Will was humming a slow marching song while he packed his medical equipment and different salves, he thought he would need. His father had asked him to come as a stand in physician for a couple of days, as they expected to be more busy than normal. Will had been reluctant at first. He didn't want to leave his village alone for so long and there was a reason why he had moved away from his family in the first place. He didn't want to take part in the family business of hunting the dark and unnatural, it was to violence and unethical for Will. When he was 15, he had told his dad that he had gotten an apprenticeship with the physician a few times over, expecting his dad to be mad. Instead Apollo had laughed and said he had long expected this day to come. Will had parted on good terms with his family and continued to visit them whenever he could, but he never participated in any of the hunts. Now five years later he had finished his education and moved to his own town. He moved into the former physician's home, a nice little house with an indoor water pump! That was a rare luxury especially for small towns like the one Will now lived in, and Will loved it. He also loved the tranquility of his new life, and dreaded staying with his chaotic family, but they needed him, and he would not let them down. Will placed the last bag on his wagon and brushed off his hands.

"Come on Mrs. O'Leary." He called to his big lovable black dog. "You're going to stay with Cecil while I'm away, and you're going to behave alright?" The dog barked and danced around Will. She could feel something was up. Will laughed and walk her to town. Mrs. O'Leary was a lively dog, she would run ahead of him, stop up to wait for him, but then be distracted by a small or sound and run in a different direction. Will really was going to miss her while he was away. The sun was just rising and it's sharp glare hit Will directly in the eyes but he thought he could make out the silhouette of a man on the road ahead of him.

"Hey-o Will." Cecil's voice called and the dark silhouette waved and walking towards him. "The weather was so nice today so I thought I would meet you on the halfway." Mrs. O'Leary bark happily when she saw him and ran to tackled him. Cecil took the impacted of the overgrown puppy with a hmpf but remained standing which was an impressive feat. "Hey girl, I'm happy to see you too." He laughed as she licked his face.

"It's really a big relief that you will take care of her while I'm gone." Will told his friend.

"It's really no problem Will. You should be more worried whether or not you're getting her back again." He said with a wink. Will playfully shoved him, and Cecil laughed again.

"You wouldn't dare. Now remember not to over feed her like last time, she's going to get spoiled."

"Yeah yeah I know, but you better get going if you want to get there before dark."

"I will. Take care of each other until I'm back."

"You too Will. And don't get eaten by any trolls!" Will rolled his eyes at the joke, and waved goodbye to his friend as he walked away with his dog.

Will arrived at his family's estate late that evening. He had ridden all day with only a shot rest around noon, so he was beat and yearned for sleep. His family had unfortunately other plans.

"Will long time no see." His sister greeted as they all gathered in the courtyard to welcome him.

"Hi Kayla, you look well." He hugged his favorite sister warmly before the rest of his sibling swarmed him. The next few minutes was spent hugging and catching up and Will could feel the warmth of family love spreading inside him. He really cared for his family no matter how much he disagreed with their occupation. Will and his siblings were a mixed flock as none of them had the same mother. Their father never married any of his lovers but insisted on raising the kids he produced himself. Will's mother had been a traveling bard who was more than happy to leave her newborn child with a man she barely knew. Will had met her a few times when she passed through town, but she hadn't wanted to form a relationship with her son.

"William my boy, it's good to see you again." His siblings parted to let their father trough, and Apollo walk out the big house in all his glory. He was still a handsome man, but Will noticed a few greying hairs amidst all the golden and beginning wrinkles forming on his face. He griped Wills arm in a warrior's handshake before pulling him in to a bear hug.

"I'm glad to see you too dad."

"Now come inside and get something warm to eat, it's freezing out here. Don't worry about your horse or luggage a stable boy will see to that." Apollo said as he guided his son into the house.

The next few days passed in a blur. His dad had called the other hunter families as demon terrorized the surrounding lands and they were planning to exterminate them once and for all. Will didn't think that would be possible as the demons came from another plane, that humans couldn't get to, but he didn't say anything in the fears of getting into a shouting match with some more zealous hunter. The Ares clan was especially renowned for their temper, Will had already broken up a couple of fights in the eating hall. The Apollon estate functioned as the main base of operation in these times, where they planned their attacks and treated the wounded. Will didn't participate in the fighting, but he spent all his waking hours sawing up cut, heal burns and soothe the patient's pains, so he could see how bad it was. He would work 20 hours working before passing out in his room and do it all over again the next day. But Will kept his hopes up, his family were trained from birth to fight, they wouldn't lose to a pack of lose demons. He worried for his town, but they had a very capable guard and Cecil hadn't written about any attacks yet.

Will was binding a wound one of his aunt Artemis' archers, when his sister came in. "Kayla what happened?" He asked with concern. Kayla's arms were shredded and bleeding heavily, but she was grinning like a maniac. Maybe she was in shock.

"They are running away Will. We're winning!"

"You can tell me about it when you sit down." Will said, afraid she would pass out from blood loss. He guided her to a free chair and started cleaning the blood away to get a better look at the wound. It looked like she had sliced up with ten small knives.

"They are retrieving trough their portals! Now we just have to gather up the few who got separated from the rest."

"That's great news Kayla, but what happened to you?"

"Arg it's nothing really brother. A demon just managed to break trough our ranks and sneak up behind me. I heard it just in time to turn around, but I had to block his attack with my arms or else it would have slashed my throat. It was so surprised that I was still alive that I had an opportunity to grab an arrow and stab it in its neck." Kayla laughed a bit hysterically. "It was glorious Will, you should have seen it."

Will pulled a face while running his hands over her arms, speeding up the healing process a bit with his magic. It would now only take a couple of days for the wounds to close, if she took care.

"I rather not sister, I'm more useful down here anyway."

"Don't be modest Will, you're not a bad shot and you're pretty handy with the dual daggers."

"You must still be high on adrenaline dear sister to say that. Now sit still so I can bind this!"

The rest of the day had an air of optimism about it. Many of the hunters were returning home and they only had a few wounded with them. They were planning on having a feast in the evening to celebrate their coming victory and honor the dead. Will was just washing the blood off him in preparation to the feast. It always surprised him the placed blood would end while he treated patient. He had found dried drops in his hair and on the back of his neck. Will shuddered it was really an infection risk. He felt more like a person than he had in a long time after a long warm bath. He dressed in some of his finer clothe and went to the eaten hall.

He was met with a wall of warm air and noise when he opened the heavy oak doors. The hunters were a loud bunch when they really let loose, as they did today. All around him people were drinking, gambling and singing. Will spotted a group of his siblings around his age and hurried over. He spent the evening joking with his siblings, avoiding a very drunk Ares girl who had her eye on him and stopping Kayla from arm-wrestling with anyone. It was actually a really good party until his father told him he wanted to talk in private.

"There's something I haven't told you William." He said as they walk the empty corridors, the sound of their footsteps loudly echoing against the stone walls. "We caught a demon alive a month ago, and we have figured out how to keep it alive. It's in the dungeon right now."

A heavy stone of dread grew in Will's stomach. "In Octavian's dungeon?" Octavian was Will's least favorite sibling. Something had been wrong with ever since his mother was killed by a group of demon. He took pleasure in hurting things now, which made him very unpleasant to be around but an efficient information abstracter.

Apollo made a face. "Your brother has gone a bit overboard with this one, so I need you to look at it. We still haven't gotten any information out of it, and we desperately need all the help we can get against this enemy."

Will frowned. "I though we were winning."

"Only this battle son. The demons are retrieving to their realm to regroup their army. They will come again in bigger numbers next time. I want to be ready for that, so every little piece on information we can get on them are valuable."

"So, you want me to heal this poor creature just so it can be tortured more? Why do you even ask father you know I would never agree to do anything like that." Will said angrily.

"I thought perhaps you would change your mind when you saw it." They were descending down a spiral stair and the scent of urine and unwashed bodies engulfed them like a toxic cloud. Apollo stopped in front of one of the dark cells and Will peeked in trough the bars but could only make out a dark mass against the stone walls. Apollo took a torch from the wall so Will could get a better look. The demon hissed in pain as the light hit its sensitive eyes that probably hadn't been exposed to anything but darkness for days.

It looked like a normal young boy on the verge of being a man, around 17 of age, except for the sharp teeth he bared at Will right now, the dark spaded tail that twitched in anger behind him and the small horns that poked out through his dark hair. Octavian's work was very clear, and Will felt sick.

"You can't be serious dad! That's just a kid."

"A demon is a demon William. I know you don't like our way, but you must accept that evil must be exterminated no matter the cost."

"But torturing a boy dad, that's just wrong."

"We need information if we want to survive their next attack."

Anger boiled right under Will's skin, but he had to keep it in check. It would do him no good if he started shouting at his father here, then they would never reach an agreement. Will pulled his father out of the demon's earshot.

"Then let me try to get some information out of him. You said Octavian had have him for a month now without getting any results then his methods are never going to work on this one."

"How are you going to do it?" his father asked him suspiciously.

"I'll take him with me home and patch him up. Perhaps he will be more willing to talk if he isn't being tortured all the time. Then I'll write to you what I find out about him."

Apollo sighed. "It doesn't work that way Will and you know it."

"This isn't a battled hardened veteran father, it's just a kid. And he will be dead soon if I don't help him."

"You are to soft hearted William. What if he attacks you?"

"He can barely sit up by himself dad. I don't think he will be any danger to me."

"Take him then if you are so sure your way is going to work." Apollo yielded.

"I won't let you down father." Will said but felt like he had just trapped himself in a promise he wasn't sure he could keep.

Will kneeled by the cage so he could by eye to eye with the demon boy. He was met by growling, but Will could see the fear in the demon's eyes. He was terrified and with good reason. There were clear signs of abuse all over his body. His face was beaten black and blue and the nails on his right hand had been ripped out. His breath was ragged, and Will feared he had a punctured lung. But worst was how starved he looked. His cheeks were hollow, and his arms were as thin as tweaks.

The demon stopped his hissing when Will walk into the cage and instead tried to make himself as small as possible. His eyes squished shut as if he feared Will would hit him. Will could hardly blame him though, not after all he had been though at Octavian's hand.

Will slowly raised his hand and placed to fingers between the demons closed eyes. "Sleep" He told the demon and gathered his magic. A soft light emitted from his fingers and the demon was out as a candle in no time.

"This should be enough to keep him asleep until I get home. I'll see you later dad, tell the others goodbye for me will ya?"

Apollo nodded placed a hand on Will's shoulder. "Take care of yourself son. And whatever you do, never remove the braces it wears, they stop it from preforming its magic."

Will smiled sadly to his dad before he unshackled the boy and carried him away from the dark cell.

The small house Will owned was placed a little way outside of the village. The sun had been up a few hours when he reached it and Will knew that there still was a long day ahead of him. He had ridden with hast all night to get here as fast as possible. The young boy in his wagon was in dire need of treatment if he should stand a chance to survive. Will released his horse and quickly brought the demon inside. He placed him in the guest room and cut away the sorry excuse for a shirt he was wearing. It recked of sweat and feces and was filled with blood stains. Will threw it into a corner of the room reminding himself to throw it out later. The boy was so covered in dirt that Will had to clean him with a rag if he didn't want all the wounds to get infected later. First after that he started cleaning the demon's wounds. Will had not slept in over a day and he could feel the toll it had taken on him, but his fatigue drifted to the back of his mind as he worked. There was a lot to do, it took more then an hour just to clean and wrap all the wounds. Will was ready to pass out when he was finished and decided to nap in a chair where he could hear if the demon woke up or if any patients came for his help. But first he had to take some safety measures. Will sighed as he looked at the shackles in his hand. He knew he had to do it, but it still felt bad to restrain a half dead kid. But demons were dangerous even small weak ones like the one who slept in the guest room. It was with a heavy heart Will cuffed the demon to the bed, even if he left the chain long enough for the boy to move around.

The day passed quickly for Will. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep before the first person came knocking on his door. It was a young girl who had cut her hand while shaving the sheep. It only needed a few stitches and the girl was out again in no time. The word about him being back must have spread after that, for patients came by in a slow steam with all kinds of ailments they had required while he was gone. He didn't have nearly has many patients when he first moved here. The people hadn't trusted him due to his young age, but he soon proved to them that he was a very capable physician. Now they didn't go to anyone else which made Will a very busy person.

It was nearing evening when he heard movement from the guest room. Will jumped up from his chair and practically ran to the kitchen to scoop up a portion of porridge he had prepared for the starved boy. After that he grabbed a mug of water and a bucket and went to knock on the door, but his hand stopped before it touched the wood. He suddenly felt nervous. What if the demon reacted aggressively to seeing him? What if he attacked him? Will cursed himself and his soft heart. What had he been thinking bringing a demon with him home? But there was nothing he could do about it now except for what he had originally planned. Will took a calming breath and opened the door.

The demon sat in the corner of the bed curled into a tight ball. He looked up in fear when Will came in and tried to get even further away.

"Hey, it's okay I'm not going to hurt you." Will said soothingly. "See I brought food."

Will slowly walked closer to the young demon, careful that he didn't make any sudden moves. The demon didn't hiss at him which Will took as a good sign. He was however shaking like a leaf in the wind, but his eyes were glued to the bowl in Will's hand. Will placed the food at the bed and then sat down in a chair to give the boy some space. The demon snatched the bowl as soon as Will was to far away to reach him. He started to inhale the food as fast as he could and barely stopped to breath.

"Whoa slow down there pal. You're going to throw it all up again if you eat too quickly." The demon however didn't seem to hear him at all and continued to gulp down the food. The boy turned green when the food was gone, and Will gave him the bucket. It was not a moment too soon as the boy started to vomit as soon as he placed the bucket on his legs. Will had to swallow thickly when the smell hit him. He had worked with many patients who spewed, but he still hadn't lost his sympathetic gagging as he was told he would. Will swallowed again just to make sure and went to sit beside the demon.

He carefully placed a light hand on the sick boy's shoulder to let a bit of his healing magic calm his stomach and soothe his pains. The demon growled a bit at him, but it didn't sound very threatening when his head was still in the bucket.

They sat like that until he was done puking and Will could remove the bucket and hand him the mug of water instead. The demon looked scared at Will but eventually took the mug.

"I'll just go clean this." Will said and took the bucket and bowl. "I think you may need it again, at least a few more times until your stomach gets used to food."

Will came back sone after with an empty bucket and a new portion of porridge.

"Try to eat this one a little slower alright?" he said smiling softly. The demon stared at him, eyes wide with surprise as Will placed the bowl same place as before, but this time Will also sat down in the bed. He sat patiently without looking at the boy and waited for him to gather the courage to take the food. A hand slowly moved towards the bowl while the boy tensely watched Will to see his reaction. Will pointily folded his arms and looked at his shoes, trying to seem as non-threatening as he could. It must have worked a little because the demon took the bowl again. "Remember eat slowly." Will said still looking anywhere but on the boy. He was starting to believe the demon didn't understand what he was saying, especially when he started inhaling his food at the same pace as before.

Will caught his wrist to stop him and the demon whimpered with fear. The young physician's eyes widened. "Shh it's alright. I-I'm not going to hurt you." He said and let go of the wrist. It took some time after that before the demon stopped shaking and started to eat again. This time Will didn't grab his wrist when he ate to quickly, instead he just carefully touched it with his fingertips. It worked better than before but he could tell that it still scared the boy.

"Slowly." Will told him and removed his hand.

It took three times before the demon got what it was Will wanted him to do, but Will smiled brightly when he finally ate at a normal pace. "That wasn't so bad now was it?" He said and moved back to the chair.

Will had a hard time staying quiet when nervous so he chatted away while the other male ate. He talked about what was going to happened next in the demon's treatment and how long he expected him to be bedridden. It didn't really matter to Will that the boy didn't understand him, he just wanted to fill the silence. The demon had slowly finished his meal and was now watching Will blabber.

"My name is Will by the way." He introduced with an afterthought, but the demon didn't seem to recognize a name from the rest of what Will was saying, so he pointed to him self and didn't say anything other than his name. This time a look of understanding appeared on the boy's face and he nodded very softly. Will smiled widely thinking he had made some progress with the scared boy.

"What's your name?" he asked and pointed to the boy. Will's smile faltered as the boy just curled in on himself once again and hid his face between his knees. Will rose from the chair with a sign.

"That's all right if you don't want to tell me. It's your choice." He gathered the bowl and mug but left the bucket just in case his patient needed it again trough the night. A hoarse voice stopped him just as he was about to leave the room.

"Nico. Deh gaúr Nico."

"Nico?" Will asked just to make sure he heard correctly. The demon nodded softly without looking at him. "Okay um well then goodnight Nico, I'll see you tomorrow." He left the room and closed the door quietly. On the other side he pumped his hand in victory, feeling so relived and happy he could almost laugh. This had been a good day.

AN: Hello everyone reading this. I really hope you like this story so far. Please leave a review telling me what you thought. I hope you can overlook any spelling or grammar errors that I made. English is not my first language and I do not have a beta :(

I hope you all take care of yourself and others in these times!