The Fine Line of Heaven and Hell

A/N: And here I am, back once more. I just wrote some drabble that has nothing to do with this story, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem as I write. I’ve had a very eventful weekend, and that, might affect it a little. I hope not, but we’ll see, right?

Chapter 33- Just Another Day
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Finally. Final-fucking-ly. Shuey hadn’t been permitted to move about as she pleased for the longest time, thanks to a certain overly butch, strict demonic woman with orange eyes. Restless and cranky, she’d been more than happy to slip into the car with Leon after her week was over. Beatrice had been seemingly reluctant to let her go, but upon seeing her childish stubbornness, let her leave anyway. Her limbs were not as strong as she would have liked them to be, but at least she wasn’t pouring sweat with some of her very first practices. Flexing the wings that still refused to vanish into the flesh of her back, she gazed outside the window, watching the landscape pass by as the angel drove on.

Something felt familiar about the woods along the road, so close to her that it disturbed her in a way she wanted to force Leon’s foot on the gas pedal of the sleek red car. Once her eyes met the filthy old compound she once resided in. She must’ve made some sort of sound, because the redhead pulled to a stop on the side of the dusty road and turned the car off. “Go ahead. This is where you used to live, right?” Still disturbed by his ability to seemingly read her mind, she nodded, unbuckling her seat belt and stepping out of the vehicle. Dirt clouded around her feet as she walked, her mist folding over her wings with ease, veiling them from sight.

Much to her surprise, a man stepped from the building as she drew near, once straggly strands now clean and sleek, tied back behind his head. The grime that used to fall from him as he walked was now washed away, his clothing neat and impeccable. The suit he wore fitted well on him, his muggy face fresh and unsullied. The same beady eyes that had once looked at her in disdain now looked her way in astonishment. “….Shuey…” She didn’t need to know why the man had changed himself; she didn’t care. Frowning, she watched the man carefully as his features contorted in a sneer. “What do you want, filth?” Something about the way he said it seemed off, incorrect. It was almost as if he’d forgotten how he had insulted her before. She supposed it was fairly natural after time.

She couldn’t very well tell him that she had come to look at the building, but she had to say something, right? Gazing at him, she found she really had nothing to say to him, but her mouth twitched in anticipation anyway. Before she could respond, he was walking away, the familiar shuffle he once had still lingering as he drew further from her. His beady eyes landed on Leon for a moment, growing wide like a mouse who’d just seen his brother engulfed by a cat. In a flash, the angel was out of the car, crossing his arms and staring the man down. “Kiriel? What are you doing here?”

Not sure she understood, Shuey simply analyzed the situation carefully as the two spoke on. “What is Jerrick’s dog doing here?” Mouth upturned into a grimace, her brow furrowed in confusion; they knew one another? The smell of smoke permeated her nose, making her turn to see flames licking the side of the compound she once knew. So that was what he was doing here. It was only natural, since she had sullied it up by living there.

“Funny of you to call me that when you yourself are Zeke’s dog, isn’t it?” Dual eyes going wide, the Halfling felt her head spin for a moment before she calmed herself down. She remembered quite clearly that the letter had been from her mother, and that Brethmel himself had claimed Cerelia hid her from him….So how was this correct? The General’s dog? It wasn’t as though she cared, but if this man was indeed on the russet-haired demon’s side, then she had actually been hidden from her mother instead of her father. She could feel a headache coming on, which made her want to go back to the car and let the pair duke it out however they saw fit. She wasn’t getting involved anymore than she already was.

“The High General and myself have long-since parted ways, little angel,” the now-clean man said with a disturbing chuckle. He began removing his suit jacket, followed by the pristine white shirt beneath it, revealing a pale, lanky chest. It was nothing compared to either Leon’s tanned, toned one or Jerrick’s pale, lithe one. Silver wings shimmered into existence behind him, making her brow twitch; a demon? A frightening grin splayed over his face as they flared out from his shoulder blades, eyes dancing with fire. Black eyes? Was this man truly a demon? “Shall we see if Jerrick’s puppy has grown any?”

Cerulean eyes glanced her way briefly before Leon pulled his own shirt off, taught muscles flexing with the movement as he did so. One pure, white wing sprouted from his back, soft feathers flying errantly here and there. Her mind momentarily questioned why the angel needed his wings out to fight when they were useless, but she discarded it to learn from the battle she was about to witness. Long, clawed fingers lashed out at the angel, one tan hand wrapping around the appendage and forcing the snaky man to the ground. Another hand slashed him across the face, only to be caught as well, a resounding crack echoing through the trees as he snapped the wrist with ease.

Beady eyes glared before a stray foot slammed into Leon’s chest, sending him backwards as the man snapped his wrist back into place as if it were merely a nuisance. Silver wings straightened as he turned back to his opponent, who was standing up from the spot he’d ended up at. “You’re out of your element,” the redhead said idly, the ground around the man’s feet gripping his ankles. The angel’s hands clasped together before spreading apart slowly. He made his way towards Shuey, heat radiating off of him enough for her to feel. His hand found it’s way into his pocket, pulling out two dull-colored rings that he put on the middle finger of each hand. “Let’s get straight to the point, huh?”

Leon stepped close, allowing her previous guardian to feel the burning air around the angel. Beady eyes expanded in horror; maybe this was something he was familiar with. “I see you remember my favorite doggy trick. So, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here, filthy little demon dog.” Fangs emerged from Keriel’s mouth as his hands clawed at the ground wrapped around him, only to have it grasp hold of his hand as well. He tried yanking his arms loose, only serving to dislocate one and scowl at the angel standing over him.

“You’ll have to kill me before I betray the one most important to me!” Shuey could feel her mother’s powers stir, hinting, to her mind at least, that this demon was speaking of Cerelia. An eerie grin spread across Leon’s face, one hand errantly stroking the man’s cheek.

“Cerelia would be proud,” he said coolly before moving his hands away and clapping them together, sparks from the colliding rings sending the air around Keriel into an inferno of flame that covered him like a murderous blanket. The Halfling watched in fear and fascination as the redhead stood over the burning man, arms crossed as he watched him die. “Pride is the downfall of many men.” She’d never seen this side of the angel before, and though it was rather disturbing, she could understand part of it, in some way. She’d felt such a void of emotions before as well. Would she be like this when she killed someone?

A sprinkle of rain spattered on her cheek, making her look up to the sky. The screams of the demon had died down, telling he’d become accustomed to the pain. It was hard to kill a demon by fire; they healed as they burned, leaving the flame to burn the renewed flesh over and over. “Tell me, Keriel, why are you here? Why did you betray Brethmel for his angelic lover? Did you think she would fall in love with you? Cerelia’s heart is long gone, as well as Brethmel’s. I’ll do you a favor if you tell me now; I’ll kill you before the General can get a hold of you.”

Clawed hands had become almost like paws, his eyes becoming sharper and wilder. “Cerelia…..” the man called out weakly, falling to his knees with his hands freed by the shifting in shape. Fingers dug into the dirt, his now naked form being seared again and again. Something in Leon’s eyes changed, the iciness from before softening as he went to the car and pulled something from the trunk. To her surprise, it was a long, slender sword.

“Mercy is weakness, an insult to all demons,” he said as though telling a group of people instead of just two. “You betrayed High General Zeke Brethmel, a high official of the Demonic Army. You’re punishment, given by I, outcast of angels, dog of Lieutenant Jerrick Cordon, Leon Azulic, is a merciful one. Angels, being creatures of such weakness, see mercy as a strength. You, who betrayed the demons for an angel, shall receive it as such.” The demon's pale face almost looked thankful as the angel stood over him, a vague smile crossing his face. The rain began to pour as the redhead raised the sword before he stabbed it harshly into the ground beside Keriel’s head. “If you wish to repent, do it yourself. I'm not going to do your bidding for you.” Water was drowning out the licks of flame around him, his eyes raising to meet Leon’s. “You have two choices,” he began, blue eyes staring down into abyssal black ones. “You can kill yourself for failing Cerelia, or you can live in your shame for betraying Brethmel. If you live on, remember that one day, you will face the General, and he will kill you. The choice is yours,” he finished, spiked hair flattened with rain, water now dripping from him from what was now a downpour.

The fire around him had long-since died away, leaving him chained to the ground by the ground on his knees. As the angel opened the car door, he looked at Shuey intently, waiting for her to get inside the car as well. “You’re leaving me alive! Coward!” The sound was drowned out by the shutting of a car door, Shuey sliding into her seat, slightly shaken.

“Wasn’t that pointless?” she asked cautiously, frowning when he didn’t answer at first. After a long period of silence as the car started up, Leon decided to speak up.

“When I was outcast and Jerrick took me in, many of the demons were against it. When he became Lieutenant, Brethmel sent Keriel to get rid of me…. He fucked me up pretty bad, but Jerrick came for me before he could finish me off. He told me to consider his mercy as an insult. Filth like me didn’t deserve a noble death. What I did, was to pay him back for that. Later, the General found out he had spared my life and considered it betrayal. It's a worse fate for him to live on than for me to kill him, and this way, no one gets in trouble.” Before she could ask why he would get someone in trouble besides himself, a hand was held up to silence her. “I’m Jerrick’s dog, remember? Jerrick is a Lieutenant, so if I do something wrong, it’s like he does something wrong, too. If I fuck up, he fucks up too, ya know? Going around and setting fire to military dogs for revenge is considered a major fuck up. Now he‘s a traitor, so they‘ll overlook it.”

It wasn’t long at all before the sight of the city met her eyes, allowing her to relax, knowing she would be home soon. It was already getting dark, thanks to the clouds pouring out rain, and the lights of the city were fuzzed and gleamed against the raindrops, forming small, barely perceptible rainbows around each circle of light. The inn had never looked so appealing to her before, but to her irritation, she was more looking forward to seeing Jerrick than curling up in her own room, closed off to the rest of the world. Faint images of him popped uninvited into her mind, making her brow furrow slightly. Her body tingled in excitement as they pulled into the small parking lot of the inn, the sign glowing neon in the darkness.

She felt as though she were about to leap from her own skin, and it bothered her to not really know why. Upon entering the building, Clara gave her a wink while Leon merely walked by with no interest in anything but his own room. Eyes turning on the staircase that led to the Cordon’s quarters, she stood debating on what she wanted to do. Frowning at her indecision, she crossed her arms, putting most of her weight on one side while she thought it over. If she went to him, would it mean something she wasn’t ready for? Annoyed by the complications, she merely scowled, beginning to head to her own room when said grievance appeared from the direction of the tavern, a smile spreading across his features when he caught sight of her.

“Shuey, I’m glad you’re back,” he said, walking up to her and pressing his lips against her forehead as though she were a child. She wanted to see this man? Glowering darkly, she began to pull herself from his light embrace when those lips brushed against her ear. “I missed you.” Without knowing why, her face heated up, leaving her to wish she could just bury it into her hands. The slight anger she had had upon entering had seemingly vanished until he pulled her in the direction of his residence. Just as he was opening the door, she shoved him inside, fully prepared to injure him in some way.

Much to his surprise, the moment he turned around to face his offender, he had to dodge a flying fist. Ducking sharply, his mind scrambled as to what could have made her so mad. Sure, he’d known she wouldn’t be happy about him leaving her there alone for a week, but it was for her own good, right? The mist around her wings dropped suddenly, making him wonder how long they’d been out. Had they really been out since that incident? Her shapely figure twirled as she went to kick him, dual eyes not even widening when he blocked the foot and moved back. “Shuey, calm down already. I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what I did wrong.”

Ignoring him, she went for another blow, this time actually making a decent shot to the chest, a satisfied smirk forming on her lips when he let out a gust of breath. Her smirk vanished, however, when two hands gripped her wrist and pulled her close. His nose almost touched hers as grey eyes gazed directly into her own. “What’s wrong?”

Her face was going to explode if it got any hotter, but she glared at him, nonetheless. She wasn’t even sure if she was hurt or just angry. “I don’t know,” she mumbled, trying to tug her arms from his grasp with no success. Those endless eyes were telling her he didn’t believe her, and she supposed in some part of her, she really did know what she was angry about, but she just didn’t want to admit it. There was a long span of silence before Jerrick gave in, leaning down to kiss her softly, even though she didn’t respond. Releasing one wrist, his hand swept through her hair, pushing it away from the always covered golden one.

“I think I get it…. I didn’t think you’d be this upset, though.” Those amazing eyes widened in surprise, the slight blush on her cheeks becoming prominent. Jerrick pulled the lithe beauty into his arms, embracing her and kissing the top of her head. “Next time I’ll bring you with me, okay?” This seemed to be the wrong thing to say because her hand landed in his gut, knocking him backwards onto the bed.

“Bastard,” she muttered, shoving him backwards until he was lying on the bed with his knees bent over the edge. He wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing until she straddled him, leaning over his chest with her hand bracing herself on his shoulders. It seemed the more aggressive she got, the more she was becoming attached to him. Realizing this gave him a slight revelation on what her take on it might have been. Now that he understood, he decided it wasn’t so bad as she leaned forward and pressed their lips together. She wasn’t angry with him, she was annoyed with herself because of how she felt. Letting her vent on him seemed like a great idea to him. Within moments, his shirt had vanished, her mouth abandoning his in favor of running along his chest.

Being annoyed, embarrassed, turned on, and confused, Shuey had decided she would attempt to rid herself of all four problems in one shot. Lavishing the pale, lightly toned chest beneath her with attention, she reveled in the way he tensed whenever she bit down on any particular spot. His hands ran along her thighs, but her irritation preferred him to keep his hands to himself, so she took the offending appendages away. “Don’t touch,” she murmured in his ear, nipping the lobe as he loved to do to her so often. Feeling the forming erection beneath her, she ground down, tearing a groan from his throat as grey eyes darkened with lust.

“Whatever you say,” he responded, fisting his hands as she latched onto his throat, rotating her hips and pressing against him insistently. Captivating eyes watching him closely, frail hands moved away from his wrists and moved to her shirt. Instead of pulling it off, she merely unbuttoned the front, leaving her black bra exposed. He was guessing she wasn’t sure how to get the shirt off without tearing it on her wings. His wings merely allowed the cloth to pass through, but hers were much more tangible than his own.

He watched avidly as she ran her hands across her stomach, basking in the feel of her own hands against her body. In reality, he was sure she was just hesitating, but his mind was allowed to make whatever perverted assumptions it wanted under the circumstances. After a moment of this, that lovely hand hooked pianist fingers around the edges of his pants, unbuttoning them slowly before pulling the zipper down with three times the speed. She bit the skin hidden by the button of the slacks, laving the flesh there with attention that had him near squirming. Without warning, pants, boxers and all were yanked from his body completely, one hand wrapping around him with pout lips hovering over the tip.

Sultry eyes looked up at him as that amazing mouth lowered, her tongue flicking the slit teasingly. She seemed to take a liking to the act of fellatio, her eyes fluttering closed as she took more in. His hand moved towards russet locks, only to be frozen as dangerous eyes warned him not to touch once more. It only served to arouse him more when she looked his way with those eyes, his cock twitching in her mouth. She pumped him with her hand as she slid his member further down, tongue dancing along the underside like a feather. Groaning, Jerrick’s hands clenched into fists as he pressed them into the bed to keep them away from the vixen in charge.

She moaned, her cheeks flushing at the realization that doing this to him felt good. Her body was tingling all over, and he hadn’t even touched her. Releasing the organ from her mouth, she stood before him, unclasping her shorts and letting them tumble to the floor to be forgotten. She’d never been this forward before, but she could safely assume he was okay with it. In fact, she would venture to think he rather liked it. His naked form sent shudders down her spine, swirling grey eyes begging her to slide down onto him. She had to admit, to herself at least, that becoming like this made her slightly nervous. It was almost as if she was admitting to him that she needed him, but she supposed that was about right at this point, anyway. She didn’t know she had become so attached, but upon realizing it, there really wasn’t any going back, was there?

She crawled over him carefully, eyes landing on knuckles gone white with the strain of resistance. Hand slipping downwards, she took his penis into her hand and aligned it with her entrance. Sure, her face felt like it was on fire, but that was okay, right? His hands twitched forward as she slid down, a strangled moan coming from his mouth. “….You can touch now,” she murmured, shifting her hips into a comfortable position to pick herself up. A blur of movement and his hands were gripping her hips, him half-sitting up to press his mouth against hers. Pressing him back down, she rose and dropped back down, testing the strain it would have on her body.

“Shuey,” he gasped, helping her as she drew off, only to see her slam back down hastily. “Fuck,” he heard himself say as she moaned lightly. His fingers found their way to the black lace of her bra, slipping under the material and cupping a pert breast. Her back arched into his hand as her hips were already moving with reckless abandon. She squeezed him tightly as she moved, the barely there muscles of her body flexing with each movement. He could see himself thrusting inside of her, the sight of her flushed face and lusty eyes sending him spiraling quickly towards release. He moved his hips to feel more, her eyes sliding shut as he did.

“Naaahh,” she moaned, riding him like a goddess of sex, her chest bouncing enticingly, begging for him to bite into it. Knowing it would be a hard position to manage when she was in such a stubborn mood, he settled for pinching a hardened nipple, the harsher buck she gave worth the effort. “Jerrick,” she gasped as he slammed a bit deeper inside her, one hand gripping her hip harshly enough to bruise, but the other hand not willing to move and help. To his surprise and arousal, instead of compromising and moving his hand to touch her, her own hand slid between them, pianist fingers slipping along her clit and making her moans louder.

Captivated by the sight, he slammed into her as best he could from below as she impaled herself with equal fervor. When that warm, wet heat clamped down on him, he knew it was over, his orgasm rushing through him like a wave of electricity. She panted as she held herself up over him, hips still gyrating slowly as she rode her own orgasm out. With a small moan, she let herself fall against him, face burying itself into his neck, nuzzling the honey-scented flesh.

Her lips moved against his neck softly as she spoke, his eyes softening at the words. “You have to promise, too,” she whispered, tensing slightly when his arms wound around her. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, and part of her jaw as his hand ran through slightly dampened strands.

“Alright. I won’t leave you behind, either.” With a smile forming against his neck, he was sure she was beginning to doze off, not caring that he was still inside her. He smirked at the thought of waking up in such a position, though he knew she wouldn’t take kindly to it. Part of him doubted that she would really care, but the room was quickly beginning to cool the sweat on their bodies, making him shiver.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, he slid out of her, pulling her along with him to lay more comfortably on the bed and pulling the covers over them. What did it matter about the rest of the world when she was with him?

Sadly, happy moments only lasted so long. After a mere hour and a half of light sleeping, Leon barged into the room, blue eyes looking directly at the two naked forms in bed without shame. “Jerrick, get up,” he said loudly, noting idly that Shuey began to shift and Jerrick did not. “Jerrick! Get the fuck up,” he yelled, pulling the man’s head up as grey eyes opened quickly in shock. “Lizoli is waiting for you in the conference room. She’s got some bad news.”

With complete disregard for the fact that he was naked, the demon sat up, stretching his arms and wings before leaving the warmth of Shuey’s side and grabbing his discarded pair of slacks. “What’s the news?” he asked coolly, a tone he hadn’t used in some time. Chances are, Leon was guessing, he was pretty peeved that he couldn’t take the time to wake Shuey up the way he wanted. Instead, brushed a hand over her cheek, smiling softly when her eyes fluttered open.

“Our General has decided to attack the Ardent Sanctuary. It seems he’s brought someone with him; a woman with long brown hair and angelic eyes. Lizoli can tell you more when you get down there.” In a flash, the russet-haired woman was buckling the bra around her chest, hand swiping at the floor to grab her own dirty pair of shorts to slip on as Leon turned around. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see her buttoning the last few buttons of her shirt. A fine brow arched curiously at him, the look ruined when Jerrick wrapped an arm around behind her, one hand brushing silky strands.

With only a glance his way, Shuey walked right passed the pair of men, not noticing the slightly peeved look and amused expression following her in her wake.

A/N: Okay, so this one wasn’t that long, but I’ve been kinda slacking off in the writing department. I know, I’m sorry. The upcoming chapters will be posted once a week, but due to lack of spare time (my housemates found my sleeping pills again), I cannot tell you for sure what day they will arrive. For this, I humbly apologize, but it is a sad fact of life. It annoys me to know that I don’t have the time to enjoy myself through writing, and my lovely companions find my lack of sleep more troublesome than later chapters. So again, I’m sorry, but until I can find a better place to stash those wretched things, my postings will be slightly erratic. I’ll try to keep it around the middle bulk of the week, but I can make no assurances.


Review time!!!!


Alicat: That was another reason for that chapter aside from a breath of relief amidst so much drama. Shuey is only 17; that’s still a minor in America. This story is based on Earth, but at a time when 17 is the legal age, instead of 18 or 21. During the story, Shuey is seen as a mature adult because of the legality of her age, but she’ll still have some childlike tendencies, just as any other 17 year old. I’m glad you liked the fountain imagery. I find that imagery in myself sometimes, so I used it in the story because of my fondness for the visualization.

Anon: Well, your wish is my command… and to prove it, I’ve posted another chapter… but you’ve already read it. How depressing. *chuckle* No, I’m teasing. I’m glad you like it still. ^.^ To be frank, it’s getting a little old in my book, but I’m always thinking ahead in the story, as opposed to reading it presently. My mind has already written the last chapters, the epilogue, and the beginning of a new story…. My fingers just haven’t caught up yet.

Heather: Actually, my friend Lez said something similar. That’s a little creepy, but I think I’d be willing to sit down and watch this…..if it were a movie… Sometimes I’m just too lazy to read, but movies these days aren’t the best of quality anymore. It’s all about good graphics anymore. How sad. So thanks for your compliments, and the time you’ve allowed me to take to think over what I think about movies. O.o

Snidne: I actually thought about Shuey never getting to see Leon’s powers, and chances are, though she’s gotten a small glimpse, she never really will know the full extent of the angel’s strength. I don’t know if I’ve ever really described Leon’s pants (I might get perverted if I do), but he usually wears baggy pants with LOTS of pockets… I’m sure he uses his pockets for many things, too. When it comes to that crazy redhead, I’m never quiet sure what I’m going to do with him. To be completely honest, I totally favor Leon over Jerrick (but don‘t worry, Shuey won‘t be leaving our strange little demon anytime soon), but that’s only because the arrogant prick is totally my type of person. Then again, I’ve never really had normal tastes to begin with. Although I do like Jerrick, too…..gotta love a pale-skinned beauty with dark hair. *hums* I could go on for hours about what I like about this or that, but I’ll spare you the details…… Except I’m slightly disappointed in myself. There’s not a hot guy with glasses in this story. It’s very saddening. I have a huge glasses fetish (that apparently I proudly admit), and I’m just surprised he isn’t in there…. But that’s okay, I’ll make sure he’s in my next story….. Yes! Aww…. But both the main characters can’t be cutely sexy and shy……. Nooo!!!!!

*Ahem* Anyway, it seems that I have lost myself momentarily……… 25%! That’s great! Good job, Angelic Evil Inc! (I don’t know how that name popped into your head so nicely, but I adore it….. If I ever do become a successful publisher, that’s definitely going to be the name of my company…. I hope you don’t mind). And just for the record, if I adore you too much, you’re ego will get as big as mine. Now we can’t have that, can we?