sympathy for the devil

devil's child

"Please tell me we have something to work with."

Erza leaned back in the chair next to the motel bed, looking over at Mira. Mira was sitting on the other bed, legs crossed, the demonic book set out in front of her. She sighed, flipping to another page.

"There's a lot that wasn't translated," she admitted. "It has some information about Cambions, but it doesn't say anything about a... demonic infection? Or how to get rid of it." She gestured to Gray, who was lying on the bed next to Erza, feverish and tossing in his sleep. It had been two days since they left the guild and he hadn't woken, only spoken broken words in the language that nobody understood.

"Fuck," Sting whispered. He sat on the end of the bed, hand on Natsu's ankle. Natsu was asleep too, curled up against Gray with his head resting on his boyfriend's chest and arm thrown over his waist. He'd refused to sleep unless they were touching. "How's he doing, love?"

Rogue made a noncommittal face, running their hand over Gray's forehead. The fever wasn't nearly as bad as it had been – his temperature when they'd arrived at the motel had been beyond something any human could survive. Rogue hadn't been able to bring all of their supplies from the guild, but they'd packed what they could and were doing their best with what they had.

"He's... better, I think." They sighed. "The fever came down a bit but he's... stuck, now. And I'm worried about this."

Rogue ran his fingers over the marks on Gray's arms, which had gone from barely visible, to outlined in pinkish-red. It was as if they were burned into his skin now. Erza had been concerned about his magic going crazy while he was unconscious, but so far nothing had happened.

"All right," Erza said, standing up and pacing over to the door. "What do we know?" She put a hand up before anyone could say anything. "Starting at the beginning – the day he appeared."

"He... spoke another language," Sting said slowly, nudging Natsu's legs aside and settling more comfortably on the bed. Rogue took over Erza's chair, pulling it next to the bed so they could rub a potent-smelling elixir on Gray's temples. Natsu's nose wrinkled in his sleep.

"Yes, and we don't know what it's called or where it's from." Erza nodded, pacing back and forth.

"It's... likely Abyssal," Mira said quietly, running her fingers over the pages of the book. "Looking at what we have here... it's hard to deny that he is likely a... Cambion." Erza's face hardened and Mira raised her hands placatingly. "Maybe he didn't know. He had no memories when you found him, right?" Erza nodded reluctantly.

"And after he showed up, demons started popping up more often," Rogue added. "Before that it was rare, but even we've faced down a few in the past few years. Hellhounds are one thing, but actual demons..." All four of them shifted uncomfortably. Exorcisms were difficult, even with Gray's magic to empower them.

"Okay, so he might be the... cause of that," Erza said reluctantly. "If he did come here from Hell. We've never been specifically targeted though, so either the demons that have come here couldn't find Gray, or they weren't looking for him."

Sting sighed, running a gentle hand up Natsu's back. Natsu hadn't been taking any of this well, and had spent the time he'd been awake either insisting that Gray wasn't a demon, or talking to Gray even in his restless sleep.

"What if..." Sting said slowly, checking to make sure Natsu was asleep. "Okay, let's say he is this... Cambion, and he did come from Hell. Escaped, maybe, who knows? And then him showing up weakened the... veil, or whatever, between there and here, allowing more demons to come through and possess people."