"Inge, stop," Koli said pushing Inge away from Ari. "Auovin would not let you breathe for another moment if he finds out you even put a scratch on his face, so why are you doing this?"

"He needs to learn some manners," Inge snarled.

"Yet you possess none yourself," Koli said.

She turned her head to Ari who still kept his hand firmly on the hilt of the dagger behind his back. It was as Freir said it would be. None of them could be trusted. Since coming here, Ari had been doing nothing but defending himself. It only strengthened his belief that he did not belong here along with them.

"But he is right, kitten. That pretty tiger would have swallowed you whole and spit out your bones when through." Koli walked around him and placed her hand onto to the hand that was grabbing at the dagger. "There is no need for violence. Inge will not do a thing. I will not either."

Ari rested his hands at his sides and looked on at the strange woman assessing him with a finger to her lips.

"Do not be so foolish to think Auovin would choose you over his lover for over three hundred years. He may kiss on other necks, but Cyrus is the one he always goes back to."

"He says it is not love," Ari muttered.

"He says a lot of things," Inge said.

"And it is not the only reason why he wants you... as pretty and new as you are." She sniffed Ari's neck causing him to move away from her with furrowed brows. "You are young as you are stupid. You should not have come."

She backed away from him and smiled.

"I know I should not have... I do not belong here," Ari said.

"No, you do," Inge said keeping his distance.

"The markings on your back. The marks there," Koli said as she slid her hand down his back causing Ari to jolt away. "You come from old blood."

"What does that mean?" Ari asked.

Koli looked at Inge before he crossed his arms and nodded.

"The Ancients. As old as Auovin," Koli said.

"That is why Stein had been so interested in you. He did not want you for your body. He wanted to have a taste of your blood," Inge said.

Ari turned his head towards him with wide eyes.

"Inge kept your friends here because they are the only ones who can take you back. He means well, Ari. Well, for the most part."

Ari's mind was racing. He did not know what to make of their words and what they were saying to him. Ari had known Auovin had wanted him for certain reasons, but he did not think it went anything passed desire. But it made sense what they were saying to him. Auovin had been injured greatly because of him. He would not have risked his life just because he found him appealing. No, it was much more than that. The sound of Koli's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"So what you can do for us is to leave."

"I cannot."

"Why can you not?" Inge said with a temper threatening to make its way to the surface.

Koli laughed and shook her head.

"Is it because of Cyrus...? Auovin and his damned tempestuous nature. He is like a snake! Do not become beguiled by it."

"I know what he is," Ari said, confident.

"No," Inge shook his head. "I do not think you do. If you did, you would not be here drooling over the way he says your name or coils your hair around his fingers."

"I am sure it is Cyrus that has his heart beating the way it is now. Even I would like a bite of him," Koli said as she looked at her nails. "He is as honest as he is divine. But malicious as he is beautiful."

Ari was wary of them both. He did not trust them. Something about the both of them and their double-edged words ate at him. The one thing Freir told him not to do was trust in them, and that had been the one and only thing he had yet to do. He would not start now.

His shoulders lost their tension and his back slumped a little getting rid of the tension in his body. He had to appear relaxed. If he did not, they would know something was amiss.

"Cyrus is someone... I am interested in coming to know... yes. He is not so filled with riddles as Auovin, but he is just as mysterious and tempting as him, I admit," Ari noted.

"Trust me when I say this: having both of their interests is not a good thing. They will eat you whole," Koli said.

Ari's mind was quickly slipping to the way Cyrus' hands wrapped around his waist and pulled him close him. He remembered the taste of his mouth and the way his tongue would tangle with his. And the smell of him. The softness of his skin and the sound of his voice. He could feel something stirring in his groin before he came back to reality and looked at both Inge and Koli.

"My order... warns me against these types of temptations for good reason... I will not fall victim to it..." Ari could taste the lie on his tongue. At this point, Ari could not care less about the order and its teachings when it came to such things as touch. He loved the feel of it. It was something he could not help.

"Then it is best if you leave while the fog is thick." Koli smiled again.

Ari nodded and headed towards the door. Inge was quick to move aside and eye him as if he were a bug. His gaze did not go unnoticed, but Ari had to swallow it down. It was not just his life that was at stake. Before he could make it to the doorway, Ari saw a glint from the corner of his eye and quickly dodged it.

"Inge!" Koli shouted.

Ari hit his head against the floor causing his world to shake. He tried to rise, but Inge yanked his legs from underneath him and dragged him close to him.

"Let go of him!"

"No, this thing needs to be taught a lesson," Inge said.

Inge started his climb onto his back. Ari's elbow connected with his face allowing Ari to roll over and press his forearm to Inge's throat. Inge's nails sank into his skin trying to claw his way out, but Ari held his position firmly. It was not until Koli threw him off of him did Ari let go.

Dishes came crashing down onto the floor. The glass shattered into hundreds of pieces as the pots and pans clanged echoing through the forlorn castle. Ari's head was pounding causing his eyesight to blur.

"Damn it. Koli, go," Inge said as he looked dead into Ari's eyes.

"Inge—"

"I will handle this. I started this. I will end it."

"Inge, no."

"He has not taken blood in awhile. He is weak." Inge gave her a push out the door as he stalked closer to Ari.

Before Ari could roll on his stomach, Inge turned him on his back again with his leg. Inge grabbed his shoulder causing Ari to press both legs onto each of his arms. Ari thrust his hips forward and swung his left leg onto his back, hooking it in place. His other leg swept across Inge's neck causing him to turn his hips left, locking Inge into place. He struggled to get free as Ari clenched down on his airways. As soon as he loosened his grip, Inge wrestled out of it and threw a punch that connected with Ari's face.

Ari rolled them around taking the offensive now. He did not want to kill him, but he was leaving him with no choice. He climbed up Inge's midsection and grabbed each of Inge's biceps. His head tucked into Inge's chest as he tried to swing at him. Inge wrapped his legs around Ari limiting his movements, but Ari did not care. Ari knocked his head against his a couple times before he hopped to both feet. Inge's legs only tightened around him.

His fists connected with Inge's face three times before he felt Inge loosening his grip on him and trying to push him away. Ari only clamped his knees around his, trapping him. He thrust his hips forward again and grabbed Inge's ankle pushing them forward. Inge was doing his best to come out of his hold, but it was too late. They underestimated him each time, and this is what they got as a result.

Ari stepped with his left leg once then twice and put his knee down onto Inge's stomach. He put all of his weight into it before he focused his energy back onto crushing his airways. Blood was trickling down his forehead. His ears were ringing. He hardly had the time to dodge the pot thrown at him by Koli.

It knocked him over and caused him to cough.

"They are here. We must leave. Why had you done that?" Koli hissed.

All Ari heard was wheezing coming from Inge. In the next moment, he turned around and noticed they had vanished. He picked himself up and wiped away the blood pooling at the top of his eyelid. Somehow, he knew something was very wrong. He had to get to Rein and Freir. They had to leave immediately.

Ari tried to run, but his world began to spin under his feet until he felt himself falling to the ground. He held onto the side of the doorway and steadied himself. As soon as he felt confident enough again, Ari left from the doorway and headed down the hallway to the stairs. He grabbed onto the rickety railings and started up the stairs one foot at a time. He was barely at his third before he saw something falling down from the third floor crashing into the wooden floors.

It lurched forward and trained its black eyes onto Ari. Xems, Ari thought. It ran towards him all teeth and claws. Ari wrapped his arms around its head before he broke its neck and tossed it back down the stairs. As he looked towards the door, he noticed it was open causing a thick fog to creep inside the decrepit place.

"Ari!" Freir's voice came from above. Multiple pairs of footsteps came from the stairs. Soon Freir had Ari's face cupped in his hands. "Why you are like this?"

"We have far more serious problems to worry over right now," Rein said as he drew a dagger from behind himself.

More Xems stalked inside hiding behind things and jumping over others. Some came forwards causing Rein to take them down with three simple movements. He dragged his dagger across each of their throats before he grabbed Ari's arm and yanked him forward.

"This way, Freir."

They ran out the door before more demons could come. Ari could not see a thing, the fog was so thick. He felt Rein's hand on his wrist. Somehow, he felt Freir's presence nearby but he could not sense where. His head was pounding.

"How will we feed him, Rein? If we leave—"

"If we stay, we will die!" Rein shouted. "This way."

Rein let go of his hand just as a Xem lunged at Ari. Before it could take a bit out of Ari's neck, Rein stuck his dagger through its skull.

"Get up." Rein yanked him to his feet causing him to become even more disoriented than before. "Why had you not taken any blood? Why must you complicate things so much?" Rein hissed.

"Because of what you said to him, I am sure," Freir said in his defense.

"What I said? What I say means nothing to him. If it did, we would not be in this situation."

"You called him a rabid dog, Rein. He was fighting against his instincts because we told him it was wrong."

"Which way?" Rein asked, ignoring him.

"Back south."

"South?"

"It is where the other demons would go," Freir said.

"We are not trying to go to them. We can leave."

"Not while Ari is like this. He needs their blood. Just one of them."

"The... blonde one. Can you find him? The black-haired one will surely kill us if we try to leave. But the blonde one... he would seem to like it if we left," Rein said.

"Give me a moment. It is hard to see in this fog. This way. He had gone this way. The tracks are still fresh. I do not see another pair. They had become separated."

Ari was finding their conversation hard to follow now. He did not know what they were saying but he knew it was about him.

"I am guessing it was not them who tried to kill us," Rein said.

"Of course not. If anything, they would not try to kill Ari."

"Then it was the others."

"More than likely."

"Gods, you have made no fast friends here, Ari. Look what you had done," Rein hissed.

"Give me the boy. I will not have you berate him like this when he had done nothing wrong." Ari felt Freir's hand on him now with Rein happy to release him to him.

They walked in silence as the presence of Xems became apparent. As soon as the fog cleared, it revealed a very dark sky with only the moon and some stars out to guide their way. Ari pressed closer to Freir causing Rein to snuff.

"You act like a child when it comes to Freir, but with those demons there around you, you quite like being a man."

"Rein," Freir growled. "We are doing the same thing. We are. So stop."

"And that is why I told you this must end. I will not be compared to a boy who kisses anyone who he finds appealing. You said it was love between us. Do not bring it down to the same level as him and his lustful feelings."

"I am not, but what he feels is natural for what he is—"

"A demon."

"... Rein."

"That is what he is, a blood demon. Since it is all out in the open now, why not address it as it is?"

"Why are you acting like this, Rein? Did we not talk of this already?"

"Because! We are going back into their clutches because of him. Because you care for him far too much. Nolan said it himself. If he becomes a burden, we could dispose of him."

Ari tucked his head deeper into Freir at Rein's words. Nothing but cruel words ever seemed to leave his lips when it was about him. It hurt, but Ari did not want it to show.

"Then leave," Freir said.

"What?"

"If you do not want to go with us then leave."

"Freir—"

"You said... You said you wanted us to stop what we have and we can, right here. Now. I will not ever hear you say those words again. Go on and be mean and harsh to him, but threatening his life in my presence... That is something I will not ever hear come from your lips again. Do you hear me?"

"So you are choosing the boy again?" Rein laughed with hurt laced through his words.

"We had raised him! Stop dismissing him because of your past, Rein! He is not them! He is not, so stop acting like he is."

"They are all the same, and he will grow to be just like them."

"Rein, that is not true."

"It is, Freir, and you know it."

It was tense and not a word was spoken for some long seconds.

"Rein, if you feel this way then leave... "

"I will not leave you. No, not with him."

"Then stop. Stop," Freir finished.

Freir sat Ari on a fallen log and started gathering wood for a fire. Rein lit the fire with flint and some hay from his pockets. It started small but as soon as Freir came back with more sticks, the fire rose.

"Here, come, sit by the fire. It will warm you until we find... one of them."

Ari could hardly look Freir in the eyes.

"Come here, Ari." Ari listened and sat close to him letting him ruffle his hair. Rein had yet to come back from wherever he left off to which did not sit well with him. He did not want to come between them but it seemed like no matter what he did, it happened.

"Rein needs to learn and come to understand that I love you as if you were my own child. You are the closest thing to me ever having one... Nothing will ever come between the love I have for you, Ari. Nothing."

Ari's eyes watered. It took so little words to make him become like that when it came to Freir. He wanted so badly to live up to his expectations. To be everything thing he ought to be. For years, he had, but now Ari did not think he could do it anymore. Things were changing.

Freir took a torn piece of his shirt and poured some water on it from his small gourd. Soon he was wiping away the dried blood splotched across his face. It made Ari bite down against his bottom lip, too ashamed with himself to say much of anything to him. He was coming to believe in Rein's words. They hurt so much because they held some truth, Ari believed.

"That blonde one does not seem so bad... " Freir murmured causing Ari's head to rise. It made Freir smile a bit before taking the cloth away. "He is better than the black-haired one," Freir laughed. It was a weak one to break the tension which only made Ari smile in return.

"I know you, Ari. Do not be so surprised. Do not be so ashamed either. I want you to understand who you are. I do not want to hide it from you. I do not want you to hide from it either. Embrace it. Learn from it, and then come back to me."

"I will," Ari said shakily. His head was throbbing filling his head with fogginess.

"You do not belong there. Your place is here. There will always be a place for you here."

"I know."

"But if you feel..." Freir lowered his eyes. "If you feel like you belong there, there is always a place here." He pointed to his chest right where his heart laid. "Always."

Ari had to bite back the tears threatening to come from his eyes. It was a dark night and even the fire seemed to only cast a light flicker. Freir was the one good, true thing in his life. He would be lost if it was not for his kindness and love.

"I know," Ari finally murmured back with tears falling down his cheeks.