The Fine Line of Heaven and Hell

Update: This chapter, of course, was beta'd by Gaia! ^.^

A/N:
Wow, this is going by faster than I thought it would. I wonder how many chapters it will actually be. I’ve only written the first three chapters. *chuckle* So from this point on, I’ll be posting as I write. As crazy as it is, I write fairly quickly when I feel like I want to write. At the moment, school is all I’ve got on my schedule, and that usually takes a lot less time than you’d think. Being an insomniac, I have more time than most people to do what I like, which happens to be the only good thing about being one. Honestly, insomnia is horrid. You stay up all the time, and then you’re exhausted all the time, too. It really sucks. You keep on going until you finally pass out. That’s pretty much how I came across my sleep meds. I don’t like to take those, though. I’m always worried that I’ll acquire some sort of need for them. *shiver* I’m not sure how I got to this point, so I’ll shut up now.

A curio is an unusually rare object, often collected in the interest of rarity.
Chapter 4: The Curio
=========================
It had been a full two weeks since Shuey had started work at the Veranda Inn. Her life
was rather dull, but it filled her basic needs. She worked for money and board, then she’d
research about everything she could get her hands on, from psychology to history. When
she was finally exhausted, she’d sleep until it was time to get up and start the process
over again. Her days off consisted of walking around the small city, observing people,
and trying to understand the social interaction all beings shared.

She found it rather sad at times, that she felt the need to learn these things, but she had to,
so she tried to learn what she could. Currently she stood behind the bar, tolerating the
observant gaze of Cordon. He came every night, whether or not he had a meeting, and
chatted at her animatedly with a bizarre charisma that she was slowly beginning to find
frightening. How can a person exude that kind of charm… in that quantity? It seemed that
every time she saw him, he was polite and radiated prestige.

Occasionally it got on her nerves, like the moment at hand. “Mr. Cordon…” she began
slowly, only to be silenced by that smoky stare he had. She didn’t know why it made her
pause, but it did. It was almost as if he had some sort of control over what she did, and
that irritated her beyond all words.

“Two weeks, Miss Shuey, two. Can’t you call me Jerrick, or even Mr. Jerrick? It makes
me feel rather old when people call me Mr. Cordon or Sir,” he said, the two shots he’d
just downed not seeming to have any effect on him at all. When he received her ‘why
would I do that?’ look, he just sighed and straightened his jacket. “You have a day off
tomorrow, right?” A slow nod was returned in favor of a response as she poured one of
the last customers his whiskey. “After your shift, maybe we can go somewhere together.”

Go somewhere? She ceased almost all movement, only moving her hand away from the
small glass she’d been pouring. Staring at him as if he had two heads, she racked her
brain for reasons he’d want to go somewhere with her. Should she be wary of his request,
or was it his way of trying to forge a friendship? What was his motive?

"I’m busy,” she murmured quietly, watching the last few people leave upon glancing at
the clock. For the most part, the bar ran itself, only needing a bartender for cleaning up
and making drinks. The maids of the hotel came in and cleaned the dining area, so she
only had to clean up her own mess and any accidents the customers made. Gathering the
things she needed to clean, she set upon the task of glass washing.

Grey eyes bored holes into her shoulder, so she spared Cordon a glance as she continued
to wipe the glass in hand. “Busy? What are you going to be doing?” he asked calmly, but
his eyes had a spark of what appeared to be insult. Had she insulted him somehow? She
supposed so by the way he was nearly glaring at her. She pointed quietly to the book on
one of the higher shelves in the bar, indicating that she’d be researching again. He
scoffed in what she could only identify as indignity; maybe the shots had gotten to him.

He was acting strange, and it was beginning to worry her to some degree. “So what?”
This made her pause in her work, looking over at Jerrick and trying to assess what might
be wrong. “Are you alright?” Something made those grey eyes darken dramatically as he
stood up from his seat. He was… angry? It seemed being turned down had angered him.

Wasn’t this… a little over the top, though? They weren’t even friends, yet he was getting
this upset over her wanting to get back to something she found important rather than
spend time with him. She tilted her head, trying to figure it out, but it just wasn’t coming
to her. She just did not get it.

“As long as I’m not around you, I’m alright. I’ve been bending backwards since we met
to be nice to you, and you give me two word responses and blow me off. Why do I
bother?” Cordon’s arms had risen and slapped back down on the counter, making Shuey
jump slightly. His wings were slowly becoming more noticeable as his anger increased,
but she honestly didn’t know how to pacify him.

“If it’s such a bother, don’t be nice to me. I didn’t ask you to be kind,” she said bluntly,
not understanding why he’d wanted to be nice to her in the first place. “Just because
you’re my employer doesn’t mean you are obligated to be friendly.” He didn’t visit the
night clerk’s desk and talk with her at night. Then again, the night clerk didn’t serve
drinks. She’d always figured that was why he came to the bar every night. She’d thought
that maybe it was a routine for him, coming over and talking with the bartender.

Black wings tinged with a red sheen flashed into sight as he leaned over the bar and
grasped her jacket. This wasn’t normal. He pulled her alarmingly close, so she put out
one hand to keep at least some distance between them. His face came close enough to
hers that he could feel strangely cool breath on her cheeks, just a hint of his drink on his
breath as it reached her nose. Her hand came in contact with a firm chest; she hadn’t
imagined he’d actually be muscular. “You’re cruel, Shuey. I find myself wondering about
you when I should be working. What are you thinking? What are you searching for? Why
did you come to me, of all creatures, for help? Can you answer those questions, Shuey?”
he put an emphasis on her name, as if it was a powerful word that kept him in check
somehow.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, before opening her mouth to speak. Even then
she spoke very carefully, making sure not to anger him further. “I’m searching for
myself. Coming to you was coincidence. If I’m a problem, I will leave.” Grey eyes
widened slightly and the grip on her coat slacked a little, but her hand remained in place,
just in case.

“Do you have any emotions at all?” he asked aloud, watching her face as if it were
something amazing to behold. She had given him answers, straight answers. He had
pinned her as the type not to speak about herself, but she had answered him. Albeit
bluntly and without any emotion, but she’d still told him. Would she do this for anyone?
When he thought about it, she’d always answered him when he asked her something. She
never outright ignored him like she did most of the customers who hit on her and asked
her personal questions. Was this her form of respect?

That dazzling blue eye was gazing straight into his, as if she were searching for his soul.
“I’d like to think so,” she murmured softly, just loud enough for him to hear her. “I
haven’t found them yet, but I’m sure they’re there somewhere.” That was all it took for
him to become absolutely elated. She’d answered a personal question. He was beginning
to think that it wasn’t that she disliked him, merely that he went about things the wrong
way. She was an honest woman, acknowledging her problems and trying to overcome
them. She didn’t know about her parents, so she tried to find out. She had a type of
strength he was sure he didn’t.

“Would you mind if I helped you with your research tonight?” he asked softly,
completely releasing her jacket and dropping his hands onto the bar below them.
Cerulean widened and then narrowed, and for once, he didn’t mind that she was assessing
him. After what seemed like eternity, Shuey just shrugged softly and went back to work.
He’d sat there, wondering if that was a yes or no, but she settled his confusion after a few
minutes of pondering. “I have to clean up the bar first,” she said, not even pausing as she
finished the last mug and began to swipe down the counter. All he could do was whoop
internally at the progress.

After she’d gotten to the end of the counter and had begun to finish up, Jerrick was at the
point in which he just had to know what she thought of him. Sometimes she seemed as
though he was the bane of her existence, and other times were like this, when it appeared
she didn’t really mind him at all. This woman didn’t send any signals properly at all. So
he asked, because he had to. “Do you like me, Shuey?”

Startled blue met his eyes as Shuey was moving to put the rag in the sink, making her
drop it in surprise. She stared at him for a few moments, her eyes seeming to burn
through him as she thought the question over. “No… but I don’t dislike you,” she said
after an unknown period of time. She watched him with a calculating look, as if gauging
his reaction, which she probably was. He’d noticed over the past two weeks that she
watched everything. She took in every little detail even as she worked and researched. It
was like she absorbed it all naturally without even realizing she was doing it. She really
was a suspicious creature, but at least she had some level of trust for him. It was enough
to satisfy his current craving for the woman, although it seemed all other cravings for her
would have to wait a long time.

He waited patiently by the door while she put a few bottles away before coming to join
him. “Then what do you think of me?” he pondered aloud, informing her of his thoughts
in hopes of receiving an answer. She looked at him again, eyebrow arched, but shrugged
nonchalantly. What did that mean? He didn’t know, so he waited for her to elaborate for
him. When she didn’t, he sighed, “Regardless of popular belief, I’m not so observant as
to read your mind.”

Shuey blinked at him, wondering why they were even having this conversation. Why
would he care whether or not she liked him? He wasn’t the best company in the world. In
fact, often she preferred to be without his company, opting to curl up in her room alone
and read. “You’re irritating,” she mused aloud, stepping out the door, and only glancing
back once to see if he was following. Surprisingly enough, he followed her despite the
insult she’d just handed him. Was that normal?

“Irritating?” he asked, astounded that she openly informed her boss that he annoyed her.
She even nodded in confirmation when he echoed her in question. “Well… is there
anything I can do to change that?” he asked seriously, hoping to change her opinion of
him. Honestly, how could you court someone who found you bothersome?

Change that? Why would he go to such lengths to make her think well of him? Well, if he
was asking for her input on making him a better person, she couldn’t help him. She was
far too much of a recluse to have the right to educate him on such things. It was hard
enough keeping her wings confined, advice wasn’t something she had the patience or
time for. So far, she’d been able to hide her wings fairly well. Sometimes they spread
during walks outside, and she had to wait until nightfall or until they retracted to walk in
the open again. It was really unfair, her hybrid wings. Demons couldn’t retract them, so
they flaunted them, and it was accepted as normal. Angels could retract them at will, so
they could fit in as humans. She, however, had no such luck and had to deal with her
wings randomly popping out and just as randomly vanishing into her flesh. Often she
wondered whether or not she had scars on her back, but supposed she didn’t due to the
healing abilities of both races.

Noting the silence, Jerrick looked at Shuey carefully. Was she ignoring him again?
Analyzing it a bit more, he took in her furrowed brow and pout lips tilted slightly in a
frown. Usually that pale face was expressionless, so he wondered what she was thinking.
Before he had the chance to ask, the look faded and she was pulling something from her
pocket. It was then he noticed that they’d made it all the way to her room.

In reality, Shuey didn’t think much of taking Cordon to her room; they were just going to
research. To make that statement entirely true, chances are she’d be pouring into books
while he either stared at her or pried into her past. Neither sounded very pleasant, but she
had agreed to let him come, so she might as well deal with it. With a twitching frown, she
waved him inside and grabbed a nearby book. Handing it to him without a thought, she
curled up comfortably in one corner and began reading another. A soft dip in the bed
indicated the demon had chosen to place himself in her personal perimeter again. She
looked up with a frown when no other movement occurred. It sent trills of paranoia
through her when this man was silent.

Instead of a charming smile, his face was serious and held no false pretenses for her to
discover. Her eyes narrowed at Cordon, immediately suspecting the unguarded and
honest manner he was looking at her. It was just before she strained out an insulting
‘what,’ that he spoke. “Are you human?” Her eyes were widened in a ridiculous kind of
surprise, she knew, but there was no way to know how to react. Was it normal for
demons to ask things like this to other beings? Did one demon ask another demon if he
was of darkness or water? She’d found it fairly easy to find out herself, simply taking in
subtle clues in their appearance to inform her of the demon’s elemental binding. It wasn’t
uncommon for a demon to bind him or herself to a particular element, becoming a
specialist in that field and sticking with it. Some demons even had two or three elements
bound to it. She was unsure of the ritual, but knew how to spot the clues.

Wondering how her mind had wandered, she pressed herself back to the issue at hand.
How did she respond? If she said no, she wasn’t human, he would question her about
what she was. She couldn’t simply tell him she was a demon, because she had no visible
wings. His had been transparent, but that was probably a specialty that only came with
those wicked grey eyes. She wasn’t sure which eyes went with which clans, but there was
really nothing she could do about that. He coughed slightly, as if reminding Shuey that he
was there, that he had not disappeared just because she had forgotten herself.

Her eyes snapped back to Cordon, taking in his flawless, stubble-free jaw line and his
intense grey eyes, neatly framed by his slightly lengthy hair. Idly, she noticed it was
shorter in the back, not at all like the flowing, loose hair of the day clerk as she’d
originally compared it with. He had strong yet smooth features, and truly reminded her of
some of the men she’d seen in a magazine she’d gotten her hands on once. Lost in
thought, a familiar shudder ran through her, straight down her spine. “Get out,” she said
quickly, gritting her teeth against the onslaught of pain. “Now.”

Jerrick’s eyes widened at the sudden aggression, making him wonder what he did to set
the dangerous woman off. He stood, dropping the book softly on the bed and stepping
back quickly. “Shuey?” A finger simply pointed to the door as her face seemed to contort
in agony. He stepped out rather confused, only to hear a muffled yelp of pain. That was
all it seemed to take for him to throw the door back open, revealing the first true surprise
he’d had since seeing the new Commander.

Shuey crouched on her bed, dual wings flared behind her, brushing against the low
ceiling as she panted against her shoulder. Blood trailed from her shoulder blades, some
even dripping from the wings that graced her. White feathers drizzled with blood stood
proudly in contrast with an equally bloody bat-like black wing. Her shirt was tattered and
hanging low on her back as she slowly sat down, wincing when the wings twitched
further out. Blue and gold met with grey and widened dramatically. Her hair hung to the
side, framing one side of her face as she looked at the intruder with a pain-laced glare. “I
told you to get out.”

Did she really think he’d let her go so easily? Jerrick wasn’t that effortlessly warded off.
“I think you owe me some answers, Miss Shuey,” he returned her, shutting the door
quickly behind him so no one else would see her. It was one of the most beautiful things
he’d ever seen. She was ethereal like an angel, yet alluring like so many of the females of
his race.

She clenched the sheets of her bed, which were now haphazardly scattered around. With
another look at the man before her, she muttered, “Hurts more than usual,” and collapsed
as if she was under strain.


A/N:
Well, I was planning on them actually having a conversation in the room, but I think maybe it’d be better if the conversation was held after she passed out. Then he knows she’s not human. I’m surprised to see how quickly I wrote this chapter… I seriously thought I’d be working on it longer. I’m often told I write quickly, but there are often flaws that I miss. Honestly, I don’t think that’s a huge problem, and it can be fixed by seeking out a beta. My problem being, not many betas want to beta a new author. While I’m not particularly new to writing, I am new to this whole thing… I think I’ll make that my next goal. I’ve already decided to post some other story ideas I had here on AFF. I like to see my stories somewhere other than my Word Processor. ^.^ Besides, I like to hear what people think from time to time. Especially the first chapter. That tells me whether my idea is a good pitch or not. I’m not so sure this one was very attention-grabbing, and I have to say, it’s really not. Though, now that I’ve started writing it, I have to finish it to know what happens. That sounds strange. XD I’m sorry for the cliff-hanger, by the way. I was writing and for some reason I thought it’d be a good idea to end the chapter there. Not to worry, though, I’ve already started on the next chapter for some reason, and I’ve started off right where I left off, so no gaps. I hate story gaps, but if I had posted those two weeks, then it’d be an even more boring story than it is now. I’m always complaining about how certain stories drag on about things, and here I go doing the same thing. -_- Go figure, eh? ^.^ I should stop typing now; I’ve started to type without thinking, and that’s bad.