Hire an Incubus

23.

'It's okay, it's okay now.'

Lisa looked into his eyes. They looked normal and calm.

'What's going on?' Lisa asked softly. 'Which side of you am I talking to Achilles?'

'It's just me, the regular me. I feel normal. I don't feel the way I feel when I'm, like that.'

'How do I know for sure? That you're not going to start threatening me again?'

He let go of her gently and took a step back. 'I guess you don't.' He put a hand into his hair. 'I know I've got a lot of explaining to do.' 

'Yeah, I suppose you do.' Lisa exhaled shakily. 

'Lisa, I'm so sorry for the way I've been acting. I know that this is really no excuse but there's just something evil in me, it's part of what I am. There's definitely some issues in my personal life that I'm not dealing with and I don't even know if I can, or how I can.'

'I don't think I can help you Achilles.' Lisa said sadly.

He sighed and sat down on the bed. 'That's the problem, see? I don't expect you to help me, I don't want you to help me, not because I don't think you can but because it's not your responsibility. I can't control that side of me ever since.....' He looked down at the floor. 'Ever since I ended up in Hell.'

'You need to talk to me Achilles, you need to tell me about these things or otherwise I'm just in the dark and I won't be able to understand the way you act.'

'It was horrible Lisa, being there gave the side of me that isn't human more power. So now there's an imbalance and whenever I got too emotional I just lose it. It's like it's me, but it's that other side of my in control and I have to take the backseat on what I'm doing and let the demon part of me take over and it's the ugliest side of me.'

'Why didn't you tell me this?'

'It's hard for me to open up. I don't trust anyone really, not even myself half of the time and I'm afraid that telling people things will work against me.' He looked her in the eyes. 'What you did at Hercules hurt me. But it wasn't you that made me lose it, it was what they did and what they told me.'

'What did they do?' 

'They tortured me, they cut my hair and my skin and they left me alone for hours. They tried to exorcise me, and it felt like my soul was being ripped apart. They told me they were going to kill me, you and everyone important to me when they found them. They wanted to know where would you have gone when you didn't show up at the train station.'

'And you didn't tell them.'

'Of course I didn't. I already knew you were pregnant, I wasn't about to let them find that out. But there was something else they told me Lisa, something that changes things. Forever.'

'What was it?'

He shifted and then took a deep breath. 'Well, I don't know if it's true, but the girl that wa pregnant before, with my child. She didn't die like they said she did. The child is alive somewhere. My child.'

Well that was not what Lisa was expecting.

'What? I don't even know how to process this.'

'And you think I do?'

'Well, evidently not since you've been acting this way.' 

Lisa felt cold. This was a game changer. He didn't say anything and then she spoke again.

'How do we even know that they're telling the truth? These guys aren't historically honest people.'

He looked into her eyes. 'What would they really stand to gain from lying though? It makes them look bad that they didn't prevent the one thing they said they would.'

'I guess you're right. We need to tell you parents.'

He jumped up in shock. 'We can't tell my parents! They'll only get even more worried. They'll stop me looking.'

'That's ridiculous. You need to start letting people in. Sharing your problems. If you don't, things just build up and then you blow up. I'm not witnessing that again Achilles. I don't want to, I'm sure you don't want to and when I have this baby, they're not going to want to either.'

'What do you propose we do then?'

'We tell your parents,get some kind of outlook on it. We can't just blindly go looking for a child that we don't even know for sure is alive. I'm pregnant, you're unstable and we're both very much in the dark.'

'Stop making sense.' Achilles smiled softly.

Telling his family went better than anticipated.

'I can't believe them.' Aster said through gritted teeth.

'If you're going to follow this, what exactly is your plan?' Achilles's father said thoughtfully.

'I'm going to try and find a lead from Hire an Incubus.' Achilles said. 'I can hold an illusion long enough now that I could easily go in and get some information.'

'I don't know if that's wise, remember what happened last time, it could most definitely be a trap to get you to do exactly that.' 

'It could be.' Achilles breathed. 'But what other choice do I have?'

'You could stay here and stay safe.' His mother piped up. 'But we can't tell you what to do.'

'I think you should do it.' Aster said. 'You can hold an illusion up for long enough to get in and out, I don't see why you shouldn't. It's not like it's any more dangerous than it's always been.'

'I've already decided I'm doing this.' Achilles said softly. 'I think I need to do it soon or I might go off the rails again and then we won't have another chance.'

'I don't think that's true Achilles.' Ezra said. 'I think what you need to do is stay here and wait until Lisa and the child is safe.'

'We are never going to be safe with Hire an Incubus around.' Lisa interjected. 'Do I think this is a dangerous thing to do? Yes, I do. However, it's only going to get more and more dangerous if we give them time to find us.'

'I would tend to agree.' Aster replied. 'I think we should do it.'

'You're not coming.' Achilles said. 'Lisa and I are putting ourselves at risk because we know Hire an Incubus and they know us.'

'We'll have the element of surprise on them.' 

'Aster, you shouldn't go, you could die.'

'And so could you.'

'That's a risk we're willing to take though.' Lisa said.

'I don't agree with what you're doing, but I'm not going to stop you.' Ezra said quietly.

'Well good, because Lisa and I are leaving tomorrow.' 

Lisa looked at Achilles and nodded and for the first time in a while, she thought maybe things would be alright. 

I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT AND IT'S BEEN SO LONG I HAVE NO EXCUSE EXCEPT I'VE BEEN SO BUSY WITH UNI OH GOSH I'M SO SORRY PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!! BIG CHAPTER COMING NEXT (AND SOON) xx