"You tried."
"Them knowing about me may have forced their hand."
"You'll save me." Her eyes glistened, and his heart broke a little more.
"I'll try."
"What do I do?" Her voice cracked, and she pressed against him.
"Stay strong. Stay here. Hide from the Andersons. Don't let the demon shove you out."
"Okay. Will you stay with me for a while?"
"A little while. Ed, Allan, and Doc will be here as much as they can. I need to figure out how to reverse the magic. It will be quite complicated."
"You'll figure it out."
Her faith in him twisted like a knife in his back. He was very good at battle. This side of magic was not something he had spent a lot of time with. Which might be why Roza succeeded in trapping him in an interdimensional prison in the first place. She certainly hadn't learned that magic from him.
"I will," he assured her, wishing he felt as confident as he tried to sound.
He held Sofia for a time, trying to lend her strength and anchor her more closely, but finally, he had to let go. "I will return as soon as I can. I'll send the others back sooner."
She gave him a sad smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. She kissed him gently on the lips and stepped back.
It startled him to be back solidly in his own mind, and he found himself alone in the living room.
After a moment of panic, the rest of his senses caught up to his eyes, and he heard them in the kitchen and smelled cooking. Was it that late? A quick glance at the window showed that he had stayed with Sofia for quite a long time.
The others looked up when he entered the kitchen. Sofia's now gold colored eyes gave him an interested look, before the demon realized that was counter to her current image, and she turned back to the table. She sat stiffly, giving the food a disgusted look.
He recalled having read that on their own plane, demons tended to feast upon energy. She would have to adapt. At least for now.
Doc hadn't sat at the table, and Nikolai studied the vampire. He was tense, angry, and probably hungry. He leaned against the cabinets and sipped at some tea, glaring in the demon's general direction but not quite looking at her.
Ed and Allan ate and shot worried looks at the demon, and then at Doc, and then at each other.
He sat at the table and helped himself to the food.
"We have to go back tomorrow. It's Friday. We'll have the weekend to work on stuff," Doc said, interrupting the strained silence.
"You want us to go to school. Seriously?" Ed turned an incredulous stare on Doc.
"Yes. We're not going to solve this tomorrow. Nikolai can shadow our guest here, and we can try to pretend like everything is normal."
Nikolai laughed, he couldn't help it. "You want the mage from fourteen fifty, who can barely navigate the present, to make sure our demon friend doesn't do anything weird?"
Doc's lips twitched, but he didn't quite smile. "I guess."
"I suppose going to this college is part of my agreement to help you rescue Sofia?"
"Yes," Doc replied.
"Very well. This vessel is exhausted. Wake me in the morning." She got up and left the room.
Doc followed long enough to see where she went before returning. "Guess she remembers enough to know she usually sleeps in my room." His shoulders sagged.
"I'll crash with Ed," Allan offered sadly.
Doc nodded. "Go run or something. You should get some exercise in. Tomorrow will be a long day."
The werewolves left, and Nikolai helped Doc clean up. He tried to think of anything he could remember that might be helpful, but he came to the conclusion that the only truly helpful thing he could do was sneak around at the Andersons and see if he could find the answers there.
Doc stopped him, hands on his shoulders, once they were done cleaning the kitchen.
"We can do this, right?"
"Yes. If I can find the right information."
"I wish I couldn't tell that you aren't nearly as confident as you sound," Doc sighed.
He half smiled, stepped forward, and rested his head on Doc's shoulder. The vampire wrapped his arms around him and held him tight. "Me as well."
∞ ∞ ∞
The wolves returned a couple of hours later. Doc and Nikolai were on the couch. Doc grading papers, while he surfed the internet on the tablet, using Doc's thigh as a pillow. He was currently looking for any inspiration in old myths or legends that might be helpful. The internet was a pretty great source of information, but it was pretty general and so far, he wasn't having a lot of luck.
"There is plenty on exorcisms." He snorted as the wolves came in. "But that is largely a religious thing. Also, we are not trying to banish the demon to hell. We are simply trying to free her so she can return home. Does this hell even exist? Do they really think demons are from hell? They're not servants of the devil this article references. They're simply beings from another plane." He grumbled in frustration and put the tablet on his chest. He glanced at the werewolves. Allan came over and sat on the floor, leaning against Doc's legs. Doc reached down and touched his shoulder absently.
Ed stared, eyes narrowed.
"What?" Nikolai finally asked.
That drew Doc's attention away from his grading, and he looked up, tilting his head when he saw Ed studying them.
"So, what, are you two a thing now, too?"
"A thing?" Nikolai wracked his brain for an explanation. While he had all of Sofia's language skills, sometimes the idioms still didn't quite make sense to him.
Doc sighed. "Ed…"
"I'm going to bed." He spun away down the hallway to his room and slammed his door.
"I don't think I can deal with him tonight," Doc groaned.
"You don't need to," Allan replied. "He's just tired and freaked out. It's not like none of us ever cuddle on the couch. I'll tell him
