Lyric awoke from a dreamless sleep. The scent of Fir trees at dawn and fresh dew tickled his nose. He had really done it. The traces on Nix' skin were clear, he couldn't talk himself out of the trance he put himself in. Lyric had buried himself in this body yesterday and submitted to it. It had been centuries since he had shared such physical closeness with another being. Direct contact, friction and no restraint. No magic standing between them. Had I been too rough last night?

His inner demon had gone wild. Even now he growled. Make him yours. Then their first encounter came to his mind, but he immediately rejected the thought. Nix couldn't commit, so he was probably immune to his curse.

Does that mean I can kiss him? No, that's not possible. He wouldn't take that risk. Instead he would be content with what he got. They had already found three objects. Nix had mentioned that he had located four, so as soon as the demon woke up, they would make their way to the next one.

Lyric lovingly stroked Nix' chest, following the Oracle mark on his solar plexus. It was a transverse eye that was about two inches long and one inch wide. The shadows were only slightly visible on his skin and fled from his fingers. They don't seem to like me.

Nix looked tasty, should he get a taste of him? He approached a nipple with his mouth and gently took it into his mouth. It was so soft. He nibbled on it and reaped a soft moan, with a smile he licked over it.

"You don't have to pretend you're asleep anymore, Nix," he said, playing on the other.

"Spoilsport," came as an answer, a bit sleepily.

The rune demon interrupted his game and looked into the ruby red eyes of the oracle. "You can go on quietly," Nix said, pointing to the bump that was looming under the blanket.

"I'd like to, but we have to move on," Lyric said, making a serious face. "We should continue the search as soon as possible, I have a bad feeling." And if Lyric had a bad feeling, it was usually not a good sign.

Nix put on a pouting face but dressed without objection. He knew Lyric was right, something was in the air. His shadows were very restless.

"Where is the next item?" the rune demon asked.

Nix sat down on the chair and leaned with his chin on the back of the chair. "The next item is the bird's filler. This is in the office of a commander under Belphegor."

Belphegor? And also a commander, that wasn't good. Belphegor and Belial hated each other like the plague and the action at the ball hadn't exactly improved that.

The prince of hell cast covetous glances at Aleksander, which pleased neither Belial nor any other hellprince. Even his attack on the angel hadn't yet been forgiven, even if he still denied it. So Lao, Nero, and Sereph had witnessed how he had tried to open up Aleksander and make him his own. And this despite the fact that he was already bound. He broke every taboo, simply because he enjoyed it. Should they make a mistake and enrage the commander, it might fall back on Belial, as Belial is more or less Lyric's foster father.

"Which one exactly?" asked Lyric. Not everyone was as crazy as their hell lord.

"Pan," Nix replied.

Luckily, he is one of the normal ones.

Nix grinned. "Nix, why are you grinning?" he asked him.

"Oh, no special reason. It's going to be funny."

Nix' definition of funny he had now experienced only a few times himself and none of these situations he had perceived as 'funny.' This demon loved to get him into trouble, and that was a habit he absolutely had to get rid of. It won't go smoothly every time. However, Nix didn't seem to care. He had the time of his life and would enjoy everything to the fullest.

"Well, we go to the capital Sarion and send him a letter that we need to talk to him. We won't, and I stress, visit him without prior permission, even if you as an oracle like to make such appearances, this is serious. You will keep your camouflage on, because if the information that we are traveling together through the prairie gets out, there will be trouble."

"Too bad, and I thought we would do it like last time 'your fate is in danger' and so on," the oracle pouted.

Lyric sighed. This demon is thirty years old in reality, not hundreds of years old. Lyric waited for Nix' consent, which he gave reluctantly.

After packing everything, they went downstairs to say goodbye. The landlords were certainly happy that they finally left. The lady of the house looked up when the two guests came down the stairs ready to leave.

The silver-haired demon bowed and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, even if our stay has caused you inconvenience."

"But what are you talking about? You saved us from a raid. These crooks have been wreaking havoc here for some time now and you have saved our village from even worse events. We are deeply indebted to you."

Lyric was somewhat relieved that they had this view but wasn't sure if the appearance of the new demons had something to do with them.

"We are now leaving. We wish you and your family the very best," Nix said.

The lady of the house thanked them again and gave them some provisions for their further journey, which they gratefully accepted. Outside, Nix opened a portal and they left the small village.

The quiet nature gave way to the noise of a big city – they had arrived in Sarion, the capital of Belphegor's dominion.

They received suspicious looks, because it was clear that they were foreigners and Belphegor's area was known for not being friendly and open-hearted. They would now have to look for accommodation.

Three rejected them, simply because they weren't locals. Such idiots. If they knew who they were rejecting... Nix didn't seem to mind, at least he didn't let himself be noticed. After all, they had arrived in a rather disreputable neighborhood. This was the last accommodation that was in this area.

Lyric and Nix entered their last hope. When they went to the counter, they didn't experience dislike, but rather curiosity. "Well, who do we have there?" asked a cheeky voice. This belonged to a succubus with short red hair and orange eyes. She was wearing a corset and loose jeans. Interesting combination.

"We would love to stay here for a few days," Lyric said, placing a small bag in front of her.

"That sounds interesting. Welcome, I'm Lila – oh, one more question. Which of you two would be available tonight, or maybe both?" she asked with a grin.

Lyric looked surprised. That was... direct. Nix laughed. "I'm sorry, but he's already mine and I don't like to share."

The succubus pouted. "Too bad, but it was clear that candy doesn't stay alone for long. If the little one gets on your nerves, let me know," she said with a wink.

She was really likable, especially since she made Nix chew on his lower lip. "I'll remember that," he replied with a laugh and dragged the oracle with him when the succubus showed them their room.

The house was really beautiful. It was very narrow and consisted of four floors connected by spiral staircases. Around the metal railing were juicy, green ivy tendrils. Everywhere on the warm wooden beams in the walls were attached flower pots with a wide variety of flowers. Large round windows were recessed into the walls, which let in plenty of natural light. It smelled wonderfully fresh and Lyric felt very comfortable.

Their room was on the upper level. A small staircase led to the roof in front of their door. The bed seamlessly occupied the entire wall on the large round window at the end of the room and was covered with lots of colorful pillows. It was a large area consisting of green bed linen with an ivy motif. Also throughout the room, the ivy wandered and lilies adorned the white walls. A small table stood in the middle of the right wall.

"The washroom is on the third floor," she said. "The meals are taken on the roof terrace, I'll call you when I have it ready," said the succubus and strutted away.

It was really beautiful and Lyric felt the love that the succubus had put into the plants and the decoration of the rooms. Nix lay down on the bed and buried himself in the pillow pile.

"Hey, don't bury yourself! Otherwise I have to send a team to get you out of there," Lyric said with a laugh.

"But I love pillow mountains," Nix said cheekily, wiggling his butt looking out from under the mountain.

Lyric went downstairs briefly to get pen and paper from Lila, then sat down at the small table. In the meantime, Nix had dug himself out of the pillow mountain and was only lying on his stomach. He held a large fluffy pillow wrapped around him, on which he rested his chin. Curious, he looked at the rune demon, who thought hard.

"What do you want to write?" he asked Lyric.

"It must be a message that tempts him to receive us, but doesn't arouse suspicion. The problem is that because of my background, I can't just stop by for fun. It has to be realistic and comprehensible."

Nix thought about what was said. "How about wanting to talk to him about Telos' recent activities, certain inconsistencies have arisen," the oracle suggested.

"That could be possible, but it must not give the impression that we are deliberately withholding important information."

_________________________

The journey continues, they have arrived in Sarion, the capital of Belphegor's empire.

How do you think the meeting with Pan will ?

Will Nix stick to Lyrics' plan or bring up a typical Nix action?

Your Mouse Goddess

After about an hour, they had finished the message. "Now we just have to send it off."

Nix snapped and a raven materialized in front of him. Lyric looked at the animal in amazement. "What? I am the messenger of fate, I must be able to fulfill my oh-so-important task at any time," he said with a sarcastic undertone.

Actually, nothing should surprise him anymore, but Nix was really a grab bag – every day he surprised him with something new. Lyric fortified the message and sent the raven on its journey. Hopefully they would get positive feedback, otherwise they would have to come up with a plan B.