"Well?" Nyx hissed. "Don't leave me hanging, dick!"

Maeze paced the hall, swiping the hellhounds away with a quick flick of her wrist. She spun with an intrigued glint in her eye. "You're a Fae."

"A what?"

"Fae, Faery, Sprite, Pixie. How many more names would you like me to say?"

Nyx swallowed and crossed her arms. "I thought you said I was Nephalem. You're just making me more confused now."

They continued into the kitchen space, and Maeze grabbed a piece of fruit from the fridge, throwing it at the unexpecting Nyx. She fumbled and managed to snatch it from the air before it hit the floor.

"You are both, obviously. I cannot understand why he wouldn't tell you this. Nephalem simply means spawn of heaven and hell. You are descended from a pure-blooded angel and a demon. Now I know the demon half of you is Fae." Maeze leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms smugly while Nyx still processed her ancestral ties. 

I thought I was human. What the actual fu- Wait a second, doesn't that make Neo a Nephalem too?

"Before you ask, no, Neo is not Nephalem because his mother had fallen, and for some dumb ass reason, that meant his Demonic side overpowered her Angelic nature. The two DNA's mingling needs to be exactly fifty-fifty. Hades figured that out the hard way."

Nyx nodded, nibbling her fruit. Illogical and magical mumbo jumbo, but I'll move on...

"Only one of your kind has ever reached maturity, and because of his actions, it became Neo's most absolute law that any Nephalem found would be destroyed."

Nyx gaped. "Excuse me?"

"Your kind are the harbingers of balance— pure, moralless, balance. That makes you more dangerous than just an angel or demon. Your kind is relentless and will strike down any to ensure the three planes remain equal."

Nyx set the fruit aside, far too shocked to stomach food. The silence in the room threatened to swallow Nyx whole. "I- I'm confused. I haven't done anything like that. I just influence souls a bit."

"No Sprite, you exchange them."

Nyx stared, clueless, as Maeze elaborated. "Demon and angels have the same type of soul on a spectrum, of course, but they are supernatural. Human souls are different, not visibly, but the power within them is far more potent. You aren't giving the demons a little shoe shine on their souls. You are exchanging them for a human soul. So while you aren't directly killing them forcing you to kill their angelic counterparts, you are likely manifesting your powers in ways you don't understand."

Nyx groaned and sat at the breakfast bar, burying her head in her hands. "What? But I didn't change any angel soul...." Realisation dawned on her just as Maeze clicked her tongue. Her head shot up, and she gaped at the unimpressed demon.

"I accidentally caused Micah to fall because of all the demons I changed?" Her voice rose a few octaves as the sentence concluded, and Maeze hummed.

"Bingo. Well," she corrected, "probably."

"Did I make him do all those horrible things?" Nyx felt her heart pound in her throat at the thought of ruining his life. Everything was my fault. He would never have hurt me if I didn't change his soul.

Maeze scoffed. "What? No. Micah was intolerable long before you changed his soul. Just because your nature is dark doesn't mean you need to commit murder." She rolled her eyes and scoffed again. "If anything, you showed everyone his true nature, the pretentious Vekai."

Nyx's fear slowly ebbed, and she picked up her food again for an anxious bite. Maeze picked at her sharp fingernails as Nyx swallowed, poised to ask another question.

"Okay, but wait, you said there was another Nephalem like me, right? So how come you didn't realise what I was sooner?"

Nyx thought her question was rather good, but Maeze pulled a face. "We aren't bloodhounds, goblin. Besides, Neo and Micah's blood is the dominant power in you. Your Nephalem abilities are still dormant."

The revelations just grew more tedious and confusing.

Maeze didn't wait for Nyx to whine. "Shut up and listen, nymph, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, a Nephalem was born in Tartarus to good old Hades and an Angel he kidnapped from heaven. She died in childbirth, and the shithead was raised in hell like a good little demon baby. He trained from the second he could walk to kill angels, humans, enemy demons." She shrugged. "Or whatever. Hades thrust him onto the Earth plane, and he started the hunt. The first kill triggered a domino effect, and the Nephalem killed every fallen angel and wayward demon he could find. Only in a moment of perfect balance where neither more angelic nor infernal nature reigned he came to his senses, and Hades dragged him into hell, throwing him in Ao to stay for eternity. On the way down, little Nephalem grabbed Hades around the throat and pulled him into the Void. Thus, Neo took the reigns, and here we are."

Neo had a brother, then? Nyx swallowed another tiny bite of food, pressing her fingernails into the flesh creating small crescents.

"And for the love of hell," Maeze griped, "don't question the timeline; you know time works differently in hell, so Hades had plenty of opportunities to create more offspring while Horkos rampaged on earth."

Horkos... That must be his name.

"So I should just not kill anyone, and then I won't be compelled to keep killing to find balance? Is that a reasonable assumption?" Nyx questioned with a furrowed brow. "Because if that's the case, I should be fine. I don't plan on killing anyone any time soon."

"Is that so?" Maeze scoffed. "Neo told me you were intent on killing Micah a few hours ago. Perhaps your Nephalem blood is waking up?"

Nyx shook her head and picked at her cuticle. "No, I just suggested it. I don't think I have it in me to do it. Neo was gonna do it... Speaking of, where is he?"

Maeze licked her lips and raised her brows. "Spin around."

Both women stayed frozen while Nyz processed the orders. Then, repressing the urge to ask what for the millionth time, she slowly spun in her chair, stopping when she felt Maeze's hands on her shoulders. A slight shudder ran down her spine as warm hands gathered her hair and sharp nails softly trailed across her scalp.

"Uh, Maeze?"

"Shut it." The soothing rhythm of hair being braided sent tingles down Nyx's spine, and she suppressed a smile as Maeze worked. Five minutes later, her hair was expertly woven into two tight braids, and Maeze threw a pair of black combat boots at her from the hall. "Say goodbye to the hounds. We're going up in two minutes."

With that, Maeze stalked from the room, leaving the Nephalem staring wide-eyed after her.

After a teary goodbye with the two Hellhounds, Nyx followed Maeze into Neo's office.

"He's about five earth minutes away from killing Micah, but I'm not convinced Tunrida won't rear her ugly head somehow." She ruffled around some papers on Neos desk and grumbled, wrenching open the draws one at a time. Then, finally, she came across a small pill bottle. She palmed two Fluro-green capsules and held them out to Nyx. "Take them, now."

"Wha-" Maeze threw the pills in her mouth and frowned at her.

"Swallow."

Nyx obliged with a scowl of her own and crossed her arms. "Care to explain what the hell that was?"

Maeze grinned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her through the doorway at the back of the room. "When the time comes, you'll know."

They exited the door and spun, facing the three identical entryways again. Nyx looked first at the right door, remembering her close call with Ao, before peering to the left.

Maeze took a deep breath. "This is our way up. It will probably hurt. And hold your breath."

Before Nyx could ask another question, Maeze ripped the door open and sprinted, still holding her tightly. A scream escaped her lips before her world tilted on its axis, and a tonne of wet pressure pushed against every inch of her skin, rushing into her mouth and nose.

Just when the urge to inhale burned her lungs and had minor convulsions wracking her floating frame, she smacked hard against concrete floors, gasping at Maeze's feet.

"What part of hold your breath, didn't you understand?"

"Shut... Up," Nyx sputtered, pulling herself up to stand. She looked around and didn't recognise the empty warehouse space. "Where are we?"

"Under demonology. Hurry up; we don't have much time." Maeze stalked over to a shelf that spanned the whole wall, picking up a hoard of knives and strapping them all over herself. 

"Here," she yelled, holding out two claw-shaped blades to Nyx, thrusting them into her hands when she got close enough. "Sharp side goes in the enemy, comprendé? Only use them if you aren't fast enough with your soul exchanging; otherwise, you'll trigger the curse."

Nyx hooked the knives into the belt around her glorified cargo pants and hopped from foot to foot. "Where is he gonna be?"

"A new build outside of the city. Micah has been squatting there while he portals in and out of Tunrida's Hell."

Two more long swords slid into place along Maezes back, and she turned, looking Nyx up and down. "Can you feel it kicking in yet?"

Nyx did a physical inventory and felt the same as always. "No, nothing. And how do you know all this stuff about Micah anyway?"

Maeze hummed appreciatively in her throat as she marched for the doorway. "A little friend of yours. Traitor to his queen but sworn to you supposedly."

The pair jogged up a flight of stairs and exited demonology, jumping into Maeze's flaming Porsche while Nyx tried to uncover her new ally.

"He called himself Emry. I killed his companion demons. They were going to murder him anyway, but he proved himself useful enough."

Dakota and James are dead? Jesus. How is the hospital gonna deal with that one?

"What day is it?"

"Sunday. Don't worry. We should have this all wrapped up in time for you to start your shift tomorrow morning. Now buckle up, leprechaun. It's about to get messy."