I'd insisted that we get out of that place before I told him anything. Jesse was reluctant, he didn't trust me any more and I couldn't really blame him for that, but he was somewhat more receptive to the idea once I pointed out that we were stood in the middle of a crime scene, both covered in blood. The bodies might be gone, but there was still more than enough evidence to land us in some serious hot water.

“Go, go where?” he'd asked.

It felt like a loaded question. Where did we go?

“Back to the B & B,” I said after some thought. “We need to clean up and get our things. Then we can decide where to go from there.”

“Wait, all this 'we' talk. What makes you think I'm going to go anywhere with you? I don't even know who, or what you are. That trick to get rid of the bodies, what was that?”

“I told you, and I promise I will tell you the rest of it. Everything. But not here, we can't let someone find us like this.” I didn't address his other question, I didn't have a good answer for him and I just had to hope that once I'd had a chance to explain things he might be inclined to change his mind.

“Fine, we'll got back to the Travelodge. But I'm still not sure if I want to go anywhere else with you.”

“I can live with that.”

It was a lie. Truth be told I needed Jesse if I was to get anywhere. I needed some information about what was happening to me, and there was only one person on the surface I could think of to get it from. But it would be a long journey to get there and I had to admit that without him I would struggle. If I was lucky I'd be able to convince him we needed to work together, for both our sakes, else we'd both end up being demon food.

Once back at our room we both showered and changed out of our bloody clothes in silence. Then we sat on the beds opposite each other and just stared as an awkward silence filled the room.

“So talk,” he said, his voice sounding over loud in the tiny space, it's surprising volume made me jump. “Tell me what this big 'secret' that's created this whole mess is.”

I chewed my lip, took a moment to gather my thoughts. How exactly did I begin to tell a story like this? A deep breath filled my lungs and a shuddering sigh rattled my throat as I decided to bite the bullet. So I told him everything – well almost everything, there were some things I just couldn't handle trying to explain.

It took me some time to explain it all, skirting around a few of the more complex details as we really didn't have the time to delve right into the whole greater good concept; besides I'm not so sure he'd have accepted the idea anyway. I could tell he was already struggling with the information I did divulge.

“That has got to be the craziest story I've ever heard. What exactly do you take me for, Heather?” he said when I finally got to the end of my story.

“I told you, my name isn't Heather, it's Rayne. And I know it sounds crazy, but you can't deny what you saw with your own eyes, Jesse.”

“So...so this kind of thing goes on all the time. People like you are always around, we just don't know about it.” He'd gotten up off of the bed and started to pace the small stretch of floor, a nervous energy having built up inside of him and he needed an outlet to get rid of it. I was just glad it didn't involve lashing out at me or running in any way.

“Yes...well, what happened here was actually pretty unique, so no 'this kind of thing' doesn't happen all the time. But yes, there are always demons roaming the Earth. We all have our own jobs to do up here, and our own ways of blending in or hiding ourselves so that our purposes remain protected.”

“So why are you even telling me all of this, if it's so much of a big secret?” The disdain in his voice made me cringe.

Because you kept on bloody asking me, and I know you won't help me otherwise. The words rolled irritably through my head, but I didn't let them slip out. I didn't need to push Jesse's buttons any further.

It had occurred to me that I could have continued to lie to him, he would never have to be any the wiser, but I'd found I just couldn't do it. Not only could I not think up a convincing enough lie – hell even the truth wasn't all that believable – but a big part of me didn't want to carry on pretending. I'd spent a good chunk of my life lying to people, pretending to be something that I wasn't. It had been a horribly lonely existence, and for once I was going to allow myself the companionship I so regularly craved – as messed up as our relationship was in that moment. So I'd given myself one rule to follow, no more lying.

My human side felt appeased, even eager to delve into this potential new life, the demon in me, however, was feeling much more cautious,concerned. While she revelled in my revealing those forbidden secrets to a human, sticking it to the demons that had turned on me without explanation, the questions still remained. Why? Why had they done this? What had I done to incur such wrath and punishment from my own kind?

There could be no settling into a new existence, allowing my human side to indulge herself, until I had answers, not to mention a solution to my problem.

“Because, what happened out there, everything that's happened to me on this case has been a set up. They sent me out here to fail in my job, even to try and kill me, and I need to find out why. And as much as I find it strange having to rely on someone for help, I really need it from you.”

Jesse shook his head and I placed my own in my hands. It didn't seem to matter how many times we went over the story, he was still going to struggle to accept it.

“So, they sent you here to corrupt me?” he reiterated, carefully ignoring my plea for help.

“Yes. You were a weird case if I'm honest, hardly a poster boy for wholesomeness. But I don't argue with what the Soothsayers see. I go where they send me, and now I have to wonder what exactly it was that they foresaw in you.”

“So it didn't work then, your corruption?”

“No.” I looked up at him, pleased at the relief I could bring to his eyes with that simple word. “I thought that killing Eric was what you needed to do, but the taint didn't stick. And that's because you were never really a target, just a ploy in whatever game it is they're playing with me.”

“So...I won't be going to Hell when I die?”

I almost laughed a the question. It shouldn't have surprised me he'd want to know given what I'd told him, but unfortunately I couldn't entirely ease his fears.

“Now I can't guarantee that, but your soul isn't any more tainted than it was before.” He still looked troubled and I had a funny feeling I knew what it was that was troubling him the most. “Eric did deserve what he got y'know. He hired someone to kill your sister, he wasn't a good guy.”

I tried to reassure him, but I was pretty sure the image of that car park, those two bloody, violent deaths were going to haunt Jesse's dreams, and that was what really saved him. The remorse he felt kept the taint from colouring his soul. As much of a nightmare as it would be to suffer the guilt, it was a good thing.

“Yeah, I guess. I just can't believe I actually did it. How could I do something like that?”

I had no answer to his question so I just nodded. “Stick with those thoughts, it'll help keep you out of Hell.” It was almost a joke. Something to try and lighten the mood, but there were hints of truth to it.

With a heavy sigh, Jesse sank back down onto the bed. He looked at me, studying me hard while rolling everything I'd told him over in his mind.

“Okay.” He broke the silence with some reluctance, the words seeming to almost stick in his throat. “Say I accept what you've told me – I'm not saying I really believe it all, but I sure as hell can't think of a better explanation – what...what do we do now?”

That question was more than I could have hoped for. He might not be entirely accepting of things, not yet anyway, but he also appeared to realise he had little other choice. Like his possessed mother and vile brother-in-law before us, we were tied together in this mess, and perhaps together we might be able to find a way out of it.

“Well, for starters, give me your clothes.”

Jesse frowned at me as if I'd made some kind of outlandish request, and I found my face broke into a smile.

“No, your bloody clothes. We need to get rid of them.”

“Oh right, here.” He handed me the filthy bundle.

I suspected the clothes were probably the smartest and most expensive that Jesse owned. It was a shame to have to get rid of them, but there was no other choice; blood always leaves traces.

I opened up the tiny cupboard that served as storage space in the twin room and muttered those few words that opened the Vortex to my own cupboard in Hell. I reached in and snatched out a few of my own personal belongings, figuring I might not get another chance to retrieve them, and then I shoved Jesse's clothes inside. A moment later I had bundled up my own bloodstained outfit and shoved that inside too.

“Shame, those were my favourite jeans.” I sighed. If I ever got to go back to Hell, they would be the first things I would try to salvage.

As an afterthought I opened up my bag and threw the knife and fork through the Vortex before I sealed it shut; it seemed a better idea than continuing to carry evidence around with me.

“Well, that's one problem solved. Now, pack your things. We need to get going.”

I was ordering him around, and a part of me was expecting some protest, or more questioning, but I figured if we were actually going to get anywhere I needed to take charge of the situation.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he started to shove the clothes he had worn the previous day into his luggage without argument. Maybe this forceful tone would work well, I should have tried it earlier.

There was really only one place I could think of to go, one person that I needed to go and see.

“Your house, back to the village. I need to go make a deal with a demon.”