The Library

**Aileen POV**

So many colors. Little dots kept floating in front of my vision. They were so pretty...No, don't turn dark again. I want to touch the pretty dots. Some of them are even sparkly! A beeping sound? What is that? It was getting louder. I tried to turn my head to see what was causing that noise, but I couldn't see anything except color. Maybe I could smell it? I sniffed around, using my other senses while my sight was down. Crisp air atop a mountain? It was so refreshing and comforting. Let me touch it. It smells so soothing.
My senses faded again. Barely audible, I thought I heard a voice call out my name. "Aileen?" Oh that's right, my name is Aileen. Am I going to drift back to dream land again? I guessed so. That wonderful scent calmed me back to sleep. I nuzzled closer to where I had smelled the mountain air. I let myself fall back into obvion, surrounded by the welcoming air.
.
.
.
When I started coming to my senses again, that mountain air scent was still there. My mind was still in a fog, but the voices were completely gone. I blinked away the remaining colors twinkling. At first, everything in front of me was very blurry. I could barely make out a human-like figure in front of me. That must have been the intoxicating scent. The beeping was still there, but from the opposite side as the person.
Very slowly, my sight returned to me. I looked down to see I was in some kind of long sleeved dress. It was made out of warm material. Right, I had chills when I had fallen asleep. Thankfully, I no longer felt sick. The top of the dress had a v-neck dip and little lines criss crossing across my cleavage. The color was a gorgeous deep blue. I wiggled my legs under the blanket to try and determine length. To my happiness, it appeared to go down at least to my knees. The demon lord wasn't going to have me walk around looking like a stripper.
"Aileen? Are you okay?" a male said in a soft soothing voice.
Had I died and gone to heaven? It would explain the euphoria like feeling the first time I almost woke up.
Slightly chubby cheeks, concerned piercing blue eyes, and buzzed blonde hair. Devon! My heart started racing and I tried to jump away from him. My already damaged head hit the ground with a loud thud. Great, I looked like a klutz in the first two minutes of seeing him. Devon raced over to try and help me up. I noticed when he lifted me that the refreshing mountain air scent was coming from him. Funny how I never realized he had such a unique smell before. Maybe I just had brain damage.
Stupidly I asked, "did you change your cologne or something?"
"No? Are you alright?"
I bolted up, almost falling over again. Devon had to catch me and for fuck's sake, I blushed. A good thing he probably thought I had brain trauma. He wouldn't think much of my reactions. Hell, I wasn't even sure what to make of them. It was easy just to blame Sam, for putting the idea in my head. Devon's lips did look really kissable.*Stop that right there! You are not a damn slut!*
*I killed my true love.* Wait, where did that come from? Shiuku was going to haunt me now too! Speaking of which...
"Where is Shiuku? Did he go off on another mission?"
Wind swirled around Devon's head. His piercing eyes damn near started glowing with anger. I had no idea why. Part of me figured he was just angry Shiuku had left me again, like on our first night.
"Yeah, he's going to attack another DSS stronghold. Not the headquarters, but he's getting closer to invading there as well." Devon explained.
He's been what?! "You're not serious!" Shiuku has been killing members of the DSS. Lena and the others still considered me a member; an investigator! Somehow the demon I'm sleeping with commiting mass murder against my organization slipped past me. Shiuku was right, being here I was starting to get weak.
"I have a letter from your Father. I will be acting as an in-between for you two. Write whatever you feel. I will not read any of it...even if you decide to reveal classified information." Devon said. "I'll hang onto it until you're ready. You don't exactly have pockets to hide the paper."
He really was getting brave!
"Is there somewhere I could get information without Shiuku freaking out and killing me? Somewhere he could use that stalker ability and not get suspicious?" It was time to do what the DSS paid me for...Was I still getting paid? I inwardly chastised myself, it's not like it really mattered.
"Oh, how about the library? Shiuku has a massive one. He spends time there reading or writing. There might be something useful." he asked, pleased with himself. This wasn't the Devon from before was it? He was more confident and not so weighed down. "You could convince Shiuku you are just trying to understand demons better. Think you can play the part?"
I nodded. "Ummm... I hate to be a pain, but can you get me a walking stick or crutch? I'm having issues keeping balance. I don't think I'm fully recovered from that demon pounding on my head, but I want to move forward." My heart soared with the idea of leaning on Devon. There was no way I could. Touching him in any way would be bad for the crush Sam's joke gave me.
Devon took a pair of crutches from the side of the bed. "Already ahead of you. Shiuku told me that you'd suffered several blows to the head. I had the nurse bring a pair over for you."
Caring and smart as ever!
With my crutches under my armpits, we headed towards the library. Excitement was crystal clear for all the demons and human maids to read on my face. As a nosy person myself, I loved nothing more than finding out someone's secrets. With any luck I would uncover something valuable for the DSS. Maybe Shiuku would see the DSS becoming a bigger threat and stop his plans. Or I could find a compromise! Right now all I had was the DSS' perspective. This could be the bridge that is needed!
I let my bruised brain work through all sorts of possibilities until Devon gave a grand flourish, showing off a glass door leading to the biggest library I had ever seen. A demon alive for countless centuries could collect some books. This library was very well kept too! A human probably spent their whole shift dusting and organizing. Maybe I really did die and go through heaven's gates!

**Devon's POV**
Aileen was sitting down with a pile of books in front of her. She had scanned a few ailes and loaded up as much as she could carry with her crutches. Now she was nose deep learning what she could from her selection.
I couldn't stop a foolish smile from spreading. Before we came in here, she had asked if I used a different cologne. So Shiuku had lied about that as well. How dumb was I? He ordered me to always keep some kind of wind around myself, to mask my scent around Aileen. Shiuku had told me that other demons may get the wrong idea if she got some of my scent on her; with how much time I spent guarding/watching her. It never occured to me that Sekai and Jacob did not have to. Stupid; absolutely stupid.
I decided to do a little experiment. Shiuku wasn't around, so he had no way of knowing that I wasn't masking my smell. And she reacted. She liked it too, but tried to hide it. She really was cute with a flushed face. My true love. And that dress! It really hugged her body in all the right places, showing off her curves. So damn gorgeous.
I palmed my forehead. Right now was about helping her and the DSS. Fantasizing about a girl who has no idea of my feelings was not very productive. There was a journal I knew Shiuku hid in here. One he wrote and edited for every attempt at Shion. All of the entries were at least a century old, written and preserved over the years; close enough to read if the mood were to strike him, far enough no one would accidentally stumble upon it cleaning. I had no idea what all was in there, but she would know about his past tries.
Well, as long as Sekai hadn't lied to me over the phone. She claimed that Shiuku had her solely take care of that area and journal exactly to his liking. I didn't trust her, or like her. There was too much abuse to just magically disappear overnight. Still, Shiuku had misled me my whole life. I could have been wrong about Sekai. Kaibec may have been right that she didn't have a choice. Hell, she may not even want to be with her boyfriend. They never were very romantic. She was always happy to be away from him. I guess if Aileen wants, I'll try to understand her in the future. Unless she really did enjoy humiliating me, but Aileen wouldn't want to be her friend then. I would lose nothing more and possibly could relieve some past trauma.
I climbed a ladder to the top shelf at the very back of the library about 22 feet high. Most of the books over here were a bit more tattered. They were mostly on disproved theories in science. Old books that would have no relevance today. So, no one would think to move them to the side. Just as Sekai said, there was a wiggly fake back of the bookshelf no more than the size of a head. I moved the piece of wood out and there it stood without a speck of dust. A black journal with the name Shion engraved on the front. Maybe Sekai wasn't such a bitch after all!
I flipped through just quick enough to find the three names that would prove this is what I was looking for. Brintini was up first. A few more pages and yup there she was Rachel. I turned towards the end of the book and spotted Amy's name. No one knew what really happened to those three, but this journal would tell the secret tale.
Thrilled, I jumped down from the latter, letting my wind land me safely. I ran over to Aileen and placed the journal in front of the book she was reading. Her nose was all crinkled as she looked up at me irritated. *Adorable*
"Use the book you're currently reading to hide this in case Shiuku starts watching you. I think you'll want to read the contents of this journal more."
Aileen inspected the book and skimmed the headings of certain pages. I saw her dog-tag three particular spots.
"I've heard those names before." She was deep in thought trying to tug at the memory. Her cute face lit up when she figured it out. "Lena! In her letter she had mentioned those three. Rachel, Amy, and Brintini!"
Aileen's hands became unsteady. My love was nervous about whatever Shiuku had written and for good reason. If only I could provide her comfort and pull her into my arms safe from the cruel world around us.