The boys walked back out of the woods. Seunghyun felt a little better about their talk, but he knew that it wouldn’t be long before they would swing back into a solemn mood as they thought about their predicament. They found Lilith by the horses and approached her.

Jiyong spoke up first, “So what’s the next step?” he looked at Lilith, but she shrugged unsure as to what to do.

“I have something,” Seunghyun cautiously brought up his idea, “Why don’t we go to a party?”

“I love parties Seunghyun, but what does that have to do with anything,” Lilith was intrigued, she would agree with Seunghyun if it meant going to a party anyhow.

“Phenex said that the souls are being corrupted in large groups. There’s a huge party that happens around this time of year that many people go to. I was actually wondering if you would know about it Lilith?”

Lilith tapped her chin and pondered over it, “There is one that I know of. A masquerade, there are going to be a lot of people,” she clapped her hands together in excitement, “Oh we must go!”

Jiyong rested his hands on Lilith’s shoulders to calm her, “Are you sure this a good idea? You know I hate parties.”

Seunghyun nodded his head, “It’s the only thing we have going for us right now. Besides, if it’s a flop. At least we can dance.”

“I don’t like dancing either,” Jiyong sighed, “But I guess if it’s our only choice then we should go.”

Lilith was excited, yet her smile faltered when she looked at Seunghyun and Jiyong, “There is one thing though.”

“What,” Jiyong asked exasperatedly.

“The two of you can’t show up looking like that,” she motioned to the two of them in disgust, “You both look like peasants.”

Seunghyun frowned, “I don’t think I look that bad,” he looked at his attire, yes it looked like he was just a farmer boy, but he didn’t think it was that bad.

“Oh honey, a pretty face isn’t going to save you. We’ll go to my tailor and have something custom made,” she looked at the horses then back at the two of them, “I just don’t know how we’ll get there quick enough with the whole no touching thing.”

Seunghyun paled, he had forgotten that he couldn’t ride a horse and he actually needed to touch Jiyong to keep from falling off, “We can walk?” he offered the suggestion, but from the look on Lilith’s face walking was not an option.

“I don’t walk,” she said in finality.

Jiyong rolled his eyes, “We’ll just do it the hard way then.”

“What’s the hard way?” Seunghyun asked.

Lilith thought about it, “Are you sure he can even come with us if we do it that way? I mean he is…” she motioned toward Seunghyun, “Tainted.”

“You mean blessed,” Jiyong corrected, “We can try, if it doesn’t work we’ll just have to teach him to ride a horse.”

“Hey guys, what’s the hard way?” Seunghyun asked again while they were still talking about him like he wasn’t there.

Jiyong smiled toward Seunghyun, “Well it isn’t exactly a hard way, it’s just a pain in the to do. First, we have to find a church-

“Or crossroad,” Lilith chimed in.

“Or crossroad, and then we have to activate the powers that run through this earth,” Jiyong bent down and pressed his hand on the forest floor, “The earth is a giant ball of energy that connects through different points. We’ll have to find a certain place that can help us connect to these places. A church is easier to find, but Lilith and I will only be able to go in with your help, and once we’re in I’m afraid to say that the church will no longer be holy without many blessings.”

“How do I help with this?”

“You have an angel's light in you, you can simply invite us in. when you do we won’t have long to activate it, which may not work. Lilith built her home on Leyline, she made it castle like so the powers of the earth will accept her place as a destination. Isn’t that right Lilith?”

“Don’t say it so loud, I don’t want random people visiting. It’s about enough you two showed up.”

Jiyong rolled his eyes, “Anyway, where there are demons, there are churches. Demons like to corrupt the sanctified so they stay near. I believe there should be one heading north from here, a grand church, beautiful even. I would hate to defile it, but it has to be done.”

Lilith shrug, “They can build another one or purify it, I don’t care.”

“How sensitive of you Lilith.”

“I guess we should get going then?”

Lilith huffed in annoyance, upset that she had to walk. She wondered what the point of a demon was if she had to actually use her feet instead of just whisk herself out of here, but unfortunately, she would have to leave her human body to do that, and she quite liked her look. She gave Jiyong a curious look, “I never asked you this, but how did you come to have this form?”

Jiyong was confused for a second before he understood what Lilith was talking about, “You mean this body?”

She nodded her head, “I came across this woman centuries ago, she was beautiful and popular. So, I decided to take it.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Seunghyun didn’t understand what Lilith was talking about, “You mean you can just take someone’s body?”

Jiyong nodded his head, “For most demons, they end up escaping hell to reside in the human world. To do so they need a physical form and inhabit a human body to stay bound to the earth.”

“So,” Seunghyun eyed Jiyong, “This isn’t what you originally look like?” he took in Jiyong’s skinny frame and feminine features, he couldn’t imagine him looking like anything else.

“This is my original body,” Jiyong rubbed the back of his neck, “I wasn’t in hell long before I came back to the human world. Though when I got back I was immediately summoned to the other side of the world for a hundred years before I could come back.”

“Why?”

“The devil didn’t want me to have any hope of ever seeing Youngbae again.”

Jiyong tried smiling, but his were downcast as he thought about it, “Most demons are confined in hell for so long that their bodies deteriorate before they can get back to them. So, when they escape they find the nearest human they can inhabit. You’ve heard of demon possessions, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I just didn’t know that was what it was.”

Lilith hummed, “Most humans don’t survive a possession. They either die during or later, their spirit either being destroyed or if they’re lucky, they move onto the afterlife.”

Seunghyun, it sounded like a horrible existence to live. To live shortly in your body as a demon inhabited you, he wondered how long it could take for someone to turn crazy before they passed on, “That sounds horrible.”

“It is, for the human,” Lilith said without much thought, “The more powerful the demon, the quicker the death though.”

Seunghyun didn’t that was any solace for such a cruel existence, but he wondered argue about it because he knew it would be futile.

“We’re getting close,” Jiyong broke the silence, “Seunghyun, walk in front of us, I think I see someone in the church. If they’re a holy man I’m going to need for you to vouch for us. They usually can sense the darkness from us.”

Seunghyun started walking in front of them and marveled at how stunning the church look. He had never gone himself, but it wasn’t like he would deny it’s beauty. He walked up the steps of the church and before he could open the door a man opened it quickly with a cross in his hands.

“Demons!” he yelled as he looked at the three of them.

Seunghyun being the closest got splashed with water, which he thought to be holy water, “Hey! Why’d you do that?”

The man was startled at the lack of response from Seunghyun. He was sure he had been correct when he sensed evil surrounding the church, but then again it could be the other two corrupting the young soul in front of him. He noted Lilith’s attire and concluded that she wasn’t all that holy, “What are you doing associating yourself with these scum?”

Seunghyun certainly didn’t think Jiyong was scum, Lilith, on the other hand, scared him. Though he supposed this holy man wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a good demon and a bad demon, “They aren’t scum, we just need to enter the church for a bit and we’ll be out your hair.”

Jiyong sighed, Seunghyun at negotiating, “It’s important, let us through.”

“Shut up, demon!”

Jiyong smirked, the man reminded him of Seunghyun when they had first met.

“Wait, hold on,” Seunghyun held up his hands, “How can I convince you that this for a good cause?”

“Come on old man, I need to get an outfit fitted!”

Seunghyun glared at Lilith, she wasn’t helping, “Please don’t listen to her, if I said this was a life or death situation, would you believe me?”

“As in you’re going to kill me?”

“No, no!” Seunghyun looked at Jiyong, “Please help.”

Jiyong sighed and walked as close to the church as he could, “Father, look into his eyes, and you’ll see that we mean no harm. We’re only passing through, but I do warn you, you must bless this church from evil spirits when we do pass through.”

He didn’t look into Seunghyun’s eyes. Instead, he looked at Jiyong for the truth, and what he saw made him shudder. There was pure sadness deep within Jiyong’s eyes that made the Father clutch the cross that he had nestled near his chest. Yet when Jiyong looked at Seunghyun the sadness in his eyes seemed to lift just a little.

The father furrowed his eyes, noticing the sliver of light in Jiyong, “Fine, you’re invited in.”

Jiyong didn’t understand why he changed his mind, but he wouldn’t argue, “Thank you,” he gave Seunghyun a small smile, “You’re such a people person Seunghyun.”

“At least I tried,” Seunghyun entered the church along with the other two and sat in one of the pews as Lilith and Jiyong got to work, “What do those symbols mean?”

Jiyong answered as he drew a circle on the ground, “They’re to draw energy, the circle we always draw can never be broken when working with power. It’s like a circuit if it’s broken it can’t work. This symbol I’m drawing here is to represent eternity, I can’t lift my finger as I draw it, or else the spell will be useless.”

Seunghyun watched intently, he wondered how long it took for Jiyong to memorize all these things, “What do I do?”

“You just let us do the work,” Jiyong wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, “When we’re done you’ll stand in the middle so you aren’t left behind. Lilith and I will be trying to channel energy from the earth to grant us permission to use the ley lines.”

“Oh,” he tilted his head, Seunghyun was always intrigued when Jiyong did this.

Jiyong motioned for Seunghyun to step in the middle of the circle and looked at Lilith to see if she was ready. He also looked over his shoulder at the holy man that stood to watch them from a distance and said a silent thank you.

Seunghyun clutched his stomach and almost hurled when they arrived at Lilith’s home. It felt like his stomach was being turned and he was extremely dizzy from the ride, he didn’t want to have to do that ever again, “I think I’m going to be sick,” Seunghyun covered his mouth and tried to keep from throwing up.

“You’re being over dramatic, it’s just a feeling that will pass,” Lilith ignored Seunghyun and walked up the steps of her home and opened her doors, “Now where are my lovely daughters?”

Jiyong gave Seunghyun a sympathetic look, “It’s because you’re still attached to your human body that it feels like that. If you were fully human you would have already thrown up by now,” Jiyong motioned for Seunghyun to follow Lilith and Seunghyun reluctantly followed, still feeling queasy from the ride.

Lilith hugged her daughters one by one and told them to fetch her seamstress, “Oh it’s going to be fun darlings. I can’t wait to tell you about the party when I come back.”

Her daughter, Lili beamed at her mother, “Will there be handsome men.”

“Plenty.”

Jiyong cleared his throat, “I don’t know if we have time for this.”

Lilith waved her hand and dismissed Jiyong’s statement, “Please, my seamstress will have our outfits done in no time. Now if you must excuse me, I must rsvp,” before she walked away she turned to the boys, “Oh and please make yourselves at home. I’ll fetch you when my seamstress is done.”

Seunghyun furrowed his eyebrows, “But she hasn’t even taken our measurements.”

“Honey, she doesn’t need to,” and with that, she walked off.

Jiyong shrugged and went to sit on one of the many plush couches in the room and patted the seat next to him so Seunghyun would sit next to him, “It seems we’ll have some time on our hands.”

Seunghyun sat next to Jiyong and played with the hem of his shirt, “I guess so,” it was weird being next to Jiyong when there wasn’t any sense of urgency between them. Suddenly, Seunghyun had nothing to talk about.

“Are you nervous?” Jiyong asked curiously.

“No, of course not,” Seunghyun was indeed nervous. He felt like he was a school boy meeting a crush for the first time, but he had spent so much time with Jiyong. he couldn’t understand why he felt this way. He looked at Jiyong from under his lashes and continued to play with the hem of his shirt because he didn’t know what else to do with his hands. Seunghyun wondered if Jiyong knew how much he made him feel so insecure.

“I think you’re lying,” Jiyong smiled, “Why do I make you nervous?”

The energy that radiated off Jiyong made Seunghyun nervous, but not because he was afraid of him. It was because he had never tried to court someone that just seemed so superior to him. He remembered girls swooning over him from just smiling at them, but Jiyong made him feel like he couldn’t do that, “You embody perfection.”

Jiyong laughed at that and gave Seunghyun an endearing look, “I am far from perfect.”

“I think you are.”

Jiyong’s eyes softened from Seunghyun’s remark and he sighed heavily, “I could kiss you.”

“Well, it’s the thought that counts.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re even real,” Jiyong pondered if this was how it was supposed to be. If he had lived this long just for Seunghyun.

Seunghyun scooted closer to Jiyong, just enough so he could feel the heat radiating from him and leaned back on the couch, “I’m as real as ever,” he looked at Jiyong from the corner of his eye and smiled softly, “It’s I who should be wondering if this is real. Everything that has happened between you and I has been a wonder before my eyes. Thinking about it, I don’t know if I can go back to being normal.”

“You were never normal Seunghyun. It’s just taken a long time for that something special to come to light.”

“Ah!” Lilith yelled as she walked toward them, “Can you both stop canoodling on my couch? You have to try on your dress clothes.”

“Already?” Seunghyun asked.

“Of course,” she guided them down a hall and into a room that seemed entirely dedicated to clothes and she swung her hand in front of some magnificent garments that seemed to stand out in the entire room, “I went with red and gold for Seunghyun, and blue silver for you Jiyong.”

Jiyong walked over to the garments and ran his hand along the fabric. The outfits looked fit for kings. The silver on Jiyong’s jacket was embroidered along the hem and collar, and the shirt was a lighter blue with even more silver embroidered and a small jabot collar to accent. Seunghyun’s was identical except the jabot collar was replaced with a cold tie.

He stifled a giggle at Lilith’s out, noting that she wouldn’t be pleased if he laughed at it. It wasn’t an ugly dress, he just knew it would be so grandiose. The train was long, and the crinoline was large, and he guessed the corset would literally take your breath away. Jiyong held up his mask, it was dainty and covered his eyes with gorgeous silver swirls going through the mask. Seunghyun’s, on the other hand, seemed to cover half his face and stopped just above the other eye.

“Hurry up and try them on,” Lilith wanted to hurry them up because she would need some help with her dress and didn’t know where nay of her daughters had gone off to.

She stood in the room for a few seconds before she got the hint, “Oh fine I guess I’ll leave.”

Seunghyun’s cheeks became red when it was just he and Jiyong in the room, “I can turn around and wait for you to get dressed.”

Jiyong let a small smirk settle on his lips and he plucked the suit off the mannequin, “Why? I’m not the one embarrassed.”

He stuttered, trying to come up with some excuse about not wanting to violate Jiyong’s privacy, but in truth, he was nervous about Jiyong seeing him any more than shirtless, “You caught me.”

“We’ll both turn our backs then, okay?”

Seunghyun blew out a relieved breath and nodded his head.

Jiyong had to admit, he snuck a peak.

Seunghyun didn’t want to be a liar, he had looked as well.

When they were both done, they counted to three and turned to face each other. Jiyong in a breath, Seunghyun looked enchanting in his outfit, and the mask made him look even more mysterious.

“Are you done?” Lilith barged in without an answer from them and stopped in her tracks when she noticed the two, “Oh you boys clean up well. You’ll be the talk of the party, second to me though,” she went to grab her dress and sighed, “Beauty hurts.”

“Don’t you want us to leave?” Seunghyun squealed and covered his eyes when Lilith started undressing then and there. He swore that woman had no tact.

“Please, it’s not like you haven’t seen a woman’s body before,” she squeezed into all of the pieces of the dress and sighed when she realized she wouldn’t be able to bend to do anything all night, “Jiyong could you be a dear and lace up my corset.

Jiyong had turned his back on her while she was dressing and peeked to make sure she was truly decent before he walked over to her, “How tight do you want it?”

“Extremely.”

He tugged at the strings and cringed when Lilith demanded he string her up tighter and told him that she wasn’t as dainty as he thought. Jiyong had pulled so tightly that he had to use his foot for leverage so she could be satisfied with the tightness. When he finally tightened them to her liking he wiped his brow, she was an extremely commanding woman.

Lilith turned to the mirror and seemed pleased with her look before picking up her mask as well that was purely gold with a stick for her to hold, “I think we’re ready for tonight boys.”