Needing is One Thing

Epilogue. In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle.

 "Keep the change, pretty." Delial smiled at the girl behind the counter, his sunglasses reflecting her bright eyes as he pulled out several bills and slid them across to her. He chuckled to himself at her delight as he took the cup from her hand, brushing her fingers with his. The devil stuffed the designer wallet back into his coat pocket. He slid out the door into the sunlight as the server happily snatched the bills up for her tip jar, forgetting about the odd stranger in a coat on such a hot day as the money left her hand. His black t-shirt proclaimed "Shhhhhhh. Nobody cares."

Outside, the beach was busy. The volley ball nets were all taken, tan bodies competing under the sun as they yearned for their prize. Taking a sip of the ice-cold vanilla shake, Delial walked the rest of the way down the parking lot back to the small sports car, enjoying the view.

Andrew leaned against the driver's side looking out over the sand, watching the water of Lake Michigan. His button down shirt was half-open as he stood out under the sun, enjoying its warmth. His hand and chest were still tightly bandaged; it would take a few more weeks to fully heal. Unperturbed, Andrew glanced over to the devil, reached his hand out over the roof of the car and beckoned. Shrugging, Delial tossed his wallet back to him.

"I don't understand how a devil of avarice doesn't have any actual money," Andrew complained as he lowered himself back into the car. Delial dropped in next to him, sat and made himself comfortable before closing the door and turning to him to answer.

"There are many types of coin in the world, Drew. You out of anyone should know that." He sipped again.

Andrew rested his hands on the steering wheel but didn't start the car. He faced forward, his eyes back on the water again. "Is that why you did it, why you saved me?" He asked, his tone disparaging.

"I didn't save you." The devil replied, sipping at his drink again and raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head to indicate they should start moving. Andrew ignored him.

"Then how did I even survive?" Andrew had been asking himself that for weeks as he lay in his apartment, his crushed bones slowly mending while the devil tended him.

"Magic." Delial tried an ironic smile. He was getting uncomfortable with the human's constant questions.

"Bullshit. I purposely drained myself of everything."

"Look Drew, if you want to go to hell that badly, there's the lake. Go drown yourself."

Andrew's mouth thinned, he gripped the steering wheel with his uninjured hand for a second, then quickly unclasped his seat belt, reached for the door handle.

"Wait!" Delial grabbed his shoulder, kept him from getting up. "Fine! Close the door." Andrew tried to pull away for a second more before finally leaning back and sealing them back into the close confines of the car.

"Well?" Andrew turned to him, frowning expectantly.

"You're half celestial." Delial shrugged. "You weren't born yet, and we just kind of switched that bit of human out."

"Half celestial, like an angel?" Andrew asked, incredulous.

"No!" Delial shot that thought down right away. "Celestial's our race. Devil's your job. I was an angel, once." he mumbled, but Andrew was having trouble grasping it.

"Drew," Delial set the shake down in the car's cup holder, leaned over to poke the human in the chest. "You're half celestial, half human. Your father pissed me off, so I pulled his blood, his portion, from you. You're all mommy dearest and your celestial half."

Andrew couldn't believe it. "Then you...with my mom?" His look of disgust had the devil glaring even as Delial's own look of distaste answered him.

"No!" Delial shuddered, snatched his shake back up and took a long sip to clean his palette. "You're not my kid, Drew. Don't even think that! It's a communal sort of thing. Magic. Not to say I don't, but believe me, she is not my type." Delial dropped the cup back down. "Can we talk about something else? Anything else?"

Andrew was almost amused by the devil's sudden discomfort. Delial was getting more and more human in behavior with every passing day.

"I'm a scion?" He asked instead.

Delial sighed, rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Yes." He practically groaned the word. "And you're a resilient little bugger."

"So if I'm celestial, why hell-borne magic? Can't I use..." A little hope lifted Andrew's voice.

"Come on, you're smarter than that."

"The angels would shut me down? Kill me has an abomination?" Andrew's hope shifted as he looked at the devil, unsure.

"Pffft." Delial dismissed it with a flick of his fingers. "The angels don't give two shits. No snowflake, it's because hell-borne magic's much more fun." The devil chuckled. "And I plan on enjoying my time here for as long as I can, thanks to you."

"No." Andrew shook his head, pulled back. "I'm not doing it. Hell-borne magic has messed up everything for me. Everything I care about is gone. I'm tainted. Why should I even bother?" He reached for the door again, but Delial stopped him, locking the car with a wave of magic.

"Look Drew, I have a job to do. The contract's set and you're the one who made it. We can't just cancel it out, can't just go jump in a lake and pretend it never happened. And if I do it right; maybe, just maybe, I can look into alternative employment and we can solve your little problem at the same time." Delial looked away, folded his arms across his chest and crossed his legs, huffing out a breath. "Are you happy now?"

Andrew gaped at him. He thought back on his words, spoken with blood, bound with dark magic.

Save her.

"You've got to be kidding." Andrew started laughing, couldn't keep the edge of hysteria from it as Delial turned to him, affronted.

"Human's have a long lifespan. The time will come; but right now, we need to go." The devil leaned back in his seat, stared straight ahead. Waited.

Andrew stopped, his face turning serious. He stared at the devil, thought for a moment.

Somewhere, Mika was with James, starting her life with him. There was nothing for him here now, but maybe...

"Alright. Where to?" Andrew started the car, pulled out into traffic to feel the joy of cruising the drive one last time, already missing the green eyed girl of his dreams as he vowed to leave them be.

"I was thinking West," Delial answered, watching the cars go by.

"East it is."

Andrew floored it.