Daughter of Damnation Ch. 6

2000

As soon as Evelyn broke line of sight with the motel, the tension in her shoulders lessened somewhat, though she didn’t dare assume the problem was solved. She half-expected a car to come screeching out of the motel parking lot, chasing them down while lobbing bursts of magic, but thankfully no such thing happened. It took several minutes for Zadkiel to quiet their upset daughter, at which point they turned to Evelyn with panic in their voice.

“Witches! Heathens! How are they here?!”

Evelyn sighed, making sure to check the rear-view mirror frequently as she responded. “You know the answer to that, Zadkiel. They’re here because of you.”

“Haven’t you been obscuring our presence? We did not take a flying machine because you said it was too risky, but now we’ve been found anyways!” Zadkiel said, their tone harsh despite their quiet voice.

Casting a quick glare at the archangel caused them to back off slightly, and it bought Evelyn a moment of quiet to compose herself. “Being cast out of Heaven is not a quiet process, Zad. I’ve said this before, but when you fell, you likely triggered all sorts of magical alarms put in place by myriad different organizations. However, I found you first.”

Evelyn gave Zadkiel a moment to sarcastically respond that they’d preferred she hadn’t, but surprisingly, they stayed quiet. “Everyone hunting you down is asking the same question: where did you go? Chicago is a big city, and there are thousands of places a creature like you might find refuge. They’re no doubt scouring the city as we speak, using every available scrap of magic they have to try and find you. However, you called the cops a few days ago and alerted the federal government to your presence. Breaking you out created a second data point, and now everyone with proper surveillance knows what direction you fled towards. With a single action, we’ve confirmed that you’re not in Chicago, and you’re traveling west.”

She allowed herself one last look towards Zadkiel, but it seemed like she didn’t need to hammer the point any further. The archangel’s face was bright red, and their silence spoke volumes.

“Look, the important thing is that we managed to sneak away. There’s a small chance that one of them is suspicious of us, but it doesn’t look like they’re giving chase.” Evelyn paused for a moment, then decided to switch the topic of conversation to ease Zadkiel’s mind. “What do you have against witches, anyways?”

“Heathens!” Zadkiel said, practically spitting in disgust.

“That’s not an answer, Zad.”

“God created Man for a reason, gave them this form for a reason. If God had wanted Man to control magic, they would have made it so. Witches defy that order, they taint themselves with energies from other planes, and many of them acquire their magic through blasphemous bargains with otherworldly creatures. Many of which are demons, don’t forget.”

“Hey, don’t look at me, I’ve never given magic to a human. All of my bargains have—” Evelyn paused, biting her tongue.

“Don’t deny it, demon. Striking up infernal deals is second nature to you,” Zadkiel said.

“I’m not denying it, Zadkiel,” Evelyn whispered. She hadn’t expected the conversation to bring up memories of her past, and now she scowled as she recalled the person she’d been previously. She expected Zadkiel to gloat, to rub in this minor conversational victory, but for some reason, they didn’t. They stopped talking entirely, but they also did not try to go back to sleep or pick up a book. Instead, they sat perfectly still for nearly an hour, staring into the middle distance, before eventually speaking up.

“…Do you regret your past actions?”

Evelyn cocked an eyebrow, looking at Zadkiel with the expectation that this question was a joke, or a set-up for more judgment. The archangel, however, almost looked sincere as they returned her look.

“What does it matter to you?” she finally asked.

“You clearly want to convince me you’re different, Hellspawn,” Zadkiel said. “However, we… might be willing to admit that we have refused to truly listen to you in the past.”

“You? Lending an ear to Lilith’s firstborn?” Evelyn asked incredulously.

“W-we still believe you harbor villainous intent towards us!” Zadkiel protested.

Evelyn chuckled under her breath. “Of course, of course.”

“The greatest of God’s warriors face the greatest of challenges. How are we to prove our faith is ironclad if we never test it? Do not misunderstand our intentions, Hellspawn; you will never tempt us from our holy mission. We simply ask questions to fully understand the lengths you are willing to go to deceive us.”

It’s practically a miracle that they’re willing to ask anything at all. Don’t shoot this down, Evelyn, they’re at a crucial junction.

As loathe as she was to dig through ancient memories, she decided to oblige Zadkiel.

“Yes,” Evelyn muttered.

The archangel turned to look at her, tilting their head in confusion. Before they could speak up, Evelyn continued.

“Yes, I regret who I used to be, and what I used to do to survive.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the car. It paired unnaturally well with the darkness surrounding them, which only briefly vanished every time they passed a streetlight.

“If you were given a second chance, would you act differently?” Zadkiel asked.

“That’s not a fair question,” Evelyn said, her voice more bitter than she’d intended.

“We all make choices, Hellspawn, and those choices define who we are. To abdicate responsibility for your choices is to exempt yourself from ownership of the consequences.”

“And yet I regret them anyways,” Evelyn countered.

“Which is… curious, we admit.” Zadkiel briefly turned to look at their daughter before adjusting in their seat. “Explain yourself.”

Pausing for a moment, Evelyn tried to think of what to say. She’d never seen Zadkiel speak so earnestly with her, and she didn’t want to squander this opportunity. “In all my thousands of years of living, I’ve done countless terrible things. I regret every single one of them, yet had I made different choices, I would not be here today.”

“So you claim that a desire to survive justifies your actions?”

“I claim no such thing, Zadkiel, I’m merely stating a fact.” Evelyn paused for a moment, wondering how far she wanted to push the archangel. “Let me counter with a question of my own. Are you glad I’m the one that found you?”

Zadkiel flinched. “We will never be glad to be in your company, Hellspawn. However, we… might be willing to admit that you’ve done significantly less harm than we expected.”

“I only found you because of an entirely random set of circumstances. Decades ago, shortly before an event the humans refer to as World War II, I myself was cast out of Hell. One of my many sisters found a way to seal my powers, and she cast me to Earth in an attempt to overthrow my position and take my influence for herself. Through sheer coincidence, I ended up in the very same city you did: Chicago.”

The two of them shared a glance before Zadkiel spoke up. “We did not realize we shared that in common.”

“I was only cast out of Hell due to my strength. I was indomitable, second only to my mother, and my sister wanted that strength for herself. Had I been weaker, had I not consumed nearly as many souls throughout my life, I never would have been stripped of my powers and sent to Earth.”

“Why tell us this?” Zadkiel asked.

“Had I been a better person all those years ago, I never would have started living in Chicago. I never would have been given a chance to experience life without my abilities, and I never would have found the strength to walk away from my prior life. I never would have found you, and you would have been captured by the government when you fell. You do not need to answer this, Zadkiel, but I’m curious. If there’s any part of you that’s glad I found you first, does that mean you endorse the actions that brought me here?”

More silence. Zadkiel said nothing, and simply stared out the window while they both allowed Evelyn’s words to hang in the air. It took nearly another half hour for them to respond. “We would never excuse the actions of a demon.” Their voice was quiet, directed inward, yet also strangely insistent. Almost as if they were trying to convince themselves.

“Demons don’t get an afterlife, Zadkiel.”

“As they shouldn’t.”

“Nothing we do matters. If we die, we’re simply gone forever. The only way we survive is by fighting tooth and nail for every scrap of power we can get, and because of Lilith’s curse, the only way to grow stronger is to consume the souls of the living.”

“That is clearly a lie, Hellspawn,” Zadkiel said. “In your own words, you are currently the weakest you’ve ever been, yet you’ve found a life for yourself outside of Hell. Outside of that cruelty. Your existence in this manner proves that walking away is possible, and thus implies that all other demons are turning down peaceful lives because they would rather continue their worst tendencies.”

Evelyn paused for a moment, not to choose her words, but to appreciate the argument Zadkiel was making. They didn’t seem to realize it, but they were now arguing from the assumption that Evelyn had successfully walked away from Hell, and all its cruelty. “The circumstances that gave me this freedom are incredibly unique. The hierarchy of Hell is ever-changing, hundreds of thousands of demons are trapped in an eternal battle to try and gain an advantage on their opponents. For most of them, this process simply involves securing access to more souls. Sometimes this happens in Hell, sometimes on Earth. Once powerful enough, they’re able to tear down whichever demon they’ve set their eyes on, and the circle continues. In this war, much like any war, an opponent who goes missing for too long is likely one who’s consolidating power and thus is someone that needs to be tracked down and stopped.”

“Does this not happen to you?” Zadkiel asked. “Surely your absence would be among the easiest to detect, given your parentage.”

“Manufacturing my disappearance was no easy feat. The only reason my sister was able to muster enough power was because she struck some kind of abhorrent bargain. When I landed on Earth, much like yourself, I found my true nature sealed behind interlocking chains of Infernal and Enochian energy.”

Zadkiel gasped, looking at Evelyn in shock. “You suffered the same fate I did?”

Evelyn nodded. “My absence in Hell was not suspicious, as most believed I had been either killed or permanently depowered. Among those who knew the truth of my circumstances, none of them wished to involve me in Hell’s war ever again. My strength is so immense that my mere presence warps the battlefield to my advantage, and I choke out all possibilities for other demons to thrive. I’m only able to live in peace here on Earth because the entirety of Hell thinks I am either dead, or too powerful to risk angering.”

“What happens to other demons that come to Earth?”

“They are hunted. Sometimes by the Church, sometimes by other organizations, but mostly by each other. In a bid to survive, they seek more power, more souls, and that enhanced power pushes them further into the demonic aggression that Lilith’s curse enslaves them to. The cycle is never-ending.”

A car passed by Evelyn’s SUV, one she watched carefully, but thankfully it wasn’t either of the witches she’d seen earlier. An uncomfortable pause overtook their vehicle, as Zadkiel seemed constantly on the edge of speaking, yet they never did. Another hour passed before they finally spoke, and even then, their words were soft and hesitant.

“You’ve… given us much to think about, Hellspawn,” Zadkiel whispered.

With no idea what else to say, Evelyn decided to let the conversation finish on that note. Beside her, the archangel adjusted their seat several times before turning away from Evelyn in an attempt to return to sleep.

In the silence, Evelyn quietly sifted through memories of her brief life in Chicago’s Hooverville. She remembered how angry she’d been at being cast out, how desperately she’d wanted to tear down the community around her in an attempt to guarantee her own survival. She thought of Vicente, the man who’d saved her life in more ways than one, the only person who’d ever inspired her to want more from her life.

For a brief moment, she allowed herself to reconnect with her only memento of Vince. She thought back to the promises they’d made each other, and the pain of those memories threatened to break her heart in two all over again.

Before the pain could overwhelm her, she cast the memories aside and redoubled her focus on the task at hand. Vince was gone, the two of them forever separated by a divine barrier no demon would ever cross. While she couldn’t change her past actions, she still had control over the present. She had a chance to help a parent and their daughter escape the cruelty of their people, a chance to give them the happiness she knew she’d never find for herself.

Hours passed while Zadkiel slept in the passenger seat, and eventually the sun began to rise in the distance. As its dim rays crept over the horizon, Evelyn noticed they were approaching a highway interchange. The path to Yellowstone lay straight ahead, and ordinarily the interchange would have passed without a second thought, but seeing it cast Evelyn’s thoughts back to the witches she’d seen earlier. How much did they know? The one witch, Cassandra, had watched them leave: did that hint at knowledge of Zadkiel’s true identity? Or was she simply a light sleeper who needed fresh air?

Rather than take that risk, Evelyn decided it was time for some reconnaissance. Zadkiel, as predicted, rose with the dawn, and they readjusted their seat to a more sustainable position as they slowly yawned. Informing the archangel of her plans, Evelyn pulled off to the side of the road and parked the car, giving Zadkiel a chance to stretch their legs and feed their child, while also giving Evelyn the freedom to return to the motel.

Cloaking herself in illusion, Evelyn took to the skies and began speeding back down the highway. No longer trapped in the confines of a bulky SUV, she was able to clear the distance in a fraction of the time.

Arriving at the motel, she breathed a sigh of relief as she found the witch’s car. It hadn’t moved since last night, which gave Evelyn hope that Cassandra hadn’t suspected anything about Evelyn’s midnight departure. To be safe, Evelyn perched on the edge of the motel’s roof, just above the witch’s room, and expanded her senses. Her delicate hearing quickly picked up the sounds of a frantic conversation inside the motel.

“—why didn’t you wake me sooner?!”

“I’m sorry, Headmistress, but after last night, I feared my intentions might have tainted my observations.”

“Cassandra, look, I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but you need to trust me. That includes looping me in on your decisions and being open about your suspicions. Now c’mon, grab your suitcase and let’s go!”

Shortly thereafter, both witches stormed out of their room in a rush. The Headmistress quickly ran to the front desk to return their keys while Cassandra packed the car. After closing the trunk, Cassandra moved towards the passenger side and grabbed the handle, but then stopped unexpectedly. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly began looking around the parking lot. A moment later, she raised her head and looked towards the roof of the motel, exactly where Evelyn currently sat perched, masked by an illusion.

Can she detect demonic illusions? What kind of magic are they working with?

Before anything else happened, the Headmistress ran out of the lobby and jumped into the driver’s seat. The car started with a loud grumble, and as they pulled out of their parking spot, Evelyn heard the Headmistress mutter under her breath. “A fucking demon, I can’t believe it…”

Shit.

Rather than risk taking the long way back to Zadkiel, Evelyn waited for the car to disappear from sight before leaping into the sky and teleporting back to her own vehicle. She descended quickly, whistling softly to alert Zadkiel to her presence, and soon the two of them were packing into the SUV again to prepare for another lengthy drive. Instead of continuing on their current route, however, Evelyn took advantage of the highway interchange to alter their route. This way would likely add another day or two to their trip, but hopefully it would help confuse the witches in pursuit of them.

Hours passed in relative peace. Zadkiel took several opportunities to read to their daughter and even expressed interest in other ways to pass the time on occasion. Thankfully, they seemed to enjoy the radio, and introducing an archangel to music proved to be an excellent distraction for Evelyn.

It was nearly one in the afternoon by the time they made their first stop. As usual, they picked a location slightly further away from the highway, but this time they did not intend to linger for a full meal. Instead, Evelyn bought Zadkiel fast food to eat in the car while she made another surveillance trip. She took to the skies, flying as quickly as she could down the highway to try and spot the witches on their tail. She desperately hoped that she wouldn’t find them, as their absence would be proof that they weren’t tracking Zadkiel with magical means, but her hopes were quickly dashed.

Several hours behind them, the car that held both witches was in hot pursuit. They drove at a brisk pace, and Evelyn saw proof that Cassandra was attempting to sleep in the car; no doubt proof they were intending to drive without pause, taking turns as they attempted to chase Zadkiel down.

Teleporting back to her SUV, the chase continued. She explained the situation to the archangel, who was immensely pleased that Evelyn didn’t need to sleep, and she was equally pleased that she didn’t need to teach Zadkiel how to drive. They were incredibly uncomfortable as the hours dragged on, confined to the passenger seat, but they kept their complaints to a minimum as the trip continued.

They traveled like this for the next two days.

Evelyn made one more attempt to shake their magical pursuers, but when it became obvious that such attempts were meaningless, she shifted her focus to arriving at Yellowstone as quickly as possible. Her initial plan would have delivered them to the northeast entrance, but after several attempts to shake the witches, they were now on track to arrive at an entrance slightly further south.

As they drew closer and closer to the nation’s first national park, Evelyn began digging through her memories for any possible hints of where exactly the Wilds bled over into this plane. She’d never needed to use this soft spot, as she rarely ever bothered with the affairs of the fey creatures or Courts, and now she regretted her past decisions to never so much as vacation here. A quick conversation with Zadkiel revealed that, were the archangel in control of their abilities, they would likely be able to locate the soft spot. However, because of the chains that bound their true potential, such an option was likely out of reach.

On several of their pit stops, which never lasted more than the few minutes needed for Zadkiel to obtain food and use the bathroom, they briefly attempted to force their way through the chains, but each time their attempts backfired. From Evelyn’s own experience, she knew that the chains binding the archangel were fading faster than those which had bound her decades earlier, but hoping for them to break entirely was a luxury Evelyn couldn’t afford.

As their destination drew closer, it became more obvious with each passing hour that gaining access to the Wilds would be no easy task. Evelyn could likely cover the entirety of the park in a matter of hours, but she wasn’t here alone. Zadkiel was still effectively a human, and they still refused to let Evelyn hold their child.

Evelyn’s initial plan was to allot herself days, if not weeks, of traversing the skies over Yellowstone in search of the planar soft spot. With a destination in mind, the only challenge would be finding the path of least resistance. With two witches hot on their heels, however, they no longer had the luxury of time. The three of them needed to blindly march into Yellowstone without any idea of their destination, with limited resources, and with no understanding of who exactly was pursuing them.

In preparation, Evelyn made one last pit stop. She purchased the highest-quality hiking equipment available and filled it with food, water, baby supplies, and everything else they needed to survive the wilderness. Zadkiel, unfortunately, wasn’t strong enough to carry any substantial amount of equipment, especially considering the child in their care. It was good fortune, then, that Evelyn needed no mortal sustenance of her own, but their preparations brought to light another issue: she had used more of her strength than intended over the course of the last few days.

Constant flights up and down the highway to check on their pursuers necessitated illusions to cloak her appearance, and while each individual trip was meaningless on its own, these witches were hunting through attrition.

If the struggle for Zadkiel’s future came to blows, Evelyn wasn’t sure she could win.

A thick storm of fear and anxiety raged in her mind as they approached their destination. She wanted desperately to give Zadkiel a life with their daughter, for their daughter to grow up with a loving family, and the thought of losing so close to the finish line terrified her. This was personal in a way she’d never imagined when she started on this journey.

And so it was that, half past 2 PM on the third day of running, they found themselves approaching a large, extravagant checkpoint stretching the length of the road. Caution signs encouraged drivers to watch for local wildlife, a park ranger stood nearby ready to assist tourists, and dozens of cars filled with families and nature enthusiasts fell in line as they approached the line of toll booths. After purchasing passes for both herself and Zadkiel, Evelyn took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She briefly looked to her side, at the archangel in her passenger seat who held their adorable baby girl in their arms, and drove through the checkpoint.

They’d arrived at Yellowstone.

———

1938

Adrenaline pumped through Evelyn’s veins, her chest rising and falling as she gasped from exertion. Behind her, lingering motes of hellfire scattered with the wind, dispelling with them the last vestiges of her triumph over Aza. Her wings stood tall against the stiff winter breeze, her tail twitched in excitement as if celebrating its return, and her horns proudly announced exactly what she was to everyone present.

Only one person was present to see them, however.

Several feet away, Vince had just managed to climb to his feet. His eyes darted between Evelyn’s demonic features, from her long, powerful tail to the chitinous exoskeleton that hid nothing but her most sensitive features, and finally to her face. Evelyn was only vaguely aware that her hair hadn’t yet extinguished itself, and gently floated in the breeze, alight with the embers of her soul and casting her eyes in sinister, Infernal hues.

“Y-you…” Vince stammered, “you did always say you run warm.”

Was Vince okay with this? Was he a religious person? Evelyn had never bothered asking in all the weeks they’d spent together, and now she had no idea what to expect.

“No one runs that warm,” Evelyn muttered back, her voice soft with hope.

She took a small step towards Vince, hoping to reach out and assure him she hadn’t changed, that this had always been her. He matched her movement with his own fearful step back. “What are you?” Vince asked, returning to his native language.

“It’s me, Vicente. It’s Evelyn,” she pleaded.

“Why are you here? What do you want with us?!” He took another step further back, quickly tapping his forehead, then his chest, then his shoulders, making the sign of the cross

Shrugging quickly, Evelyn dispelled her true form in hopes of calming Vince down. She replaced her demonic armor with an illusory replica of the jumper she’d been wearing ever since arriving in Chicago. Another heavy wind picked up, but its chill no longer bothered Evelyn. Seeing Vince shiver, however, she quickly warmed the air around them both in an attempt to calm him down.

“I arrived completely by accident, that same night you found me lost in the storm. I never chose to be here; I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I was just trying to survive like everyone else here.”

“I-I…” Vince hesitated. “How can I trust you? Trust a… a demon?”

Another flash of pain in Evelyn’s heart.

“Everything you saw this last month was real, Vince. I was banished from my home; my true nature sealed behind impossible magic. The entire time you’ve known me, I’ve effectively been just as human as you. Just as hungry, just as cold, just as desperate.”

Vince’s eyes darted back and forth as he searched his memories. “I remember when you first arrived, you were so angry. It came in flashes, then disappeared just as suddenly.”

“I was furious. I didn’t know what was happening, I’d never felt so weak before in my life. At first, I was just desperate to survive. I wanted you to like me so that you wouldn’t throw me out, and that’s why I matched my voice to yours. I assumed that, in a community like this, everyone would be scrambling to stab each other in the back, but… that never happened.”

Tears formed in Vince’s eyes as he looked up at Evelyn again. “I liked you, Evelyn. Were those feelings a lie? Did you plant them in my head?”

“Never,” Evelyn swore. “Vince, please. I know this is a lot, and I should have told you the truth earlier, but I was scared. Scared of what you might think of me, scared I might lose this community. The magic turning me human… it's been growing weaker for a while now. I’ve known for days that reclaiming my true self was within my reach, but I didn’t want to go back. I wanted to be here, with you, with Rosie. I changed back to save your life, to give you the chance you gave me all those weeks ago.”

The two looked deep into each other’s eyes, unspeaking as they read each other. “I want to believe you, Evelyn. You’ve saved my life twice now, and for that I’m grateful, but everything I believe tells me that demons are creatures of trickery and deception. How can I ever know for sure if the Evelyn I’ve been living with has truly been you?”

“Let me prove it. Let me show you, day after day, that I’m telling the truth,” Evelyn said. “With my true self restored, I’m strong enough to leave whenever I want. I could travel anywhere in the world, dine on the finest steaks mankind has to offer, sleep on silken sheets meant for kings, but I don’t want to. I want to stay in this ramshackle little Hooverville. I want to help this community that saved my life, I want to huddle together for warmth while terrible blizzards threaten to break down our house. I want to be with you, Vince.”

“This is…” Vince paused, his eyebrows furrowed with intense emotion as he looked for the right words. “Giving you a chance means betting everything I have. If you turn out to be lying, what happens to me? To Rosie?”

“I swear on everything I am, Vince, that I will never bring harm to you or your daughter.” Evelyn threw everything she was into her promise, and never before had she sworn anything as adamantly as this. “If I wanted to spread chaos, to rip this community apart, I could have done so weeks ago. Instead, I’ve been exhausting myself to help everyone around me, to use what limited resources we have available to us to make a difference.”

Vince looked back towards their home, towards the shantytown on the edge of the city that held society’s forgotten. When he turned back to Evelyn, he bore a look of determination. “I can’t promise anything. I can’t promise you feelings I haven’t yet worked through, nor can I promise a return to what we almost had.”

“I understand. I’m not asking for a miracle, I’m just asking for a chance,” Evelyn said hopefully.

“A chance,” Vince repeated softly. “I suppose, if you’re willing to meet me halfway, there’s no reason I can’t do the same. We’ll have to start over, in some respects. Right now, I can’t in good conscience allow Rosie to share a bed with… you know.”

As much as it pained Evelyn to do so, she nodded in agreement. “Of course. You just want to keep her safe, and that’s beautiful.”

“Okay. From the beginning then.” Vince slowly nodded, the tension in his body fading slightly. He took a step towards Evelyn, held out a hand, and forced a smile. “My name is Vicente Calderón, son of Luis and Sofia Calderón. I was born in Puerto Rico in 1909, and I have a six-year-old daughter named Rosalina.”

With a smile of her own, Evelyn politely reached out and shook Vince’s hand. “It’s lovely to meet you, Vicente. My name is Evelyn, I’m the firstborn daughter of Lilith, who was cast out of the Garden of Eden by the archangels of Heaven. I do not remember when I was born, and I’ve been alive for many thousands of years. My last name isn’t actually Lamour; when you found me, I panicked and picked a name from a movie poster across the street.”

“I thought that was a strange name for someone like you.” Vince laughed as they ended their handshake, then he turned towards the shantytown and began walking. “I’ve always been envious of movie stars. Fancy outfits, red carpets, movie premieres… what a life that must be.”

The tension broken somewhat, Evelyn and Vince returned home and settled into their new lives. Vince returned to his own shack, leaving Evelyn alone in the town’s field hospital. It took some convincing to explain to Rosie why she couldn’t sleep with Evelyn anymore, but thankfully she didn’t put up too much of a fuss. Besides, Vince still let her visit the clinic to work as its dedicated nurse.

Days melted into weeks as Evelyn did her best to return to her previous life. Her heart ached every time she saw Vince and Rosie, but keeping herself busy as the community’s doctor helped focus her attention.

The first hurdle came nearly a month after her conversation with Vince. With the chains binding her abilities having vanished entirely, her body began to demand sustenance. Mortal food, the cheap bread and soup she’d been surviving on for weeks, no longer nourished her in a way that mattered. At first the urge to feed was small, and she hoped that her indomitable spirit might help her overcome it, but the instincts burned into her Damned soul proved too powerful to resist in the end.

Doc’s soul, however, still sat heavy in her chest. She refused to sacrifice more innocent people to her desires, and the search began for a better way to keep herself fed.

The answer, fittingly enough, came to her as she attended yet another wound caused by a factory mishap. Another gentleman in the Hooverville had found work at the same factory which had nearly claimed Vince's life, and seeing his injury gave Evelyn an idea. She began scouting the factory, following its owner around and learning more about who he was. It quickly became obvious that he wasn’t a simple foreman trying to keep his factory afloat, he was a business mogul. A hateful man who owned dozens of businesses and continually kept his boot on the necks of his employees.

At first, Evelyn had only been interested in feeding. She was attempting to live a better life, one free of wanton cruelty, and that necessitated feeding as little as possible. During her first visit into the foreman’s dreams, she wanted desperately to consume his entire soul on the spot, but she forced herself to take it slowly. She stole only small pieces, enough to keep her sane, all while digging her claws deeper into the man’s psyche.

The process of enthralling him took much longer than usual given her weakened state, but as she slowly ate away at his already blackened soul, his resistance crumbled. He became consumed by the thought of pleasing her, and she exerted her newfound influence to push him into righting his many wrongs. His factories became safer places to work, his employees got raises, and he created a plethora of new jobs that conveniently went to those in the Chicago Hooverville first. His own wealth significantly lessened, but under Evelyn’s influence, he no longer cared about such things.

At the end of the second month, her community was stronger than ever. Spirits were high, food wasn’t nearly as scarce, and an influx of new medical supplies meant Evelyn had even more ability to care for everyone.

One night, shortly after she’d finished with her last patient of the day, Vince wandered into her clinic with a knowing smile on his face. He’d seen the worst side of the foreman through his own employment, and he’d finally pieced together Evelyn’s involvement in the dissolution of his wealth. The two of them sat together, gently talking about nothing in particular, when Evelyn caught his gaze lingering on her for a few seconds too long.

“Careful, Vince,” Evelyn said, playfully smirking. “You keep this up, I might think you’re warming up to me.”

Vince laughed, averting his gaze before Evelyn could catch him blushing. “I’m not that warm,” he muttered. “Not yet.”

In the month after that, the Hooverville was thrilled to see the end of winter. Snow more commonly gave way to rain, the temperatures crept higher and higher, and the community had even started thinning somewhat. Several neighbors had been working steadily for so long, they’d managed to find actual housing of their own. Those who remained continued to work for the collective good of everyone, and Evelyn herself led an initiative to acquire waterproof tarps for everyone’s temporary houses.

Her own house, being attached to a makeshift field hospital, had been exempt. It was simply too large, and by ignoring the clinic, she’d managed to secure enough money to give everyone else the safety they deserved.

Vince had other plans, however. He’d been working more consistently himself, as a direct result of Evelyn’s actions, and he’d put together a surprise of his own for Evelyn. After returning home from one of her “house calls,” she found the entire field clinic now sported a brand-new tarp, complete with fresh support pillars to keep it from sagging. That night, shortly after the celebration had ended, Vince took care to linger in the clinic after everyone else had left.

He’d come with a small list of questions. Things he desperately wanted to know but hadn’t felt comfortable asking in the prior weeks. They talked about Evelyn’s past, about her abilities, and she shared many uncomfortable parts of her history with him. She explained her goals for the future, how she’d found ways of keeping herself fed that didn’t involve hurting the innocent, and how much better she felt to be a part of something bigger. Much of that night’s conversation focused on Hell, with Evelyn explaining how cutthroat it was, how resources were so slim that everyone was forced to scheme and backstab just to avoid being killed.

They sat closer than was necessary during that conversation, and Vince listened to her story with genuine curiosity and empathy. When she finished, he admitted that part of him regretted how much work he’d found, as it meant less time to spend with Rosie, but also less time with Evelyn.

“Perhaps it’s a silly thought,” he muttered sheepishly. “I just catch myself thinking, at times, how nice it would be to warm up to you.”

“Let me guess,” Evelyn countered, “you’re not that warm yet?”

“Certainly closer,” Vince said after a small pause. He smiled, then stood to walk away, casting one last look back at Evelyn.

They continued to sleep in separate houses, but Vince left the clinic that night with a renewed sense of optimism. Evelyn swore she saw more of him around the community, and he more regularly asked her to help babysit Rosie while he busied himself with work.

In the month after that, Evelyn began paying more and more attention to a corrupt prison warden. At first, she’d simply been trying to find another source of food. The business mogul she’d previously fed on had run dry, and to ensure he didn’t undo all the progress she’d suggested from him, she turned him over to the authorities and had him confess to decades of criminal behavior. Behind bars, and with his company now in better hands, she hoped he would no longer be able to harm anyone.

By slowly enthralling this prison warden, however, she’d accidentally uncovered a scheme to bribe local police officers into targeting minority groups in the city. She discovered dozens of bright young men and women being imprisoned for fraudulent charges, and after gaining control over the warden, she managed to reverse their sentences and return them to their communities.

The experience left a sour taste in her mouth, however, one that was only worsened by the blacked soul of the warden. She’d begun to settle into a comfortable feeding routine but knew that targeting too many people at once might risk exposing her to any number of various supernatural organizations that mankind had secretly assembled over the years. In her spare time, when not attending to patients or spending time with Vince, she found herself poring over legal texts, curious to learn more about this country’s complex system of law.

One night, again shortly after closing her clinic, Vince paid her a visit. At first it seemed like an ordinary visit, nothing but a chance to talk about their respective days, but Vince soon revealed he had other plans.

He wanted to tell Rosie the truth about Evelyn.

“I fear you may have won me over with your persistence, Miss Lamour,” Vince admitted. “But no one is a better judge of character than my Rosie. If we’re to make this work, I refuse to keep her out of the loop.”

Evelyn was so shocked by the idea, yet also so excited by the thought of starting something with Vince, that she caught herself blushing intensely. “V-Vince, I… don’t know what to say.”

He stepped closer, gently tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, before laughing at how bright her face had turned. “Goodness, Miss Lamour, look at you. You’re so red you’re practically on fire!” he said playfully.

“Oh, please,” she countered, staring up into his eyes. “I’m not that warm.”

With the decision made, the two of them set time aside the following night. Rosie helped Evelyn all day in the clinic, as usual, and the three of them ate dinner together after Vince returned from work. Afterwards, they sat Rosie down and started talking.

“Now, Rosie,” Vince started, “do you know how Auntie Ev is always really warm?”

“Yeah! She’s always so comfy when she picks me up!” Rosie said happily.

“Well, there’s a reason for that,” Evelyn said carefully. “I’d love to tell you, but it’s a pretty big secret. Can you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Cross my heart, Auntie Ev!” the little girl said, her cheek still covered with bits of dinner. Evelyn grabbed her sleeve and wiped Rosie’s face clean before taking a few steps back, to the opposite side of her house.

With a deep breath, and an even deeper sense of dread over what Rosie’s reaction might be, Evelyn called forth her true form. Her tail appeared, as did her horns and wings, though she kept the latter closed due to the cramped space. “You see, Rosie, I’m… not quite human,” Evelyn said. She forced a smile, hoping not to scare Rosie any more than she already expected.

Rosie’s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped in surprise as she looked at Evelyn’s demonic limbs. “Wow! So, you, um, you’re like, some kind of monster?” she asked, looking first to Evelyn, then back to her father.

“She’s a good monster!” Vince said, kneeling next to Rosie and giving her a hug. “Just like how people are sometimes nice and sometimes mean.”

“Oh! Yeah!” Rosie said excitedly. “That’s so cool! Can I touch?”

Brimming with adoration, Evelyn nodded slowly and invited Rosie closer. She was small enough that Evelyn was able to lift her off the ground entirely with her tail, and Rosie giggled the entire time as she poked and prodded Evelyn’s tail, wings, and horns. The three of them spent hours explaining Evelyn’s situation, as best they could, and Rosie seemed enraptured the entire time. Evelyn felt as if she’d walked straight out of a fairy tale, rather than the depths of Hell, just by watching how excited Rosie got.

The excitement proved too much for little Rosie, and eventually she tired herself out. She fell asleep on Evelyn’s bed, cuddling her plush bunny close to her chest, leaving Vince and Evelyn alone once more. After leaving the house, hidden from both the eyes of Rosie and from the rest of their neighbors, they finally kissed.

It was a short kiss, as both Evelyn and Vince found themselves captured by a fit of joyous laughter as they embraced each other.

“I’d forgotten how warm you are,” Vince whispered, holding her tight.

“I’m not that warm,” she said softly.

“It’s not just you, it’s your heart. Your soul. You’re a beautiful person, Miss Lamour, through and through. I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” Vince said, gently stroking her cheek before kissing her again.

A tear fell down Evelyn’s cheek, and she pulled Vince close to express just how lucky she was to have found him. Here, in this community, in his arms, she felt truly alive for the first time in her life.

From then on, the three of them lived together once more. Evelyn and Vince stopped hiding their attraction from the rest of their neighbors, and had to suffer through dozens of awkward congratulations. Many of their friends couldn’t help but comment that “they’d seen this coming for months.”

It only took a few weeks for Rosie to start calling Evelyn “Mommy,” which she did without prompting, and this time Evelyn earnestly believed that she deserved the title. Vince was so enthusiastic about their new arrangement that he even started hinting that he was interested in expanding their family, but each time he brought up the subject, Evelyn carefully dodged the question.

They lived together, a happy family, for many months. Through her connections at the prison, Evelyn found a sustainable way to keep herself fed, and Vince’s hard work finally got him recognized now that ownership of the factory had passed to a better person. He started looking at houses, theorizing that he might be able to save up enough money by the end of the year, and Rosie seemed ecstatic at the thought of having a room all to herself. Things were looking bright, brighter than Evelyn had ever imagined, and she went to sleep every night with gratitude in her heart.

The march of time, however, could not be slowed, and soon it was September 1st, 1939.

Evelyn woke to news that Germany had invaded Poland, and she saw the writing on the wall. In all her years of personally stoking the worst of humanity, she knew that the coming war was no small scuffle, no paltry dispute over borders. This was something new. Evelyn felt in her gut that this war would be catastrophic, people would die at rates previously thought unimaginable, and a terrible thought appeared in her mind.

With so many dying, the balance of power in Hell risked collapsing should anyone amass enough power. Her absence had likely already shifted the political landscape, and she knew deep in her heart that her sisters would have terrible plans for all the fresh souls destined for Hell.

Evelyn tried to fight it. She tried to convince herself that her involvement wasn’t necessary, that this conflict would come and go like all the others, but Vince knew that her conscience was weighing on her. He reminded her of everything they’d learned together and how proud he was of her for stepping away from literal Hell in an attempt to be a better person. While he never attempted to sway her opinion, listening to him speak confirmed what she’d already known: if she ignored this, she would never forgive herself. She risked the deaths of thousands, if not millions more people, by allowing the wrong people to accumulate power in Hell.

With her decision made, she allowed herself one final goodbye. A night of celebration in which she expressed just how deep her affection ran for both Vince and Rosie. In every scrap of food, in every word spoken, and in every song, she wove proof of her love. She made sure that, no matter what happened, neither of them would ever forget how deeply she cared about them, and how deeply she always would.

When the sun rose the following morning, Evelyn Lamour returned to Hell, swearing to fight for a better future.