T W E N T Y - E I G H T
Inner Demons & Stairways

EVEN THOUGH THE concoction that Dimitri and Minnie had brewed smelt like a little bit of heaven, it tasted absolutely vile. It was a little chunky, bits of mysterious solids swirling in the thick liquid and I struggled to swallow it without gagging. It tasted as though I had shoved a bar of soap in my mouth, followed by a dash of soil and maybe even a few pebbles for the crunch. I shivered, wincing at the taste and sensation.

"Oh my gosh, what is in that thing? It tastes horrible!" Setting the flask down onto the ground, I wiped the remnants of the liquid away from my lips were it had spilled a little.

"Like I said, it's better you don't know." Minnie shrugged. "Let's just say that I would never in a million years drink that. I would rather have my eyes gouged out."

"Is it really that bad?" Dimitri asked, frowning. I had almost wanted to take back my words with how hurt he looked. "It smelt amazing though."

"Not everything is as it seems," I pointed out. "And this is just another perfect example of that theory."

"Well, that's done and over with so let's move on." Fabian got up to his feet, his eyes darting over to the sleek black watch that rested on his pale wrist. "And just in time. The fourth sunset is upon us. We will be able to see if the potion worked."

"It better," Minnie muttered under her breath. I don't think that she had actually meant for it to be said out loud since she wasn't exactly expecting a reply. Her eyes were downcast, thumbs fiddling with each other. "We don't have time to waste any longer."

Dimitri tightened his fingers around mine, clenching my hands so tightly that he must have thought I would disappear if he had let go. I could only return the action, gritting my teeth tightly together to stop them from chattering uncontrollably.

"It's time."

I had not even registered the words properly in my mind for I felt it before I heard Fabian speak. The pain was immediate. This time, it was a searing pain that crackled through my skull, the feeling as though someone had plunged a heated knife into my brain. I could feel the thoughts of my past lives desperately trying to brim to the surface and I had no doubt that Lola was at the very top of that list.

"God, it hurts!" I whined, my hands immediately leaving Dimitri's to clutch my hand. "Make it stop!"

"What's happening?" I could hear Minnie ask in the background and it took no time before I felt her presence right beside me, holding my shoulders as her way of offering comfort.

"This is actually her last sunset since the next would be a death that is immediate and painless, and hence this would hurt the most. Besides, the potion is working to keep her past lives in." The voice was frantic, yelling over my screams of pain. I could not even tell if it was Dimitri or Fabian speaker but I had a strong inkling that it was the former.

I felt a hand being pressed to my mouth, effectively muffling my screams. "Quiet down! You will garner the attention of the angels at this rate. Heaven isn't too far from here."

No doubt that was Fabian. It was true, what he said. I could hear the thundering of the waterfalls somewhere in the background. That was the last thing I could be bothered with though. The pain had begun to spread, leading to my limbs. They oscillated between two vastly different points; a burning ache that felt to originate from deep within the smallest crevices of my bones and a numb that disabled me from feeling anything.

As swiftly as it came, thankfully, the pain was gone within a minute. I was left a quivering mess, collapsing into Dimitri's ready arms as my forehead broke out in cold sweat. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself as my body quaked from the aftermath. The pain was definitely more physical than the psychological of the past sunsets and it lasted for a much shorter amount of time.

"Is she... Did it..." Minnie trailed off. Her body hovered over mine, shadow cast against my pale translucent body. My clothing seemed too opaque on my quickly yellowing skin. It stood a stark contrast, looking as if there was a tear in the space-time continuum, not that I would know how that looked like.

"The potion worked. It's over. The pain is over and the past lives are gone. She will be fine from now on." Fabian's voice was hard, a hidden negative emotion buried in his tone. My mind immediately flitted over to Ida's figure and how Fabian would never see her ever again. In no time at all, he might even forget her totally due to her being erased from existence.

I sniffed guiltily, unable to say a word.

As I laid there shivering, I could feel Dimitri's hand running along the planes of my hair, smoothening each strand down as he stroke it. The feeling of his hand against mine calmed me down greatly, sort of like my personal painkiller that eased me gently away from the pain. Gritting my teeth tightly, I forced every ounce of strength I had in my arms, pushing my upper body upward into an upright sitting position before I tugged at Dimitri's shirt.

He glanced at me for a few seconds, silently contemplating the possible reasons for my actions before he understood. Once he got up to his feet, he reached out his hands for me to take, pulling me back up onto my feet. I wobbled for a second, body still not quite used to the sudden lightness but I adapted to it quickly.

Still, I did not want to leave Dimitri's side. He brought me the sort of comfort in which my body ached for desperately. I clasped tightly onto his top, resting my head on his chest before shutting my eyes for a few moments.

"That felt horrible," I murmured against the fabric of Dimitri's shirt. "I never want to drink something like that again."

"That's what you always say after downing a few shots of vodka," Minnie giggled under her breath despite the situation prior. "And yet you're still attracted to it like a bee to a flower."

"Alcohol is different." I tried to argue but I knew that my efforts would be futile. I was obviously in the wrong.

"Alcohol is worse than this, Andy." I could feel Dimitri's body quake slightly from under my touch, moving along with his laughter. Despite his words, I smiled just because his laughter was contagious. I would've had to be a stone statue not to be affected by it; by him. "It harms your body and yet you keep drinking it."

"That's what we always tell Wilhelm," Fabian seconded.

"This, on the other hand, is going to help you get by today without wasting more time battling your inner demons."

Everyone was on their feet now, ready to move. The leaves and twigs crunched below my feet with every step I took, my weight immediately snapping them into two. From a distance, I could hear birds chirping again, singing their harmonic melody as if all was right with the world. They couldn't be bothered by the chaos and how I wished I could be just like them. What I would give to be able to fly free, unaffected by the weight and pull of gravity.

If only what Dimitri said was true. If only I really had a magic potion that could help me fight all of my inner demons. One hurdle might have been conquered but there were mountains that laid ahead of me. Such a small obstacle it was and I treated it as though it was an impossible feat in which I had accomplished. In truth, each inner demon would only be replaced by another more powerful than the last.

It was true that we do get stronger with every challenge faced. But with that concept, these said challenges would always prove to be much harder than the last. That was why they were called challenges; it just gets harder and harder until the day we die. Yet for me, death was not an option.

The fate of the world, as self-centered it was to say, rested in the palms of my hands. If I let myself go, the world would die with me and hence billions of innocent lives would be lost to the hands of the devil. I wished that I was insignificant enough to escape but the truth was that no one was. Everyone had a part in the play and if they went missing, the entire production would be ruined.

I couldn't let that happen.

The last time in which I had seen Heaven's Falls was when I was escaping Lucius's hold in an attempt to return to Hell. At that point, I had not imagined that I would be returning again under such dire circumstances. The scenic spot that connected the realms of Heaven and Paradise was just as beautiful - if not more - as I had remembered it to be.

Heaven's Falls was a large waterfall that ran down from the edge of Heaven and ended in a large pool of water as its base. The water itself was a shimmering crystal clear, colored a deep teal due to its surroundings of great lush trees and the bright blue sky that lasted longer than usual. From where we stood at the bank of the pool, I could feel the mist of the water lightly kissing the skin of my face. I sighed, relinquishing in the calming effect.

"We will need this water for the concoction in which Addison would need to drink," Fabian noted. From his satchel, he pulled out a small glass test tube, completed with a cork of its own. Carefully, he walked over to the edge of the pool before filling the test tube up to its brink, corking the tube up after he was done. "Path of the fall. Probably the easiest one to solve. This is the path we-they took if they ever lose their wings."

"Done." Dimitri nodded. All this while, his fingers were intertwined tightly with mine, unwilling to let go.

"Now we only need what could be the most difficult ingredient of the three." Minnie sighed, shaking her head in despair.

"The blood of an angel of light," I filled in the blanks for my three companions, swallowing a bile in my throat before sighing greatly. "By any chance do the two of you any good angels of light that might be able to help us?"

Turning over to face both Dimitri and Fabian, I batted my eyelids, nearly begging for another solution. Deep down, however, I knew that I still had to face my next demon. And this one was bigger and badder than the others I've come across and that included the atrocious excuse of a party that Dimitri had thrown in my faux honor.

"The only angels of light in which I know are Lucius and Lucifer. One is now the devil and the other is in Heaven." Shaking his head, Dimitri seemed truly troubled by his own words. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Lucifer had also taken control of Lucius's body so that means that there are two minds in one. Does that make him any stronger than usual?" I could feel the beginnings of anxiety coursing through my veins.

"Unfortunately, we cannot dispel that myth just yet. And he would probably be hiding in his hut or office which if I remember correctly, is in the heart of Heaven. That is a lot of ground we have to cover in secret." Fabian clenched his jaw tightly, arms folded across his chest as his eyes darted upward. Following his line of sight, I, too, looked up.

Heaven's Falls seemed too large of a waterfall. From where we stood, we were unable to see the top of the waterfall and this made me curse silently under my breath. For one thing, the boys were practically mortal when this close to Heaven hence we would not be able to fly up. Climbing it was also not an option since it would be too time-consuming and we did not have the proper equipment to hike up a thundering waterfall.

"Before we even begin to talk about reaching Lucifer, the more pressing matter is how are we going to get up?" Minnie voiced out my thoughts perfectly, squinting at the top of the waterfall. "The angels have wings and we don't. It is not like we can just fly up the waterfall."

"And you boys have your powers suppressed due to being in close proximity to Heaven. Teleporting won't work too," I added in.

Dimitri seemed to be thinking hard for a second because he did not utter a single word. Instead, he was biting his bottom lip, eyes glazed over and mind appearing to be so very far away. I clenched his hand slightly, attempting to gain his attention yet he did not move nor speak a single word. Instead, he remained deep in thought, eerily silent.

"Dimitri?" I tried, tugging at his hand. "What's wrong?"

When he finally snapped out of it, the handsome spirit broke into a large smile. The corners of his lips lifted into one of pure relief and even a little bit of gratefulness. He beamed, turning to face us and looking as though he had won the lottery.

"I have an idea," he said enigmatically. "Follow me."

With our hands still entwined tightly together, Dimitri carefully led me over to the brink of the pool of water before stepping in. He was careful not to splash around too much and I did the same, mindful of not attracting the attention of possible angels placed on guard at the top of the waterfall. From such a distance, we were too small for them to spy. Hopefully, the roar of the waterfall would help to cover us as well but it was best not to take everything for granted.

"It's freezing!" Minnie exclaimed a little from behind me, the water sloshing gently with each step she took.

"Thank goodness I can't feel the different effects of temperature properly." I grinned, turning around to smirk at Minnie. Her face was almost as red as her hair, eyes looking up in dread as the water reached the level of her waist. She wasn't too far behind us yet and Fabian was walking a little behind, most likely to stand guard in case there were really angels patrolling in Paradise.

Minnie wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"I don't think that I'd rather be dead though. I probably would not be able to have a chance at reviving like you do." Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms tightly around her body to preserve heat. "You have a second chance that other people do not have."

The water was rising rapidly with how fast we were making our way inward, coming to the top of my chest now. The thundering waterfall sent mist flying just about everywhere, clouding our vision but I allowed Dimitri to lead me blindly through. Afraid that I would lose the rest of my friends through the cloud of mist, I reached backward where I could still see Minnie's wildfire red hair, shaking my hand a little as a sign of wanting her to take it.

"Grab hold of my hand. It's getting really foggy here and it will be hard to see. I don't want to lose the both of you." I had to raise my voice a little due to how loud the rush of the waterfall was. A small part of me felt relieved that it was indeed most likely that the angels, if there were any at the top, would not be able to hear us due to our voices being masked away by the waterfall.

I could feel Minnie's hand grabbing hold onto my own and when I looked back just to double check again for the final time, I realized that she had also reached for Fabian's as well. The four of us formed a chain, trying our best to walk through the water even though the resistance proved it to be difficult.

I tugged on Dimitri's hand until he turned around to glance at me questioningly.

"How much further?" I inquired, squinting as the clouds of water vapor went into my eyes, stinging them a little.

"We're almost there!" Came his reply.

True to his word, the water was beginning to go down again, lowering slightly to my height of my upper torso as the mist cleared up a little. I coughed once to get rid of the water from my windpipe, blinking rapidly to clear my eyesight. At a little distance away, I could see the outlines of a cave behind the waterfall, one that was small and indiscrete enough for there to not have plenty of visitors.

Since the area was pretty clear again, there was no longer a need to form a human chain. I dropped both Dimitri and Minnie's hands so that I could walk more easily, twisting my body to maneuver myself through the water. Without me slowing him down, Dimitri easily made his way over to the edge of the stone surface where the cave was. Since the water was up to his torso, he had to hoist himself out of the water, droplets splashing back down and his shirt clinging tightly to his exquisitely sculpted body.

Once he made it up - which took no more than a second - he reached out a hand for me to take, helping me out of the water as well. Minnie was close behind me and when she reached the edge of the water, Fabian's hands quickly moved to her waist, carrying her out of the water to sit at the edge of the stone ground with ease. He then pulled himself out, twisting the edges of his shirt to get rid of excess water.

I began to follow suit, twisting water out of the bottom half of my hair before walking further into the dark where Dimitri stood alone.

"What's in here?" I questioned, resting a hand on Dimitri's shoulder.

He turned back at the sound of my voice, his molten silver irises glinting brightly in the dark like a blade against the light. Carefully, he picked up a piece of wood that was tied to the wall further into the cave, quickly stroking it against the rough textured stone walls. In an instant, the room went from complete darkness to dazzling bright due to the supply of light coming from the fire ignited.

There it was in front of us, the beginnings of what probably would be the longest staircase in the world. The light only reached a few steps of it at the bottom, the rest disappearing past a wall which cast a shadow over the steps. When I turned to face Dimitri, he blew a strand of stray hair away from his face, allowing the dark strand to fly past his head and out of his face.

The spirit of death turned to face me, a sheepish grin shaping his lips as he gestured towards the staircase. "I hope you have got stamina because this is the literal stairway to Heaven."

[A/N]:

Chapter dedication to @Aabritigoswami for this beautiful cover for [Courting Death]:

Thank you so much!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

QOTC: How are you about to spend the ringing in of the new year?

xx aurora