After a mid-morning nap, Nyx woke from a chiming alert from her new phone. Through bleary eyes, she read two missed calls. Unknown number. Well, that's not helpful.

She flicked through all the random apps until she got bored and dialled a familiar number into her phone. "Hello, Daniel speaking."

The warmth in his voice, laced with a touch of suspicion, made her smile.

"Hey, dad."

"Button! Whose phone is this?"

"Mine. Well, it is now. I was wondering if you or mum still have Selene's number."

The sound of air blowing through pressed lips sounded over the call. "Well, not just calling to talk to your dad, aye? Ulterior motives and all that."

Nyx rolled her eyes and grinned. "I'm sure I called you last weekend, and I saw you both two weeks ago! Besides, I'll probably be moving back in for a bit once my lease is up. If that's okay."

"Okay? Of course, that's okay. We would be grateful to have you back under our roof. Your mother has missed you like crazy."

A warm, tinkling laugh rang out. "Please," Kathryn's voice sounded muffled in Nyx's ears. "You walk around here moping constantly."

"We both equally miss you like crazy, button," Daniel conceded.

"I miss you too. Now, the number...Do you have it?"

"Yep, I'll text it to you."

Nyx let out a sigh of relief. She really needed to talk to her friend after the little slug monster incident.

"Thanks, dad, talk later, okay? Love you!"

"Love you too!"

Seconds after the call ended, she got another alert. She added both new contacts. Dad and Selene. She quickly sent a thank you text to her father and called her friend. She hoped they were still friends. Despite all the dumb, cruel things Selene said, she knew it was that soul-suckers fault. She would never have said any of that stuff otherwise. At least, she hoped.

The ringing went on for so long that Nyx thought it might not go through when a subtle click and tired "Hello?" greeted her.

"Hey, Selene, it's me."

Selene gasped, and a shuffling sound had Nyx picturing her jolting upright in bed. "Nyx? I'm so sorry. I'm at my brother's place for a few days until classes start again. Did, um, did the breakfast date go okay?" The last words Selene uttered came out in a grumbling, agitated tone.

Nyx sighed. "Yes, it went fine. I'm unhurt by your worst enemy, as you can hear."

Selene groaned loudly across the phone, and the line went silent long enough for Nyx to check if she had been hung up on.

"I need to tell you something. And you're probably gonna think I'm crazy."

You wouldn't know crazy if it bit you on the a-

"Nyx?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Okay," Selene cursed and shuffled some more over the line. "That guy you are seeing is a Demon." She paused for effect, and Nyx pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing. 

Despite her abilities, Nyx remained remarkably sceptical about the supernatural.

"Don't laugh, okay. I- I have this gift. My grandmother calls it the Sight, and I can see things other people can't. And that guy, Neo, is the demoniest Demon I've ever seen."

Nyx couldn't find the words. Is she insane? But as the silent seconds ticked by, unease started to creep in. If I could tell her about my gift, she'd think I was insane too.

"Are you gonna say anything, Nyx?"

"Uh- no, um. Can you explain, please?"

"Yes, totally... Well, it's mainly the eyes. Demons are pure black, and Angels are blinding white. I've never seen an angel, but Grandma said they're pretty intense. But your Demon has wings too, which I've never seen before. They're leathery and have sharp boney things on the joints. He's got to be like a high-level one or something."

Nyx sat on the floor dumbfounded, staring at the charred spot from Selene's soul- slug. "So, do you think that black thing this morning was Demonic?"

"Mhmm. Well, that was my first thought, especially after you killed it, and it smelt like sulphur. That's another tell-tale from demons."

"How the hell does your grandma know all this stuff anyway? What's to say you aren't both  nuts?" Nyx added a light laugh to ease the blow of the words.

Selene exhaled a small laugh in return. "Uh, her grandad was a demon."

"Oh, well, that's- that's fun, I guess." Hysteria started bubbling in Nyx's chest. She wasn't sure if it was hilarity or horror. "But, Neo's nice, though. I thought Demons were supposed to be evil. And his s- his sou-" Her words cut off as she began to choke on her spit.

"His soul, did you say?" Selene asked. "His soul is probably as evil as they come. Although he did look a little different this morning. Less Demon-y."

After thoroughly clearing her throat, she sighed. "Well, this has been fascinating, truly, but I'm just a little lost. He doesn't seem that bad... He saved me multiple times, helped me find you, he's tidy and gorgeous and paid for my breakfast, and oh my god, Selene, he had the whole Halo skincare range in his studio over the club."

Selene gasped before grumbling again. "Okay, when you say all that, of course, it makes me sound crazy, but I promise I'm telling you the truth. Look at his shadow then. Demon's shadows have fuzzy edges like they want to leech into the darkness or something. That's what grandma said, at least."

What if he is a Demon? He is kind of weird, but he's hot. Can demons read minds? Is that why he asked me about Demons at breakfast? Oh my God, have I been ignoring red flags cause he's sexy? I need to get laid...

"Okay, I'll call him after this."

"Just be so careful, Nxyie, please. Demons have their own agenda and don't care about humans at all. He could easily kill you, so please, stay in public places and take my taser from my bottom drawer. Just ignore the vibrator that's sitting right next to it."

Nyx stifled a laugh as she blushed beet red. "I'm good, actually. Thanks!"

The women sat in comfortable silence for a second before another thought gripped Nyx. "Hey, if your great, great grandfather was a demon, then you are a part demon, and you are pretty amazing, so maybe Demons aren't that bad...."

"He murdered the whole family until one of them discovered his True Name and exorcised him to Hell."

Nyx's mouth formed into an upside-down 'u'. "Oh God, I'm sorry! But, what do you mean, true name?"

Selene sighed again. "This would be much easier to explain in person, but I didn't want him to overhear. If you learn a Demon's True Name or an Angel, I guess, you can use it to summon or banish them, depending on your intention. Figure out his real name, and then you can get him as far away from you as possible."

"Uh, okay... I- I will. Thanks, Selene. Love you."

"Love you too, Nyxie. I'm so sorry, okay. If that thing that I puked up was a demon thing, then we've got to assume Neo is behind it. Or at least the Demon that brought me home. Maeze."

"I've never met her."

"Well, be careful if you do. She's e-"

Nyx interrupted, "Yes, Selene, I know! Evil. Okay. I'll call you later."

They said their goodbyes which seemed to go on forever, and she stared at the ceiling. "Shit. This is insane. Totally insane. He's just a man, and my friend needs to go to a therapist, that's all. He's human, and I'm human." Am I?

A shudder ran through Nyx's body as the thought intrusively bombarded her. "Of course, I'm human." I can just see people's souls and change them. Totally normal.

She unpeeled herself from the floor and checked the fridge, still clutching the phone in her hand. The words about True Names swirled around in her head, and she wanted to test them. Despite only knowing what she assumed was half of his real name, she tried closing her eyes and imagining his face. Neo Mephistopheles? Uh, Mister Mephistopheles, I want you to show up outside my apartment right now! She let out a breath of air when nothing happened and rolled her eyes. "I'm a gullible idiot." But then the phone in her sweating hand buzzed, and she screamed, almost throwing it across the room. "Jesus- talk about timing!"

The words written across the screen brought heat to her cheeks and fanned the flames of uncertainty.

Meet me at Demonology next Friday. I have something to ask of you. Regards, Neo.


A/N

Next chapter will be up in a few days

Do you think Nyx is gonna believe Selene? It is pretty far-fetched. Right? 

Any theories about her  background/ species - surely she's human.... 

Give me all your conspiracies 

K