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Summary: Cassiopeia finds herself face to face with The Demon.

Cassiopeia Winston hadn’t seen or heard from the demon in months. That was one thing she was grateful for. However, she was most disappointed she could only see Selene once a month. More often than not, Selene was a little figurine on her bedside table. A black cat with no eyes, but on the full moon she spent the day as a living breathing cat and in the night she was a beautiful silver-haired woman. Cassie longed for the day that whatever magic kept Selene trapped would be undone and she could spend every waking minute with the witch. 

After Selene rid her of the demon, she was able to finish the painting she was struggling with. The piece of the silverhaired woman hung on her wall now. When she looked at it, she felt warmth deep in her chest. When her friends came over they commented on the fact the portrait had no eyes. The one part she had fought with herself back and forth for months was what to put for her eyes. But after meeting Selene, Cassie knew the portrait didn’t need eyes. The blind witch could see more without eyesight than Cassie could even dream. 

It was late March and Cassie sat in her studio. She had painted a lot of cats recently. Mostly black cats like the one that wandered her apartment once a month. That day, she stared at a blank canvas. She had gone into the studio with every intention of painting something that would remind her of the witch, but nothing was coming to her. She swallowed thickly and hoped that it was a regular case of artblock and not… something else. 

“Everything is fine,” she reassured herself. 

Her heart pounded in her chest, but what if? Could it be possible that after months of silence, the demon was back? 

Cassie shook her thoughts away and forced herself to think about something else. She pushed herself up from her stool in front of her canvas and wandered to the bedroom. She saw her figurine sitting beside the bed where it always sat, but something felt off. Wasn’t it a full moon that night? Selene should be up and wandering around. She started to worry. What the hell did it mean that Selene wasn’t there? She came every full moon. Cassie walked toward the figurine and picked it up. A shiver went down her spine. Dread filled her, but it wasn’t her own fear she was feeling. It was Selene’s. 

“What’s going on? Why aren’t you here?” 

There was no response from the little figurine. The sun was starting to go down with no sign of Selene and Cassie could feel the panic rising in her chest. Her heart thrummed, jumping into her throat. She began to choke on her own anxiety. She couldn’t breathe. Cassie fell to her knees, the figurine tumbled to the floor. She put her hands to her throat. 

“Selene…” she croaked. 

“She’s not coming for you,” a dark, but familiar voice spoke. “It’s a lunar eclipse…” he chuckled. “She has no power here.” 

She looked up to see the tall demon from months ago, standing before her. The same black, soulless eyes looked into her own. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to gather her courage. She panted and pulled her hands away from her throat. 

“That’s cute…” he said. “You’re not going to defeat me twice. I would just give up if I were you.” 

“I’m not going to let you suck me dry.” 

She tried to push back the anxiety and get to her feet, but she stumbled. The demon laughed. 

“Why are you doing this?” 

“Because I want you to suffer. I live for the taste of your sadness, your anxiety, delicious and bitter.” He reached out and grabbed her by the throat. “I am Bastian the demon of suffering and I’m the last thing you’re going to see.” 

Tears welled up in Cassie’s eyes. She reached up and grabbed the demon by the wrist. “No…” 

“First, I took your creativity… and watched you sulk and whimper, but this… this is scrumptious pain.” He licked his lips. 

“Selene…” 

Bastian squeezed harder, claws digging into her throat. “She’s not going to save you.” 

Cassie closed her eyes and refused to look at the demon. She tried to catch her breath as he gripped her tightly. She dug deep down inside of herself. She couldn’t let this be the end of her life. She had more to do, art to create, love to find. She choked out a sob as tears rolled down her cheeks. Cassie wanted to believe she could defeat him. She could do it. She had to. She thought about Selene. She focused on how much she cared for the witch. 

“What are you doing?” Bastian snapped. He squeezed her neck harder. 

“Fighting,” Cassie barely managed to speak. 

“Stop,” the demon growled. 

Cassie could feel a warmth building in her chest. She gripped Bastian by the wrist as tightly as she could. She focused on Selene. She could feel love. Bright, burning love. White light shined from her chest and hands. She held on tighter as the light began to burn the demon’s wrist. 

He screamed and pulled away. “How dare you!” 

Cassie weakly pushed herself to her feet. “I’m not going to die like this. I won’t!” 

She stumbled forward and put her glowing hands on him. Hand prints burned through his clothes and onto his chest. 

“Get off of me!” He pushed her hard enough for her to fall to the ground. 

Cassie panted as she lay on the floor. 

“You were supposed to be mine!” Bastian screamed. 

“Never,” Cassie said quietly. She closed her eyes and reached toward that feeling of love. The feeling of power. “Never!” She screamed. 

White light radiated off of her, blinding both herself and the demon. She screamed at the top of her lungs as the light filled the room. 

The demon never had a chance. The light shined upon him, engulfing him in the love that Cassie felt for Selene. His entire body burned. He choked out a scream as fire tore through his body and burned him until there was nothing but ash on the carpet. Cassie panted heavily. The light slowly died down, crawling back inside of her heart where it belonged. 

She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling for a long moment. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. The demon was gone. Destroyed by love. Her love for Selene. She sniffled and reached toward the figurine on the floor. She could feel the same love she felt when she first picked it up in the thrift shop. 

“He’s gone,” she said, softly. “I was really hoping to see you tonight…I miss you so much,” she sniffed again. “But now I’m going to figure out how to save you from this. You deserve to be here… with me.” Cassie closed her eyes and held the figurine close to her chest. “I promise.”