"Welcome to Moonbucks. How may I take your order?" The lady groaned. She had brown skin, and black hair pulled into a ponytail. Although her sunglasses were gone, Lily could tell by how she looked who she actually was.
"Lilith," Jason crossed his arms. "We need you to take us out back."
Lilith looked at Lily's worried gaze, then looked back at Jason. "Fine." She put her finger up, "But this is the last time." She glanced at the crowd behind her, "Just a second!" Then she walked to the kitchen.
Geez, I swear this one Moonbucks is the weirdest out of all of them. Lily heard someone think.
Why is that girl named Lilith? Did her parents hate her or something? Someone else thought.
"If only you knew," Lily muttered.
Jason glanced at Lily, who was staring at the countertop. He put his hand on her back, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Ignore them. Remember? The sphere?"
Lily remembered the time Jason took her to mind reading classes, so she could stop Lucifer from taking over her mind. It didn't really work. She still got taken control of.
"Lily," Jason said, "Sphere. I can hear your thoughts like I'm listening to an audiobook."
"Oh geez!" Lily exclaimed. She didn't want Jason to hear everything she thought. Especially after the talk Lily just had with him. She pictured a giant glass sphere surrounding her, preventing her from hearing people's thoughts and preventing Jason from listening to her thoughts.
"Did you feel annoyed that I talked about my family?" Jason asked.
"What? No!" Lily said, "I'm glad you talked to me." She looked up at him, "Why did you ask me that?"
"Just making sure." He said, and he looked away.
He probably said that because I had that stupid thought before I put my sphere up. Lily looked down and pushed cold air out of her lips. Her heart and soul had a gap in them. It was empty, apart from the feeling of frost freezing her arteries. It made her feel like her heart had stopped. The pain of a heart attack was always surrounding her chest. I didn't mean that about him I meant that about me. She closed her eyes, I meant when I talked to him.
Jason grasped her waist and pulled her into a hug. "I think you can only block other people's thoughts, and your having trouble blocking your own,"
Lily gasped, "So... You heard everything? I just thought...?"
He stayed silent.
She took his silence as a yes, "Why can't I block my thoughts?" Darn it.
He placed his chin on her head, "Probably because you are emotionally distraught, so you can't focus."
"Mmm..." Lily mumbled. She couldn't seem to get warm. Her blood was ice, her skin was cold to the touch. She shivered from the cold air. She didn't want Jason to know everything she was thinking. What if she thought something stupid?
"It's alright. You can't think of anything that I will get mad at you for." Jason took off his jacket and placed it around Lily's shoulders, attempting to warm her up.
Lily grinned.
"That you actually mean," He chuckled. "Silly."
"Alright, guys," Lilith said, poking her head out of the kitchen curtain, "Come on back."
Lily glanced at Jason, who shrugged, then they walked around back, stepping and crunching thousands of broken straws by the trash can.
"Lilith...? You work here?" Lily asked her, still trembling from the cold.
"Yes. Damn, Cerberus won't let me leave." Lilith mumbled. She opened the kitchen curtains and pointed to the door placed on the back wall. "Go there. I have lovely customers to attend to." Sarcasm was great. It was the best thing.
Jason and Lily entered the room, and Lilith disappeared to the cashier again.
"Cerberus? Like the three-headed dog in Greek mythology?" Lily asked Jason as they walked towards the door.
"Well... Cerberus doesn't have three heads, but he has learned to control his wolf without a potion." Jason said.
"That's possible?" She asked, stunned.
"For him. So far in history, he's the only one who has been able to do it." Jason uttered, pushing open the door.
The cold outside breeze Lily was expecting didn't come. She stared off into the doorway. A giant room rested behind the door of the kitchen. Lily's eyes widened as she saw a man standing in the room. He had black hair, his skin a very light shade of brown, eyes glowing orange.
Lily could tell what Jason meant by 'controlling his wolf'. Giant wolf ears poked out of his head, the insides filled with white fluff. A tail popped out of his back, and his ears went up as the door opened. His orange eyes focused on Lily, making her feel dizzy. How come Lucifer was the only one who had red eyes?
Jason put his hands on her shoulders, taking her off guard, "Only Satan has red eyes. All the other demons have orange eyes. It's because he is the only one with the power of Death."
"Although that is true," The wolf's voice boomed, "We are also powerful." His voice was so low that it shook the foundation.
Lily entered the room. Jason took his hands off her shoulders to enter and close the door, then replaced them again. Lily shuddered again.
"Come, child," Cerberus's voice calmed, "we'll get you some warm clothes. It is too cold in fall for that dress."
Lily shot Jason a worried gaze. He just nodded and lightly pushed her forward, "It's okay, go."
She walked with Cerberus to the laundry room, he pulled out long sweatpants that looked smooth on the outside, but they were fluffy on the inside. He also pulled out a long fuzzy sweatshirt and a soft coat and gave them all to her. It wasn't exactly her style, but she was thankful anyway.
She walked to the bathroom that Cerberus pointed out and changed. The fluffy clothes brushed her skin and helped warm her icy heart a little.
She walked out to find Jason and Cerberus sitting by a fireplace. The fire blew sparks of golden yellow flames onto the hard marble floor.
Surprisingly, it didn't leave any marks.
Jason looked over to Lily and smiled as if sensing her there. Oh yeah. She thought, He can read my thoughts.
"Lilian," Cerberus roared happily, "Lilian Morningstar, please come over."
She walked over, rubbing her palm on her forearm, "I'd prefer it if you called me Lily." She said shyly. The ice in her veins froze more. She felt cold again.
"Of course, of course!" He grinned, "Jason was telling me about you. I'm sorry for your loss." His smile faded, "You see, Lucifer had lost himself about six years ago when he figured out Mark, Jason's father, died."
"That's why." She whispered. I wonder if we can trust him... She glanced up at Cerberus, who was staring into the fire. OH SHOOT. Jason probably heard that...
"I did." Jason said, "But I understand," He turned to Cerberus, "I would like you to show us why we should trust you, teach us why you are not working for Lucifer."
Cerberus looked at them, grinned, and snickered, "I guess I have no choice."
*****
They entered a completely white room and, Lily gasped. Dread ran down her spine. "What... Are all these...?"
Jason reached out and grasped her hand. "They're coffins."
Cerberus slipped off his shoes and walked barefoot into the room. The look on his face Lily knew very well. Anguish, the purest form. The ice reached her throat. She could feel the cold slowly take over her body. She took off her shoes, and Jason did as well. They walked into the room. Lily tried to pull free from Jason's grip, but he wouldn't let go.
She glanced at him, and he gave her an 'I'm not letting go' look. Why? Why wouldn't he let go?
"Because you need this." He said, "I know you do."
What did he mean by that? She glanced at Cerberus, who was grinning sadly. She tried to pull free again, and she almost did when Jason grabbed her arm with his other hand. He pulled her to him, "Lily, I know that feeling." He whispered.
"What feeling?" She asked. What could he possibly mean?
"The crisp, frosty, bitter ice that's taking over your soul."
Her eyes widened, "How did you...?"
"I know because I can hear you think about it, and I can hear your soul calling for help."
She looked away, "I'm fine. Really."
"No. You're not." He said sternly. "Let me help you," He gripped her arm tighter, "Please."
"I don't need help." She said a little angrily, I don't deserve it.
Jason inhaled sharply. He gripped her arm tighter. She winced as his grip burned her skin. "DON'T EVER THINK THAT."
She craned her head to look up at him, "Jason... Your grip is too tight."
He looked furious, he was outraged, and she didn't know why. She could see a very bright flame of fury in his eyes, "Sorry." He snapped, and he loosened his grip. He still didn't let go though, she tried to pull her hand out again, but he grabbed her arm with his other hand. He had two hands gripping her arm tightly so she couldn't escape like she wanted. "Oh, you're not leaving, not after I have a talk with you."
She tried to pull her arms away. She grabbed Jason's right hand with her free one, but he held her so firmly that all her effort did was give her pressure burns. The pain of fire on her skin brought back memories of...
Lucifer grabbed her up by her hair, the roots pulled out one by one.
Her aunt lay dead on the floor, blood pooled under her.
Lucifer stabbed Jason in the chest, the gore, the blood.
The gore...
The blood...
The pain...
The hurt...
The loss...
And it wasn't over...
"Let me go!" Lily cried, "Please, I'll do anything! Just let me go!"
Jason stared down at her with concern, all anger gone. "Lily, calm down...."
She pulled his hand again, finally releasing the pressure from her arm. It wasn't her that released it though, he released his hand on his own and grabbed her other arm.
"No!" She sobbed, "No!"
Her legs collapsed from under her. Jason slowly lowered her to the floor, "Lily, calm down, calm down, and I'll let you go." He said that softly, so he wasn't the slightest bit angry.
She sat there sobbing, Jason holding both of her arms up. He was afraid she would hurt herself, so he wouldn't let go until she calmed down. Hot tears scorched down her face as she sobbed. "Please let me go...." She cried softly.
"Lily, Lily, look at me." She aimed her gaze towards Jason. Her eyes were a midnight blue, the darkest of all the blues. There was a bright shine as tears filled her eyes. It made Jason's heart ache. He could feel the burning pain in her eyes as more tears fell. He looked into Lily's eyes and smiled, "You're okay," He said, "You're safe, understand?"
She nodded, breathing shallowly.
"I'm sorry, I lost it a little there. Just know that I did because I care about you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She was still breathing short breaths, "I'm sorry... I act like this... You must think I'm weak...."
"You're not weak. Seriously, Lily, you're stronger than I am. I could've never brought Lucifer down like you did." He let go of her arms, "Now, I want you to take five deep breaths." He inhaled, "In," He exhaled, "Out. Come on, do it with me."
She took a deep breath, the warm air filling her lungs, lessening the ache of her heart. She followed Jason's calm words, and she could feel herself slowly relax. For every breath she took, the tightness of her lungs loosened until she was calm.
"You okay?" Jason asked her.
"Yes." She breathed.
"Okay," He stood up then pulled her up on her feet, "Come on, Cerberus wants to show you something."
Lily turned to see Cerberus standing there. Oh geez, she didn't realize he was still there. Her stomach dropped. Did he watch the whole thing? She walked over to Cerberus, and Jason walked with her, not grabbing her arm this time.
They stood in front of a grave. Wilted flowers died in a vase next to the gravestone. Some were bright pink, others darker, but most were white.
The gravestone had a name carved into it, Limea Hound.
"She was my wife," Cerberus said sadly, "I loved her very much."
"What happened?" Lily whispered.
Cerberus bared his teeth, "Lucifer happened. He murdered all of our loved ones to let us know that demons can't love. 'All we demons can do is hate', he said, 'if you can't, you'll learn'."
"That's terrible...." Lily murmured.
"It is." Jason said, "But now you know that Cerberus is a good person, or uh, wolf."
"I go by either." Cerberus smirked, "As you can tell, I made peace with my wolf. So I'm considered both."
Lily smiled softly, "That's good."
"Can I hold your hand now?" Jason asked.
"Oh, yeah." She pushed her hand out from her side, and Jason laced his fingers through hers.
"I love how he has to ask now," Cerberus laughed.
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