"On E! Tonight, we'll have a little chat with two-thirds of Hanson. Find out how they're coping with their brother's, Isaac, cancer..."

The TV cut to a shot of Taylor Hanson, who by the year was 20, but by his tired and drawn face, looked 40.

"The most important thing is to constantly stay strong around and for him... And pray."

Belial clicked the television off and turned to face his guest. "It looks like he could use... a miracle."

Alrune hesitated, slightly. "Don't you think he's a little too high profile? And besides, he didn't even ask for us."

Belial rolled his eyes and turned the TV back on. "You never did trust me."

"You never gave me a reason to."

He fast-forwarded the prerecorded tape. Taylor came on the screen again. "We pray everyday for a miracle. Or for a cure to cancer to just magically appear before us." His next line, which everyone there knew was just a tension-relief, surely meant something else to Belial and Alrune. "I'd be willing to sell my soul to the Devil for it."

Alrune nodded her head and left the flame-engulfed room. "I'll go pack my bags."

"Rune, wait a second." Belial came up behind her. His piercing good looks sent a shiver down her spine. "You know, Lucifer is watching you very carefully. You pull this one off, He could make you his secondhand Demon."

The very thought made her heart beat double-time. She dreamed every night of such a life.

"No one will stop me."

*/*

take my heart, take my eyes

i need them no more

Taylor Hanson cradled his brother's hand in his own. He stared at his once golden face, now pale and clammy. Dark shadows of red circled his eyes from the chemo. The constant beeping of the multiple machines filled his private hospital room.

"Isaac, I know you're sleeping... But I also know your subconscious can hear me. So I'm going to talk -- and I'm sorry if I wake you." Taylor gently ran his fingers over Isaac's hand, careful to avoid the IV. "I am so scared. You have always been the strong one, Ike. You were always the one to take care of us when we were sick... Not caring if we gave it to you. I wish you could give me this... I can't stand seeing you like this." He rested his forehead on his brother's arm. "I just need you to stay with us, Ike. Just keep fighting. Please. Please. Please..." He kept chanting the word over and over again until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Zac. I want to stay with him tonight. You go home."

Taylor turned around and was greeted by emerald eyes, which seemed to glow under the soft hospital light. He shook his head to break out of his trance and stood protectively in front of his brother. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, that's my question."

Taylor looked towards the door then back towards the mysterious woman. "How did you get in? There are guards posted at the door."

She smiled slyly. "I have a way of getting past people."

She sat down on the end of Isaac's bed. "I'm going to make this short and simple for you. My name is Alrune, I work for Lucifer -- or as you may like to call him," she brought her fingers up to make quotation marks," The Devil. I'm here because you made a statement that you would like to sell your soul... And well, I'm here to make sure the paperwork gets filled out correctly and that everything goes to plan."

Taylor looked deep into her eyes, then started to laugh. "Wow, thank you. I really did need that." He started to walk towards the door. "I'm sorry, but you have to go now."

"Okay, you don't believe me. Most people don't. But I'll prove it to you." She stared at the man who laid almost lifelessly on the bed. "His name is Isaac, he enjoys songwriting and playing guitar, he is a Scorpio and single..." She stared at his face. "Surprisingly."

Taylor looked at her dumbfounded. "That's what you've come up with? My God, you could get that from the Internet ... or right now, on the news."

She forgot he was a celebrity. She shook her head and walked towards his head.

Taylor ran over and stood in front of her. "Don't touch him."

Alrune looked like she had been slapped. "I won't hurt him." She gently laid her hands on his face. Images of black shadows covered his spinal cord and all along his chest. She saw it growing and invading his body. "He has spinal cancer." Taylor stared at her bewildered. "It started as just a pain in his chest. When he could cough, or sneeze... Or even sometimes just laying down, he would get a sharp pain over his chest and in his arms." She looked up at him. "You thought he was having a heart attack from all the stress of being on the road."

A solitaire tear ran down Taylor's cheek. "No one knows these things... How do you..."

She encouraged him to sit down. "I can see all things evil. It's a gift... Or a curse. However you want to look at it."

He laid his hand over hers. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Alrune. But you can call me Rune. We're going to get quite aquatinted in the next couple of months."

"Months?"

"Yes, if we get rid of every trace of cancer overnight, people start to ask questions. So, we take a little away at a time. Make it look like he's going into remission."

"So, you can really cure him?"

Rune stared into his eyes. There was such hope there. She doubted he even cared that his own life would be sacrificed.

*Lyrics by Dave Matthews Band, "Grace Is Gone"

*/*

But inside where the devil rides

Woman look just like love

Alrune walked towards the door and picked up the briefcase she had laid there before.

"We do need to go over some paperwork."

Taylor looked over at her stunned. "Really? There's paperwork for this kind of stuff?"

"Hey, we have to cover our own asses."

He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"Okay, this form describes our side of the deal. Within three months, your brother, Clarke Isaac Hanson, will be devoid of all cancer. His life will return to normal, his body just as strong as it was before he obtained it." Taylor's eyes glittered with anticipation. "And this one... This is your side."

Taylor took the document in his hands and read it carefully ... twice. "Okay, so when he is completely healed... You'll take my soul to Hell. What happens if I... "

"You decide not to go? So glad you asked."

She pulled a thick packet of paper and threw it in his lap. "These are the multiple forms of torture that will be inflicted on you... 32B is my personal favorite."

He swallowed the air that was stuck in his throat and handed back the papers. "Got it." Rune handed him a ball-point pen and he began signing the documents. "What happens when I go willingly... Is there still torture?"

"Not the same kind."

He looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Once your taken, Taylor, you will never see your family again. Your friends. Although to some, that's worse than the physical torture... So I'm told."

He finished signing and stared at her. "You never had a family?"

"Years ago... And when I say years, I mean centuries."

He was intrigued, and he couldn't hide that fact. "How old are you?"

She leaned back in her chair. "You're never supposed to ask a female Demon that."

He smiled slightly and his shoulders slumped back in relaxation. "Seriously."

"I am 432 years old."

His eyes widened and he tucked his hands behind his head. "I never would have guessed a day over 200."

She waved her hand, blowing him off. "It's all in the daily moisturizer."

He smiled then looked at his brother, who had moved slightly. "It will be torture to live without them... But at least he won't have to go through it anymore."

She looked at him, admirably. "You know, Taylor, it takes an extremely strong man to give up his life for someone else."

He looked down at his hands then back to her. "He would have done it for me."

She nodded and stood up, knowing that in a previous lifetime, he actually did. "He's going to be waking up soon. I should probably go."

Taylor stood up, frantically. "Where are you going?"

She smiled and patted his cheek. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be far away."

She exited the room, and the guards looked on as if the dark-haired Demon had been a figment of their imagination. Taylor turned back around when he heard his brother cough. He immediately laid his hand back over his and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Isaac's eyes opened slowly and focused on Taylor's form. Keeping his eyes open was too much work, so he closed them again and let out a sigh. "Hey man."

Taylor almost cried at his words. Words that he hadn't spoken in nearly two weeks. He sat down and gently rubbed his head. "How are you feeling?"

A light chuckle rose to Isaac's throat but never made it to his lips. Taylor smiled and rested his head on the bed.

"That's good enough for me."

*Lyrics by Dave Matthews Band, "Busted Stuff"

*/*

The wine that's drinking me

Came from the vine that strung Judas

From the devil's tree

It's roots deep, deep in the ground

Alrune returned later that night, well past visiting hours. Taylor faced her, astonished.

"Okay, I have to ask how you do that."

Rune smiled coyly and ripped off a note card that was pinned to her shirt. Taylor read the card and looked back at her, confused.

"It just says DOCTOR."

"Taylor, I'm able to take any form that my heart desires. When I wear that, the guards see me as a Doctor... And I can gain access without so much as a blink of an eye."

"So if you want to be an astronaut... You just wear a card that says 'Astronaut' and you can get access to NASA."

She nodded and sat down. "Pretty much."

"That's amazing."

"I know."

They sat in silence for a few moments until Rune spoke up. "I want you to wear this." She handed him a hemp-woven necklace with a half-goat/half-human creature attached to it.

He hung it loosely around his neck without hesitation. "What is it?"

"Its Baphomet. Its the symbol of Lucifer and his works. By wearing this, you're showing him that you're dedicated and that you won't falter on your deal."

He looked over and saw the same symbol on a silver chain around her neck. "You have to wear it to?"

She ran her fingers over the metal. "I can't take it off until I've proven to him that I'm worthy. Word has it that that time may be soon. Which is an extreme honor, because I'll be the youngest ever to be accepted by Lucifer."

Rune closed her eyes briefly and relished in the thought. That's when Taylor noticed it.

"What is that on your eyelid?"

She smiled as he scooted towards her to get a closer look. "It's the Devil's Mark."

"Looks like it hurt."

"I lucked out actually. He usually licks his female initiates. But he said he had too much respect for me. So he burned a tiny claw mark over my eye."

Taylor cringed. "I guess you can call that luck."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Enough about me. How are things here?"

"He woke up just after you left but fell back asleep within a few minutes. Which I'm thankful for. If he's sleeping, he's not in pain."

Rune nodded in agreement. "What about you?"

He shrugged and fidgeted with his new necklace. "It's not really about me, is it?"

"Of course it is, Taylor. Your brother may not be awake, but he can sense what's going on. His healing process is going to rely on you."

He raked his fingers through his hair. "I guess I'm just tired."

She gave him a warm smile. "Get some sleep. I'll stay up with him."

Taylor knew he couldn't argue with her, so he went to the makeshift cot and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Rune scooted towards Isaac's bed and placed her hand on his face again. In her mind's eye, she saw the dark shadows slowly dissipating. She knew that the doctor's equipment wouldn't be able to pick it up for a few more days.

She stood up and laid an extra blanket over Taylor's body. She smiled as the Baphomet charm started to glow slightly. "You will be my greatest conquest, Taylor." She gently pushed stray hair behind his ear. Something in him was calling to her. She ran her fingers over his smooth skin and was troubled by the feeling she received.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately spun around. Belial's soft features greeted her. "You know, if Lucifer caught you looking at him like that, he'd have your head... Literally, Rune."

"Looking at him like what?"

"Oh sweetie, has it really been that long for you? You've got those lusty eyes all over him."

"Lust? That's it! You did this to me! You made me feel these feelings. You want me to fail so I can always be yours." She ripped Belial's charm off her necklace and threw it across the room. "I won't let you control me anymore. I'm doing this one all on my own. And this will be my final one. I'll prove to Lucifer that I'm ready." She shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe you would pull one of your childish pranks on me, Belial."

He gave her a sly smile before leaving. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rune kicked herself for getting caught up in the ill-conceived emotions. She knew she wasn't capable of loving a human.

She knew it.

She stared down at Taylor's face again. When her body began to warm again, her hand covered her mouth. She took a few steps backwards and nearly collapsed at the realization.

She was feeling compassion for a mortal.

*Lyrics by Dave Matthews Band, "Bartender"