The Fine Line of Heaven and Hell

Disclaimer: I was told my original disclaimer was no good, and I'd have to agree, it did kind of suck. BAD. So here's a new one.

Actually, this story was created, written, and imagined up by me. Anyone who wishes to use my work in any way must ASK PERMISSION....Any likeness to actual people, alive or dead, or unoriginal characters created by other authors is just a coincidence.....Uh, what was the rest....I own the characters, the story/plot, and even Veranda Inn, but I do not own New York, the Phillipines, France, Columbia, Thailand, or any other real location that may be stated in this story. (I wish, though...I'd be one rich person!) OH! This is a work of FICTION...Meaning it didn't actually take place. Seriously, it's not even based off of proper mythology, though I don't think anyone smart enough to spend time reading this junk will actually be so stupid as to believe it's real, but they told me I had to say it. *hearts*

I would also like to say (Sorry for talking so much) that I'm not being sarcastic about having to do the disclaimer. I think it's a good rule that protects my works, as well as the works of others.

Update: This chapter, and many more to come, was beta'd by Gaia. Much love for Gaia, everyone.

A/N: Hello! This is the first story I’ve ever actually shown anyone, so please, tell me what you think! ^.^ Quiet honestly, I don’t care if its good or bad, as long as its honest. Any romance in the story will progress slowly. I'm unsure of the extent of sexual/romantic content. I haven't actually finished the story yet. *chuckle* Sorry. I’m focusing more on the main character, and after a full development, it’ll grow… I think. I’m not entirely sure how this will turn out. O.o I guess I’m not a very good author, if I don’t even know about my own story.

As far as my content warnings go... It's what is most likely to be here, and maybe some more, but as previously stated, I'm unsure. O.o These things can be changed, though, I think.. So it should be fine.

Erm….. I guess that’s it, then. I hope you enjoy reading it.


Chapter 1: At a Loss
===============
As sad as it seemed, Shuey never could understand the subtleties of social interaction.
Then again, being raised as she had, it wasn’t too abnormal for her not to comprehend.
Her mother had given her away at a very young age, fleeing from the rage her father
would have shown had he known of her existence.

Yes, Shuey stood at that fine point between Heaven and Hell… Earth. She knew very
little about her past, and less still about the world around her. The only thing that wasn’t a
complete mystery was her lineage. Her mother had left a letter with her caretaker when
she had given her away. Her father was one of the top Generals of Hell’s Army, Zeke
Brethmel. While the name was strange, she had a name like Shuey, so it wasn’t like she
could complain. Her mother was a seraphim of a higher quality, once walking the planet
like a human in search of something she was asked to bring home.

Shuey didn’t remember what her mother looked like. She’d never seen her father, and
always wondered whom she took after. Looking into the mirror, she came to the
conclusion that she took after both, though she didn’t know whose wingspan she had. She
assumed she had one that was somewhere in the middle: an average of both parents.

Yes, Shuey was not normal: she was half angel, half demon, a complete anomaly. Being
such, she was resented by Hell and rejected from Heaven’s gate. Already she was
condemned to lurk this wretched world’s surface for however long she might live. With
her luck, she’d live forever.

The face in the mirror gazed back at her with no emotions, one eye a dazzling blue, the
other covered by lengthened bangs, longer than the rest of her hair. Most of her reddishbrown
hair was short and choppy, but her bangs slid smoothly over that eye… that
golden, amber-colored eye. It reminded her of beer sometimes, like a cat’s eye at others.
It was a fairly twisted feature; one that she preferred to keep cloaked in a veil of russet
hair.

Sometimes, her wings flared out from her back, ripping through her skin in a flash of pain
and blood… but she couldn’t stop it, or even control it. At seventeen, she still didn’t have
control over whatever powers she had gained from her parents’ taboo liason. Her skin
was pale, mimicking an angel’s soft features, but her body muscular, not in a manly way,
more lithe-like... like that of a demon’s frame. Her nails were long, nearing the length of
claws, and sometimes shifted colors, looking as though they’d been painted. Usually she
was good at hiding what she was, but sometimes, like when her wings decided to sprout,
she would have problems.

Because of all this trouble, Shuey avoided people like the plague. This, of course, caused
her social ineptitude.

Today was her seventeenth birthday, meaning she would have to leave this place that had
given shelter to this walking reject until the point in which she was an adult... legally.
With a twitch of a frown upon her lips, Shuey set about dressing.

Opening her packed bag, she dragged out a pair of dusty blue jeans and a boring black
tank top. Shuffling out of the dirty orange t-shirt and cargo shorts she had been wearing,
she slid into her clean clothes and decided to leave her dirty ones discarded on the floor.
Pulling on a pair of heavy boots, she started to look around for her coat. Because of her
wings, she had saved up for a hefty jacket, something heavy to discourage her wings
from erupting from her shoulder blades. It was a heavy black trench coat that brushed
against her ankles like the skirt of a dress. She usually let it hang open but it was the
middle of the cold season, so she zipped it up halfway.

Knowing the world for what it was, her final adjustment to her wardrobe was a small
silver dagger, stuck into the bracelet she used more as a handmade sheath. Not one to
care much for her own looks, she simply walked passed the mirror without a second
glance, scooping up her bag with one hand and patting her side softly with the other in
search of her wallet.

When her hand landed on the leather clad bump, the frail looking thing dropped back to
her side as the door opened of its own accord. There stood the caretaker, already looking
at her disdainfully, a sneer planted on his face rather plainly for her to see.
This was a man her mother said she had trusted, a man of angels; of course he would hate
her. To him, Shuey was a walking sin, whereas demons saw her as walking filth. This
man never allowed her near others in fear that she would tarnish his reputation as a man
of "goodness". His hypocrisy made her stomach lurch at times, while at others she simply
found it horribly amusing.

Resigned to this, she handed the man the only thing he’d ever given her; a set of keys that
went to her room. She wasn’t allowed to wander the outside, but she was allowed to
meander about the compound, which was rather spacious.

It wasn’t a fancy place, rather, an expansive, run-down dump that had a smell akin to a
junkyard. According to this wretched looking man, it was more than she deserved.
Regardless of her distaste for the creature before her, she owed him thanks. Whereas
many of both her lineages would bow deeply either with a bend at the waist or a sweep of
their arms, she merely nodded, brushing past him without a word. What should she say to
a man she obviously had no favor of, and whom likewise had no favor of her?
It’s not as though she’d had the type of interaction with humans she should have. Her
teacher came over to the compound, taught her only what was necessary, and left as
quickly as possible. If she were any less intelligent or observant, she’d have no education
at all.

With a creak, the old worn-out door swung open, revealing a barren place that resembled
a forest. She’d explored that very forest unbeknownst to the caretaker many times before,
so she knew it well. She knew enough about the people who lived in the town nearby to
know they feared the place she had lived for the past fifteen years. They believed the
place was evil, and never drew near. The caretaker lived in town, as a priest, to top it off.
Resisting the urge to sneer at the thought of the "benevolent" man, she turned onto the
path that led away from the town he resided in. If he was a common resident, she’d hate
to see what the others were like. A familiar pulse began tingling her spine, and she was
glad for the escape from “society.” Truly, as an outcast, she pitied the human race,
especially if all humans were alike.

Dropping her bag and shrugging off her jacket as quickly as she could, her tank top
made a loud ripping sound as her wings flared out from her shoulder blades, making her
wince slightly in pain. She could only thank her own intelligence for the black of her top,
for the angels above and the demons below would ignore her thanks and pleas. Tugging
up her bag with a quick yank and holding her jacket over her shoulder with her free hand,
she continued walking down the dusty path, hoping no being would drive by and see her
parents’ disgrace that had so plainly written itself within her.

A few hours down this rustic, wooded trail, her wings shivered in the cold breeze, folding
themselves back within the confines of her skin. If she had healed any slower, she was
sure she’d bleed to death. Quickly donning the leather trench to cover up her tattered top,
she rolled her eyes softly and took another step, her boots making a resounding ‘thud’,
even against the soft dirt path.

Hearing the sound of a motor, an eyebrow rose at the coincidence of a vehicle showing
up just as her wings vanished. Ever suspicious, she kept the hand closest to her dagger
entirely free as the old car came to a stop. Dirt clouded up around the seemingly thin
wheels, some dirtying up the already mud-caked red paint along the sides of what
appeared to be an old Beetle. An old-looking man leaned over the passenger seat as he
rolled the window down manually.

“Need a ride, Honey?” Grimacing at the nickname, Shuey surveyed the man closely.
With a resigned look, she nodded. “Only to the next town. Is it nearby?” The older man
pulled on a lever inside the door and pushed it open, allowing her entry to the dirty old
contraption. He gave an enthusiastic nod as she sat gingerly inside, hand at the hilt of her
blade in accordance with her cautious nature.

“’Bout ten miles off. Not too bad, but it woulda taken some’n two 'er three days ter walk
it.” She nodded her acknowledgement and gazed briefly at the window before looking
back at the elderly human. He didn’t seem an immediate threat, but you never knew who
was dangerous and who wasn’t. Somehow she doubted it would take so long to walk a
mere ten miles, when it only took a few hours to walk four… but she didn’t have to walk,
so she wasn’t going to correct the old man. “Seen a good many soul walkin' down that
dirt road. None of 'em quite like you, though. No, indeed, nottin’ like you ‘round ‘ere.”
Shuey eyed the man carefully, pondering the meaning behind the elderly man’s words.

Did he recognize her as a mixture of demon and angel, or was he commenting on her
gender? Perhaps he was commenting on her appearance. Surely few people walked
around in boots and trench coats; even she found it odd at times. Throughout the
relatively short ride, the man prattled on about many things as she gazed out the window,
hand never moving away from her weapon. Slowly, the scenery changed, shifting from a
forested dirt path to a graveled road winding past a small city.

Many lights shone out through the darkness; neon signs glowing brightly in the dual
colored vision that the city presented. None of the buildings were very high, five stories
at the most, but it was obviously some kind of a city. The decrepit car pulled to a halt in
front of a grey three-story building with a white-lit sign on the front reading “Welcome to
Veranda Inn.” As idiotic as the name was, the layout of the building matched its title,
small porches jutting out from what she assumed were hotel rooms. Opening the door
with a loud creak, she stepped out and turned to face the elderly man who had given her
the lift.

“I have no money,” she stated bluntly, almost curious as to how the man would react. He
simply chuckled at her as she dug through her bag for something worth giving him.
Holding out a pendant she had found a few years back, the man shook his head, holding
up one hand.

“Even tho’ yer awful ‘spicious, yer still very pure. Nice ter see a girl like ya ever once in
awhile. Does an 'ol 'eart good.” Ignoring the hand holding the pendant, he waved for her
to shut the door, which she did so hesitantly. With only a wave, the poor old man pulled
out and drove off into the distance, Shuey watching until the old Beetle disappeared from
her sights.

Once the cool blue eye registered that the man had indeed left without some sort of
payment, she sighed softly, tucking the pendant into her jacket pocket and headed inside
the inn. She had no money, so it was up to her to negotiate with someone for some type
of boarding arrangement.

“Pardon,” she began to the clerk, who looked up with wide green eyes. With a slight
frown, she continued on, “I need to speak with the manager of this establishment,
please.” The man nodded quickly, slightly too long brown hair bouncing around his
shoulders as he turned and dialed a few numbers on the nearby phone, then proceeded to
murmur into the receiver, his shoulders stiffening with every word.

The young man returned his attention to her, bowing low and gesturing for her to trail
behind him. She did so with slight caution; the look in his grassy eyes made her
apprehensive. He led her to a large set of double-doors; they seemed to be made of
mahogany. After making an assessment of the surprisingly small room, she watched
curiously as her guide turned to her, bowed deeply and left in a scampering fashion. Just
as she was pondering whether or not to walk in, a speaker above her sparked to life in a
deep, baritone voice. “Welcome, young lady. Why don’t you come on in?”

With an emotionless face, her hand twitched to grasp the small blade on her person. Just
gripping the hilt would make her feel more at ease, but she was determined to get this
over with. It didn’t matter that the suave look the man was going for made her itch.
“Sorry to trouble you,” she began, but he waved her off. ‘Conceited prick,’ was all she
could think as he began running his mouth.

“No trouble at all. It’s not every day you see someone with your uniqueness. Please, have
a seat.” Uniqueness? Sure, she saw what was so different about her, but surely no one
else could see her parents’ disgrace. With obvious suspicion, she sat gingerly in one of
the chairs set before a expansive mahogany desk, equipped with a large flat screen
computer, a lamp, the usual office supplies, and a massive assortment of papers scattered
about its surface. Surveying her surroundings carefully, she listened for the man to speak
again. “May I ask your name?”

She focused her attention on the man behind the expensive desk, absorbing every detail,
as was her nature. His hair was dark and fairly short, just ending over his ears and almost
framing his immaculate face. He donned a grey suit with a black undershirt, making him
look a great deal more terrifying than an inn manager really should. He had long nails,
which made her eye twitch slightly as he moved them gracefully out of her line of sight.
His frame was long and lithe; it seemed his muscular build was for speed, not strength.
“Shuey,” she stated simply, folding her hands on her lap to keep from grabbing her blade
simply for the comfort it was sure to bring.

He chuckled lowly, the depth of his baritone voice dancing lightly along her nerves,
making her flinch ever-so-slightly. “Is that all?” With only a short nod, he simply leaned
back in his chair and observed the fair woman who had entered his office unawares. She
looked rather uncomfortable, although not for the reasons he would have preferred. This
girl with the glowing blue eye and a pretty face seemed about to attack, as if she were a
snake wound into a coil, ready to spring. It was incredibly intriguing to see her visible
eye skimming the room and looking over him every moment or so. It would seem this
woman was untrusting and fully prepared for the worst. “What can I do for you, Shuey?”

Shuey visibly blanched; calling her by her first name was just too informal, but she really
didn’t have a useable last name, did she? “Sir,” she began, making the formality obvious,
“I am in need of a place to stay, but I have no currencies. I’d like to work in return for
room and board.” There, that’s all she had to say, and if he refused, she’d just leave for
the next place. She inwardly grimaced as he looked at her, frightening silver eyes
seeming to stare right through her. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his desk,
cradling his chin in bowed fingers.

Chuckling, he gave her a smile; a charming one, hoping to disarm her a bit.
Unfortunately, it seemed his usual tactics wouldn’t work on such a guarded creature. She
merely stiffened up and narrowed her eyes a bit, her hands seeming to tighten around
themselves as if she were resisting the urge to grab something. A weapon, perhaps?
“You’re very blunt, Ms. Shuey,” she seemed to blatantly reject informalities as well, so
he tried appeasing her. “In return for your outright statement, I’ll return you with one of
my own. I can use you, but you might not like the work.” That blue eye narrowed
dangerously at him, sending a strange tingle of what he could only consider excitement
down his spine. “I’ll let you observe and make your own decision. That will be later on
tonight, until then, I will show you your quarters.”

With a quirk of her brow, Shuey rose cautiously, eyeing him carefully as he stood and
made his way around the desk. He paused at the side, seeming to wait for her to move, so
she did, moving towards the door with a twitch in her fingers. She couldn’t see behind
her, and that made her incredibly uncomfortable. She jumped as a hand landed on the
small of her back, her own hand wrapping around her dagger and drawing the small blade
before her brain even registered the motion. She was thrown out of attack mode at the
sound of a deep reverberating chuckle. “Relax, now, my intentions are nothing but pure,”
the man beside her assured, so she walked with him as he moved forward, giving a small
amount of pressure to the small of her back. Eyes narrowed dangerously, she tensed up
and kept the dagger safely in her death grip.

Grey eyes assessed the lithe creature beside him, knowing full well the danger this
woman could present. Instead of frightening him away, it seemed to call to him, luring
him to her like a moth to flame. “With all due respect, Sir, do not stare at me.” A small
smile crept up his face; his interest did seem to spark some discomfort within her.
Maybe there was some well hidden attraction there. She was rather beautiful, with
angelic eyes and a roguish stature. In truth, he only did this type of favor to those he
knew, but this woman was quite the prize and would bring him some very good business.

“As I’m sure you don’t like much attention, I’ll task you with tending the bar downstairs.
It can be a little rough when it gets late, but it’s the only job I have to give you. Can you
mix drinks?” A short nod was all he received, making him smirk inwardly. When he
finally did break this girl in, he’d flaunt her around until she couldn’t survive without that
attention; then she’d be his for good. He’d already decided: this would be his mate. “Will
this do?” he asked waving her to the first room off the stairs.

She examined the place around the room, not the room itself, seemed about to protest and
fell silent. He rose an eyebrow in question, but she offered him nothing, looking around a
second and third time. “Would you like one further back?” he queried, assuming this was
a privacy issue. The girl’s eye looked directly into his, and he smiled at her in a
disarming manner, which only seemed to stiffen her up more. After a small staring
contest, she gave a short and decisive nod. Waving his hand in a short bow, he motioned
for her to proceed before him, picking a room of her choice. When all she did was stand
there and wait, he went on to the back of the hall. “Will one of these do?” The visible
blue eye of hers locked onto his once again, glancing between each room. Again, she
nodded, her head lowering slightly as if hiding a moment of weakness, and he began to
wonder just why she had wanted a room further back. Was it really for privacy?

“I appreciate your generosity,” Shuey mumbled lowly, almost feeling idiotic for
becoming picky over something she was given, that she had not yet earned. The man
tutted at her, a smile forming on his smooth, flawless face. She couldn’t even identify any
stubble on the man’s chin. It was rather irritating, his seemingly charming appearance
and grace. Something lurked about him, a dangerous aura that ruined his charm entirely.
Something that made her alert and aware of his presence in an alarming way.

“I expect you to pay for it with your laboring. Any extras from your pay will be given to
you directly, no one else. Understood?” She gave him a short nod and half of a bow, not
quite trusting him if she lowered herself fully. He smiled at her again, making her sneer
internally as he turned his back and began to walk away. That’s when she finally noticed
it: almost clear lines streaming from his shoulder blades…. wings. Brow crinkling
slightly, she pondered what kind of demon he was. Angels had the ability to retract their
wings at will, whereas most demons couldn’t retract their wings at all. Shouldn’t his eyes
have been the same golden color as her own hidden single eye was?

She was at a loss as to what she should think, so she simply opened her door to find the
keys on the table next to it. With a sigh, she tossed her bag in the floor, locking the door,
and went to the bed not much farther off. Sleep sounded great right now.
=A/N=
Well, that’s the first chapter.. Erm… I’m not sure if it was good or bad, so.. Uh, feel free to tell me? They say seeing others excited about your works often enthuse the author, but I think the author should already be enthused as it is, right? I mean, you’re creating something all your own, to share with everyone else. I can’t help but think that’s something worth being excited about all in itself, right?

I was going to take it slowly, but there are some character flaws that Shuey has, but doesn’t have a story behind some of them. Well, I’m working on building her character a bit… Well… I’d tell you more about what I was thinking, but that might ruin it a bit… If it’s really that interesting… *slightly self-conscious* I’m just nervous, I guess.

Well, enough of that; tell me what you think…..Being nervous really sucks.