35

The room had grown dark, but neither of the two turned on the light. Probably because it was still brighter than their current moods.

A whizzing sound and a sudden burst of light appeared and made them look up. Kuro had materialised in front of the fireplace with something on his back – the cursed book.

'I'm here!' he announced cheerily. 'Egypt wasn't as bad as I thought! They actually love cats to this day! I've been fed so well – and I didn't even have to scare them into it! I just meowed, and boom! Food appeared! Entered a restaurant, no one said anything! Went into those catacombs, and gosh, there were way too many people queuing up to see a dead place than I thought! Humans can be weird – but like I said, I liked the place—'

'Good to see you happy,' said Lucien blandly as he tried to smile. 'Get away from the fire before you burn my book!'

'Oh, yeah, oops,' grinned Kuro, walking to him and giving him the book. 'Here you go! Your cursed relic! It wasn't easy, you know! I expect some VIP treatment after this!'

'As if you accept anything else,' smiled Lucien.

'Your teasing doesn't have its usual bite today, what's up?' said Kuro, curling up at their feet.

'Nothing. Nothing at all,' said Lucien. 'Hey, have some biscuits, we got some!'

A sniff from Grace made the cat look at her. 'Are you crying?' he asked in bewilderment.

'No, I'm not!' said Grace with a forced smile. 'I'm fine!'

'If you say so, but...' said Kuro, looking again at Lucien, who was staring at the fireplace blankly. 'What is wrong with you two? Why are you both so glum?'

'It's nothing, Kuro,' said Lucien.

'You're a bad liar, my demon friend,' said the cat, rolling his eyes. 'Grace, what happened exactly?'

'The Assistant came by and got our morale down,' said Grace. 'But it's not just that in itself; it's the fact that I couldn't stand up to him the way I should have. I just...'

'No, Grace,' said Lucien. 'I'm sad because of the stuff he said to me; but I'm proud of you for being able to hold your ground like you did.'

'Proud?' said Grace, shaking her head. 'I failed miserably, Lucien! I ate the biscuit and spoke harshly to you!'

'It was a biscuit!' said the demon, waving his hand. 'No big deal! But the way you stuck up for me at the end? That was cool. Didn't expect you to do that.'

'Of course I did!' said Grace. 'But I shouldn't have let him talk for so long – I shouldn't have listened at all! And I shouldn't have let him have that little victory by eating it after he said so!'

'You withstood the Assistant's pressure, human. That's no small feat.'

'It wasn't enough. Not nearly.'

'Maybe it looks bad to you, but to me I think it's amazing that all he could tempt you into by now was only a biscuit; most people he chooses are floored the first or second time they meet him – they'd give up their souls for him. You're still here.'

'Yeah, well...'

'He's an old hand at these things, the Assistant,' said Kuro. 'Don't worry about him. He's always up to no good – but he's rather good at that.'

Grace smiled. 'I suppose you're right.'

'Now you, Lucien?' said Kuro, looking up at him. 'Why do you look more dead-faced than the mummy I extracted your book from?'

Lucien laughed in spite of himself, before he sighed heavily and leaned back sadly. 'It's just about my father... I don't want to end up like him, that's all...'

'As in, dead?'

'Nah! As in selling your soul to the Devil, you know...'

'He did that too?!'

'Not literally! But you know what I mean!'

'Ah, I see...'

'My father had a choice. To live a peaceful, happy life with my mother or pursue evil, selfish things with the Assistant, and he chose the latter. I'm so afraid I'm going to do the same thing! What if I'm really like him? What if a demon really can't change? What if... what if the Assistant ends up winning at the end of it all...'

'No,' said Grace. 'You're NOT your father. And from what I've seen of you, being a demon doesn't mean not having a heart. You're different from them all.'

'Thanks, I just...' Lucien turned away towards the window, and his hair seemed to tingle with fire again.

Grace put a gentle hand on him, and he did not brush it off.

'Looks like the Assistant played the same card on both of you,' said Kuro knowingly. 'The King! The 'I-will-win' card. Let me tell you, it's very impressive; it's all show and power; but you know what? A humble ace is all you need to defeat it! And that's what you two are! He will NOT win, unless you quit the game like he wants you to.'

Lucien looked at him with sudden realisation. 'Why, you're right!'

'Of course,' said the cat smugly.

'We won't quit,' nodded Grace. 'We'll fight harder!'

'And play harder too, following the metaphor,' said Lucien, breaking into his first real grin of the evening.

'Oh, Lucien,' said Grace, giving him a quick hug that made his hair seem fierier than ever. She withdrew and looked at it curiously. 'Am I imagining it, or has your hair been catching fire since we ran into the Assistant?'

Lucien laughed. 'It's real fire, haha! But it's harmless – I think.'

'Are—are you okay?'

'Of course! Remember I told you that I don't have any useful natural magic? Well, this is one of my useless natural powers. I catch fire when I'm very angry or sad or... well, any extreme emotion, basically.'

'Wow, that's kind of cool, but don't you get burned?'

'No, I'm safe! Can't guarantee the other person, though!'

'I've been singed by his flames once, so I know,' said Kuro solemnly. 'But they're not as hot as normal fire, so thank goodness they're not that harmful.'

'So, is it safe to run a hand through your hair?' laughed Grace.

'Depends on the time,' grinned Lucien. 'Now's okay!'

'Oh, really?' She reached out and ruffled his hair, making him laugh for some reason. His red hair was warm and soft, and for a moment, she almost forgot herself. Then, she spotted a hint of green and grinned to herself.

'HEY, leave my horns!' exclaimed the demon, playfully pushing her away, but she only laughed.

'Hehehe,' snickered the cat, making him look around at him.

'Kuro, was that you?'

'Oh, no! Hehe!'

'Yes, it was! Now you're both in for it!'

Grace and Kuro jumped and ran around the room as the demon chased after them, and they continued to do so in the impromptu game, until they all stopped at last, half out of breath and unable to stop themselves from laughing deliriously.

'Ahhh, I'm tired!' said Lucien, sitting back in the chair. 'Come on, you two, let's have biscuits and a sandwich each before going to bed! It's been such a long day!'

'I'll make the sandwiches, but I won't eat the biscuits,' said Grace sadly. 'After what the Assistant did...'

'Oh, come on, it's not the poor biscuits' fault! Don't let him ruin them for you!' said Lucien, taking out a chocolate biscuit and eating it. 'Mmmm, this is GOOD! Grace, you gotta eat these in a normal setting!'

'No, I don't think I will. I know it's irrational, but the whole thing's left a bitter taste in my mouth,' said Grace.

'Ah, maybe he was kinda right about you being too big on restraint and all that,' said Lucien, getting up and walking towards her. 'But I'm not going to let you do that right now. If what he did was bitter, I'm going to sweeten it for you.'

'It's reall— ummgg,' said Grace, her eyes widening as the demon surprisingly placed a biscuit in her mouth as she spoke.

He grinned. 'Now it's sweet. Simple!'

'Well, it IS delicious,' smiled Grace.

'You betcha. Mrs. Sourdough's baking is no joke. And she doesn't make these everyday, you know – only when she's really in the mood. You don't want to miss out! Well, looks like the remaining ten are mine, then!'

'Bags I five of them!' said Grace, reaching out and taking another, while Kuro was still nibbling at the first one he had been given.

'Save one for me!' called out the cat. 'And hey, someome get the cards! – let's all have a game while we munch these!'

'I'm going to win this time. I can feel it!'

'Haha. Keep dreaming!'

Lucien looked around at them all and beamed before getting the pack from the shelf. Despite the Assistant's efforts, happiness had been reclaimed.