He walked her to her house, down the narrow, puddly, cobblestoned streets. As the sun slowly made its way to setting and people began to flood the streets to hurry home after a long day's work, they stopped at a small food stand. It like many others on that street was open to the street with about six chairs almost sitting in the street at a bar with a small awning to hang over their heads.

"See," Drake laughed as the man behind the bar slid two bowls of soup their way. Drake dipped a well worn spoon into the chipped china and after blowing the steam away put it into his mouth and swallowed. "Not poisoned, despite what Erik would have you believe."

She nodded as she sipped the red steaming soup, still feeling uneasy around Drake. Erik wouldn't lie to her and she trusted his judgement above anyone else's, but she would allow Drake to prove himself.

"Closing in ten," growled the thick, grubby man with the stained apron said from behind the counter. "Don't make me kick you out."

Drake hid back a smile with his hand, "Don't worry you won't," but it soon melted as his eyes slipped off the man and into the dense crowd. No sooner a thin, pale man with dark scraggly black hair jumped up into a chair. He wasn't as handsome as Drake, but he was good looking. He shared the same devilish eyes as Drake, but they were blue instead of very pale brown. They had to be related.

"So how's it going," Jade immediately covered her nose to shield her senses from the terrible rank of alcohol reeking from his mouth. His eyes had a lazy glaze over them and his mouth was slouched into a smile.

"Amon," Drake hissed, glaring at him, "how nice of you to show up."

"Jade," Amon smiled at her, his blue eyes flashing malevolently at her. Clearly he thought that she didn't realize who he was yet, but he was wrong she did. His name gave him away. He was Damien's younger brother. She could recall enough memories of his stories to know that he was a helpless drunk who could only find happiness in other's misery.

"I remember who you are," she muttered with a short roll of her eyes. There was absolutely no way that Drake could convince her to go back and live with his family. She couldn't remember everything, but she had the feeling that it was terrible.

"Great!" Amon laughed in his drunkenness. "that should get Damien off my back. I swear he was threatening to come down here himself."

Drake dropped his spoon into his bowl with a sharp clink as his mouth dropped as well. "He wouldn't. He isn't."

"He's not particularly patient, though" Amon snickered.

"No," Drake muttered half angrily as he stared down at the reflection in his soup darkly, "he isn't," then his eyes darted to Jade and he gave a short cough as if to lighten the mood, "but if she doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to. No one will be forcing anyone to do anything."

Amon gave a short laugh and then muttered, "Will you," he gave another high pitched laugh, sending memories flying through Jade's head, "that is would you like to be Damien, Drake?"

He began to laugh hysterically after speaking those words. Drake stared at him for sometime as if he thought that there was actually a meaning behind those words. "I should take him home," he muttered irritatedly, turning to Jade, "will you be all right?"

She nodded and let him peel off into the churning traffic of people rushing down the streets.

"God," Drake shouted over the people, once they were far enough from Jade to speak safely, "are you trying to blow things up and send Damien running down here?"

Amon smiled at him in that drunken way, half of his teeth showing, "Maybe so," he paused to make a dramatic gesture with his hands as if he were a magician about to reveal something, "maybe not."

"If Damien comes down here things will become a mess," he growled, jerking the bottle of whisky that Amon was about to tip towards his parted lips away and throwing it onto the ground where it smashed into a million shards. "Are you trying to drink yourself to death, uncle?"

Amon smiled again. He was only a year or two older than Drake and yet Drake couldn't recall him ever being any younger than he was at that moment, but he had only known him for about four years. Jade only knew him by name and stories. "My dear nephew, my brother in every sense too, yes of course I am, for I am a man, but alas I cannot die, but that will not stop my tries."

"Poetry?" Drake laughed. It was far from it and Amon was no poet even when sober.

Slowly the background of people faded into wide open streets with side walks and large lampposts and homes. Drake titled his head back to look up at the sky, but as he knew there were no stars waiting to wink at him. He hated that about the city. The life of it all thrilled him, but the heartlessness of it chilled him.

"Is it this one?" Amon laughed twirling about on the steps leading up from the sidewalk onto the porch of a large mansion, Damien's mansion, dancing about like a puppet. Drake stoped and stared at the impressive building for a while, before answering his inebriated uncle. It was oppressive looking but in the corners and in between the red bricks there was a hint of delicacy. Drake shivered.

"Come on," he took hold of Amon's arm and dragged him into the warm body of the house. Soon as they came inside they were greeted by a rows pearly white steps from which a long velvety red carpet stuck out at them. From there they were swallowed by a peachy-red hall way lined with numerous paintings not one of a person. The place was honestly like a maze. Then they were met by a pair of large windows on either side of them looking onto the city, letting air in when they were open, breathing the house. This part of the house was a much more spacious cavity and in the dead center was an old grand piano, which was never played and was covered by a blanket of dust, but when it was it beat with life. There were two stair cases wrapping around the piano leading upstairs, which if you hadn't been to the place at least a hundred times each with someone guide you, you would certainly find yourself lost forever.