Theowin's violet eyes drifted to the ceiling, and he mentally traced around the protruding lumps of paint. He didn't think about the pain. He didn't think about what was going to happen. All he allowed himself to think about was the past, of happy memories with Father, of running around with Echo down on Earth, stroking Serelith behind the ears, holding Grace's face in his hands and slowly but passionately kissing her lips. Without this reminiscing, he probably wouldn't be sane. But with past love came past pain. Father's tears when he watched Mother's grave fill with dirt, Echo screaming in pain as the supernatural kids hit her again and again. He nearly cried when he thought of the months of loneliness after Serelith's peaceful passing, and began sobbing as the memories of Grace's lips on another man's. He needed to stop. Why did he do this to himself? But being in a time when he wasn't filled with sadness and pain seemed like a distant dream.

Nurse Selene walked in and smiled brightly, barely noticing his tears. "Theowin, there is a young lady here to see you! Isn't that exciting? She's being escorted in now." Her huge, white smile screamed of longing for a better job. Theo didn't bother to reply, so she left the room and came back in with Echo.

The minute she saw him Echo's eyes widened and she ran towards him. "Theo! Oh my goodness . . . I can't believe this is happening! Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do they treat you well? Theo, I'm so sorry I couldn't be here before, Mrs Bax had her baby and I needed to be there . . . Theo!" Her eyes welled up and she enveloped him in a long hug. Theo grinned. Though her job required her to be an emotionless bodyguard, inside she was the same sensitive Echo he had known all his life. "Echo, I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much." The fact that his throat hurt like all the fire in the 9 circles of hell when he talked was one of the many reasons why she should be worrying right now, but she didn't need to know that. She knew more than anyone what was going to happen to him. "Did you say the Bax baby was born? The important one you keep going on about?" 

"Yeah. His name is Cassius. They're saying he might be the Last Demon. That's why I'm around that house to keep him safe from Evelyn. You know how she reacted when everyone she loved died! She'd tear him apart because of pure grief." Theo nodded. Evelyn, the Angel Princess, was normally a polite, kind and bubbly young woman, but when the plague tore apart her life she subsided completely to sorrow and anger. She believed demons were the cause of this, and set out to do something, anything, to calm the raging fire burning down her halo. The decreasing population of demons lived in fear from both disease and Evelyn. 

Soon the conversation moved on, and brother and sister spent hours talking about everything, nothing and the space between. Despite the sometimes jokey manner of speaking, the atmosphere was bittersweet and they both knew it. This might be the last time they ever saw each other. . . This might be the last time they ever laughed together . . . This might be the last time they ever cried on each other's shoulders. They existed purely for the other one's company until the early hours of the morning, when tears were shed over their parting. Nurse Selene ushered his sister out. Theo was alone again with the nearly unbearable pain from deep in his bones. 

Theowin's violet eyes drifted to the ceiling, and he mentally traced around the protruding lumps of paint. He didn't think about the pain. He didn't think about what was going to happen. All he allowed himself to think about was the past . . .