"Forget it," Vince shook his head. "I'm not letting him inside, no matter what. The mayhem he would cause here is much worse that what he could do to my house."

Calvin stood easy beside Violet's chair, chrome joints catching the chandelier's glow, voice measured but firm, the way a door clicks before it locks. "Vince, he's Violet's friend," Calvin explained. "They're here to study for their exams at the academy. I promise, he won't do anything with me or Amanda around."

The word hit like a dropped glass.

"Academy?!" Vince called out, visibly surprised. "I'm sure he's older and just looks like a teenager because of his contract," Vince whispered.

Calvin leaned in, lowering his tone so only the desk fern could eavesdrop. "I'll look into it," Calvin whispered.

Vince's eyes flicked toward security cams tucked in the cornices. "You better, because if you know who finds out we let a potentially dangerous person near miss Violet the two of us will be F. U. C. K. E. D. – fucked. Both figuratively and possibly literally," Vince aggressively whispered back.

Footsteps did not precede Fredric; he was simply there—close enough to fog the glass blotter with his breath, grin knifed thin.

"Do you like to be fucked old man?" Fredric aggressively leaned over the front desk itching close to his face with a sinister smile.

Calvin's spine prickled. "I didn't feel him approach us at all," Calvin thought to himself.

"What were the two of you just talking about?" Fredric asked.

"That's none of your business, you infidel!" Vince shouted.

"Oh, is it not?" Fredric eyes widened.

Zeke's voice cut through the lobby like a clipped wire. "Fredric!" Zeke shouted. "Enough!"

"Fine!" Fredric scoffed backing away.

Calvin squeezed Vince's shoulder once—reassurance disguised as protocol. "I'll look into it, I promised," Calvin whispered to Vince before walking off towards the elevator. "Now kids! Who's ready to go upstairs!?" he shouted in a cheerful manner.

They rolled across the inlaid brass compass rose and into the mirrored lift. The doors whispered shut; the world shrank to polished chrome, soft halogen, and the faint perfume of citrus cleaner. The cabin thrummed with the building's quiet heartbeat.

As they climbed inside, Calvin couldn't help but stare at Fredric. Feeling a strange ominous sensation surrounding him. Fredric looked back, staring deep into his eyes with a sinister, cold, piercing gaze, that a kin to a proud lion.

"Something's wrong?" Fredric smiled. But his eyes didn't not share the same sentiment as his mouth.

"No, it's nothing," Calvin replied. "I was just suddenly lost in thought."

"So, how high are we going up?" Fredric asked.

"To the penthouse," Zeke nonchalantly remarked.

The floor indicator ticked higher, digits changing like measured breaths.

"Oh," Fredric paused. "So you're that filthy rich?" he asked with a smirk.

"Mhm," Violet replied with an anxious look.

A gentle chime; the doors parted. Warm light spilled over them like stage wash.

After a brief identity confirmation, the elevator doors opened revealing opulent interiors of the penthouse.

They stepped onto hand-knotted carpets that drank their footfalls; windows rose from floor to ceiling, bottling the city's neon like lightning bugs trapped in crystal. A ribbon staircase swept down from a mezzanine, glass balustrade catching the skyline in a thousand bright shards. The air smelled faintly of oiled wood and jasmine tea.

"Wow, this place is nice," Fredric said as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Thank you," Amanda replied while climbing down the stairs.

Immediately, Fredric's entire demeanor shifted—his weight settling onto his back foot, shoulders angled as if bracing against an invisible current. Zeke felt it too: that strange heaviness that had clung to her before, only stronger now, as though every stray thread of magic in the room were being siphoned toward Amanda and swallowed by an endless void. The air thinned; the pendant lights over the entry seemed a shade dimmer; even the fine hairs on Zeke's forearms stirred, answering a gravity that wasn't meant for mortal bones.

"Zeke!" Amanda ran closer, hugging him tightly within her embrace. "How have you been?" she said, pulling away while gripping his shoulders, looking deep into his eyes with her piercing blue gaze.

Zeke blushed slightly. The puffy knit of her black sweater was warm against his cheek, faintly scented with jasmine and dryer-sweet cotton. "I'm fine, how about you?" he stumbled, trying to regain his composure.

"And who is this?" Amanda asked while gesturing towards Fredric.

Stolen story; please report.

"Mom! This is my friend Fredric," Violet explained. "We came here to study. For our upcoming exams."

"Nice to meet you mam," Fredric said extending his hand for a handshake.

Amanda approached and immediately hugged him, leaving his extended hand lagging behind as she took him into her embrace. Her arms were stronger than they looked—no hesitation, no formality—heat and heartbeat and the rustle of knit against denim.

"Don't do handshakes, only hugs," she winked.

"Is that a house rule?" Fredric smirked.

"It is," Amanda smirked in response.

Calvin cleared his throat; the sound clicked like a metronome in the plush quiet.

"Don't you think you forgot someone," he remarked, tapping his foot.

"You're feeling jealous?" she playfully asked.

"I prefer the term excluded," Calvin shifted his gaze to the side.

"Hi, Calvin," she leapt forward hugging the huge, muscular man. The embrace swallowed half his broad frame; chrome joints hummed, then went still beneath her touch.

"Now that's what you call a milf," Fredric retorted looking at Zeke.

"Aren't you a little too cheeky to be a teenager?" Amanda playfully asked.

"Do you dislike it?" Fredric asked.

"Only a little," Amanda replied while walking towards the kitchen. "Now kids, I'm gonna whip something up for us and I won't take no for an answer," she said, putting on her apron. "You can study at the dining table in the meantime."

Calvin went down to the first floor to hang out with Vince, the elevator doors sighing shut as their reflections slid across polished chrome. In the sudden quiet of the penthouse, filtration vents purred and the city's neon traced thin lines across the glass like electric veins.

The group set their books down on the dining table—heavy tomes fanned beside notebooks and a small mountain of flashcards. Zeke kept lecturing Fredric on various subjects, especially history. For this class Fredric's usual carefree demeanor could not suffice; for Professor Hemmings he had to learn and memorize every fact inside the assigned textbook, even the ones he knew weren't correct. He spent a good amount of time mouthing off to Zeke, trying to bait him into digressions; by the time dinner was ready, he had already been studying seriously for about an hour—reluctantly, stubbornly, but for real.

Dinner was served. Amanda prepared spinach lasagna with ricotta cheese and mushrooms. Steam spiraled up in fragrant ribbons; the browned edges sang of butter and garlic, while pockets of ricotta yielded like warm snow. The smell was absolutely amazing. And the texture left the group's tastebuds gleaming with joy and satisfaction. The mushrooms that decked the top of the lasagna offered an amazing bite, and once one did, a world of flavor filled the mouth of those savoring them—earthy, sweet, and edged with pepper, like rain waking a forest floor.

"This is amazing!" Fredric shouted, visibly exited, stuffing his face without respite.

"I'm glad you like it so much," Amanda retorted while drinking a glass of red wine.

"Where did you learn to cook like that?" he asked.

"I'm a researcher, so I get to travel to outposts all around the world. I make it a habit to pick up some recipes while I'm away," Amanda explained.

"So what are you researching?" Zeke asked with a spark in his eyes.

"It's a secret," Amanda brought her index finger up to her lips, while Violet stared anxiously at her.

After dinner, Zeke and Fredric decided to show their gratitude by washing the dishes. Zeke worked the sink, sleeves rolled, forearms fogged with steam, while Fredric stood next to him, dried them off and put them away. Plates clicked in a tidy rhythm; water hissed; the city glowed on the other side of the glass like an aquarium of stars.

"Hey," Zeke whispered. "Just what kind of contractor is she?" he wondered. "I can tell she's not a regular one based on how her mana is all over the place. It's oppressive and unstable, while at the same time it feels weak almost non existent."

"She's not a contractor," Fredric sighed.

"What?" Zeke wondered, unable to hide his surprised expression.

"She's a half-demon, half-human." Fredric retorted. "Are you familiar with the term Stigma?" Fredric asked.

"Loosely," Zeke explained.

"It appears like that woman is bound by one," Fredric said, shifting his gaze to the right as Amanda came back to the kitchen.

"Hey, Fredric, can you help me carry these boxes upstairs?" Amanda asked.

"Sure," Fredric replied.

"Zeke, can you finish the rest on your own?" Amanda asked, touching his shoulder.

"Yes, of course," Zeke stumbled. "There aren't much left anyway."

"Thanks dear," she walked off. "You're a sweetheart," she whispered with a cold gaze aimed towards the panoramic window.

Fredric picked up the boxes stacked near the elevator and carried them upstairs. The hallway lights dimmed on a motion sensor's delay, bathing the corridor in intervals of gold and shadow.

"This way," Amanda gestured towards her room. "Put them down there, near the window."

He stepped inside. The room was dark enough to erase edges; only the city's glow pressed thinly through the glass, cutting a pale seam along the floor. Amanda's scent—clean skin, jasmine, a whisper of steel—folded around him, intimate as a secret. Fredric put the boxes down next to the window.

A crisp mechanical sound broke the hush—the metallic click of a slide settling into battery—followed by the cold kiss of an anti-demon pistol nudging the back of his skull.

"Now Fredric dear, tell me this. Why the hell is a demon pretending to be a student at the academy?" Amanda asked in a cold and aggressive tone.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Fredric raised both of his hands into the air.

"I mean you, why are you pretending to be a student?" Amanda, pushed her pistol slightly into his head, making sure that he felt it.

"How do you know?" he asked, his tone perfectly calm, devoid of any emotion.

"The size of your vessel is vast. One less experienced would see it as much smaller because of your efforts to drain it. However, I am not that person." Amanda explained.

"So you hugged me so you could look at my vessel up close." Fredric smirked. "Clever."

"I also watched you as you studied, the whole time you used magic on yourself with unbelievable efficiency. Your brain, I believe you were doing something to it to improve your ability to remember." Amanda remarked.

"So being lazy shot me in the foot," Fredric sighed.

"I believe Violet and Zeke are unaware of your true identity. So don't you dare touch those kids or you will regret it." Amanda growled in an aggressive tone.

"Let me tell you this straight. What I'm doing here has nothing to do with Violet. Is that enough of an answer?" Fredric asked, lower his hands.

"No," Amanda retorted.

"Too bad there's nothing you can do about it." Fredric backed off slightly, turning around to face the gun.

"I could call Calvin," Amanda smiled.

"Calvin and the rest would die if I were to turn into a demon inside your home. Only that old man could put up a fight, but I doubt he would win." Fredric smiled back with a sinister expression, his voice shaking slightly with excitement.

"You're that confident?" Amanda inquired.

"Of course," Fredric remarked, looking her dead in the eye.

"You must be aware that there a people far more dangerous than the guardian of the safe zone." Amanda lowered her gun.

"Yes? And who might that be? Fredric asked.

"The pale reaper," Amanda's gaze suddenly turned hostile. Absorbing the entire atmosphere of the room into itself.

"An overblown exaggeration, tied to a crippled demon who walked, holding on to the tailcoats of the truly powerful." Fredric retorted with a great deal of passion.

"In time, you will learn." Amanda growled.

"Maybe, maybe not." Fredric sighed. "Let's head down. You don't want your daughter to be worried."

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