Chapter 31

Matthew was left to be 'looked after' with the younger she-demon. He knew she glared at his back from the bad kind of tingles before he even turned to face her. "Would you mind if I sat next to you?"

"I would," Natalia replied as her hand relentlessly waved her fan.

Matthew did not bother saying anything else to that, opting for the other bench against the adjacent wall. She only sat down when he did. The floor's imperfections entertained his eyes for a bit until they found themselves on her again. She was beautiful and pale, like the rest of her family, but her slitted eyes were too dangerous to keep staring. "Do you have more of those fans?"

"No, it is mine."

Matthew sighed and slouched against the wall. He closed his eyes, removing his glasses to swipe his hand across his face, and curled his nose at the perspiration gathered on his skin. "Jeez, when they say, 'Hot as Hell,' they're not kidding." Natalia kept staring with that blank, half lidded look. He clamped his mouth shut, vowing to never become a comedian.

"Why are you here?"

Natalia actually spoke to him first this time.

"Your brother brought me here."

More gravely, "Why?"

"Uh...because I wanted to?" Matthew said, unsure what she wanted to hear. She slowly blinked. "I showed Ivan around where I live. We figured it would be great if it went both ways."

"You think this is great? You are a fool. You do not have wings, or the hot blood to go against this heat."

Matthew curled and uncurled his fingers from his sweaty palms. The prickles of cold against his cheeks seemed so far away. "I'm handling it just fine."

"Just fine."

"Humans can live in really extreme conditions. There are some tribes that thrive in the artic winters, where the Sun is covered by storms of snow, while others hunt in the rain forests by the hottest part of the Earth, where the sunlight is at its most...striking..." Matthew trailed off, quickly adverting his eyes from hers as they stared, unamused. "Demons are affected by the heat, too."

"Yet, you are cooking."

"I can feel that," Matthew lightly shot back and shifted around on the bench. "Do you know where Irunya is?" His wait would certainly be more pleasant in the company of the other sister.

"Patrolling. She will be back soon. Maybe she could watch over you, then."

"Yeah, maybe," Matthew frowned at the closest pillar, wondering what Natalia's vendetta was against him. Is my hair sticking up? His stomach growled loudly, and he slapped a hand over his shirt, as if that could muffle the noise. "Has she been gone long?"

Natalia took a breath, but sniffed, turning her gaze to the main entrance. A large shadow descended before the opening, and with a loud flap, Irunya landed in front of doors. "I am back!" She announced a bit too cheerfully, "Oh, it is so much nicer outside! I thought I would never say that!"

"I am going to see for myself." Natalia shot to her feet, and hissed to her sister when they brushed shoulders, "He is getting hungry. I do not know what to do with him."

Irunya watched Natalia practically sprint and soar away, and turned to Matthew mirroring her barely-suppressed shock. "Where is Ivan?"

"Oh, uh, he went to get somebody. We think there's something lodged inside the vents, and apparently, he knows this person who can get inside to investigate."

Irunya's eyes went wide. "Oh, no, if it is who I think...ah, well, at least we will be cool soon."

Another grumble came from Matthew's stomach. He looked up, sinking his teeth into his lower lip like that would contain the multitudes of hunger. "You wouldn't know where I could get something to eat, would you? I can't hunt, either."

"Let me get something from my bed chambers, first, and I will take you somewhere." Irunya motioned for him to stay seated, and hurried out of the corridor.

Somewhere. Promising.

Matthew leaned his head against the wall, realizing it was cool against his cheek. He usually did not make a habit to hug walls, but this one needed an embrace as soon as possible.

"Oh, Matvey?"

Matthew jerked away, shoving his askew glasses back into place from Irunya's figure in the doorway. "Uh, hi!" He slouched, "You totally caught that, didn't you? The wall was cold."

Irunya giggled, adjusting her grip on a leather sack latched onto her collar. "I do not blame you! Let us get some fresh air, and something in your stomachs now, before you start eating your fingers.

"I'm not that hungry," Matthew mumbled, following the she-demon out of the building. It was still hot (as Hell) outside, but noticeably easier to breathe away from the stuffy house. She hummed as she bounded forward, taking a path into the forest that surrounded the other half of the place and stretched and into the distant mountains. She made it look easy. "So...where are we going? If you don't mind me asking."

"I do not! There is a line of all sorts of salesmen and women just on the other side of the forest. Hunting can be consuming and tiring, and sometimes it is nice to simply browse around the market."

"A market? Do you have a form of currency?"

Irunya put a finger to her lips, smiling. "Humans have something right." When Matthew's foot caught on a loose rock, he quickened his pace and tried to ignore how fast his heart lurched. "There are several ores that are taken and bent into little bits of coins. You can use those to buy things, or you could always barter the old fashion way, which is what most of us do."

"How do you get those coins? Do you have jobs and earn them?"

"That is one way. You could always steal them, or make your own." Irunya tossed a worried look over her shoulder. "I did not get these that way, though!"

Matthew glanced down to step over another root, musing, "I wouldn't think you'd do that."

Irunya swished a neatly clawed hand, "It is more interesting and fun to haggle." Matthew tripped again, this time, on a root the same color as the soil. She put a hand to her chest. "Do you need me to carry you? I would not want you to hurt your foot again."

Quicker than his feet, "Um, no, I'm fine, thanks," Matthew did not doubt Irunya could carry him, but it would be too wounding for her to sling him over her shoulders like he was nothing. "The ground is more squishier than I am used to. The soil is like, really soft."

"Around here it is," the she-demon murmured, eying his sneakers catch another, smaller twig. "We live in a good environment. There are water pools to drink, and trees," however poisonous, "and the mountains bring in rain at decent times."

Matthew let out a polite laugh, "Oh, so Hell isn't that all pleasant as I'm seeing now?"

"No. It can get very hot, especially the lower you go."

"It must be closer to the center of the Earth. It's way more hotter at the planet's core. Mostly molten lava."

Irunya drew a hand pass her eye, probably not understanding half of what he just said. "I know they choose to live there, but I feel so bad for those who do. It is so crowded, and hard to breathe, sort of like the house right now! Not to mention so...uncivilized."

"Uh oh. What do you mean by that?"

Irunya shrugged, keeping her face forward and eyes down. "Well...like I said. It's crowded, so everybody fights for food, and land, and anything else they could get their claws on."

Matthew glanced around the forest, and of course, tripped again. "Ugh! I'm fine, I'm fine!" He cheaply assured when Irunya held out a hand. "If that's the case...why don't they live here?"

"Oh, no, Matvey. They cannot. They will not."

"They can't, or they won't?"

Irunya lightly cleared her throat before walking a bit faster.

"Wait, what happened?"

No response, making it obvious.

"Irunya! Something happened, didn't it? Something that made Ivan have all these nightmares. Something that's the reason this place is empty! Please don't ignore me!"

She stopped. Matthew almost ran into her wings. "It is...I do not...I do not want to ignore your questions, but...I do not think Ivan would like for me to tell you these kinds of things."

Irunya kept going.

Matthew clenched his jaw and hands into fists, before hurrying after her. He loathed to insist, but he had to, "Do you think it's better to keep secrets? He won't tell me either."

"It is a very lengthy tale. If you could call it that."

"We have plenty of time! I want to know!"

Irunya did not reply.

Matthew bounded forward on longer legs and got ahead of her, "I need to know! If I am going to stay with your brother-!" A tree almost hit him in the face. All right, he almost ran into it. He jerked back, and stopped, glaring at its mossy surface, but his words came out in a weaker croak, "I want to help him. It hurts me to see him hurt. After all the stupid shit he'd done for me...no. I just...I just want to because I care, okay? Why does this have to be complicated?"

Irunya stopped, too, and hovered worryingly. "Did you hit yourself?"

"No. I'm sorry," Matthew said to the tears pooling in her eyes, "but coming forward about these things is better for everyone, as opposed to finding out about them later, the hard way, after hiding them for so long!"

"Yes, yes, I know. I do not want Vanya to be mad at me."

"You told me not to be afraid."

Irunya gawked for a long moment, before letting out a little laugh, "I did, did I not? Let us keep walking. Slowly."

"Yeah," Matthew agreed. "Slowly." He let her a moment to gather her thoughts, so he could try to get some decent breath down his parched throat.

"Have you noticed there are no other demons around our home, Matvey?" Irunya started. "No one else lives here besides us. Yet, far away, where it is almost unbearably hot...near the 'core,' as you said, hundreds of our kind slave away and torture one another for every piece of their skin."

"Yes?"

"It was not always like that. During our parents' parents' time. Lords used to rule the land as they do now, but to a much greater extent. They had many subordinates living in packs close to their homes."

"What happened?"

"Power always makes one blind and hungry, and many altercations broke out between the lords. At least it solved itself!"

Matthew was not sure he should have asked, but did anyway, "Really? How?"

"Oh, they all killed each other!" Irunya shrugged. "They got themselves into that mess, and more than half of the population is dead because of it."

"Wow...okay."

"There are still large tracts in possession of remaining lords, but there are not nearly many disputes as there once were. There are less demons alive to fight for it, and the ones that survived are bunched toward the 'core,' staying there out of fear for something like that happening again."

"They live in hoards rather than running around on free land?"

Irunya's focused stare morphed into one of concern. "Watch out, there's another root."

"Huh? Oh, thanks."

"Not exactly free land. Remember, much of the healthy land is already claimed by richer families. Sometimes, those families have others living around their land for protection, or to serve them, and in turn, they can hunt and thrive off the land."

"That actually sounds pretty nifty."

"Sometimes." Irunya trailed off to leap around a fallen tree trunk. She turned around and held out a hand, but Matthew did not need it. He did not fall or trip...this time. "However, you are putting trust in another demon's claws if you chose to do that. Some say it is not worth giving up your freedom."

"What do you mean? They get to eat and drink good water."

"W-well, yes, but some lords succumb to great desires, and use their power to enslave or steal many others from their own lives. It happens too often, so it would be greatly difficult to...ahem, it would be hard to fill that emptiness again."

Matthew opened his mouth, but Irunya let out a lousy peel of laughter, "Oh, we are much aware of it now. If a lord's horns were becoming to heavy for his own good, then the other ones would pay a visit to put him or her back into place. There are many more cautious measures to take so a massacre would not happen again. I hope everyone has learned from their mistakes."

Irunya slowed, and blinked in surprise. "Was I rambling?"

Matthew admitted, "A little. Don't worry! I was listening to everything you said!"

"Oh, good, good." They resumed their quick pace, though Matthew did with an internal groan from all the walking in the heat.

"So, it's lonely here after all of that?"

Irunya kept her eyes forward. "That was to bring you to the moment when our parents of our parents ruled."

"And now...for shit to go down."

"For...huh?"

"Um...for everything to...go to Hell?"

"As the humans say?" Matthew managed to get Irunya to giggle at that one. "Yes! This was a beautiful, lively place! Everyone had something to eat, everyone shared and wandered anywhere they pleased, even into other demons' houses, without having to look over their shoulder."

"Then, that massacre?"

"Yes, eventually. It was becoming crowded, inside our own land and everyone else's. During our parents' reign, it is said that they were a bit worried, but everyone still got by...until some nasty-!"

Her tone softened again, "Some ill-contented demons took advantage of everyone's trust and began working from the inside out to take our family down. There were plots to steal power and overthrow the surrounding lords, even by the other lords themselves, disguising themselves as simple servants. Of course, there were demons that were loyal to our parents, and they would not let this go on without repercussions."

Matthew guessed, "It escalated from there?"

"Yes. Our parents were hardly home while Vanya and I were children. I took responsibility to look after him, but sometimes...there were things that even I could not look out for."

"What about Natalia?"

"She came a while after. I have reasons to believe that my parents did not plan, or even want to have another child, but I was there to take care of her, too."

"Oh, Irunya..."

"I am fine," Irunya claimed, but she wiped at her eye, possibly countering her words. "I know it was impossible for me to be everywhere and do everything at once and look after myself, so I woven that scarf you often have around your neck, so Vanya knows that some way, I am around. Natalia often wears a headband in her hair that I made her, too."

Despite the clammy sheen of sweat on his face, a weak smile got to Matthew.

However, Irunya was not finished, and many branchless trees stretched ahead of them. "In the end, I was also a child. Everyone was worrying about what was happening around the land, that nothing else was as important. Our parents eagerly left us with anybody who offered to look after us while they went out to fight. I...their intentions were good, and I know they had other, more pressing matters to worry about, but..."

"Irunya? Do you want to stop a bit?"

"Oh! Your face is all pink, poor thing! Yes, we should take a break. There's a fallen tree nearby that we can rest on."

"I didn't know how long the walk was going to be."

Irunya settled on the black bark much more quietly and gracefully than Matthew did. "I offered to fly you there. It would go much more quickly."

Matthew lied, "Uh...flying kind of makes me sick. I was wondering if you wanted to stop because...well, it seemed like you needed it."

"Does it?" Irunya touched her cheek again, and wiped at the moisture pooling in her eyes. "Natalia says I get worked up too much, but...somebody has to."

"Irunya, if you want to go on some other time..."

"No!" She insisted, "You are right. My brother is sweet on you, but you must know these things."

Matthew looked to the dark dirt running between the trees. He was not sure if he even wanted to, but curiosity won over. It was about time to get some answers. "All right. What happened? You didn't trust these...caretakers?"

"Caretakers? That puts it very kindly. These people simply kept an eye on us so we would not run outside...possibly into a battle. Usually, they kept to themselves, and some even hunted for us...while others...others did not know to keep their claws on their own body.

"We were all growing fairly well despite everything that was happening around us. I may be the oldest, but Vanya grew taller than me before long, and he was becoming more and more handsome each time he woke up! Natalia was very reclusive to strangers, so they usually overlooked her, especially from her youth, but I was not as...lucky. This kept on well after I was almost a woman, but Vanya became sick of it, and snapped someone's wrist for trying to lift my skirt once!"

"Woo, go Ivan!"

Irunya managed a small smile. "Anyway, I cannot remember the last time I saw our parents. They stopped coming back, and I knew the worse had happened. I could get away with leading Natalia on that they were going to visit soon, but I knew Vanya stopped believing me after a while."

"Oh..."

"With our parents gone, it was up to us to step up and take control. Everyone figured that he was the firstborn, and we played along. That boy had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, but he was ready, and I did not mind his wishes."

"But...?"

"Vanya always wanted to love everyone." She let out a shallow laugh, "Even though he was not very good at it, was he?"

Matthew did not know what to say

A tear slid down Irunya's cheek, but her voice was surprisingly clear, "Change in power is never easy during a war like that. Everyone was laying a claim on our power at once. People barging in our own home at anytime, challenging us before we could lift a claw for our input in the battles. Vanya did not want to fight. He wanted to talk. All he wanted was to bring back the prosperity of our parents, of the times before. They did not listen to his words."

Matthew did not like that.

"One night, they poured in the dozens and slaughtered our guardians, whatever workers we had, and even our pets. A lot of demons had died at this point, and some were becoming desperate, clumping together under the 'threat' of a common enemy, which were innocent children..."

"Irunya-"

She leaned away. "I know this is very upsetting for the both of us, but I insist. I can handle myself, Matvey. You will let me go on."

Matthew hunched over his crossed arms. Yet they say I'm stubborn? "Okay. Please, go on."

"Thank you." Irunya straightened and wiped at her face. "Only the three of us were left. They told us they wanted us alive...barely. We have been fighting for many sleeps, but still, we put up a good fight. When they asked who was in charge, I said I was. Ivan claimed it was him. When they were about to beat me for lying, he offered himself. He told me one of us had to protect Natalia, and it was him they wanted."

The black forest was so quiet, so peaceful, yet there was a battle in Irunya's eyes, and Matthew could only sit there and listen to it. He was sickeningly curious, "Oh?"

"They...stored Natalia and I in one of the bedrooms, all threats of course. They said our time was over, that our family was weak. We let others walk over our land, over us, that we allowed them to do what they want, and nobody ever truly listened to us. Natalia...oh, little Natalia told the bastards that was loyalty, something they did not know."

"What...what did your captors do?"

"They simply smiled and told us that they were going to beat our brother three times as much for all of us."

Matthew's throat was tight, and he could only whisper, "A-and they did...?"

Irunya bobbed her head up and down. "I covered Natalia's ears from the commotion downstairs. When they returned, they dropped Ivan in front of us, bloody, beaten, and barely breathing. They did not seem happy about it, though. One of them had a nasty clot of blood where her ear once was."

"But...Ivan came back."

"Eventually, he came to. I spent the time tearing parts off my skirt to tie around his wounds while Natalia slept. When he woke up, he..." Irunya put her fingers over her mouth for a moment to collect herself. "He smiled at me, and told me did not go down without a fight of his own, and that he would not let anyone touch us. It was stupid on our enemies' part, of course. He was used to getting pushed around and smacked. I think he just went numb during the whole thing..."

Irunya gave herself a little shake and brushed a clump of pale hair from her face. "After we all got some sleep, Natalia had an idea to sneak and kill each of them from the shadows. It is said to be cowardly to sneak on another, but it could have been our only chance. We left Ivan to rest, but when we got downstairs, they were all dead, and someone else was sitting in one of the throne chairs."

"Huh?!" Matthew blinked at the stinging in his eyes. "Who was it?"

Irunya brought her arms around her body. "A very scary man."

"Who..." Matthew thought better than to ask. "He's not around anymore, right?"

"Yes! Right! Ivan eventually drove him away. Eventually..."

"Sorry. What happened afterwards? After all the fighting?"

"Oh, you mean after everyone was done killing each other?" Irunya nodded in reassurance when Matthew held out a hand. "The four of us were the only ones alive in the building. Looking out the windows, we could see bodies littered throughout the area. Those who survived most likely fled far, far away, never wanting to get involved in a war between lords again."

"I don't blame them."

"Neither have I. A few stayed, but growing up with the war...it changed us, but Vanya..." Irunya's eyes grew steely as she glowered at a gnarled tree close by. "After...everything, all that time, all those...creatures coming through and ruining anything and everything we built up...he felt betrayed. No, he was betrayed. An innocent little boy, forced into the evils of the world, and he reacted in anger. I do not blame him. Not...that it makes it right.

"All three of us used to be so close. He can still talk and hold conversation, but there's something...empty inside of him. Perhaps broken would be a better word, or maybe disappointed will do. He caught this mindset from that bastard that everything happened because our parents were too lenient and open with everything, so he in turn, became...not so lenient and open. Eventually, the few that stayed behind found the courage to leave, too, and he was alone.

"My brother says he wants everyone to be friends, but how can that happen if he is so closed about himself, his history...our history...?"

Matthew started when Irunya stopped talking. He looked to the side, and she gazed at the ground. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Oh! I-I think so. Phew!" Irunya swiped the back of her hand across her face. "I...I feel so...wow! I think it feels nice to get all that out! Whenever I talk to Natalia about it, she does not seem too keen on staying around long, and Vanya...you know. That is why you came to me for answers."

"Thank you so much, Irunya. I can't begin to tell you-"

"No, no! Just a simple thank you is fine. Thank you." Irunya hesitated before leaning to the side and tapping her cheek to Matthew's. "Not all demons are like that, Matvey. At least, we are more refined than those animals. I hope you enjoy your stay."

Matthew blinked like an idiot as she hopped from their make-shift bench. "Uh, y-yeah me too."

Irunya spun around and held out a hand, "Do you still have an appetite? Would you like to go to the market?"

"Yeah! Of course!" Matthew eagerly sprung to his feet and stretched his legs. "Are we almost there?"

"Actually..." Irunya hurried along. "Yes."

They walked for a few speechless paces. Matthew knew it was bad. Bad, to put it extremely delicately. Yet, he was glad to have asked. "Hey," he started softly, "have you ever wished that you have claimed your leadership instead of handing it over?"

Irunya's distant gaze snapped off when Matthew's foot tangled with a dark root. He managed to catch himself on a mossy tree, and ripped his trapped leg with a loud snap from the plant. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." He quickly added as he kicked the damned thing away, "To the root!"

Irunya put a hand to her mouth and tittered, "I am not going gray just yet!" She cleared her throat and took on a more wary tone, "Matvey, I was scared that I would do the wrong things, that I was not as good of a strategist as my brother, but when I look around our quiet and empty house, and when I watch him stare at nothing with this...despair in his eyes...yes. Yes, I often wonder what could be different if I had faced my responsibilities instead of eagerly handing them to a little boy."

Matthew struggled to give reassurance, "You are all three together now."

"That is true, but we could have all been together and healthy if I took charge and had my family flee far from here."

"Wait..." Matthew slowed, causing her to glance back and stop, too. "You would leave everything you have here?"

"Everything I have is with my brother and sister. Sometimes that freedom of having no restraints calls to me, but if they want to stay, then I will support them."

Matthew thought of what his brother wanted, or what his father would do if he decided to stay amongst these pits of heat and darkness. He was going his own way, too, something his father expected, if in a slightly more normal way. He just hoped Francis was not yanking out his hair at the moment. "I think I know what you mean."

Irunya shook her head, gently, and sighed, "I am glad to have met you, Matvey, but above all, I am glad that my brother did, too, and took a long interest in you! He never had 'special' company for a considerable time. It is good that he is serious about his heart for once."

"Me, too." Matthew whispered. They started to walk again. "Ivan doesn't seem like the guy to take to being alone."

Not as enamored, "There is a reason why he is alone now. That reason also drove to me to the temptation of leaving as well, but I won't leave him to be lonely if I can help it."

"Right..."

Irunya's tone bounced to a lively one again, "You know...as of recently, for some strange reason, he has been putting more effort into everything he does, instead of letting that...that alcohol stuff he gets from the surface do the work." She smiled over her shoulder, "It is lovely to see him clean, and it is a start. Still, he needs someone that knows to say 'no' when it is right, somebody that is stubborn and strong, Matvey. Most of all, you cannot let yourself be afraid of him or his past. It is an unavoidable part of him as it is a part of all of us."

That look she gave him told Matthew, If you are going to scram, do it now. Matthew assured, "Don't worry. I'm not some cheap lover he grabbed off the streets."

"Good." Irunya waved a hand in the air, "That is enough worrying for now. Look! We are almost there! Let us hurry!"

"Huh? Wait, not so fast, please!"