Jonathan walked back out into the brisk wintery air with a little flustered witch running after him.

"Jonathan, wait!"

He pulled off his large round glasses to manually wipe the fog off, that the sudden change in temperature had caused, but he did not stop for a moment as he proceeded to ignore his shadow.

The man had an almost silent fury towards Epithumia's lack of regard concerning his personal space, but he couldn't help but let some of his true emotion show. Afterall, she spoke as if she'd actually seen him, and maybe she had, but what really made him cross was the lingering fear that he might be getting too close to his prey for her to be prey anymore.

'If she's lost her fear, then what am I to do to rekindle it, or has the thrill also lost its flavor, and to try and force it out of her would make it bland?' He silently pondered as he continued his stride.

'What happened to make her not fear me? Was it simply the fact that we've spent too much time in each other's company? Perhaps she's so desperate for true companionship that even I seemed like a logical choice. Though she can't be as ignorant as to believe that's how normal social connections are made.'

The witch was practically skipping to keep up with the long strides Jonathan's legs covered, and all the while pondering what went wrong. He had just walked out without a word leaving her mind in pieces. She couldn't figure out what she had said or done.

She thought the best course of action to make him more comfortable and approachable was to lay her feelings out and to be honest, but now she could see that somewhere she went wrong.

The sun hadn't set yet but the cover of the overcast, and canopy of needles the trees provided, caused everything in sight to become draped in shadow, and for the traitorous peace to reveal its true self and fit onto the picture of the forest, like a glove.

The darkness became a perfect canvas for their eyes; those white eyes. They showed up in pairs and set their gaze on the man that was blindly walking onto their long dirt road.

Epithumia watched them appear and glisten with intent, but Jonathan was not stopping, and she knew that meant he hadn't seen them, or he would have froze in the sharpness of their predatory glare.

She began to panic as he continued on, going deeper and further down that long stretch, that was almost too long to survive.

The little witch rushed to stop him and yelled out in her desperation.

"Stop! Please!"

The doctor still put one foot in front of the other until he made it to the second thicker tree line that the road cut through. With him ignoring every plea she had made, and not losing pace, Epithumia made the only logical choice she could see to take and pounced onto him; throwing all of her weight on him and wrapping her arms around him to deter any fight he might have had.

They both toppled to the ground with Jonathan struggling to turn over with her on him; the little witch tried with all her might to grab his arms and keep them pinned.

"Get off of me, Witch!"

"Listen to me, Bastard!"

Jonathan pulled his arms out from under her strength to which she fell onto his chest and knocked the breath clean out of him. In turn, when she fell his forehead connected with her chin causing her teeth to rattle together when they slammed closed. With that, they both ceased their struggle.

Jonathan laid there gasping and the witch panting as she tried to get up, holding a hand to her mouth. He gained his breath back and slowly sat up with her help.

They stared at each other, sitting on the ground, until they were ready to give talking another try.

"Jonathan, you can't go. I need you here."

He already knew that, but he chose to remain quiet as her face was nit with determination while she continued.

"More than that, you can't go into these woods."

The doctor watched her eyes dart to the dark of the trees and followed her line of sight. It was then he noticed them. They had multiplied since Epithumia had seen them earlier as the sun was now setting, and in the newly planted shadows their beady, white eyes became lurid orbs.

The witch helped him to his feet and didn't release his arm until they were safely back inside.

From the parlor bay window, and its safety indoors, Jonathan watched the paired lights stalk about just beyond the tree line. Epi entered back in from the kitchen with a tray of hot tea that she set down on the coffee table.

"Are they the ones hunting me?"

She took the place beside him and joined in watching outside.

"No."

She then handed him his cup and took a sip from hers.

"Think of them as a home security system, except for I don't get to choose who they leave alone."

"Are they demons?"

"Yes."

The doctor took a sip from his steaming cup and felt refreshed as the hot liquid soothed his throat.

"How did they get here?"

"I made a deal with each one of them, and put them here."

He chuckled and went after another sip of tea.

"So, you are telling me you sold your soul?"

"Not at all. Truth be told that should be the last thing anyone sells. I simply told them they could eat any soul that stepped into those woods, but that's the catch. As long as the soul stays on that road, they can't touch them. They also can't warp the visual of the road or create a false road, but they are allowed to put on a show."

"A show you say?"

"They can shapeshift into anything that they think might get you into the woods."

The dark had finally taken hold and the glowing eyes began to fall back into the surrounding forest, and as the last pair turned away Epithumia gently touched the doctor's arm and directed his attention to the couch.

"So, I'm hoping we can take the time to understand each other and possibly figure out a way to defeat Durratine."

Crane let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly sat beside her on the couch, leaning back and crossing his legs.

"First I want to know how all of this came to be, and I want you to start from the beginning."

She nodded fully aware that he should have been told the story from the beginning since he was stuck in the middle of it all. Like always he remained expressionless through the entire explanation, even when she explained that it technically was her fault he was involved.

When she had finished, they sat for a while in silence, and she caught herself staring at him as he soaked it all in. This perfectly stoic man that sat next to her had somehow captured her respect and had earned her envy.

She thought back on the two men that had trembled in his wake, and how deep down she had always wanted that for herself. To be feared rather than fear others. She watched him comb his fingers through his orange hair and rise from the loveseat.

"Well, Ms. Bashem, do you have any proposals to how we can begin?"

"I do, but I first must understand how your toxin is made, and then we can go from there."

"I'm afraid I have strict guidelines to not hand out the make and recipe for my toxin to anyone."

"And what about having you make it for me?"

His eyebrows rose quizzically. "How will we acquire what I might need?"

She flashes him a teasing smile in feeling the power of being in control for once.

"Please allow me to escort you to my personal laboratory, Doctor."

The witch eagerly lead him to the pantry beneath the stairs that held the entrance to the cellar. They both ascended the rickety planks to a dark, oak, stain glass, double door, and once she pushed it open, all Jonathan could do was smile.

The eager man ran his thin fingers along the multiple labeled bottles and jars that lined shelves upon shelves on the edges of the room. They all surrounded a large iron cauldron that was in the middle of it all, and as Crane lifted a bottle to examine its contents, Epi called out to him from the door.

"I do have a question for you, Doctor."

He looks up briefly from the bottle, "Ask away."

"How did it feel to stand before those men that coward before you?"

There was a spark in his eye that rose like a flare upon the ocean blue of its hue and his smile became uncomfortably genuine while he answered her inquiry.

"Every time, in that moment, over and over again I find that I am no longer a man, though I can be a man, or a woman, or a thing. I become an expanse that is only limited by a human mind; the mind of whom I am standing over. There is a power there, and it places me in the seat of the universe itself, on the throne of fear, and in that, I always find that I have become a god."