Save me!! Right now! Please!'