30

The castle was still silent when Grace re-entered it. She walked into the parlour and looked at the windows: tall, narrow, hazy; the sunlight filtering through beautifully as it shone in the room.

'Where were you?' said the smooth velvet voice of the cat who had crept up behind her.

'Kuro,' said Grace, turning around. 'Good morning.'

'Don't know what's good about it, but okay,' said Kuro.

'Is Lucien up yet?'

'Yes, he is – he went to take a bath.'

'I see.'

'Are you all right?'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean you didn't answer where you were...'

Grace looked at him with a wry smile. 'I'm not the only one who evaded questions here...'

Kuro gulped slightly before scurrying off into some unknown corner.

After a while, Lucien walked into the room, his hair still wet and his clothes changed into all black. He looked rather charming, Grace thought – until he noticed her presence and shiftily turned his gaze elsewhere.

'Good morning, Lucien,' she said, and the demon acknowledged her greeting with a small nod and a soft 'Good morning' in return before he picked up a book and pretended to read.

'Lucien?'

'Huh?' said the demon, still reading, apparently.

'It's upside down.'

Lucien looked up. 'What is?'

'The book. It's upside down,' said Grace, pointing it out.

The demon went red. 'Oh...'

Grace took the book from his hands and sat opposite him. 'Why are you avoiding me? What's wrong? What did I do?'

'I'm not avoiding you!' said Lucien at once. 'Not at all! Why would I? You didn't do anything!'

'That's right. I didn't. Not on purpose, anyway. But you are avoiding me. And I need to know what's wrong.'

'It's just that...' began Lucien, before going redder and turning away. 'It's nothing, okay? It's not you, so chill.'

'Chilling is a bit hard in this heat...'

'Oh come on, you know what I mean—'

'No, I don't. Now, say what's on your mind. Are you tired of me? Do you think I'm a bother? I never meant to be, you know; I try my best. But I'll try harder.'

Lucien looked at her, rather confused. 'Bother? Tired of you? No! Where are you getting all that?! Have you been talking to the Assistant or something? I told you not to wander off at night—'

'I didn't talk to the Assistant, okay?' said Grace, her eyes getting dangerously moist despite her best efforts. 'I overheard you yesterday!'

'But, what did I say?!' said a bewildered Lucien.

'That I was a burden and a bother and menace and that you'd had it with me!' said Grace, tears betraying her as she spoke. 'Look, I understand if you feel that way, but please don't be so cold and distant with me at least!'

'Grace, no, please don't cry!' said Lucien, placing an awkward hand on her shoulder. 'I wasn't saying that about you, I was saying it about myself!'

'Huh?' said Grace, looking at him in surprise. 'But why?'

'Because, after Azel left yesterday,' said Lucien, getting up and pacing up and down the room, 'I... I just felt this awful realisation of what I'd done to you. I never thought about the plan failing, but even when it happened, I figured you could just live here in Hell with us and it wasn't such a big deal after all – but it was. You're so different from us, Grace! You don't belong here at all!'

'Lucien, please don't say that!' said Grace, her tears free-falling.

'But it's the truth!' said Lucien in painful earnestness. 'And now you're stuck here because of me! You must think of this place – and of us too, maybe – as unholy and dark and ungodly! You must hate me!'

'No, I don't!' said Grace in equal earnest. 'You're my friends! And I really like you, Lucien.'

'That can't be,' said Lucien bitterly. 'You've got light energy and Azel's approval, and I'm just a dark demon born and raised in Hell. We can't be friends. I thought we could, but yesterday I realised that we're worlds apart!'

'No!' said Grace firmly, walking up to him.

'But—'

'If you don't stop these silly thoughts of yours, I'm going to break your voodoo girlfriend!' said Grace, grabbing the object in question threateningly.

Lucien's eyes widened in surprise and indignation. 'Hey, she's a decoration, not a girlfriend!'

'With your social skills, you can forget ever having anything better! Did you even think of saying all this to me before deciding to avoid me like I don't exist here anymore?'

'I just thought that—'

'Well, you thought wrong!' said Grace fiercely. 'I like you and Kuro, and living here for the past few days, I've felt more happy than I ever did at my aunt's home on Earth! Do you know that? I don't care whether I'm in Hell or whether you're a demon or not! I don't care whether I have light energy or not! All I know is that I used to be lonely and sad and miserable! But now, ever since I met you, that's all changed – until last night, when I thought you, too, had grown cold with me just like everyone else!'

Lucien looked at her, touched. 'Really?' he said, softer than ever.

'Really,' nodded Grace, and she looked into his eyes; their colour was violet and strange, but the emotion in them was sincere and familiar.

'I'm... I'm sorry,' said Lucien sheepishly. 'I never meant to be cold with you! I was just feeling kind of guilty, like I couldn't face you...'

'Well, don't. I'm no better than you are,' said Grace. 'But I'm here. Can't we be all be three crazy friends in a cozy corner of Hell again?'

'Four,' said Lucien solemnly, before breaking into a laugh. 'We've got to count in my darling voodoo doll, haven't we?'

Grace laughed heartily, and only stopped when she felt the demon place his arms around her in an awkward but warm hug.

'Thanks, Grace,' he said quietly, going redder for some reason. 'I like having you here. Never doubt that! I confess, I'm almost glad sometimes that there isn't a way for you to go back...'

Grace laughed again and let go with a sly grin. 'Maybe I am, too.'

'If you're both done with the wholly unnecessary emotional drama,' said Kuro walking between them and looking up, 'I'd kind of like my breakfast now, thanks.'

'You owe her an apology, too,' said Lucien. 'You made her feel out of place!'

'Me? What did I do?' said the cat indignantly. 'You're the one who said she wouldn't like our company anymore! I told you were wrong all along!'

'Well, whatever,' said the demon. 'You know how I am. You didn't have to act like me!'

'What can I do? Living with you all these years has made me dangerously in tune with you,' said Kuro.

'Is that what you two were talking about yesterday in Lucien's room?' asked Grace.

'No,' said Lucien. 'That was just me giving instructions to Kuro to get something for me.'

'More like a request,' said Kuro.

'Yeah, yeah!'

'Oh, why didn't you say it front of me? You can trust me, you know...'

'Oh, I know! I just had this crazy new plan, but then I thought you wouldn't like me engaging with dark, demonic things, as Azel would put it; so I kept you out of it,' said Lucien sheepishly. 'Sorry!'

'You're not a dark demon,' said Grace with a smile. 'You're a nice demon. And I like the things you do.'

'Well, this one is something more risky than he usually does,' said Kuro. 'This time, he wants me to retrieve a cursed book from Earth!'

Lucien grinned at her in excitement. 'That's right!!'

Grace looked at them both in surprise and trepidation. 'Cursed book?!'